What Simplicity Really Looks Like (Hint: It’s Not Pinterest)
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We’ve all seen those Pinterest-perfect homeschool rooms with matching baskets and slow mornings that look like a lifestyle magazine. But here’s what nobody tells you: real simplicity doesn’t look like that. And honestly? It’s way more powerful than any Instagram aesthetic could ever be. Today, we’re getting real about what simplicity actually means for overwhelmed homeschool moms.
The Problem With “Simple Living” On Social Media
Social media is overflowing with “simple living” and “slow mornings” and these beautiful, peaceful homeschool spaces. And look, I get it. Those images are gorgeous. I scroll through them too.
But I’m seeing so many moms feel completely defeated because their reality looks nothing like the farmhouse aesthetic they’re scrolling past at 11 PM while cleaning up the day’s mess.
Moms are buying the matching baskets. They’re trying to create the Pinterest-worthy homeschool corner. And they’re still drowning.
Here’s what I want you to know: You’re not doing it wrong.
The problem is that we’ve been sold a version of simplicity that’s actually pretty complicated. And honestly? Not very realistic for most of us.
So today, we’re going to reframe what simplicity really means. We’re going to bust some myths about “simple living.” I’m going to share my own journey from chaos to calm, and then we’ll talk about practical steps you can take today to finally breathe again. Not to create a magazine-worthy home, but to build a life that actually works for your family.
The Truth About Simplicity (And What It’s Not)
Let’s start by getting real about what simplicity actually is, because I think this is where a lot of us get stuck.
When we think about simplicity, most of us have this image in our minds. It looks a whole lot like perfection. Clean counters. Organized shelves. Kids in matching outfits reading quietly on the couch.
But here’s the thing that nobody’s telling you: Simplicity is not perfection.
Simplicity is also not necessarily minimalism, at least not the way social media defines it. You don’t need to fit your entire life into a backpack or live with only ten possessions. That’s not what we’re talking about here.
So what is simplicity?
It’s this: things are not complicated. Things are not chaotic. Things flow with a sense of ease, even when life gets messy.
Because real life simplicity doesn’t mean your kids won’t fight. It doesn’t mean your house will be spotless 24/7. It means things flow fairly smoothly. It means you’re not constantly drowning in stress about every little thing, from your daily rhythm to your homeschool supplies to meal planning.
Everything just gets a little bit easier. And you can finally take that breath of fresh air because your life isn’t adding unnecessary complication at every turn.
Think about it this way: simplicity is functional. It’s peaceful. It’s mentally and physically uncluttered.
And ironically? That Pinterest version of simplicity, the one with all the perfect styling and aesthetic coordination, can actually create more stress when we try to live up to it.
The Myth That’s Keeping You Stuck
Now let’s talk about what we see online, because this is where things get really confusing for homeschool moms.
Social media will have you believe that simple living means you’re waking up at 5 AM on a homestead, everyone’s wearing linen dresses, you’re milking goats, collecting eggs, and baking sourdough from scratch while your children peacefully read Laura Ingalls Wilder in the background.
And look, if that’s your actual life and it works for you? That’s beautiful.
But here’s what I need you to hear: that is not simplicity for most of us.
In fact, when you really think about it, homestead life is anything but simple. Milking your own cows? Extremely difficult. Growing all your own food? Very time-consuming and honestly pretty stressful, especially when you’re also trying to teach your kids their multiplication tables.
And yes, I dream of having that homestead life too. But I am no longer disillusioned that that life is the dream of simplicity.
Because simplicity isn’t about mimicking someone else’s lifestyle or trying to fit into their aesthetic. It’s about reducing what’s unnecessary in your life, not copying what looks good in someone else’s feed.
Here’s where minimalism actually comes in, and I think this gets confused a lot. True minimalism isn’t about having barely anything. It’s about cutting out the excess and only keeping what’s useful, beautiful, and functional to you in your life. And that’s going to look different for everybody.
You can have a lot of stuff and still be seeking simplicity. But, and this is my professional organizer side coming out, the less unnecessary stuff you have, the more simple your life automatically becomes.
That’s just facts.
When you have less to manage, less to clean, less to organize, less to trip over? Life gets easier. Period.
How I Went From Drowning to Finally Breathing
Let me tell you how this became real for me, because I promise you, I was drowning in the chaos just like you might be right now.
When I first started seeking simplicity years ago, I knew that clutter was my biggest hurdle. Our house was stuffed with things. Good things, mostly, but just too many things. And I felt like I was constantly cleaning up but never actually getting anywhere.
So I started this practice: declutter five items every day. Just five. That’s it.
And honestly? I didn’t notice the feeling every single day because five things doesn’t sound like much, right? But here’s what happened: over time, it was huge. I took pictures every day of what I decluttered, this was about ten years ago, and I actually posted them on Instagram way back then. And when I looked back at all those pictures after a few months, I was like, “Oh my goodness. I got rid of a ton of stuff.”
But the real transformation wasn’t just in the stuff I removed. It was in how it changed my awareness.
I started noticing what I was bringing into my home. Every time I grabbed something from a free pile or went to Target “just for one thing,” I’d think: Do I really need this? Where will this go? Am I just going to have to declutter this in six months?
The clutter really does add up fast. But when I started consistently clearing it out, I could see my dining room table again. I could see the floor in my loft space. I could actually see what was in my closet.
And that visual space? That’s when I started to breathe again. That was the beginning of simplicity for me, when I could see the space and the breathing room in my home.
When Homeschooling Made Everything Fall Apart Again
Now, fast forward a few years. We started homeschooling, and suddenly I found myself drowning all over again, but this time in curriculum, art supplies, science kits, and craft projects.
I had collected way too much. I had way too many options, way too many materials, and they were a mess. I couldn’t function like this. Our school days were chaotic. My daughter couldn’t find her books. I was constantly hunting for pencils.
And I realized: I need real-life simplicity here, too.
So where did I start? Decluttering. Again. I went through every single piece of curriculum, every workbook, every supply. I asked myself: Do we actually use this? Does this serve our homeschool? Or is it just taking up space and adding to the chaos?
After I cleared out the excess, I focused on systems. I found some containers, simple, functional, beautiful containers, and I organized everything so that my kids could actually put things away themselves.
And this is key: functionality is top priority, but beauty is secondary. Because if something is only functional but not beautiful, it’ll work, but you won’t be emotionally motivated to maintain it. When it’s both functional and beautiful? You’ll actually want to keep it up. You’ll feel good when you look at it. And that matters.
The Tiny Change That Transformed Our Homeschool Days
Here’s a tiny example that changed everything: I put all our curriculum books in a curriculum cart with labeled containers. Each subject had its own spot with a picture label, so even my youngest could see, “Oh, there’s my art book with the paintbrush picture. There’s my geography book with the map picture.”
Suddenly, my daughter could find what she needed. She could put books away when I asked, without me having to explain where everything went every single day. No more piles on the floor. No more frantic searching during lesson time. Just simple, functional, beautiful systems.
That’s what real-life simplicity looks like. It’s finding ways that are functional and beautiful to contain life, whether it’s homeschool materials, toys, hobby supplies, or even your own clothes. When you do this? Your life runs smoother. Your stress drops. And your homeschool starts to feel like something you can actually manage.
The Benefits Nobody Talks About
Now here’s where it gets really good, because simplicity doesn’t just clear your counters. It transforms your entire family dynamic.
I’ve seen this in my own life, and I’ve seen it with my clients over and over again. When simplicity starts to take root, we immediately see cleaner spaces, but we also see less frustrated kids. Fewer meltdowns. Less fighting. And a whole lot less tension between husbands and wives.
Here’s why: whether we want to admit it or not, clutter raises stress levels. It literally raises cortisol levels in your body, which increases tension and conflict in your home for everyone. Your kids feel it. Your spouse feels it. You definitely feel it.
So when you’re not constantly yelling at your kids to clean up their stuff off the floor? That’s one less thing to yell about. When you’re not frantically searching for the math book at 9 AM? That’s one less moment of frustration. When you’re not tripping over toys at 7 PM and losing your mind? That’s one less meltdown.
And here’s the really beautiful part: when you have simplicity and you have daily resets built into your rhythm, like a morning reset where everyone does chores, or an after-school reset where everything gets put away, you’re not dealing with the buildup of chaos all day long. You’re preventing it.
You’ll see a shift in the emotional tone of your home. In how everyone gets along. In how much patience you have at the end of the day. And honestly? That’s worth more than any aesthetic could ever give you.
Your First Practical Step Toward Simplicity
Okay, so if you’re overwhelmed right now and you’re thinking, “This all sounds amazing, Laura, but I have no idea where to start,” I’ve got you.
Here’s your first step, and it’s simple: just look around your house. I want you to stand there objectively and look around. What do you think is your number one hurdle right now?
Do you see piles of clutter everywhere, papers, toys, books, random stuff that doesn’t have a home? Do you see things that lack systems, like curriculum that’s just stacked in random piles, or supplies shoved in drawers with no organization? Or do you know that the flow of your day is just total chaos, no rhythm, no routine, everyone’s flying by the seat of their pants?
Usually, it’s a combination of all three. But one of them is probably causing you the most pain right now. And that’s where you start.
If Your Biggest Hurdle Is Clutter:
Take five to ten minutes today. Set a timer, play some music, and start looking around for trash. You’re not cleaning the whole house. You’re starting in one small space, maybe the kitchen counter, maybe the dining room table, maybe the living room floor.
Throw away trash. Pick up things that belong somewhere else and put them back. And look for things you just don’t need anymore, things you don’t love, things you don’t use, things the kids have outgrown. There’s always stuff like that around. Throw it out or stick it in a donate bin.
Clear a little bit of space, and I promise, it only takes a few minutes, but you’ll feel the difference immediately.
If Rhythms and Routines Are Your Disaster Area:
Start by creating a simple morning routine. Pick three morning anchors, three things that happen every morning that set the tone for your day.
For us, it’s: kids get up, get dressed, make their beds (sometimes, we’re not perfect). Then they come to the table, eat breakfast, and we do family devotions together. Those are our three morning anchor points. That’s it. Simple, repeatable, and it creates flow.
If It’s a Lack of Systems:
If your supplies are a mess and your books are a disaster, think about how you can contain them better. Maybe it’s getting a curriculum cart. Maybe it’s setting up a teacher toolbox for all your small supplies. Maybe it’s just putting books in baskets by subject so everyone knows where things go. I have a free PDF guide, the Homeschool Simplicity Staples, that walks you through the exact tools and systems that work.
These three areas, clutter, rhythm, and systems, are huge. And you can absolutely take a practical step toward simplicity today. Right now. In the next ten minutes if you want.
And if you’re still not sure where to start? I’ve got one more tool for you: the Homeschool Clarity Coach. It’s a free, five-minute interactive tool that asks you some questions about your homeschool and your home, and then gives you a customized quick win, something you can do in just ten minutes today to get more peace in your life.
Final Thoughts
Here’s what I want you to walk away with today, mama: You don’t need a Pinterest-perfect home to have a peaceful homeschool. You really don’t. You just need simplicity that sticks, in your space, in your rhythm, and in your systems.
Simplicity isn’t about aesthetics. It’s not about looking a certain way or living up to someone else’s lifestyle. It’s about creating a life that works for you and your family, one that doesn’t constantly stress you out, one where you can finally breathe again.
And the beautiful truth? You can start today. You can take one small step right now, whether that’s clearing one surface, creating one morning anchor, or organizing one shelf. Just start. Because simplicity isn’t built in a day. It’s built one simple step at a time.
Let’s declutter the pressure. Let’s create simplicity that sticks. And let’s build a homeschool life where you can finally breathe.
Your peaceful homeschool is waiting, and it starts with one simple choice.
