For as long as I can remember, I’ve set self-imposed deadlines for myself and my life — everything from school work and piano lessons as a child to blog work and home maintenance as an adult.
I do realize that self-imposed deadlines might not work perfectly for every personality type… but they sure do have a HUGELY positive impact on my own life… and today, I’m sharing a few reasons why.
Last week, our family flew to Kissimmee, FL, with my entire side of the family for spring break… and even though I felt more tired when we got home than before we left, I’d have to say that the week was a success (considering we traveled with 3 children 5 and under!)
Today I’m sharing a bunch of pictures from our trip!
For me, “homemaking” in 2017 looks quite a bit different than it did years ago… and while I probably wouldn’t ever introduce myself as “Andrea Dekker, a homemaker” I’m also not ashamed to consider “homemaking” as a large and important part of what I do every day.
After reading this post, I still don’t expect you to love it as much as I do — but maybe you won’t hate it!
Over the past few years, Dave and I have dealt with our fair share of pest issues — everything from bats and bees to moles and mice. However, THIS year, we’re taking some preventative measures that will hopefully keep the pests out all spring and summer long.
I’m also sharing how the act of “prevention” has helped me to simplify and de-stress my life!
Almost all of us have some sort of issue or problem we struggle with on a daily basis… and sometimes we just need to vent.
Inspired by a recent reader question, I decided to share 7 bad (and better) responses for when a friend (or spouse, or child, or other relative) comes to us to vent, to share a concern, or to ask for our advice.
Today I’m sharing one simple thing I’ve been doing with my kids that has helped them listen to me so much better.
Of course, they aren’t magically compelled to do everything I ask without moaning, groaning, whining, and complaining… but we are making progress, and that’s all I can ask for right now!
Since I often talk about our digital photo books and how I have chosen to organize our photos, it’s not a huge surprise that I get A LOT of questions and emails regarding photo storage and organization.
Today I’m sharing MY answer to the top question I get regarding photo organization… “I have SO many photos, where should I start?”
Do you struggle to make simple decisions or constantly worry about making a mistake or failing? Do you regularly ask for other people’s opinions instead of just trusting your own gut instinct?
If so, I hope today’s post offers a bit of encouragement and motivation to “just give it a try” (whatever IT is). After all… can it really hurt to try?
I’ve always been a huge fan of food gifts — both giving and receiving! However, over the past few years, I’ve had so many situations where the family I want to give a food gift to has food sensitivities or food allergies.
Because of this, I came up with 2 or 3 simple go-to meals I could make when people have some of the more common food sensitivities. I’m sharing the recipes today — and I’d love a few more ideas to add to my list!
If I’m honest, I’ve often felt a little guilty about the time I spend working (even though I’m working from home).
However, I recently realized that although it can be tricky to find the right “balance” and enough time for everything when both Dave and I work, with a little bit of a different perspective on things, I can see the HUGELY positive effect my job (and my income) have on our family.
Due to my blog and all the different virtual assistant jobs I’ve had over the years, I currently have a very long list of email addresses that all go to one Gmail Inbox… even still, my Inbox almost always has less than 5 emails when I “close up shop” for the night.
I keep my Inbox organized and decluttered by setting up filters to automatically file my incoming emails to the appropriate folders. If you’ve never tried filters before, I’ll show you how to quickly set them up and start de-cluttering your own Inbox today!
As many of you know, Dave and I nixed cable a while ago… and we really have no regrets.
However, the one time of year Dave really misses cable is during March Madness. The man is a basketball junkie and would probably watch every single game if he could — thankfully, he found a very frugal solution that allows him to watch as much basketball as he wants… without cable!
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