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New On The Blog: 23 Areas to Declutter in 2023 One of my favorite things about homeownership is the thrill I get when we come up with a new/improved way to use the various spaces in our home for our family's current season of life. Our 135-year-old house definitely has weird quirks and inconveniences, but I consider it an absolute joy to tweak bedroom arrangements, move furniture around, and completely alter the purpose of whole rooms as our children grow and our family's needs change. We're currently tweaking a few things in our (semi-gross) unfinished Michigan basement... and while it's certainly not ideal, and miles away from my "dream basement", it has actually become a usable space for our family... perfect for long cold winter days! Along with functioning as our 2nd laundry area (best decision ever!), extra freezer/pantry storage, and the Dekker family salon (I cut everyone's hair down there), our basement now serves as a messy craft space and a workout area. We moved some shelving around, hung a large drop cloth, and found a giant outdoor rug on Facebook Marketplace that can easily be washed if it gets gross. We brought down a couple of folding tables for messy projects and crafts, and have plastered many of the walls with the kids' school artwork. We might eventually put a foosball table down there too. On the other side of the shelves, we put our treadmill, weight bench, and a few other exercise items. The shelves are a perfect spot to prop a laptop so we can watch a movie while we run, walk or work out! Is it an Instagram-worthy transformation... nope. But for a total cost of $25 and an afternoon of work, our family now has more than 600 extra square feet of usable space. Not too shabby! Simple Food. Add a hint of summer to your winter-time meals with delicious fruit pizza! If you can make sugar cookies and slice fruit, you can make a fruit pizza -- your kids will enjoy helping too! Try my recipe --> Easy Fruit Pizza Dessert Organized Home. As we begin another new year, I want to help you declutter your home and life... and I'm suggesting 23 specific areas as places you could start. Choose one and get started today! Learn more --> 23 Areas to Declutter in 2023 Intentional Living. "I could talk about planning ahead until I'm blue in the face — but if I had to boil it all down to one single reason why planning ahead helps me simplify, streamline, and de-stress my entire life, it would be this: Planning ahead allows me to focus on what's IMPORTANT, instead of dealing with the URGENT." Keep reading --> Don't Let the Urgent Get in the Way of the Important. In other news... We finally watched The Sound of Music for family movie night last weekend... although it took us 2 days because it's so long! It's probably one of my favorite movies/stories/musicals. I was Louisa in the musical my Junior year in high school, so I know all the songs word-for-word. The kids really enjoyed when I sang along with the movie (not!) 😳 Deal of the Month: the week before Christmas, I found the most adorable teeny-tiny cast iron dutch oven at our local thrift store for $1. I gave it to Clara as a Christmas gift since she's usually my bread-baking partner. Now she gets to make her own "roll" whenever I make bread. Looking for a good book!?! Several of you asked for book recommendations after I mentioned reading a lot in last week's email. I've been on a Lynn Austin kick this past month -- reading more than 3000 pages of her books in the last 4 weeks! She lives only about 20 minutes from me and I really love that her books, while novels, are heavily based on historical facts and events. She is also a very strong Christian. The kids' school is food-free for Valentine's Day this year. I understand why... but it truly goes against every fiber of my being to allow my kids to pass out useless junk that I know will just end up as clutter in their friend's homes. I'd love if you shared any creative, non-food, non-cluttery, yet still-fun-for-kids Valentines' ideas with me! 🥰 Have a wonderful week, and let me know which area you declutter first! Andrea |
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