Hi everyone! I’ve been on a blogging hiatus for a couple years, but I’m hoping to start back up with a new focus: homemaking. I love my role as a wife and stay-at-home mom, and I have realized that I love homemaking and want to share ideas with others. Mostly, I want to create something I can look back on and share with my children someday. Here are a few of my first thoughts on the topic…
WHY A HOMEMAKING BLOG?
I’ve asked myself that a lot. Over the years, as life happened, the idea and purpose of a personal (yet, public) blog has changed and changed again. I often thought (and still do), “Who wants to hear anything I have to say?” or “Who wants to hear from a random lady claiming to be a homemaking expert?” or “Will people think I’m insulting their homemaking or parenting abilities?” The list of doubts goes on.
When I was a stay-at-home mom to 1 child, I posted quite a bit. Mostly DIY projects I’ve worked on, couponing excursions, and a handful of miscellaneous craft posts. There was no unifying thread to the posts I was publishing. Maybe that’s why I fizzled out and didn’t post for years. After baby #2, #3, and now that #4 is on the way, I have even less time to devote to something like this, but interestingly, I find myself sitting down and reviving this blog.
I have so many interests, and feel like I’m mostly an amateur at a lot and an expert at nothing. But all of my gifts and talents center around my role as a homemaker. That’s where this blog comes from. I realized that homemaking is my “thing”, what I know, what I love, what I’m good at. Don’t get me wrong, being a stay at home mom doesn’t qualify me as some sort of homemaking expert, but I do think God has blessed me with the particular organizational and management talents to do such a role, and I truly believe that the more I’m devoted to God – my faith first and then family, I can do homemaking well. Let me be clear, homemaking, or managing all aspects of the running of the home, does not mean that I am the perfect mother and have perfectly behaved kids. I am often failing my kids in disciplining, consistency, (a lack of) patience, providing healthy meals, laziness, and in so many more areas. I’ve simply found that the more well-run my home is, the less stressed I am, the happier everyone is, and the easier it is to be the mother I want to be.
Most importantly, I wanted to do this little blog project for my children. My mom and grandma passed their homemaking wisdom onto me by example, and I want to pass my wisdom onto my children in a more tangible way. It is to serve as a practical guide, but also a collection of memories to look back on that tell (part of) the story of our lives.
WHAT IS HOMEMAKING?
Many people hear “homemaker” and think that it is an old-fashioned, anti-woman, submissive title for women who don’t have careers. On the other hand, ANYONE who has a home, male or female, with or without children, with or without a paying career, should be proud to call themselves an expert homemaker.
First let’s start with what homemaking is not. Homemaking is NOT:
- Deep cleaning your house top to bottom all the time…
- Making perfect meals, ready for your husband when he comes home…
- Being the best at parenting children and having the perfectly-behaved children..
- Having a pretty Pinterest-y home that others are jealous of…
- Keeping toys and books off the floor and neatly put away…
- Having all laundry folded and put away….
- Managing your house the same way as another homemaker…
- Just for stay-at-home mothers…
What is homemaking then? One thing to note, I will always have a Catholic Christian lens on when I speak of homemaking. as my faith informs every single decision I make. My goal is to get my family to heaven, so the way I manage my house, time, and money, reflects that. Homemaking (to me) is:
- Making a house into a well-run, efficient, comfortable, simple, inviting home…
(i.e. organized, clean, healthy, calm, routined, simplified) - While being good stewards of all of the gifts and resources God has given to us…
(i.e. with money, food, clothes, land, the Earth, time) - Where all family members can become who God calls them to be…
(i.e. learn and do their very best, grow in virtue, develop their interests and talents, become well-adjusted adults, practice their faith freely, have time for what matters most as a family)
What areas of home management should all homemakers strive to improve upon and seek to perfect? This is my own list I’ve compiled based on managing my own home. I am not an expert in all areas (I’m still learning about homesteading), and most families will not have farm animals to raise or space for a garden, but I think everyone can benefit from incorporating skills in all areas into their homes, no matter how your house is setup.
FAMILY LIFE
A good homemaker is able to establish household routines, divide responsibilities, build meaningful traditions, and nurture the growth of the members of the family. What’s the point of being a good homemaker if it isn’t to support the wellbeing of the family?! So, what does the day to day look like? Do you have an expectation of each member to contribute to the management of the home? Routines and responsibilities are so beneficial to a home. This doesn’t mean you have to schedule every second or avoid spontaneity. It just helps family life run smoothly.
- Routines & Responsibilities
- Family Traditions
- (Home)schooling
HOUSEKEEPING
Doesn’t a clean house make everyone happy? When there aren’t toys all over the floor, when the dishes are done, and laundry is folded and put away, our house feels so much bigger, and all other tasks feel so much easier! When I have a meal plan, we eat healthier, waste and spend less. But I will say, of all of the homemaking skills, cleaning is what I dislike the most (so I don’t do it as often as I should)! Cooking in our house has become more complicated because I have new diet restrictions. Basic housekeeping skills are so important, no matter the size of your family or house!
- Cooking
- Laundry
- Cleaning
ORGANIZATION
I think an organized home is the most important homemaking skill to try to master. And for many people, this is the hardest. If your financial paperwork is organized, you can save a lot of money…trust me. Organizing is one of the easiest ways to relieve stress in the home. And once you have an organized home, clean up is a breeze! You can spend way more time on more enjoyable things than cleaning!
- Finances & Paperwork
- Clothing & Closets
- Toys & Kids’ Items
- Food Preservation & Storage
- Around the House
FRUGAL LIVING
We live frugally out of necessity, but more importantly, we recognize that God has given us many blessings that we can’t squander. We don’t need lots of “stuff”…it just clutters our house, and minds, and those attachments create distance between us and God.
- Budgeting & Shopping
- Simplfying
- Money Saving Strategies
- DIY & Homesteading Skills
- Sewing
- Crafting
- Home Improvement
- Gardening & Raising Animals
- Decorating & Designing the Home
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