Molly Sims wrote the book on making a healthy lifestyle chic and easy.
Molly Sims is in the eye of the “super mama storm.”
That’s how the humanitarian, model and actress—best known for her role on TV drama, Las Vegas—describes the universal struggle to balance motherhood, personal goals and self-care, while clinging to progressively elusive sanity.She has firsthand experience: After years as a “singleton,” Sims married Scott Stuber in 2011 and quickly got to work having three children in five years. As anyone who has ever had kids—or ridden near one on an airplane—knows, raising a brood of young ones is no easy task. Sims credits her access to all manner of experts, in fields from personal organizing to organic cooking, with helping to create ease along the way.
In her new book, Everyday Chic, Sims—with support from her bestie, Tracy O’Conner—culls advice from those experts on everything from creating a healthy home to integrating green design, in realistic ways for busy women. “My first book, Everyday Supermodel, was about your beauty inside and out, being the best you can be,” she recalls. “The second one really brings it into the home. My home is the heartbeat of my family. There’s a lot to do for my tribe of five! This book is about living with style and grace, doing the best you can do and taking what’s hard and making it more effortless.” With warmth and honesty, Sims hopes to let people into her world long enough to collect helpful tips on how to make home life a bit simpler—and chicer, of course.
For those who are accustomed to celebrity voices that feel preachy or smug when it comes to wellness, home decor and motherhood, Sims is refreshing. The self-proclaimed “connector,” who loves to introduce friends to new products and finds, is candid about the challenges of raising a family and how fortunate she feels to have access to great advice. “I’ve been so blessed to be introduced to so many people—a party planner, a cook, a chef—who have just blown me away, and I’ve tried to pick their brains all the way through it,” she says. “I get to share that.”
She isn’t peddling perfection, which she calls a “unicorn.” Instead, she is celebrating what she refers to as a “beautiful mess” and offering tools for how to find satisfaction and success in the chaos. “I have to be honest: You get tired and you’ve got to dig deep,” she reveals. “You need things that will help you get through those moments when you’re counting to 10. Even on my best day of multitasking, I’m always behind. And that’s kind of hard to be when you’re used to being one step ahead.”
“I try to live as organically and healthfully as possible—and I prioritize. I really try to create an environment that’s healthy and that I can thrive in.”
Everyday Chic is really like a journal of what Sims has been through over the last five years in the homemaking trenches. The book is broken up into sections with tips on meal hacks, party planning, decluttering, decorating and practicing positivity. Clean living is pervasive because, for Sims, that creates peace of mind for her family. Her interest in what is organic came with the birth of her children and the realization that it would take research to decipher what is real in the wellness world from what is not.
Since then, she has implemented all kinds of holistic and natural practices, and tried to simplify them so they’re less intimidating. “My home isn’t completely green, but I have done the best I can,” she explains. “I try to live as organically and healthfully as possible—and I prioritize. I really try to create an environment that’s healthy and that I can thrive in.” That has meant everything from creating her own nontoxic household cleaners (there are recipes in the book, some as simple as vinegar and water to a “better bleach” from 3/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide, 7 cups of water, 1/3 cup of lemon juice and 12 drops of citrus essential oil).
But health for Sims doesn’t only refer literally to the food her family eats and household products: She emphasizes emotional and mental well-being, too. That’s why her book includes tips on organizing, for example, so the environment is more lovely and conducive to calm and, from a practical standpoint, it’s easier to find things. “When the Home Edit came into my life, they turned me into a new person,” she enthuses. “They taught me to keep my drawers and closets 80 percent full and 20 percent empty. Once a month, I clean out my closet with three baskets labeled, ‘Keep It,’ ‘Donate It’ and ‘Dump It’ to keep my mind and space decluttered.” Even the structure of the book considers time management and simplification: The end of each section includes summaries of the most salient points for those who might not get to read every word.
The guide also includes practical tips like using outdoor fabric on indoor furniture, so that it’s simple to clean, and using nontoxic paint. Sims sings the praises of Honest Company—“Not just because Jess is one of my friends!”—as well as Truly Kissable Lip Crayon in Chestnut Kiss for feeling put together and also Conscious Coconut’s Coconut Melt to treat eczema for the whole family.
For Sims, a healthy home life, especially for busy mothers, is also about stepping away for a moment. “You have to take care of yourself, but there’s only so much you can do—some days, you can’t,” she shares. “My husband will say, ‘You have to take a breath.’ It sounds simple, but that can be really hard. You can’t keep your nine-month-old from spitting up on you or your two-and-a-half-year-old from leaving her dress up clothes everywhere or your five-year-old from raiding the toy bin. So, you have to embrace it and go with it.”
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