September Flylady: Fledglings inspired to make a fresh start at the beginning of a brand new term!

[mixedpeel]

Whether you're starting to build a new routine, stuck in a rut, or been around for years, join us on the monthly Flylady thread! Flylady has created a series of daily and weekly prompts to help anyone who finds it tricky to get or keep their house clean and tidy. She totally gets it if you feel overwhelmed or don't even know where to start - as do we! The best thing about Flylady is that you are never behind - just jump in at whatever point you are at, and do what you can.

This is a long running thread, but as a newbie myself I can confirm everyone is very friendly and all are welcome to join in. We spur each other on, but also commiserate when life gets in the way and we don't get as much done as we might have wanted to.

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
We usually link to the daily missions (jobs to do in whichever zone we're in) every day, but the new website doesn't seem to be working for me right now. I will keep trying, but they should update every day so you can click the link yourself to check. We will post the missions in the thread too so don't worry about missing anything. Most importantly, don't worry about finishing it all this month, it'll come around again next month! Flylady is NOT about perfectionism!

Do NOT sign up for the Flylady emails - it's an excessive amount sent every day. I have taken one for the team but use a junk email address. I will check them periodically and report anything interesting / useful

Flylady also tries to help us get into habits so that eventually we do things without even having to think about them. She has 31 baby steps to gradually pick up (on the previous website, since the link isn't working on the new site yet): https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/

Daily focus: each day of the week has a different focus. It's not all jobs jobs jobs by the way.
Monday: Home Blessing (or as we call it, home bleugh)
Tuesday: plan & play
Wednesday: anti-procrastination
Thursday: errand day
Friday: clean car & purse out day. It's also date night (with your significant other, or friends, or yourself!)
Saturday: family fun day
Sunday: renew your spirit

If you can, it's worth downloading the app (link on the flylady website), you can even have it send you notifications. You can also modify the tick lists to suit your home & lifestyle. There is a paid version and a free version, though the missions haven't been updating on the free app.

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

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 probably more, feel free to ask us to explain something!

Is this zone 1 for today? Or this week? I am knackered just cleaning the front door!

Hi fellow returnees and newbies.

My home bleurgh is definitely a quick once over rather than a proper clean, and I’ve adapted it a bit. I’ve swapped changing the bedding (I just cannot do that quickly - a king size bed with two duvets and a set of bunk beds takes time!) with a 10 minute bathroom clean, and I also split it into two - upstairs on my week day off and downstairs on a Saturday morning. A Monday is definitely not a good day for it in the Up house.

Quite a productive day so far:
👍 DW rotated
👍 beds made
👍 swish & swipe
👍 kitchen sides wipes and floor swept
👍 TD repaired by the nice man and first load in
👍 front door and frame washed inside and out
👍 hallway and stairs vacuumed thoroughly, floor mopped
👍 a bit of the junk cleared off the dining table
👍 2 x uniform unpacked and named and hung up
👍 supervised DD1 making brownies and helped her clear up (she did quite well at the clean up for a change)
👍 ate said brownies

That’s my lot for today other than shining my sink later and another load or two of washing.

All you have to do today is the door! You’ve done it, so fall into a knackered heap by all means and await tomorrow’s delights! And when did you last clean the front door??? That’s a massive win if you’re anything like me. Today your house is a tiny bit cleaner than it was yesterday - result!

Anything no matter how small is better than nothing imho. And if I have a burst of energy and I’m on a roll then it’s great getting as much done as possible.

So far today
Cleaned toilet
DW
Wiped crumbs off kitchen surface

Need to do LOL later
and pack up tent and get that and other items put back into loft. Hopefully not by me.
Hoover and mop floors at some point
Washing door

Hamster is being collected later so will free up some space although will be sad to see her go.

My house is a bit chokka full of people right now so can’t really do much.

Morning 🌄 everyone 👋
Welcome @CharityShopMensGlasses and @HedgehogNotes
I've woken up with a migraine so I'm avoiding vacuuming.
While I was boiling the kettle and brewing my tea I put the recycling out, put away the last odds and sods from my clear put. It's nice to have empty drawers and space for things to go.
Scrubbed the bit of worktop that the recycling box lives on.
Out this afternoon so back on it tomorrow.

Up & Willow it's so good to see you back!

Welcome to all the newbies 👋
It really is a great time to start flylady, she's all about building routines, and it's easier to add to routines that are already established (like school).

This morning I haven't done much, spent a while going through my Google pictures to create space (I don't need that, I have the cloud everything gets backed up to). I finally figured out how to stop it from backing up my pictures, so hopefully won't get full for a while now.

Other ta das:
☕️ got dressed/minimal makeup on
☕️ rotate DW
☕️ bed stripped
☕️ sheets washed, now in the dryer
☕️ towels in the washer
☕️ tea & honey made for DS, he's home sick
☕️ meal plan for the week
☕️ pulled chicken thighs out of freezer

To dos:
📌 grocery shopping
📌 sweep front porch & car port
📌 wipe down front door at least
📌 put my autumn decorations up 🍁
📌 S&S both bathrooms

My first day on Flylady. I paid the 39.99 on the app!

Did the front door and hallway. Didn't get round to doing anything in dining room but also did do some washing and handed in my MSc dissertation.

Didn't get a shiny sink either, there are still loads of pots in it. My dishwasher is knackered.

So yes, my house is a bit cleaner than yesterday and I have a lovely candle burning in the hallway too.

xxx

@PamelaColmansMustard definitely true about comparison being the thief of joy! And I'm not sure if I would ever really want to be so organised that I was my door every day. I need to retain some slovenly ways!

@KitsyWitsy congratulations on submitting your dissertation. That must feel good!

This evening has gone well. I did the dishes and cleaned the sink. I washed the front door (cloth was absolutely filthy in a gross but satisfying way) and vacuumed the hallway.

DH said he really appreciated how nice it was having the house clean and orderly today. So I told him a bit about the flylady routine, and we talked about ways of staying on top of things. Feels like we are on the same page though he got a bit overwhelmed when I tried to explain the system. To be fair, I don't fully get it yet either - I'm just going to do my best to follow the prompts on here each day and see how I get on

@KitsyWitsy …and handed in my MSc dissertation.

whaaaat??!!! That is HUGE! Congrats, you must feel flipping marvellous having done that. I also feel sure you are the only person in the world ever to have handed in an MSc dissertation and washed their front door on the same day!

(I’d love to know your topic, but no worries if you’d rather not say)

@HedgehogNotes, glad to know DH is on the same page. Mine pulls his weight pretty well it must be said. Worth pointing out that any of the jobs Flylady prompts us to do can be undertaken by anyone in the household.

@CherryogDog I hope your migraine passes soon. Debilitating and definitely not compatible with hoovering.

@HazelNotHungryLC you got loads done despite not feeling 100%. We had a weird virus that just made us feel totally wiped out a few weeks ago, so I don’t know if it’s made it over the Atlantic? Equally it could be the end of the antibiotics and steroids as you say.

Also you are so right about getting into a ‘back to school’ routine being a good time to start building in flying routines too. Hope MiniUp settles in well, @Upsadiddles.

I’m going to post the Wednesday missions etc next, as I have a late start tomorrow so might just get a lie in if my body lets me (crap sleeper).

The second day of the month introduces the rather controversial Babystep 2: get dressed to shoes
https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/2/
Lots of us here don’t tend to wear shoes in the house, so ignore the full instruction, but the idea is to get properly dressed in the morning even if you aren’t going out. I guess it’s about helping you feel purposeful and ready for action.

Today is Wednesday, so it’s anti-procrastination day. This is a brilliant prompt to do that thing you’ve had hanging around taking up headspace. Bite the bullet and compose that sticky email or make that phone call or take those bags you’ve decluttered to the charity shop…whatever it is, just go ahead and Do It.

Zone 1: Mission #2 Wednesday
Take 10 minutes to get rid of the hotspots that gather in the hall/porch area. The junk mail, shoes, jackets etc. Throw away any rubbish and put things back where they should be.

As well as the usual crud, mystery coins and receipts I seem to have accumulated a single crutch, the hoover, a piñata in the shape of a llama and a large box with a small box inside it which was delivered 4 months ago and has now become an accidental (and totally unnecessary) table. None of us see these things any more but there is no need whatsoever for us to continue squeezing past them all every day. The piñata was bought at some point in 2025…

(Thursday and Friday’s missions are below as a sneak peak - no need to do them today)
Zone 1: Mission #3 Thursday
Dining room today. Take 15 minutes and work some more on your de-cluttering as we throw away / put away. Keep reminding yourself that you are going to change your home 15 minutes at a time - the power of 15.

Zone 1: Mission #4 Friday
There seems to have been a glitch in the system as the mission is the same as Wednesday. So if any more hotspots have appeared, put them out. Maybe focus more on the dining room as the porch/hall has had two days. People with the app might be able to see the actual mission, in which case feel free to enlighten us!

Hi all. I keep restarting the babysteps and never quite completed them. I've been slowly climbing up then and I'm up to the zones and missions which I don't generally follow. But I will chose zone 5 today and do you 15 minutes decluttering living room. DDS first day back to school today so I did my annual ironing yesterday.

@Alwaysgrowing "Annual ironing" made me snort. I only ever do ad hoc ironing. Standing in the kitchen, half-dressed ironing a single pair of trousers that I'm about to put on.

@mixedpeel yeah my DH is pretty good too. He WFH so does most of the school runs and laundry. He also picks up after himself much more than I do. Whenever the clutter piles up it tends to be mine and DD's stuff😬

I am dressed to shoes today because I am at work so that's one thing checked off.

Will psych myself up to book the dentist checkup I've been putting off

Then tonight I need to de-clutter the spare room as DD is going to be swapping bedrooms as soon as we have it decorated.

Will also do 15min decluttering the hallway. The coats should be fine. The pile of unorganised mail will not be fun.

Thank for you for congratulations re MSc. It is in AI and Data Science. Just got to prepare for the Viva now ,b ut first, today, I have Aquafit and coffee with my friend when we will be booking a little trip to Croatia for next month! Then I will try figure out what fly lady things I am doing this afternoon.

My hallway and door etc was done thoroughly yesterday so they are grand, so I guess it's moving on to the dining room. I had a new fence put in earlier in the year and my old shed taken out, so unfortunately I have a strimmer and a lawn mower in there as I don't have a new shed. Not bought one because selling the house is up in the air and I don't want to waste any money at all! So not sure what to do about that. Maybe try and cover it up someway or move it upstairs to a spare room that is already a tip.

I need to encourage my DP to do more. Difficult because it's not his house and he's visiting (American) but I feel he can do more to clean up after himself a bit.

I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed with all of DC clutter lying around that will go once they go to uni.

Until then I can only control what I can.

I have huge tent pieces that need to be folded up and magically returned into the tiny bag which is not going to happen so need to think of what alternative bag to put some bits into that won’t get forgotten in the loft.

In the meantime S&S, LOL, DW and dusting and hoovering etc

@PeonyBulb I can never pack camping gear away into the original bags either. Understand the feeling of overwhelm. When the extra clutter is gone you'll be glad you did the bits you could.

Evening check in:
🧡 Sorted coats in the hall but didn't get round to the paperwork
🧡 Didn't book dentist cos was very busy at work but did sort out DD school's meal payment and choices. The app school uses for this is really hard work and confusing. Been some glitches today so had to sort it all out again
🧡 Spent an hour decluttering the spare room. 1 bag for the bin, 1 box ready for the charity shop, some large items piled up ready for a tip run.
🧡 Implemented a new rule in the house that DD has to tidy away all of her stuff downstairs /put her rubbish in the bin before her bedtime. She's 10 so is very much old enough to manage this. DD groaned and needed several reminders but she has done it. Hoping if I can be consistent with this she'll develop tidying up after herself as a natural habit.

I'm putting the same rule in for myself too. Better late than never!

Half of front door done before a child had a minor crisis. Will aim to finish it tomorrow when they're at school.

Anti procrastination done (some financial bits).

I've got a bit out of sync (already! Its only the 2nd!) But I'm reading along which is a start . . .

How does it all work if someone wouldn't mind explaining ?

I have done s&s and lol and that's about it today. I had a full on day of meetings and now I'm exhausted. Which is my main issue with why the house got messy in the first place. I am seriously considering going part time.

I still need to clear some clutter in my dining area. I am working hard at keeping the areas I have already cleared (bedroom, bottom of stairs, kitchen and hall surfaces) clear and not letting it build up again.

@Alwaysgrowing I only started last month but only loosely follow a few of the baby steps, it is the missions and daily routines I am finding most helpful

Welcome @AnneBoleyn123 I am new so not best at explaining, but the first post normally explains how it works and I just join in with what I can

A busy but productive day here, my first child free day in forever! SmallUp and MiniUp both enjoyed their first day, thanks. Hope other little fledglings are settling back in too.

TaDas:
🙌🏻 counted to 3 and DNLMS when I took obligatory back to school photos at the front door to discover a seagull has ‘decorated’ it after my hard work yesterday
🙌🏻 s&s
🙌🏻 dusted & hoovered upstairs
🙌🏻 I’d already sorted out the hotspots in the hall recently so decided to bravely tackle the cupboard under the stairs instead. Decluttered lots of outgrown shoes and made it back out alive
🙌🏻 finished clearing dining table
🙌🏻 sorted some returns (but did not manage to post them, there will be several days of procrastination over that)
🙌🏻 anti-procrastinated and sorted out my car insurance renewal
🙌🏻 4 loads of laundry plus some ironing, and all put away <awaits gold star>
🙌🏻 got DD2 to tidy her bedroom before bed, and DD1 mopped the kitchen floor because she fancied it <faints>

AnneBoleyn the flylady website used to give a good explanation of the system but the new website seems a bit rubbish. I’m sure there are videos on YouTube that explain it properly. Basically the house is split into 5 zones which are rotated through throughout the month. You spend 15 minutes per day decluttering and/or cleaning in the zone, and there are suggested daily missions as part of that. There are also 31 daily ‘baby steps’ (such as shining your sink before bed, 2 minute ‘swish&swipe’ of the bathroom) to build up daily routines for keeping on top of everything, and a weekly basic clean or ‘home blessing’. Links kindly posted by Mixedpeel will keep us on track. The theory is that by doing a little bit each day without getting too overwhelmed you eventually get on top of the house. It does work if you stick at it.

Hope everyone has had a good day

@KitsyWitsy, your MSc is certainly cutting edge! As regards getting your DP to do more, I can totally see how initially he arrived almost as a ‘guest’, even though he isn’t a guest in the traditional sense, so neither of you would’ve been saying “right, let’s split the chores in x, y or z way’. But as time goes on and he is effectively living there, it’s only fair that it doesn’t all fall on you.

@PeonyBulb I see a gap in the market for some kind of ‘and here’s how you actually store a tent after it’s been used the first time’ system. Good luck with getting all the relevant bits up in the loft in a suitable fashion that means a vital part doesn’t wander off into a dusty corner.

@HedgehogNotes you’ve definitely got enough fresh start of term mojo for all of us! I’m really impressed with how much you’ve got done, plus instigating new routines for you and DD. Let’s see which of the two of you manages to keep it up..!

@DillyDeclutter hope minor child crisis was soon resolved and you do get enough child free time tomorrow to finish the door.

@AnneBoleyn123, welcome along! Although I started this month’s thread I’m a relative newbie. @Upsadiddles has given a great summary just above this post. Keep reading along and things will click into place a bit more.

@Frumpyunicorn I too have done loads less than I wanted to due to wall to wall meetings. I wfh on a Wednesday so always earmark break times for getting bits done, and then the day gets totally eaten up. Good to read that you’re keeping cleared areas clear.

@Upsadiddles how dare that seagull christen your newly shiny door?! The rest of your list is epic, and you can indeed have a gold star for putting away all that laundry. Though my emoji thing isn’t working so you’ll have to imagine it. At least you can imagine one as big and sparkly as you like, especially as some ironing also occurred. And hats off to both DDs. I think that’s a first for me, reading about a spontaneous mopping session!

Today’s efforts

TaDas
🧚‍♀️ Cleaned Shower walls and door
🧚‍♀️ Emptied all bins
🧚‍♀️ Washed bathroom bin
🧚‍♀️ Washed a plastic container in bathroom
🧚‍♀️ Washed bathmats
🧚‍♀️ Cleaned bath
🧚‍♀️ LOL
🧚‍♀️ S&S
🧚‍♀️ DW
🧚‍♀️ Got DD to sort some of her stuff
🧚‍♀️ Bit of dusting
🧚‍♀️ Some hoovering
🧚‍♀️ Washed everyone’s water bottles
🧚‍♀️ Cleaned and descaled espresso machine

For @AnneBoleyn123, this link has a brief intro to Flylady: https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/

Also I forgot to say in my last post that I didn’t clear any clutter from my hallway today, so still have the llama piñata and hoover and crutch etc clogging it up. Plus some pictures of grandparents’ weddings that used to be hung up there and have been waiting to be hung elsewhere for at least five years. They are leaning against the radiator. They haven’t been against the radiator the full five years, but two of them got broken while stored under the stairs so I took them out to remind me to sort them out. And then they became a fixture. Probably won’t have time to do it tomorrow as out at work all day and family commitments in the evening, but will aim for Friday.

Tada!

✅fed cats
✅outside for a few minutes daylight and fresh air (self care)
✅got packed lunch and breakfast out of fridge (made the mnight before)
✅unloaded dishwasher and cleared draining rack
✅wiped draining rack and washed a couple of things that had mysteriously appeared in the sink overnight (adult DCs - nocturnal), shined sink
✅quick exercise routine (5 mins)
✅shower etc (clothes out the night before)
✅work including an hour extra driving as DH cannot drive at the moment and has to be driven there adding half an hour each way to my commute)
✅home, unloaded lunch box etc (washed at work so just out to dry)
✅run washing to hang out in the morning hopefully
✅fetched fish and chips for dinner
✅cleared kitchen with family - they are getting on board with my new routines, hoorah
✅about 2 hours of school governor stuff
✅about to embark on bedtime routine of clothes out, swish and swipe etc, haven’t made packed lunch but I have more time in the morning as DS has a day off and is taking DH to the fracture clinic so back to my normal shorter commute.

I have not cleaned my front door.

Here is Thursday’s info. Realistically I’m going to need to post these late the night before most days, to avoid running out of time to do them in the morning. So anyone reading this on Wednesday night can just consider it a preview!

Babystep 3 is perfect timing for @AnneBoleyn123’s question, because it is to familiarise yourself a bit more with the Flylady system. This link is a nice read: https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/3/

Thursday’s focus is errand day. Ideally it doesn’t just mean running errands, but to get in the habit of getting most things you need doing this week done all in one trip. So tying in doing the weekly shop with fetching a prescription, sending that parcel or picking up the click-and-collect item. In reality it’s unlikely that everything that needs to happen can be ticked off in one round trip, but the principle of doing as many things as you can while out and about is a sound timesaver.

And for the daily mission, we are still in zone 1: front porch, entrance hall and dining room.

We move into the dining room today. Take 15 minutes and work some more on your de-cluttering as we throw away rubbish and put other stuff back where it belongs. Keep reminding yourself that you are going to change your home 15 minutes at a time - the power of 15.

(sneak peek for Friday’s mission below)
Zone 1: Mission #4 Friday
There seems to have been a glitch in the system as the mission is the same as Wednesday. So if any more hotspots have appeared, put them out. Maybe focus more on the dining room as the porch/hall has had two days. People with the app might be able to see the actual mission, in which case feel free to enlighten us!

Can I join you all please? This sounds like just what I need. I can be a perfectionist and seem to spend hours hyper focused on cleaning 1 thing just for the rest of the house to be a tip. My toddler doesn't help with that. I have shined my kitchen sink and shall be back in the morning to make some kind of plan!