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When I made the transition from working full-time outside of the home to working full-time from home, I struggled with self-imposed deadlines — and therefore, struggled with productivity. However, after a few years of practice, I’m getting better

In my personal experience, self-imposed deadlines are one reason I’m able to do everything I do and still have time left over for fun!

I’m over-the-moon-excited to share today’s post with you — not necessarily because it’s such an amazing project or earth-shattering before and after pictures. No, I’m excited to share this with you because it’s a project I’ve wanted to cross off my list since early November!

Hooray for one more thing FINALLY crossed off my to-do list!

One idea Dave and I have tossed around for the past year is not spending any “extra” money for an entire month. We’re hoping it will be a way to pad our savings AND reflect back on what we really need versus all those things we just want.

We decided that May would be the month we chose for our “No-Spending Challenge” — and we’d LOVE to have you join in on the frugal fun too!

You may remember my motto for 2013 is “A Year of Ultra-Simplicity”, and one of the ways Dave and I have been able to REALLY simplify our busy schedules is by implementing daily and weekly traditions — and thus saving loads of time, energy, and stress.

Sound good? Then keep reading!

One of my favorite desserts is cheesecake — however, I rarely have the necessary 4-5 packages of cream cheese in my refrigerator. So I’m always on the lookout for simple cheesecake-like recipes… and I’m excited to share one of my new favorites with you today.

Dave and I both give this simple recipe 2 thumbs up, and it’s SOOOO much easier than cheesecake!

I get lots of emails and questions asking “What exactly do you do?”, so I thought it would be fun to share more about what my work schedule looks like on a weekly and monthly basis.

If you ever wonder what I do when I’m not clipping coupons, changing diapers, making dinner, scrubbing toilets, pulling weeds, and folding laundry… keep reading!

Since it’s the time of year when we’re all trying to clean up and declutter our homes and lives, I thought I would share my thoughts about 5 choices you have when you’re short on space.

If you’re feeling short on space (and slightly overwhelmed), try one of these ideas and just get started.

A couple weeks ago, I shared a photo collage featuring just a few pages from a personalized alphabet book I made for Nora. And from that day on, I’ve received question after question asking how I created the book.

Today’s post is quite long, but if you’d like to learn how to make your own book (or if you just want to peek at Nora’s book) you’ll definitely want to keep reading!

EST — these 3 letters occur often in our English language — and no, I’m not talking about an abbreviated form of the words “estimate” or “established”.

The EST I’m referring to is found at the end of many, MANY adjectives… and it has the potential to completely sabotage simple living.

If you ever stop by our house and open up our deep freezer, it will most likely be quite full… however, you might be surprised to know that most of what’s in our freezer is NOT fully prepared meals.

Our freezer is often filled with pre-cooked and pre-portioned ingredients ready and waiting to help me whip up a quick meal in a moment’s notice — which saves me SO much time in the kitchen!

With the launch of my new blog name over the weekend, I thought it was only fitting to share this week’s “Simple Living” ebook bundle (especially since the bundle is 90% off!)

Discover the secrets to living simply from five authors who are living intentionally and inspiring others to do the same!

In case you missed it, yesterday was the BIG DAY when I launched my “new” website. So of course, I thought we should celebrate today with a fun giveaway!

Well, it just so happens that my friends over at Hoover recently launched some new products of their own… and they’ve graciously offered to give away TWO of their newest vacuums to help us celebrate!

Welcome Friends! I’m pleased as punch to be the very first to welcome you to the NEW AndreaDekker.com!

It was a long weekend, but we made it… and I can’t wait to “show you around!”

Today is my VERY LAST post as Simple Organized Living. By tomorrow morning, the new logo and URL should be in place, but there won’t be a new post as I’ll be working to tie up several loose ends that can only be done AFTER the switch takes place.

It’s going to be a busy and stressful weekend, but I certainly hope to see you ALL back here on Monday for an extra-special post, welcoming you to the new AndreaDekker.com!

As a work-from-home mom, I wear a lot of different “hats” every single day — I’m certain most of you can relate! And over the past several months, I’ve noticed that each of my different hats requires a different bag.

I know it might seem crazy for a ‘simple living’ person to have so many different bags, but each one serves a purpose and I’ve found that multiple bags is the key to successfully wearing multiple hats. Today, I’m sharing my FAVORITE bags with you!

Garage sale season is here! I’m a big fan of shopping garage sales and have found many fabulous deals over the years… and in my opinion, there are 3 variables that make or break your garage sales.

None of these things are difficult to do, but they will make a difference in your bottom line — I guarantee it!

Before I had stainless steel appliances, I was ALWAYS told how difficult they were to keep clean — and how expensive the cleaning products were. I was unsure if I’d be able to find a more frugal cleaning alternative… but I had to at least try.

After a little research, I found 4 different DIY stainless steel cleaners you most likely already have in your home!

As soon as the weather starts getting warmer, I find that my productivity starts to plummet. My solution is to make a list of quick tasks I can do in 10 minutes or less… and thus quickly get back in my productivity groove.

Today, I’m sharing 10 of my favorite ways to boost productivity — all in 10 minutes or less!

Last week I blogged about my new blog name and shared my new profile picture. I was thrilled to receive such positive feedback from everyone — but I had to laugh about how many questions and emails I got asking me to explain how I tied my scarf!

So instead of trying to take a bunch of pictures, I made a quick video to show you the simple steps.