Sarah Michelle Gellar on life's messes: 'If your life is perfectly clean, you aren't living it'

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, there are plenty of people scrambling to pull off the perfect gift/surprise/day-of-a-lifetime for their significant other. Then there is Sarah Michelle Gellar, whose approach is much more relatable and quite genius. She and husband Freddie Prinze Jr. have been happily married since 2002, but now prefer to put the focus on their two adorable children together: Charlotte, 6, and Rocky, 3.

“It’s about the kids,” the 38-year-old told HELLO! at the Swiffer 'Yes to the Mess' event in NYC. “I think [Valentine's Day] has this pressure, if you aren’t with someone then you feel badly about yourself or if you are just with a person, what do you do?”

Photo: FilmMagic

She continued, “When you have children, it goes back to the nature of what it is about. It’s just that reminder, call your mom, call your brother. It’s gotten so past what it is supposed to be about.”

Aside from Valentine’s Day, the Cruel Intentions star, who just found out earlier that a new remake of the hit movie will be coming to TV, creates those memories on a constant basis with her family. “I equate food with love,” she continued at the event held at Maman Bakery. “That’s how we show affection; it’s another form.” Thanks to her Foodstirs foodcrafting kits, other families can also come together in the kitchen to make yummy, healthy treats perfect for a rainy or cold winter day (really any day!)

A photo posted by Sarah Michelle (@sarahmgellar) on Sep 13, 2015 at 7:35am PDT

And with baking comes the mess, but as a mom, Sarah Michelle quickly learned you can’t sweat the small stuff. “Before I had kids, I was OCD, but I know the importance of a mess,” she said. “That’s where all the good stuff comes from. If your life is perfectly clean, then you aren’t living it. I love to live in the moment.”

In fact, recently little Rocky thought their cabinets needed some freshening up. “My son decided to marker our kitchen cabinets earlier in the week – but you know what marker is washable,” she added. “Be in the moment with your family. It’s a great connection – and then you clean it up.”