July Flylady Thread: Would July-k to join us?

[CabbageBearGoat]

Welcome to the July FlyLady thread! Need guidance with routines and keeping up with housework? This is the thread for you! FlyLady is a reliable and flexible system for keeping on top of housework, one thing at a time.

This is a long running thread, but we are a friendly bunch and all are welcome to join in at any time.

Do NOT sign up for the Flylady emails - it's an excessive amount sent every day.

There are Baby Steps for starting out, which add one thing at a time to start off good habits and routines. If you're new to FlyLady, start with these. If you are not ready to start these at the beginning of the month you can set your own Day 1 as today and keep track by following the Baby Steps linked below.

After Baby Steps you can graduate to Zones. There are 5 Zones that we rotate through in the same order every month, week by week. Don't worry about finishing it all this month, it'll come around again next month! Flylady is NOT about perfectionism! The system is designed to compensate for those days which don't go to plan, as it all repeats. As FlyLady says herself, "You are never behind. Jump in where you are".

Daily missions: (each week is the same).
Monday: Home Blessing (or as we call it, home bleugh - a quick whizz over basic cleaning)
Tuesday: plan & play
Wednesday: anti-procrastination
Thursday: errand day
Friday: clean car & purse out. It's also date night (with your significant other, or friends, or yourself!)
Saturday: family fun day
Sunday: renew your spirit (something to recharge your batteries)

Common acronyms/phrases we use:
LOL: load of laundry (washing is certainly NOT funny!)
DW: dishwasher (we are not rotating wives!)
LMS: lose/lost my shit
DNLMS: did not lose my shit
BRC: box/basket of random crap
Mount Washmore: self explanatory

There are more, feel free to ask us to explain something. I'll try to update links every day, although if you can, it's worth downloading the app, you can even have it send you notifications (useful for when the zones change). You can also modify the app's tick lists to suit your home & lifestyle. FlyLady is flexible.

Links are below 👇 if I happen to not add links in time, they do update at midnight for you.

Launch Pad (Quick links): www.flylady.net/d/new-links/

Flight Plan (Today at a glance): flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-60

Weekly Zones (With this month's dates): https://www.flylady.net/d/zones/

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

Thanks to Hazel for June and Cabbage for July.

Teens are away on holiday, the silence is wonderful and I’m catching up on sleep. And getting back on the flylady waggon.

We mostly use the back door, which opens onto the utility, so I did some tidying there. Cleaned the toilet, stuff onto shelves instead of dumped on top of the washing machine. Swept up leaves at the bottom of the steps and path - had to cut back tree in June - and this evening I’m going to start on the front hall which is full of stuff waiting to go upstairs.

Lots of long lists!

Mine is less impressive but hey
🧞morning routine
🧞school run
🧞package parcel
🧞work
🧞put away Costco delivery
🧞hang out lol
🧞lunch
🧞get dinner into slow cooker
🧞ring bank (unsuccessfully)
🧞go over last month’s spending 🫣
🧞school run
🧞finish dinner prep
🧞gymnastics run

@CabbageBearGoat thank you for running the thread this month, and thank you to @HazelNotHungryLC for last month.

@SleepingIceDragons solidarity in the not sleeping club, hope you’ve got some bits ticked off the list.

phone just went from 40 something % to about to die! Will try to post more later

Ta das:
🐶 get dressed & ready for the day done
🐶 take dogs to groomer done
🐶 bathe dogs done
🐶 bleach both bathrooms done
🐶 grocery shopping list done
🐶 grocery shopping done
🐶 take DS to try on riding gear for his dirt bike (we only bought him new stuff last year but he has grown again!) done
🐶 video chat with Mum done
🐶 laundry (the camping laundry has been done, so it's just the day to day stuff now) - in progress, LOLs x6
🐶 vacuum done
🐶 mop done
🐶 sweep front step
🐶 wipe front door
🐶 clean glass doors & mirrors
🐶 call MIL about 4th of July (we have no plans yet!)
🐶 take Jeep over to get the alignment done on it - in progress, I'm here & waiting for my Jeep to get done

Not everything is going to get done today, but that's okay. Since I'm off Thursday I'll probably get that stuff finished, as well as prepping for the BBQ we're having on Friday night.

Wednesday's child is full of woe... because it's anti-procrastination day, probably, and nobody likes having to call themselves out.

Baby Step: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-3/
Today is pretty much a repeat of yesterday, to keep the habit sticking. Get dressed to shoes and keep that sink shining. FlyLady also suggests exploring the website.

FlyBabies: 15 minute declutter of Zone 1

FlyExperts: We're staring at the walls today. Fingerprints begone! Cleaning off handprints and smudges. I'm guessing this includes things like light-switches too.

Daily mission: Anti-procrastination day. Somewhat self-explanatory, get ahead of the things you hate doing. Phonecalls for appointments? Some hideous job like cleaning out a fish tank? Man am I glad we don't have fish. This also includes things like cleaning out the fridge. Personally, this is a great day for that as Wednesday night in Cabbage House is Bin Night and it's a great night to get anything that has more culture than the British Museum out into the wheelies.

"anything that has more culture than the British Museum" 😂😂😂

Morning everyone

In the spirit of anti procrastination I mopped the floors straight after the school run today 😇

I am also on a July roll (ignoring it’s only been two nights…) of clearing the draining board before I go to bed at night.😇😇
Unfortunately the dishwasher is still running when I go to bed so I still come down to a sea of dishes, pans, mugs and glasses on the side from teenage late night snacks (but tbh they wouldn’t put in IN the dishwasher even if it was empty 🙄).

I kind of mostly ignore the wall wiping tasks because we used the worst paint and it wipes off as soon as you try to remove a mark but I will do switches and handles when I dust the hall in a minute.

That's quite a roll @TheMainCharacter ! I always think if I could only get to 4 nights in a row clearing the draining board I'd be sorted.

@HazelNotHungryLC that's quite a list!

My interpretation of the walls cleaning task today is in the hallway, removing layers of wallpaper! We started this project a year ago... so it's definitely an anti-procrastination win too!

Today's wins:
🎉 Set up tax and MOT reminders for new car
🎉 eBay admin
🎉 Retried bread machine with Large loaf and different flour - definitely the tinned yeast making tiny loaves
🎉 Third bread attempt currently in progress with different yeast (sachets, not tin)
🎉 15mins wallpaper removal in hallway

Success! The sachets are good! Long live the sachet yeast. Bought it years ago.

Front hall is slowly getting cleared up. Got lots of exercise shifting stuff from the hotspot growing at the bottom of the stairs. Polished the livingroom glass door. Also paintings.

Hoovered most of the hallway and all of the stairs, six at a time. Will do rest of hallway and the landings tomorrow.

Got to the top of the stairs and decided to tackle my bedroom. Pulled everything away from the walls and captured many dust bunnies. Polished bathroom mirror and handbasin.

Two boxes of electronic bits and pieces downstairs to the shelf with all the other bits. Not sure what some of it is.

Anti-procrastination was to make a phonecall I didn’t want to make.

Every day - Trying to cut down on chaos in the fridge-freezer by eating from there instead taking the easy route and ordering new stuff.

My draining board is never empty 😂 it's where I keep most plastic kids' plates. They always come out slightly wet from DW so I just chuck them on there to dry and now it's their permanent residence.
Hazel impressive list! I can't believe my second is now 11 months old. How did that happen. I am actually quite enjoying spending time with littles, and not looking forward to going back to work in September. I will have a few weeks where both will be in nursery full time and I will have a house to myself during the day. Not sure how I feel about that. House is now properly set and sorted, no more moving in the foreseeable future.
How are things with you?

Cabbage I am not much of a baker, but I definitely prefer the sachet yeast to the other kinds. Love the look of your bread.

Ta das: full home bleugh done (going a bit of piste and doing home bleugh on wednesdays rather than Monday's).

I also put away into the attic Moses basket. I can't bring myself to get rid of it in the recycling centre, even though realistically I am done with two babies. My ovaries are screaming for more at the moment though 😂

Edited for typo.

@Scourgify sounds like you had such a satisfying day! I like how you followed the stairs up to your room for Flying!

@McMumster thank you! I normally prefer the "little green tin" type of yeast but it seems it doesn't stay protected in the sachets. I wonder would it be easier emotionally to sell or pass on things like the moses basket? Rather than getting rid at the tip. I'm using Facebook Marketplace to collect a lot of baby things, but it does mean organising with other people which isn't everyone's cup of tea 🤣 or there's always NCT so you don't have to do anywhere near as much chasing/ferrying.

Cabbage your bread looks delicious!

Scourgify re using up freezer stuff, I'm trying to do the same. We don't have much room left in our small chest freezer, but it needs to be defrosted soon!

Mc 11 months?! Eleven?! How on earth did that happen?! We're doing well. DS is doing marching band this year in high school, so he's been to day camps for that during his summer break. He'll be going away for a week soon, that's going to be a new experience for all of us! It'll just be DH & me!

Thursday's child has far to go... because it's errand day!

Baby Step: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-4/
Keep doing what we've been doing so far. FlyLady suggests writing notes to yourself on sticky notes (of things from the website, reminders etc) and place them around your house. These notes are the start of your "control journal" (more info on that here: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/flying-lessons/control-journal/)

FlyBabies: 15 minute declutter of Zone 1 (I'm sure you get the idea, but I'm going to keep putting it here because then you cannot forget!)

FlyExperts: Back to the entrance area. Now, FlyLady seems to have forgotten our Plan and Pile Tuesday from this week as the instructions are to look at the things that pile up by the door like shoes and bags etc. So if you still have piles you can do that, but I'm going to go ahead and suggest that today you check whether the things you have right by the door are really needed. Do you have unseasonal seasonal things there? We have a small coat rack right by the door and a handy basket of hats and scarves. That's great. BUT IT IS JULY. We do not need those right now. So those can be put away, clear a little bit more floor - happy days. I can probably also take the thicker coats off the coat rack and just make sure we have anoraks and hats on there, that sort of thing.

Daily mission: Errand day. Or, as I like to call it - get out the house and do the thing. Post office? Charity shop? Dry cleaning? Appointment? Get thyself out the door and Do The Thing.

Scourgify to sort the freezer problem, I made 1 week 'freezer meals only' 😬 (I usually meal plan to a T, including snacks) It was the easiest week for me re cooking, and there is space in freezer now. Win win.

Hazel marching band, that sounds like a lot of fun. You must be very proud of him. It's strange when kids are out of the house. Do you have any plans for that week?

Cabbage I'd love to give the moses basket away, but unfortunately it has a broken handle. It will have to reside in my attic forever until my hormones settle down.

Off to do my errands.

Seasons, what seasons?? Haha at the idea of not needing hats and scarves here in west of Scotland just because it’s July 😀 I wore fleece hat and scarf when I went out to vote earlier this morning in gusts of up to 40 mph, along with vest, teeshirt, shirt and jacket! It’s only a ten minute walk walk way, and I’m now huddled under a winter duvet with a hot cup of tea, contemplating whether I should put on the heating for an hour or simply hoover till I warm up.

@Scourgify ahah! This is true. I'll forgive you. Keep your midge spray ready with the umbrellas. Where I am, I can fairly safely move the thicker coats, scarves and winter boots further away from the door along with the ice scraper and snow shovel at least 🤣 admittedly the snow gear is just waiting to be put in the car but it fits my seasonal theme 😁

@Scourgify we’re heading to the west of Scotland for a holiday soon, I will pack for all seasons! We visit most years for family reasons and some years the weather is better than it is here in SE England, but it is generally cooler. I have put the thick coats, scarves etc away though.

It is a sunny, windy day here and I’m at home, so three loads of washing are on the line. DH has got covid again so we are all trying to stay outdoors as much as possible. I’ve just got back from the polling station, first GE vote for both my DCs (they have both gone separately to me, it’s only round the corner). None of us are feeling wildly excited about it all.

Mc yes I'm very proud of him! He's going to be busy this coming school year. Marching Band practise is after school, in school he has jazz band and regular band as well. He had to start learning the baritone for matching bands as they had enough trombone players, as well as memorizing the music! He's doing very well for only just learning a new instrument over the past month.
We have no plans that week he's gone. We both have to work. I'm sure we'll go out for dinner at least once though, just the 2 of us. And there will be more chores for us to do since he won't be here 😂
I couldn't handle it being cold most of the year, I love having all 4 seasons ☔️🌡🍁☃️
I would love to visit Scotland though. We didn't really travel far growing up. Wales was the furthest I went with my family, which is beautiful, but very wet.

Well it's independence day here. I know we're hosting ILs today at some point, just don't know if it's lunch, dinner or both!
Tomorrow we're having a BBQ, after work, and lots of people are invited, just not sure how many will actually show up.

Happy 4th July hazel

Ds hasn't voted. When asked if he had, he just looked at me and said i have no idea where i am going to vote or what i am doing. I offered for him to walk down with me but we both decided to eat first. Politics is ALWAYS better on a full stomach.

I went for a walk earlier as my get moving thing and managed to come back with marrow bones for making stock. So that needs to be added to the to do list. Was supposed to be painting today but the back said no hence the walk to get it moving.I have rather a long to do list for tomo now. Preparing for having the heating system drained and new radiator fitted so there is rather a lot to do. But there will be heat. And it will be lovely. But until the winter the current pile of blankets and hot water bottles is rather lovely. This weather not so much

Happy 4th July @HazelNotHungryLC 🇺🇸

Tada!
✅Three lots of washing done and line dried (it stayed sunny and breezy, in fact it was a perfect weather day for me at 19°C).
✅paid two bills
✅helped DS sort something out with the GP
✅scanned some documents and filed
✅sorted some paperwork for filing/shredding/recycling
✅swish and swipe
✅vote
✅watered allotment - the sunflowers are properly out now
✅taxied both DCs to nearby city for their respective sports (both on the same campus)
✅supermarket shop while waiting for them
✅tidied and swept garden shed
✅cleaned out salad drawer of fridge
✅painted toenails
✅supervised DS on car maintenance (check oil, pump up tyres, fill washers)

Aww sunflower 💛 ED

Tasty looking bread 🍞 Cabbage

I voted, that was all really today

Thank FlyLady, it's Friday!

Baby Step: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-5/
Ok guess what we're doing today: Getting dressed to shoes and shining that sink! Today's message is about the negative thoughts that stop us being who we want to be, and about reframing them. When you have some new positive thoughts, write those down somewhere you'll see them.

FlyBabies: 15 minute declutter of Zone 1

FlyExperts: Dining room and entrance today, looking at lights and window sills. Y'know, those places you don't think to dust until you realise everything has a light covering of grey on. Feather dusters at the ready, and be careful standing on those dining chairs.

Daily mission: Declutter your purse, your car, maybe even jacket pockets. Nearly typed "jacket potatoes" - guess what we're having for dinner tonight. Right. Now, Friday is also date night which means focusing on a relationship in your life that could do with some of this energy.

@McMumster over the winter I froze lots of leftovers in single portions and I’m gradually getting into the habit of fishing something out each evening for the next day. It makes life so much easier!

@EasterlyDirections Hooe you enjoy your holiday up here. DH has spent much of this week getting the motorhome ready for the annual trip to the west coast and islands. He loves a good ferry journey and getting to an isolated beach.

Finished hoovering the landings yesterday. Doesn’t sound like much, but the half-landing makes it hard work lugging the dyson up six stairs to my bedroom then down six stairs and up the other seven stairs to the other bedrooms. Sometimes I feel as though the house is nothing but stairs.

Back in the front hall, I got down on my hunkers and cleared fluff out from between radiator panels, hoovered along tops of doors and skirting boards. There’s one small area still to tackle later today.

Did some garden tidy and started sorting the vegetable rack in the kitchen which I use for plastic bags, old yogurt cartons, toy cars, magnetic letters, sewing and mending, miscellaneous but never veg. I hope I can declutter, not just tidy.

Today has been a slow day - up early for no good reason then stayed up watching election news! Bit of work done this afternoon (not officially back yet post-hyperemesis, just testing the waters) and now I'm ready for some sofa time watching tennis and football later.

Today's wins:
Morning routine incl. swish and swipe
Cleared small landing of "going upstairs" and "going downstairs " things
Rubber brushed and Roomba'd small landing
10mins study desk tidying
Swept conservatory
Emptied study bin
eBay admin + prep
Household admin