Suggesting particular spiritual life habits for families is dangerous. So I’ll just agree with my readers from the start. You’re right, I don’t know your kids. I don’t know your spouse. I don’t know your employment situation. I know that merely listening to these ideas may trigger oppressive guilt that has been heaped upon you for years, making you feel bad when you fail to put them into practice. Yes, I am aware that the choice to “simplify” is itself a privileged choice. It’s not a question of what we should do, but what we could do.

Making the home a monastery is not about restrictions. It’s about freedom.