5 Helpful Questions to Simplify Your Heart and Home

After having my third baby, suddenly things seemed to become so much more overwhelming. 

It wasn’t right away. God blessed us with so many beautiful months where joy flooded our home despite the busy days. But towards my baby’s one year birthday it was as if the laundry and dishes and needs from the little people became insurmountable. 

I was constantly behind, drowning in baskets of clean and yet not folded laundry. I was always at my wits end when it came time to cook dinner and I had no clue what I was making. We were going over budget almost every month (and not just because of inflation!). 

Overwhelm began to take over my heart and my home. And with that, joy seemed to fade.

I grew irritable and every little thing seemed to push me over the edge.

This was not how I wanted my years of mothering to look. This was not the kind of wife I wanted. And of course, I wanted my home to feel some semblance of put together.

In time, God began convicting my heart. He began to show me that I needed to simplify.

I needed to strip things back to the basics, really reflect on what needed to take up space in our home and our hearts and then simplify.

Just as a healthy tree needs pruned in order to produce fruit, our hearts and homes also need a bit of pruning in order to truly be fruitful. 

So today I want to give you 5 questions to ask yourself as you reflect on how you can simplify. You can download these questions as a printable journaling page with Scripture cards and a prayer card that you can use alongside your time of reflection.

A simple life in the Fear-of-God is better than a rich life with a ton of headaches. -Proverbs 15:16 MSG

Question #1: What are your top 5 priorities?

Prayerfully consider what things are most important to you right now. Five is not a lot and honestly I was tempted to add more. But consider the five most important things that you want to spend your time on or with.

Question #2: What physical areas of your life feel cluttered?

Consider your home. What spaces feel overwhelming? Are there areas that just don’t stay clean no matter how hard you try?

Maybe these are actual rooms like your kitchen or bedroom. Maybe they are more areas of your physical life like the laundry or the dishes.

What are the top 3-5 physical areas that feel cluttered?

Question #3: What emotional areas of your life feel cluttered or overwhelming?

Our heart and spirit are so important when we consider all that we do for the Lord and within our homes. As much as I want to put my own issues aside and just do things in my home well, I cannot if I ignore my own heart and my own spirit’s needs.

We need to spend time finding healing in areas that need it, seeking the Lord and spending time in His presence because this is where true joy and strength come from.

We need to spend time nourishing our spirit and our heart because this is an essential part of filling our cup so that we can create a lifegiving home that desires to know the Lord.

“If we would do our best for our children, grow we must; and on our power of growth surely depends, not only our future happiness, but our future usefulness.” -Charlotte Mason

Let us set aside time to heal, to grow and to nourish ourselves so that we can give in a way that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to.

So consider, are there any areas of your heart or spirit that feel cluttered and overwhelming? How can you seek healing and nourishment in those areas? What things can you simplify to allow space to do this?

Question #4: Write a list of main rooms in your home. Now walk through each of these areas and next to each item, list things that you visibly see that are unneeded (or need a new home) and basically just adding clutter.

It’s time to tackle the physical clutter. Let’s start by taking inventory. 

Have you ever felt this nagging sense of stress and then cleaned an area and just felt relief? Maybe it’s just me….

When I organize and simplify a space, I feel physical relief!

This doesn’t have to be done in a day. But if you have a list, you can begin to work through simplifying areas of your home that feel cluttered and overwhelming. Make things work for what you need them to. Next week we will talk about systems to implement that can help you with this.

For now let’s just make a list with specific things that need simplified.

Question #5: Consider how you spend your time in a day and throughout the week. What things align with your top 5 priorities and what things don’t?

Our time is valuable. If you spend a lot of time doing something that isn’t anywhere on your priority list, it might be time to consider letting that go for a while.

How do you spend your time in a day? What do you do when there is a moment to breathe?

I know for me, I can so easily pick up my phone and get sidetracked. Maybe this is good, sending a Marco Polo to a dear friend, but often it is getting lost in the swiping and scrolling that slowly steals my time away.

Maybe you will find that an activity or commitment that takes time, not only for the actual event, but the preparing to leave, driving there and getting everyone home, is not really in line with your top 5 priorities.

Again, just take inventory and prayerfully consider if there are things that need pruned or set aside for a season.

“Often it is those who live quietly, modestly, and contentedly with a simple life who are happiest.” -Joshua Becker

If you’re feeling overwhelmed in your home or your heart, let’s simplify. In doing so, you will find joy in spaces you didn’t before.

As we simplify, we can create more space to live as God intends, savoring each and every moment.