Episode 11 of The Spring Cleaning and Decluttering Series
Have you ever sat in your home thinking, “thing need to change” but not sure where to start?
Have you ever considered to bringing God into your house work?
In this episode of the Spring Cleaning and Decluttering Series on the Intentional Momlife with Jesus Podcast Sasha chats with Elyse Rooney, follower of Jesus, wife, mumma to 3 littles, and host of The Wholesome Mumma Show where she encourages other mummas that it is possible to spend quality time with your children, without the mum guilt or letting the home and to do list go.
Elyse shares a story of how she struggled with her home always needing to be cleaned, clutter everywhere, and not wanting to have people over. The thought, ‘things need to change’ prompted her pray and seek God’s plan for motherhood and home.
God brought Elyse to a mindset shift that helped her create abundance and joy in her life as well as effective home routines that have God at the center of them.
Want to connect with Elyse?
Instagram – www.instagram.com/wholesomemumma
The Wholesome Mumma Show – https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/wholesome-mumma-homemaking-low-tox-home-management/id1521961090
Website – www.wholesomemumma.com
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Transcription
Sasha Robertson: We are here with Elyse Rooney. She is a follower of Jesus wife and mama to three, Littles, she helps Christian moms step into their God-led, calling of homemaking and raising their children Walt’s partnering with the word, She is passionate about helping overwhelmed moms trade, stress for peace and create flow in their homes. Elyse is the host of the wholesome Mama show, where she encourages other mamas? That is that it is possible to spend quality time with your children, without mom guilt or letting the home and to do list, go
Sasha Robertson: Elyse. I’m so thankful that you’re here because even just reading your bio, I’m like yep we are like-minded sisters in Christ on a very similar mission here. So thank you so much for being here and sharing your testimony and heart with us today. I know, today we’re gonna be talking about having a home routine and doing. So, from a biblical perspective. So do you want to share a little bit more about yourself and your testimony maybe and how this became the norm for you?
Elyse Rooney: Yes. Yeah. Well, thank you so much, Sasha for having me on and I love it. I feel like when I started to get to know you, I’m like, Oh, we just like kindred spirit, sisters on the other side of a big ocean. But yes, I am Elyse and obviously by my accent. I am down in Australia and I guess my Testimony. When it comes to what I’m doing now is that I really struggled becoming a mum like bringing home your baby and you know, you’ve prayed for this child and The word says that they’re the biggest blessing. And then you come home and go Oh wow, what do I do now? And so that is kind of how I
Elyse Rooney: found myself in the first few months of our son being born. He is the eldest and then I’ve got two daughters, but the first few months after he was born, I felt really lost. I felt like, my identity had been taken away from me. I didn’t know who I was where I fit in in the world. You know, we go from working. I worked a corporate job full-time to all the sudden, being a mum all the time and I didn’t go to work. So I felt like him that my identity got shaken a bit. And one thing that I really struggled with was our home, I did not like being home. I it felt like there was just always cleaning to be done. It was never
Elyse Rooney: tidy or need or how I wanted it to be. There was a lot of everywhere now that I I know that it was clutter and but at the time I had no idea about like decluttering or you know living intentionally or minimalism or anything. Um, And I just yeah, I did not like being home. I didn’t enjoy our home and I didn’t want to have people over our home and so I just kind of I remember like I was almost I woke up one day and went things need to change. and so, I then, Started praying and seeking the word about God. Show me what you have for motherhood. Show me what you have for me in this season of being a mum because I can’t do this in my strength. I’m lost. I’m confused, I’m overwhelmed. And I need you. And so through that, I then began to
Elyse Rooney: Seek God and what? He’s Vision and I guess he’s planned for us as mums is. So that’s, that’s a bit about me and yeah.
Sasha Robertson: Awesome. I love that. I love hearing stories, similar to mine and I very similarly, was in the workplace and You know, my husband and I struggled with infertility for 10 years. I don’t know if you knew that portion, but the listeners here, if they’ve been around for any amount of time, they’ve probably heard that. And so I spent so much time praying to be a mom, like you said, and then became a mom and three months later, I was like, Oh my goodness, what is this? Like, I don’t, it’s so different than getting promotions and recognition and so much more. But then you saw God and what he had in this situation in this season of life for you. And so I love that you talked about, you just got quiet with Him and you just prayed for him to show you. um, what he has for motherhood and this season of life that you’re in, what a beautiful testimony because I’m sure
00:05:00
Sasha Robertson: Similar to myself. He provided so much encouragement to your heart and so when he answers and, and so much peace and clarity surrounding it, too. And so, with all of that, could you share with us? What? What? Biblical perspective? I guess you gained through that situation, that that caused you to. I guess, I would say Be a good steward of your home or a better steward of your home to create it. To be an environment that you really enjoyed to be in.
Elyse Rooney: Yeah yeah. So the first thing that you know, the first day that I was really God, what? What am I doing here? Like what, what do you want me to do here? And I actually had a similar so where it took us not 10 years but a long time to full pregnant with our son. So I get you strive and then you get the blessing go
Elyse Rooney: So, but I remember the The versa in that first week. So you know it was a journey for me but in that first week of really going God I’m just I’m just lost. I’m just confused. What I the verse that came to me was that the devil comes to steal kill and destroy, but I have come to give you life and life abundant life and full life and that I thought, Hang on me as a mum. That includes me. That includes me at home with my baby, that includes me.
Elyse Rooney: In whatever season of life that I am in. It doesn’t negate from the fact that Jesus came to give me life. so then I, that was kind of the first mindset, mindset shift, that happened, was that But God gave me Jesus, Jesus gives me life. To enjoy life. That is abundant life that is purposeful. And so from that I guess the I then started just Googling versus about motherhood versus about, but being a stay-at-home mom versus about because that’s what I was at the time.
Elyse Rooney: And I remember in Proverbs, one of the first verses that I found and it’s kind of been one. That’s just stuck with me is by wisdom. A house is built and through. Understanding it is established through knowledge. Rooms are filled with rare and beautiful riches and those riches and not so much, the material things, but it’s more, so good. Godly marriages, strong children, who are walking with the Lord, a home that everyone loves and wants to be in. Like, all I want, is I want for my husband to be at work and not wait to be able to come home. I want my kids to be at school and can’t wait for them to come home. I want to not wait till I come home because that’s so the opposite of the place that I was in. So then I thought Okay. How then do I create that? And really I guess, yeah, realizing that
Elyse Rooney: The Biblical Foundation. Is that? We’re called to build our home as women as mothers, we’re called to build our home. We’re called to maintain it, We know that we set the atmosphere so then in that, we need to be acquiring knowledge and skills from other women who have gone before us or women in the Bible stories in the Bible. Being around other women who are wives and mothers and further along in seasons, and we need to be growing in our faith so that we are constantly having that as the foundation in our home. So,
Elyse Rooney: I know that that kind of was a long tangent answer, but I feel like this, the journey’s been so like it wasn’t like a linear here, that that was just what it was for me, was really Understanding the Privilege. And yes, it is a privilege to stay home but the godly privilege that it is to raise a family and create a godly home, a godly atmosphere in our home.
Sasha Robertson: Wow, that is so good. And I agree, I think so many times when I’m like, man, this is so much work. I have to slow down and, and check my mindset in that because just like you said, it is such a privilege. It’s a godly privilege, but it’s also I feel like an earthly privilege, right to be, a stay-at-home mom to get to be here with my kids. I know that there are tons of women all over the world, probably women even listening to this podcast right now that are like, I wish I could stay at home with my kids, whereas, you know, moms who are at home are like sometimes I wish I could go to work for eight hours a day, you know. And so it is it’s checking that mindset because we can always have that grass is greener mentality. But I love the Scripture verses that you brought up and
00:10:00
Sasha Robertson: I think it’s so good. Just like you said at the beginning to go back and in allow God to show you what it means and to transform your mindset, transform, your thoughts on what Scripture says, according to the season. Let your perspective be one that he has over it. And so super powerful. I know I’m encouraged through through hearing your share your story and so do you have a couple of tips because I know like you said, you you’ve gone through this process where you’re really good at this but you also get to walk alongside other women and help them find this balance and peace. And so I know one of the big things we wanted to talk about today, was if you could give us a few practical tips for busy moms to start implementing some routines in their home, preferably around home maintenance or home stewardship.
Elyse Rooney: Yeah. Yeah. So it’s a very It’s funny because I like I said to someone the other day, I released a podcast episode around like cleaning and I said, like God is so funny to like take something so mundane like cleaning but, you know, make it so.
Elyse Rooney: Give us transformation in it. So one thing you know, and it’s so much like I don’t, I don’t know the word cliche almost be like have gratitude when you’re cleaning but actually like I did not like cooking. I am not naturally a good cook and my husband bless him is so encouraging, but I cook because we have to eat and that has something that has always been a very big struggle of mine is cooking, like with flavors and, you know, all the fancy things I’m like, yeah, let’s cook some meat and some veggies and some pastor or some will call it a meal. But I remember praying God.
Elyse Rooney: Help me to be grateful, every time I cook and every time I clean help me to be grateful and I can remember a time, I was dusting the skirting boards in my daughter’s room. And I was like, Oh, I’m just like if I could just go to work and then have enough money to pay someone to do this, I’ll be so good and and I remember God saying You can’t have like the beauty without the work. You can’t have the blessing without the work and I remember in that moment going Yes, please. Keep my heart. You are towards this, please remind me.
Elyse Rooney: Why I’m doing this. And so I then started using, I’d use cleaning time like vacuuming or folding, my kids clothes, or dusting, this skirting boards, or wiping, the texture marks off the wall, which is the current situation in my other daughter’s room. But I use that as an opportunity to pray as an opportunity to Speak Scripture over their lives as an opportunity to thank God for them. And, and for little thing to remember about the little things that happened yesterday that I’m so grateful for like, the little moments because we can get so caught up in the mundane of
Elyse Rooney: I have more laundry to do. I have more folding to do, I’ve got a vacuum, the floor. Again, I have because it literally never ends. The cleaning list will literally never end as long as you have children and you living in your home. It will never end. So that is one super thing. Super Practical way that, you know, just to help our mind. Another really simple way to create home routines is to Create flow. So, a lot of people have probably heard of habit, stacking where I kind of do that but in a flow. So some things like wiping down the bathroom.
Elyse Rooney: My kids bathroom. I need to wipe down every day because they are five, four and two. So their bathroom is a mess, a good five minutes after I clean it. So what I do is I will clean it down while they are in the shower. I’ll wipe down their bathroom while they’re in the shower. I’m not doing a deep clean, but I’m at least wiping it down while they in the shower. something like, I make a tea, a cup of tea every morning, while the cup of while the kettle is boiling, I will unpack the dishwasher instead of sitting on my phone, putting the kettle on sitting on my phone and scrolling, I will go and unpack the dishwasher and you know, it’s almost become a competition now between of myself me against myself me, against the kettle. Boiling, can I get it done before the cattle dings at me? So I do that things like laundry.
00:15:00
Elyse Rooney: when I take my clothes off the clothesline, I fold them there, and then, and then I go in and put them away that Has been life-changing because then I no longer have clothes piled up on the lounge and we don’t have anywhere to sit. I don’t know if anyone else is like that but before I would like do my washing every day folding Maybe weekly. But that is just so creating flows where you just intertwine it with something that you’re already doing. You already making a cup of tea, so wipe down the kitchen bench while the cattle is boiling, you’re already doing your kids are in the bath and you’re in there watching them because they’re little wipe down the bathroom while you’re in there little practical, things like that. And then the last one is to Be proactive about your week.
Elyse Rooney: So we can, it’s all well and good for us to have all these routines in place. But They’re not going to be that effective unless you know what’s coming up in your week. If I have no idea when my appointments are, when my kids need to go where when my husband’s working late or he has a work meeting or something, If I have no idea then I’m just putting out fires. I’m being reactive. I’m probably getting more stress more overwhelmed. So then I’m letting that out on the kids. But if I at the start of the week like on a sun, Saturday or Sunday, go or even a Monday morning, look at my week for the calendar for the week and go. Okay.
Elyse Rooney: We’ve got this here. So that means that I’m gonna do a slow cooker for dinner. So then I don’t have to think about dinner because I’m not going to have enough time by the time we get home from football, practice or whatever. So, being proactive and in that I do meals, because as I said, I’m not someone who loves to cook. So being proactive about meals, I think saved my sanity. So I hope that they were like, rapid fire, but I hope that that helped gives them some ideas about how simple actually home routines can be
Sasha Robertson: Yes, I love it. I love that. Your first one was Like faith-based and and like mindset. You know, let’s pray, pray and thanks and gratitude and speak Scripture over our kids and be thankful for those little moments and I just gonna recap all of them here. Number two was was the idea of habit stacking really with creating flow and so I love the way that you shared about that but also your examples because we had another guest in this same series. Excuse me, talk about habit, stacking, and she gave some of her examples, totally different, right? But it just gives you all more ideas to to what you can incorporate and what works for you in your life, in your home and your family.
Sasha Robertson: And then number three, be proactive. There’s a quote and I’m totally gonna butcher it. You know, most statistics are made up on the spot anyway. So I’m gonna make up some more right now but it is something like
Sasha Robertson: That was one of your tips. Elyse. I want to thank you so much for being here and sharing with us. I know we mentioned the wholesome Mama show. Can you tell us a little bit more about that and other places that people can find you if they want to connect with you and learn more about what you’re doing and what you share?
Elyse Rooney: Yes. Well thank you so so much for having me on. It’s been a pleasure. And yes, so the whole summer is Basically my podcast, but also my brand. So it started in lockdown as Instagram lives and then became a podcast. And it’s basically me sharing what I’ve shared today. In a lot more depth and detail as well as other things for Christian mums, like holistic living and parenting, all the things. So that is where you can find me. Also, just wholesome Mama on Instagram is probably where I’m most active, but yeah, I’d love to connect and let me know that you found me here, so we can. I love finding out with people. People find you. It’s so much fun. So but thank you Sasha so much for having me on today.
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Sasha Robertson: Absolutely, and I just want to clarify because Elyse is from Australia. It’s wholesome mama mu mma. So I always say Mama…
Elyse Rooney: Yeah.Sasha Robertson: but m o mma, whereas most people, it’s just ma. So to eliminate confusion there, I always drop the links in the show notes, so if you want to go follow her on Instagram or go to her show, you can click the links right down below in the show notes. I hope this episode has blessed you and I hope that you will find your own habit stacks and routines to implement into your life. I hope that you will take a more proactive approach towards your life, as well as check that mindset in have that heart of gratitude and just prayer. Praying and seeing me while you’re going around and doing these somewhat mindless almost to ask in Mom, life and a home stewardship. Thank you again Elyse and thank you to all listeners. God bless.
More about your Podcast Host
Sasha Star Robertson is an Intentional Living & Biblical Mindset Coach for busy Christian moms, wife of 13 years to her best friend, boy mom (blessed by adoption), travel addict, and Jesus freak. She is the founder of The Intentional Abundance Co., curator of the Life & Goals Planner, & host of the Intentional Momlife with Jesus Podcast.
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