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Christian homemakers need encouragement and motivation to stay the course. Homemaking and homeschooling can feel overwhelming, but they don’t have to be. If you’re a Christian mom longing for a well-ordered home, a peaceful homeschool, and a joyful heart—without the stress or burnout—you’re in the right place. Moms can be productive and peaceful when grounded in Scriptural truth.
I’m Mystie Winckler, homeschooling mom of five, founder of Simply Convivial, and your guide to managing both home and heart with faith and focus. Here, we talk about biblical homemaking, sustainable homeschooling, and cheerful productivity—all through the lens of organizing your attitude and embracing your God-given calling.
In each episode, you’ll find practical homemaking systems, homeschooling strategies, and mindset shifts that will help you manage your home without perfectionism or frustration. We’ll tackle topics like:
✔️ Christian homemaking routines that actually work
✔️ Productivity, mom-style
✔️ Homeschooling with peace—even when life gets messy
✔️ Time management for moms (without rigid schedules)
✔️ Decluttering your home & your attitude
✔️ How to be diligent, not just busy
Motherhood is a marathon, not a sprint. You don’t need more willpower—you need a grace-filled, biblical approach to managing life at home. Let’s cultivate faithfulness, embrace joy, and build habits that make home a place of peace and purpose.
👉 Subscribe now and start organizing your home and heart—cheerfully.
All right.
Thank you for joining me today for
this second Monday of Organize October.
If you've not been getting daily emails
with extra Organize October episodes
and a little, um, extra thought or
brain dump prompt every day, then you
wanna go to simplyconvivial.com/october.
When you sign up for Organize October,
you will instantly get, uh, access to
the workshop that I kicked off the theme
with at the beginning of the month.
You'll get the replay for that right away.
And you will also get, um, options
for different bonuses for the month.
And, um, and then you'll be- In the
challenge, you'll be getting daily emails
that will help you keep your head in
the game and stay organized and, um,
have, you know, that true story going
through your head instead of the default
story, which so often trips us up.
If we just let the default interpretation
or the default mood play in our
minds without intentionally taking
control of it and directing it
in keeping with truth, then we're
going to get off track so quickly.
And often we get off track without
even realizing just how far off track
we are, because we're just assuming
that those defaults are good, or
the only way, when it really isn't.
Often our defaults take
us in the wrong direction.
And so we need to be aware of what
those defaults are and when they are
steering us, and then how to steer
ourselves and steer our own thoughts,
take our own thoughts captive, and get
them more in keeping with truth again.
And that's what our focus
is this month in October.
So if you want that focus, then
simplyconvivial.com/october
is where you should sign up to
get the Organize October goodies.
All right, so this month's topic isâ¦
Actually, it doesn't
show it to me anymore.
The title is missing.
Um, it was something about cleaning
When no cleaning schedule ever works.
There it is.
This is how we feel, right?
How many cleaning schedules have you
tried, uh, programs or checklists
have you purchased, books you've
read, you know, systems that maybe
you've plotted out yourself, and
yet none of them ever seem to work
When those cleaning plans that
we have tried don't work, what
do we tend to assume is true?
What are our default settings
when that is the case?
We think maybe we must just lack
discipline, or, you know, maybe there's
something wrong with our family, or
there's something wrong with our home,
when we're probably just thinking
about the whole thing the wrong way.
When we are trying to install some
kind of cleaning program, cleaning
system, oftentimes we do so assuming
that what it looks like to have a
cleaning system that works is that the
house is always clean And the longer
we do it, the less work it should be.
So that eventually, if we really do
install a good cleaning system or a
cleaning plan that works for our family,
we will know that it is the right one that
has worked for us when the house is always
clean and it doesn't take that much time.
And then those two things don't happen,
and so we say the cleaning system didn't
work and our expectations about what
working actually means might be what's
actually totally off And we had a whole
month a couple months ago inside Convivial
Circle where we were talking about
consistency, and a proper definition of
consistency as a mom does not mean the
same kind of consistency as a machine.
So that's another way that our cleaning
plans can take us actually off track,
is we set up a system or choose a plan
that works as if we ourselves as the
mom and our homes and our families work
in the same way that machines work.
Where if you just program it correctly
and then flip the on button, it should
work and produce the outcome that you set
out to accomplish kind of automatically,
and definitely, you know, without hiccup.
Any kind of hiccup in a machine
indicates a problem that you should
fix, because the whole point of having
a machine is that it just chugs along
and you get the same result day after
day without interfering with it.
And that's not how people work.
Like, that's great for machines,
and machines make good tools.
But people aren't machines, and so
we can't expect to have that kind of
consistency or that kind of outcome from a
cleaning program installed into our home.
And you can kind of see with that
language, we often are imagining that it
works in the same way as machines work.
But people are too variable for that.
People use the home differently at
different times and have different needs.
People get sick.
You know, there are just way too many
variables and ups and downs to have,
if we do this every day, it will always
result in the same status in the house.
That's just not the way
l- a family life works.
And so we have to really watch
what we picture it meaning
if a cleaning program works.
Like, what do we mean by works?
What does it look like to
have a cleaning program work?
What criteria are we using?
What kind of outcomes are we assuming
we will get if it's the right one?
And we could be just totally off
base in our picture of the way a
functioning household works, 'cause
a functioning household does not work
in the same way that a factory works.
The people in our homes aren't
machines, and then homes are
there to function for people, not
for, you know, widget production
So it's very possible that the
cleaning checklists that you've tried
or systems that you've set up even
were working, and you just didn't
count it as working well enough.
It's, you know, it maybe wasn't
what you had hoped and dreamed,
and so you go on the hunt for
the next or the better version.
Because somewhere out there, there
must be that perfect plan that will
yes.
Hadassah says, "A cleaning
schedule won't mean that everything
stays clean without any work."
Right?
'Cause what's being
scheduled anyway, right?
M- working.
You always have to do the work for
that routine to work And no matter
how many times you do the dishes,
there are gonna be more dishes to do.
So you don't get to the point
where you've done them so often or
done them so well that they don't
need to be done at all, right?
That's just not how it works.
That's how maybe some things
work, but not maintaining a home
And so we really have to get some
self-awareness about what we're picturing
good enough being or what working really
means You know, what does it mean to
have a cleaning system that works?
It means you have some kind of framework
that helps you keep tabs on the different
areas of your house or the different areas
of housework that you need to keep tabs
on, and it gives you the parameters for
giving your time and attention to those
spots But I know especially with things
like deep cleaning, um, you know, I've,
I have episodes out there on just kind
of the daily upkeep or weekly upkeep in a
household, and always I will get a comment
like, "What about the deep cleaning?"
And I know my own approach years ago,
you know, in my 20s and 30s, um, was
I have to have a schedule 'cause I
will forget that, you know, you should
do this, that, or the other thing.
And if I just find the right schedule
and get those reminders, and then
actually do the things that the reminders
remind you of, I shouldn't have to
think about these things in between.
And somehow, you know, the condition of
the house, because I have this schedule
that I'm running, will be, like, pristine.
Or we assume, "Oh my goodness, there's
dust on, you know, the ceiling fans,"
or, "I just discovered that there's
dust on the top of the door ledges.
I'm a failure."
Like, that's just instantly
where our mind goes.
Like, how embarrassing.
That should never be.
I've gotta change my cleaning schedule
so that it never happens, that there's
dust on the top of the door jamb
or on the top of the ceiling fans.
And I just, I just think
that that's not the case.
You noticed now that there was dust,
so instead of being embarrassed and
treating it like a problem you were
supposed to solve before it happened
such that it never happens in the first
place- You know, I just don't think
that that is healthy or proper, a pr-
you know, proper dealings with our
household as it actually functions.
I think that the way it should work is
you notice there's dust on the top of
the door jambs, and so you grab a rag and
wipe it off, and then say, "There we go.
Hey, noticed something,
did something about it."
That was 10 minutes.
That's no big deal.
Maybe I'll just run around
and wipe down all of them, and
hey, now the house is better.
Like, there's actually no emergency, no
need to panic, no need to go into total
self-condemnation mode because there was
dust You noticed it and you took care
of it, you move on and it doesn't need
to be a problem Like, it's just not the
case that there being dust on something,
like say the top of the fridge, or, you
know, you have to move out your range
or move the fridge out of its little
corner, and then, you know, maybe you're
horrified or mortified at the level of
dust bunnies that found it under there,
or the grime that rolled underneath,
and you didn't know anything about it.
It's like that doesn't necessarily mean
you have to add onto your schedule,
you should preemptively, for no reason
other than to clean out dirt that
you can't see, to clean under there.
Likeâ¦
Or when it comes to your
attention, you take care of
it, and then it's no big deal.
And like we can just roll with it.
We're not trying, like the, the
presence of dust and dirt and grime
at all, the fact that it's there isn't
necessarily a problem that we should
have solved before it ever happened
such that it never happens at all.
Instead, when there is, you know,
something that comes to our attention
and bothers us, and it's like, "Hey,
you know, it-- that shouldn't be," then
you just, you know, have rags, have
something where it's easy to grab your
materials and take care of it, and it
will probably take 10 minutes And if you
don't notice it for a while, probably
that's 'cause there are actually more
important things that you are noticing.
Or you need to practice your noticing
and just roll with what you notice
and improve your noticing skills.
Maybe assign yourself, instead of an
elaborate cleaning plan where you're just
gonna follow it slavishly so that you
don't have to think or pay attention to
your home, and yet it will stay perfectly
clean because you've followed orders
That's not gonna play out well long term.
If instead you say you assign an area
of your home a particular day or a
particular week, and you're gonna
spend some time paying attention, like
just noticing that space, and then
doing something that that space needs
That's managing a home.
And that's managing a home.
You're being the manager.
You are being the caretaker, the one
who's coming in and really seeing what
that space needs, not going to find a
boss or a slave master who's going to
dictate what needs to be done as if
there is some kind of one-size-fits-all.
If everybody just did this,
everybody could have a clean home.
You know how different homes are?
And how different families live
in their homes differently?
And how different it is
in different seasons?
Uh, I mean, different, like,
literal annual seasons, but
also different seasons of life.
Like, the kind of work that needs
to happen, the kind of messes that
happen when everyone's little, are
completely different than the kind
that happen when everyone's a teenager.
So, no matter what season you are in,
it's not like there is a perfect plan
out there for you that if you just
found it and installed it, you're
good to go for the rest of your life.
You don't need to find a checklist to
obey to get you the outcome that you want.
There is no plug-and-play formula.
There is you living wisely and well within
your space with your family, managing
that appropriately with your priorities
in gear and without just falling off the
cliff of self-condemnation every time
something isn't the way you would prefer.
That's, you know, organizing
what matters first, which is
our attitude and our expectation
Yes.
Right?
She says, it's as if you're saying,
"There's a weed in my garden.
I failed the whole thing."
Right?
It's like, of course
there's a weed in yourâ¦
You- if you chose to garden, you're
gonna have to deal with weeds.
The presence of a weed isn't a failure.
It's just, you just pull
it and it's not a big deal
Oh, that's a great idea.
So Suzanne says that she started
using the daily three model, so
like a daily top three, which I
teach in the daily card method.
I have a free workshop on that.
You can go to
simplyconvivial.com/organized
for a free training on the
daily card method if you aren't
sure what she's talking about.
But Suzanne says, "I've been using
the daily three model for when I
do a deep clean of a target area."
Uh, she goes in and she asks,
"Which three things would make the
biggest difference in this area?
If my deep cleaning morning doesn't go
as planned," because it won't, right?
Yeah, you don't need a super
detailed prescribed thing.
You just need some dedicated t-
time and attention in the different
places, and that time and a- attention
can be prioritized According to
how integral that space is to
your family's functioning, right?
Um, like it's okay if your garage
is a storage area And if it's not
beautiful, like that's actually okay
Yes, Melissa says, "I may not
need to write a list, but I
do enjoy checking things off.
Making my own list and checking it
off helps my mindset and gives me a
little reward every task I accomplish."
Yeah, and you know, writing things
down, writing down what you notice
so that then you can take care of it,
writing your own checklists is great.
The problem comes when you think
that you are trying to develop like
the one checklist to rule them all.
Like, "I will perfect this one checklist
so well that I can just continually reuse.
I'll never have to write
another list again.
This one will work forever and all time."
And then when it stops working,
like something went wrong, when
lists just aren't supposed to ever
be the one list to rule them all.
A list is just writing down what
you're paying attention to so
that then you can work through it.
That is, it's a part of the process,
and so you can just keep doing that.
And if the list, you know, that maybe
you did reuse a few times in the winter,
then suddenly doesn't work in the spring,
it's not necessarily 'cause anything went
wrong or the list failed or you failed.
You just need a new list.
You just make a new one.
It's not a big deal
All right.
So I am so enjoying doing Organize
October with you, and I hope that you
will stick around and sign up to get the
bonuses that go with Organize October.
You can find those at
simplyconvivial.com/october.
And then, um, enjoy the episodes.
Make sure that you're subscribed
on YouTube or the podcast.
Anywhere you listen to podcasts,
you can find the Simply Convivial
Christian Homemaking podcast.
And we'll keep going.
We're, the month is underway, but
there's still plenty of October left.
So we're gonna get our attitude in gear
before the holidays really kick in, and,
uh, I look forward to doing that with you.
So thanks everyone for coming.