Jesus Doesn’t Care About Your Messy House: He Cares About Your Heart

A Slob Comes Clean blogger White (Decluttering at the Speed of Life) assures readers in this cheerful guide that God loves them precisely for the messes they make. Admitting that her own disorganized house “was once my deepest, darkest secret,” White recalls anxiously canceling her kids’ playdates and having out-of-towners stay at hotels before she started the blog that finally helped her get organized. Yet even as the clutter receded, she wasn’t cured of messiness; instead, she came to better understand “who Jesus is and how he designed me”—including, for instance, giving her the ability “to hyper focus on one thing,” even if that means letting household chores slide. Aiming to untangle the false links between cleanliness, morality, and spirituality, White notes that cleanliness is not among the characteristics of a godly woman listed in Proverbs 31, and contends that a messy house is not a sign of laziness. Such discussions, which touch on prevailing notions of domesticity, Christianity, and female perfection, are often perceptive, though White sometimes stretches her thesis too far, as when she writes that a feeling of “grossed-out-edness” while cleaning should remind one “of the difference between the world you currently live in and the promise of eternity.” Still, this makes an organized house seem within reach. (Feb.)