💕Longer days, shorter month: February Flylady thread 💕

[HazelNotHungryLC]

Love is in the air! But do you love your housework/cleaning routine?

Whether you're starting to build a new routine, stuck in a rut, or been around for years, join us on the Flylady thread. I'll try to keep us on track for the month, with baby steps, daily missions and weekly zones.

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

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

There are Baby Steps for starting out: add one thing at a time to start good habits and routines.

There are 5 zones that we will rotate through:
🩷Entryway, porch and dining room
🩷Bathroom & one other room
🩷Kitchen
🩷Master bedroom & master bathroom
🩷Living room

Don't worry about finishing it all this month, it'll come around again next month! Flylady is NOT about perfectionism!

Daily focus: each day of the week has a different focus.

• Monday: Home Blessing (or as we call it, home bleugh)
• Tuesday: plan & play
• Wednesday: anti-procrastination
• Thursday: errand day
• Friday: clean car & purse out a week. It's also date night (with your significant other, or friends, or yourself!)
• Saturday: family fun day
• Sunday: renew your spirit

Common acronyms we use:

• LOL: load of laundry (washing is certainly NOT funny!)
• DW: dishwasher, we are not rotating wives by any means, although an extra pair of hands could come in handy sometimes 😆
• S&S: Swish & Swipe (wipe the bathroom sink & toilet)
• LMS: lose/lost my shit
• DNLMS: did not lose my shit

There are more, feel free to ask us to explain something. I'll try to update links every day, if I can get them to work, she's updated the website! Although if you can, it's worth downloading the newly updated app, you can even have it send you notifications (although I only have it for when the zones change). You can also modify the tick lists to suit your home & lifestyle.

Links are below 👇

Daily missions (for the zone we are in): https://beta.flylady.net/daily-mission

Baby steps (on a different website, since the link isn't working on the new site yet): https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/

Feel free to ask any questions you may have, some of us have been doing Flylady for a very long time, as well as others just starting out. We may have other things to add that we have found works for us that could help you too!

Blimey, am exhausted, just tidied, dusted and hoovered the living/dining room. For a small space there was a lot to do. Was pretty thorough as things had got quite dirty. Load of laundry done - bedsheets so need to put clean ones on. That's enough for tonight.

January seemed to last for about a year in my house, and I am so glad it’s over and the school runs are in daylight once again.

Today was a general tidy in the living-room and utility. I had found a good radio series and barely noticed how boring the task was. Both areas look much better. Hoovered living-room, including underneath everything that could be moved.

Yesterday I used chat gpt to create a food plan for myself for the week ahead. Ordered tomorrow’s supermarket delivery. The kitchen is hideous after a week of neglect, and will take a few days to rectify before the midterm holiday.

Tada! I went off-zone and scrubbed the kitchen counters properly after decluttering them, they have been cluttered dimce Christmad as we always seem to end up with foodie gifts and nowhere to put them and this repeats as we have also had two birthdays.

@WearyAuldWumman I've got my HRT review next week too, think I need tweaking, it's also taken me a while to get booked in.

Weary well done on getting an appt booked! One of the baby steps is to spend 15 minutes a day decluttering. If that's something you think you can manage to add now, you can, if not, we'll get there later this month.

Jumping it sounds like you got a lot accomplished. Don't forget to take breaks as well so you don't get burned out.
(Although saying that, I sat down for a few minutes this afternoon and ended up taking a nap. Got nothing else done! If I'd have set a timer for sitting down I may have got more done 🤦‍♀️)

Scourgify I should have put some music on as well today, it would have got me motivated to do more. Hopefully the kitchen won't take as long as you think it will 🤞

ED at least with the food gifts the clutter doesn't hang around long! I bet it is frustrating though to have so much between Christmas and 2 birthdays.

Well a couple more LOLs got done today, cleaned kitchen countertops & rotated DW.
I did also get my clothes out for the morning as well as my lunch, but didn't get everything done that I wanted to today.

Wednesday is anti-procrastination day. Do something you've been putting off.

The mission is to wipe down walls and doors/ windows in the dining room. Then move on to the front door. You may need to focus on the door handle, and just around it, sometimes they can get a little grubby. If you have little ones, you may need to look further down to see if there's any fingerprints that need to be cleaned off (doors and walls!). Likewise, I have to look up as both my DH & DS have put grubby fingerprints up high! https://www.flylady.net/daily-mission

Baby Step 4: https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/4/
Put "get dressed to shoes" & "shine your sink" on sticky notes and put them somewhere you'll see them. On the fridge, on the bathroom mirror, wherever it will work for you.
confession: I've never done this, sticky notes can look messy to me.. shhhh 🤫 but they might work for you!

Morning,
Yesterday I was at work but started feeling achy. Had a bad night with DS up a lot. I have lost my appetite, ds has gone extra to childminders, but if I move about the house I feel sick. Staying still is okay. It comes in waves and sometimes I feel like doing the house blugh. But I've got as far as rotating DW, but I don't think I did that fully.

I napped, ate a small about, I felt ok, so told childminder I'd collect him and he'll nap for me. Now I feel a bit worse again.

Dreading the weekend as I'm doing a shift at the hospital, they asked for 2 volunteers, no-one has come forward so at this rate I'll be doing the clinic alone.... manager is a bit annoying here where he just expects us to cover even if it's planned and not emergency. Unless I'm off sick the whole week....then it's someone else's problem.

Ok rant over.

Oh no Always I hope you feel better soon, it sounds terrible! Hopefully DS will cooperate with you and let you rest 💐

Yes thanks hazel. He cooperated by napping this afternoon. In lucky the childminder could have him, and wore him out well. He stopped going regularly to her and they were happy to see each other.

I'm feeling mostly better this evening, and haven't actually been sick today so will look through babysteps and do a swish and swipe as I have slipped on doing that daily.

I tried the sticky notes. I am the master of procrastination though, so didn't really work.
Tonight will be load of laundry and dealing with planning/paperwork that I've left too late.

Always good to hear you're starting to feel better.

Jumping I'm a master at procrastinating as well. I'm doing better than I used to be, but why do it now when it can wait.. (for it to only take 2 minutes and wasn't worth stressing about for months on end!)

I did get my milk chocolate truffles finished this evening, finally! I decided not to procrastinate!

Thursday is errand day.

Thursday's mission is to spend 15 minutes getting rid of anything that doesn't belong in your porch or entryway https://www.flylady.net/daily-mission

Baby Step 5: https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/5/
Be kind to yourself. Turn a negative thought into a positive one. Write this down on a post it note and put it somewhere you will see it, like on the bathroom mirror.
Continue with the other baby steps also.

Lovely truffles Hazel

JumpingPumpkin I am a big fan of the timer although I hope you're enjoying your lovely tidy living room! I dont like sticky notes either, a notebook on the side with a list in works better for me.

WearyOldWummam progress is good!

My entrance way is a disaster. It's usually.a bit of a dumping ground but today it's terrible. I must try to get to it today- can only do it in the light though and not much of that just now.

Breakfast didn't sit well so I'm taking the day off work sick. I've decided I'm well enough to take the children to childcare/nursery. Walking near school was the best I felt yesterday. I think our house smells a bit (pets cooking etc). So I'm going to do some cleaning.
Todo: school run
Rotate DW
SS
Wash bedding
Wash towels
Hoover
Clean mirrored windows.

Accomplished today:

saw nurse to get HRT tweaked;

phoned to claim State Pension.

To do:

Hand in prescription (chemist was still closed after I saw the nurse);

Attend gym;

Drop off unwanted items to charity shop.

Dilly I'm with you on the list on a notepad or scrap piece of paper! Just do what you can in 15 minutes in your entryway, hopefully it's not as bad as you think it is 🤞

Always don't overdo it, take it easy today. I do understand the desire to get things done though, just take lots of breaks!

Weary well done on your accomplishments, especially so early in the morning! Hopefully adjusting your HRT does wonders for you!

Thank you.

Have done an arm workout; prescription dropped off; bottle bank visited; charity shop items dropped off; washing done.

@HazelNotHungryLC I did all the things I listed
, plus sorted some toys and went to Lidl to get something for my lunch. Then had a bad headache Hung up washing too.

I haven't really eaten so will probably not work tomorrow either.

Lots of productive days happening!

Tadas:
5 mins in entrance
Baked a batch of bread to freeze
10 mins in kitchen
Massive bundle of clothes to the children's clothing bank (they had an appeal out)
Hoovered under ds bed
Weekly errands

That looks like a long list but I've actually spent a great deal of today doing nothing.

Just dropping links as I'm so tired tonight.. I'll catch up with the thread tomorrow. 😴

Friday is clean your car & handbag day. It's also date night!

Mission: https://www.flylady.net/daily-mission/20260206-zone-1-mission-5-friday
Spend 15 minutes in each room of zone 1 (entryway, porch & dining room) putting out hotspots.

Baby Step 6: https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/6/
This coincides with the mission - spend 2 minutes clearing a hotspot. It's fully explained on the link and the other baby steps are listed there too - make sure to do those too.

Weary it sounds like you accomplished a lot yesterday!

Always I hope you're feeling better today 💐

Dilly that was a long list, I'm glad you were able to balance it out with some rest.

I was so tired last night I had fallen asleep on the couch by 8:30pm! I did manage to rotate DW, S&S and get my clothes out ready for today. This is after a full day of work.
This week has definitely been draining for me and I'm exhausted! So ready for the weekend.

I got the kitchen looking a bit better. Fridge definitely still needs a clean and tidy. I froze everything that could be frozen, then put away the supermarket delivery.

My car broke down yesterday. RAC towed it to the mechanic’s and fingers crossed it’ll be ready by the end of next week. It was reasonably tidy, thank goodness.

Since I’m more or less stuck in the house without the car, I shall watch Winter Olympics and catch up with laundry.

Sorry to hear your tired hazel. I've haven't been to work the end of this week but I will work shift today, which we don't normally do, but no-one volunteered to take shifts today.

DH hasn't been feeling great but he's been going to work, he got up at 4am this morning and is now ranting about mess. So I'll be glad to get out. I tried to balance a bit of housework with resting but got a migraine on Thursday so mostly not tidied except a bit of sorting out some toys, dishwasher, kitchen sink and toilet.

The weird thing is, I'm very sensitive to smells with this illness and if I hadn't had a period last week I'd think I was pregnant, feels like morning sickness.

I'm sorry I didn't drop links last night, DH & I played pool, after leveling the table again, then it was late so fell asleep before posting anything.

Saturday is family fun day. No missions. What is everyone up to today?

Baby Step 7: https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/7/
Get your clothes out for the next day. I do actually do this, mainly for the days I work, as I leave the house early, so I don't want to be scrambling to find something.
I very rarely change my mind the morning of, and those mornings I end up rushing around to leave as it takes longer to get ready.
I always check the weather, it's it going to rain/ snow/ be cold/ hot? What am I going to be doing at work? Will it be busy? Am I bloated? Does my back hurt? All of those things are a deciding factor on what I'm going to wear. Leggings or jeans etc..

Also, don't forget the other baby steps. They are listed on the link.

Scourgify I'm sorry to hear about your car, and that's it's going to take time to fix it!

Always I'm sorry your DH was ranting about the mess. It's hard to get much done around the house when you're not feeling good, especially a migraine! I'm hoping you're feeling better today, since you had to work, and that DH develops a little bit of empathy for you.

Today's plan for me:
☕️ take DS to urgent care, he may have an ear infection or two
☕️ make my caramels
☕️ mop floors
☕️ laundry
☕️ bathe dogs

I may get more done, but those are the basics that I really need to get done today.

Evening all, sorry to hear of illnesses amongst Fledglings and families

Something quite strange has happened here. I have got the kitchen, living room, bathroom and my parts of the bedroom (I leave DH’s bedside cabinet for him) properly tidy for once. This never happens. Also, even better, I am keeping them that way by tidying as I go instead of just ignoring it till it gets worse which is what everyone else here does. Early days but it feels good only taken 15 years of Flylady.

I also made a NY resolution on selfcare and have stepped up things like my skincare (easier now the dressing table and bathroom are properly organised - I had a massive declutter of the bathroom a couple of weeks ago). @HazelNotHungryLC I agree about putting clothes out the night before, I do that probably 5/7 days a week, any time I have to leave the house before about 9 basically. It really is helpful. I am trying to get dressed more promptly too (not to shoes, contact lenses are my equivalent “don’t feel dressed without them” thing).