A guide for asking family members to give experiences instead of gifts this holiday season and beyond. And what should you do if they still buy toys? Plus, my go-to Experience Gift Guide and an easy way to introduce experience gifts to your kids.

It’s that magical time of year when more items seem to be coming into our...

What if, when you’re 80 years old....looking back on your life...

“The good-ole days” that pop up for you are from RIGHT NOW.

TODAY.

THIS WEEK.

THESE YEARS.

What would you do differently?

How would you look at your day today differently?

How would you react to your kids differently?

To your spouse?

To yourself???

How much more...

You’re a good mom if you feed your kids grass fed, pasture raised, organic food only.

You’re a good mom if you grab chicken nuggets and fries on a sick day where all you hear is whining and coughing.

You’re a good mom if your kid only eats pasta and.....pasta.

You’re a good mom if you work 40 hours out of the home to...

I used to think I could out-clean clutter.

I tried everything.

Downloaded all the pretty printable cleaning schedules from pinterest…

Tried zone cleaning…

Heck, I even hired a cleaning service to come every other week…

But my house was still a hot mess, 90% of the time.

The mountain of laundry still dominated the hallway.

...

I walked in through the back door of our house.

My oldest was crying because we had to leave the park, because my youngest was losing her mind at the park.

She was still mostly colicky, I don’t know what I was thinking trying to actually leave the house with both girls.

I was already overwhelmed, but walking in to our house and...

All that stuff...

The piles on the kitchen counters, the dining table, your bedside table.

The cords and DVD’s and books overflowing the basket in the family room.

The gadgets that fall out every time you open that one kitchen cabinet.

The boxes of stuff in your kids closet.

All of that stuff that you bought or received with good...

I mean...right?

Prior to ruthlessly decluttering, I remember marathon cleaning sessions on the weekend. I'm talking HOURS.

I would scrub away while I fumed inside about how our house was in terrible shape.

I would rage vacuum while I thought about all of the other things I WISHED I was doing.

+taking a nap

+hiking with my kids

+day date...

I don’t need to tell you that clutter adds stress into our lives.

…that it builds up slowly, and before we know it - has taken over our homes.

But did you know that clutter literally stresses you out? Like physiologically stresses you out?

According to a 2009 UCLA study, women who perceive clutter in their home have raised levels...

I saw a meme the other day that said something along the lines of “I have a messy house because I’m busy enjoying my kids”….

Wait.

What?

My first thought was…”so with that line of thinking…if I have a tidy and uncluttered home, I must not have time to enjoy my kids?”

When that is the complete...

When I was a stay-at-home mom with my oldest, I was drowning.

Barely keeping my head above water.

Every single morning, I’d lay on the playroom floor while she played around me. Unable to motivate myself enough to get up and DO something. Then by afternoon, the reality of our house would hit and I would plop her in front of the tv and...