You may have seen in the minimalist worlds and parenting blogs this new concept of a fiver birthday party.

The idea is you ask parents to bring a five dollar bill, instead of a gift, as the child’s birthday present, hence the term “fiver” birthday party. 

You are to get your kid all excited to buy something big with the money they receive, rather than receive possible unwanted gifts or more clutter. The concept is also touted as easier on the giving parents, as it is a much more affordable gift, and it is way easy.

We live in a pretty rural mountain town. The closest Wal-Mart or Target is at least 45 minutes away, and the UPS lady is our friend. (Seriously, I am overjoyed when I see her coming down our driveway with my 2-day awaited products!)

The “fiver” birthday party idea seemed like the rural birthday partygoers’ dream idea!

What happened?

Now, I am sure the epic fiver birthday party fail had to do with my execution, but here is what happened:

I find myself well-versed in telling people about our simple living lifestyle. I have spoken to many a family member about not sending as many gifts, and it is a conversation I have become very comfortable with over the years.

Side note: I HATE giving gift cards. I despise them. I want to give a gift with thought. I will give a Groupon, or something similar, for a well thought out experience, but that is as far as my gift card giving ways take me.

I saw me asking for “five dollar bills” for my daughter’s birthday like asking for a gift card or payment for entry to the party. Enter my first problem.

Here are my epic fails with the “fiver” birthday party:

I – I had poor execution of the fiver birthday party concept.

I had no idea how to word an invitation to a fiver birthday party.

I experimented on an email invite with parent friends. It was weird.

My wording for the fiver birthday party was as follows:

“We are hosting my daughter’s 6th birthday party on Saturday.  She would love to have your daughter join us in the celebration.  We will be providing lunch.  (No gifts necessary.  If you insist, then we thought of doing a “fiver” birthday party where the gift is just a $5 bill. It’s the new hot thing in Australia and saves time and money for the parents!)”

It felt like I was saying, “hey, bring my kid money” rather than “hey, this is a cool new idea that might save you money and allow my kid to buy just one big gift instead of junk”. OK, even that sounds bad.

There are suggestions on how to word the fiver party invite if you still want to try it, but please, check out my other reasons for a failed fiver birthday party, so you are fully prepared.

Related post: Minimalist gifts for everyone on your list.

2 – I broke a child’s heart.

So, after the very uncomfortable email to friends and their daughters, we sent regular invites out to the class.

When parents asked me via text what they could bring as a gift, my response was something like, “No gifts are necessary. We are happy to celebrate. However, if you want to bring a gift, she is into X, Y, and Z. She is also saving money to buy up a larger Barbie set, so if easier, $5 towards that would be loved and no other gifts needed.”

At the party, one child brought a card with $10, honoring the “fiver” birthday party concept. The other kids, they brought presents, beautifully wrapped, fun looking presents.

The child who brought the card and money looked up at me and said while staring at the gifts table, “Ms. Brooke, I didn’t bring a present as you asked. We brought a card with money.”

I hugged her and assured her my daughter would be over the moon with her gift and whispered in her ear what she was saving up for. It brought a smile to the girl’s face, but I could tell she would rather have contributed a gift.

3 – Toys are a child’s love language

Maybe a “fiver” birthday party works great with older kids.

With young children (this was a birthday party for my six-year-old), toys are their love language. That’s how they share their joy with each other. That’s why they want to buy cheap plastic junk and then give it to a friend. It is something they understand.

My daughter was prepped for a “fiver” birthday party. She was excited to get money to put towards her “big toy”. However, once the party started, she was excited about the toys in front of her.

Those kids squeezed in as tight as possible around the table where the gifts were set. Even though they were not the ones receiving the toys, they were equally excited to GIVE the toys. These were toys they picked out. These were toys they were excited to share with their friends, and I was trying to rob them of that to make it easier on myself and their parents.

Related post: Teaching Minimalism to Children (9 Helpful Tips)

My lessons learned for minimalism:

Let your kids receive gifts on their birthdays or other holidays from their friends, and allow them to do it with an open heart and without fear of clutter. Let other kids introduce your child to toys you will likely never buy your child, like a LOL spy doll. (Side note, we needed the internet to help us figure out how to open the LOL spy doll set.) Allow your child to remember the joys of opening presents on their birthday.

You may cringe at the clutter, but your heart will be warm with joy watching their eyes light up with excitement. The biggest lesson I learned from our fiver birthday party epic fail was to let kids be kids, giving and receiving with open hearts.

Our Fiver Birthday Party FailRead More

Looking for car trip activities for kids?

The easiest, go-to activity for many families is a movie.  Don’t get me wrong, there is a time and a place for technology on a long car trip, but I also like to find fun car trips activities for my kids that don’t involve a screen or device. 

When you say “road trip”, it can spark thoughts of adventure, spontaneity and exploration.  When you say “family road trip”, it can spark thoughts of dread, backseat fighting and too frequent of stops. 

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Try doing a trip unplugged

I’m amazed at the number of vehicles today that have built in screens and WiFi.  Our children no longer know how to ride in a car for more than ten minutes without entertainment! 

When did entertainment become standard in a vehicle? When did our kids forget how to ride in a car and be bored or make up their own fun and games?!

If you want to limit your child’s exposure to screen time, you can take a family road trip, without screens. It is possible.  

Related post: How to Limit Screen Time for Kids

But I need my sanity…

I get it mama.  Screens and technology in a car can give you your sanity back! They will take your fighting kids and turn them into silent little zombies.  Sometimes, that’s what mama needs to get from point A to point B safely. 

If working a movie into your drive works for you, by all means, embrace it! However, I have been on that six-hour road trip when we needed more than a movie to entertain the kiddos. 

When kids are given too much screen time, they can become irritable or hyperactive.  They sometimes mimic bad behavior seen on a show, or they stop using their imaginations.   Use these ideas for (unplugged) car trip activties for kids.

Car Trip Activities for Kids

Entertainment is key for a long road trip.  However, it doesn’t have to be the main event.  Your kids can be bored.  They can look out their windows at the landscape around them.  Your kids can watch the mile markers pass, see the local attractions, and better understand road rules. 

Yet, when boredom sets in, and when you need some ideas, here are my favorites:

Audiobooks

You can download audiobooks from the library or services like Audible.  

We like to check out books on CD from the library or “rent” one from Cracker Barrel if on a long interstate trip.  You can usually rent one for about $5 from Cracker Barrel.  You “pay” the full price for the audio book, and then, after turning it back in, they give you most of the money back minus the small rental fee. 

Car BINGO

Print out some car BINGO cards and let your kids go to town. You can even make your own cards.  It keeps kids engaged and looking out the window rather than at a screen. 

For ever item they see on their card, they can mark it off. 

For kids who cannot read, you can still play this game using photos instead of words.

The ABC Game

I think my family totally made up this game, but I remember it being so much fun!

It is an activity for kids who can read, but I remember playing it in elementary school and onward. 

How to play:  Everyone looks for the letter “A” to start.  When you see it, you shout “A” and then where you see that letter. 

No one else can use what you found for your letter.  You then progress to the next letter in the alphabet.  The first person to get to “Z” wins. 

This game would keep us entertained for hours, and we were quick to call out the person fibbing about the letters they claimed to see!

Travel games

My husband and I had a travel Scrabble game we used prior to kids when traveling in the airports. 

There are travel games for all age levels.  Many of the games have pieces that stick to the game board by tension or with magnets. 

My favorites are Tic-Tac-Toe, Yahtzee, Battleship, or a Scavenger Hunt Travel card game.

Coloring Books

Kids love to color.  Pack a couple coloring books in a bag and crayons in a small zipper pouch.  This activity works great in cars and as something to do on airplanes.

Action figures or dolls

My girls love to play with their Barbie Dolls in the car.  I can pack four of them, two for each child, and they will make up their own pretend scenarios for their dolls.  It is hilarious to hear what they come up with in the back seat when they don’t realize anyone is listening. 

My youngest also likes to play with dinosaur figures in the car.  They are entertaining and handle dirt really well if they fall out of the car at any point on the trip.

Etch-a-Sketch or Magnetic Drawing Board

A classic, portable, entertainment activity.  You can buy an Etch-a-Sketch in a variety of sizes.

I also love the magnetic drawing boards. They are easier to work for younger children.

Simon

OK, you need the Simon with the silence button, but if you have it, this can be a fun game in the car, and siblings can compete against each other.

View Master

My kids have our old View Masters, and for some reason, they LOVE taking these in the car.  They have about 20 “stories” they can read/watch through the View Masters.  You can still find this classic toy on Amazon. 

Travel Journal

Get your kids used to the healthy habit of journaling or writing.  Pack them a notepad and zipper pouch of fun pens. 

Ask your kids to write you a story.  For younger kids, they can draw pictures.  I especially like the notebooks with practice writing lines and a space for a picture at the time for younger kids. 

Have your kids track the places they have been, stopped at along the way, and their favorite memories of a long road trip.

Maps

As a child, I was obsessed with reading a map when we traveled.  Find an old road atlas and give your child a highlighter.  At every stop or turn, let them highlight what you have traveled so far.  They will learn map skills, which is becoming a lost art with the use of GPS. 

Cookie Sheet

Turn a cheap cookie sheet from the dollar store into an instant lap desk for your little one in the car.  You can use magnets on it, or let it act as a lap desk for coloring, etc. 

Pipe cleaners

Pipe cleaners make great sculpting materials when in the car.  Throw a bunch of pipe cleaners into a Ziplock bag and see what they can create. 

If you want to get fancy, I really like Wikki Stix. These are also fun when standing in line at Disney World.

Books

Books are an iffy type item to bring on a long car trip as an activity for your kids. 

I have one kid that doesn’t get car sick, and one kid that loves to read, but she will ultimately want to hurl.  Play this one by ear, or limit the time a child reads while riding in the car.

Glow Sticks

If traveling at night, grab a pack of glow sticks, glow necklaces or glow bracelets.  It will keep little ones entertained in the car until it is time to fall asleep. 

Our favorite car trip organizing trick

If you are looking for my favorite way to carry car trip activities in the car, I highly recommend you check out this amazing bag called the MollieOllie Caddie.  It has a sturdy box design and tons of pockets along the outside.  It also has a removable divider to make three compartments on the inside of the bag. 

We LOVE this bag.  Since we live in a rural area, our car trip rides are often in excess of one hour if we have to go to town.  The MollieOllie Caddie has become known as the “fun bag” in our house. 

All I do is tell the kids to pack the “fun bag”, and they will fill it up with all their favorites for the long car ride.  It holds just enough stuff to not be annoying and cluttered in the car but able to keep them busy for hours.

Our go-to packing list is usually a few paperback books, four Barbie dolls (two for each kid), and whatever random toy or activity they want to fill the third compartment.  It is the perfect carrying bag for our favorite car trip activities. 

Car trip activities unplugged

Car trip activities for kids doesn’t have to include the most modern technology and hours of staring at a screen.  In fact, kids can have fun and watch the hours pass by while using their imagination and creativity.

Go pack your “fun bags” and get ready for an amazing family road trip!

Car Trip Activities for Kids (Unplugged)Read More

Limiting screen time for kids is becoming more and more important as technology replaces so much of what we do everyday! The average 8-12 year-old child in America watches 4 hours and 36 minutes of TV every day according to a study in 2015 by Common Sense Media.  That’s a lot of TV for a growing mind!

With smartphones, the average screen time your child is exposed to has likely gone up!

When we first had kids, we were going to exclude TV and screens until our kids were two years old.  Then, reality hit.  Sometimes, mama needs a babysitter before she loses her mind. Elmo was a great babysitter.

Screen time = Bad behavior

When we started to pay attention to how much screen time our kids were getting, we learned our sweet precious angels turned into little terrors after watching television.

It took a while to see the correlation before we started to limit screen time for our kids.

At first, we thought they were up too late to finish a movie.  Then we thought, maybe their nap wasn’t long enough, or it was time for a nap, or they were hungry.  

Finally, one day I realized it was the screen time.  Every time my kids had screen time, they turned into holy nightmares.

In a fed up state, I banned all screen time for two entire weeks.  That was a HARD punishment to keep. 

Life without screens 

Those two weeks without screen time were HARD and WONDERFUL.  We were never big TV watchers, but having no TV made it easy to see just how much we still depended on it for entertainment.

We had to get creative with our time. Our Friday movie nights turned into game nights. 

While game night is fun, teaching toddlers how to lose makes a mama want an extra glass of wine! 

I learned in those two weeks that we didn’t need screen time to have fun and we’ve never looked back. 

How we manage limiting screen time for our kids

Now, we have a very structured schedule for screen time.

Our two elementary aged kids get screen time twice a week.  They get one movie on Friday night and two hours of cartoons on Saturday morning. That’s it. 

That equates to four hours of screen time in one week. 

The kids get no screen time during the school week.  There are rarely exceptions made.  

Set a schedule for screen times

Decide when and how long you will allow your kids to watch TV every week.  

Tell your family the new schedule and stick to it.  If you make exceptions, they WILL remember.  You will be opening yourself up for begging and pleading for screen time you used to allow and are now trying to limit.

Allowing one agreed upon movie every week has turned into a wonderful family tradition.  We make homemade pizzas and then tune in. We also skip baths!

If Friday night movie is missed for whatever reason, we do allow a reschedule on a weekend night.  

Don’t give your kids screens

Don’t give your kids screens, and you will be able to easily limit screen time.

This means take the TV out of their room if there is one in there. You can probably survive on one TV in the home, in a shared area.

Kids under 12 don’t need their own cell phones. If you get them one for safety reasons, you can limit their access. Use parental controls and place the phones in a charging station when they are home.

Kids under 12 don’t need their own tablets. There, I said it. Kids will get plenty of exposure to screens while at school. They don’t need more time at home.

Kids need time to play, read, or do other creative activities when home. They don’t need a screen to entertain them.

What do the kids do after school with no screen time?

I don’t let my kids watch a show while I make dinner. They can play outside (yes, even in the freezing cold), play inside or help make dinner.  They can do homework or build something.

I also let my kids be bored.

Let your kids be bored

Let your kids be bored.  They will surprise you.  Sure, if they are used to a ton of TV, they will whine and complain for a while.  Let them.  They will adjust. You will adjust. I promise.

When kids are bored, their imaginations run wild.  They will build a fort, play outside, read, and pretend play. The possibilities are endless when you give them the time to actually use their minds.  

TVs don’t allow a child to practice with their imaginations.  Sorry.  Even the educational shows don’t allow for enough learning and creativity.  Nothing teaches a child like experiencing actual life.

Related post: How Fewer Toys Will Benefit Your Kids

Lead by example 

We limited our kids’ television time and also limited our own screen time. Lead by example and your kids will follow.

We don’t put on the news while dinner is cooking because inevitably, they end up staring at the TV instead of playing, even if they don’t understand what’s being said.

We watch one show together at night, after the kids go to bed.  On Sundays, we watch CBS Sunday Morning News as a family.  Weird I know, but we love it! 

When kids don’t see you watching television all the time, they will start to want to mirror that example, well into adulthood.

Related post: Take a Smartphone Detox

Save money and cut cable

When you stop watching television all the time as a family, you will realize you don’t need a crazy expensive cable bill and may join the many cord cutters. 

You can save so much money by dropping cable.  We have Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime video.  While that’s probably way too much, we pay $17 a month for Hulu and Netflix.  (I don’t count Amazon. We pay for it regardless!)

My kids get to watch TV that is ad-free and monitored by me.  I hate television ads and the impact they have on small, impressionable minds.  By cutting cable, I have a little more control over this and get to save money on my TV monthly bill!!

Related Post: Save Hundreds on Monthly Expenses

TV ads contribute to a life of excess

When we cut TV, we didn’t realize we were severely limiting our children’s influence by advertising and marketing. When it comes to gift time, their requests are not the latest popular toys because they don’t know they exist!

Their only knowledge of toys is what they see in the store.  They pick what appeals to them, but it is not because of a TV commercial.  I love that.

Related post: Teaching Minimalism to Children

Cut out YouTube for your child

Going back to letting your child be bored, don’t use YouTube as an entertainment option when your child is bored.

YouTube is like TV, but uncensored.  Before you know it, your kid’s princess show turns into an inappropriate video made by some teen.  Even with the parental controls on YouTube, blindly handing your child your phone or tablet can lead to unnecessary screen time and possible inappropriate material for your child’s age.

Limiting screen time for kids is possible

Limiting screen time for your kids seems scary when TV is your go-to form of entertainment.  However, you can limit screen time for your kids fairly easily.  Take it one day at a time.  If you falter, start again the next day.  

If it has rained for a week straight, break out a movie.  Your main goal is to not let TV become your primary source of entertainment.   It will be painful at first, likely for everyone involved, but you will create a new normal without TV for your kids.

Follow my Minimalism with Kids Pinterest board for more ideas on a simpler way of living!

How to Limit Screen Time for Your KidsRead More

Looking for a super easy homemade Halloween costume idea for kids? I got you.

I got sick of buying new $30-50 Halloween costumes every year that my kids wore only once or added to their already overflowing collection of dress-up costumes.  They didn’t need any more stuff to add to their cluttered rooms! 

Enter my desperation to stop spending money and stop adding to the clutter.  Now, every year we either recycle an old costume or we make our own easy, homemade Halloween costume from what we have already on hand or from cheap thrift store finds.

I love the creativity that comes from Halloween.  For me, a homemade Halloween costume is way better and way more unique than having the same outfit everyone at school or the party went out and bought.

Don’t despair, instead of having to search the internet just days before Halloween, I’ve done the searching for you and found THE BEST and easiest homemade Halloween costume ideas for kids.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.  This post contains affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a penny more)! Read my full disclosure policy.

Simple and Super Easy Homemade Halloween Costumes for Kids:

1. Felt Monarch Butterfly Wings – From Buggy and Buddy 

Check out this affordable homemade Halloween costume tutorial.  You get step-by-step instructions on how to piece this costume together.  Since it is made out of felt, it will be a very budget-friendly costume for your little one.

2. DIY Scuba Diver Costume – From Delineate Your Dwelling 

This homemade Halloween costume is so incredibly cute, and the materials list is short and affordable if you have some swimming stuff sitting around.  Even if you don’t, if you can find some goggles on sale after the summer season, it should be pretty easy to put this one together!

3. Mummy costume your kid can make! – From Red Ted Art

This is a no-sew homemade Halloween costume your kids could put together on your own.  Red Ted Art has an entire series of costumes kids could put together.  Get your kids involved in the process, and save some cash too this Halloween season!

4. Yoda Costume – From Pulling Curls 

Pulling Curls is a new favorite blog I’ve stumbled on recently.  For all you Star Wars fans, this is the cutest little homemade Halloween costume.  The hat is the trickiest part of the costume, but you get step-by-step instructions on how to do it, and it is totally doable without spending an arm and a leg on a costume from the store.

5. Spider Costume – From Dollar Store Crafts

This is a great last-minute homemade Halloween costume using an all-black outfit, black socks, black duct tape, and other simple materials.  You can really make this whole outfit for less than $15, best guess, even if you had to buy the black shirt and pants.  You could also use a black hoodie instead of a t-shirt. (We live where it is pretty cold at Halloween!)

6. DIY Planet Costume – From Delineate Your Dwelling 

I LOVE this blog.  Here is another amazingly simple but clever homemade Halloween costume from Delineate Your Dwelling.  I showed this one to my five-year-old, and she was obsessed with being a plant for Halloween now!

7. Unicorn Costume – From 365 Days of Crafts 

This uniform costume will be easy to assemble.  Get a matching hoodie and a pair of leggings from a discount big box store.  The only other items you need are some pink and gold Olyfun fabric (who knew this existed?!), hot glue, and a sewing machine or large sewing needle.  Any little girl will LOVE this costume.  They can even wear the hoodie when it is not Halloween! So you get a repeat wear, which is always a win in my book.

8. DIY Dino Hoodie – From See Vanessa Craft 

This blog has so many cute ideas for homemade crafts.  I love this dinosaur DIY hoodie.  Kids can wear it to school, and it shouldn’t bother them all day.  If you have a dinosaur lover, they could also use the hoodie outside of just Halloween.  I love it when you can keep using a costume!

9. Little Red Riding hood

Another hoodie homemade Halloween costume that would not cost much to make.  Your little girl can still play dress-up with it after the Halloween season.  You can even repurpose a generic Easter basket to go with the outfit!

The tutorial no longer exists, but you can still make this costume. Get a red hoodie, sew on a very basic red cape, add some lace, and pull out the Easter basket. Easy-peasy!

10. Jellyfish DIY costume – From Almost The Real Thing 

This outfit is sooooo cute! I had a family member do this with her girls one year, and they were by far the most popular (and probably safest) kids on the street! If you want a little light with your kid’s costume, this one is perfect!

11. DIY Superhero capes – From My Handmade Home 

Superhero capes are a super simple homemade Halloween costume idea and they can be used for dress-up any time of the year! They are also great for both little girls and boys.  One of my favorite minimalist type costumes given their ability to be worn all the time.

12. Hoodie Bat Costume – From The Dieter Family

This is an easy to assemble, homemade Halloween costume using a hoodie, some black felt, and black stain.  Again, another homemade Halloween costume that can be reused outside of just the Halloween season if your little one is obsessed with it!

These are my favorite, super easy homemade Halloween costumes for kids! No crazy sewing and artistic skills required, and there are lots of great tutorials to help you put together that last-minute costume without breaking the bank!

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Christmas is just around the corner! Check out these simple, homemade Christmas gift ideas for kids! 

Super Easy Homemade Halloween Costume Ideas for KidsRead More

Are there really benefits of minimalism for moms? I mean, the concept almost seems impossible when you are surrounded by piles and piles of clutter.

Moms, we all have the same goals.  We try to be the best mom possible and keep the tiny humans happy and thriving.  Pre-kids, the thought of being a parent seemed easy.  Oh, I’ll parent like this, or my house will never be destroyed like that.  The judgment was passed out freely! And then, reality hits.  The tiny humans are really tiny tornados.  They make our houses look like pure chaos, they turn our schedules upside down, and they make us react in ways we NEVER thought possible. (I understand now, Mom, and I’m sorry!)

Being a mom is hard

I love being a mom! It has been the greatest joy, but I won’t lie, it has been hard.  The constant cleaning up, the constant bending of our schedule, and the constant managing of volatile emotions.  It is exhausting, and yet it is equally rewarding, especially when we have more good days than challenging ones.

A few years ago, I made it my mission to simplify my mom life.  I felt like I was drowning in clutter at home, and our schedules were all over the place.  I was doing things that added no value, and we were spending money like crazy to keep up with the Joneses.  It wasn’t our style, and it was uncomfortable.  Our house was becoming a storage unit for unneeded items, and we were working hard to constantly upgrade.

Time for a change

Then, something changed. I discovered minimalism.  Minimalism isn’t just a life of living in bare rooms with white walls, white furniture and one single box of toys for my kids.  (The thought of white walls and white furniture terrifies me with kids!) Minimalism for me is learning to live a life with less and gaining so much value from having less.  It means living a life with less chaos, less wants for things I don’t need, and less clutter in my home.

The benefits of minimalism for moms:

1 – Experiences over things.

Instead of showering my kids with excessive toys they will never fully enjoy or treating myself to a day of shopping at the mall on the weekend, we now choose experiences over things.  We no longer shop for the endorphin high that comes from buying something new and pretty.  We buy the things we need.

We take the time and money we would be spending on material items, and we invest it into doing activities together as a family.  When I took a no shopping challenge, I had no idea I was forcing myself to make memories instead, but that is exactly what happened.  I had to get creative with my time, find free activities to do instead of shopping, and the end result was amazing memories with my family.

2 – I get to teach my kids about consumerism.

Another one of the benefits of minimalism for moms is it allows you to teach your kids about marketing and consumerism.  You can talk about the tactics marketers use on kids and parents.  You can talk about how they make us want to buy things, and then talk about how to work around those emotions.

Now, I have young kids, so our conversations are pretty simple.  For example, we talk about how we don’t buy toothpaste with characters on it.  Why mommy? Well because they can charge a higher price to get you to buy that toothpaste even if it is not the best choice.

We aren’t going super deep with our conversations.  However, we are teaching them early that we don’t buy things based on emotion and wants.  Ultimately, this will help your children as they become purchasing adults.

3 –  Less time is spent doing chores.

This is by far my FAVORITE of all of the benefits of minimalism for moms.  When you have less stuff, you have less stuff to pick up, less laundry to do, fewer dishes to clean, and less pick-up around the house.  Less stuff ultimately means fewer chores!

Fewer chores mean more time, which makes this mama happy.

4 – Minimalism means less clutter

Minimalism makes me a better mom because there is less clutter in my home and less clutter in my life.  Physical and emotional clutter can make a mama feel overwhelmed, tired, and cranky.  It can make the days feel impossible.  Being a mom is challenging enough, and there is no reason to let clutter add to the challenges.

5 – More time outside.

When your kids have fewer toys, one of the benefits of minimalism is they spend more time outside using their imaginations and getting exercise.  This also presents an opportunity for you to get outside with them! (See #3, fewer chores so more time!)

Going outside alone can make you feel happier.  However, when you are outside, you tend to follow your kids, and you exercise by moving around outside with them.  Exercise makes you happy, especially fun exercise.

6 – More money in the bank.

When you practice minimalism as a family, another benefit is you stop spending unnecessarily.  When you stop spending on useless things, you end up with more money in the bank.  Minimalism makes me a better mom when I am not stressing about our emergency fund or how we are going to pay an unexpected expense.

7 – Minimalism helps ensure the house is company ready.

Minimalism makes me a better mom in that is helps me regularly have a “company ready” home.  Now, I won’t lie.  I still have those tiny tornados destroying the place.  However, pick-up is easier, and maintaining a home becomes easier.

I remember madly cleaning the house once and my four-year-old asking me who was coming over. Was my stress level really that obvious every time we were planning on guests?

8 – Mama is happier.

The most appealing of the benefits of minimalism for moms is that it helps you feel less stressed, less chaotic, and it gives you back time with your family.  Ultimately, this can make you happier as a mama.  Physical and emotional clutter can be so draining.

When the house is clean and schedules are simplified, I no longer am nagging all the time, stressed over the state of our home, or struggling to get from one obligation to another.

Minimalism works for moms

Minimalism makes me a better mom because life has been simplified.  I get time to breathe now, and  I get back time to play with my kids.  I also get a chance to teach my kids how living with less really can lead to a fuller life with more happiness.  We don’t want to teach them that “more stuff” is the life they should strive to achieve.  Instead, I want them to get a chance to see how minimalism and simple living can make them happy.

What are some benefits of minimalism for moms you have experienced or hope to get from embracing a simpler life? 

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