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7 Free Homemaking Binder Printables

Jun 6, 2025 · Leave a Comment

Want some free printables for your homemaking binder? Here is a collection of 7 free homemaking printable bundles!

Creating a homemaking binder was a huge help to me in my homemaking journey! It gave me a place to unload my brain of all the random information and to keep it safely stored in an organized way in case I needed it for later.

If you have created your own homemaking binder and are ready to spruce it up with a cute homemaking printable (or two), you are in the right place. I have here a collection of 7 printable bundles along with a few pictures so you can sneak a peak at what they look like.

Here’s a list of the homemaking binder printables…

  • Homemaking binder category printable
  • Weekly routine planner
  • Printable daily planner pages
  • Summer homemaking printable
  • Fall homemaking printable
  • Thanksgiving planner
  • Holiday planner

I hope you enjoy perusing these homemaking binder printables and that you find something to add to your own homemaking binder! Blessings on your homemaking journey!

Related Post: How to create a homemaking binder

Homemaking Binder Categories Printable

There are 2 of these category pages labeled already, one as homemaking and another as housekeeping. The majority of them however are blank so that you can simply print them out and write your own categories on them.

There are 12 total for you to choose from. Here’s an idea of what they look like. They all have the same colors: a pink border on a cream background with plenty of space for you to write on.

Download your homemaking binder categories printable here!

Weekly Routine Planner

Planning out your week can be droll. It’s hard to be motivated sometimes. Something that helps be more motivated is using a tool that I enjoy looking at.

These printable weekly planner pages are designed to be used on their own or can be hole punched and added to your homemaking binder.

In this bundle are 5 different planner pages to choose from…

  • Simple weekly planner that can be used year round
  • 4 seasonal weekly planners

Here’s an idea of what they look like. This is the spring version and each one has two pages so that you have plenty of room to plan each day!

Download your weekly routine planner here!

Printable Daily Planner Pages

If you are wanting a minimalist printable daily planner that you can use year round, you will love this undated printable! There are 6 pages total…

  • 2 calendar pages
  • 2 weekly pages
  • 1 notes page
  • 1 daily page

The daily page is designed to be used with an event blocking method of planning where your day is divided by the most prominent events (mealtimes) rather than divided by the times of day. This method has been crucial to helping me slow down my homemaking so that I can still get my housekeeping done without rushing around being tied to the clock.

Download your daily printable planner pages here!

Summer Homemaking Printable

This homemaking printable bundle is designed with a sunflower theme and has 6 pages total…

  • To-do list
  • Weekly planner
  • June calendar
  • July calendar
  • August calendar

I realize that summer is really from July to September, but this homemaking printable reflects the summer break from school not the actual season.

Here are a couple of pages so that you can see what it looks like.

Download your summer homemaking printable here!

Fall Homemaking Printable

Sweet fall! Fall is my favorite time of year, but it can also be a very hectic time of year. A little order is needed to keep out the chaos from my mind so that I can serve my family better.

If you are looking to add more order to this fall season, too, you will love this pumpkin themed homemaking printable. With this 10 page printable, you get…

  • Undated calendar pages for September, October, and November
  • Weekly Planner
  • Daily Planner
  • Meal Planner
  • Shopping List
  • Baking list
  • Recipe cards
  • And a page for notes

All with a fun little pumpkin theme! Here’s a sneak peak at the the design for this fall homemaking printable!

Download your fall homemaking printable here!

Free Thanksgiving Planner

Holidays are a blast! We get to see lots of family, eat lots of good food, and play lots and lots of games.

We usually go to my aunts house every year, but one year…. the kids were sick and we got to host our own first Thanksgiving by ourselves. Even though it was just going to be us, we still wanted it to be a special event so I set about doing all the Thanksgiving things.

Planning Thanksgiving is a lot of work (but for a very good cause)! If you are hosting Thanksgiving at your house this year, a Thanksgiving planner would be a big help to you. Plus, you could keep all your notes in your homemaking binder to reference for next year!

This printable Thanksgiving planner comes with 10 pages with things like…

  • A gratitude page to keep the positivity going
  • To-do list
  • Thanksgiving week planner
  • Thanksgiving dinner meal plan
  • Thanksgiving Day schedule
  • Guest list
  • Shopping list
  • Recipe cards
  • and cute covers!

Ready to plan you best Thanksgiving yet? Let this cute fall themed planner be your best friend!

Download your Thanksgiving planner here!

Free Holiday Planner

Need some organizational printables for this holiday season? Then this holiday planner is for you!

Christmas is a very short season and yet jam packed with things to do! There are gifts to buy and wrap, a grand feast to plan, and not to mention all the other regular household tasks you are still responsible for.

Don’t let the chaos of this season overwhelm you. Conquer the chaos with this printable holiday planner!

Included in the planner are 19 printable pages of things like…

  • Gift Ideas
  • Gift Tags
  • Wish List
  • Planner Pages – Monthly, weekly, and daily!
  • Recipe Cards
  • Christmas Dinner Meal Plan
  • and more…

Start the most wonderful time of the year right and keep it peaceful and organized with this Christmas themed planner.

Here’s a sneak peak at the design.

Download your holiday planner here!

Save it for later!

Homemaking, Homemaking Lifestyle

Weekly Routine Planner Free Printable

May 28, 2025 · Leave a Comment

Want some cute printables to help you plan out your week? Here 5 weekly routine planner pages to choose from!

Planning out your week can be droll. It’s hard to be motivated sometimes. Something that helps be more motivated is using a tool that I enjoy looking at.

It brings me delight to see a bit of beauty. When the tools I use a beautiful, they make me smile. It’s refreshing to use instead of feeling like this is a dull task. I’m drawn to prettier things even if it has just a touch of beauty. It draws me in and makes me want to use it simply because it brings me joy.

If you struggle with planning out your week, use one of these printables and see if it helps. There’s a simple version plus one for each of the four seasons.

I hope you enjoy using these free weekly routine planner printables that I have created and that they help you be a more productive and joyful homemaker!

Simple Weekly Planner Printable

Spring Weekly Planner Printable

Summer Weekly Planner Printable

Fall Weekly Planner Printable

Winter Weekly Planner Printable

Download the weekly planner printables here!

Save it for later!

Homemaking, Homemaking Lifestyle

7 Productivity Tips for SAHM’s

May 7, 2025 · Leave a Comment

If you need some help being a productive stay at home mom, here are my best 7 productivity tips for SAHM’s!

Being a stay at home mom it’s a wonderful way to live! It can, however, be frustrating to figure out how to balance life. 

We all struggle with this, and I have spent a good bit of the last couple years, testing out implementing different tactics to improve my efficiency as a homemaker.

The productivity tips listed here below are my tried and true pieces of the puzzle that fit well in my homemaking journey. Each of us have unique households and homemaking journeys so everything that works for me may not work for you. It may not be a puzzle piece that fits perfectly in the puzzle of your life.

I have had seasons, also, wear some of these did not work well for me. It’s good for homemakers to try and understand a variety of methods of doing things so that when life changes, we have a tool kit, how much to draw tools from in order to bring our home back into order. 

Along with my 7 productivity tips, I have also answered a few frequently asked questions that new stay at home moms might find helpful. Things like…

  • What are stay at home moms supposed to do all day?
  • Is being a stay at home mom harder than working?

Whether you are a new stay at home mom or a little bit more of an experienced homemaker looking to improve her homemaking systems, let me share with you my 7 productivity tips that have helped me as a stay at home mom!

What are stay at home moms supposed to do all day?

There is no one answer to this question. Every day is different and every home life is different as well. There are, however, a certain tasks that every homemaker should do to keep decent order in the day. These daily tasks are…

  • Dishes
  • Laundry
  • Tidying up
  • Cooking

Training children could also be one if you have children because it is a huge responsibility that we have to do every single day as homemakers. I, however, prefer not to think about it as a task because child training is about cultivating a good relationship with a living being whereas dishes, laundry, etc. are things that just need to get done. They do not have souls so they are simply tasks that fill up our day around interacting with our children. 

To wrap it all up and tie it in a pretty bow, SAHM’s care for children while taking care of other household responsibilities and ourselves as needed. This is what we do all day. 

Related Posts: Daily HomemakingTasks or My Simple Daily Routine

Is being a SAHM harder than working?

It really depends on the job. For the most part, being a stay at home mom is more flexible and therefore is a lot easier, but there are some really hard things that stay at home mom’s have to deal with. Some days it would be easier to just go get a job, but everything is hard in its own way. 

I personally feel like it’s harder to have a job outside of the home than to be a full-time stay at home mom because the flexibility and rhythm of the day makes for a slower way of life. It’s a much more pleasant way to live despite the hard days of child training and such things. 

Productivity Tips for SAHM’s

Surrender the day

This is the day that the Lord has made. Each day we have is created by the Lord and it is his. Too often, I think being productive is about getting things done my way in my time. Ultimately, my struggle with not being productive is really about not being in control of how things get done. 

By the end of the day, the chores get done one way or another. It may not be exactly how we want that to get them done, but the point is that they are accomplished. This is what matters.

Each day that we are given is from the Lord. It is his and not ours to control. We can make plans, but ultimately, we must surrender each and every day to the Divine Creator because he knows what each day holds and what each day needs to be.

Learn to be a flexible homemaker with your routines, systems, and plans. When we begin each day in our home, we do not know the future of that day. There is no way for us to tell how things will play out. 

It’s still good to make plans and give ourselves some structure so that we have direction for our day, but we must surrender and be flexible with whatever the day ends up being.

Structure your day

There are different ways and productivity systems to plan out your days and different methods work better for different people. It’s not a bad idea to get familiar with different methods, to try them out, and choose what works best for you and your home.

“Let the housewife read, investigate, and be willing to try a new method until she proves that it is better or worse than her own.” ~ Lydia Ray Balderston, Housewifery 1921 p. 240

Some people like…

  • Time blocking
  • Smart goals
  • Eat the frog
  • To do list
  • And a lot of others!

I personally find that event blocking my day works best. This is similar to time blocking, except instead of being bound to certain times of the day you structure your day, using set event events like meal times for example. It’s super flexible and works every day for me no matter what each day holds. 

I go into a lot of detail about the method I use as well as my routines and systems in my e-book Systems and Routines: Simple Time Management for Homemakers. It’s all based on a daily routine that I got from a really old homemaking book from the 1800s. 

If you’re struggling with your days feeling really whacked and unproductive, find a flexible way to structure your day so that you have direction, but can still pivot and do whatever needs to be done in the moment. 

Plan every morning

I do very minimal weekly planning. Mostly I plan out my themed nights for my meal plan and maybe any doctors visits or appointments that will happen that week. Other than that, I prefer to plan out each day as they come living in the moment, surrendering and being flexible for whatever each day needs to be.

It’s hard to foresee what each day holds and what our family will need for that day until we wake up that morning and start living. This is why I like to plan every day as they come. My goal is to sit down with my planner every morning at some point either before or after breakfast and roughly plan out the day.

Get familiar with your daily tasks

For the most part, every homemaker has the same if not similar daily tasks that need to be accomplished. Things like…

  • Dishes
  • Laundry
  • Tidying up
  • Cooking

I also added to my list of daily tasks one thing that my husband really appreciates being done when he gets home. My husband does not mind so much if some things are not done or aren’t in perfect order when he gets home as long as the floor is swept. Every day I strive to get our main living areas and kitchen swept at least once a day.

If you don’t know what your husband would really appreciate, why not ask him tonight when he gets home and make it a priority to do something for him every single day?! I know he’ll appreciate it!

Once you have a basic understanding of the daily household responsibilities you have as a homemaker, the best way to improve them is to get familiar with them. Live out your days to the best of your ability prioritizing your children first and then the household tasks as you can. With each day that you live out, you will get an idea of what works for you and what doesn’t.

It’s been helpful for me to read other homemakers’ posts or watch homemaking vlogs about their daily routines and see what other homemakers are doing, but bearing in mind that what works for them won’t necessarily work for me. It’s good to get inspiration and tips from other people‘s homemaking journey, but I have to live out my own homemaking journey and figure out what works for me in my household.

Something else that has been super helpful in figuring out how to balance my household responsibilities is to think of the spinning plate theory. Spinning plates is a circus act where a person has a row of steaks on which a plate is set on each. The whole act revolves around keeping each of the plates spinning so they start all of the plate spinning and then as one slows down, they run to it and keep it spinning, and so they interact with the plates as needed to keep them all spinning throughout the act.

This is very much like home making. We get our household tasks spinning, and then we address them as needed to keep the plate spinning throughout the day until the tasks are accomplished. The goal is to get them all done each day but sometimes a task carries over into another day in which we simply just keep the plate, spinning day and day out and things get done as needed.

In some homemaking seasons, it’s a lot easier to accomplish all your daily tasks within the confines of that day, but some seasons consist of simply keeping the plate spinning, addressing each task at some point in the day so that each task gets some attention from you every day. 

This is how I’ve learned how to be productive in this season of home making with three children. 

Pace yourself

As homemakers, we have to learn to balance work and rest. We cannot serve our families and others to the best of our ability if we are not taking care of ourselves, too.  We must learn to pace ourselves throughout the day as we’re going about our tasks so that we don’t get burnt out. 

It is also helpful to have set moments throughout the day where we prioritize rest or times when we come apart to gather our thoughts so that we can be refreshed and more enjoyable to be around.

Prioritizing rest for me looks like this…

  • Getting up when my kids get up
  • Sharing my personal devotion time with them
  • Meditating throughout the day on scripture and drawing virtue from the Lord
  • Sitting down for the majority of nap time working on my blog as well as 30 minutes on something that brings me joy that I can do sitting down
  • Embracing each opportunity, we have to sit down and hold a child as a moment of rest and not of interruption to my day
  • Having my children do quiet time separately in their own rooms while I prepare meals

These things have helped me balance, work and play, rest and activity. They’ve helped me physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It is necessary as the primary caregivers of our home for us to balance the attention we give to our responsibilities and the attention we give to ourselves so that we can give of ourselves from a place of abundance and not an empty well. 

Putter

I’m not a big fan of to-do list. I get too selfish and want to control everything so that my to do list gets done that day. 

Spoiler alert! A homemaker to-do list is never done. There will always be more to do. 

Instead of sitting down to make a list of all the things I should get done that day and trying to stick them in my planner at the most appropriate times that I think I can accomplish them even though I have no idea of what the day will actually hold is not a very productive way to keep a home. 

I could see having a to-do list being a productive tool if you don’t have children or if your children go to school and they aren’t with you for most of the day.  However, when there are children in your home all day long, a to-do list can be very distracting for you as a homemaker.

A better way is to putter around taking care of things as you see them letting your home speak for itself as to what needs to be done right then. 

Sometimes I like to start at the back of my house and work room by room quickly addressing whatever I see needs to be put in order. This is a fun and more relaxing way than stressing over it and trying to accomplish a whole to do list.  

It’s easy to be flexible and to assess what’s more of a priority in the moment then when I sit down and make a list when I’m not actually looking at what needs to be done.

Perhaps it’s part of my personality, too. I find that I’m really good at making lists but terrible at doing anything with them. I much prefer to live in the moment and diligently keep plates spinning, making judgment calls as things come up.

Devote and redevote

Right along the same lines of surrendering your day, it’s a good habit to devote your day of work to the Lord and then as things get out of hand to take a few minutes to re-devote it back to him. Doing so allows him to redeem our days even when we have chaotic moments. 

Devoting your day and then choosing beforehand to re-devote it no matter how bad the day gets is a peaceful way of homemaking, and you can always count on the Lord being willing to redeem ourselves and our work back to him. 

Final Thoughts!

Being a productive housewife is a struggle for everyone and it’s good to know that no one struggles alone in this. Even when you have routines and systems in place, seasons of life, bring new opportunities to reassess the way our household runs.

There is no right way or wrong way to productively keep house. They’re simply the way that works for you and the season that you’re currently in.

I hope you found these productivity tips for stay at home. Mom’s helpful for your personal homemaking journey!

If you found this post helpful or were inspired in  any way, please share it with a friend or pin it to Pinterest. That way, other homemakers, who are struggling with this can find it and be helped or inspired too!

Pin it!

Homemaking, Homemaking Lifestyle

How to Sew a Blanket

Apr 14, 2025 · Leave a Comment

If you want to learn how to sew a blanket, here’s my DIY blanket tutorial!

I was passing through the sewing section in Walmart when an item in the remnant basket caught my eye. It was an undyed textured natural fiber with a loose weave. I had no idea what it was so I picked it up. 

The clearance tag said it was Monk Cloth and it was only $5.44 for the entire piece. 

After a quick google search, I realized this was the fabric used for afghans and it’s 100% cotton. Typically, it’s used as a base for a needlework project, but I loved the creamy color just the way it was. 

Needless to say, I bought it. I had no idea what the measurements were, and it had a run in it. Nothing I couldn’t tie off though. 

I eyeballed it to be about the size of a throw blanket. It was not a very warm fabric due to the loose weave, but it had a charming little bit of weight to it. 

This made it perfect for a spring or maybe even summer throw blanket. Who doesn’t want to cuddle under a slightly weighted blanket without starting to sweat?!

I didn’t know such things existed so I’m delighted to try it out this summer!

Here’s how I took this lovely bit of fabric and sewed it into a blanket!

What is the easiest blanket to make?

Definitely a throw blanket! All you need to do is cut and finish the edges and you are done. 

This makes it a perfect sewing project for beginners. There are no extra steps involved. 

How much fabric do you need for a blanket?

2 yards of fabric will give you a nice throw blanket with a little room to spare. However, if you are wanting a large blanket, get 3 yards for some extra wiggle room. 

If you want a backing to your blanket, get double the amount. 

What’s the size of a typical throw blanket?

The standard size of a throw blanket is 50”x60”. If you want a large throw blanket, increase both measurements by 10”. This gives you a blanket that is 60”x70”. 

What size blanket will 2 yards make?

This will give you roughly enough fabric for a standard size throw blanket if it’s one sided. If you are making double-sided blanket, this is enough fabric for a baby blanket or a crib blanket.

What is a handmade blanket called?

This depends on how it is made. If all that is done to the fabric is the edges being finished, then it is a throw blanket. If it is made out of little pieces pieced together, it’s called a quilt. If it is crocheted or knitted, then it’s called an afgan. 

What is the warmest material to make a blanket out of?

Wool or fleece is your best option if you are wanting a super warm blanket. A quilt will also be pretty warm since it will have layers of fabric with batting in between. 

It really depends on the type of fabric and the layers involved. That is what makes a warm blanket.

How to hand sew a blanket

To hand sew a blanket, you simply need to know how to stitch an invisible rolled hem. Depending on the weave of your fabric and if you want the stitch to be visible, you could also use a blanket stitch.

Is one yard enough for a blanket?

This is enough fabric for a baby blanket. You want at least 2 yards for an adult sized blanket.  

How wide to make a throw blanket

Usually, a throw blanket is about 50” wide. 

Take into account the size of the bolt of fabric that you are considering before making the purchase especially if you are purchasing online. I failed to take this into account once and ended up buying twice the amount that I needed. 

How to Make a Blanket

Determine the size you want. The typical size of a throw blanket is 50”x60”. The fabric I am using here is a remnant I snatched from the clearance section at Walmart. I planned to use the entire thing for a blanket so I have not measured it. 

Measure and cut to desired size. Lay out your fabric flat and smooth out any creases. Measure out a rectangle that is 50″ x 60″.

I also trimmed some tangled threads off the edges to make it easier to sew. 

Hem. Simply finish the edges with a rolled hem or double fold and you are good to go! Typically, I fold the fabric ¼” and then another ¼” on top of itself for a small hem. This fabric however has a very loose weave so I gave myself a ¾” seam allowance to make sure all the loose ends were encased inside. 

I also like set me needle to the farthest left setting to make sure the edge doesn’t slip out.

Trim off extra threads and enjoy! Drape your blanket over your favorite chair or stash it in a basket to snuggle under later. 

Just like that, you’ve made yourself a blanket!

Handmade, Homemaking

How to Sew a Tablecloth

Apr 3, 2025 · Leave a Comment

Want to sew a tablecloth? Here’s a simple tablecloth tutorial that won’t take much time!

Tablecloths dress up a table setting and take it to the next level.

As a homemaker, one of the skills I am learning is interior design. Although I would love to do all kinds of renovations and hardcore makeovers in our kitchen, this is not the season nor the time to be spending that much. We don’t necessarily have the skill sets necessary for such an undertaking either. 

I refuse to sit idle though so armed with what I do have and what I do know how to do, I have set out to makeover my entire house starting with the dining room. 

Armed with my sewing machine and basic knowledge of sewing, I have set out to makeover our dining room and give it a new look with some tablecloths. 

Want to join me in this adventure? Grab your machine and let’s get sewing!

How much fabric do you need for a tablecloth?

This really depends on the size and shape of your table. Other factors you have to consider is how much you want it to hangover and if you are going to add a trimmings like a ruffle to it. 

I measured the length and width of my table and then added how much overhang I wanted plus a little bit for seam allowance. 

When measuring the overhang, don’t forget to double it so that you have an overhang on both sides. 

See the tutorial for more detailed instructions. 

Is it easy to sew a tablecloth?

Yes! Of course, you could go all out and add all kinds of trimmings, but to make a simple tablecloth all you need to know is how to hem the edges. 

You’re basically just cutting the fabric to the size you need and then finishing the edges so it doesn’t fray in the wash. Easy peasy, just like cloth napkins!

What is the best fabric to make a tablecloth with?

Natural fibers are the best so 100% cotton or linen or a combination of both. 

While I would love to do linen or even organic cotton, that can get expensive so for this season of life, I just buy some pretty cotton fabric from Hobby Lobby and call it good. 

There are a lot of other types of fabric, but I prefer to work with cotton because it’s stiffer so it won’t slip around or stretch while you are trying to sew. 

Design tip: Choose a fabric that matches or coordinates with your curtains and it will tie in your decor all together. 

What is the best hem for a tablecloth?

My go to is the simple double fold or as some refer to it, the rolled hem. You just fold it over once and then over itself again so that the exposed edge is tucked inside. 

You can iron it, pin it, or if you are lazy like me, you can just fold it as you go. 

The nice thing about working with cotton is that it creases real easily so you could crease the fold between your fingers if that would help you too without having to break out the iron. 

What is the proper overhang for a tablecloth?

The overhang could be anywhere from 6 inches to floor length. I used a 7 inch overhang for this tablecloth. 

If you are unsure of how much overhang you want, drape your fabric over the edge of your table and adjust it to where you want it before measuring and cutting. 

I do want to note that I bought the fabric I’m using online. The bolts of fabric in store are barely wide enough to cover my dining table leaving no room for an overhang. 

I suggest you buy the fabric online or add a large ruffle for the overhang if you buy your fabric in-store.

Is it old-fashioned to use a tablecloth?

Yes and no. Tablecloths have always been an elegant way to dress up a table setting. Cloth tablecloths are not used quite as much for the everyday anymore. 

Most people just buy disposable ones for parties. Also, a lot of the more modern decor styles make use of bare tables with maybe a table runner. 

I love the simple elegance of using real tablecloths everyday even though I have little children. Yes, they are going to stain it, but it does protect the table and make clean up a bit easier. 

So, no. It’s not old fashioned to use tablecloths because tablecloths have always been used in at least formal settings throughout the years if not casual ones as well. It depends on the trends. 

But it’s yes at the same time, because using tablecloths for everyday casual meals is probably more old fashioned but in a good way. I think we need more simple elegance in our everyday lives!

What you’ll need…

  • Sewing Machine
  • Fabric
  • Bobbin with coordinating thread
  • Scissors
  • Tape Measure

How to make a simple table cloth

Preliminary tasks. It’s good practice to pre-wash your fabric so it doesn’t shrink or bleed off the color. Because I work with 100% cotton, I rarely deal with it shrinking so I often skip this step. 

I will wash my finished project by itself for the first time if it is a red fabric. Reds are the only colored fabric I have trouble with bleeding or the dye seeping out. 

If you are using a natural fiber and it’s not a red fabric, it probably doesn’t need any special care before you jump into this simple sewing project.

If you do choose to pre-wash your fabric, you may want to iron the wrinkles out so that it will be easier to cut.  

Take measurements. Measure the width and length of the intended table. Here’s a graphic of my tablecloth measurements.

Drape your fabric over your table. Take a step back to eye how much you want the tablecloth to overhang and adjust the edge of the fabric to your preferred length.

Once you have it where you want it, use a tape measure to measure from the edge of the table to the edge of the fabric. 

Add ½” to it for the hem. Double this measurement and add it to both the width and length of the table measurements. This ensures that you will have enough fabric for an overhang all the way around. 

Cut it to size. Lay out your fabric, measure and mark the correct amount before cutting the fabric.  You can trace lines with a straight edge and some tailor’s chalk or a pencil to help you cut straight lines. 

OR If you’re blessed to have tile flooring, you can use the grout as straight edges and skip the tracing all together, lol. I just mark the edges where the measurements fall, line them up along the grout, and cut following the grout line from one mark to the next. It doesn’t have to be absolutely perfectly straight. This sewing project is very forgiving. 

Hem. Finish the edges to keep them from fraying over time with a simple hem. 

Fold the edge of the fabric over ¼” and then over itself again another ¼” to encase the raw edge. 

Set the needle position to the far left. This ensures that the raw edge won’t slip out from under the needle. 

Use the straight stitch to sew down all four edges. Don’t forget to backstitch at the beginning and end so that all your hard work stays intact!

Don’t forget to trim the extra threads off!

Style it! Now that the tablecloth is finished, toss it over your table and stype it to your heart’s content! I love how a little fabric and a simple sewing project like this can add a touch of elegance to a home!

Save for later!

Handmade

A Simple Guide to Cooking From Scratch 

Mar 19, 2025 · Leave a Comment

Want to start making home cooked meals just like your grandma used to? Here’s how you can learn the art of cooking from scratch!

Cooking from scratch is the old fashioned homemaking skill that has made the most impact in my homemaking journey. Why? Because we have to eat three times a day anyways so why not make cheaper healthier meals that are hubby approved and kid friendly?!

There’s nothing like the waft of a home cooked meal or cookies baking in the oven to make your mouth water. Plus, if you make it yourself from scratch, you have control over what’s in it and you’ll feel a whole lot better after eating it. 

At some point, we moms become concerned about our health or the health of the family. We start having health issues, we get tired of dieting without losing weight or feeling better, we get tired of the kids getting sick all the time, etc. There’s a host of reasons why we start down the road to better health.

The lifestyle switch towards cooking our food from scratch has made the biggest impact on our health. Making your own food with well sourced ingredients can actually stabilize your weight, blood sugar, sleep, and a whole lot of other minor health issues you might be having. It’s a win win that you can’t afford to miss out on. 

So if you’re ready to explore more about the sold fashioned homemaking skill, grab your apron and let’s get cooking!

What does cooking from scratch mean?

There are varying opinions about what cooking from scratch is. Some say as long as you throw it in a pan and cook it yourself, that counts. Some would count using mostly raw ingredients while still utilizing store bought goods like canned soup mix or a seasoning packet. 

I’ve come to the conclusion that cooking from scratch is a spectrum. It’s a journey to start, to explore, and to improve on. 

What I refer to as cooking from scratch in this post still may not even be exactly where I am at in my own homemaking journey, but it is the end goal that I’m striving for. 

So here’s my definition. 

Cooking from scratch is cooking food with well sourced raw or traditionally prepared ingredients without a recipe. 

Here’s what I mean by this…

  • Cooking food – If you are actually cooking raw ingredients and not just reheating a pre-made meal, then that is cooking from scratch
  • Well-sourced – To take full advantage of the health benefits and healing qualities of food, the ingredients have to be high quality. You can totally improve your health by simply cooking food from raw ingredients, but if you want to get the most out of it, then you’ll want to go all in eventually. 
  • Cooking with raw or traditionally prepared whole food ingredients – Raw whole foods would be things like meat and veggies and traditionally prepared foods are things like sourdough, fermented vegetables, home canned goods, etc.
  • Cooking without a recipe – you can follow other peoples recipes and still be cooking from scratch, but there’s something extremely useful about knowing how ingredients work together, how to season to taste, and how to turn out your pantry shelves and make it into a meal. 

So much of our modern day eating is buying prepackaged, pre-made food with lots of unhealthy additives and preservatives because it’s convenient and easy.

You don’t have to think about preparing food or taking extra time in the kitchen, but with choosing convenience often comes the sacrifice of goodness and beauty. In many ways, choosing convenience foods is an easier lifestyle, but we sacrifice health or well-being, and the deep well of knowledge that was passed down from generation to generation.

Is it really cheaper to cook from scratch?

Yes, it can be cheaper to cook from scratch. Buying pre-made frozen foods and going out to eat often is definitely more expensive than making your own food at home with raw traditionally prepared ingredients. There will always be poorly made foods that are cheaper than what you can make, but you can still make really good food and save money. 

If you are trying to improve your health and well-being, you will definitely save money by not buying the healthy pre-made foods. Cooking from scratch is one of the best ways to save money on the food budget and still eat healthy.

What foods can I make from scratch?

There is no end to what you can cook from scratch. Some say that you can have whatever you want as long as you make it yourself. I’m not sure there is anything that cannot be made from scratch. 

Google has definitely been my friend on my scratch cooking journey. I get carried away looking up if this or that that can be made from scratch, lol. 

As long as you’re willing to be patient as you learn to cook, the sky’s the limit as to what foods you can make from scratch. 

Some of our family favorites to make from scratch are…

  • Tacos with sourdough tortillas
  • Sourdough Pizza
  • Breakfast burritos
  • Simple soups
  • Desserts, especially chocolate chip cookies

What is the easiest food to make from scratch?

I would have to say eggs. They take hardly anytime to cook up and you can’t really mess them up unless you hate scrambled eggs. 

Honestly though, if you learn the basic cooking techniques and use instant pots, a lot of foods can be made from scratch with ease even if you are a beginner cook. 

Actually cook!

Perhaps this is a given, but cooking from scratch means actually cooking food. Reheating something that was pre-made is not cooking from scratch. It’s using the skills of making your own sausage, browning, meat, frying eggs, bread baking and making all your favorite foods from raw or traditionally prepared ingredients. 

Remember though that cooking from scratch is a journey! Give yourself grace as you start no matter where you are coming from and where you end up.

Source your ingredients

I’ve been cooking from scratch for awhile now, but it has taken me awhile to get here to the place where I’m ready to use good quality ingredients. 

I want to feel better and still be able to eat all the foods. I was tired of my energy crashing, struggling to sleep, and dealing with food sensitivities. 

I’m a homemaker! I’ve got things to do and children to love and care for. I don’t have time to feel like trash because I’m eating trash. 

I used to think the food label organic was just a marketing ploy or that it was for rich people because they could afford to just throw money at food. 

Oh boy! Have I learned differently!

Well sourced quality ingredients make a world of difference when you want to make even the simplest of meals taste even better. 

If you aren’t eating clean food (as in unmodified, pesticide free, no additives); then even whole foods will not be as easy to digest and can actually cause health issues. 

If you want to feel healthy, eat healthy! I cooked from scratch for years before I started thinking about the quality of my food. I felt terrible until I decided enough was enough. Mommy has to feel better if she is going to take care of everyone else. 

Another selling point was that many things my husband didn’t like, he actually does if it’s made with good quality ingredients. For years, my husband disliked any dish I made with potatoes. Then I started using organic potatoes. His mind was blown. I hadn’t changed anything except the quality of the food. 

We still eat pretty simple, but switching to good quality food has been a game changer in my from scratch cooking journey. 

Use raw or traditionally prepared ingredients

There are probably very few of us that cook completely with only raw traditionally prepared ingredients, but that is what we are probably all striving for when we say that we cook from scratch.

So what are raw ingredients? 

They are whole foods that have not been prepared or cooked, things like…

  • Vegetables
  • Meat
  • Whole Grains
  • Fruit
  • Sweeteners
  • Dairy

The things that make up food without all the extra preservatives and additives. 

What are traditionally prepared ingredients?

This would be things like…

  • Home canned goods – canned corn, tomatoes, or soup
  • Frozen ingredients – Frozen Berries, frozen veggies, frozen meat, etc.
  • Fermented foods – sourdough, sauerkraut, yogurt, and other things preserved with a brine or culture
  • Dried goods – dehydrated fruit, meat (beef, jerky), or herbs
  • Soaking and sprouting – grains and legumes

Traditional methods at first glance may seem like too much work, but in reality once you get the hang of how to do one or two methods, they can make your life as a home cook so much easier. 

It’s all about being proactive!

These methods help you work ahead so that when it comes time to make a meal half of the work is done for you. Having food mostly prepared is also very convenient and can help you skip fast food because you already have ingredients prepared to throw a quick but delicious meal together. 

Cook without a recipe

You can definitely utilize other peoples recipes as you learn the art of cooking from scratch, but there’s something to be said about having a working knowledge of how food comes together to make a meal or a dish.

What would happen if we no longer had access to the Internet for recipes? You would probably go to the store and get a cookbook, but what if there was a shortage of cook books because there was no longer internet?

You could order one online, but it takes at least a day, if not longer to get it delivered. Would you know how to look at ingredients and instantly know how to bring them together or prepare them to make at least an edible meal if not a delicious one?

OK, that’s a little extreme, but do you ever find yourself in a situation where you don’t feel like going to the grocery store but you don’t really have much to make except a few odds and ends of things? 

This is where that knowledge of knowing how to bring food together comes in really handy. 

Not to mention, cooking from scratch can simplify meal planning. If you know how to prepare ingredients, then you’ll hardly need recipes. Once you have learned enough about cooking that you don’t have to follow recipes, meal planning can be as easy as jotting down what you want to eat in your planner. 

No more hunting around for what to make. You’ll know what your family likes, what you can afford, and what you can make in a jiffy when you run out of time. 

Final Thoughts!

Cooking from scratch is a lost art and skill that would make our lives as homemakers so much better! Once you get past the learning curve, it simplifies life by making it easier to prepare healthy meals your family will actually want to eat. 

Although cooking from scratch meals could take a lot of time to make, you get to choose how much time you want to spend in the kitchen cooking. It can take all day or just 30 minutes to an hour to put together a quick healthy and delicious meal!

You could even do it in 15 minutes depending on what you’re making and if you have some ingredients already prepped.

If you’ve been thinking about learning how to cook from scratch, let this be the encouragement you need to make it a reality. Cooking from scratch will save you money, it will be healthier, and your family will thank you because there is nothing like a home cooked meal!

Recipes

11 Habits of a Highly Effective Homemaker

Mar 4, 2025 · Leave a Comment

Habits are the building blocks of who we will become. What kind of a homemaker do you want to be?

Every child has been asked the question what do you want to be when you grow up. While we are no longer children and responsibilities often way heavy on our shoulders and hearts, the question still applies to us as homemakers. 

What kind of a homemaker do you want to be when you are a grandma?

Ok, that’s a long ways away for most of us, but seriously, what kind of a homemaker do you want to be? A productive one? A happy one? A skilled one?

The habits we cultivate whether good or bad are the making of us. 

I think most of us want to be effective homemakers, ones that get all the chores done day in and day out, but ones that also create a good and beautiful home where we and our loved ones flourish. In the words of Sally Clarkson, “a life-giving home”!

We long to be homemakers that effectively cultivate something practical but lovely. Something good. Something virtuous. 

Habits are the building blocks for this dream. As we live out our days getting our hands dirty in the thick of homemaking yet mindful to intentionally cultivate good habits, we slowly start to see our dream of becoming a highly effective homemaker unfold before us. 

It doesn’t happen in a day and it’s often very hard work, but cultivating habits are what will make this dream come true. 

We all have days where we are less than effective so I don’t want to sound like I have everything figured out and can give you the magic formula for being an effective homemaker. 

I’m still a young homemaker and have so much more to learn, but here are 11 habits that make up my most successful and effective days as a homemaker. 

Unload the dishwasher around breakfast time

Making a habit of putting away the clean dishes around breakfast time is a great way to get a headstart on your days work. The absolute best time to do this is before breakfast, but I give myself the flexibility to at least do it somewhere around breakfast time either before, while I’m making breakfast, or afterwards. Homemakers can’t account for everything so we have to be flexible. 

On my most productive days I’ve also gone ahead and loaded the breakfast dishes in after breakfast as well, but at least getting the dry clean dishes put away at the beginning of the day is a really good start. 

Start one load of laundry everyday

Whether you get to fold and put away that same day or not, at least getting a load, started, this keeps the ball rolling. At some point, it will get moved over to the dryer because you’ll need to wash another load and then it’ll eventually get folded and put away because then you’ll need a laundry basket at some point.

As long as you make the habit of at least starting one load every day, this will keep things moving and things will eventually get done. 

It’s definitely hard to get a load started if I have to head out of the house during the morning time or if it’s Sunday and I need to head to church so I don’t always get a load started every single day. However, I feel the most productive when I do even on Sundays. 

Reflect and devote your heart and home

Whether you get some time in the morning or during nap time, or in the evening after the kids, go to bed, taking a few moments to stop and reflect on God and his word will inspire and motivate you to create a more sacred home. my most productive days are ones that I at some point spent some time in the Bible reading, reflecting on what I read, and devoting my heart and home to him. 

This really affects my overall spirit throughout the day as a homemaker. Carving out some time really helps me be more calm and gentle, kind and compassionate, and all the things that a mother needs to be in order to mother her children and make a good and beautiful home where her family can flourish.

Meditate on scripture

Let’s be honest. There are some days where we just don’t get to sit down and spend some time in God’s word. Another necessary virtuous habit that I am learning to cultivate is to take a scripture along with me during the day to think about, and to draw strength from in those tense and very frustrating, moments of motherhood. 

This is a very old habit that Christians have been doing since forever. It is highly effective in helping anyone, not just homemakers live out their days with Christ-likeness. 

I especially love memorizing verses about God being my strength and refuge, because these are two things that I almost always need on any given day. 

Although I truly enjoy getting to sit down for some reflection and devotion time, some days I only have time for a verse or two or I simply get distracted, and it never happens. Having a verse that I have already memorized to think on while I’m doing dishes or folding laundry helps me have the spiritual strength I need for that day. 

Putter

This is the best daily cleaning and organizing habit! 

Puttering essentially means to go around doing things without necessarily having a specific plan in mind. You just see what needs to be done and you start doing it.

I finally got tired of trying to make a weekly cleaning schedule work. I am a mom of three children so my life has to be super flexible. It was so stressful, trying to keep up with a set plan and things were not getting done like they should. 

When I first came across the old-fashioned idea of puttering I thought it was a nice idea, but it didn’t appear to be very productive. Just going around doing things seems like the harder way to get things accomplished. 

You’ve probably heard the adage, “The failure to plan is a plan to fail.” I thought I would have to be seriously undisciplined, and just throw all planning and everything out the window if I was going to putter. 

But the truth is puttering is just a super flexible plan. The plan is to get things tidied up and in order and puttering it’s just how you get it accomplished. 

Instead of sitting down to make a list of all the things that need to get done, let the house speak for itself. I love making lists, but I’m really bad about carrying them out. 

Learning to putter to simply walk into a room and see what needs to be done and start doing it, this is how I have learned to keep house productively  without a to do list.

Want to know more? Check out my systems and routines e-book!

Plan your day out every morning

The idea of planning out your week has always intrigued me, but it has never been a successful homemaking habit. It simply does not work for me, but when I searched around on the Internet and on other homemaking blogs, trying to figure out time management, all that I saw was taking some time once a week to plan out your week, including a weekly meal plan. 

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love to plan almost to a fault. I just really really struggle with sticking to my plan. 

I thought I was just undisciplined and needed to  work on it but I never could make weekly planning work for me. 

When I came across an old homemaking book with this idea of planning out my day the day of, I was sold! Weekly planning? No can-do. Daily planning? Now that’s feasible!

Basically, at some point in the morning before I get started on chores, I pull out my planner, take a few minutes to think about what needs to happen that day and make a rough plan for it.

On the days that I’m home (which is most days), I mostly just make a rough meal plan for that day and then putter around getting things done. When I do need to get out of the house for whatever reason, it is helpful to have a more definitive plan of what needs to happen when to make sure that we get out the door on time. 

My homemaking systems and habits that I have cultivated honestly hold every thing else that I possibly need to do as a homemaker and you can read more about that here!

Reset the house before you leave

Getting out the door with kids can be a real struggle, but coming back worn out from running errands to a house that is messy is simply depressing!

A really productive habit to cultivate is taking a few minutes to reset at least the first couple of rooms that will see you when we walk into the house. Primarily, this is the kitchen, dining room, and living room area for me. 

The goal here is not to get everything in perfect order but to at least get the toys put away, Throw pillows back in their spots (they are called throw pillows for a reason, lol), and carry any dirty dishes towards the sink. 

It makes the home feel just a little more fresh and calm. 

Don’t carry your phone around

Let’s face it. Phones are distracting. It’s not necessarily social media, or YouTube that are distracting us from life and homemaking. It’s the fact that we can carry these super addicting distractions around with us wherever we go. 

It takes very little effort to whip your phone out of your pocket and look something up or sit on the couch and scroll. 

Social media, YouTube, and other apps can be really helpful tools to help you cultivate a good and beautiful life where you and yours flourish. They, however, can be really addicting and huge distractions from the life going on around us. 

It’s rarely a beautiful moment when I pull out my phone when the kids are around. They just know that my attention is no longer on them and they dislike it very much. 

It’s easier for the kids to think they can get away with stuff when I’m not aware of what they’re doing because I’m on my phone. It is also extremely easy to be frustrated when my kids try to get my attention because they need my help but I’m distracted with whatever I’m doing on my phone. 

I like doing things on my phone. I like the addictive distractions it creates and they are not in errantly bad. They can be useful tools when done at the right time and with limitations. 

It’s just so hard to not want the distraction when it is so readily available because I keep my phone with me all the time. 

Here’s how I am balancing having a phone around while still being productive…

  • Turning off notifications, except for the text messages of a select few Friends or family
  • Purposing not to use my phone when it’s time to be doing something else
  • Giving myself a set time to use my phone
  • Leaving my phone on the kitchen counter

Even though I have never been super addicted to social media, there are a lot of other distractions that phones create too like looking some thing up real quick or watching a YouTube video. 

If we aren’t purposeful about our phone usage as homemakers, it will be very hard to have successful days. 

Reset the kitchen every night

I try to clean up the kitchen every meal, but some days it doesn’t happen. That’s okay though because I have built in my homemaking system a failsafe by resetting the kitchen every night. This ensures that we will have clean dishes to use the next day. 

While I am striving to do dishes after every meal so that it doesn’t all pile up after dinner, life happens and this doesn’t get done. At the end of the day, however, the dishes are washed and we have clean dishes the next day. That’s what is important. 

The habit of resetting the kitchen is more than just doing the dishes. It also includes…

  • clearing off and wiping down the table
  • sweeping the kitchen and dinning room area
  • organizing and wiping down the countertops. 

The kitchen is my primary workspace as a homemaker so to be effective and not overwhelmed, I try to get my space in order at least by the end of each day. 

Pivot as needed

This sounds like it belongs more in a list of homemaking tips, but it’s something that I really had to work on. It’s a habit that I had to cultivate. 

We can try our best to plan and coerce our days in a certain direction, but the reality is that we have to be flexible. Children need to be held and helped. Unforseen messes cleaned up. 

Often, a moment of quiet is necessary to redirect our spirit away from frustration back into a place of serenity. 

Homemakers have to learn to pivot or change direction smoothly despite what they want to accomplish with their time. The truth is that it isn’t our time. We are mere stewards of the gift of life that has been granted to us. 

To consistently sacrifice our desires is hard though. It’s down right maddening at times, but we must cultivate the habit of pivoting as necessary. Things will all work out. 

Eventually, the laundry gets done, everyone eats, the dishes get washed, and we all go to asleep. Day after day, the cycle begins and ends. The necessary things of life are accomplished perhaps not as we want to do them, but nonetheless accomplished. 

We have to learn to accept this and pivot as our duty demands. 

Keep Sabbatical moments

Especially in the years of motherhood, homemakers are on call 24/7 and it is hard to find time for ourselves. It is even more necessary that we find rest in these seasons. 

Ideally, we would have a day of rest or a sabbath as the timeless principle is called, but this is nearly impossible. Even on days that we try to call our sabbaths, we are still required to cook and clean and care for our household. 

Finding a whole day of rest has been nearly impossible for me, but I have found it effective to keep sabbatical moments. 

There are little pockets of time in our days that are more quiet like nap times or after the kids go to bed. We must guard these times for the welfare of our souls. 

These are glorious moments of quiet and peace that restore our spirit and rejuvenate us to continue homemaking when our duties call. I can’t predict which naptimes the kids will choose to sleep the entire time, but in most weeks, there is always a few long moments of rest somewhere in that time frame. 

Also, my husband so sweetly allows me to get out of the house and go off somewhere other than home during naptimes on his day off.  Ideally, I go to the library, but sometimes it’s closed so I might go on some solo adventure and…

  • Wander around an antique store
  • Go grocery shopping all by myself
  • Check out a new shop
  • Drive to a park and just sit in the car, lol

In this busy season of mothering little ones, getting alone time is becoming absolutely necessary for my sanity. 

To be an effective homemaker day and day out, it is necessary to cultivate the habit of keeping moments of rest. 

Final Thoughts!

I hope you enjoyed perusing my list of habits! I’m not saying I’m perfect or have everything figured out, but these are the core things that help me in my role as a homemaker. 

My most productive and fulfilling seasons are when these 11 habits happen.

Keep in mind though that I didn’t develop these over night. The productive season that I get to enjoy right now is the fruit of many seasons working hard to cultivate these habits.

If you are in a rough season where it’s hard to be a productive homemaker, take life for where you are at. Work on what you can and give yourself lots of grace.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Were you inspired or helped by this post in any way? Share it so other homemakers can be helped and inspired, too!

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Homemaking, Homemaking Lifestyle

How to Romanticize your Life as a Homemaker

Feb 21, 2025 · Leave a Comment

Are you struggling as a homemaker or a stay at home mom to really enjoy your role? Do you find yourself easily discouraged or depressed about all that needs to be done? One way to motivate and inspire yourself is to romanticize your life as a homemaker!

Homemaking is hard and there are seasons where it is really really hard like…

  • During pregnancy
  • Post-partum and the newborn stage of motherhood
  • Parenting little ones
  • When you have to work outside of the home
  • When you or another member of your household is sick
  • When you have lost a loved one
  • When you are dealing with health issues
  • During a move

These are really hard seasons of life, and as a homemaker you are no doubt in one or more of these seasons. 

I have had many seasons of ups and downs in my homemaking journey. It is honestly too easy to be depressed when you think about the workload that rests on your shoulders. Not to mention the chaos that children bring even though you love the little darlings.

There are so many instances that I could tell you about where I set out determined to have a good day, but then…

  • I ran a load of laundry not realizing that the kids had thrown a cereal box into the washer and it disintegrated all over everything.
  • The kids ran over my foot with their bike
  • The toilet flooded the bathroom

You get the picture! No doubt you have your own “lovely adventures” that you could add to the list.

The truth is that it’s too easy to let negative emotions get the better of us. It’s just so easy to choose them even when we know better.

But I’m not here to push you farther down the rabbit hole of negativity. I’m here to encourage you and help you find a bit of joy even in the hard seasons of homemaking.

There is so much to enjoy in life and one thing that has helped me personally in my homemaking journey is to romanticize my life as a homemaker!

What does it mean to romanticize your life?

To romanticize is to “believe that something is better, more interesting, or more exciting than it really is.” (Cambridge Dictionary) In light of that definition, to romanticize your life is to choose to believe that your life is better than what it currently appears to be. 

It is the intentional choice of seeing your life in a lovely light instead of being discouraged about what it feels like or actually looks like. It’s like elevating life to a whole new and wonderful level!

Is romanticizing your life healthy?

Yes, romanticizing your life can be healthy. It can help you stop being discouraged or overwhelmed when things are hard or not going as you expected. 

A bit of romanticizing can help you love where you are at in life and still dream about where you could be without being discontent. It helps you forget about the negative components of life and prepare your heart to live life with a smile no matter what the circumstances.

Too much of this though can be unhealthy and cause discontentment. If you were to embellish your life in your mind to the point where you never had housework and did not have to do the hard work of parenting, for example, this would be romanticizing your life in an unrealistic way and direct your heart towards unhappiness and despair.

As with all things, there is a balance to romanticizing your life. When it is done well, a romanticizing mindset can be a handy tool to pull you out of the dumps and help you be a more virtuous homemaker. 

How to romanticize your life realistically

Let’s talk about how you can do this realistically. Here are 9 ways that you can romanticize your life so that you can flourish even in the hard times!

Look for the beauty in everyday life.

Are there little things that make you smile?

The other day, my two year old had what we have affectionately called a “yogurt beard”. Yogurt was smothered all over her mouth and when she caught my eye, her adorable dimpled grin and scrunched up nose made me almost laugh. 

She was a mess, a mess that I would have to clean up, but seeing that beautiful smile gave me a smile in a moment when I really wanted to be disgruntled.

It is ridiculous and unrealistic, but I often struggle when children cannot eat without spilling food everywhere including their face. It’s one more thing to add to my already loaded plate as a homemaker, but when I focus on that cute little smile and on the fact that she is not going hungry and that she is enjoying her food and her life, that beauty often brings me out of the grumps.

Sometimes beauty finds you like my little girl’s smile found me, but it wouldn’t hurt to seek it out more often. Make it a point to disengage with life for a moment no matter how it’s going and look for something beautiful, something that will make you smile.

Define what you find to be lovely.

Every homemaker has their own preferences, and while there are principles of beauty that are objective (never change), there’s still a part of beauty that is subjective to the individual. As the phrase goes, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.“ 

If you don’t know what you find to be lovely, that’s okay! Discovering this is one of the wonderful adventures of being a stay at home mom. 

It’s easy to fit in a little time to stop and think or google an idea so that you can see a picture, and it doesn’t have to happen in a day. In truth, most of the things that I find to be lovely came to me over time as I was watching a youtube video or daydreaming here and there. 

While I can’t say what you will find to be exceptionally lovely, I can tell you what is lovely to me. Loveliness or everyday beauty to me looks like…

  • Ruffles
  • Lace
  • Fine China-especially red transfer ware
  • Floral linens
  • White and cream linens
  • Decorative books
  • Tablecloths and Cloth napkins
  • Flowers
  • Dresses

These are a few of the tangible things that bring me delight, but what are some things that bring delight to you and your home? What are some things when you see them or think about them that bring a smile to your face?

Surrounding yourself with things that you find lovely will make it even easier to see beauty in the everyday.

Dream.

There was a time in my life that I didn’t know how to dream because I didn’t know what I wanted in life. Life is really really sad if there isn’t something to dream about.

Since then, I have learned so much about myself and homemaking and have all kinds of dreams of what I want to accomplish with my children, in my home, in my online business, gardening, etc. You name it! 

At one point or another, I have stopped and dreamed about what our lives could look like in the future and it motivates me today to learn and grow in my skills as a homemaker and do all that I can so that that dream can come true.

Some specific things I have dreamed about are…

  • Designing the interiors of our home – I have fallen in love with the old world/English cottage/Victorian style of decor and I have lots and lots of ideas, but I have no idea what I am doing, lol. There is a lot that goes into designing a room, and I am not prepared to completely commit to any serious project yet. So for now, I stick to dreaming it all up and letting the thoughts roll around until it’s time to act on it.
  • Creating a garden – not just a vegetable garden, but maybe one with lots of flowers and hedges and maybe a bench or two. A little bit of beauty in the backyard is what I ‘m going for.
  • Creating a handmade home – I’m currently in the middle of learning to sew or make myself every linen object that we need in our home. It’s part of the interior design dream, but also a smaller more tangible dream that I have already started working on. Check out my handmade home category of posts to see what I have done so far! 
  • Cooking completely from scratch – I often dream about this when I am putting our meals together. It would be so wonderful (and healthy) to start with nothing but raw unprepared ingredients, learn how to prepare them myself, and feed my family real good food. It will happen someday, I know it! We are taking some steps towards making this dream a reality. It’s a really slow process, but dreaming about it keeps looking forward to that day while still enjoying what we have already accomplished.

Some of these dreams, I have started taking action on already and some won’t be started for many years, but it has taken a lot of dreaming and planning to even get to where I am now and it has been a delightful little adventure even if it has been slow.

One should always have something that they are looking forward to!

Dress up not down.

In today’s world, we are horrible about dressing down for the everyday! It’s hard to take pride or feel like you are doing a lovely job of making a home if you don’t look lovely. 

It didn’t used to be acceptable to not dress well even while at home. Obviously, it was understood that you would dress for whatever work you had to accomplish that day, but isn’t it more delightful to dress up instead of down?!

I am passionate about wearing dresses around the house not because I’m against other types of apparel. I have always just liked dresses. Perhaps this comes from watching too much Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskill growing up, but I absolutely adore dresses!

I love that it is trendy to wear dresses right now, but even if it wasn’t, you would still find me wearing my dresses.

I would love to be in a place where I know how to wear a dress no matter the weather outside or the task I’m working on. Until then though, I’m still making do in the winter months and when I garden and such with whatever I can make work for the occasion.

Somedays, I wear whatever I need to during the day and then try to change and gett a little more dressed up right before my man gets home. It makes it feel like I’m going on a date with him even though we aren’t leaving the house and are probably eating soup or pasta with toddlers. 

Learning to dress up and not down even for the nitty gritty everyday of homemaking puts me in a much more delighted mood and helps me aspire to be a more virtuous homemaker!

Dress for your profession.

We are homemakers. We clean, we dust, scrub floors, wipe spit up off our shoulders, dig in the dirt, and romp around with children. Our clothes get stained really really easy.

I’m loving the old fashioned apron life! Especially because it pairs so well with wearing dresses! 

Aprons are practical and can keep your clothes looking nicer for longer. Some provide extra pockets which are handy for picking up stuff that ended up in the wrong room or carrying around a dusting rag. I have often thought about using them to hold BIble verses that I am trying to memorize so I can just whip it out when I am resting on the cough for a few minutes or nursing my babies. 

They are super practical, but they can be pretty, too! You could buy simple aprons that accent your dresses or if you can’t find what you are looking for, you could always make some. They are super easy and that way you could pick out the exact fabric you want, too! 

Here’s a lovely little post I came across that really fueled my desire to start wearing aprons everyday. 

Pursue virtue.

There is something so lovely about being in the presence of a true lady. Not someone who gives off airs or is super rich necessarily, but a down to earth virtuous woman. 

You can hear kindness in her tone, feel loved by her embrace, see understanding in her eyes. This is the type of homemaker that I dream to be. There is something so lovely about being a lady, but I know I often put the cultivating of my heart and spirit on the back burner while I take care of more pressing matters.

This year I decided that I was going to purposefully pursue virtue because I want to be a lovely person that others enjoy being around and that has a personality that refreshes others. For each quarter of the year, I am focusing on cultivating one virtue. 

I am not able to do a huge study or read a lot on them since I am a busy little homemaker, but I have been amazed at the deep growth when I surrender my heart to God and ask him to teach me that virtue on a day to day basis.

I have memorized some key verse about that virtue and meditate on them throughout the day. Occasionally, I try to stop and think about the areas of my life that I lack that virtue and how I’m going to try to work on it.

It’s a long slow process, but even the few months I have been doing this has been very enriching.

Perhaps that wasn’t at all helpful to you in your own homemaking journey, but what are some ways that you can pursue a good and beautiful spirit?

Set the table.

When I say set the table, I don’t just mean put the plates and silverware on the table. I mean go all out even if you are just eating soup or pasta, some quick meal that you barely had the energy to put together. 

I wish I could remember which old homemaking book I got this from, but I found this idea in a book from the internet archive that I was perusing. It mentioned a housekeeper setting the table before getting started at all with the meal so I tried it. Life changing! 

After I have done the hard work of preparing a meal, it takes everything in me just to sit down and eat the meal I just prepared. I rarely have the energy or the bandwidth to think about preparing the table setting, but if I start with the table while I still have energy before I move off to make the meal, I can just bring the food to the table once its done and we can eat while it’s still warm.

You could set the table any way you like. Have fun with it! I like to use…

  • Tablecloths
  • Napkins
  • My grandma’s silverware
  • Nice plastic glasses – Someday, we’ll use actual glass, but we have little kids which is why I’m so glad I found these US Acrylic Tumblers. They are the best of both worlds, practical but look nice!
  • Flowers
  • Candles – I have used unlit real ones and battery operated ones that flicker for safety reasons around the kids.

Setting the table turns any meal into a feast no matter how frugal you had to be with your food budget. Why not spruce up this thing we do three times a day called eating?!

“People grow refined first in their eating.” ~ The Home Cook Book p. 14, 1882

Cultivate the art of a handmade home.

If you are surrounded by beautiful things you crafted yourself, would you take more pride in your homemaking? 

I recently made curtains for our living room. I couldn’t find some floral ones that I liked or could afford so I ordered some fabric from Hobby Lobby, pulled out my sewing machine, and sewed for 3 days straight.

It was so worth it though!! Without fail every time I look at my creation, I’m inspired to create more and love my home more by creating more things for it!

Creating a handmade home can look however it needs to for you. It is defined by the unique skills and abilities of the homemaker that lives there.

What skills do you have or want to learn so that you can craft a handmade home?

Some skills I have or want to cultivate are…

  • Sewing
  • Candle Making
  • Lace Making
  • Crocheting
  • Knitting
  • DIY Decor

Start old fashioned homemaking.

If you are struggling to love and enjoy being the keeper and maker of a home, start homemaking like homemakers used to before devices or social media. Remove the distractions and embrace the beauty and wisdom of homemaking like women in years gone by.

Old fashioned homemaking is a passion of mine because I am hopelessly old fashioned. I grew up overseas in a third world country and when I came to the states, got married, and started keeping my home, I struggled so hard!!

The breakthrough came when I fell across old fashioned homemaking or homemaking using the wisdom of women from years gone by. This enables you to tap into a wholesome way of living based on wise principles like…

  • Cooking from scratch
  • Crafting your home with your own two hands
  • Growing your own food
  • Living slowly

…and much much more! It doesn’t have to look a certain way. You don’t have to do it all.

Be as old fashioned or not as you like. Take what is practical for your life and leave the rest.

That’s the beauty of really leaning into homemaking and the wisdom of homemakers gone by. It’s unique to you and your passions and it’s highly effective in helping you romanticize your life as a homemaker!

Final Thoughts!

Homemaking can be hard. It’s harder in some seasons than others. One way to ease the burden and be a more happy homemaker is to romanticize your life! 

It can help you be joyful and really delight in your role as the keeper of your home. If you are struggling to get out of a rut or simply enjoy your homemaking, I highly encourage you to try romanticizing your life. It’s a game changer!

If you were inspired or helped in any way by this post, please PIN IT! so that other homemakers can find it and be inspired, too!

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Homemaking, Homemaking Lifestyle

How to Be a Productive Homemaker

Feb 11, 2025 · Leave a Comment

Productivity tips for homemakers

If life feels chaotic and everything seems to be out of order, then this post is for you. Here is a 5 step action plan so that you can get a handle on the housework and become a more productive homemaker.

If you need a little help managing your time as a homemaker and don’t know where to start, then this quick start productivity guide is for you, too!

If you are a homemaker who some routines in place, but are looking to improve what you already have in place, you will find lots of helpful tips here as well.

As one old fashioned homemaker from the 1920’s said it best, 

“Let the housewife read, investigate, and be willing to try a new method until she proves that it is better or worse than her own.” ~ Lydia Ray Balderston, Housewifery, P. 240

So let’s get to it! Here’s my 5 step action plan for time management to get your time and tasks in order to help you be a more productive homemaker.

Prepare for change

Set yourself up for success. Life is about to change for the good, and there are a few helpful ways you can prepare your household for this change so that they are less resistant to the change and may actually jump onboard with you.

  • Communicate with your husband. – Let your man know that you are trying an experiment to help you get on top of the housework and time management. No doubt, he will be totally supportive of you becoming organized and less stressed, but let him know and talk through your plans with him so that he is not caught off guard when you start to make changes. You never know, he might even offer to help watch the kids or help in some other way so that you can get life organized.
  • Plan for simple meals. If you want to get things under control, it’s going to take some work and when meal time comes around, the last thing you will want to do is cook. However, you all still have to eat so make a list of easy meals that you can throw together without much hassle and in a short amount of time. Tacos, frozen pizza, sandwiches, pasta, take out, etc. Don’t forget to have some good snacks on hand because you might need it a little extra boost.
  • Pray. Don’t forget to ask the Lord’s blessing on your efforts and to help you be patient and kind even as you set about getting life in order. 
  • Patiently, keep on. Although most of these steps can be done in a day, the actual work of getting life in order and becoming a more productive housewife will not happen in a day. See it as a journey and commit to patiently go on in the process no matter what comes up. There really is no magical answer or wand you can wave to make this a smooth and sustainable change for you as a homemaker. Be flexible. Adapt. Change your plans as needed. Simply keep going on the journey of getting your life in order no matter how long it takes. 

Now that you have set yourself up for success and are ready to go, let’s get into more practical things to help you get your life in order so that you can become a more productive housewife!

Create a daily structure

The first thing to do after you have set yourself up for success is to create a daily structure. What is the natural flow of your day? What are things that happen everyday without fail?

There are three things that we all do everyday…

  • Wake up
  • Eat
  • Go to bed

This is the most basic structure of anyone’s day. These things happen on a recurring basis no matter the day. When these things actually happen may not be ideal, but that’s okay. Let’s start with what is already happening and work on making it better as we go.

There may be a few other things that happen regularly like your kids’ naptime and their bedtimes or perhaps some homeschool. Take a few minutes and jot down what concrete things happen everyday with the approximate times that they happen. For me this looks like…

  • Wake up around 7
  • Eat breakfast around 7:30
  • Eat lunch around 12
  • Naptime at 1
  • Eat supper around 6
  • Put the kids down around 8
  • Go to bed around 9:30

Related Post: Daily Routine: A Simple Daily Schedule for Homemakers

This is your daily structure and the flow of your daily life. If you would find it helpful, I have a daily routine printable included in my weekly planner bundle that is set up with your day divided by meal times.

Let’s call the time between when you wake up and when you eat breakfast your morning routine, the time between breakfast and lunch the business of the day, the time between lunch and supper free time, and the time between supper and bedtime as your evening routine.

I don’t know about you, but the afternoon is not ideal to try to get stuff done. The goal is to get all the tasks done during the morning business of the day time frame so that you can relax and make supper before you man gets home. That way you aren’t so frazzled when he walks through the door, but more on routines later.

Once you have written out a simple daily structure with the in between times labeled, let’s talk about what to do during the in between times.

Identify daily tasks

To start filling in the gaps in your daily structure, let’s identify what your daily tasks are. These are the things that need to happen for the survival and happiness of your family. I talk about them more in my post 5 Daily Homemaking Tasks, but here is what I think the 5 daily tasks for every homemaker are…

  • Make Food
  • Do Laundry
  • Wash Dishes
  • Organize/Reset
  • One task my man finds necessary – Perhaps your man doesn’t have any preferences as to what makes home feel calm and liveable, but most men do appreciate order in the very least. I once asked a friend how to make homemaking easier and she simply replied, “Know your man.” This could be a whole other post, but to keep it simple here, ask your man what is one thing that he would really appreciate you doing everyday. For me, my man appreciates coming home to clean floors. That means everything is off the floors and the floors are swept so this is one of my daily tasks. Even if you can’t get to the task everyday that your man would appreciate being done, strive for it and make it part of your daily tasks as much as possible because he will feel respected by it.

If nothing else happens in a day and if all else gets interrupted, we will be fed and clothed and have survived another day as a household. 

Daily tasks stay the same no matter the season of life you are in. Eating, wearing clean clothes, and washing dishes have to happen for us to survive. While organizing/resetting and an extra task are not exactly necessary for the survival of our physical being, they are, I believe, necessary for our sanity.

Now let’s stick these daily tasks into our daily structure. 

  • Make Food – The food component is already built in since the day is divided by meal times.
  • Do Laundry – A simple way to keep up with laundry is to just do a load everyday. I like to start this first thing while I am making breakfast so that it has time to dry and possibly get put away before lunch. That is the goal at least so that it stays within the “business of the day” block of time. If I don’t get it folded and put away before then, the best time to fit this in is the next day’s business of the day. 
  • Wash Dishes – You will have to figure out what works best for you (as in how many times a day and when you do them), but at the bare minimum get them done before you go to bed every night. Remember for the survival of your family, you will need clean dishes the next day. I also like to call this my kitchen reset since I do other things like wipe off the counters and such and not just wash dishes.
  • Organize/Reset – By this, I mean putting everything where it goes. The best time to reset your home is in the evening before your kids go to bed. Here’s a super helpful podcast to listen to on this idea. Basically after I reset my kitchen, I put my living room back in order by picking up toys, closing curtains, and replacing the pillows, and then the kids room by simply putting away their toys. You could also do the bathroom then or while you are brushing your teeth later on in the evening if you find this necessary, but I don’t find this necessary in this season of mothering only toddlers. They don’t really make messes in the bathrooms yet, but someday I’m sure It will be necessary to make sure everything is put back to order in there, too.
  • One task my man finds necessary – This does depend on what your man says, so take what he says and stick it where it appropriately fits in your day. For me, I try to at least pick up and sweep the living room before he gets home as part of my afternoon routine.

Don’t forget to write down these 5 daily tasks and add them to your daily structure before we move on to talking about how to actually implement these things into our daily life.

Identify and address the pain points of the daily tasks

After you have identified your 5 daily homemaking tasks, let’s discuss what makes these things hard to get done every day. Take some time and think through each one. If you find this to be overwhelming, you can skip to the next paragraph where I share how you can just get to it. You may find it helpful though to consider these questions…

  • What makes preparing and getting food on the table hard?
  • Why is laundry so hard to just wash, dry, and put away?
  • What makes doing dishes difficult?
  • What is it that keeps me from keeping things organized?
  • Is there something that keeps me from doing the one task my husband would appreciate me doing every day?

You may not know the answers to these questions or maybe you just need a simple way to go about addressing some basic pain points in all these areas. So here’s how you can simplify these things so that they are manageable and easier to get done. 

  • Food – Choose simple meals that are easy and quick to prepare. Even if you are committed to cooking food from scratch, there is still a range of meal ideas as far as how much it will take to make and put those dishes on the table. Some of my go-to’s are tacos, pizza, breakfast for dinner, Roasted Chicken and Instant pot “Baked” potatoes, etc. Reserve a nice or more fancy dinner for one night a week and stick to simple meals on most days. There are also lots of ways to dress up simple meals if you really want to get into it. In a way, it’s like decluttering your meal plans down until it is simple and manageable.
  • Laundry – Read my laundry routine or laundry tips here. The biggest game-changer in making laundry more manageable was decluttering my children’s and my own wardrobes. This means only keeping what is decent, fits, and that we love to wear. Without even hardly touching my husbands wardrobe, this has drastically reduced how much laundry that I have to keep up with. 
  • Dishes – Here’s how to create a simple dishwashing routine that works for you. Again, decluttering my kitchen really simplified the amount of dishes I have to keep up with on a daily basis.
  • Organize/Reset – Once again, the simple answer to this is declutter. I am definitely not an expert in this area and I don’t consider myself a minimalist in many ways, but I have found it to be absolutely necessary to declutter toys, as well our wardrobes and kitchen inventory.  

Yes, the literal answer to all of these is declutter. Declutter the menu, the closets, the kitchen, and the toys. Simplifying the amount of stuff I have to manage as a homemaker has been key in my homemaking journey.

I finally feel like I’m in a place where housework is manageable simply because of decluttering. The Minimal Mom Youtube channel is my go to resource on this topic and it definitely was a slow process for me, but very vital. 

Create routines

I had an epiphany today as I thinking over this post. It took me a long time to implement routines into my homemaking because I thought routines didn’t work for me. I thought I had to take the exact framework of what other homemakers were sharing and do exactly what they said. 

I often hear other homemakers say routines don’t work for me and I was there once as well, but I have since found that this mindset is wrong and here’s why…..

  • I thought I had to take the exact framework of what other homemakers were sharing and do exactly what they said. I know, I’m a perfectionist. I’m shaking my head at myself as I write this, because that is a terrible idea and will not work for anyone. 
  • I was not willing to discipline myself to create the habits that routines require. I thought it would be too much work and too hard. Routines are simply habits that we strive to keep.
  • I thought I had to do it all at once. Talk about overwhelm! I have now learned that the best way to implement a new routine is to have an idea or list of all that you want that routine to hold or accomplish in your home and then start be just implementing one thing for a week or so until it feels sustainable and not stressful to do. Sometimes if they are small things, doing more than one is not overwhelming. 

Final Thoughts!

Well, friends I hope that this post was insightful and encouraged you that you can be a more productive homemaker. Just remember that homemaking is a journey, and any system that you add to your home will take time to take root and for you to work out the kinks. 

If you are finding yourself overwhelmed, don’t lose heart! Take it one day at a time and determine to have the old fashioned grit homemakers of yester years had and stick with it! Make it work for you and your household. 

Your housekeeping doesn’t have to be perfect either. As scripture put it, “Let everything be done decently and in order.” If you’re feeling the pressure that it has to be perfect, here’s permission to relieve yourself of that extra stress and find a little grace for yourself (and your family members).

Enjoy the journey of learning to manage your time and home and if you need more help, check out my eBook on systems and routines! These 5 steps are included in there as well as much much more.

If you found this post helpful or inspiring in any way, please PIN IT! so that other homemakers can find it and be encouraged and inspired, too!

Homemaking, Homemaking Lifestyle

19 Printable Valentine’s Day Cards to Color

Feb 4, 2025 · Leave a Comment

Looking for some Valentine’s Day cards to color? Here are 19 free printable Valentine’s Day cards that you can color!

Print. Color. Give.

Share the love during Valentine’s Day with these 19 printable cards that are designed to be colored!

If you are looking for free printable Valentine’s day cards to color, I’ve got you covered! All you need to do is…

  • Click the link down below and download the PDF
  • Print the cards
  • Color them to your hearts desire
  • Cut them out
  • Fold in half
  • Put in envelopes
  • Give them to your loved ones

These printable Valentine’s Day cards are designed on 8.5″ x 11″ pages which is the standard size of printing paper. They can be trimmed around the border to fit into 5″x7″ envelopes.

Grab your Printable Valentine’s Day Cards to Color here!

Save it for later!

Homemaking, Printables

13 Free Printable Valentine’s Day Cards

Feb 3, 2025 · Leave a Comment

Want to print your own Valentine’s Day cards? Here are 13 free printable Valentine’s Day cards that you will love!

Printing your own Valentine’s Day cards is a simple way to get cards in a hurry, As long as you have a printer and paper on hand, you won’t even need to leave the house!

It can be cheaper, too! Just one card at the store costs at least a dollar, but if you print your own using what you already have on hand, it’s basically free! 

Now that’s a win!

Want a peak at the cards?

If you want a look at the cards before you download them, here are a few pictures of what you’ll get.

Ready to print your own Valentine’s Day cards for free?

Grab the free printable Valentine’s Day Cards here!

Save it for later!

Printables

13 Valentine’s Day Sewing Projects

Jan 30, 2025 · Leave a Comment

Are you ready to pull out your machine and make something for Valentine’s Day? If you don’t know what exactly what you want to make, no worries, friend! I’ve got you covered.

Here are 13 Valentine’s Day sewing projects that I have collected for you. I love looking around for ideas and getting inspiration for sewing projects, but there is a lot out there and one could totally get lost window shopping online. There is seriously no end to it all which is good, but can also be overwhelming.

I’ve done some of the work for you here and curated 13 sewing projects that I thought were cute and perfect for a Valentine’s Day sewing project. Wether you are looking for a gift to make or a new decor piece to decorate your home with, you will find it all here down below.

Come and explore with me 13 sweet and simple Valentine’s Day sewing projects!

1. Handy Heart Pot Holder

Got any pink and white scrap material? Turn them into a potholder with this easy heart pot holder tutorial!

Or…

…perhaps a Valentine’s Day oven mitt would be better!

2. Valentine’s Day Apron Tutorial

Need a new apron or maybe you have somebody in mind who would love to have one? Here’s a cute Valentine’s Day half apron with a little ruffle around the bottom!

3. Reusable Valentine’s Day Envelopes

Spruce up your Valentine’s Day cards with these cute envelope sewing project! I love the little fringe that is added to these.

4. Heart Pillow Sewing Pattern

Seasonal throw pillows are an easy way to switch up your decor and make a little more festive. Check out this cute heart pillow sewing pattern!

5. DIY Heart Banner

Want something cute to hang across your mantle or on the wall? Try this adorable quilted heart banner!

6. Simple Heart Banner

Maybe quilting is not quite your thing. Try this super simple heart banner instead.

7. Valentine’s Day Box Tutorial

Want something cute to carry your Valentine’s Day gifts or cards in? This would also be perfect for holding your napkins on your kitchen table, too!

8. DIY Valentine’s Day Card

Got some extra scrap fabric laying around that would be perfect for a Valentine’s Day sewing project? Why not turn them into DIY Valentine’s Day cards?! All you need is some card stock to sew on and you are set!

This post contains affiliate links.

9. Felt Hat with Hearts

This is such a cute sewing project! It’s a pink felt hat with little hearts on it. I know my little girl would look adorable in it!

10. Basket Liner Sewing Project

Got a basket you want to spruce up for Valentine’s Day? Here’s my tutorial to make a basket liner for any size basket. It even has a cute ruffle that goes all the way around!

11. How to Make a Cookie Bag

This is perfect for cookies or other goodies, too like brownies or even a little homemade chocolate. Need some other ideas to put in these cute little bags? Check out my post on Handmade Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas!

12. Heart Table Runner Tutorial

Want to make a Valentine’s Day table runner? Check out this video! This table runner is made from 10” squares. 

13. Pink and White Place Mats

This is a simple tutorial using squares and it’s not quilted which is why I was drawn to it! I’m not much of a quilter…yet.

Final Thoughts!

Let’s get sewing, friends! I hope you were as inspired as I was to get out my machine and make something pink and white for Valentine’s Day (and perhaps with ruffles on it because why not?!)!

What better way to switch up your decor, create gifts, or make something useful for around the house with a Valentine’s Day theme than with handmade sewing projects like these?!

If you found the sewing project you were looking for or were inspired in any way by this post, please PIN IT! so that other homemakers can find this post and be inspired, too!

Save it for Later!

Handmade, Homemaking

25 Sourdough Recipes for Valentine’s Day

Jan 29, 2025 · Leave a Comment

Want to make some sourdough for Valentine’s Day? Find the perfect sourdough recipe here!

Working with sourdough especially made with fresh milled flour is quite delightful! Not much can beat fresh homemade bread or bread products.

Although I make a simple sourdough bread recipe quite often, I want to get into the habit of making seasonal goods for my family to enjoy. I realized that baking goodies doesn’t have to be just for the holidays. Let’s enjoy the goodness of baking all year long!

Below here you will find 25 sourdough recipes that are perfect for Valentine’s Day. That means the recipes include flavors like…

  • chocolate
  • strawberry
  • raspberry
  • red velvet

….or are sourdough recipes that are heart shaped.

I hope you enjoy pursuing this list of sourdough recipes and find something delicious to bake and share with your loved ones!

25 Valentine’s Day Sourdough Recipes

1. Chocolate Chip Sourdough Brioche

2. Strawberry Chocolate Sourdough Muffins

3. Chocolate Strawberry Sourdough Focaccia

4. Heart Shaped Sourdough Bread Ideas

5. Sourdough Raspberry Roll Wreath

6. Pink Sourdough Bread

7. Sourdough Raspberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

8. Strawberry Sourdough Loaf

9. Heart Shaped Sourdough Waffles

10. Strawberry Sourdough Rolls

11. Sourdough Chocolate Star Bread

12. Chocolate Sourdough Loaf

13. Sourdough Red Velvet Cake Balls

14. Sourdough Strawberry Cream Cheese Cobbler

15. Heart Shaped Sourdough Sugar Cookies

16. Strawberry Sourdough Cake

17. Sourdough Red Velvet Cinnamon Rolls

18. Strawberry Sourdough Croissants

19. Sourdough Raspberry Muffins with orange and Coconut

20. Raspberry Cheesecake Sourdough Bread

21. Sourdough Red Velvet Cake

22. Sourdough Discard Brownies

23. Chocolate Date Tart with Sourdough Crust

24. Sourdough Chocolate Bagel

25. Pink Sourdough Cookies

Final Thoughts!

Did you find a sourdough recipe to make? Perhaps you found the inspiration you needed to bake some Valentine’s Day goodness. Save this post for later so you don’t forget it and so that other die-hard sourdough bakers can find it, too!

Save it for later!

Recipes

15 Handmade Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas

Jan 28, 2025 · Leave a Comment

Come and explore with me 15 handmade Valentine’s Day gift ideas!

Sweet Valentine’s Day is upon us where we express our love and friendship to those we hold dear! What better way to do so than to gift something handmade?!

From natural skin care to homemade goodies to needlework crafts! If you need some inspiration for a Valentine’s gift idea, you are sure to find one here.

Gathering all these handmade gift ideas got my wheels turning so I hope that it will inspire you, too! If nothing else, I hope that it is a piece to the puzzle on your hunt to find the perfect gift for your loved one.

Let’s go exploring!

Scented Beeswax Candles

  • Rose Candles
  • Lavendar and Rose Candle

Rose Scented Body Butter

  • Whipped Body Butter Recipe with Rose

Lavender Bath Salts

  • Lavender Bath Salts Recipe

Chocolate Sugar Scrub

  • Chocolate Sugar Scrub Recipe

Handmade Card

  • 23 Handmade Valentine’s Day Card Ideas

Chocolate Body Butter

  • Homemade Chocolate awhilped Body Butter

Vanilla Lavender Hand Soap

  • DIY Foaming Hand Soap with Lavender and Vanilla

Rose Facial Cream

  • Homemade Rose Facial Cream

From Scratch Goodies

  • Homemade 3 Ingredient Chocolate
  • Homemade Heart Cupcakes
  • Homemade Frosted Brownies with No Dye Homemade Red Frosting
  • Homemade Valentine’s Day Chocolate Chip Cookies

If have a special goody recipe that you want to make and gift, but want to make it more festive, you can always gift it in a handmade goody bag!

Mason Jar Mixes

  • Hot Cocoa Mix
  • S’mores in a Jar
  • S’mores Snack Mix in a Jar
  • Valentine’s Cookie Mix with a Cookie Cutter

Embroidered Tea Towels

  • Valentine’s Day Embroidery Patterns
  • Free Hand Embroidery Designs for your Valentine’s

Yarn Flowers

  • DIY Yarn Flower with a Fork
  • Easy Crocheted Rose Tutorial
  • Knitted Rose Pattern Tutorial
  • DIY Chiffon Rose Tutorial

Heart Shaped Coasters

  • 5 Minute Scrap Busting Heart Shaped Coaster
  • How to Crochet a Heart Coaster
  • Easy Heart Knitting Pattern Tutorial

Heart Shaped Pot Holders

  • Heart Shaped Pot Holder – Sewing Tutorial
  • Heart Pot Holder – Crochet Tutorial
  • Double Knit Valentine’s Day Pot Holder

Homemade Chocolate Kit

A cute little valentines basket full of all the things needed to make chocolate would be a fun gift! What you’ll need…

  • Cocoa
  • Coconut Oil
  • Honey or Maple Syrup
  • Mold for Bars or Hearts

This post contains affiliate links.

Final Thoughts!

Did you find a gift idea to make? I know I had too much fun gathering these handmade Valentine’s Day gift ideas.

If you can’t decide on one idea or you have multiple people that are related that you want to send a gift to, consider putting together a gift basket of your favorite ideas! Who wouldn’t love that?

Save it for later!

Handmade, Homemaking, Homemaking Lifestyle

A Productive Afternoon Routine 

Jan 28, 2025 ·

Do you struggle in the afternoons as a homemaker? Here’s my simple and flexible yet productive and successful afternoon routine!

Afternoons can be a struggle as a homemaker. You work hard all morning long to accomplish things and then that early afternoon energy crash sets in and you struggle to be motivated to get anything done. 

Yet, there is still a lot of time to steward well and many things that need to be done during the afternoon before your man gets home. 

Let me share with you my favorite afternoon routine so far and how I manage to be a productive homemaker in the afternoons. 

A Quick Clean Up

I try to have lunch ready to go by noon so that we can eat and then have a little time to organize things before nap time. This doesn’t always happen, but I sure love it when I do have this extra time to tidy things up a little bit.

Here’s a few things I try to do during this time…

  • clear and wipe down the kitchen table
  • do the lunch dishes
  • clear the toys off the floor in the living room
  • tidy up the playroom

Like I said, these things don’t always happen every day, but it really does make nap time a lot more peaceful. 

Naptime

This is by far one of my most favorite times of the day! As a homemaker, it can easily seem like you have no life of your own since you are constantly serving and sacrificing on the behalf of others almost if not all day long. I have found it super helpful to work really hard on my housework in the mornings while the kids are up, and use the time that they were asleep and quiet in the afternoon to do the things that I want to do but can’t necessarily do when they’re around. 

Sometimes I blog or work on computer stuff. Sometimes I’ll work on a sewing project or another hobby. Sometimes I’m wiped out from the day of homemaking, and I just need a nap, or I might treat myself to watching a movie. 

It all depends on the day, but for the most part, I try to work on my blog and online business stuff not because it has to happen but because I actually enjoy working on these things. It makes me so happy as a homemaker that I can be a full time SAHM and make a little egg money on the side! 

Also, I choose to only work on my blog during nap time, so that when the kids are up, I can give my full attention to them, but when they’re not, I choose to use nap time as a quiet and more relaxing time for myself to do things that bring me joy. Typically, I don’t work on any chores, but focus on doing things that bring me delight and keep me off my feet for the most part. 

This post has affiliate links.

Midday Prayer Time

If you haven’t read The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose for an Age of Distraction, you need to add it to your list. It’s a book about daily and weekly habits that will anchor your life in this world of distraction and shallowness. 

One of the habits recommended is a midday prayer time. If you’ve read my morning routine, then you know, I try to have a time of reflection and devotion in the morning time, but it is also very helpful to take a few moments in the afternoon to re-dedicate your heart and home to the one who has so graciously and generously given your life. 

It’s always refreshing to take a few minutes to feed your soul and commune with God and I find it especially helpful to have this time between nap time, where I typically work on devices for the most part and my tidy up routine. It’s a very good transition, too.

I try to do this before my children wake up from nap time, but sometimes they wake up early, so I invite them to do prayer time with me as a way to help me transition back into homemaking, and to help them cultivate healthy, spiritual habits. 

Tidy Up 

After the kids wake up and are settled back into the land of the living without needing my immediate attention, I use the time between nap time and preparing supper to tidy up the house before my man gets home. 

Now, I have tried and used many different systems to keep my house in order. The one I currently use, and which makes the most sense for my life so far is called puttering. 

Puttering means to go about accomplishing things, but not necessarily having a strict goal that you want to reach or making a to-do list of things that need to get done. It means to go about doing things as you see them. 

I find puttering to be a very productive and successful way to reset my home quickly, and in a very motivating way. When it comes time to tidy up, I simply grab my broom, and perhaps a damp cloth for dusting and head to the farthest room of the house which is the master bedroom. 

As I walk in, it’s easy to see what is out of place and what needs to be put away. I like to… 

  • empty the trash or have my three-year-old do it for me
  • I do a quick dusting of the surfaces
  • make sure the bathroom is an order
  • sweep the floor

And then move on to the next room. I follow a sort of cycle through my house by starting in the farthest room and work my way through all the rooms until I have covered the entire house and at least have done something in each room. 

 Some days, I don’t have much time to give a lot of attention to each room, but I make it a priority to make sure that the entire house is swept. Having a clean floor is something that my husband really likes to have done when he gets home. Yes, he would appreciate having every single thing back in its place in the whole house, tidied up, but if I only had time to do one thing, he says, he really appreciates if the floor is clean, so I make it a priority to at least do that even if I don’t get to anything else done. 

Something I find helpful to have with me while puttering around is to have a basket or a box with me so that when I am in one room and find something that belongs in another, I can simply put it in the basket or box and return it to the correct room when I get to it instead of running back-and-forth from different rooms to return things to where they belong. This saves me a bit of energy and sanity. 

I have also heard of homemakers having a puttering basket full of all the things you could possibly need in order to set a room aright.

Things like…

  • All purpose cleaning spray
  • Dusting rags
  • Trash bags
  • Little cards and a pen so that you can leave a quick note to your man
  • A snack
  • Something that plays music or an audiobook

I have often thought of using a harvest apron, which is an apron that is designed to be tied up in a way that creates a large or several large pockets to use for this very idea. 

Using this method of  puttering to keep my house tidy has really taken the overwhelm, discouragement, and lack of motivation out of housekeeping. Since I have started puttering instead of using a to-do list or full on housekeeping system, I have actually found tidying up to be very delightful and a simple way to fit in a bit of exercise, too. 

The beauty about puttering instead of having a to-do list is that it gives you the freedom to work on big projects as you’d like instead of having to schedule out time and waiting for motivation to actually get them done. You can simply jump to it if it comes to mind or if you see it and you want to get it done. Remember? You don’t have to set a goal or a list of things you want to accomplish.  You’re simply doing things as you see them so you have the flexibility to pivot from one thing to another without feeling bad that you didn’t accomplish your to-do list. 

Puttering is the most flexible and freeing way to tidy up your home!

Start Dinner

Sometime in the late afternoon, I begin working on dinner. One of my favorite things to do is to throw something in a cast-iron skillet to simmer on the back of the stove so that I can keep tidying up or working on a project like…

  • Decluttering a closet
  • Organizing a kitchen cabinet
  • Cleaning the baseboards or wall because I just so happened to see that they were dirty

I do this most often in the winter time with some kind of soup so that it can keep cooking without needing a lot of attention and so that I can keep working on stuff that I have been meaning to do but don’t always get done. This gives me the freedom to keep puttering all the way right up to the time my man gets home. 

Final Thoughts!

I love having some structure to my afternoons, but find it incredibly helpful to keep it as flexible as possible especially when I have a nursing baby who could need me at any moment. It’s really hard to plan time-sensitive things in this season of mothering little ones.

It’s also extremely helpful to carve out some time just for me and for things that bring me delight because yes, I do sacrifice most of my life to the care of my household, but I am still a person who needs time to herself and time to do things that bring me rest and joy. 

I also try to keep it in mind to be proactive and start supper early because you never know what will come up. The baby might need to be fed right when I think I can start supper or the kids might have an accident or might need a little more attention that I could not have foreseen them needing.  

That way when my man gets home, everything is not complete chaos with things all disorganized, grumpy moods, and a supper that still needs to be cooked. 

Giving myself some time to relax, having a flexible tidy up routine, and proactively starting supper early are the three things that help me be productive and have a successful afternoon as a homemaker. 

Save for later!

Homemaking, Homemaking Lifestyle

Systems & Routines: Simple Time Management for Homemakers

Jan 21, 2025 · Leave a Comment

Are you struggling to manage your time at home? Here’s my new eBook where I share all that I have learned about systems and routines and how they have helped me manage my time and my home well!

Does housework overwhelm you to the point of discouragement? Do you wish you could finally get on top of it all? Do you have the homemaking dream of keeping your home in order, but struggle to actually do so on a day-to-day basis?

Maybe you think to myself…

  • “I want to have a home that is neat and in order, but I don’t know how to do this.”
  • “I want to have a clean home, but I can’t seem to figure out how to get it all done.”
  • “I want time for hobbies, but I have all this housework to do?”
  • “I feel like I have time to do everything, but I can’t seem to manage time well.”
  • “I simple can’t get the housework done.”

You’re not alone!

Most homemakers, new moms, newly stay-at-home-moms struggle with this at one point or another. This is something we all struggle with.

I struggled with this, too and that is why I wrote this eBook called Systems & Routines: Simple Time Management for Homemakers. After finally feeling like I was on the other side of the struggle, I just couldn’t keep what brought me here to myself so I wrote this eBook. I wanted to share all that I had learned with other homemakers!

A bit of my homemaking journey…

When my husband and I got married, I was working part-time and managing our tiny apartment the rest of the time. There wasn’t much space to manage, but I still struggled to do all the necessary things like…

  • cleaning the bathroom
  • making food
  • going grocery shopping
  • keeping things tidy and in order
  • washing the laundry

I am a bit of a perfectionist and it was hard to accept the fact that our living quarters couldn’t stay perfect while we lived in them. There was a constant need to do the same things over and over again. It was really discouraging that nothing ever seemed to get done.

It was flat out stressful at times and I didn’t know what to do about it!

Along came our first baby and then we moved into our first house! Yay! I was actually really excited about having my own house as a homemaker, except…

It still had to be managed! Even though I was constantly busy going about doing things, it felt like I wasn’t actually accomplishing the things that needed to be done.

Here is where the to-do-list entered my life, and I actually hated it! Making a list of all the things that needed to be done and knowing full well that there was no way that I could do it all left me discouraged and often in tears because I just wanted to keep a home well, but this almost seemed impossible!

Was it impossible? Was keeping my home an impossible dream? Was there no way to fulfill my God-given calling to be the keeper of my home? Was I slave to my to-do-list?

But that was years ago and today, things are much much different!

I wake up in the morning passionate about keeping my home! Yes, it includes doing all the things we mom’s and homemakers do, but now it’s actually fun to keep my home. Now, I enjoy keeping my home.

I like it so much that I’ve become the homebody who wants to stay home and organize and clean instead of going out. I like being a homemaker even with small children who love to create chaos!

It doesn’t bother so much if they create chaos because now I know how to easily clean it up and put the house all back together!

This is what systems and routines have done for me and I love it! I love it so much that I had to write this eBook to share all this goodness with you! It was too good to keep to myself.

In case you’re wondering what all’s included…

Here’s a peak at the table of contents…

It’s full of old-fashioned homemaking quotes !

This digital book has more than 15 quotes from homemaking books that were written in the 1800’s to early 1900’s. While I was deep in the throes of my own time management journey, I came across a bunch of different old homemaking books and I desperately searched all through them for advice about my plight.

They played a huge part in this journey and I gleaned so much wisdom from them. Being an old fashioned gal myself, I couldn’t help but include some of my favorite quotes from these books like this one…

What other homemakers think about this book…

I absolutely loved Systems and Routine: Simple Time Management for Homemakers! I only wish I had this guide when my kids were young because it would have helped me be so much more effective with my days and live with less overwhelm. My favorite part was the morning routine section—mornings have always been a struggle for me, and I loved learning how to set up my day the right way from the start. The guide breaks everything down so simply, from morning to evening routines, and gives great ideas for daily tasks and weekly planning. I highly recommend it to any homemaker looking to bring more structure and peace to their days!

~ Nell Marie, Pribbles

This little book includes tips and insights for so many areas of the homemaker’s life. Whether you read it straight through or jump around, you’re sure to find some new tidbit or idea that will inspire or encourage you as a homemaker.

~ Marissa Finch, A Productive Household

Where to get the book…

So friend, are you ready to learn my secrets on how I manage my home? What it took to get me from a place of utter chaos to managing my time well?

Grab your eBook here and jump start your own time management journey!

Homemaking, Homemaking Lifestyle

25 Handmade Christmas Ornaments

Dec 9, 2024 ·

Want to make some Christmas ornaments this year? Here are 25 handmade Christmas ornaments to try!

Christmas decorations can get expensive real quick, but for the frugal crafty homemaker there are plenty of inexpensive handmade Christmas ornaments that you can make. From diy to crochet to a bit of painting, there are plenty of diy ornament ideas for you whatever style you are going for this Christmas. 

I love perusing this kind of old fashioned homemaking ideas so I thought I would share my curated list of handmade Christmas ornaments with you! Don’t worry if you don’t know how to crochet or embroider or have any of those old fashioned needlework skills under your belt. I spent a good bit of perusing so there is a good variety here in this list. 

I hope you find a handmade Christmas ornament idea to try or simply find the inspiration You needed to hand make some Christmas ornaments this holiday season!

Happy perusing!

Cinnamon Scented Salt Dough Ornaments

Baking Soda Dough Ornaments

Yarn Wrapped Star 

Decoupage Ornament Balls

Hand Stitched Felt Woodland Creature 

Wood Bead Ornaments

Merry Cristmas Embroidered Ornaments

Origami Star

Easy Crocheted Snowflake

Mini Wreath 

Wood Slice Ornaments Ideas

String Star Ornament

Fabric Wrap Ball Ornaments

Honeycomb Christmas Ornament

Twine Ornament Balls

Dried Orange Slices Ornaments

Crocheted Ornament Balls

Crocheted Star

Textured Paint Ornament Ball

Arabesque Decoupage Tile Ornaments

Christmas Printable Ornaments

Fabric Candy Canes

Melted Peppermint Ornaments

Candy Cane Bows

Crocheted Candy Cane

Save it for later!

Handmade, Homemaking, Homemaking Lifestyle

17 Handmade Christmas gift ideas

Dec 6, 2024 ·

Am I the only or do you find gift giving overwhelming, too? My brain feels fried whenever I go about planning out all the Christmas gifts we need to choose, then buy, then wrap, and then finally give hoping that the recipient likes it. It’s stressful!

Each year, I determine to make it less stressful and more enjoyable. One of the ways that has helped me enjoy giving gifts is by tapping into my creative abilities and making gifts to give to my loved ones. 

Not only is it fun to hand make Christmas gifts but it’s easy on the budget if you buy all the ingredients and then make multiple gifts out of it all. 

It’s also a lovely old fashioned thing to do! There didn’t used to be the options or availability of all the stuff we have access to. Don’t get me wrong though! I am grateful we can find things we want and send links of our ideas for other people to buy them for us, but….it’s easy to not enjoy the Christmas season because we are frazzled from all the options that we have to choose from for ourselves and others. Too much is not a good thing and that is what I find to be characteristic of our modern times. There is simply too much!

To simplify, Christmas shopping this year, I decided to order raw materials and make the gifts. It was absolutely refreshing to make them, too!

But first I had to look around and see what I wanted to make. All things I considered and looked into making are listed below. They each have several options that include tutorials with them. 

I hope you find it refreshing to peruse this list of handmade Christmas gift ideas and enjoy making your own handmade Christmas gifts this year!

Rolled Beeswax Candles

What would Christmas be like without the ambience of candles?! One simple, but beautiful candle gift idea is beeswax candles. You can make your own candles with the melt and pour method using my recipe here, but if you want get kids involved, I recommend rolled beeswax candles. 

There’s no hot wax involved. You simply roll beeswax sheets around a wick and your done!

Here’s a tutorial for you here!

  • Rolled Beeswax Tutorial

Here’s the supplies you’ll need:

  • Beeswax Sheets
  • Wicks

Sugar Scrubs

This is a new idea to me, but I love it! I want to make some of these for myself now so I’m sure they would make great gifts!

  • Candy Cane Sugar Scrub
  • Peppermint Coconut Oil Scrub

Soap

One of the best gifts I was ever given was some lovely shea butter soap for my birthday when I was a teenager. Ever since then I have been obsessed with soap. It made showering so luxurious! It’s funny how it’s the little things that count.

Here are a few soap recipes that will make warm showers even more lovely during the months following Christmas:

  • Snowflake Soap
  • Winter Forest Soap

Body Butter

Smooth and ever so nourishing, body butter is one of my new favorite moisturizers! It’s simple to make, too. Just a few ingredients melted together and then whipped like whipped cream!

Haven’t you ever wanted to lather your skin with whipped cream, literally?!

  • Gingerbread Whipped Body Butter
  • Whipped Chocolate Body Butter

Embroidery Hoop Ornaments

This is such a neat little ornament gift! I love the old fashioned homemaking flair that embroidery hoop ornaments give!

There fun to make, too! Here are a few ideas I found while looking around:

  • Old Plaid Shirts Ornament
  • Rustic Farmhouse Ornaments

Dishcloth

Whether you like to crochet, knit, or sew, here are some easy ways to make dishcloths that you can gift!

  • Crochet Dishcloth Tutorial
  • Knit Dishcloth Tutorial
  • How to Sew a Dishcloth

Lotion Bar

Everyone needs lotion during the winter so homemade lotion bars are a practical yet luxurious gift. 

  • DIY Beeswax Lotion Bars
  • Body Butter Lotion Bar
  • Peppermint Lotion Bars

Bath Salts

Know someone who loves a good soak? Bath salts are an easy inexpensive gift that can help your loved ones relax and enjoy a lovely scented bath!

  • Lavender Eucalyptus Bath Salt Recipe
  • Winter Spiced Bath Salts Recipe
  • Winter Joy Bath Salts

Mason Jar Cookie Mix

Maybe you would love to bake a big batch of cookies and gift them but don’t have the time. This is where Cookie mixes in a jar come to the rescue. 

It’s like gifting a homemade cookie box mix all ready to be baked with the addition of just a few ingredients. 

And if you know someone who likes cake better, a homemade cake mix would be delightful, too!

  • Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix in a Jar
  • Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Mix

Mason Jar Hot Cocoa Mix

What would winter be like without hot cocoa and what better way to enjoy it than to have it homemade all ready for you to mix into some hot water and enjoy?! Everything is better homemade and if you have never tried homemade stovetop hot cocoa, friend, you’re missing out! It takes hot cocoa to a whole other level especially if you use organic cocoa and other clean ingredients. 

This gift idea will definitely be a hit!

  • Hot Cocoa Mix Tutorial
  • 5 Hot Chocolate Jar Recipes

Stovetop Potpourri

Not only is this a wonderful homemade Christmas idea, but the post itself was a delightful read!

  • Stovetop Potpourri in a Jar

Seasoned Salts

Know someone who likes to cook or wants to get into cooking? Maybe it’s a new homemaker who is wants to learn how to cook from scratch. 

Honestly, and homemaker would love this gift! It makes cooking a little more adventurous and fun when there is something new to try. 

  • Seasoned Salt
  • Homemade Garlic Salt
  • All Purpose Seasoning – No Salt

Spice Mixes

Mixing up and gifting your own spice mixes is fun, and it also lets you sneak in your own personal spice secrets for others to try. 

Here are some ideas:

  • Taco Seasoning
  • Italian Seasoning
  • Chicken Rub
  • Steak Seasoning
  • Bullion Recipe

Pot Holders

Every homemaker needs pot holders and some of us should probably get new ones long before we ever do. We use them a lot for baking, cooking, and protecting the table from hot pans. It’s not long before they look grimy even after a good wash and it’s always nice to have something new and nice looking to work with. 

If you’re handy with a sewing machine, here are a few cute potholder tutorials to peruse:

  • Oven Mit
  • Round Pot Holder
  • Square Pot Holder

Aprons

I have a thing for ruffled aprons. One of my first sewing projects when I learned to see was making a ruffled apron and it was so much fun to pick out the mix-matched fabric (with a little lace, of course!). It was made baking even more fun!

This would be a perfect gift idea for any homemaker, but also for any girls in your family who are learning to bake or love being little housekeepers!

  • Frilly Ruffled Cross Back Apron
  • Ruffled Skirt Apron
  • Child’s Apron Tutorial

Cloth Napkins

This is a super easy gift idea even if you have just learned how to sew! It’s super simple and not time consuming at all. All you need to know is how to hem the edges. 

These make great old fashioned gift ideas because cloth napkins are so charming and call us all back to family dinners round the table! 

Not to mention but it’s fun picking fabric!

  • How to Make Cloth Napkins 
  • How to Sew Christmas Napkins

Jar Covers

Have any sourdough lovers (or potential ones) on your Christmas gift list? Jar covers would be a fantastic gift idea! 

  • Reversible Cloth Jar Covers

Final Thoughts!

Did you find the inspiration you needed to make some lovely handmade Christmas Gifts? I sure did! I probably had a little too much fun perusing and gathering all these ideas together, but I hope it helps you out. 

And if you can’t decide on which you want to do, you don’t have to just choose one idea. You could always make several of these ideas and give cute little gift baskets!

Handmade, Homemaking, Homemaking Lifestyle

Thanksgiving Word Search

Dec 2, 2024 · Leave a Comment

Need something to occupy the kids while you are preparing Thanksgiving dinner? Try this Thanksgiving word search!

Printables like this Thanksgiving word search keep the kids occupied while you are trying to cook or prepare for guests. They are also good for entertaining kids when the weather gets colder and they are stuck inside more.

Simply download the Thanksgiving word search pdf and enjoy a few minutes of peace and quiet or at least less distraction while the kids play this Thanksgiving word search game!

Download the Thanksgiving word search printable here!

Save it for Later!

Printables

Cassava Apple Pancakes

Nov 14, 2024 · Leave a Comment

Looking for a fluffy pancake recipe that is both easy to make and healthy? Try these cassava apple Pancakes!

You will need…

  • Skillet
  • Spatula
  • Food Processor or Mixing Bowl and Hand Mixer
  • Large Spoon
  • Measuring Spoons
  • Measuring Cups

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 c Cassava Flour
  • 2 t Baking Soda
  • 1/2 t Salt
  • 1 T Cinnamon
  • 2 T Butter, room temperature
  • 1 t Vanilla
  • 3/4 c Milk
  • 3 Eggs
  • 1 T Honey
  • 2 Medium Apples, pared and finely chopped

Instructions:

To the food processor or mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients and stir.

  • 1 1/2 c Cassava Flour
  • 2 t Baking Soda
  • 1/2 t Salt
  • 1 T Cinnamon

Add the wet ingredients.

  • 2 T Butter, room temperature
  • 1 t Vanilla
  • 3/4 c Milk
  • 3 Eggs
  • 1 T Honey
  • 2 Medium Apples, pared and finely chopped

Blend or beat until mixed thoroughly.

Preheat and grease skillet.

Drop 1/4 c of batter into the skillet at a time.

Flip when the underside releases easily from the pan and is nice and brown.

Fry the other side until it, too, releases from the pan easily and is nicely browned.

Remove the pancake from the pan and fry any remaining batter.

Let pancakes cool slightly to allow the cassava flour to set and enjoy!

Save it for Later!

Yield: 8

Cassava Apple Pancakes

Cassava Apple Pancakes

Instructions

    To the food processor or mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients and stir.


    1 1/2 c Cassava Flour
    2 t Baking Soda
    1/2 t Salt
    1 T Cinnamon


    Add the wet ingredients.


    2 T Butter, room temperature
    1 t Vanilla
    3/4 c Milk
    3 Eggs
    1 T Honey
    2 Medium Apples, pared and finely chopped


    Blend or beat until mixed thoroughly.
    Preheat and grease skillet.
    Drop 1/4 c of batter into the skillet at a time.
    Flip when the underside releases easily from the pan and is nice and brown.
    Fry the other side until it, too, releases from the pan easily and is nicely browned.
    Remove the pancake from the pan and fry any remaining batter.
    Let pancakes cool slightly to allow the cassava flour to set and enjoy!

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

© Naomi Scott

Recipes

Easy Instant Pot Applesauce

Nov 14, 2024 · Leave a Comment

Naturally sweetened and cooked in 6 minutes, this is the easiest instant pot applesauce recipe you will ever make!

You will need:

  • Instant Pot
  • 2 Pint Mason Jars
  • Pairing Knife – I prefer to pare the apples, but you can also use a peeler.
  • Ladle
  • Canning Funnel
  • Immersion Blender, optional – If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a food processor or set the cook time for 3 or 4 more minutes until the apples fall completely apart.

Ingredients:

  • 6 Pounds of Apples – I used Gala, but pick your favorite.
  • 1 Cup of Water

Instructions:

  • Rinse the apples.
  • Peel or pare them all.
  • Cut out the core or use a corer.
  • Cut each apple piece in half and place them into the instant pot.
  • Add the water.
  • Seal the instant pot lid and set it on high pressure (3P) for 6 minutes.
  • Once it is done, let it naturally release pressure for a few minutes before manually releasing. You may want to toss a towel over the steam vent to keep it from spewing everywhere.
  • Blend with an immersion blender to your preferred consistency. I like mine a little chunky.
  • Place the canning funnel into the jars and ladle the applesauce in.
  • Let it cool before refrigerating. This recipe yields 8 cups.
Yield: 8 Cups

Easy Instant Pot Applesauce

Easy Instant Pot Applesauce

Naturally sweetened and cooked in 6 minutes, this is the easiest instant pot applesauce recipe you will ever make!

Ingredients

  • 6 Pounds of Apples
  • 1 Cup of Water

Instructions

    Rinse the apples.
    Peel or pare them all.
    Cut out the core or use a corer.
    Cut each apple piece in half and place them into the instant pot.
    Add the water.
    Seal the instant pot lid and set it on high pressure (3P) for 6 minutes.
    Once it is done, let it naturally release pressure for a few minutes before manually releasing. You may want to toss a towel over the steam vent to keep it from spewing everywhere.
    Blend with an immersion blender to your preferred consistency. I like mine a little chunky.
    Place the canning funnel into the jars and ladle the applesauce in.
    Let it cool before refrigerating.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

© Naomi Scott

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Recipes

13 Printable Christmas Cards

Nov 14, 2024 · Leave a Comment

Do you want to print Christmas cards at home this year? Here are 13 printable Christmas Card designs to send to your loved ones.

Ready to print, these 13 Christmas card designs offer lots of options to choose from and you can peruse them, choose your favorites, print them, and have Christmas cards waiting for you to send to your friends and family without ever having to leave the comfort of your home.

Save yourself the trouble of having to get out just to go get Christmas cards and perhaps save some money while you are at it with this printable Christmas cards.

Download the printable Christmas cards here!

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Homemaking, Printables

Thanksgiving Planner

Nov 13, 2024 · Leave a Comment

Do you want to stress less over planning the perfect Thanksgiving dinner and enjoy more time with family friends? Here’s a simple Thanksgiving planner that can help you do just that!

Hosting Thanksgiving dinner or any big celebration can be a lot for anyone! There are a lot of details to keep track of like who’s coming and who’s bringing what.

If you are ready to stress less over planning the perfect Thanksgiving dinner and instead enjoy more time with friends and family during this special holiday, try this printable Thanksgiving planner.

Included in this free planner are printables for…

  • Recipe Cards
  • Guest Lists
  • To-do Lists
  • Thanksgiving Day Schedule
  • Gratitude Journal
  • Thanksgiving Week Planner
  • Thanksgiving Dinner Meal Plan
  • and more!

Download the free printable Thanksgiving Planner here!

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Homemaking, Homemaking Lifestyle, Printables

9 Christmas Traditions to Start this Year

Nov 12, 2024 · 2 Comments

As I have started creating routines and habits for every part of my homemaking, the idea of having traditions that we cycle back to every year is life-giving. Habits ground us in a way that I cannot fully explain. They provide structure and safe boundaries creating a place that we can flourish in.

One of the biggest times of the year to keep traditions is Christmas. There is something nostalgic, an old fashioned loveliness about returning to the same celebrations and experiences, renewing them for one more year that speak life and refresh us as homemakers.

Each year, I attempt to bring a new tradition or two while keeping to the meaningful ones from the previous years. Here are 9 Christmas traditions that I have either started already in my home or am looking forward to starting this year and in the future.

Advent Wreath

An advent wreath is a wreath with five candles symbolizing different parts of the story preceding Christ’s birth. The themes highlighted by different candles are the prophecy of Christ’s birth, the place of his birth which is Bethlehem, the shepherds coming to worship, and the angels and their message of “Peace on earth”.

There are several ways to celebrate advent or the anticipation of Christ’s coming (both the birth and the second coming)with an advent wreath. Traditionally, I believe, one candle is lit on each sunday (starting the night before each Sunday since traditionally days actually started the evening before each day) adding another candle each Sunday until all are lit on Christmas eve. They are also enjoyed on Christmas day as the celebration of Christ’s coming draws all the pieces of the story together.

Different scripture is read everyday for the whole advent season not just on Sundays; however, this can be a lot especially if this is your first time really celebrating Advent. You can also just highlight each Sunday.

Here’s how you can make your own Advent wreath along with the scripture readings.

Jesse Tree

This is a tradition new to me, but is one I’m looking forward to including this Christmas season. 

If you have not heard of a Jesse tree, the idea of it is to walk through the Bible stories from creation all the way to the birth of Christ. Typically, there are scripture readings for everyday or you can also follow a devotional written for this purpose. There are also 28 ornaments that symbolize each story. You can either hang them on your Christmas tree or have a separate one just for the Jesse tree ornaments. 

There are also a lot of other ideas of what do with the ornaments online. 

Most Jesse tree traditions start on November 28 which allows for one ornament to be hung each day leading up to Christmas Day. 

What an exciting and meaningful way to anticipate the celebration of the coming of the Christ child!

12 Days of Christmas

You know the song…On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…but have you ever considered making this a part of your Christmas celebrations? 

How come we only celebrate Christmas for one day? It seems the typical way our society today celebrates Christmas is by spending all the days from the day after Thanksgiving towards Christmas hustling to prepare for Christmas Day and throwing parties. Then we do one big shiba g on the 25 and call it good. Sounds chaotic and not very meaningful! 

A More old fashioned way to spend the holidays would be to celebrate Advent and then Epiphany or the 12 days of Christmas. You spend the advent season anticipating Christ and then celebrate Christ for 12 days. Who doesn’t want to celebrate for longer?!

This tradition starts on Christmas Day and goes through the next 12 days (Dec 25 – Jan 5) and is full of meaning and life-giving experiences. 

There are many ways to keep this tradition so here are a few ideas to inspire and help you incorporate a longer more meaningful celebration.

  • A Sacred Journey – a very intriguing celebration with a focused word for each day. It draws out the theme of each of the feasts that or religious celebrations that were traditionally celebrated.
  • A gift a day – I have often wondered as a parent the disservice we do ourselves and our children by overwhelming them with all the the gifts all on one day. My oldest specifically gets overstimulated very easily which can make Christmas Day a struggle. Some people celebrate the 12 days of Christmas by spreading out the gifts over these days. What a wonderful idea!
  • 12 days of Christmas books – What child doesn’t love a new book?! Wrap 12 Christmas books new or old and open one and enjoy on each day to prolong the festivities. 
  • 12 dates of Christmas – Whether you have children or not, this is a fun way to celebrate through experiences (with a little more planning, of course) by doing 12 different things together. 

Crepes for Breakfast

This is a running joke in our family. My husband is convinced that his mom made crepes every Christmas morning for breakfast while in fact she has only ever done it once or twice. 

The idea is fantastic though! Why not start the day with a small but scrumptious feast of your choosing?! It doesn’t have to be a lot of work since you still have other things to make for Christmas dinner, but you could make something simple and spruce it up like pancakes with a special cider syrup or something like that or make something ahead of time the night before that can be warmed up and enjoyed as you get started on other preparations like homemade cinnamon rolls. 

Bake Cookies

A simple but wonderful way to celebrate is to bake something together. Kids love it and what adult will pass on a scrumptious little bit of sweets with a cup of milk or cocoa?

If you’re feeling more ambitious, you could decorate them, too. 

My favorite cookies to bake are…

  • Sugar Cookies
  • Chockerdoodles – snickerdoodles, but with chocolate
  • Gingersnaps

Decorate Gingerbread Men

I love to make gingerbread houses, but…why go through all the trouble of putting a a gingerbread house kit together if you can’t even eat it because it’s old and not to mention the mess? And if you’ve tried to go the homemade route with homemade icing, it doesn’t always look pretty or hold the house together. 

So to solve all these little issues, we decided to decorate homemade gingerbread men instead this year. It solves all the problems and is much easier to do with children, too. 

Make a Christmas Ornament

If you are creative soul like me, you are going to love these DIY ornament ideas!

  • Paper Angel
  • 3D Paper Stars
  • Paint Filled Ornament Balls
  • Antique Style Candle Christmas Ornament
  • Glitter Snowflake
  • Gold Pine Cone Ornaments

Advent Calendar

Counting down the days until Christmas Day is a fun little way to anticipate this holiday. Oftentimes, each day on the calendar holds a little treat in a pocket or a box or something (depending on the type you get or create) so you get a little something on each day as you look forwards to Christmas, but the Advent calendar traditionally has more to it than just anticipating Christmas Day and all the gifts. It counts down the days until the day celebrated as the birth of Christ using the Christmas story. 

Here are some ideas…

  • Bible Verses and Chocolate – Each little baggie has a date on it on which you open it, read the verse, and enjoy some sweets.
  • Scripture, Songs, and Service – Three cards are inserted into the Advent calendar of your choice (This post also includes several DIY Advent Calendar ideas.): one witha scripture to read, one with a Christmas song to sing, and one with an act of service to do for others.
  • Felt Nativity Scene – Each day, you pull out part or character and add it to the board to recreate the nativity scene.

Handmade Christmas Cards

Whether you are crafty or like to draw, take the Christmas card tradition to the next level with some old fashioned charm by creating your own Christmas cards. The kids will love getting involved in making them, too!

I like to sketch a little Christmas something on the front of blank cardstock like…

  • Candles
  • Bells
  • Pine Cones
  • Greenery
  • Ribbons

Drawing each card can take a lot of time though so this year, I have contemplated doing something with fabric on the front. Here are a few of the ideas I have gathered…

  • Scrap Fabric Christmas Cards
  • Printed Template with Fabric Christmas Present
  • Fabric Ornament Christmas Card

Final Thoughts!

Christmas is just around the corner or it maybe here as you are reading this. Are you ready to make the most of this holiday season and embed the richness of Christmas deeper within your hearts and home? Even if you have very few Christmas traditions that you keep every year, now is as good a time as any to change that!

If this post inspired you in any way, please, PIN IT! so that others can be inspired, too.

Homemaking, Homemaking Lifestyle

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