Simple 31 Day Decluttering Challenge

I know I'm not the only one who feels the need to declutter her home, particularly as we begin a fresh new year and make new resolutions! I have been thinking about doing a 31 day declutter challenge for a long time and this month, I'm finally doing it! 

Here are my Step-by-Step Instructions for a 31 Day Decluttering Journey:

1.  Make a declaration to the internet of your intentions, to keep you accountable (check)
2.  Commit to share daily before & after photos on social media (I'm doing this on my Instagram stories every day of January & I'd LOVE for you to follow along!)
3.  Invite friends to join in- Won't you join me?? I would be thrilled to know I'm not alone in this! If you want to participate, just share your before & after photos on Instagram (in your stories, or in a post) and tag me (@raisingmemories) so I can see them!  

If enough of you join in, it could be fun to share some of your before & afters in my stories, so we can all be inspired by each other!

I'm not going to lay out a list of areas to tackle.  This is for two reasons: First, I have no concrete plan for myself and if I waited until I had a list, it would probably take me months to start- so I'm just jumping in. Second, we all have different homes with different problem areas, so my goal is simply this:

Choose One Small Area of your home to tackle each day. 

Commit to 15 minutes of Decluttering each day.

You can certainly spend more than 15 minutes if you're really getting into it, but only commit to 15 minutes. This means your daily area must be manageable and you give yourself permission to stop after 15 minutes. (I'm hoping this will help to avoid feelings of overwhelm and/or the desire to give up!)

Well, that's it.  I'm jumping into this challenge and I hope some of you will follow along and let me know you're following along- keep me accountable! ;)  If you're joining in, I'd love to cheer you on too, so please tag me on instagram @raisingmemories. I'll see you over there!

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Mommy Daughter Spa Date at Glama Gals Tween Spa!

Katrina has been talking about wanting to go to a spa with me someday. She's mentioned it quite a few times over the last year, so when her birthday got closer, I started thinking about Glama Gals Tween Spa. I knew they had a special package that could be used for mothers and daughters (the VIP & Me package) and it seemed like the perfect place for her first spa experience!

I surprised her on her birthday with a card that told her we'd be going to Glama Gal Tween Spa together! This is a photo I took just after she finished reading her card. She's in the middle of saying thank you and I think you can see how happy she was! ;)

Raise the Fun by Adding Challenges to Classic Games

We've been having a lot of fun with games at our house lately! We've been playing with a couple of Hasbro's newer games (that I had in my Families Gift Guide here on the blog and that you may have seen us playing over in my Instagram stories), but we've also been putting new twists on some of the old classics! Hasbro is encouraging everyone to find new ways to enjoy their classic games by making them fun to play and to watch and we've been giving them a try. Keep reading to get some fun ideas to put a twist on some of your favourite games!

Family Photos & Giveaway!

I cannot tell you how much it means to this photography-loving Mom to have nice photos of our family! Several years we've managed to get a family photo by setting up a tripod and using a self timer, but I really treasure the times when we have the pleasure of being photographed by a professional! I already shared the photos of Ken & I in our anniversary post and today I'll share the family shots! 

We got together with Ariana Del Mundo who took these photos (and happens to be giving away gift certificates for her photography on her Instagram this month, so stick around to the end of this post for details!)

That first photo is my favourite of the "everyone looking at the camera" style. Next up is this shot of everyone loving on me! I felt kind of silly in the moment, having everyone "attack me with love" but I truly love the way this photo turned out with genuine smiles all around!

Gingerbread Cookie Recipe Printable with Tags & Gingerbread House Box

I have another beautiful printable for you today as part of the #LightTheWorld Service Initiative (encouraging people to find 25 ways to serve in 25 days).  This free downloadable kit was created by Maria from www.designedbymaria.com. The kit comes with everything you need for a fun Gingerbread-themed family activity at Christmas time!

You can use the Activity Outline (included in the kit) for a family-friendly discussion and service activity. It doesn't take a lot of time, just pick one evening in the month of December to spend time together serving.

This Kit Includes:

- Activity Outline

- Printable Recipe

- Holiday Tags

- Gingerbread House Box

- Gingerbread Man Garland (blank)

- Gingerbread Man Garland (decorated)

The outline encourages you to discuss how Jesus served his loved ones. Each family member can share ideas of how they can serve. As they share, they can choose a gingerbread person to represent them or create their own. You can make a cute gingerbread garland by attaching the gingerbread people's hands together.

December 2017 Sharing Time

Welcome to the December Link Party!

Current Giveaways:

Win $450 in Paypal Cash in the #BlizzardBucks Giveaway, open until December 4th!