Fall is here! Let’s break out the flannel sheets + cozy blankets. Also, a book recommendation, a favorite candy, and my new favorite way to declutter!
September. How did this happen?
After almost 6 months without stepping foot on a school bus or into a classroom, our older 3 kiddos are headed to their first day of school today.
They are SO excited, but it’s bittersweet for me.
I’m thrilled they are going back, but I’m sad that they need to wear masks, that they can’t see what their teachers or classmates really look like, that they can’t do so many of the fun things they’re supposed to do in elementary school.
I could go on — but instead, let’s talk about some of my favorite things!
Outdoor Waterproof Fleece Blanket
We received this outdoor blanket as a wedding gift (way back in 2006) and we still use it regularly.
I keep our blanket in the stow ‘n’ go cavities of our minivan (where the bucket seats could be stowed if they were folded down) and I’m always amazed by how often we pull it out.
One side of the blanket is waterproof and the other side is soft and fuzzy.
It’s the perfect blanket to keep you warm in the fall, dry in the spring, and less itchy from sitting directly on the grass in the summer!
It’s also a really great Christmas gift for college kids, senior citizens, and any age in between (in case you’re shopping early this year!)
RELATED READING: How we organize our minivan.
Indescribable — a Devotional for Kids
I know I’ve shared a few of my favorite family devotionals before, but I can confidently say that Indescribable: 100 Devotions about God & Science is (hands down) the most engaging devotional we’ve read yet.
I regularly check out devotionals from the library before committing to a purchase, and after only a week of reading through this book back in March, the whole family knew we had to add it to our permanent collection.
If, like me, you’re amazed by the intricacies of creation (or if you just love science) this book will truly blow you away.
Honestly, I think Dave and I enjoy it just as much, if not more, than the kids. The lessons are super engaging, the artwork ties in beautifully, and the “fun facts” and extra tidbits are so informative — I truly learn something new every day.
Best of all, the kids are excited for me to read it each morning at breakfast… they even remind me if I forget!
BONUS! The Kindle version of this devotional is currently FREE for Amazon Prime members.
NOTE: you can get Amazon Prime for free for 30 days (even if you’ve already used a free month in the past.)
Claeys Old Fashioned Hard Candies
Our dollar store recently stocked bags of Claeys Old Fashioned Hard Candy — the kind my grandparents always had in the house — and I just couldn’t resist buying a few bags.
The kids are loving the lemon drops (or “yemon drops” as Clara says).
They bring me right back to my childhood as my grandpa gave me a lemon drop every time we visited.
I honestly don’t even think I liked lemon flavor as a kid — but you better believe I looked forward to the special lemon drops from my Grandpa.
He has since passed away but I was just at my Grandma’s house this past weekend and I spied a container of these lemon drops on top of her fridge (next to the bowl of peppermints 🥰 ).
If you have a hankering for hard candy but can’t decide what flavor to try, you might consider this variety pack with 13 different flavors.
You’re welcome!
Facebook Marketplace
Despite my love for buying and selling on Craiglist (back in the day when Craigslist was a big thing), I never participated in buying or selling on Facebook Marketplace.
My sister tried to convince me to give it a try, but I preferred to donate my unneeded items instead — I think due to my general dislike of the social media platform.
But then the world shut down in March and I had so much extra time at home, with Dave home to help… nothing in our house was safe!
I went through every drawer, every shelf, every closet, every bin, every basket, and decluttered SO MUCH STUFF.
The only problem was that no thrift stores were open to accept my donations.
RELATED READINGS:
- 10 Ways to declutter even when donation centers are closed
- 10 Excuses we make to keep our clutter
- 5 Tips to purge your “what if I need it” clutter
At first, I dedicated a section of our storage closet to donation items, but that was soon overflowing with items I wanted to move out of our house ASAP.
After I realized the donation centers wouldn’t open any time soon, I took my sister’s advice and gave Facebook Marketplace a whirl — often posting large groupings of items for $5 or $10 just to get them out of my house.
It didn’t take long to realize how quick and easy it was to snap a picture and post an item to Marketplace… I was hooked!
Over the last 5 months, I’ve sold more than $3000 — much of which were items in the $5 – $20 price range.
Yup, that’s A LOT of stuff that’s no longer in our home! Woohoo!
As I shared a couple of months ago, I intentionally haven’t been very “social” on social media over the summer — the only exception has been FB Marketplace 🤷♀️.
I have started donating more now that the thrift stores by us are open again, but Marketplace is definitely my new favorite way to declutter our home!
Flannel Sheets from Costco
I know that September really is too early to talk about flannel sheets — but our kids LOVE the flannel sheets from Costco (and they are already on shelves in our store).
If you’ve ever shopped at Costco, you know how quickly they move product… which means that by the time it’s actually cold enough for flannel sheets, they’ll be sold out.
So, if you’re in the market for really inexpensive, good-quality flannel sheets (our store only has twin size) I’d recommend them! NOTE: These sheets on Amazon look very similar (for double the price though).
RELATED READINGS:
- How we store our extra sheets
- What I buy at Costco every month
- 9 ways to shop at Costco without a membership.
And these are the glorious flannel sheets Dave and I use on our bed (yes, they’re white!)
That’s all for me this month.
View my previous months’ favorite things — and feel free to share some of YOUR favorite things in the comments below!
Elizabeth D says
I love Marketplace! I will scroll through it more than my FB news feed, especially these days getting close to the election season 🙂 My husband deleted FB from his phone and he said he missed marketplace the most–I wish they would make it’s own app, like Messenger, so it could be seperated.
Andrea says
Yes, I don’t even look at anything on facebook except Marketplace. I’ve sold so much and scored some great deals on things we actually needed!
I too was just thinking how nice it would be if it was it’s own separate app — then I could just be done with facebook feeds (but maybe that’s why they don’t do it!)
Linda Bolt says
Can you message me who is your sister? Does she go to the CRC?
Linda Bolt says
Our family also loves Claey’s candy. Claey’s is made in South Bend, Indiana, where we lived for 25 years. Glad we can still find them way out here in New York state.
Andrea says
Interesting, my sister now lives in South Bend, we should see if there is a candy store the next time we visit!
Bridget Swoger says
How do you choose the person to buy or pick your item? Do you go with first response? Or quickest pick up?
Andrea says
Hey Bridget,
I don’t think there’s one “right way” to handle this, but I always say “cash only, no holds” and the first person to pay me cash, gets my item.
I also don’t give out our address until the person has confirmed a pickup time and is ready to head my way… so no one has my address until they are ready to buy. That way, I don’t need to worry about giving multiple people my address and selling it to one person only to have another person show up 15 minutes later to buy 🙂
Sun says
Hi Andrea,
Can you give me some tips on how you word this? I use craigslist and freecycle don’t give out my address until there is a confirmed time, but people say they need the address so they can tell me when they can come. I still don’t give it out, but I made the mistake of giving out my street, and someone said they drove up and down my street looking! I don’t give out my #; I do all communication via email; so we usually agree to a time and I go ahead and give my address once that’s done. It is only a problem when I turn down others and that first person doesn’t show up. So I like your method for waiting until they are on the way to give out the address. I would love to know how you word this gracefully. Thank you!
Andrea says
Hi Sue,
My stance on this is a little bit like a business — it’s my house, my stuff, and my sales. So I call the shots. If someone won’t buy because I won’t give them the address upfront, that’s their choice. I’ll just sell to the next person on the list who WILL wait for my address. I don’t NEED to sell to the first person. I’m not rude, but I also don’t worry about “playing fair” because it’s a business. The first person to put cash in my hand gets the item… period.
With FB marketplace, you don’t need to give out your phone number OR email address — it’s all done through the messaging component of FB (which I really like). Also, in our area, the people on Craigslist are definitely starting to feel a bit more “sketchy” to me — which is another reason I’ve switched to FB instead of Craigslist.
That said, here’s what I say (almost word for word).
PERSON: is this still available?
ME: Yes, message me when you’re ready to pick up the item and I’ll give you our address (we live close to the _________ and _________ intersection)
Also, I’m very clear in every one of my ads that I will NOT hold an item until I have payment. I have many people send money via PayPal or Venmo, and then I’ll hold it for them… but that’s the only exception.
That way, if someone else contacts me before the first person gets back to me, I don’t feel guilty selling to someone else because I haven’t given out my address or confirmed anything yet.
Hope this helps.
Candace Herrod says
Can’t wait to try that devotional with my kiddos! Thanks for the great suggestions!
Andrea says
you’re welcome 🙂
Chris says
My husband bought a similar blanket. It is nice for vacations, such as taking to the beach. He even uses it to sleep in our yard sometimes. (We live at a private location – otherwise it would look kind of awkward lol – someone might think he was sick lol )
I didn’t know the library had devotional books. What a neat idea!
My great-grandma used to give us soft pink round wintergreen candies when we visited.
Speaking of the sheets already being in the stores, I passed a yard yesterday (August 31) that was already decorated for Halloween. Two months ahead of time. They must really love Halloween!
Andrea says
I haven’t seen any Halloween decorations yet, but I know a handful of people who put up Christmas decorations on Halloween (which seems a little early for me!)
Ann says
I highly recommend Louie Giglio’s videos on YouTube! They are truly awe-inspiring!
Search YouTube for: “How Great is our God” & “Laminin”. You will love them! ( & there are more, too!)
Andrea says
oh fun — we should look him up. Ths for the suggestion!
Brooke says
Buy Nothing is also a great group on Facebook for getting rid of things, esp weird things you couldn’t donate like half used shampoo bottles. I’ve given up trying to sell in my area. I sold all the time in a town just 30 minutes away, but no dice in our current home. Good for you for being able to make some money while decluttering.
Andrea says
good idea — I’ve honestly never even considered donating half-empty shampoo bottles! I guess someone’s trash really is someone else’s treasure!
Chris says
The resale shop I sell (and buy) clothes at, has half-burned candles. I have received candles before as gifts that are so strong, they give me headaches. I guess that would be one way to get rid of them. lol
Andrea says
haha — yes, that’s one way to get rid of candles if you don’t like the scent!
Ashley says
Hey Andrea! Indescribable sounds fantastic! How do Clara and Simon do with it (since they’re close to my own children’s ages)? I’m wondering if this is something that would be good to start now or to save for later ☺️
Andrea says
Hey Ashley,
The older 3 (ages 8, 6, 5) all LOVE this devotional. Clara (almost 3) definitely pays attention but I’m sure she does not actually grasp many of the concepts.
Both of this author’s devotionals state that they are written for (roughly) ages 6-10… so maybe wait a year or two if you want.
If you want a really nice “Bible story Book” (it’s more stories than quick devotionals) for younger kids, I’d highly recommend the Jesus Storybook Bible. We really liked that one too and read through it many times before moving on. In fact, I still read it to Clara fairly regularly.
Leslie says
Thanks for your recommendation for the Devotional. My science loving little man will adore it.
Andrea says
yes, he definitely will!
Lauren says
Andrea — A while back you asked for towel recommendations. Costco came up a lot in the comments and the sheets reminded me of this question. Did you ever find a brand you like? After 10 years of marriage, I’m ready to switch out mine. Thanks!
Andrea says
I actually JUST (like last week) bought a few bath towels from Costco — they were on sale for $7.99 and so far, we have really liked them. I have no idea how well they will hold up in the wash, but so far, so good!
shannon says
We were at a bed and breakfast that had the fluffiest, fanciest feeling towels which I assumed would be way out of our price range. Nope, they were the Charisma towels from Costco! I was really impressed with the quality and will be buying a set next time we need new towels.
Andrea says
wow — that’s awesome. We’ve had our towels for almost 2 weeks now and they are amazing!
Natalia Gramada says
I love checking out your favorites! Thank you for sharing! My Amazon cart has 2 new items this morning 🙂 And I like how you redecorated the surfaces in your bedroom. That pot of mini roses is adorable!
Hooray for “back-to-school”! Our public schools don’t open in person until at least the end of October, so I enrolled my little one in church school. She starts kindergarten next week and I couldn’t be happier! Well, both of us are happy, actually 🙂
Andrea says
oh my — the end of October — that’s a long “summer” for you guys!
happy shopping 🙂
Dawn Kaestner says
I’m jealous your kids are even going to school! My son’s senior year will be all online school for the foreseeable future (Washington state). So sad!
Andrea says
yeah, we’re thrilled to be going back (even though many of the restrictions are putting a big damper on all the fun things about elementary school.
Such sad news for your son’s senior year 🙁
MeLeah says
I haven’t seen the devotional (Thank you first sharing!!), but I do have the matching tear off notes for my girls lunches! They love reading about God’s creation; we love them in our home!!
Andrea says
oh cool — I’ll need to look for those note cards. They sound fun!
If you like the notes you should consider buying (or borrowing from the library) the full devotional. It’s SO good!
JoAnn C. says
My grandparents always had a bowl of lemon drops on the buffet and always gave us a bag to take home. I still love them.
Andrea says
ahhh — such fun memories!
Ann says
We just finished that devotional book! After reading the last one, my boy asked if we could just start over and do it again. I opted to try another one but I have tried 2 others and am so disappointed I may just take him up on his offer! I was amazed at how often the science fact related directly to emotional issues we were having at home!
Andrea says
Hi Ann,
Yes, we already plan to go back through and re-read it again.
HOWEVER, you’ll be excited to know that the author has ANOTHG book with “100 MORE devotionals about God and Science” You should totally buy that one too! And then let me know if you like it just as much. We’ll probably buy it in another few months too!
Ann says
His birthday and Christmas are less than a week apart. I believe he will get this new one as a gift for one of those. Thanks for the tip!
Tara says
Yes we have both of These devotionals and they are equally loved at our house. I’ve given them as gifts to quite a few families now.