Month: March 2026

Posted in home, Motherhood

I Don’t Buy the ‘Messy House is Fine’ Message (Here’s Why)

Posted on by theselfcleaninghouse

It’s okay to have a chaotic, messy house.
Dishes piled high. Laundry everywhere.

“Your kids will remember the memories, not the mess.”

Spend five minutes on social media and you’ll hear that message over and over again.

And I’m going to gently challenge it.

Because listen… I get it.

Kids are messy.
They make it harder to keep a home clean.
Some seasons feel like you’re just trying to survive until bedtime.

I have lived that life.

But somewhere along the way, we started believing something that doesn’t sit quite right with me…

That the mess doesn’t matter at all.

And I just don’t believe that’s true.

Yes—your kids will remember memories.

But they are also learning how to live.

They are watching:

  • how you take care of your home
  • how you handle responsibility
  • whether things have order… or chaos

We all want our kids to grow into capable, confident adults.

One of the greatest gifts we can give them is teaching them:

  • work first, then play
  • everything has a home
  • we take care of what we’ve been given

If we throw up our hands and say,
“I’ll just have a clean house when they move out…”

What are we actually teaching them?

Not discipline.
Not responsibility.
Not how to manage their own space… or even their own thoughts.

And that matters.

“Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work.” – C.S. Lewis

This doesn’t mean no fun.

Not even close.

In fact… it’s more fun to play in a clean space.

Have you ever noticed kids will leave a messy room and go play somewhere else?

They feel the chaos too—they just don’t know how to fix it yet.

That’s where we come in.

Because here’s the truth:

You can’t just tell a child, “Go clean your room.”

That has to be taught.

And there are simple, doable ways to teach it—without turning your home into a battleground.

(I’ll show you exactly how in my next post 😉)

Do yourself—and your kids—a favor.

Teach them how to care for their space.
Show them what order looks like.

Because one day… it won’t be your house they’re living in.

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Proverbs 22:6 (ESV)

With love,

Elizabeth XOXO

Posted in Cleaning and Routines

Less Is More: Finding Peace by Simplifying Your Life

Posted on by theselfcleaninghouse

A gentle reminder that sometimes peace comes from choosing less.

In a world that constantly pushes us to do more, have more, and be more, I used to think “more” meant better.

More decorations.
More commitments.
More activity.
More effort.

If life felt chaotic, I assumed I just needed to manage it better. Get more organized. Try harder. Add another system.

But I’ve started to notice something.

More doesn’t always mean better.
Sometimes more just means full.
Full schedules.
Full rooms.
Full minds.

And full doesn’t always feel peaceful.

Maybe the answer isn’t better management.

Maybe it’s simply less.

When people talk about “less is more,” we usually think about stuff. A minimalist home. Bare shelves. Clean counters. And while I’m not aiming for stark or sterile, I can absolutely get behind having less to manage.

Most of us have too much stuff. And too much stuff means too much cleaning… or at least too much trying to clean.

The truth is, you can’t organize clutter. The two don’t belong together. You can buy bins, baskets, and labels, but if there is simply too much, it will always feel overwhelming.

Clutter is stressful. Your brain is constantly processing it, whether you realize it or not.

Less clutter. More peace.

But this idea goes beyond closets and cabinets.

What about commitments?

Are we saying yes to things we should be saying no to?
Too many appointments. Too many committees. Too many obligations.
Are we keeping ourselves so busy that exhaustion feels normal?

Less commitments. More rest.

What about noise?

Not just loud noise — but constant noise. The television always on. Phones always scrolling. Something always playing in the background. Even if we aren’t really watching or listening, it’s still input. Our brains are still processing it.

I’ve noticed I think more clearly when there’s quiet. I respond more thoughtfully. I pray more intentionally. Quiet isn’t empty. It’s restorative.

Less noise. More clarity.

And then there’s social media.

I’m not anti-social media. It connects us. It inspires us. It informs us. But it is constant input — opinions, advice, news, comparison, highlight reels. Even when it’s harmless, it’s still something our minds have to sift through.

I’ve noticed that when I scroll less, I compare less. I feel calmer. I am more present in my actual life instead of observing someone else’s.

Less scrolling. More contentment.

And what about pressure?

Do you feel it?
Are you pressuring yourself?
Are you allowing others to pressure you?

Sometimes we carry expectations that were never ours to begin with. We think we should be doing more, achieving more, hosting more, posting more, being more.

But maybe we don’t need to add one more thing to improve our lives.

Maybe we need to remove something.

“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.”
— Hans Hofmann

I’m not writing this because I’ve mastered it. I’m writing it because I’m learning it. I’m learning that full isn’t the same as fulfilled. I’m learning that peace doesn’t come from managing chaos more efficiently — it comes from reducing what creates it.

Less clutter.
Less noise.
Less pressure.

More peace.
More clarity.
More presence.

I’m not suggesting we sell everything we own, cancel every commitment, and sit in silence all day.

I’m simply asking the question:

What if less really is more?

What if less noise allowed you to hear your own thoughts again?
What if fewer commitments gave you space to breathe?
What if less scrolling made you more content with the life right in front of you?
What if less pressure made room for peace?

Take a moment today to consider what might be creating unnecessary noise, pressure, or clutter in your life.

You might be surprised how much peace can come from choosing just a little less.

“Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.”
— Ecclesiastes 4:6

Maybe the life you’re longing for isn’t found in adding more.

Maybe it’s found in choosing less.

I hope this resonates with you as much as it did with me while writing it.

With love,


Elizabeth xoxo