Relational

Interview with Mike & Mollie

November 8, 2021

Created by Mike & Mollie. Subscribe to our blog.

As we continue to produce content each week, we also wanted to make sure that you, our readers, were able to see not just how we strive to live mindfully, but also have a glimpse into our personal sides.

Being able to know the people behind the writing can make it more enjoyable, so in this blog post, we thought it would be fun to answer some questions to allow you to do just that.

Most of the answers are written by me, Mollie, but I asked Mike to share his thoughts on a few as well.

How and when did you meet?

Mollie: We met in August 2007 during our Cross Country training week at Messiah College, right before our freshmen year began. As our families were saying their goodbyes and dropping us off, Mike’s sister spotted me in the crowd of girls and told him, “I think you’re going to end up liking that girl”. Soon after that we became really good friends (Mike secretly had a huge crush on me) and then we began dating a few months later.

How would you describe each other’s personalities?

Mollie: Mike is always someone who brings an outgoing, fun personality everywhere he goes. That’s what attracted me to him from the start! He is very intelligent (always reading a book), never passes down an adventure, a great listener, and definitely the “fun parent”. Even though he’s entered his 30’s, he still has such a playful, childlike spirit and is always making up games, playing rough with the kids, or making us all laugh with his antics.

When he becomes passionate about a hobby or pursuit, Mike puts everything he has into it. He’s had that trait ever since he was a child, but has since been able to learn how to use it productively and with a clear focus.

One of my favorite traits about Mike is how he connects with others. He even makes small talk interesting! He’s great at asking engaging questions, bringing the best out of people’s personalities, and is sensitive to knowing how to give advice.

Mike: I bet every single person who knows Mollie would agree with this statement: she has a sweet innocence about her. And I don’t mean to imply that she’s naive or gullible— ok, she’s a little gullible 😉 There’s simply not a bone in her body that has anything but goodwill towards others. We like to joke about the time in 7th grade that she got in trouble as the one time she ever intentionally broke a rule.

But Mollie is even more than one of the kindest people I know. She’s a great listener, an easy-going spirit, and always up for my crazy adventures. She doesn’t like being the center of attention, but she loves being around the action.

Oh, there’s one more trait about Mollie that I have to note, because I envy it so much (in a good way!). Usually you have Type-A personalities who get things done, but are always stressed, and Type-B personalities who are care-free, but a bit lax on the productivity end of things. Mollie is— I kid you not— the best of both worlds. At her best, she makes productive work seem effortless and leisure seem natural. I am in awe.

What’s the backstory behind the creation of the blog?

Mollie: The idea for our blog came to life as we were immersed deep in conversation during a long drive on vacation one summer. We had been reading a lot of books, articles, and blog posts and thought, “Let’s write the exact blog that we ourselves would want to read”. And so, This Evergreen Home began in January 2021. You can hear a few more details about the start of our blog in this video : )

When did you first hear of minimalism?

Mollie: Mike became the first one of us to embrace minimalism. He had a thriving blog in college, called The Art of Minimalism, where he explored living with less and how to push back against our consumerist society. I remember as we were just weeks away from our wedding, he suggested that we go without a tv once we moved into our new apartment. Our ideas of minimalism didn’t quite mesh until a few years later! Since then, Mike has always lived with a minimalist mentality.

Upon having three children and seeing all the “stuff” that can be accumulated, I realized the need to stop adding more and more and take a deep look at what is actually being used, played with, or worn. It took a few rounds of intense decluttering for me to see how powerful living with less can be.

What are your favorite hobbies?

Mollie: I love to bake and cook (only when children aren’t needing to be held or entertained!), take care of my indoor and outdoor plants, run, visit new places, and read while snuggled up with a soft blanket and hot cup of coffee.

Mike: My favorite things haven’t changed much over the past decade: reading books (I’m on a fiction kick, but I like non-fiction, too), exploring cities (I love the sense of enclosure and exploration that a city offers), playing sports (softball, tennis, etc.) and hanging out with friends (the recipe: unrushed, unstructured time with people who can be both goofy and serious).

What are your favorite places to travel?

Mollie: We love visiting new places, but there are a few that we keep returning back to over and over again because of the nostalgia that they bring. In the summer, we take many day trips to our favorite beach, Cape May, NJ. Our kids love the beach and most times the 3-hour drive each way is worth the long day.

We also love New York City and visit frequently (with and without kids). Some of our favorite things to do are explore Central Park, find great restaurants, visit museums, look at all the huge buildings and beautiful architecture, see the tree at Rockefeller Center at Christmas, and visit FAO Schwarz.

Our all-time favorite destination is Rome, Italy. We studied abroad in England for half a year during college. While there, we were able to travel around Europe and see some of the most beautiful sights (although I could probably go without returning back to some of those cheap hostels we stayed at!).

Who does the dishes and laundry?

Mollie: We both have our designated jobs when doing the dishes. Every evening, the dishwasher is run. In the morning, Mike unloads it, then throughout the day I continue to fill it up and wash any dishes by hand. Running the dishwasher every night definitely helps to keep a consistently clean sink!

Mike has taken on the chore of doing the laundry for the past few months. He created a great system so that it’s not an overwhelming part of the week, but rather a simple routine that is consistent, easy, and realistic. Monday through Thursday, one load of laundry is done per day. Before the day is over, that load must be washed, dryed, folded, and put away.

Who is more tidy and organized?

Mollie: Neither of us are very disorganized but since I’m the “gatekeeper” of our home, I am typically the one to know where every item goes. We each have our own spaces to keep clear from clutter, but the common areas (living room, kitchen, playroom) are a joint family effort where we involve the kids in cleanup too.

What are your favorite ways to spend time as a family?

Mollie: With Mike working from home and me homeschooling the kids, we do have lots of opportunities to spend time as a family throughout the day and evenings. When the weather is warm, we love to be outside (going on walks around town, playing at the playground, exploring the creek by our house, or running around the backyard). When it’s colder we spend more time inside reading books, playing games, and having fires in the fireplace (of course with s’mores).

A common sight you’d see in our home most evenings after dinner is Mike either making up games with the kids, having him play “puppy” as they lead him around on a leash, or watching them wrestle around the floor. Like I said earlier, he’s the “fun parent”!

What’s your favorite way to spend an evening at home after the kids go to bed?

Mollie: Mike and I really value our evening time together, which is why we make bedtime a regular routine around 7:30pm. Some of our favorite ways to spend an evening together are cooking a special dinner, playing card games, having our “research nights” (see our blog post for what this one is about!), listening to audio books, or sitting with a dessert or cold drink and having a good conversation. We occasionally enjoy a movie on the weekends or watching episodes of The Office or Seinfeld.

Before dinner, we always ask each other, “What do you want to do after the kids are down?”. Being intentional about planning our time allows for us to anticipate those few hours together as well as come up with any conversation topics we want to talk about.

What are your biggest pet peeves?

Mollie: I really hate being late, it stresses me out and I don’t like keeping other people waiting on me, or drawing attention to myself if I enter an event after it’s begun. Mike is much more relaxed (which I admire!) and doesn’t mind being fashionably late, so not only do I have to work hard to get the kids ready on time, but I also have to encourage Mike to keep moving ; )

Mike: Alright, this is kind of lame, but I’m turned off by foods that are slightly off from my expectations. Let’s say someone makes a favorite type of cookie, but uses gluten-free flour— I can’t eat it. But give me a type of cookie that I’ve never had before, and I’ll probably love it. So, I guess my pet peeve would be when someone tries to substitute an ingredient in a favorite recipe 😉

What are your favorite blog posts to write so far?

Mike: At the time of doing this interview (Nov 2021), we’ve published 77 essays on this blog, including this one. In looking back through the archives, the ones that jumped out to me as most meaningful had a common thread— the idea of taking simple ideas seriously. It truly has been one of the most useful mental models of my adult life.

Here are a few pieces I enjoyed writing:

Simplify Your Life: Take Simple Ideas Seriously – A post that sums up the concept.
The Power of Being Decisive
The Less Traveled Path to Riches
101 Simple Living Tips – I’ve always enjoyed reading posts like this one— kind of fun to have written one myself. It took far longer to write than I imagined!

Mollie: I’m still trying to decide what my most favorite category to write about is. I really enjoy writing practical posts such as decluttering tips, simplifying your belongings, and lessons in minimalism. But as a former teacher and now a mother, I find it natural to write about motherhood, finding gratitude in my days, and being intentional in parenthood.