Welcome to Simply Joyful

Home & Family

Helping you simplify your home and family life

As a mom of five, I definitely understand the juggling act of trying to balance everything related to your home and family. I know how overwhelming mom life can get and how important it is to have routines and systems in place to streamline your day.

My passion is to help Christian women find sanity and joy in the throws of mom life! I'm all about creating efficiency in your day and helping you have more time for what is most important in your life. I enjoy sharing practical tips, hacks, and encouragement that I’ve learned through the years, sometimes the hard way, that can be applied to your marriage, parenting, and in the management of your home.

H.O.M.E. Master Class

Ready to make a lasting change in your home?

This Home Organization Made Easy Master Class will be the breakthrough you’ve been looking for to finally understand why and how to create more order and peace in your home — and stop feeling so overwhelmed. You'll learn the five "pillars" to home organization and organization tips for the five most challenging clutter-collecting areas in your home.

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Home Organization

Home management didn't come naturally for me at first. I was constantly trying to figure out how to stay on top of the house in the midst of parenting and homeschooling. Oftentimes I felt like I couldn’t get everything done, at least not done well. Believe it or not, I am an only child and was raised by a single working mom. So, my life looks nothing like it did growing up. I’ve had to learn how to intentionally manage my home and family well.

I knew there were more efficient ways to do things. I read books, searched the internet, and asked friends and family members who I noticed seemed to keep their house in order most of the time. Slowly but surely, using a method I call the “glean and tweak technique” in my M.O.M.=Master Organizer of Mayhem book, I learned how to bring order into our day and into our home.

Organization is now a passion of mine, but not necessarily an area that I have perfected. Through the years I’ve learned how to create systems for making my house a home.That's all to say that I get it. Staying on top of the mess–and mayhem–is hard for me too. I hope you'll find encouragement here and that you will “glean” from what is shared and “tweak” it to work in your own home.

Some of My Most Popular Posts on Home Organization!

These posts are by far some of the most popular on my blog! I hope you will be blessed by them. Be sure to click the button below to see even more home organization posts. I know I threw a post on here that says homeschooling…but it's filled with great tips for keeping up with your home when you have a lot going on. I also recommend listening to my podcast. I’ve had several guests share some fabulous advice on the topic of home. You won't want to miss those.

Laundry Hacks! How to Sort S.M.A.R.T.

Simplify how you get your laundry done. As a mom of five, I've been forced to figure out better ways to get laundry done. I'm sharing some of my best hacks here.

Decluttering Made Easy

Get my four simple steps to clear your clutter. You can have an organized home with kids in the house--it may not be clean at every moment of the day--but you can have order.

Amazing Tips to Help You Simplify Your Life with Emily Ley

Unburying yourself from the hustle and bustle of the mundane that can take over our days doesn’t have to be as hard as we make it. I can’t wait for you to hear my fun conversation with Emily Ley!

Where It All Began: The Very First Master Organizer of Mayhem Workshop

I know that you're going to love this special “M.O.M = Master Organizer of Mayhem” episode of the podcast with Kristi.

We are going to go way back in time! Get ready to be encouraged!

Creating a Welcoming Home for Each Season with Myquillyn Smith

Myquillyn has been creating beauty in her home by using a minimalistic approach with a twist. Her advice is all about embracing an “imperfectionist mindset” and adding elements to your home decor that will engage the senses and create a cozy space.

Teaching Your Kids How To Organize with Ashlyn Clover

Today on the Simply Joyful Podcast I have a very special guest — my daughter Ashlyn we talk all about teaching your kids how to organize!

M.O.M. = Master Organizer of Mayhem!

Getting–and staying–organized is a challenge in and of itself. Add motherhood to the mix, and you've got a whole new dimension of difficulty. So how does a busy mom stay on top of the daily chaos that children inevitably bring along with them? M.O.M.=Master Organizer of Mayhem! In my book, I show moms how to create simple systems to organize the chaos that takes place in a busy house with kids — and how to bring more joy into your home!

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Home Resources

My Favorite Books on Home!

This is where I try to appear like a normal person, but really, truly deep inside I know I'm not. If you ask me what I like to read in my spare time, I'm usually not reading anything fiction. In fact, the books I most enjoy are books on getting organized and homemaking.I literally savor every chapter. I circle and underline things. I make notes in the margin about ways to implement it in our home. Total organization junky here! Here are a few of my very books, a few books of which are written by some of my author friends.

My Favorite Tools of the Trade!

Having the right tools for the job, as I mention in M.O.M. is essential for creating efficiency in your home–and making house cleaning and staying organized less of a chore. This is actually my secret to getting kids to help around the house. The right tools mixed with great systems, that are easy for kids to learn, make tidying up so much easier and even a little fun. (Que the 80’s music!)

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iRobot Roomba: We named ours Roombie. If I could hug it, I would. I love it that much!
Dyson Cordless Vacuum: We don’t sweep as much as we use this cordless vacuum to clean our floors.
Microfiber clothes: We love using microfiber cleaning rags.
Microfiber dusters: We also use disposable Swiffer dusters, but these are great.
Non-toxic cleaning supplies: Our favorite is Mrs. Meyers. We also use an essential oil cleaning solution. Yes, we have other brands, but I like having the kids use more natural products.
Mr. Clean Magic Erasers: They really are magic.
Mopping bucket: I love this spinning mopping bucket. It’s definitely fun to use.
A bucket: I keep a bucket under the sink with all the cleaning supplies someone would need to clean up a mess. #HomeHack

Honorable mention: My favorite laundry hack: the FlipFold and FlipFold Jr. Be sure to check out the TV segment I did on this wonder tool. My kids LOVE using it to fold their laundry. See, the right tools for the job make all the difference!

Resources & tips...

For Family

I still think the best pre-wedding advice I ever got was that marriage was hard work. At the time I was so starry eyed that I completely dismissed those words thinking that would never be “our” marriage. After almost 25 years of marriage, I can firmly say, “Yes! Marriage is hard work!” I truly believe that God uses our spouses to refine us.

The same false narrative range true in my mind when it came to raising kids, “My kids would never…!” The Bible tells us that foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child. So, we really shouldn’t be surprised that parenting is hard work, too. Babies aren't born with instruction manuals. I love listening to my sweet daughters talk about how all they want is to be mommies someday. I was the same way. Yet, I think once you are in the midst of motherhood it's pretty common to forget that we are living that dream.

One of my favorite things about hosting my podcast has been the opportunity to interview experts on the subject of marriage and parenting. Some are authors and speakers, others are just moms and dads in the throws of life sharing their hearts and their story with us. I can't wait for you to hear them!

Here's a Few of My Most Popular Posts on Family!

Here are just a few of my family focused posts that I hope you’ll enjoy. Be sure to click the button below to see more posts on marriage and parenting.

How Submission Saved My Marriage

Nobody likes the "s" word —"submission." Well, read this story about how submission saved my marriage. When I learned to "duck," God could do His thing!Description Here

How to Awaken Wonder in Your Home with Sally Clarkson

Simply Joyful Podcast #100! 🎉 Don't miss this incredible interview with Sally Clarkson! She is one of the best online mentors and encouragers for moms! We're talking about her new book Awaking Wonder.

Family Devotions with Louie Giglio

The Simply Joyful Podcast with Kristi Clover Episode #079 with my special guest Louie Giglio – I was so excited about this episode with Louie Giglio. We chat about his new children’s book and geek out over all this science! This was such an amazing episode! You aren’t going to want to miss it!

“Scripturizing” Your Home: 10 Ways to Add Scripture Around Your House

10 Ways to "Scripturize" Your Home! "Scripturizing" is a fun way to have God's Word up around their house. We love keeping God's Word visible for everyone to see and be encouraged by.

Do You Have a Life Giving Home

Do I have a "life-giving home?" This question has been rattling in my brain ever since I first heard about Sally and Sarah Clarkson's new book months ago: The Life-Giving Home: Creating a Place of Belonging and Becoming. Do I have a life-giving home? I didn't know how to answer that question.

How to Give Ourselves Grace in Our Motherhood with Ruth Schwenk

We are chatting motherhood with Ruth Schwenk, author of The Better Mom! I just know you are going to be so encouraged. (This is one of my most-listened-to episodes!)