It takes a strong and special type of woman to make the choice to become a homemaker. I chose to be a homemaker when my daughter was born and my husband strongly supported that decision. Unfortunately, society has a tendency to look down on homemakers so you will need to have a good support system.
I was blessed to be able to stay home full-time and homeschool my daughter and I would not change the choice I made. By homeschooling we were able to focus on things she was passionate about that just wasn't available in traditional schooling. Because of this she went to work as an entertainment writer and junior editor straight out of high school.
It takes a lot of patience, support, and organization to be a highly effective homemaker. Many people don't realize how much work is involved. Contrary to belief, we are not sitting in front of the TV all day eating bon-bons ( do they still make those?)
Aside from keeping a clean and tidy home, we are in charge of meal planning, grocery shopping, caring for kids ( if you have kids) , nurse, kids social schedule, your and your husband's social schedule, household budget and bill paying, some run their own business, volunteer work, and so much more.
As I said before organization is key to being highly effective at anything but more so when it comes down to maintaining your house and providing for your family's needs
To be a successful homemaker you will need to set up certain routines that will provide you and your family with peaceful and calm days that still manage to maximize productivity.
I will be sharing a few habits that you can start to implement into your daily life that will help streamline your homemaking journey.
It is so important to have a consistent morning routine. Having a peaceful morning routine really sets the tone for the entire day. I will be the first to admit that it's not always easy but I can guarantee you that it's worth it.
The first thing I learned about setting an intentional morning routine is that I needed to wake up an hour or two before the rest of the house.
My morning routine consists of meditation followed by coffee, coffee, coffee.
I take my coffee very seriously. Once I have enjoyed my morning cup of coffee I like to write out a to-do list for the day. I will also do a quick inventory on food, household items that we may be out of or simply running low on, and add them to the ongoing grocery list. ( It's easier for me this way to make a grocery list than trying to figure it out right before heading off to the store).
Once I have my daily to-do list complete I just simply go into the routine that I have used for years.
Cook breakfast
Clean kitchen
Feed pets
Open windows to air out the house
Dust
Sweep floors
Mop
Vacuum
Clean bathrooms
Clean bedrooms
Clean patio
Take trash out
Head to my parents house ( I do their cleaning, grocery shopping,etc)
Back at home collect the mail, cook dinner, cleanup, and get some writing and reading time in .
I have seen so many debates over types of planners. Digital or paper? Honestly, I use both. I love google calendar for reminders. I use this to remind me of due dates on bills , doctor appointments, pet appointments, and more. I use Google keep notes on my phone for my ongoing grocery list every week.
I use an actual printed journal for gratitude, goals, etc. I have a phone/ address book in my bag at all times in case my phone breaks so I don't lose all of my contacts because I haven't memorized a phone number since I was kid. I have a printed calendar that I use for my blogging and social media.
When choosing whether you should use paper, digital, or a combination, do whatever works for you.
Creating a weekly meal plan takes so much stress off me. I don't have to worry about what we are going to have for dinner every night right before cooking time.
A meal plan isn't set in stone, you can switch the meals around anytime you decide to and it makes grocery shopping so much easier. One thing I like to do is to have what I call takeout night. On takeout night I will cook burgers and fries, tacos, or even pizza. It's just an easy dinner night that we all enjoy.
We all know how overwhelming it can be to clean if it's not done on a daily basis. The best advice I can offer is to clean as you go. What I mean by that is when you wake up in the morning, make the bed before you leave the room. When you cook, wash dishes as you go that way after dinner you don't have to worry about all the pots and pans because you already cleaned them. Now I wash dishes by hand so I wash, dry, and put away the dishes before I leave the kitchen. If you see something out of place, pick it up and return it to its spot. Walking through the kitchen? Grab a rag and give the table and countertops a quick wipe down. Once you get into the habit of cleaning as you go it will transform your life. You will be spending a lot less time trying to do all the cleaning all day.
The goal is to create a comfortable, clutter free home. I'm not encouraging you to become a minimalist. I would never survive that myself. I love being surrounded by things to make my home comfortable. Furniture, movie posters on the walls, Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, Harry Potter, etc. quilts, books and more. The number one rule I have to keep my home clutter free is to keep tables, furniture clear of any clutter. You can use shelves, baskets, storage containers and more. Get creative with your storage.
Having a clutter free desk is not something I will do without. I need my own small space to create my schedules, goals, journaling, writing,etc. In order to be productive I simply have to have a clean and tidy desk just like my home.
When it does come time to declutter it is very easy to become overwhelmed. I suggest decluttering one thing at a time. You can start by cleaning out the kitchen junk drawer. I did this recently and it was amazing how much stuff we had crammed in there. Once that was completed a few days later I cleaned out my dresser. Notice I didn't say “ all my clothes” I simply downsized what was in my dresser so I didn't get overwhelmed. The closet will be downsized on a different day.
I'm a huge fan of routines and schedules. My husband has always teased me about this saying it would take me six months to plan a spontaneous vacation. He's not wrong. I thrive on organization and order. That's just me and it's what makes me so good at balancing the different roles that make up the definition of homemaker. When you have a plan in motion there is no chaos, you will have a peaceful, calm home which is really the goal for a tried and true homemaker. Making sure our family and friends feel comfortable and peaceful in the home.
Confession time - it took me years to start carving out time for myself. Once I started scheduling in self care time each day my attitude really changed. My grandpa used to tell me if you don't put fuel in the car you're not going anywhere and he was so right. Self care can be anything you want it to be. Going out with a friend to grab a coffee, hitting a book store or thrift store, taking a bubble bath. It can be absolutely anything as long as it's something that you enjoy and is just for you.
Practicing gratitude is a great habit to start for everyone, not just homemakers. So many times we take for granted some of the smallest things. Once you start practicing gratitude daily your entire mindset will change. Start with the fact that you woke up to another day. Did you open the fridge and have food to eat? ( If you are able to, I highly encourage you to donate to a local food bank even if it's only a couple of items) Add that to your gratitude journal . I'm grateful every day for the fact that we have electricity. We live in Florida and everytime I hurricane hits we lose power for days. I'm grateful for good health, my family, friends, etc. Look at the small things in your life and you will realize all the blessings you have.
We may be called wonder woman by family, kids, spouse, friends but just know we all have off days. It's okay if your house isn't perfect or if you fall behind on laundry. It's okay to let go of the mindset that everything has to be perfect 24/7 .
Letting go of the perfection mindset does not mean you have failed, it simply means you're human.
Once a week take some time to yourself and see what routines, schedules, goals, and habits worked for you. Were there some things you needed to add or remove? It takes time to find the perfect fit for each individual homemaker. The main thing is to find what works best for you and use that system.
Pick one or more habits to implement into your life and let me know the results in the comments.
“Which habit are you excited to try first?” Let me know in the comments.
Comments
Post a Comment