It's the weekend!

But don't think it's a rest from routines!  That's how things start to fall apart!  We think days off and we forget that we need to wear clothes, eat and sleep plus get prepared for the week ahead!

Doesn't sound like fun?  Well, that's the attitude that's got to change.  That's why you fall behind, because you listen to the charmer in your head saying.... 'come on, it's the weekend, don't do housework, don't worry about next week, just go out and eat-cooking is boring!  Chill out, relax.....'

Sshhhhhhh!

Quiet THAT voice and listen to sense!

You don't have to go mad!  

Because of our habits and routines last week we are on top of the laundry,  we have food in the cupboards, the house is in reasonable shape....BUT, we need to eat, maybe have some time out as a family, pack bags for the week ahead (get that homework or presentation done!)...the everyday basics to get us through the weekend and meet next week's deadlines...plus.... do something we'd like to and have time to refresh.

Saturday in FlyLadyLand is Family Fun Day and Sunday is Renew Your Spirit Day, I actually either do mine the other way round or I combine them because spending time with my family is a way to relax!  I also find Sunday busy what with church in the morning, sometimes entertaining at lunchtime and sometimes church in the evening too. 

The non-negotiables are your MR and ER, those will keep the basics rolling along.  We need to switch those up from 'a drag' to 'a safety net'.  Something that grounds your day and provides familiarity, auto-pilot for the days when life isn't feeling so great!

The other must have is PAMPER time, sounds ridiculous, but it's time to slow down, reflect and do so thing nice for yourself.... paint your nails, a pedicure, a chapter of a book or Bible...it's a little daily recharge.

Did you refresh your cleaning caddy on Friday along with school bags, swim bags, gym bags, handbag?!  You'll thank yourself you did these on Monday when they are a fresh start for the week.  Listen to what Diane has to say about 'setting yourself up for success' as opposed to sabotaging your week!

OK, time to actually 'do'.  Have a great weekend and I'll see you back here on Monday!

Toodle-ooo

Nora

xxx

Last day in our SLEEP ZONES!!

Good morning Fabulous Friday! 👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻

I sound more fabulous than I feel, I'm fighting a cold, determined it's not going to beat me, but I'm less than 100%.  Nevertheless......

Today is the last day in this ZONE so it's our chance to do the last little bits for our 15 minute declutter and 15 minute clean, it doesn't all need completing this week, just improving.  Why?  Because we'll be back here next month to go again.  It doesn't have to be perfect, just better than when we started!  Todays bonus is to change the sheets so we have a cosy, clean bed tonight!  🛏🥳

Todays MR (Morning Routine) as always, make sure you are dressed, fed, bed made, kitchen tidy and prepped for a meal today before you start anything else.  How's that LoL ( Load of Laundry)? Can you see your sink?  Is the bathroom tidy enough for guests (swish & swipe - S&S)?

For today's Daily Focus there are 3 things.  

* Clean out and refresh all bags.  Get the stinky gym bag emptied, clothes washed and repacked ready for next week.  Same with school bags, find that lunch box!  What about your handbag?  Throw away the snotty tissues, the old receipts,  the used lipstick and refresh it for the week ahead.

* Car.  Top up with petrol if you didn't do it on Out & About Day, give it a clean out of rubbish and shake the mats, if you can do more, great!

* Date Night - could be just you and a significant other cooking a special meal together or Family Fun Night, get in some popcorn and watch a film together!

Do your best 15 minutes at a time and remember to pamper.  I decided my pamper today would be the first thing I did.  I had breakfast by candlelight.  Lovely fluffy pancakes, coconut whipping cream,  berries and a lovely filter coffee!

You could use your pamper listening to Diane for encouragement...

Whatever you decide, pop on some music, enjoy your day, take drink breaks...and don't forget to take your temperature, maybe think about how things have changed since last Friday, or last Monday when we started.  No beating ourselves with a big stick, look for the positives and rewrite your brain with good stuff!

See you soon,

Nora

xxx

Thumbs up?

Good morning!

Are we giving a thumbs up for Thurs?  Or are we not sure?!  Take your temperature and see how it compares morning and evening and also Mondays scores to today's.

Today, we're continuing to work in Zone 4 - SLEEP.  But first make sure your MR (morning routine) and Daily Focus are both done.  

A few suggestions for your routines might be getting something out of the freezer for dinner, moving on a load of laundry (LOL) from washer to drying or folding, ironing or putting away.

Daily Focus today is Out and About or Errand Day. Time to shop, visit the library, top up with petrol.....

Finally our Zone, back to the bedrooms to declutter or clean.  Choose another area to declutter like books, sweaters, shoes...what haven't you done yet? And after that use you Power Hour (WHB) list to clean your bedroom.

Don't forget to finish the day with your ER, close down the kitchen, put things away where you've been sitting and tidy the sofa or coffee table.  Get to bed early for a change instead of doom-scrolling!!

Above all, don't forget some pamper time, maybe read a chapter before bed, apply a face mask or some hand cream.  Or watch Diane....

Enjoy your day and see you tomorrow xxx

Getting fruitful!

Shall we get fruitful today? As we do what we're 'doing', let's recognise the fruit of what we're doing?  We are achieving!  Let's celebrate all those little wins as we transform our homes and ourselves. 

This is no small thing we're doing because each small habit and routine we form, each small item of clutter being removed, each small surface that shines.... well, it all adds up to something big! And that's the key!  We want to achieve, it looks overwhelming, maybe impossible.... until we break it down into smaller doable tasks that add up to one big achievement.

Don't get all 'perfectionist' over it, anything is going to be better than the current state of affairs, we'll be back in these zones again at least twice more before Christmas, so each time we'll build on last month's achievements.  Do you see?  

Use that timer to stop you going overboard, wearing yourself out and feeling defeated.

Let's start with a 'temperature ' check of yourself and your home. Are you hiding under the duvet or bouncing around wating to invite friends over?

Make sure you've done your morning routine (MR) and your DAILY FOCUS for Wednesday.  Here's what my day looks like...

Once they are done, we're going to continue to work in Zone 4 - bedrooms or SLEEP ZONES.  

We've started to declutter because you cannot organise or clean clutter, it needs to be gone! Take some bags or boxes for DONATIONS, RUBBISH, RECYCLING and if you're packing things away because they dont yet have a home, a box for that. Remember to label them so you don't get mixed up!

If you're already decluttered, thats great! 🥳 Use your Power Hour or WHB (Weekly Home Blessing) task list to clean the bedroom.

You could do both! A 15 minute declutter of your wardrobe followed by 15 minutes working on your WHB list dusting, cleaning windows and a quick vacuum. If you want some company why not work along with Diane, or if you're not sure what to do, have a drink break and watch her to guide you, here she is...and with an extra mission 

What's for dinner? I'm not sure yet but it will be rice based.

Don't forget your PAMPER habit! And if, at the end of the day, you're not feeling like you've done much, look at your '✅ in boxes', look at your bedroom and take your temperature again.  If the scores haven't improved then I suggest, you're being hard on yourself.  The scores are for today, not for the imaginary picture you have in your head, but real achievement.   OK?

We can do this!  GO US! 💪🏻😊  Keep putting one babystep in front of another 👣👣👣

Nora

xxx

DECLUTTERING DAY 2

 Good morning! 

How are you today?   Still taking the 'temperature' of yourself and your home?  Did you review last weeks scores and come to any conclusions?  Have you taken your temperature at the start and end of a day and noticed a change?

Were onto the next stage of our journey to a relaxing,  hygge Christmas.   If you don't celebrate Christmas why not join in to declutter and clean your house?  Adapt the Christmas Missions to your own celebration. 

Shall we get started today?

Make sure you've done your morning routine (MR) and your DAILY FOCUS for Tuesday.

Once they are done, we're going to work in Zone 4 - bedrooms or SLEEP ZONES.  

You might be wondering why the bedroom.   It's a great place to start because it's a private room, no disrupting the family until you've got into the swing of how to efficiently declutter and also it makes for a wonderful, calm, hyggelig sanctuary at the end of each day as we move forward to other areas.

You'll need to start by decluttering, you cannot organise or clean clutter,  it needs to be gone! Take some bags or boxes for DONATIONS, RUBBISH, RECYCLING and if you're packing things away, a box for that.  Remember to label them so you don't get mixed up!

If you're already decluttered use your Power Hour or WHB (Weekly Home Blessing) task list to clean the bedroom.

You could do both!  A 15 minute declutter followed by 15 minutes working on your WHB list dusting, cleaning windows and a quick vacuum.  Followed  by a drink break, don't forget to take breaks and drink!

If you want some company why not work along with Diane, or if you're not sure what to do, have a drink break and watch her to guide you, here .....

Don't forget your PAMPER habit!  What will you do for yourself today?  What was your hygge to yourself?

GO US!  💪🏻😊  have a lovely day,

Nora

xxx

STARTING WITH A DECLUTTER

Good morning! 

How are you today?   Ready for the next stage of our journey to a relaxing,  hygge Christmas?   Don't celebrate Christmas?  So why not join us to declutter and clean your house?  Adapt the Christmas Missions to your own celebration. 

Shall we get started?

Make sure you've done your morning routine (MR) and your DAILY FOCUS for Monday.

Once they are done, we're going to work in Zone 4 - bedrooms or SLEEP ZONES.  

You'll need to start by decluttering, you cannot organise or clean clutter,  it needs to be gone! Take some bags or boxes for DONATIONS, RUBBISH, RECYCLING and if you're packing things away because they dont yet have a home, a box for that.  Remember to label them so you don't get mixed up!

If you're already decluttered use your WHB (Weekly Home Blessing) task list to clean the bedroom.

You could do both!  A 15 minute declutter followed by 15 minutes working on your WHB list dusting, cleaning windows and a quick vacuum.  If you want some company why not work along with Diane, or if you're not sure what to do, have a drink break and watch her '5 minute motivation' to guide you, here .....

Don't forget your PAMPER habit!  How about declutter for 15 minutes,  have a drink break for 15 minutes, then clean for 15 minutes, then pamper for 15 minutes?  Get that timer habit working for you!  

Or you could do a 15 minute declutter followed by a 15 minute clean then a 15 minute drink and pamper, see which works best for you?!  We are working in this zone all week so there's no rush to do ALL the decluttering and ALL the cleaning today and ending up a tearful wreck on the floor, that's what we're avoiding!!

Don't forget to take your 'temperature' and that of your house or even just the zone you're working on, and again at the end of an hour to see how you feel. 

GO US!  💪🏻😊  We can do this....just look to your future self at Christmas 🤶. 

See you tomorrow 

xxx

MOVING FORWARD, ONE STEP AT A TIME

This week we are moving on to a month of ZONE work.  This will either be decluttering or cleaning. 

First you need to decide on the 5 zones for your home.  FlyLady zones like this...

Zone 1 - Entrance Hall, porch and dining room

Zone 2 - Kitchen 

Zone 3 - Bathroom & 1 other room

Zone 4 - Bedrooms

Zone 5 - Lounge

Because of how weeks fall we often combine zones 1 & 5 in the same week, so don't put too much in zone 1.

Not everyone has a seperate dining room.  Some of us have a kitchen diner, so why not put those together and include an office, guest loo or extra bedroom in Zone 1 instead.  Others may have a dining area in their lounge, you can put those together and pop your garage or shed into zone 1.  You choose what best suits you.  As you learn what to do, you can be flexible and change those 2 zones to your family, lifestyle and schedule,  so don't get hooked up on that for now!

First we declutter, then, as we come back to these same zones each month, we upkeep what we have done and keep decluttering.  Don't just move the piles around, give them a home.  If they don't yet have a home because it will be in a place that you have yet to declutter, then box them up (as if you're moving house) and store them for now.  Once you have decluttered and found suitable homes for everything then things can be put away properly so we can get on to cleaning and detailed cleaning!

To declutter, you'll need some boxes or bags to put you give away items and your throw away items, and if you're using the packing method, a box for that too.  You'll only be decluttering for 15mins at a time, if you have more time, then go for another 15mins, but set a timer and dont get carried away!!

To clean, you'll need your refreshed cleaning caddy and vacuum or mop.

The zones start with the start of the month:

Zone 1: Entrance, Front Porch & Dining Room starts on the 1st of the month until the next Sunday 

Zone 2: Kitchen, Pantry starts the next day on Monday until Sunday 

Zone 3: The Main Bathroom and One Extra Room starts the next day on Monday until Sunday 

Zone 4: The Master Bedroom starts the next day on Monday until Sunday 

Zone 5: The Living Room, Den, Family Room starts the next day on Monday until the last day of the month (30th for example)

You might want to pencil those on to your calender or write it on a sheet of paper where you can make additional notes.

We'll be starting Monday in Zone 4...are you ready?

GO US!!  😊💪🏻