weekly home blessing – Diane in Denmark

New year, fresh start! 2022

January 5, 2022January 5, 2022 dianedenmark

It’s been a busy couple of weeks with Christmas and the start of the New Year but I love a fresh new start, don’t you? And “Fresh” is my word for 2022 (see my recent YouTube video at the end of this post to find out why)! So here’s a very quick round-up of how I keep our home clean, organized and hygge (cosy). And myself fresh and motivated. Every single day!

When all is said and done, for me a good day starts with…a simple Good Morning Routine! You can see mine below. I have the same routine every day of the week, all year round. The order/timing change daily, but I make sure to get all of the points done. Because it supports me, makes for less work and keeps me feeling light, bright and positive!

If you’re not sure what to put into your Routine, how to adjust your Routines whether you are working from home, are working shifts, have changed circumstances (added a new baby to the mix, are newly retired), I have lots of advice in my Flylady Refresher Course YouTube series…

My Flylady Refresher Course series on YouTube

I also find that assigning one day each week (a daily focus) for things like errand shopping and paperwork really stops the overwhelm. Have a think and see what schedule works best for you. You may want to combine grocery shopping with tidying up your car. How about doing your weekly clean on a Saturday morning with all the family helping, then enjoying some fun activity or favourite snack together afterwards? I have ideas in my Flylady Refresher Course videos which explain the Weekly Plan, how I use mine and how it can benefit you (and your family)!

And what about cleaning and decluttering your home? Monday is Weekly Home Blessing Hour in Flylady Land (a short upkeep clean of the high traffic areas of your home) but choose any day of the week that suits you and your family! Get everyone in the family to help. Kids can help from an early age and can clean their own rooms with a little supervision and a lot of encouragement. I usually spread my Weekly Upkeep Clean over the week, but you can do it all at once (a brilliant way to get in a mini workout) if you prefer. If you are having a really hectic week or your Mojo has taken a vacation then set a timer (on your phone or, better still, an old-fashioned kitchen timer) and spend just 5 minutes on each task. You’ll see a huge difference in a short time! Setting a timer gets us started but also stops us from going overboard or getting “stuck” on one task. I prefer not to use the timer on my telephone because I can often get sidetracked by checking notifications, etc. I love working along to music or listening to a podcast or audiobook on my wireless headphones. Switch on some LED candles, put some uplifting oils in your diffuser. Remember to add hygge to your daily Routines!

Weekly Upkeep Clean – set your timer and go!

I have a whole library of “clean with me” videos on YouTube – here’s one where you can join me in doing my Weekly Upkeep Clean…it took less than 25 minutes!

Need more help or someone to hold you hand? I offer private “Single Session” coaching for those wanting a more tailored in-depth approach. More details, pricing and booking information right here. I also do a Giveaway on my YouTube channel each month, where you can win a free coaching session with me. Simply leave a comment on the Giveaway video saying “yes, please” to enter! Good luck!

And here’s my recent YouTube video, explaining why I chose Fresh as my word for 2022!

Wishing you a fantastic new week and New Year! Keep putting one foot in front of the other. We are moving forward, one day and one simple routine at a time!

LLAP!

Hugs

Diane

I love Mondays! New week? A fresh start!

July 26, 2021July 26, 2021 dianedenmark

From my Instagram today: Do you like Mondays? After many hectic weeks, it’s nice to feel my energy slowly coming back… Mondays are our chance to wipe the slate clean and move FORWARD – a fresh start! But let’s be realistic and pace ourselves! Monday is Weekly Home Blessing Hour in Flylady Land…

I usually spread mine over the week, but you can do it all at once (a mini workout) if you prefer. Having a really hectic week or your Mojo has taken a vacation? Spend only 5 minutes on each task, you’ll still see a huge difference! Setting a timer gets us started but also stops us from going overboard!

And what’s your daily exercise going to be? After a long, hot but productive day, it was nice to catch up with Vibeke for a bike ride and swim after dinner this evening… It’s been humid all day and we’re waiting for the thunder and rain!

Enjoy your day and evening!

LLAP!

Hugs

Diane

New Monday, new week, new goals?

July 26, 2020July 27, 2020 dianedenmark

Happy Monday morning from (currently sunny) Copenhagen where I’m enjoying my staycation with the family! During the summer I try whenever possible to eat my breakfast down by the sea, combining it with my morning swim. My Besties couldn’t join me today, but I enjoyed a nice chat with the ladies at the bathing club – plus a chapter or two of my book – soaking up the suns rays. Bliss! (The rain will return soon enough, probably this afternoon.) My breakfast today was porridge oats with milk, cocoa nibs and fresh raspberries (my favourite fruit). Hot coffee with a wee splash of milk. Delicious!

Breakfast swim plus a few chapters…bliss!

I love the promise that Monday brings – a fresh start! We aren’t worrying about what happened last week. We are looking ahead and looking FORWARD to a new week. What are we going to achieve? What are your goals this week? Mine is very simple: to preserve the status quo!

Mondays for me usually include a spot of cleaning: my Flylady Weekly Home Blessing (a short upkeep clean of the “high traffic” areas of the house). You can find my “cheat sheet” for the tasks here in this blogpost. Sometimes I spread it over the week doing a couple of tasks per day (changing the sheets most often at the weekend) and sometimes I do it all at once. There is no rhyme or reason to it – it depends on my mood/the season/our plans.

Skoosh skoosh of windows in the living room, this week’s zone

But I’ve learned over the years to make sure to get it done, even during vacation time. Because otherwise things at home tend to start sliding…usually backwards! LOL! And, besides, I enjoy living in a cosy and clean home! I have lots of YouTube videos where I explain the Weekly Home Blessing Hour and “clean with you”. Click here for those.

I usually always mop last. Then take a break with my feet up.

Sometimes I set my timer and do 5-10 minutes on each task, most often I put on my cordless headphones and work on each task for one or two songs. But today I listened to my audiobook while I whizzed around. Then, when I had ticked off my tasks, I “rewarded” myself with picking some of our garden hydrangea/hortensia (currently in full bloom) to put on our nicely polished coffee table in the living room. All done (and dusted), woo hoo!

Hope you’re having a marvelous Monday! Enjoy what the week ahead has to offer!

Weekly Home Blessling Hour https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxIYCyTLBED9z6PKxuWBFoCbiq6jw_j-A

Weekly Home Blessing Hour – Monday 13 July 2020

July 13, 2020July 13, 2020 dianedenmark

Good morning! Diane in Denmark here with a brief check-in…it’s Monday morning and I’m going through my Flylady weekly upkeep clean: a spruce up of the high traffic areas of my house. If you’d like more help with the Flylady system, see my Flylady Refresher Course videos (I shall also post them at the bottom of this post).

Sometimes I split the WHB over the week but it’s the summer holidays here and I quite like to do it all in one go – that way, I’m free to do whatever I want for the rest of the week… I’ve got my cleaning caddy/cheat sheet at the ready (you can find it on my blog here). I wipe off what I accomplished last week and choose a task at random. First off today is dusting. Remember we are only doing the high traffic areas, this is not a deep clean!

I usually listen to music while I clean (one or two songs per task) but set a timer for 10 minutes if you have a tendency to go overboard with your cleaning. If you want me to “clean with you” during the Weekly Home Blessing, see these videos

When I’ve finished giving the living room and hall a quick dust, I like to “reward” myself by removing the old flowers and cutting some fresh blooms from the garden. Right now our hydrangeas/hortensias and sweet peas are blooming.

Change sheets. I do this fortnightly. This week it’s our turn, next week the kids will change their bedding. If you have pets or eat in bed, you’ll probably want to change your bedding weekly. Off with the Zara Home duvet cover set and on with the blue flower IKEA set.

For “mirrors/windows”, I like to do that particular task in the current Flylady zone. This week is zone 3 (the bathroom plus one other room), so I’ve done the main bathroom, the guest bathroom on the main floor, plus the hall mirror. Skoosh, skoosh!

When vacuuming, I plug in the hoover in the hall and I can easily reach the kitchen, bathroom, hall and part of the living room.

The only thing I won’t do from the list today is recycling/rubbish. That will either be done tonight after we finished eating dinner/are doing kitchen clean-up. Or it will be done on Wednesday, the day before our rubbish is collected.

Last two things for today are mopping and papers. I mop the kitchen, hall, bathroom on the ground floor (using my “skoosh skoosh” mop). Then, while it dries, I put my feet up for 5-10 minutes and go through the papers/books in my pamper and library baskets. Done, woo hoo!