Jesus Loves Your Messy House!
Grace for the Homeschool Mess: 5 Real-Life Tips for Real-Life Homes
If you’ve ever looked around your home mid-homeschool day and thought, “How did this place fall apart before lunch?” – you are not alone! in fact, one of the realities of homeschooling is how much living happens in the house, all day, every day. The same space where you’re teaching spelling, hosting a read-aloud, mixing baking soda volcanoes, and refereeing sibling squabbles is also the space you want to feel cozy, clean, and peaceful. However, most homeschool moms can agree that it can feel downright impossible. There’s beauty in your home being alive with learning, but there’s also a mess. Moreover, it’s not just physical. It can start to weigh on your spirit.
Balancing Housework With Homeschooling
Many homeschooling moms express that they feel like they spend their day teaching their children, and whatever time they have to themselves is spent cleaning up the destruction that comes with it. Consequently, you might even question whether you’re failing somehow, because no matter how many times you clean, the mess keeps coming back. But friend, hear this loud and clear: a messy home isn’t a failure. It’s a sign of a life being fully lived. In all honesty, if you ask me, if you are making a mess, you’re doing it (homeschool) right!
I had the pleasure of interviewing Wall Street Journal best-selling author Dana K. White for the Homeschooling Saints Podcast, and she captures this sentiment beautifully in her new book, Jesus Doesn’t Care About Your Messy House. She reminds us that our worth isn’t defined by how perfect our homes look, and that God isn’t tallying up the dishes in our sinks or judging the crumbs on our floors. He’s far more interested in the hearts within those walls. During our conversation, Dana shared her journey of letting go of shame and learning how to manage her home in practical, grace-filled ways—and she shares many tips and tricks for the homeschooling mom. Here are my top five tips, some of which I learned from my conversation with Dana!
1. The 5 Minute Refresh
One of the simplest ways to reduce mess-related stress is to create predictable clean-up points throughout the day. Instead of waiting until the end of the day when you’re exhausted and the house feels like a disaster zone, build in brief clean-up times that align with your daily routine. The most valuable tool
Dana shared the power of a 5-minute clean-up, where a homeschooling mom sets a timer for 5 minutes and does what she can to tidy up in that timeframe. We implemented this in our house—we set a ten-minute timer (because, paints and play-dough!) and got all hands on deck, including my husband and small children. I was amazed by what could be accomplished in those short ten minutes to make me feel things were back in order for the next phase of our day! Here’s a quick rundown of how you may choose to structure this 5–10-minute refresh in your home:
- Morning Reset (before lessons begin): Tidy up breakfast dishes and do a 5-minute sweep of the kitchen and/or main learning areas.
- Midday Clean-Up (after lunch): This is a great time to tidy up the morning’s lessons, perhaps putting books back on the bookshelf, putting away markers, and wiping down the table after lunch. If you have little ones learning and playing as you teach your older children, there might be more of a mess with toys and crafts, and this is a great time to get those materials put away.
- Evening Reset (before or after dinner): Put away afternoon play messes, reset learning spaces, and prep for the next day by laying out the next day’s bookwork and activities again.
Remember, kids thrive on routine, and these small reset points help keep things from spiraling into chaos. Teaching real-life skills like cleaning and organizing is a special part of the homeschool experience that our traditionally schooled peers miss out on. Set a timer and make it quick and lighthearted—this isn’t deep cleaning; it’s just hitting the reset button.
2. Assign Zones Instead of Generic Chores
When you say, “Clean up the living room!” to a group of kids, you’ll often get confusion and finger-pointing. Instead, try saying, “Alex, you’re in charge of the book corner. Emma, you handle the crayons and floor toys. ” They know exactly what’s expected.
Creating zones gives kids ownership and clarity. Divide common areas of your home into simple, manageable spaces and assign each child a “zone”. Rotate them weekly if you want to mix things up. The more familiar they become with their zone, the more invested they’ll be in keeping it tidy!
3. Limit the Supplies, Not the Creativity
I learned this the hard way. It was tempting to keep every educational tool, art supply, or STEM kit within arm’s reach. When I started homeschooling, my husband and father-in-law built bookshelves to house our supplies, transforming my dining room into a homeschool room. But too much stuff equals too much mess. Instead of always having everything out, I bought a small rolling cart and created a rotation system. While I keep pencils and writing paper out all the time in my cart, things like watercolor paints, magnet tiles, modeling clay, and measuring tools stay in a cabinet out of sight, only to be taken out when we choose to have them in the rotation. This not only makes clean-up more manageable, it also keeps materials feeling fresh and exciting when they reappear. Bottom line: less visual clutter helps your kids focus better—and helps you breathe easier.
4. Use Containers in an Unusual Way
During my conversation with Dana, we discussed how homeschoolers often use bins to organize supplies. However, it’s a flawed system because, as we buy or acquire more supplies, we simply add more containers. Over time, this leads to feeling overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of homeschool materials scattered throughout the home.
Dana’s solution? Use individual containers to measure and manage your supplies. For example, if you have one container labeled “Markers,” then once it’s full, you don’t purchase more. If you have a container labeled “Nature Studies,” only a limited number of rocks, leaves, and other treasures can be brought into the house. Once the container is full, nothing new can be added until something else is removed.
Essentially, the bin becomes the “bad guy,” setting healthy limits for children who might otherwise want to keep collecting supplies—or bringing home yet another handful of rocks from the park!
5. You’re Not Alone—And You’re Doing a Great Job
At the end of the day, remember you’re not alone. Your fellow homeschool mom are working through the same trials. Mess is part of the homeschool life. It’s a byproduct of a home that’s being used well—for growing minds, creative hearts, and faithful families. Don’t measure your success by how clean your home looks at 5 p.m. Measure it by the love in your home, the connections you’re building, and the progress (messy and slow as it may be) your kids are making every day.
Permit yourself to let go of the pressure of perfection. With a few routines and a lot of grace, you can create a home that is both well-lived-in and loved.
In Conclusion
Homeschooling is a beautiful, messy, grace-filled journey—and your home reflects that life-giving work. By embracing small routines, creating manageable systems, and extending yourself plenty of grace, you can turn daily chaos into a space where learning, love, and laughter thrive. Remember: it’s not about having a perfect home. It’s about having a home full of purpose and heart. Keep going—you’re doing holy work!
What would you like to add to this conversation? To share your tips, experiences, and questions, you can join me and other homeschoolers in the Homeschool Connections Facebook Group. I would love to hear from you!
Tune in to The Homeschooling Saints podcast to hear the full conversation and learn more!
