Wow. As a Christian, hearing you talk about, and get choked up when talking about how minimalism has allowed more room for Jesus was awesome to hear. My wife and I have said the same thing in our home! Thanks for the vulnerability and prayers that that continues!

This may be controversial, but one thing I’ve never done as a mom is … pajamas. My oldest child is only 3, but honestly, if she’s been in the house all day in her soft, comfy clothes, I’m not wrestling her into special sleeping clothes 🤷‍♀️ I change her sheets every week and if she’s dirty, then obviously she’ll be cleaned and redressed, but we’re skipping pajamas until she can put them on herself. No one has yet died or sickened. Eliminates a whole category to shop for, launder, and store. And saves a ton of time, cumulatively.

Great video. As an overachiever, I am always thinking whatever task I’m doing I could do it better. I became a stay at home wife two years ago at the age of 57. I do more at home every day than I ever did working as an administrative assistant for high level partner attorneys. When I left my job I was asked what I was going to do all day and when I said be a homemaker, garden, bake bread, cook from scratch, etc. I got some odd looks. All of that to say I bring more “value” to our home now than I did when I was getting paid a generous salary. I do need to work on digital hushing. I love to cross stitch but think I need to be listening to an audio book or podcast at the same time. I think today I’ll just cross stitch and listen to my dog snore and our furnace cycle on and off.

I just wanted to say, I really enjoy listening to you speak. I’ve struggled with the adjustment from being someone with a career outside the home to being a full-time homemaker, and it’s such a comfort to listen to someone who so clearly has the experience of both worlds. Nothing but admiration for women who go straight into managing a family full time, but sometimes the KZfaq space feels lacking in homemaking content from the perspective of someone who has career experience as well.

Wow, I had not even thought to check my heart with regard to purchasing and budgeting being a matter of me taking control rather than trusting God. I tend to think that I'm being "wise with money" when really sometimes I'm taking control that is really God's

Great video! I am someone who has a professional career and from the beginning of having kids have always chose to work part time so I am home with them (or my husband is because he works shift work). I have found that our society is into extremes. Either you have to be a full time working mom who is always frazzled/tired/busy (and kind of get some sort of thrill of complaining about that), or you’re a full time stay at home mom who cooks all meals from scratch, does intricate crafts with your kids, grows your own food, makes your own bread, and talks about that all the time. I don’t do either. I do elements of each and not all the time. This has made it challenging to make friends as I don’t have a lot of peers. But, I’ve always felt the conviction that what I’m doing is right and also, to keep practicing gratitude for the gift it is to be able to do so. I feel like you’re saying something similar so I just want to say I see you and good job 😊. (Not that a random person on the internet has any right to give input into your life!) Thanks for your videos, I’m really enjoying you sharing your perspective.

Silence and solitude are the best parts of any given day. I enjoy staring out my window at the clouds, listening to a quiet house, and being lost in my thoughts. It is wonderful to see your vulnerability as a new Christian. It made me smile, knowing that you allowed the Holy Spirit to work His way into your heart and life. You will grow closer to God in the silent moments, and you'll look forward to hearing His voice. ❤ I always enjoy your videos! All great points today.

I loved this Erika. ❤ The Lord is not going to be competing with all the voices we are allowing in our head. The constant media, music, audiobooks and self help things we watch and hear. It says in the Bible that he has a still small voice that gets drowned out by the schemes of the enemy. For he is the prince of the power of the air... which is how he infiltrates our lives through phones and screens.❤❤❤ Ive been struggling with this too for the past two years. Trying to get back to Him on a deeper level.❤

I’m not sure how I found myself here or why I stay. I don’t think I’ll ever be a minimalist and the chaos of my 6 children are grown. But I love solitude and you have such a calm presence in your videos.

Helpful content! A lot of points rarely (if ever) raised by other content creators. Most promote doing more to gain more, but by doing less we gain more balance, peace, etc. It's amazing how profound an effect the elimination of everyday habits and routines can have. This definitely challenged the long-held beliefs, and the expectations I place on myself. Thank you for this, and for sharing your faith.

I really enjoyed this video. Thank you for sharing. You struck a chord with me when you said you were tempted to resent the items in your home or feeling like you needed to go further with decluttering, instead of acknowledging home making always takes effort. ❤

I’ve never related to a channel so much. New sub. I’m so grateful for you validating my own mental space and family/theological focus. Thank you❤

I love this video! I needed an easy morning, but I did not know my strict go go go making good use of time was stressing me. God got ahold of me: Wake up•make coffee and invite Me. Get in my Word and watch your day easily unfold. Twenty years later I am at peace! Love from Texas🥰

I LOVE this. Since becoming a mom 6 months ago, my perfectionist nature has been really challenged. Having a daughter has taught me so much about slowing down, being present, and enjoying the simple things. I don't need to keep things tidy all the time, but I do need to make sure everything around me is serving me and my family in the best way. Thank you so much for your insight and wisdom it is very valuable to me and so many others :) Also I JUST finished reading digital minimalism. SO GOOD.

That was so beautiful. Thank you for being so honest. I love how you are not afraid to share your beliefs. It helps me think I can be brave too.

This was actually a beautiful and thought provoking video. Thank you for showing your raw emotions ❤

Thank you so much for sharing what you do! I love how real and raw you are in your videos. It makes me feel like I’m sitting right across from you. I am a young mom to one toddler learning so many new things in this season. Honestly battling the unwanted incoming messages of “how to do it right.” Your videos are so soothing. Absolutely non-judgmental and beautifully created!

Absolutely loved you sharing this today! Normalising things so many of us can’t articulate but feel deeply and connect to.

I discovered your channel very recently and it’s become a new favourite of the many I already follow on minimalism/homemaking/simple living. Thank you for making these videos - I appreciate the calm serenity with which you share your thoughts :)

Thank you for sharing so freely! I also really resonate with your thoughts on how devalued homemaking and parenting have become!

Thank you for your videos! I truly look forward to them and seeing a new one pop up is such a treat❤

Wonderful video simplifying and doing less really improves our standard of living and slowly heals us

Your words really moved me. Thank you for the impact in my life.

This was a great video. I love your observations and your view of life. I soooo am working on slowing down. Wonderful ideas

Wow. I thought I had heard Everything on this topic. Thank you for sharing a lot of fresh and on-point ideas AND for being honest. It’s so ok to have own struggles and not being all that successful and perfect.

Thank you for this video, some great ideas here for me to look at incorporating into our home life. 😊

I just found your channel and I liked this video very much. Especially the part about the morning routine! I have always wanted to be the person that serenely goes through her mornings in the same way every day. I’m not sure why I needed your permission but i feel better about myself. I’m a grandma (and a great grandma) so I use my smart phone for staying in touch. But I get why you changed to a flip phone. All the things you presented made sense. I’m in a Bible study and we’ve been focusing on solitude. That is a challenge for me. I’m babbling. ❤

Wonderful video--especially the part about making space for silence and solitude (and God filling that space). He has pushed me to start "traveling lightly" this year--meaning traveling lightly through this life. To think eternal vs. temporal. Our family is well on the way to minimalism. Thank you for sharing.

Not having a morning routine. What a notion! I am constantly trying to come up with morning and night routines that work, and I’m constantly failing. This was a freeing idea- thanks!

what a blessing. I deal with "the overs" as well. Thank you so much, these were great ideas!

Love all these. I am the same with the bed but I did quit the throw! Game changer 😄

as a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom of 8 you are bang on. I loved watching this I even learned a few things but mostly I enjoyed listening to your soothing voice. God Bless

Erica, I am a simple woman of more than 7 decades. I encountered your thought provoking video this morning and there were many points you shared that spoke to me about my life experiences over the years. I found your honest shared experiences helpful still in my life and something I want to share with my daughters as something for them to see and just consider as parts and pieces to look at and see what fits their lives as they are living their lives in working and raising their families. Thank you for your honest sharing of your perspective on what has been beneficial in your stage of life experience .

I really like your Voice. For me its asmr to watch your Videos. Always so calm🥰

Thank you! Your voice resonates with me. You’re a bad ass and I appreciate you ✌️

Aww what a cute video! I agree very much with every point you’ve made and I can relate so much especially when you mentioned feeling like you always needed to prove yourself, do more to be enough… it’s something I still struggle with and only when I let go of those thoughts do I experience complete peace. 🥰 I loved what you said about God also! 🩵

Just came across your channel. So true about the digital noise. I am also working on my relationship with Christ. I am in a different stage of life but was once a stay at home mom and am thankful for that opportunity. Trusting God for a job.❤

Erica, you are great!!! love listening to you.

I'm a new stay at home mom with my 5 month old baby and the earbuds/sound topic really hits for me. I was a fulltime nurse for almost 6 years prior to this and even though the transition has been a joy overall it's VERY slow paced compared to my job. I didn't realize how much social interaction and intellectual stimulation I would no longer be getting on a daily basis. I joke with my husband that I have nothing interesting to tell him about anymore. Like you I find myself craving podcasts/audio books, ect all day because of the silence (I'm not great at carrying the one-sided narrative conversations with baby yet haha). I'm not sure how I feel one way or another about it, I don't feel convicted to give it up completely but you've definitely hit a nerve for me where I need to seek the Lord about how to glorify Him best in this matter. Thank you for this video

Yes! Thank you ❤❤❤❤

This video was really encouraging and has blessed me today. Thank you so much for sharing. - Jerusha

Wonderful video. Such a calming presence❤

This was all so beautifully stated. I was so moved when you said "slowing down...allowed (God) in." I have been a Christian all my life, but I believe slowing down has turned me more into a "follower of Jesus", if that makes sense. It just allows so much more time for relationship with Him. I also love your insight into the reason we're constantly seeking to make homemaking more efficient is because we don't actually value it. I had that realization recently: that I keep putting more and more effort into making everything "efficient": actually to the point that I was doing MORE work, not less! Our cultural obsession with efficiency just stems from our reluctance to just be human...we always believe we "should be" doing more. Thank you, as always, for your wisdom Erika! You are helping me in my journey for richer life!

These are such great points! One thing I have really been concentrating on this year is simplifying the kinds of food I buy, and going back more to the way my grandmother made her meals. I think living in the age of Pinterest has put so much pressure on moms, and I definitely put that on myself. It feels like I can’t be repeating meals, or I’m not being creative enough, or like I need to have a dozen options when two would really do just fine. My grandmother only ever bought one kind of beef and one kind of chicken, and used those in all her meals. I don’t actually need a freezer full of ten different cuts. It’s similar to how I have simplified my wardrobe. But I also no longer buy things like salad dressing and cereal. I don’t know why, but at first that felt like I was being a “bad” mom because maybe people would have preferred a certain brand, or certain cut of chicken, or whatever. But everyone got over it very quickly. It’s super easy and better for our bodies, and it saves me money to just mix together the mustard and the honey I already have and make honey mustard instead of spending an extra $5 on a bottle. It’s also ok if my kids “only” have a choice of eggs or yogurt for breakfast this week rather than eggs, oatmeal, yogurt, protein bars, or four different kinds of cereal. I’m not sure why it has taken me so long to figure that out. I do make sure there are always options that they like, but I don’t have to stock everything they like all at once.

Your video touched my heart so deeply today! I'm a Jesus girl too. And I have been feeling so defeated and constantly overwhelmed as a mama and this spoke to me...just what I needed to hear. Soooooo glad I found your channel today!!

Erica....what a well thought out list of things to simplify and/or quit! I believe that this will help you (me/all of us) to fulfill Psalm <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="2770">46:10</a>. Perhaps "fulfill" isn't the correct word? Anyway, "Be still and know that I am God." Simplification and being present helps us to rest in this verse. And what a wonderful goal to have as Christians. As a 68 yo with 7 kids, 5 in-laws and 23 grands. I was able to be a stay at home mom and I so treasured that time (and the memories) I work in a daycare now and I so wish that all mamas could stay home with their own children. What a blessing for you and for them! Again, well done!

Wow, I am so happy for you. Very touching to hear you talk about hearing God again. Your videos have given me so much inspiration this week. I feel we're kindred spirits! It's as if God is using you to give me permission to, yes, embrace what I feel called to do: be a present, "stay-at-home", mom. I too left a busy job. I taught in the public school for 12 years before my first son was born. (He's 5; my other is 2.) The shift has not always felt easy (at first it did! lol), but it's what I've wanted. Regarding simplicity: my favorite line you've shared: if it feels like it's all too much, it is. How that resonated with me. I'm a minimalist, for the purpose of being present. My last whole-house declutter was right after Christmas, but after watching your videos, here I am filling bags again, haha. I just want a simple life with my kids and husband. Let's be friends :) Disclaimer: I do enjoy a few extras in my makeup bag now and again... it has always been a creative outlet for me. Thank you for acknowledging that!

Great video…you have a wonderful calming voice 😊❤️

Great video. So happy I found you on KZfaq.

Prayers to you, thankyou for helping me. Hugs and love xxxxxxxxx

Hi, Erica! Nice to meet you … I’m Liz . 1st time viewer & new subscriber here.

I feel so deeply seen by this video. Last summer I realized that cooking dinner was going to be effort forever. I had spent years thinking that if I could just build a big enough system, if I just tried harder for a while that I would learn how to do it and then it would stop being work, but it never happened. I realized that it will be work forever and that doesn't mean I am doing it wrong. Now I'm able to single-task making dinner and it's this beautiful centering part of my day.

Very valuable perspectives for me as a recently retired person.

So much good here. Thank you 🎉

Hey there. Beautiful job on this weeks video. We lost my 94 year old father in law on Sunday the 10th. It’s been a super difficult week but feeling better now. Keep giving yourself the permission NOT to do something. That’s often the hardest. Keep shining your Light. As you can see, others will follow, xo 😘

Thank you Erica ❤

I recommend the Fly Lady cleaning system. It's wonderful. Last time I looked her website is chaotic and cluttered but her system is great.

I have grwstlu simplified everything also, Erica, and am a Christian. Lovely video. Thank you. Every blessing to you and yours. G Ire

I sort of regret decluttering at some point. I didn't really get it, got rid of items I later realised I actually liked. I went too far. Now I'm trying to be more mindful, of the stuff I let go of and the stuff coming in. But it's not easy and some days it feels like a battle. Needing something VS wanting something, some days that just feels the same to me.

Thank you!

Both of those books you mentioned were fantastic. You'd definitely enjoy Simplicity Parenting!

Thank you for this video. It’s just what I needed to hear tonight. I’ve really been feeling “less of me means more of Jesus” and you explained it so well. Thank you.

I have a 16 month old and am currently in the process of swapping to being a SAHM with him (he was in day care while my husband and I both worked full time). I realized I couldn't sustain that anymore. I felt like I was only half way present with both sides - mom and job. I was always adamant that I didn't want to be a SAHM, and truthfully I don't think I'll *enjoy* it. There's something very hard for me about the nature of the work which is that it's never done. There's no project to turn in. No "great job, that turned out great!". And for someone who is very results driven, that is hard for me. But I do feel strongly that this is the best path for my son. And who knows, maybe I will enjoy it haha

Would love to hear more about your experience switching to a flip phone. I’ve been going back and forth with this idea for a bit now as it seems so freeing but just curious what that looks like for you!

This video hit me on so many different levels! I’m realizing that even though I have simplified in so many areas, I am still trying to overdo things since becoming a stay at home mom. For the last three years I feel like I have had to be perfect at home to show that I have “value” because I am not bringing in an income. Thank you for the reminder that more is not always best. God bless and thank you for sharing!

It's a nice face! I don't like mine but also have decreased makeup a lot especially as I improve my skin

Amen and Bless you dear one. I got teary with you. I love Jesus so much and I spend time silent with him early morning, middle of the night, or before I go to bed I just need the silence and time with him

Beautiful! Love hearing about your spiritual journey. Minimalism and the Christian faith are so interconnected. 🙏

I truly believe that God sent me your way today. I've never seen you come up in my feed before and this message was exactly what I had been praying about lately and especially this morning. Thank you!

I appreciated your thoughts on homemaking.

I love you!

Thank you so much for sharing this video. And sharing your Christian values.

❤

I just subscribed to your channel and it is lovely. I am way older than you and I have been in your shoes.. press on my lovely.

As you find ways to let more silence and solitude into your life, consider incorporating centering prayer as a spiritual practice! Cynthia Bourgeault has an amazing book on it - life changing.

I'm really struck by your 'no makeup' simplification. I've been wanting to do this myself (note that I only wear mascara and pencil my eyebrows), as well as stopping dying my hair brown, as I'd like to embrace myself completely natural. However, I'm struggling to overcome a societal view I hear that by not doing these things, I'm 'letting myself go'. Any suggestions on how to move past that?

I would love to hear how you are able to NOT spend $300-$350 a week on groceries?! As a family of 5, I feel in need of inspiration in this realm- even though we do a lot of shopping at Aldis and eat simple meals of meat + veggies, groceries almost always end up being this much each week no matter how much I work to get them lower

❤❤❤❤

we are kindred spirits in a whole lot of ways. happy that I will someday hug your neck and we'll praise the Lord together in eternity.

Home making is seen as 'easy' because it's mostly women doing it and we can't possibly be doing something that is hard....