Homemaking is so much fun, but there are parts of it that are not so easy to look forward to. Dishes, laundry, cleaning, deep cleaning, cooking. Day after day, life can get dull and monotonous very quickly.
This can be especially true if you have children. They are quite time consuming at times which makes it hard to find time to give to something that you enjoy.
Life is just hard sometimes no matter what stage of homemaking you are in.
Thankfully, there are ways that you can make your homemaking easier. They are not complicated things. Most of them are simple, but will take a little time to get the hang of.
Although it can take some work on the front end, implementing these tips are well worth it for the long run.
Have Rhythms, Routines, Habits.
Rhythms, routines, and habits all help the day to day things become second nature to us. When we purposefully do the same thing the same way over and over again, we will naturally get more efficient.
Sometimes, you do not need a new system or checklist to solve your problem. Many times, I have found that I simply need to keep doing what I am doing until it sticks.
Whether you have a system that works for you or you have yet to find the one that fits your lifestyle the best, know that some things simply need you to give them time to air out the kinks.
Some areas that benefit from having routines, rhythms, and habits are…
- Mornings
- Evenings
- Laundry
- Dishes
- Cleaning
Plan.
Although this is similar to the first tip, planning goes beyond rhythms and routines. Other areas that need planning are…
- Groceries
- Projects
- Personal Development
- Learning a New Skill
If you don’t make a plan for whatever it is that you want to do, then it is much harder to succeed. Homemaking is a lot easier if you first stop and plan.
It does take a little time. You may have to plan to take time to plan, but planning will make your life easier.
It is also a good idea to plan when you are going to accomplish these things and not just what you want to do.
Sometimes I like to write down times next to my tasks on my daily or weekly to do lists to help keep me on track. If you aren’t a pen and paper type of person, you can also set alarms or timers to help you get it done without getting side tracked.
Get a head start.
After you have made a plan of what and when you want to do things, try going even further and getting a head start.
For example,..
- Laundry – Get a head start on laundry by getting a load in the washer the night before to start the next morning. Right before you leave the house is also a great time to start a load.
- Dishes – Rinse dishes as you get done with them. Whether you are doing dishes right away or not until later, it helps if you rinse dishes right away before stuff sticks.
- Getting dressed – If the next day is going to be busy like Sundays or if you are going shopping first thing, etc. decide what you are going to wear the night before. You can lay it or even better put it in the bathroom so that when you get up to shower the next day, everything will be there waiting for you.
Related Post: Laundry Tips for Beginners
Set a timer for 15 minutes.
Large tasks seem to loom over us like an incoming storm ready to rain and ruin our lives at any moment! Maybe that is a little too dramatic, but do you ever find yourself putting off larger tasks because they would be too time consuming to completely finish? I know, I do.
Setting a timer for 5-15 minutes and purposing to tackle as much as you can in the allotted time can really make homemaking easier. While you are at it, play some music or an audio book and then reward yourself with some chocolate afterwards.
Get rest Physically and Spiritually.
Having quiet time is crucial to making your homemaking journey easier. There will always be things to do and things that never get done, but prioritizing rest is a must.
As women and homemakers, we often need time to
- Stop and take a breath
- Rally our thoughts from negativity towards encouragement
- Drink some coffee/tea
- Read/listen to new book
- Play some calming music
- Admire the beauty outside your window
- Pray and choose to be thankful whether we feel like it or not
- Take a nap
Sally Clarkson, over on The Homemaker’s Club Podcast, said that as homemakers we are like a pendulum constantly swinging from chaos to order.
Many times, it may feel like you got stuck on the chaos side of things and things get overwhelming very quickly. This is why we need life giving activities that we enjoy and that will encourage us as a natural part of our day.
Hey Friend!
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?
Are you struggling to manage your time at home?
Check out my new eBook Systems & Routines: Simple Time Management for Homemakers! It includes all that I have learned about systems and routines and how they have helped me manage my time and home well!
Involve children.
I am learning how helpful a two year old can be. Many of the little things that I used to do, my toddler does for me.
We don’t always have to be looking for things for our children to do while we try to accomplish things. Children love being helpful even to a fault and will show you what they can do if we give them the opportunity.
Some things my two-year-old enjoys doing most of the time are…
- Laundry – He loves picking laundry up off the floor that I dropped while transferring loads from the washer to the dryer. He will even tell me when the washer or dryer are done. One day, I wondered if I could teach him to sort clothes so I tried. I dumped the clothes out on the couch and then told him where to put each item. Now he recognizes which articles of clothing belong to who easily and puts them in the right pile. He also likes to help me actually fold clothes.
- Sweeping – He loves to hold the dust pan for me or follow along with a mop while I sweep.
- Baking – My little one loves playing in flour while I knead my sourdough. He likes to have a small piece of dough to play with, too. (I guess that is where playdough came from.)
Involving children makes your homemaking easier because it keeps them out of trouble, entertains them, and teaches them different skills while you accomplish a task at the same time. It’s a win win!
Remove the emotions.
There are times when we do not feel like doing something that needs to be done. Sometimes certain tasks can cause us to feel depressed or we may have other feelings towards a task. Despite how we feel though, these things still need to be done.
Sometimes our homemaking is harder or at least feels harder than it should be because of how we perceive or feel about a task. It may be that we are just tired from doing a lot or waking up in the night with the baby.
Whatever it is, we sometimes have to remove our feelings from the situation and simply do it. We may have to choose to do a task without wanting to.
Despite how we feel when we start a task, it usually feels good to get it done. This has really helped my homemaking easier especially when I am tired. It’s not a very glorious homemaking tip, but it works and makes things easier because I actually get them done instead of putting them off indefinitely.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.
How can I be a smart homemaker?
There is something called 1% Principle that can make your homemaking easier. I believe it comes from the book called The 1% Principle by Tom O’neil. I have not read the book, but I have heard about it on several podcasts.
The idea is that if you increase different areas of your life by only one percent over time it all adds up. Practically, if you break down different tasks and just improve something about them, it will make your homemaking easier overall.
It may look like skipping a non essential step in the process so you can get it done quicker or finding a better product that works better.
It really does work, too! If you really want to make your homemaking easier, you have to try this!
Final Thoughts!
There is so much we can do to make our homemaking easier from having some quiet time to involving our children more! Imagine the difference we could make in our homes and the lives that we touch if we found a way to improve them by only one percent! Overtime, there would be a lot of change and a lot of good to show for it.
If you find homemaking overwhelming or especially hard during this season of life, know that you are not alone in it. There are many other people who have gone on before you that can share some really good advice and support.
There are also many other women whether single, married, with or without children, at home full time or working as well that are homemakers just like you. If you found any part of this helpful, please share this with a friend or on your favorite social media platform. You never know whose life you will improve by one percent!
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