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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Flylady Fledglings February: Thawing out of winter

279 replies

freezingpompoms · 30/01/2023 19:08

Hello everyone, iWelcome back to our regulars, and if you are new or returning, a huge welcome to you as well! Please feel free to post or lurk, whatever helps you most.

This is an incredibly helpful thread and the system can be confusing but someone on here will be able to answer your questions and get you on track.

So, Flylady. That mysterious system that promises a lovely clean house! This link is a good place to read about the basic principles, but we strongly recommend ignoring the first bit - do not sign up for emails as you’ll be inundated!

www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/

If you’re new to the system, or are wanting a refresher course, the baby steps may be a good idea. Some are more useful than others, we’ve found, and stuff like affirmations may not work for you, so pick and choose what you want to try. You don’t have to do it all! Perfectionism can be left at the door, we celebrate any achievement here no matter how small it seems (this is why you’ll see our Ta Da lists as well as To Do lists!).

www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/

There are parts of the house called zones, each taking a different part of the month, and missions in those zones to do little tasks we may have neglected. If you don’t feel ready for those though, a good way to start is doing 15 minutes decluttering in that zone! Remember it didn’t get messy in a day so it won’t be fixed in a day either. Slow and steady.

Then there’s the daily focus - each day of the week has a theme, although many of us switch them around to suit our own lives.

Each day I’ll provide the link to the launch pad, which is where you can see what is meant to be done that day (but again don’t feel you have to do all of it! That way lies burnout!).

A couple of principles we talk about on here are:
Future Friend - the idea of doing something today that benefits you later, such as choosing your clothes or making your lunch the night before.
Power of Three (po3) - if you’re overwhelmed, just pick three easy tasks - no matter how small - and forget about the rest until they’re done. Then reassess and decide another three.

Finally a few acronyms:
DW - dishwasher, not dear wife!
LOL - load of laundry, we aren’t finding washing hilarious
WM - washing machine
TD - tumble dryer

OP posts:
Thread gallery
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HungryHazelEyes · 07/02/2023 16:01

Ta Das so far (9am):
💘 cooked eggs for DH
💘 threw away some leftover truffles from Christmas. There's more, but I'll see if DS wants any first. I think they might be stale tasting by now
💘 stripped bed, put sheets in washer
💘 pulled chicken out of chest freezer for dinners this week, including tonight
💘 sitting down enjoying my 2nd cup of coffee ☕️

I have food in the fridge that needs to go as well, so I'll sort that out later.

HillsBesideTheSea · 07/02/2023 16:13

Not really.
Got some washing up done, put a load of laundry on, half unloaded the dishwasher, fixed a computer. Grabbed books and left the house. Was being productive until ds called to go home, apparently he is quitting college cos he is 18 Angry Just losing the will to live with this nonsense.

freezingpompoms · 07/02/2023 19:07

@HillsBesideTheSea oh god deep breath. Kids can be absolute nightmares. I'm at the end of my ether but luckily they are both asleep.

❄️ soft play outing
🥶 hoovered downstairs
❄️lol which amazingly dried outside
🥶 s&s two bathrooms
❄️ cleaned cutlery drawer as per instructions
🥶read book in the sun and shaved my legs which counts as pampering in my world. 🙄
❄️helped child poms with homework

OP posts:
freezingpompoms · 07/02/2023 19:15

TUESDAY: just realised I've been missing the daily focus!!!!

Today is planning day:meals, prescriptions, fun stuff. Plan for the week.

I'm about to do the shopping list now for the next week although I've stretched last weeks meals to 9 days which is great. Then you are supposed to do something just for you that is fun like the gym 🤪 or a long bath.

WEDNESDAY:

Today is Anti-Procrastination Day and we are still in the kitchen!
Your mission for today is to grab a trash bag and clean out your refrigerator. You are to toss ANYTHING that will not get eaten any time soon. Just as the rule applies to the rest of the house. If you don't love or use it, lose it! Get rid of the fruit that is a few days beyond when it was really edible, get rid of the veggies that are turning into a science project. Check the dates on the cheeses that are potential science project.
Also for tomorrow:

✅declutter 15 mins
✅shine sink
✅reminder number 2 on the list: drink water. Set a timer on your phone if needs be.
✅ there will be a daily focus but I can't see it ahead of time so I'll link that tomorrow.

OP posts:
RocketIceLollie · 07/02/2023 20:30

@CurseYouPerryThePlatypus ha, yeah she looks like one of those giant rabbits in that photo.

Tonight's ta da's

  • dishes washed n put away ✅
  • kitchen tops antibac'd ✅
  • kitchen floor mopped ✅
  • washing machine on x1 load ✅
  • downstairs loo cleaned n bleached ✅
  • downstairs loo basin cleaned n antibac'd ✅
  • downstairs loo floor mopped ✅

Will tidy living room before bedtime 👍

CurseYouPerryThePlatypus · 07/02/2023 21:41

ta da
🦡reading practice with Cagletini
🦡meeting
🦡lots of work
🦡went out to a school event for work
🦡emailed details about DS for college

DitzyDaffodils · 07/02/2023 23:34

Additional ta-da's:

☕ Washed car
☕ Went to the shop
☕ Tidied kitchen

HungryHazelEyes · 08/02/2023 01:57

Ta Das:
🐶 took dogs to groomer
🐶 took Jeep through the car wash on the way home
🐶 gave dogs a bath
🐶 took Dobby to the vet, had another reaction to the vaccine, last one for a year
🐶 S&S bathrooms
🐶 threw away old food from fridge
🐶 decided to declutter a few items of clothing
🐶 got done ready (currently cooking)
🐶 4 LOLs total today, including our sheets
🐶 cleaned mirrors in bathrooms and hallway
🐶 cleaned French doors, inside & out

I spent some time on Pinterest today, mostly reading A Slob Comes Clean blogs, trying to find some inspiration. It somewhat worked 🤷‍♀️

freezingpompoms · 08/02/2023 12:06

freezingpompoms · 07/02/2023 19:15

TUESDAY: just realised I've been missing the daily focus!!!!

Today is planning day:meals, prescriptions, fun stuff. Plan for the week.

I'm about to do the shopping list now for the next week although I've stretched last weeks meals to 9 days which is great. Then you are supposed to do something just for you that is fun like the gym 🤪 or a long bath.

WEDNESDAY:

Today is Anti-Procrastination Day and we are still in the kitchen!
Your mission for today is to grab a trash bag and clean out your refrigerator. You are to toss ANYTHING that will not get eaten any time soon. Just as the rule applies to the rest of the house. If you don't love or use it, lose it! Get rid of the fruit that is a few days beyond when it was really edible, get rid of the veggies that are turning into a science project. Check the dates on the cheeses that are potential science project.
Also for tomorrow:

✅declutter 15 mins
✅shine sink
✅reminder number 2 on the list: drink water. Set a timer on your phone if needs be.
✅ there will be a daily focus but I can't see it ahead of time so I'll link that tomorrow.

I was confused. The daily focus is the fridge clear out so no extra work for us than what is listed above.

Also the pamper mission is a weekly one so something to aim for at least once for us. But like I mentioned pampering can mean something very different for everyone. For me having a longer shower would feel decadent, rather than getting out once every bit have me has merely been covered in water!

OP posts:
HillsBesideTheSea · 08/02/2023 12:23

Apparently it is a day for drama around here <sigh>

to do
ensure current crisis has been concluded satisfactorily
ring college for ds
escape

freezingpompoms · 08/02/2023 19:06

@HillsBesideTheSea has the drama subsided? Hope so!

🥶toddler group
❄️food shopping
🥶 s&s two bathrooms
❄️quick floor mop
🥶 fridge sort out

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freezingpompoms · 08/02/2023 19:14

THURSDAY (what already?!?!)
*
sort out your drawer for clingfilm and zip lock bags and foil. Make sure there no empty boxes and generally tidy it up and declutter. *
*
reminder: swish and swipe. Do this when you are in the bathroom first thing. Toilet and sink only takes a minute. *
*
declutter 15 mins
*
shine your sink. *
*
Thursday is errand day so get out there and do stuff. Post office, shopping, dry cleaning and drs. Whatever your thing is...mine is usually the library. *

Here's the flight plan should you be any it:
*
www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=0&d=1

❄️I really like this bold type❄️.

OP posts:
DitzyDaffodils · 09/02/2023 00:36

Hope you escaped and got some peace Hills

Pompoms my favourite little pamper thing is perfume. I wear it every day and it's a 2 second job but makes me feel properly finished and reminds me I'm human, not some kind of housework robot

Ta-da's:

Morning routine
Cleaned the grill
Did a craft project
Sorted the fridge out, it was chaos
Determined not to throw the healthy food out this week because it has gone off, I ate some to prevent this happening and spent the entire day craving sugar
Took a walk
Evening routine

DitzyDaffodils · 09/02/2023 01:00

Damn. Forgot the emojis. Here's my day in pictures, just because.
🕗🚬☕👗🥣💄
🕤♻️🗑️🏚️🧚🏠
🕚👩‍🎨🖼️
🕑🥦🥕🥚🍅🍄🧀🍽️
🕞🧥🧣🚶🏞️
🕖📺📝
🕣🍲📖
🕚🛀🧘🛌💤🌌

UsernameNotPresent · 09/02/2023 06:27

Finally, FINALLY, we got confirmation on our new property! Whoop! Now it's all systems go with the house move and some major declutter. Eek!

CurseYouPerryThePlatypus · 09/02/2023 06:55

Love the emoji day ditzy
Yay UNP congrats!

I was awake too early and haven’t been able to get back to sleep, so I’m now at the (digital) piano having a little play around with a new tune, because what else does one do when they have lots of other stuff they should be doing 🙄🤣 I am hoping to write something for my stepson’s wedding though - they got engaged recently and asked me to play at the ceremony but I’m really not confident enough to play in front of even a few people let alone 150 odd 😩 so I thought, on the quiet, I’d see if I could compose a short piece for the hired professional instead. 🎹🎼

YesTaDa
🏵work
🏵walked to DD1’s school to meet her, her BF and BF’s mum
🏵went to college for their options interviews (both got their provisional offers yay!)
🏵put Cagletini to bed

I am off to my colleague’s house today, lots to get through. But not till ten so I have a while to spend some time with Cagletini.

HillsBesideTheSea · 09/02/2023 08:13

Glad that the house situation is confirmed. UNP

More drama here. <sigh> I'm done. Totally done.

GreenWillowAndFairyLights · 09/02/2023 13:44

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for personal reasons.

DitzyDaffodils · 09/02/2023 15:39

Congratulations UNP I'm so happy for you 🎉🔑📦🚛🏘️

Glad your DD is doing well Willow and sorry to hear your FIL isn't 👩‍⚕️🧳🛫✈️

Ah Hills 💐 can you shut yourself in a room for a few hours and ignore it all? Or escape to the great outdoors 🌄 🏞️🌅perhaps? Have a canoe 🛶 and a desert island🚣 🏝️ and a genie for some wishes🧞

Wow Perry you have composer skills? That's awesome! I'm sure DSS will be happy with whatever you can offer. It's so lovely he asked you to play, even if you don't feel upto it 🎹🎶🎵🎼

I don't want to do anything today. Pointy stick needed to get me out of the naughty corner 🛌🤺

HillsBesideTheSea · 09/02/2023 18:37

I left the house in the end. Got some study done. But need to make bread, sort tea, make burgers and get in the currently burried freezer, do the washing up, hunt out enough washing up so can actually run the dw, shove a load of washing in the machine so i have clothes for tomo, and NLMS. Currently i want to curl up for a nap. Did one of 3 phone calls i was procrastinating on earlier, need to try to get the rest done tomo.

freezingpompoms · 09/02/2023 19:49

Hi to everyone. The lists look impressive and colourful which I thoroughly approve of.

🌸 tidied the clingfilm draw
🌸 s&s one loo
🌸 visit mam
🌸 tutored one child

OP posts:
freezingpompoms · 09/02/2023 19:54

FRIDAY:
check under sink for cleaning supplies and add to list any that need to be replenished. *
*
✅* declutter 15 mins
*
✅* shine sink
*
reminder: out on a wash every day to keep on top of the laundry. *
*
daily focus is cleaning the car out and also your handbag.

OP posts:
freezingpompoms · 09/02/2023 19:54

I don't know why the bold isn't working properly. It looks fine when I type it and then when it's posted it alters.

OP posts:
freezingpompoms · 10/02/2023 06:25

freezingpompoms · 09/02/2023 19:54

FRIDAY:
check under sink for cleaning supplies and add to list any that need to be replenished. *
*
✅* declutter 15 mins
*
✅* shine sink
*
reminder: out on a wash every day to keep on top of the laundry. *
*
daily focus is cleaning the car out and also your handbag.

I forgot it's also date night. One area of flying that I definitely neglect.

Link below

www.flylady.net/d/daily-focus/daily-focus-friday/

OP posts:
freezingpompoms · 10/02/2023 18:50

Hope everyone is ok.

✅ s and s
✅ had a quick car tidy
✅ baby group and cuppa with friends

OP posts:
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