As an American, “we were born into a problem -- constant over-consumption of an abundance of resources.” (McDaniel, Robin). Yet according to the National Association of Professional Organizers, “80% of what we keep we never use.” (Source: NAPO) Simply put, we have Too Much Stuff. So, why not declutter?

First, let us talk about clutter. Dictionary.com defines clutter as "a disorderly heap or assemblage". Merriam-Webster puts clutter as "a crowded or confused mass or collection" or "things that clutter a place".  While I will agree these definitions are true, clutter cannot be defined as just that. Clutter is anything taking up space that does not serve it's purpose. You can have the cleanest and tidiest home, yet still have a cluttered home. Decluttering -- removing clutter -- is not a one-time experience, but a life-time habit. Designer Jane Hamilton of JAC Interiors says, "The biggest issue is people don't edit." Just as a book has chapters, our lives have chapters. We cannot simply just edit one chapter and leave the rest. A new chapter can bring a change in priorities; therefore, we must edit and make change in our homes and schedules to suit our new chapter. "To every thing there is a season...a time to keep, and a time to cast away." (Ecclesiastes 3:1;6) Just as changes occur in the world's seasons, changes happen in our seasons of life. Even as a professional organizer, I must step back from time to time to re-evaluate and reflect if it is time to keep or time to cast away. When an item no longer serves it's purpose for my current chapter/season's priorities, it is simply just clutter taking up space. With all of this, I believe it is fair to say that decluttering is for everyone.

Decluttering is less about stuff and so much more about YOU. A well-established professional organizer and writer, Peter Walsh says rather than asking yourself what you "want for a space," you should ask what you "want from the space. What is the vision for that space? And then you start asking yourself, “Will this object move us closer to or farther from the vision we have for this space?” These questions will help you determine what you consider your life's priorities. Though decluttering is the act of removing items, you should be focusing more so on what should stay in your home. Belongings should serve you, not the other way around. Focusing on your life's priorities allows you to see the belongings that are not serving their purpose for you and just taking up your space.

When should you declutter? How about now?! There is no magic number of years when one should declutter. But, you will have a inkling when it is time for you. Some moments when I would suggest it may be time includes: if you constantly feel overwhelmed and stressed while at home, a big life change (eg. new job, marriage, new baby, new home), or when you notice your life's priorities have changed. Now, you may be thinking, this all makes sense, but it is simply too overwhelming to jump in and start the process. ​
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​Marie Kondo, a Japanese organizing consultant and author shares in one of her books the reasons behind why we allow clutter. ”There are only two reasons we can't let go of something: an attachment to the past or a fear for the future.” (The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up) How true that really is! We fear letting go of something from our past because of sentimental attachment and memories. Otherwise, we fear letting go of something because of the 2 word question we come to ask, “What if?” In reality, letting go of things will not end in tragedy. Memories cannot disappear once items are gone. And, most things can be replaced. Maybe not an exact twin of the item, but about anything can be easily be found, if it is truly needed. I would say that pictures would be the about the only item that could be difficult to substitute; however, with technology today even pictures can easily be found once whether you choose to post them on social media or save them with an online cloud storage or website. A good chances are if the pictures were taken at a family/friend event, someone else captured the moment too. 

There is nothing inherently wrong with keeping things from the past or for the future; however, I recommend applying the 2P approach when going through all belongings in your home.  If you were to want one question to assist you in decluttering, I would suggest it to be, Do your belongings actually serve a purpose that helps you to live out your life's priorities? There are couple key things to consider when deciding whether to keep or discard something you consider that you may be holding onto because of an attachment to your past or a fear for the future.
 
PULL OUT THE BELONGINGS FROM THE PAST:
Does it bring you joy NOW? Has the belonging hid away deep in the closet/under your bed or is it in reach to enjoy? If you consider it a priority to be able to look back and enjoy/share past good memories, I would recommend limiting to 2 average sized boxes for mementos. And, if these belongings have been hidden, I would say it is safe to say, you have made your home their residence because of an attachment to the past rather than for them to serve you with enjoyment.
 
PULL OUT THE BELONGINGS FOR THE FUTURE:
Is it something you are holding onto it because you MAY use it later down the road? But, are those MAY days this year? If so, set a plan during this year when/how you're going to use it. If you cannot, do not, or your set plan falls thru, then you can let go of the item AND you can let go of any fear for the future. In doing so, you not only let go but you let in the possibility for the item to serve its true purpose in another person's life. For example, I held onto 2 large storage containers of children's books from my past classroom library. First, I held onto them for my future classroom. Eventually, I realized my future does not include a classroom. Yet, as I searched through my parent's basement going through my belongings I had left there, I came to realize I had kept them regardless of my once future need. Then, I thought about how I want children one day. I considered keeping them for my one day future children. Though my future certainly is considered as one of my life's priorities, I realized having THAT many children's books stored up in my parents' basement does not benefit my future because I can easily buy books for my children when needed, my children may not even like those books, and the books were not allowed to serve their purpose in the moment -- to be read and enjoyed -- because I was just holding onto them. One of my priorities when I do become a parent is to share select things that were special to me as a child; therefore, when going through the children's books, I decided to keep a handful of them while I donated the rest to a local after school program. I let go of the fear of maybe needing ALL of those books and felt a wave of peace and happiness knowing those books can now be loved. Also, with future purchases, consider making sure the item has a definite purpose that EITHER serves your current life priorities or if it is for "one day" make sure you have a set plan how/when it will be used. For instance, I did purchase an Easter basket a couple years ago that I found for my "one day" daughter I will be adopting. Though I do not have an exact when, I do know that the process can start once this business is full-time or after a few years of being married. Until then, I am using it to store those select few books I mentioned keeping.

Still, before you consider decluttering, you may prefer to know the pros and cons before you start. Letting go of the things that no longer serve your life has a variety of pros including: 

• you take back your space,
• you save money,
• you free up time,
• you can organize easily, 
• you gain joy,
• you gain peace and calmness -- in and out of your home--,  
• you are releasing unneeded physical and emotional stress,
• you are freed from distraction, 
• your drive and focus improves -- you become more productive --,
• you get better sleep,
• you have less to clean and less to maintain,
• you learn how to be mindful in future purchasing -- you are better at analyzing whether the item truly is something you should purchase --, 
• you begin focusing so much more on people and experiences rather than things,
• you improve your environment, and
• you find the motivation to declutter unhealthy habits.
• YOUR LIFE IS IMPROVED. YOUR LIFE IS TRANSFORMED. YOUR LIFE BECOMES BALANCED.

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Now, you may have noticed I have not mentioned the cons of decluttering. Maybe the fear of letting go is still echoing through your mind and stinging your heart. That fear may have you focusing on what you would be “losing,” but in reality you would be gaining so much more. Just carelessly tossing away things will provide a list of cons; however, if you truly define your life's priorities first and then assess whether your belongings help you to live out your life's priorities, you should not find any cons or negatives from decluttering in this way. Once you remove the clutter, you are not just letting go of things, but you are letting in the belongings you truly cherish and you can actually live out what you consider as your life's priorities.

So, are you ready to jump in to start your decluttering journey and live out your life's priorities?
Are you ready to bring your dream into reality and live life to the fullest? Got a question about decluttering? Just ask below! 

1. Model Organization - In general, organizing is a learned skill. Just like much in life, children learn how to be organized from their adults. You choosing to model organization works to motivate your child to be organized too. Setting an example demonstrates to your child the significance of organization by revealing how it positively affects life. As a child, a good majority of his life is revolved around education. So organization is significant for your child to learn especially from you. Not only does modeling organization benefit your child's success in the here and now, but it will overflow into his adulthood because it will become a habit. The most effective way you can personally model organization and allow your child to see it's positive affects is regarding your role as parent. One way to model organization is by setting aside a regular time frame to provide assistance with his homework and answer any question your child may have come across throughout their day at school. Another important way is to organize a regular routine in contacting your child’s teacher because successfully teaching a child is a team effort. Both examples show your child the value in organization and how you value him and his education. ​

2. Set Routines - Just as there are set routines in the classroom, it is key for your child to have routines prior to school and after school. 
*Morning Routine -- When it comes to the time to get up, make sure to allow time where your child does not feel rushed. If he takes 20 minutes to get ready, make a point to wake him or set the alarm for him to wake up with 25 minutes to get ready. Have your child get dressed first. ALWAYS organize time into your daily morning routine for a well-balanced breakfast. If your child struggles with the mornings, I encourage having your child and you create a morning routine chart. Having your child be a part of the process gives your child ownership and responsibility. 
(Next school year, make a point to slowly get your child prepared for waking up early BEFORE the school year starts. For example, if your child must wake up at 6:30am in the school year but he is waking up at 7am in the summer, I would suggest a week before school starts to begin waking your him up early. Wake him up 5 minutes earlier than the day before till you reach 6:30am.)
*Afternoon Routine -- As soon as your child gets home, regardless of when your child plans on doing homework, have him get his homework out and ready. If your child prefers a snack, I would encourage you to let him have a snack BEFORE homework rather than during homework. This will provide less distraction while your child is working. If your child has chores, make sure first that they do not interfere with your child's homework time. Some days may be more busier with homework and studying, so I would suggest when deciding chores for your child to make it more of a point of him aiming to complete those chores within the week rather than particular days. 
*Evening Routine -- Make time for your child to set aside the next day’s clothing. Even better and if possible, go ahead and prepare clothing for the week ahead on Sunday evening. I recommend planning ahead what's for breakfast too. Planning ahead always takes the pressure off allowing time not to be wasted. Also, when creating an evening routine it is key to organize evening activities according to what will give your child the appropriate amount of sleep time. Last, make sure backpacks are packed (and in it's home) and lunches are prepared. 
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Food. It truly is as James Beard states: it "is our common ground, a universal experience." We all need it. We all want it. And, it is common for our time with others to be centered around it. However, 40% of it goes uneaten in America. (Natural Resources Defense Council) We actually lead the WORLD in food waste. (The Atlantic) And not only that, but according to Feeding America, "42 million Americans struggle with hunger." 

These statistics sadden me. There are many people -- even in our backyards -- that are hungry. Yet, so many of us are finding ourselves occasionally or even regularly tossing out uneaten food. I am not a regular, but I certainly do find myself at times throwing away food. Let us join together and put this wastefulness to an end! Not just to simply stop being careless about food, but also to stop being careless about our time, our money, and even more importantly so we can help others. Now, you may be asking, "How?" Two words: Be intentional. That's it. We need to be present and deliberate in following the 3 steps below. 

Be intentional. The first and main significant step is to meal plan. If you google the definition of plan you will find that a plan is "an intention or decision about what one is going to do". If you meal plan then you are intentionally preparing those meals therefore intend to use the food you purchased. Now, there are some food items you may find that you don't use all of the item in preparing a meal, which is okay. Those extras, such as sugar and seasonings can be set aside in a specific location. When it is time yet again to meal plan, you can revisit those specific places to see what extras you have that can be used in your next planned meals. I would recommend having a special basket set aside for those extras to help you limit those type of items and to help you continue to use the rest of those extras before buying others. If you're not careful and you continue to allow yourself to purchase more extras on the next grocery shopping trip, you'll soon have a overflowing pantry or fridge. As for the actual process of meal planning, I prefer to do it on a weekly basis; however, there is no magic schedule. I would suggest determining a schedule that best works for you and your family. 

Be intentional. Not just in meal planning, but be intentional in the actual creation of a list. It can be a paper or digital list, but it is necessary to make a grocery list. I highly recommend shopping at Kroger, not just for the good prices and coupons, but also because of their "list" option in their app. I have used it for countless shopping trips thus far and especially in our new Kroger building. It has been extremely helpful to keep me from getting lost in our new big store (not wasting time), but it's list has prevented me from the potential of purchasing impulse items.

Okay, so I don't know if you caught the "C" word I just briefly mentioned above or not. Coupons! They truly are great things. I especially enjoy the digital ones. I mean, why wouldn't someone enjoy saving money and NOT even having to clip and hold onto coupons? But, coupons can be dangerous. Sure, you can plan meals based on coupons. I have. However, first I know I like the actual food or I already was interested in trying it out sometime prior to getting the coupon. Secondly, I would suggest making sure if you choose that item to make sure it's included in your meal plan, not just a random item.

Be intentional. The final step is organizing your actual food. More obvious, managing organization in your pantry, cabinets, and fridge will allow you to prepare a meal with ease,  but you will also find yourself not wasting food therefore not wasting money too. Whether you use a pantry and/or cabinets, I recommend having baskets set aside to organize in one of two ways: (1) a basket per type of food item or (2) a basket per meal. As a one person household, I prefer a basket per type of food item. For example, when I look in my pantry at this exact moment, I will find one basket for grains: 2 different types of rice as well as pasta. If you are someone who prefers to buy items in large quantity, say maybe you're a Sam's Club or Costco member or maybe you're just someone who prefers to take advantage of a good sale on an item you or your family loves, I first would say that most sales will be on a cycle. It's best to check the weekly sales to catch how soon the next sale will be for that item, so you have a good idea on how much you realistically should purchase in one shopping trip. If you still decide to purchase a certain number of the sale items, I would suggest to have a designated place in the pantry or refrigerator to place that particular item and clearly label when they will expire. This way, if the expiration date is approaching, you can decide whether to use the item or donate the extras to a local food bank. If you have more than 2 of the food items and it's 2 weeks till they are to expire, I would make a point to decide what meals they are to be used for and if by then you don't decide when to use at home, go ahead and donate the food. As for refrigerated items, if you use the bottom drawers for fruits and vegetables, clearly label what is in there and the date purchased/expiration date, so as to not forget since those drawers tend to be hidden and forgotten. Also, a helpful tip with other "hidden" food items is to make sure the food as well as their expiration date are clearly visible, especially if it is an item you don't use often. For example, eggs are a "hidden" food item. As a one person household who does not particularly like eggs, I always first just buy the half dozen, but even then I had a bad habit of finding myself throwing away eggs. What helped me was purchasing a cheap but cute looking basket to allow my fridge to not only look pretty, but allows me to easily see what I still have available to use. You may ask, "How do you know when the eggs will expire since you do not keep the carton?" I have a chalkboard on the wall directly on the other side wall to jot down important things and the expiration date is just one of those things! I do this for other "food" items, such as milk, shredded cheese, and butter. When organizing your food, it's also important to not forget your left overs. Once you finish a meal, if you have left overs, make sure to LABEL them with what it is and with the date it was prepared. If you and your family are people who don't like eating the same meal back to back, I suggest beginning to set aside your leftovers in the proper ziplock bags and labeled and placed in the freezer. With information at the tip of our fingers, you can easily and quickly search how long your leftovers will remain good to eat at a later date. 

If you want to be REALLY organized when it comes to your food, you can go as far as including meal prepping. Determine a day of the week or a day of the month to meal plan, create a grocery list for your meal planning, and then meal prep as the way you choose to organize your actual food. I'll be honest. I haven't reached this step just yet. Mainly because being a one person household who doesn't mind eating leftovers, it's not real important to me. Following the 3 steps mentioned above including organizing by types of food in my pantry, I don't find myself wasting food nor do I find myself wasting time. However, for families with busy people I can certainly see the benefit and I certainly plan on implementing meal planning into my 3rd step when I have a family.

If you follow these 3 steps, you should find yourself not wasting food, time, or money, which all around can allow us to help others. So. Are you ready to be intentional in following these 3 steps so we can come side by side to wipe out these statistics and help others? We can take a portion of that saved time and/or money and find a way to give back to others. We can volunteer at a local food bank. We can prepare blessing bags or purchase gift cards to give to those we see with hungry signs. And, for those who do buy in bulk, if you still find yourself with more than enough food to prepare, might I suggest you still deciding to cook the meal but invite those family members or friends you haven't seen in awhile or ask a local church if they have a family in need who could use the food. 

Let us know how these 3 steps help you and please share with us any tips and suggestions you have in regards to meal planning, creating a grocery list, organizing your actual food, and how you'd like to help others by giving your time and/or money. 

The mail, it is something that never stops flowing into the household. "The average American receives 49,060 pieces of mail in their lifetime. 1/3 of it is junk mail." (NAPO) That is approximately 16,353 pieces of junk that can quickly enter and take over YOUR space. Though an envelope can appear small, if not handled appropriately, a heaping pile can quickly develop. Below you can find and follow a few simple suggestions on how to manage your mail.

First and foremost. our GREATEST recommendation we make for anyone regarding mail is to look at EACH envelope as soon as comes into YOUR home. Sort the mail into TWO sections: Junk and Important. Place the junk it its' correct home, your trash can. There is no sense in your having to organize useless things that serve absolute no good purpose in your life.

Now that you are left with only mail that serves a good purpose in your life, you are prepared to organize. In that moment, it is key that if you have any bills in your collection of mail to handle those first. If you pay bills online and you have the money ready, simply make the payment and file into a section for (paid) bills. If you do not pay bills online or you do not have the money just yet, file the bills into a section for (current) bills and make note for a reminder on when to pay. While cell phones have become prominent these days, we highly suggest setting specific alarms on when to pay each bill. If you are more of a pencil-paper person, you can use a magnetic fridge calendar or jot down the bills and due dates on a desk calendar or yearly planner. 

Although we do highly recommend everyone to go thru their mail in that moment, the rest of your important mail can be set aside for a later date. It is best to have an assigned and labeled place for this  "Go Thru" mail pile so as to not forget about it. If you choose this method, it is crucial to schedule a designated day and time EACH week as mail time. Just like a doctor appointment, pencil in mail time into your schedule if you have to.

As for the rest of the mail that you deem as important, whenever you choose to sort thru HAVE A PLAN. Every household should use either a filing cabinet or a file box for important documents such as work-related, taxes, medical documents, vehicle titles, insurances, marriage licenses, adoption papers, and any other important paper documents. If you own a business, have a separate spot set aside to file mail regarding your business. Personally, I prefer to keep all business-related mail in a 3 ring binder that I place in my filing crate. The importance of specific mail can vary depending on the person. For sentimental mail such as greeting cards and letters, once you open them, you can decide to toss or keep. If you decide to keep, you can purchase a 3 ring binder as well as plastic slip covers to organize what you regard as special enough to hold onto. For coupons, cut only the coupons you know you will use and file them in a designated spot. If you are a big couponer, you can get a zipper binder and baseball card slip covers, as well as sticky tabs. This provides easy access for you when you plan and shop. For a smaller selection of coupons, you can get a small expanding file to keep aside in your vehicle. 

As for my personal system to manage mail at home, I have my main filing crate, a hanging filing basket for daily use, and Monday (during lunch) as my "Go Thru" mail day. As you can see my hanging file basket has FOUR specific folders: File, Respond, Pay, and Bring Balance by Organizing. Each day I check my mail. Usually before I enter my home, otherwise as soon as I enter my home, I take the junk mail to it's home in the trash. From there, I place the mail into one of the 4 categories in the hanging file basket. Once Monday rolls around, I take action to file what needs filed, respond to what needs to be responded, pay what needs to be paid (if the money is available), and I handle any paperwork my business gets.

Let us know what you think of our mail management suggestions. Feel free to share any of your personal ideas. And, as always, if you have any questions, shoot them this way!

In today’s world, it is easy to find ourselves swept away with the busyness of work, home, and social life. With this, many will seek to hire others when they come to find something needed to get done. Your car needs it's oil changed, you visit your local auto care center. Your home's wall needs painted, you hire a local painter. In recent years, many people have even tried meal delivery companies to send them prepared food to cook rather than going to their local grocery store. One type of business that has been booming over the years is professional organizing. While it has found it's way outside the TV and into real life, there are still many people who are unsure just why you would hire a professional organizer. It has often associated with those who hoard. While hiring a professional organizer can certainly benefit the life of a hoarder, there are plenty more reasons why you may consider hiring a professional organizer. 

Hiring a professional organizer will help the lives of busy families. Often the busyness of life will allow our homes to left in disarray. With our help, we can bring balance to your life, so you can slow down and treasure the time with what you are truly passionate about. We are here to help you.

Hiring a professional organizer will help the process of selling your home. Whether you need help to prepare your house by decluttering and de-personalizing it to sell or simply you just need the help in packing and unpacking your belongings. We are here to help you. 

Hiring a professional organizer will help make your process of moving your parent(s) into a retirement community much more smoother and efficient. We can help in downsizing and packing/unpacking your parent's belongings, as well as help in contacting a moving company. We are here to help you.

​Hiring a professional organizer will help you if you are needing or desiring to downsize. We can apply our 2P approach alongside you to determine what to keep and what to not keep, as well as give you options on where to make donations or what/how you may sell your belongings. We are here to help you.

Hiring a professional organizer will help you when going through your lost one’s belongings. Whether you lose a parent, a spouse, or a child, the grieving process is hard nonetheless. We can help you properly display memorabilia/photos that belonged to your loved one, so you may cherish the life they lived. If you are in the situation where you have lost both parents and you have their house full of belongings creating worry and stress for you not knowing what to do, we can help you through the process. We are here to help you.

Hiring a professional organizer will help you to clean out your garage to make it a useful storage space for both belongings and your vehicles. We can help you declutter, re-home belongings, and create effective storage for your belongings,  so you can store what is truly needed in the garage, especially your vehicles. We are here to help you.

Hiring a professional organizer will help you let go of that storage unit. We can help you bring home and organize the belongings that truly mean something to you and serve a purpose in your life's priorities. We can help you let go of the belongings that are truly just items that serve no purpose in your life's priorities. We can give you options where to donate and what/how to sell. With our help to let go of the storage unit, we not only help you bring home the belongings that truly matter to you, but we also help you bring your money back in your wallet rather than being wasted away for the unit. We are here to help you.

If you hire us, we can help you bring balance to your life through organizing. Bringing balance to your life includes giving you time that could have been lost, freedom, joy, peace and harmony, order, and more into your life. Professional organizers are here to help you! If you are in the North Georgia area, do not hesitate to reach out to us. If you are located outside of this area of Georgia or in another state, contact us anyway. We will be sure to point you in the right direction with a professional organizing business who would love to help you. Whether you consider hiring a professional organizer or simply you just have questions, we hope to hear from you soon :)

Even as a professional organizer, I must say, my digital world is the one place in my life that can quickly and easily fall into the slippery slope of a BIG mess. Below you will find five key tips I have discovered to help keep my email inbox as a tidy and productive space and I hope these help you too. 

First, I recommend having separate email inboxes. For instance, I keep a PERSONAL email inbox (for my family/friends, my church, and bills), an EXTRAS email inbox (for products, stores, and things such as blogs), and also a BUSINESS email inbox. Just as we sort our things in our physical world - our home and work - into categories for quick access, we should do the same thing for our digital world to make life more productive. You can also create new folders within each inbox. Like for my PERSONAL email inbox, I created a new folder called Church within it. I was able to automatically setup where emails from my church will directly go into that folder. To do so using Google, you can select the Preferences and add the Rule for those emails to go in the folder you choose.

Second, I suggest penciling in time to handle your email inboxes. As for my PERSONAL and EXTRAS emails, I chose Mondays during lunch to spend time with those inboxes. For me, it helps to make it catchy to remember important things, so I call it #MailMondays to recall checking both my electronic and physical mail. Also, I like the idea of Mondays because it’s helpful to start off my week knowing what’s ahead. As for my BUSINESS email inbox, I know to check it each day during lunch and then before bed. 

Third, I would advise checking out the website called Unroll.ME to help in reducing emails. It helps make the process of unsubscribing quick and painless. In addition, you are given the option to select your favorite subscriptions you want to continue to follow to receive as a daily digest email which is called a Rollup - a collection of your favorite newsletters rolled up in one for the day. When choosing which subscriptions to unsubscribe, to add to the Rollup, or to keep in your inbox, you will then next be able to choose when you would like to receive your daily Rollup.

Fourth, I would say when organizing through your emails, take full advantage of the Search box. You can quickly search for a particular email recipient. I use this going through store emails. It allows me to quickly locate those store emails I need to file away to refer/use later as well as the emails I need to delete. 

Fifth, I would tell you when it comes to the emails that require responding, if you can, respond immediately. Otherwise, it tends to get shoved down and forgotten. If you get a habit of receiving emails where you will need to respond with lengthy responses, I would suggest creating a separate folder labeled NEED TO RESPOND within your email inbox and move those emails there. This way when you do have the time to respond, you can quickly go straight to those specific emails.

Let me know if these tips assist you in creating and maintaining your inbox and/or if you have any tips to share!

In 11 days Easter will be here. This is an important time of the year to reflect and celebrate, yet the general public focuses on dying eggs, the Easter bunny filling up children's baskets, and a family meal. While there is not inherently anything wrong with these, we believe Easter centers on Jesus. With research through Pinterest, I have organized Easter based on its top priority, Jesus. Though Easter Day is the celebration, we must not forget to include nor take for granted the week prior, the Holy Week. 

We found the Easter story separated throughout the days of the Holy Week allowing you and your family to prepare for Easter Day. Easter baskets are a common theme for the American Easter Sunday. As we believe our belongings must serve a purpose in our life’s priorities, we consider it important to also remember and live this out including on holidays. If a family chooses to participate in Easter baskets, we suggest on keeping it light and more importantly include things that focus on Jesus. For little ones, you can remind them that Easter is not really about a bunny, but the Lamb of God, Jesus by giving them a lamb stuffed animal. Again, instead of focusing on a bunny, when giving your child a little candy treat, we recommend giving your child a chocolate cross. To make it more fun, we suggest giving your child candy molds and baking chocolate so you can have fun together in making tasty treats while discussing the true meaning behind Easter. For any age, we recommend using this time to encourage your child in God’s Word by giving them an age-appropriate Bible and/or devotional. Additional items you could include in the basket include: stickers, Bible tabs, children coloring books, adult coloring books, a true Easter related book or movie, or a cross necklace. 

In particular, we have separate recommendations for Thursday through Easter Sunday. On Maundy Thursday, we encourage as your family reads about the Last Supper to commemorate that moment by having a family meal of bread and wine and grape juice for children. For Good Friday, we suggest families to take time to consider what Jesus' death means personally. Take this time to reflect on what ways you have sinned against God and thank God for sending Jesus to die on the cross for your sins and rid those sins by destroying your list because through His death He paid for our sins, once and for all. If you are interested in a Good Friday service to attend, we recommend one in the Atlanta area for those in Georgia. On Holy Saturday, we recommend families making Resurrection Cookies. As for the day of Easter, we suggest fun activities such an Easter Scavenger Hunt, writing a letter to a sponsored child if you have one or choosing to sponsor a kid through Compassion International and share the Good News of Jesus Christ, and hiding Resurrection Eggs for your family to find and remember the true story of Easter. Easter day is a perfect day for the children to receive their basket of Christ-related goodies and a time for family and friends to celebrate Jesus' resurrection. If you are in the Bartow County area, we at CrossPoint City Church would love to have you and your family join us for an Easter service. 

We would love to hear from you if you have any Christ-related ideas for Easter Day and/or the Holy Week. Also, please share any recommendations you have for age-appropriate Bibles and devotionals. We would love to know what has been you and/or your child's favorites! And as always, please let us know if there is anything you would love for us to blog about next.