Emily Eusanio - A Simpler Motherhood: Curating Contentment, Savoring Slow, and Making Room for What Matters Most

Praise for A Simpler Motherhood

With A Simpler Motherhood , Emily helps mothers everywhere declutter far more than just their closets, and makes minimalism with young children not only worthwhile but (better yet) at tainable.

Erica Layne, author of The Mini malist Way

Chronic list-makers unite! This book gave such specific and helpful examples about how to choose what to prioritize on those ubiquitous to-do lists that I find myself actually getting the most important things done first. Seems simple, but its revol utionary!

Sherry Petersik, blogger at Young House Love and author of Lovable Li vable Home

In our fast-paced world, simplicity doesnt just happen for mothers. We have to pursue it. Emily carves out a path to do j ust that.

Denaye Barahona, PhD, author of Simple Happy Parenting and host of the Simple Famili es podcast

If you read one book on simplicity and motherhood, let it be this one. Like a long-time friend, Emily welcomes readers from page one with a warm hug, a knowing smile of understanding, and true compassion. Emily guides you through the twists and turns of what it truly means to live a beautiful and simple life, and finding those moments of simplicity when life seems overwhelming and messy. This is one book that you will not be able to put down, and youll return to read over and ov er again.

Lauren Tucker, blogger on An Orga nized Life

Practical and inspiring, this book will encourage mothers everywhere to uncover the beauty of sim plicity.

Jennifer L. Scott, author of Lessons from M adame Chic

A Simpler Motherhood

Curating Contentment, Savoring Slow,
and Making Room
for What Matters Most

Emily Eusanio

Coral Gables , FL

Copyright 2022 by Emily Eusanio.
Published by Mango Publishing, a division of Mango Publishing Group, Inc.

Cover Design and Art Direction: Morgane Leoni
Cover Photo: Oleksandr /Adobe Stock

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A Simpler Motherhood: Curating Contentment, Savoring Slow, and Making Room for What Matters Most

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication number: 2022930617
ISBN: (print) 978-1-64250-808-6, (ebook) 978-1-64250-809-3
BISAC category code HOM019000, HOUSE & HOME / Cleaning, Caretaking & Organizing

Printed in the United States of America.

To my four little blessings:

for being the only reasons I need to chase after a simpler,
more magical mo therhood.

Table of Contents

Fifteen years ago, I was at the highest and the lowest points of my life. I was newly married, had just purchased my first home, and was a new mother to the most beautiful baby girl I had ever seen. I was blessed with everything I had ever wanted in life, and at the same time, I was overwhelmed with dai ly living.

I felt like I was thrown into the deep end of a pool, suddenly realizing I had no idea how to swim. I was drowning in toys, laundry, dishes, and appointments, but most of all, I was drowning in my own expectations of motherhood and adulting i n general.

I couldnt understand why other moms seemed to effortlessly manage it all, while I fell into bed each night with a longer to-do list than the one I started with that morning. I assumed I just had to work harder, but the more I tried to accomplish, the more overwhelmed I felt. I could never seem catch up, and I started to resent the beautiful life I had always wished for. I started to resent being a mother.

What I discovered with time (and a lot of trial and error) is that it wasnt more that fixed my problems, it was less. I had to let go of all the things that didnt matter in order to gain all the things that did.

I simplifie d my life.

I let go of unused clutter, but even more than that, I let go of the unreal expectations I put on myself. I gave myself permission to take shortcuts and, dare I say, do things badly. The crazy thing is, when I gave myself permission to do things the lazy way, I accomplished so much more. When I stopped expecting perfection, I started seeing success in every area o f my life.

Less is more . Less stuff, less work, less commitments, and less expectations all equal more happiness, more time, and more overall success. I know this sounds clich, and I understand that this concept goes against everything society has ever taught us about success. We are told if something is worth doing, its worth doing right and that practice makes perfect. We are told to hustle, work harder, and earn more money so that we can buy more things. We are misled down this impossible path of over-complication and overwhelm.

You can make your own patha simple path that you dont have to run down. A beautiful path that leads exactly where you w ant to go.

Just by choosing to read this book, you have already taken the first step down your brand-new path. This book is the shortcut to a simplified life that I wish I had fifteen years ago. Emily will walk you through exactly how to simplify every aspect of your life so that you can make space for what mat ters most.

Cassand ra Aarssen
Creator of C lutterbug

Life wasnt always so simpl e for me.

In fact, it was the presence of way too much of everything that encouraged me to pursue a simpler, slower motherhoodto chase after a life intentionally absent of all the extra: stuff, people, commitments, standards. I was six months postpartum and absolutely drowning in the weight of it all.

From the outside, my life looked exactly as I had dreamed it would. I was a stay-at-home mom with our beautiful son. We owned a lovely four-bedroom cape cod in one of the best school districts in the city. We drove expensive, pretty cars, owned pretty new things, and wore pretty new clothing.

And yet, I was pretty dang miserable.

We were doing our best to survive on one income, and yet we spent every penny we made. The stress rose in my chest each month as we dutifully made all the payments to our student loan debt, a mortgage payment slightly too large for our means, and credit card bills for frivolous, unnecessary purchases that we didnt need (especially on such a tigh t budget).

I was a floundering first-time mom. My son and I took daily trips through the Starbucks drive-through, with me ordering up a grande flat white while he nodded off for his morning nap in the car seat. I made weekly visits to Target, browsing the aisles in search of items that would make motherhood easier, better, and prettier. I spent my days glued to Google, searching for the perfect cleaning routine, the perfect sleep schedule, the perfect meal plans. And then Id collapse at the end of the afternoon, too exhausted to cook dinner; so, Id pick up the phone and order pizza delivery or sushi takeout instead of eating what was already right there in t he fridge.