Get practical tips for becoming the polished, efficient, happy homemaker you want to be; learn how to be a GOOD homemaker!
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So you’re a homemaker, and you want to do it good, yes? You want to have it all together: the clean and tidy home, coordinating decor, and yummy, home-cooked meals. You want your sweet fam to LOVE the home you’re creating for them and to feel comfortable, cozy, and encouraged.
I believe in the 80/20 rule with most things in life. Its NOT realistic to think that you can have the perfect home, and be the perfect homemaker 100% of the time. BUT you can have it all together the majority of the time. You really can!
With a little effort, some strategy, and a mindset shift, you’ll be well on your way to becoming the GOOD homemaker you want to be.
If you want to know how to be a good homemaker, you have to have a full understanding of what a homemaker does. So let’s talk about it!
RELATED: Homemaking 101: Ultimate Guide for Beginners
What does a homemaker do all day?
Homemakers have a hefty job description. Most homemakers are responsible for cooking and cleaning, laundry, appointment and activity management, decor, budgeting, etc. They might also be in charge of caring for kiddos, and all that comes with that! Pretty much EVERYTHING involved with taking care of a home and all of the people in it.
These are just the broad areas of homemaking, but each one of these can be broken down into smaller tasks. When someone asks, what does a homemaker do all day? This is it.
If you want to be a good homemaker, you need to get GOOD at all of these little tasks!
Activities of a Homemaker
- meal planning
- grocery shopping
- budgeting
- cooking & baking
- deep cleaning
- tidying
- organizing
- washing and drying laundry
- folding and putting away laundry
- ironing
- mending
- scheduling appointments
- managing home maintenance
- decorating
- planning activities/holidays
- hosting
This isn’t all of the tasks a homemaker is responsible for, but its a good start. A good homemaker creates schedules and routines that work these tasks into her day in an efficient way.
What are the qualities of a good homemaker?
We all want to be GOOD homemakers, but do we fully understand what that means? If we want to become excellent homemakers, we need know what qualities to strive for. Of course, if you want to be a good homemaker you need to get good at the cooking, cleaning, and laundry… but there’s SO MUCH more to it than that.
The most important things you can work on is your heart and your character. This is hard!!!!!!! Its not as simple as ‘get a better laundry routine‘. BUT if you can master some of these characteristics, or at least work on them, you’ll be so much better off.
Here are some qualities of a good homemaker:
- Patient (you’re working around real-life people with real-life messes, and life doesn’t always go as planned, so patience is necessary!)
- Resourceful (if you can be resourceful as a homemaker, you’ll save your family a great deal of money!)
- Disciplined (wake up early, do the chores even when you don’t feel like it, train yourself to become good at what you do, etc.)
- Joyful (have a happy countenance every day! be grateful for your role, for your home, and for your family.)
- Hospitable (be willing to invite people in and open up your home to them)
- Diligent (learn to be be hard-working and industrious)
- Responsible (put your homemaker responsibilities FIRST before your ‘fun’)
- Compassionate (learn to be kind, loving, and sympathetic towards your family)
- Heart of Service (be a servant at heart! Everything you do in your home is for your friends and family that are in and out of it. If you have a heart of service you’ll be happy to sacrifice your efforts and time for your family through your homemaking.
These are some of the HEART qualities that you can work on. I’ll talk more about practical things we can do to be good homemakers below. But remember, it all starts with your heart. Work on that first and then move on to the practical!
How to be a Good Homemaker
SO now you know what a homemaker does, and what qualities make an excellent homemaker. You might be wondering how you can apply all of this in practical ways around your home? Let’s talk about it! We’ll start with the basics.
Learn to cook delicious, healthy food on a regular basis.
A HUGE part of homemaking is the food. As a homemaker you’re responsible for meal planning, grocery shopping, cooking, and baking.
If you don’t already meal plan you should! It can be SO helpful for getting meals on the table every night, with less stress. It also helps you to save money.
Get proficient at cooking good quality, healthy, and delicious meals. It just takes practice! Read food blogs or watch YouTube videos on cooking and baking techniques. Buy some good quality cookbooks. Practice, practice, practice.
Find a cleaning routine that keeps your house tidy AND deep cleaned
There are PLENTY of tips out there on internet land for figuring out your best cleaning routine. I suggest trying things out and seeing what works for you and what doesn’t.
Your cleaning routine should be efficient and effective, catered to your home, and should help you to keep your home regularly tidy AND deep cleaned.
As a homemaker, your cleaning routines should flow nicely throughout your days, weeks, and months.
RELATED: Old-Fashioned Homemaking Routines
Be frugal and resourceful
Most of the time, if you’re a homemaker, your family is living off of one income. This can be a challenge! Be a good homemaker by making sure you’re being a good steward of the money coming in. In addition, try not to be wasteful!
Be mindful of things like turning out the lights, not letting food go bad, and keeping your grocery spending in check. Instead of heading to the store to get new curtains, try sewing your own with thrifted fabric. Find new ways to use up things that you’d otherwise throw away. Take on the motto “use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.”
RELATED: How to be a Frugal Homemaker
Nail down your laundry routine
If you want to be an excellent homemaker, you need to have an excellent laundry routine. Do laundry daily to stay on top of it! Don’t let the piles build up:)
I have a post HERE on finding the best laundry routine for you and your home. As time goes by and you pay close attention, you’ll figure out how often you need to do laundry for your home and family.
Focus on the relationships
Its easy to think homemaking is about your home, but its really not! Homemaking is about the PEOPLE. Your husband, your kids, your friends, your roommate, your parents. Its about creating a space that helps them to THRIVE. Don’t get too caught up in your daily, mundane tasks of keeping house that you forget about the relationships you’re building.
- invite your kiddos to cook with you and make lasting memories with them
- remember to bake your husband’s favorite dessert on a regular basis
- set aside time after the chores for some family fun, maybe a game night
- make fun and enjoyable traditions around the holidays
Check and DOUBLE check your attitude on a regular basis
Hello, this might be the most important tip! All of your efforts in your home will be wasted if you’re not doing them with a good attitude.
Remember all of the qualities we talked about in a good homemaker (patient, compassionate, joyful, disciplined)? You can come closer to having these by double checking your thoughts and your attitude throughout the day.
When you feel overwhelmed, remember all of the things you’re grateful for. When you start to feel like its all on you, think of all the things your family does for you. Find things to do throughout your day that make you happy and joyful!
What is the perfect housewife?
This is a trick question! The perfect housewife is not actually perfect, but she does STRIVE to get better every day. The perfect housewife WORKS towards a clean and orderly home, healthy, home-cooked meals, and healthy relationships with her husband and kids. She’s TRIES hard to be frugal and resourceful, to be diligent with her chores, and to have a happy attitude.
The perfect housewife INSN’T perfect, but she is working hard every day to be better.
If you want to be a better housewife TODAY work on consistency. Consistency with your chores, consistency with practice, and consistency with adapting a good attitude.
PSA: I can’t emphasize this enough but all of these tips and ideas are speaking to myself first. I want to be better too!!!
I hope you feel inspired and hopeful in becoming a better homemaker! You can do it! You are the perfect person for your home and family. Work hard every day at getting better and you’ll be golden. We’re in this together! These are all things I’m working on right alongside you.
I’d love to know in the comments if you have any other thoughts on what makes a good homemaker?!
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