On my 26th birthday, I received the best birthday gift I could ever imagine: motherhood. As a new mom, I had grand ideas about how I’d give and do all the best things for my kids. But as life would have it, clutter, chaos, and busyness found it’s way in. And motherhood felt like an uphill climb.
As mothers, we’re overwhelmed trying to do it all. We want to do and be our best. But the thing is, doing your best does not mean working yourself into a mental breakdown— yet that’s how many of us are living.
What can giving and doing all the best things look like for modern families in 2018?
Do make sure my kids’ emotional, mental, academic, spiritual, and nutritional needs are met while we’re running around in chaos, clutter, and busyness. Do feed them healthy food, enroll them in the top preschool, sign them up for sports, music, and sign language, provide the best wooden organic educational toys, give them Pinterest worthy birthday parties while also going to every birthday they’re invited to. Oh, and don’t forget to take care of yourself with the time you no longer have!
Do. Do. Do. Because the best parents do and give all the best things. Right?
Do you know what always-having and always-doing bring into motherhood today?
Stress. Overwhelm. Anxiety. Exhaustion.
In a survey of a thousand families, Ellen Galinsky, the head of the Families and Work Institute, asked children, “If you were granted one wish about your parents, what would it be?” Most parents thought their kids would say spending more time with them, but they were wrong. The kids’ number one wish was that their parents were less tired and less stressed.
It turns out that clutter has a profound effect on our mood and self-esteem. CELF’s anthropologists, social scientists, and archaeologists found:
A link between high cortisol (stress hormone) levels in female homeowners and a high density of household objects. The more stuff, the more stress women feel. Men, on the other hand, don’t seem as bothered by a mess.
Denaye Barahona Ph.D., a Family Wellness expert at Simple Families and author of the foreword for my new book Minimalism for Families, says, “The world our children are growing up in today isn’t just cluttered, it’s chaotic. The chaos is leading to an epidemic of stress and anxiety in childhood.” Our stress and overwhelm is affecting our children. Of course, we can’t create a perfect life, but we can start recognizing and removing all the clutter that we do control.
To thrive in motherhood, less is more.
Introducing: Raising Simple—solutions to set your home and life to a simpler tune.
When we simplify our home and life, we allow more room for meaningful connection, generosity, joy, faith, and family wellness.
We are here to help.
Raising Simple exists to help families find balance in the overwhelm. Less busyness. Less stuff. More being. More Meaning.
What is Raising Simple About?
At Raising Simple we believe families live better without all the excess. Raising Simple is a call to a mindful, intentional way of living, prioritizing relationships and experiences above material things. The goal is: keep or add the stuff that increases our connections, purpose, meaning, and joy in life, and let go of whatever doesn’t.
We call this minimalism.
At Raising Simple you will find practical solutions and thoughtful perspectives to embrace a less-stressed life in motherhood, family, and our community. Through email, social media, and an online community you can find tools and encouragement to help you reduce the stress and overwhelm in motherhood.
In motherhood, simple is smart. We can choose presence over perfection, compassion over criticism, and simplicity over stuffocation. By choosing minimalism we are trading overwhelmed for just enough.
Simple living and minimalism are by no means the answer to all our problems, but they can be a better path by which to face them. By simplifying our home and life, prioritizing self-care, and aligning our calendar with our core values we can focus on the things that really matter. With simplicity, we can thrive in motherhood.
Ready to kick-start your decluttering efforts? Registration for Uncluttered has begun! Be sure to sign up with my friends and family discount (use code FF25 at checkout for 25% off!) through my affiliate link. Also, you can read how the Uncluttered course has changed lives!