Mom normalizes messes & chaos for stay-at-home moms in emotional TikTok

If you’ve ever found yourself down a “MomTok” rabbit hole, then you’re already well aware of the amazing mom content TikTok has to offer. And if you’re not familiar with the mothers of TikTok, maybe this mom will convince you to bite the bullet and log on. This series is one of the best TikTok viral videos on the entire app.

Emily Feret (also known as TikTok user @emilyjeanne333) recently posted a video where she decided to “normalize normalcy” and show what her house looks like most days. Instead of aesthetically trendy white walls, perfectly watered plants, a meticulously organized pantry, and nary a Hot Wheels car or a Barbie shoe to be found, Emily’s house looks like most people’s homes.

It’s not hard to see why her TikTok viral videos resonate with so many.

Check it out:

We’re talking cluttered countertops, piles of toys so wide you can barely see the carpet, laundry everywhere, half-eaten bananas because toddlers, and a garage so full of kid stuff that a car hasn’t been parked inside in…a long time. Every time Emily posts one of these videos, which quickly took off into a series, moms everywhere share many comments thanking her for the LOLs. But more than that, a lot of parents out there thank her for making them feel, well, normal.

“I was really tired of feeling ‘less than’ and comparing myself to other lives portrayed on social media,” Emily tells Motherly. “Nothing validates me more than when I know someone out there is going through the exact same thing as me. I know I am a good mom. I wanted other moms, and really anyone out there, that if their life does not look like an Instagram post it doesn’t mean you aren’t doing well.”

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As a mama who loves TikTok, I follow a dozen accounts just for cleaning and organizing tips. And they’ve helped a lot! Other people are really good at thinking of organizational hacks and products that never would have occurred to me, and I’m deeply grateful for their carefully curated content.

In her most recent viral TikTok, Emily answers a stay-at-home mom who is where we’ve all been: overwhelmed, emotional, and at her breaking point.

“The mess isn’t going to go anywhere. You have young kids. You’re at home all the time. You’re living in your home. It’s going to look lived-in, and that’s okay,” she says. “Your kids are little. Enjoy them. Love them.”

“I want you to know that you’re doing enough by doing exactly what you’re doing right now,” Emily says in her perfect response.

I’m super happy that moms like Emily are out there showing the rest of us (who love TikTok but are utterly bereft of the skills needed to actually post videos) that it’s okay if our homes look like children live there. Because they do.

She says she gets messages every day from fellow parents thanking her for making them feel OK about their homes and lives.

“All I have ever wanted to do is to help other people,” she says. “The response has been overwhelming. I have people sending me gifts and celebrities commenting on my posts. It’s incredibly surreal. I started TikTok as a way to survive quarantine whilst I was pregnant with a toddler and the fact that it has grown into something that is helping people and has brought together an awesome community is incredible.”

This article has been updated. The original was posted on April 20, 2021.

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