A Simple Home In 2026

“I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.”

-Laura Ingalls Wilder

Five or so years ago, I began picking a word of the year. I love having a gentle direction for our year without feeling the pressure of hard and fast goals that may or may not end up being realistic for what God has in store for the coming year. I’ve picked many words ranging from more concrete ones like “healthy” and “family” to more abstract ones like “thrive.” This year I chose “simple,” and here’s why.

We live in a complicated world; there’s constant noise coming at us from technology, social media, and (if you’re like me) even books. Sometimes it feels impossible to discern what God actually wants for our lives when we are faced with a constant influx of information. Simple means less complication, less analyzing, less details, and during our current stage (homeschooling four kids with a fifth on the way and doing full-time ministry) that feels like exactly what our family needs. Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing some ways that we are pursuing simple in our home this year. But first I want to clarify some things:

1. Simple doesn’t mean easy or lazy. A month into the year, I’ve already had to remind myself of this truth multiple times. It’s easy to feel that if we are pursuing simple, then we are taking the easy way out, but I would argue the opposite. Simple means promoting the things that really matter and letting go of everything else. In my experience the things that really matter are often what will make us work the hardest, but they are also the most rewarding. A good check I’m finding is to ask myself at the end of a long day, do I feel like I accomplished something that mattered or do I feel like I spent a lot of time and energy on something and have nothing to show for it? Depending on the season you’re in, this might mean reframing what it actually means to accomplish something. If you have littles in your home, you may have spent your day changing diapers, feeding children, and cleaning up messes, but you still accomplished things that matter.

2. I’m not writing as a home decor expert. In fact, anyone who has set foot in my home would definitely laugh at the notion of me sharing decorating advice. When I talk about simplifying our home I’m talking about making it a space that your whole family wants to be in. This includes decluttering, organizing, cleaning, and very simple decor ideas (something which I’ll be sharing from a place of learning myself). Have you ever had a stretch of time where you notice that every time your family is home, they all end up fighting or in bad moods? Maybe it’s because we are a homeschool family and are home much more than the average family, but I can always tell when our home is getting out of control based on my family’s moods in it. If your family doesn’t enjoy being home, then you can find yourself looking for excuses to go places frequently and that can set off a whole chain of bad habits, including spending money you shouldn’t and eating unhealthy because you’re hitting the drive-thru again. 

If any of this resonated with you, I hope you’ll spend this next month pursuing a simple home with me. Together we will be getting our houses ready to make memories with our kids, enjoy time with those we love, and hopefully even pour into others outside our family. Home can truly be the most beautiful, wonderful space, but it takes work to get there. Let’s put in that work together!