This lengthy article discusses working-class mothers' experiences in urban settings in the UK, specifically in Leeds, London, and Brighton. The article focuses on the financial crisis and its impacts, as well as particular dimensions of crisis that have been exacerbated by the austerity program in the UK, such as employment and housing insecurity, regional disparity, partner protection, experiences of class and ethnic prejudice and racism. The article argues that the affective responses of these women to intersecting crises can be interpreted as constituting a type of "political project" that embodies a pragmatic politics of coping, survival, and not being "worn out" by politics. The article concludes by speculating on the political opportunities that may follow from "mood work" that focuses attentively on the present and briefly contemplates the relevance of broader-level social movements.