Andrea Dekker

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9 Questions To Help Declutter Your Life

While it would be fantastic if I could work individually with each one of you to help you clear the clutter from your home, the lack of hours in a day and my hatred of travel make that idea completely impossible.

One way I can tailor my advice to each one of you, however, is to share open-ended questions YOU can ask YOURSELF when YOU purge YOUR home. By asking yourself these 9 questions (and honestly answering them) you will equip yourself with the ability to purge necessary items from your home and life! 

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3 Tips to Arrive On Time (or early) With Young Children

As I was talking with friends the other day, something they mentioned sparked an in-depth conversation about the things Dave and I do to help us get out the door and to our destination on time (often early) even with our children in tow.

My 3 tips really aren’t all that revolutionary — however, they are simple tactics we can all implement into our daily lives… and they work! If you struggle to arrive on time, try my tips and see if they help! 

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A Few Of My Favorite Things {November 2018}

Just 7 “short” years ago, I was anxiously anticipating the arrival of our first baby! Now we are anxiously looking forward to Nora’s 7th birthday (on Thanksgiving day!) We’ll celebrate one of our favorite girls on my most favorite holiday of the year — I can’t wait!

Today I’m sharing a few more of my favorite things! 

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Slow Cooker Squash

If you’ve never tried squash before, NOW IS THE TIME! They are fresh, in-season, and most likely selling at rock-bottom prices at your local grocery store or farmer’s market. 

I hope today’s impossibly simple slow cooker method of cooking squash will give you the motivation you need to serve squash as a side dish for one of your meals this week! It’s SO tasty, super nutritious, and even Clara loves it!

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4 Simple Responses for BUSY Adults

Last week, I shared my 5 simple responses for BORED children. As a follow-up post, I thought it would be fun to share my 4 simple responses for BUSY adults! 

The next time you feel too BUSY or stretched just a little too thin, try one of these 4 responses to quickly quiet, calm, and de-stress your day.

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Fun Conversations Starters (for adults, kids, introverts and more!)

As self-proclaimed introverts, Dave and I are not much for small-talk. We can manage boring small-talk conversations just fine, and I certainly wouldn’t ever consider us to be “socially awkward”.

That said, with the holiday party season just around the corner, I thought it might be fun to come up with a list of Fun Conversation Starters for anyone who would rather not discuss the weather or work with every new person they encounter! I also have a great list of 20 conversation starters for kids!

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Simple Vegetable Quiche {Gluten Free}

Even though no one in our family is gluten-free or low-carb, this veggie quiche fits the bill for both. The veggies serve as somewhat of a crust, and the tomatoes on top add a fantastic pop of color!

If you’re looking for a really yummy way to incorporate lots of veggies into your breakfast, give this Vegetable Quiche a try!

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How I Save BIG On Prescriptions and Blood Work

Over the course of our married life, Dave and I have been blessed with very good health. We’ve hardly ever been sick, we usually only visit the doctor for routine checkups, and we’ve hardly had to fill any prescriptions or pay for any medically-related expenses.

This past summer, however, we had several medical expenses… and after talking with my doctor, I found a brilliant and extremely simple way to save BIG on both prescriptions and blood work!

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5 Simple Responses For Bored Children

Due to the many questions I get from readers, I’ve recently been thinking about all the ways we try to combat boredom in our house. I’ve seen some clever acronyms floating around the internet — I’ve changed mine up a bit, but still with a similar vibe.

The next time your child complains of being BORED, try using one of these responses.

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Practice Makes… It Easier!

If there’s something you wish you were better at, something you wish were easier for you, something you wish you enjoyed more, my simple tip for today is PRACTICE IT!

Today I’m sharing how simply practicing various skills over and over again has helped make so many areas of my life feel easier and less stressful. I most likely won’t ever achieve “perfect” but with a little practice, things sure feel a lot easier! 

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A Detailed Look At Our Weekly Meal Plans

Although I’ve shared many posts about meal planning over the years, it continues to be one of the most requested post topics… so I’m back again with a more detailed look at what exactly we eat and how I plan all our meals each week. I’m even including breakfast and lunches in this post! 

If you’ve never tried meal planning before (or if you’ve fallen off the meal planning bandwagon) I think today’s post will help simplify the process and (hopefully) motivate you to give it another try!

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Could Clutter Cost You Your Home?

A couple weeks ago, I took the older 3 kids to a local Fire Station open house — it was so much fun! The kids enjoyed all the goodies in their grab bags, and I learned quite a bit from reading through the packets of information handed out to parents.

One article in particular caught my attention — about reducing the risk of fire by reducing the clutter in our homes. I’m sharing more in today’s post!

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A Peek Into Our Week

We’ve enjoyed a fairly uneventful start to the school year — we’re just about 2 months in and everyone has adjusted very well!

Today I’m sharing a little peek into our week — complete with family updates, house purging updates, and a huge list of new recipes I’ve tried recently!

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My Full-House Purge (the 5-week update)

Just over 5 weeks ago, I shared my plan to complete a full-house purge BEFORE the New Year, and since then, I’ve completed 5 rooms in our house.

I’m sharing my progress in today’s post, as well as a little motivation and encouragement for those of you who are following along with my one-room-per-week plan (or for those of you who want to get started).

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Cheesy Zucchini “Rice” Casserole

I’m frequently asked for more “side dish” recipes — and today’s recipe has been a favorite side dish of ours all summer long. The kids eat it really well, which is impressive considering it’s basically all vegetables as I swap out the rice for cauliflower rice.

I guess if there’s enough cheese, kids will eat anything!

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How I Practice Self-Care Every Single Day

For a very long time, I had the underlying impression that “self-care” was a LUXURY or an EXTRAVAGANT INDULGENCE… definitely not something the average person could achieve on any sort of regular basis.

Now, many years later, my thoughts and perceptions have changed, and I practice self-care on a daily basis…. I’m sharing SO much more on this in today’s post!

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Our Favorite Clutter-Free Teacher Gifts

I don’t know if it’s simply because Dave is a teacher and I know how much time, effort, and energy they put into teaching their students every single day, but I’m much more willing to splurge on one of my children’s teachers than I am on any other non-family member.

I realize teacher gifts aren’t something every parent is so passionate about… but if you’re looking for a few clutter-free teacher gift ideas, I think today’s post will help — hopefully with plenty of time to put something nice together before the holidays! 

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Andrea Dekker
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