What if the goal of parenting isn’t perfection - but repair?

In this episode, I’m joined by Eli Harwood, therapist, mother of three, and author of How to Heal Your So Your Kids Don’t Have To: An Encyclopedia for Ditching Your Emotional Baggage. Together, we explore the messy but meaningful work of breaking cycles, building secure attachment, and learning how to parent with greater emotional awareness.

Eli shares why attachment is far more flexible than many parents realize and how repair — not getting everything right the first time — is often what builds the deepest trust and connection. We also discuss practical ways to navigate anger, defensiveness, control habits, jealousy, blame, and body image struggles, while examining the deeper emotional needs often underneath these reactions.

This conversation is a compassionate reminder that intentional parenting isn’t about becoming flawless. It’s about learning to stay present, take accountability, and create relationships rooted in empathy, responsiveness, and repair.

• Checkout the podcast storefront for recommendations from Diane.
• Subscribe to the Minimalist Moms Youtube Channel
• Connect with Eli:
• Website
• Instagram
• Podcast: How To Deal
• Book: How to Deal with Your ____ So Your Kids Don't Have to: An Encyclopedia for Ditching Your Emotional Baggage

Eli Harwood is a licensed therapist, creator of Attachment Nerd, and author of the books "Securely Attached", "Raising Securely Attached Kids," and “How to Deal with Your (__) So Your Kids Don’t Have to”. She has over 19 years of clinical experience, over 1.5 million followers across her social media platforms, and is on a mission to make the world a more secure place one attachment relationship at a time. Eli has three children, one husband, two cats, a gaggle of chickens, and an extraordinary number of high maintenance plants!

The Minimalist Moms Podcast would not be possible without the support of weekly sponsors. Choosing brands that I believe in is important to me. I only want to recommend brands that I believe may help you in your daily life. As always, never feel pressured into buying anything. Remember: if you don't need it, it's not a good deal!

Post a review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning into this podcast, then do not hesitate to write a review. You can also share this with your fellow mothers so that they can be inspired to think more and do with less.

Order (or review) my book, Minimalist Moms: Living & Parenting With Simplicity.

You can contact me through my website, find me on Instagram, Pinterest or like The Minimalist Moms Page on Facebook.

Today, we're planning our summer! Joining me for the conversation is host of the Minimal-ish podcast, Desirae Endres! Instead of traditional scheduling, Desirae shares her four pillars of minimal-ish living to help shape the summer season. We chat balancing flexibility and structure, creating simple routines, prioritizing family connections, and finding time for friendships. I hope this episode is helpful to you as you kick off your own minimal(ish) summer!

The Minimalist Moms Podcast would not be possible without the support of weekly sponsors. Choosing brands that I believe in is important to me. I only want to recommend brands that I believe may help you in your daily life. As always, never feel pressured into buying anything. Remember: if you don't need it, it's not a good deal!

Post a review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning into this podcast, then do not hesitate to write a review. You can also share this with your fellow mothers so that they can be inspired to think more and do with less.

Order (or review) my book, Minimalist Moms: Living & Parenting With Simplicity.

You can contact me through my website, find me on Instagram, Pinterest or like The Minimalist Moms Page on Facebook.

What truly makes a place feel like home?

In this episode, I’m joined by Jean Stoffer and Grace Stoffer of The Established Home to discuss their children’s book, We Are Home When We’re Together, inspired by their families’ experiences with moving, transition, and the emotions that often accompany change.

Together, we explore how to help children navigate uncertainty with honesty, steadiness, and compassion. Jean shares what it was like leaving the Chicago area for Michigan to be closer to family, while Grace reflects on relocating her own family after an unexpected housing transition that ultimately inspired the heart of the book.

We discuss how home is often less about a physical space and more about the people we share life with, the importance of listening to children’s fears without dismissing them, and how faith, memory, and connection can help anchor families through seasons of change.

• Checkout the podcast storefront for recommendations from Diane.
• Subscribe to the Minimalist Moms Youtube Channel
• Grace's Resource: Nuuly
• Jean's Can't Stop Talking About: The Bible Recap
• Connect with Jean & Grace:
• Jean's Website
• Jean's Instagram
• Grace's Instagram
• Stoffer Home
• Book: We Are Home When We’re Together

Jean Stoffer is an award‑winning designer, television personality, and longtime storyteller at heart. She is known for her warm, thoughtful spaces, affection for the kitchen and her love of family. Jean and her husband Dale live in Michigan, have four adult children and 13 grandchildren (so far!)

Grace Start, a former preschool teacher is the other half of the acclaimed design firm Jean Stoffer Design along with her mother, Jean. Her family, faith and love of design inspires all she does. She and her husband Ted have fixed up several homes, moving each time with their growing family. She is a mother of four and resides in West Michigan.

The Minimalist Moms Podcast would not be possible without the support of weekly sponsors. Choosing brands that I believe in is important to me. I only want to recommend brands that I believe may help you in your daily life. As always, never feel pressured into buying anything. Remember: if you don't need it, it's not a good deal!

Post a review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning into this podcast, then do not hesitate to write a review. You can also share this with your fellow mothers so that they can be inspired to think more and do with less.

Order (or review) my book, Minimalist Moms: Living & Parenting With Simplicity.

You can contact me through my website, find me on Instagram, Pinterest or like The Minimalist Moms Page on Facebook.

What happens when women slowly lose themselves inside motherhood, marriage, addiction, caregiving, and the pressure to keep everything together?

In this Going Deeper Episode, I’m joined by novelist Jessica Guerrieri to discuss her emotionally layered new novel, Both Can Be True. Jessica vulnerably shares how addiction can evolve beyond substances into cravings for validation, desirability, productivity, and being needed - and why connection, honesty, and learning to stay present in difficult emotions are often the real path toward healing. We also explore motherhood’s contradictions, unresolved trauma, social media’s impact on selfhood, and the subtle ways women lose themselves while trying to be everything for everyone else.

While this conversation centers around Jessica’s novel, it ultimately becomes a deeper discussion about intentional living, emotional awareness, and what it looks like to reclaim yourself in a world that constantly pulls you away from who you truly are.

• Checkout the podcast storefront for recommendations from Diane.
• Subscribe to the Minimalist Moms Youtube Channel
• Previous Episode: Sobriety, Storytelling, and the Truth About "Mommy Wine Culture" | Jessica Guerrieri (Going Deeper)
• Book: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
• Connect with Jessica:
• Website
• Instagram
• Book: Both Can Be True: A Novel

Jessica Guerrieri (grr-AIR-ee) is a Northern California–based writer and novelist, where she lives with her husband and three daughters. A former special education teacher, she left the classroom to raise her family and pursue writing full-time. Now more than a decade sober, she is a passionate advocate for addiction recovery, and her work centers on the complex interior lives of women, motherhood, and healing.

The Minimalist Moms Podcast would not be possible without the support of weekly sponsors. Choosing brands that I believe in is important to me. I only want to recommend brands that I believe may help you in your daily life. As always, never feel pressured into buying anything. Remember: if you don't need it, it's not a good deal!

Post a review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning into this podcast, then do not hesitate to write a review. You can also share this with your fellow mothers so that they can be inspired to think more and do with less.

Order (or review) my book, Minimalist Moms: Living & Parenting With Simplicity.

You can contact me through my website, find me on Instagram, Pinterest or like The Minimalist Moms Page on Facebook.

In this episode, author and journalist Lisa Katayama joins me to discuss her book The Japanese Way of Parenting and the lessons she’s bringing from her upbringing in Tokyo into raising her children in America. We explore Japanese parenting philosophies around cooperation, responsibility, routines, independence, and caring for others - while also discussing the balance between freedom and boundaries. This conversation is all about creating calmer, more connected homes and raising kind, capable kids in today’s world.

• Checkout the podcast storefront for recommendations from Diane.
• Subscribe to the Minimalist Moms Youtube Channel
• Connect with Lisa:
• Instagram
• Book: The Japanese Way of Parenting: And What It Taught Me About Raising (Mostly) Calm, Caring, Capable Kids

Lisa Katayama is a working mom and writer who was born and raised in Tokyo. She is the author of two books, including Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan, and is a former tech and culture journalist for Wired, Fast Company, and The New York Times Magazine. Katayama is a US-Japan Leadership Program Fellow and an Asia Society Young Leader and was named one of Forbes Japan’s Top Women to Watch in 2018. She currently serves as Chief Transformation Officer for the Japanese technology company Digital Garage and lives in Northern California with her family.

The Minimalist Moms Podcast would not be possible without the support of weekly sponsors. Choosing brands that I believe in is important to me. I only want to recommend brands that I believe may help you in your daily life. As always, never feel pressured into buying anything. Remember: if you don't need it, it's not a good deal!

Post a review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning into this podcast, then do not hesitate to write a review. You can also share this with your fellow mothers so that they can be inspired to think more and do with less.

Order (or review) my book, Minimalist Moms: Living & Parenting With Simplicity.

You can contact me through my website, find me on Instagram, Pinterest or like The Minimalist Moms Page on Facebook.