May flowers & spring cleaning - flylady style

[BloomingHazel]

With spring in the air and nicer weather here/on its way, there's no better time to start a new housekeeping routine!
I will give you a heads up, I've not been on mn daily just lately, so hopefully I'll remember to post the links!

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. you have been warned! 😂

There are Baby Steps for starting out, add one thing at a time to start good habits and routines. Try not to do too much at once, you don't want to get overwhelmed.
There are 5 zones that we will rotate through each month, don't worry about finishing it all this month, it'll come around again next month! Flylady is NOT about perfectionism!

Daily missions: each day of the week has a different mission. I will explain these further as we come across them.

• Monday: Home Blessing (or as we call it, home bleugh)
• Tuesday: plan & play
• Wednesday: anti-procrastination
• Thursday: errand day
• Friday: clean car & purse (handbag) out. It's also date night (with your significant other, or friends, or yourself!)
• Saturday: family fun day - no missions
• Sunday: renew your spirit - no missions

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 😆
• 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, although if you can, it's worth downloading the 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 👇 if I happen to not add links in time, they do update at midnight for you.

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

Baby steps: https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/ it's not technically flylady, but they're still working on the new site.

THAT getting uniforms ready for the week would be a very big win!

Positive it looks like you've done a lot of cleaning up. I hope you didn't feel too worse for wear!

kat I'm sorry to hear you've been having a shitty time 💐 did you go anywhere nice at the weekend?

DS had a concert tonight, so we went to that. The band did good! Not surprising really, as they're very good.

I did wipe down the kitchen countertops when we were done with dinner, but no other flying due to work.

Tuesday is plan & play day. Plan your week ahead, weekend or gathering. Then spend some time doing something you enjoy (play!).

Tuesday's mission is to go back to basics and wash your dishes! Don't stop until everything is done, dishwasher, handwash, all of it! Once you are done, shine your sink! https://www.flylady.net/daily-mission/20260505-zone-2-mission-2-tuesday-your-kitchen

Baby Step 5: https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/5/
Write down negative thoughts and correct it with a positive truth!
Get dressed to shoes in the morning
Shine your sink in the evening

@BloomingHazelthanks. We did go to Herefordshire, it was lovely there, but was a sad occasion as we were scattering my brother's ashes there. He died in January and used to work in a country pub/hotel on the Welsh border during the fishing season.

Feeling a bit better lurgy wise today. Got an OK sleep. Bed is made and bathroom is swished. Onwards and upwards. Washing machine is about to be activated.

kat I'm so sorry for your loss 💐
I'm glad you seem to be on the mend, just don't overdo it - listen to your body!

I'm up, dressed, morning skincare routine done and drank one cup of coffee so far.

To dos:
☕️ 2nd cup of coffee!
☕️ wash sheets
☕️ other LOLs, including towels
☕️ bank
☕️ handwash dishes
☕️ cook chicken for dinner another night (more time today)
☕️ vacuum
☕️ mop
☕️ clean bathrooms

MIL is also coming over today for a couple of hours, so I'm not sure if I'll get much done in that time.

Not too shoddy today. Was really tired after work but got a bit of hoovering done downstairs, mopped the hall and kitchen, cleaned the grill pan, and wiped off some bird poo from the front door. Did not change the beds but that can wait a day.

kat it sounds like you accomplished a lot after work!

My day off today and I feel like it was the most productive I've been for a while.

Ta das:
🌷 2nd cup of coffee!
🌷 washed sheets & remade bed
🌷 LOLs x4, including towels
🌷 bank
🌷 errands with MIL
🌷 handwashed dishes
🌷 vacuumed
🌷 mopped
🌷 bleached both bathrooms
🌷 cleaned mirrors & glass doors
🌷 DS & DH rotated DW
🌷 processed returns for dog food we switched from (money will be returned, I can donate the unopened food at the local shelter 🥳)
🌷 hotel booked for November - we're going to a concert!

I didn't get meal prep done for another night though. Oops.

Wednesday is anti-procrastination day.
Do something that you've been putting off. Make that appointment, make that phone call, whatever it is you're not wanting to do, it may be easier/quicker than you think!

Wednesday's mission is to put out the hotspots in your kitchen. Grab a laundry basket or box and a bin bag. Throw away the rubbish, put things that don't belong in the kitchen into the basket/box. Go put those things away. Set a timer for 15 minutes, rest for another 15 minutes, then start the timer again, if you're not done. Don't spend all day on this though!
https://www.flylady.net/daily-mission/20260506-zone-2-mission-3-your-kitchen

Baby Step 6: https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/6/
Today's baby step matches the mission, although the baby step is only 2 minutes. If you want to try it out, go to a different room, set your timer for 2 minutes, and tackle the dumping grounds until the time is up.
This is something to do every day, to keep on top of the piles that can build up if left unchecked.
It could be mail dumped by the door or on the table, jackets and shoes left in the middle of the floor in the living room, makeup not put away since the last use, etc..

Hello, could I join you all again this month please? I did post on the last thread, towards the emd of the month. But I cut my thumb in the garden the next day and its taken a while to heal. It kept splitting back open amd was very annoying. Now the house is even worse than normal!

Hello again @SeekingHappinesssis your thumb better now? Don't worry, the motto is just jump back in where you are. You'll get there.

Stressful day at work today but got a bit done in the kitchen. Cleaned one cupboard of herbs and spices out. Lots of very out of date jars chucked out. Also did the microwave.

The app encouraging me to put a wash on first thing is really helping me to keep on top of the laundry baskets.

Yes of course you can join us @SeekingHappinesss! I remember you from the last thread. Is your thumb better now?
As kat already said, jump right in, you're not ever behind with Flylady.

kat I decanted most of my herbs and spices into matching jars years ago. I dread to think what some of those dates were (some jars are just never used so still the original herbs I dumped in them! I'll never know now!

Thursday is errand day.

Thursday's mission is to wipe down the fronts of your big appliances. Wipe off the fingerprints and smudges from your fridge, front of the oven, dishwasher etc. Nothing major, just a quick wipe.
I actually did this today 😇
https://www.flylady.net/daily-mission/20260507-zone-2-mission-4-thursday-your-kitchen

Baby Step 7: https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/7/
Lay your clothes out for the next day.
This is the baby step I find the most helpful and one I consistently do the night before I have to work. My days off might be a different story.. 🫣

Friday is clean your car and purse (handbag) out day.
It is also date night.

Friday's mission isn't updated yet for me, so check the link: https://www.flylady.net/daily-mission it's our last day in the kitchen.

Baby Step 8: https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/8/
Start on your control journal.
Preferably use a 2 or 3 ring binder with lined paper, or use a notebook of some kind.
Start out by writing down the morning and evening routines. I would use one page for each, as they will be added to as we move along the month.
These routines are listed in the link above☝️

I had a full day of work, but Ihave some ta das:
🌷 cooked the chicken dinner, which is a little time consuming
🌷 rotated DW while the chicken was cooking in the oven.
🌷DH helped me wipe countertops after dinner and finished loading it.
🌷 clothes out for the morning
🌷 lunch ready to grab in the morning
🌷 updated my alarm to go off a little earlier. Not looking forward to it, but I'm running late in the mornings now 🫣

Just checking in.
I very rarely post now as I'm in a pretty good routine and the FL missions are usually things I've already done because they're incorporated into that routine.
However, I do still check them out and today cleared the oil, vinegar and table sauces shelf in the pantry.
I'd done the downstairs clean (includes washing the kitchen floor) and thought that was me done as I cleared out the herbs, spices, salts and peppers shelf yesterday.
But I was inspired by the FL mission to do another shelf and the larder is starting to look pretty good.
Reward will be going to the local annual food and festival this afternoon, so no cooking 😄
You're running the thread brilliantly as always Hazel - I always enjoy your posts.
Hope everyone's wings aren't too tired and any health problems are improving 💐

PS Just so it doesn't sound like things are too perfect, I keep procrastinating on anti-procrastination day.
I really need to sort out paperwork - bank, personal papers etc - and each time I do something else (that I'm not dreading quite as much) and pretend I'm not procrastinating when I really am.
Maybe I shouldn't wait until next Wednesday and grab the bull by the horns over the weekend...
Think I'll need to sample some more wine at the F&D festival today for Dutch courage 🥂

Good morning. I'm sorry, i fell off again. Keeping up with the routines is one thing, but writing about it and keeping up with everyone is quite another!
I was awake very early this morning and got the daily routines ticked off, so happy with that.
Thanks @BloomingHazel for doing the thread and thanks to @Positivepositron for last month 💐

Welcome back @WinterFrogsand well done on getting your morning routine ticked off.

OK start here, had a nice lie in and have just done a ten minute blitz in the bathroom while I was in there. Did a good clean of the sink and tub to get the bits a swish and swipe can miss. Also cleaned the window and mirror.

LaMarschallin a food & drink festival sounds so good! Did you manage to get your anti-procrastination paperwork done?

WinterFrogs to keep going with the routines is the ultimate goal. Of course it might motivate the rest of us to keep on track if you post your ta das!

kat that was a great start to your day!

I'm sorry I dropped the ball this weekend! We went flower shopping on Saturday (MIL, SIL & BIL). Saturday night was dinner at ours with ILs.
Sunday was mother's day here. We had brunch at our house. DH took me out for dinner. I spent all afternoon planting my new flowers, then painted my nails.
It was a great day!

If you would like to play catch up (not very flylady like), but they are both timer based:
Baby Step 9: https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/9/ 5 minute room rescue
Baby Step 10: https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/10/ the power of 15 minutes

Monday is home bleugh. Quick vacuum, empty bins, change sheets etc. 10 minutes each room, spend only an hour on this, but you can spread it out across the week, if you need to.

We are in zone 3 this week, the bathroom & laundry room.

Monday's mission is to throw out the used up shampoo and conditioner bottles in the bathroom. In the laundry room, do the same thing, throw out empty containers etc. https://www.flylady.net/daily-mission/20260511-zone-3-mission-1-monday-your-main-bathroom

Baby Step 11: https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/11/
Write down inspirational quotes in you control journal.

I am a little out of routine as was away this weekend, hosting a party last weekend and another party the weekend before as well as needing to do quite a bit of extra paperwork/ life adminy stuff last month and this month.

Still have done some more decluttering of the spare room of disaster. And can see bits of floor now and the windowsill. And done a decent amount of gardening.

Today is a day off and I need to do more paperwork, some hobby time and I have a new plant arriving in the post that I will need to pot up, need to fold loads of clothes again! And a general kitchen rescue required
.

Hope everyone else is going well.

Hello all, hope your weeks fot off to a good start

@Positivepositronthat sounds like a lot of partying. Hope it all went well.

Not too shabby here today. Cleaned the floor of the downstairs toilet while I was mopping the kitchen. Sorted out a big pile of clean washing (i don't put away, i make them do it themselves). Might do the upstairs bathroom floor later.

BloomingHazel

LaMarschallin a food & drink festival sounds so good! Did you manage to get your anti-procrastination paperwork done?

The F&D festival was really good. Lots of tastings, really interesting demonstrations (including a Caesar salad I plan to try) and came home with some good things.
Did the paperwork - so relieved.
As is so often the case, it wasn't as bad as I thought but still not enjoyable.
Next must be sorting out my recipe folder (grand name for a box file stuffed with pulled out bits of paper). Hopefully that will be more fun.

Really glad you had such a good Mother's day 😊

Oooh lots of parties there Positive! Well done for making progress with decluttering.

kat I don't put clothes away either, although that means DS leaves his in his clean clothes basket (mostly folded - they get unfolded while he's digging through it 🤦‍♀️).

LaMarschallin hopefully the recipes will be a little more enjoyable and you discover a new favourite!

I worked all day today, so other than watering my new plants, I did nothing. I even took a nap on the couch, but now I'm worried I won't be able to sleep tonight!
My day off is tomorrow (Tuesday). I have a hair appt and an appt for Coco at the vet, so not sure how much I'm really going to get done.

Tuesday is plan & play day.

Tuesday's mission in the bathroom is to sort through your towels and linens. Donate what you don't need, toss (or cut up for cleaning cloths) what's too worn out to be donated.
In the laundry room, banish the dust bunnies and find all the missing socks that have fallen behind the washer & dryer.
https://www.flylady.net/daily-mission/20260512-zone-3-mission-2-tuesday-your-main-bathroom

Baby Step 12: https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/12/
Set your timer for 15 minutes for digital declutter. Sort through emails or pictures and delete what isn't needed or wanted anymore.
Don't forget your morning and evening routines. They are listed on the baby step link.