There really isn’t anything that can fully prepare you for entering into homemaking or motherhood. This post shares wisdom and a few hacks to managing your home as a new wife or mother!
When you begin caring for your home and family you are adding on a whole range of responsibilities. Thankfully we have a host of women who have gone before us! Today’s blog post shares wisdom from various women who have years of experience in homemaking and motherhood. Hopefully you can find some helpful ideas here to enable you in your role as homemaker!
A wise women once wrote on our toilet roll holder
My Aunty gifted my family a toilet roll holder. It was a beautiful wooden one with a lovely door and floral design. Inside she inscribed these wise words:
“Hard work is the accumulation of easy things that should have been done last week”
~Aunty Karen~
Haphazard Homemaking
Well don’t I know it. My first 3 years of homemaking was a constant lick and a promise clean on saturday followed by simple dinners, hello fresh boxes and dirty windows. Time management is not my strong point and with working full time my ‘homemaking’ was not something to be proud of. I wish I had told my first year married self the above statement more. Recently, I began a new role as ‘stay at home mum’, and let me tell you those dirty windows seem to get dirtier by the day when you are breastfeeding an infant on the couch for a few hours at a time.
A joyful work!
But never mind that now. A clean house isn’t the be all end all. And man does cleaning and organising give me a good dose of joy! Good thing too, God commands us to go about our work with joy and in his service. Yes even when we are scrubbing those bathroom tiles. How blessed are we to have tiles to scrub windows to clean and children to bathe and husbands to cook delightful dishes for!
I recently finished reading a chapter on homemaking in the book “Disciplines of a Godly Women” Barbara Hughes talks about keeping our homes as places of hospitality, warmth, centered on the gospel and doing this with joy is kingdom work! What a delight we have in worshiping God through what we can do with our hands.
Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men”
“Deuteronomy 6:6–7: “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”
We are working for God. How we work is important, what we do is important and our children and those around us can see our work, whether it be with grumbling and complaining or joyfully giving thanks and praising God!
Let’s Encourage eachother
This all sounds beautiful but in practice working hard and in thankfulness for the Lord is against our human nature. It is only by God’s grace that we can do these tasks. Let’s pray for each other as women and encourage each other in this beautiful task.
God has used wise women who have shared with me these tips and focus points and today’s blog post is a collation of their wisdom. I do not wish to take any praise for these ideas because it is all from other older wiser women who share their experiences with me and allowed me to share this with you all.
HOw to find joy in homemaking
In the book feminine appeal and recently on a the podcast Risen Motherhood I was encouraged to find joy in homemaking by growing my skills in homemaking. This could be learning new ways to bake or cook, learning to sew, garden, decorate and host. Now this is something we can do!! Maybe it’s getting a new cookbook out of the library or taking sewing lessons. Make your new task of homemaking something to enjoy!
Homemaking Tips FOr the everyday Woman
1. Always begin and end with the Lord.
I spent some time discussing this earlier and I will point you here again. Dirty windows or laundry to fold aside joy, motivation and purpose for our task as homemaker starts and finishes with God.
- Some tips to help keep our homemaking God centred include:
- Place Bible verses throughout the home in places you can see and meditate on them such as behind the kitchen sink, on the fridge, on the walls or on the bathroom mirror.
- Daily Devotions!
- Arrange a kid swap regularly and set the ‘kid free’ time aside to engage in something spiritually uplifting e.g. devotions, walk in creation with a sermon or podcast, reading wholesome Godly material. – Not only is this good for your faith life this is also a chance to be refreshed and recharged in your task as a mother.
- Play gospel music in your home.
- Read material centred on living for Christ authors like Jen Wilkins, Paul Tripp, Caroline Mahoney and more!
2. Delegate big tasks
Schedule in one or maybe a few per week. Don’t attempt all at once….it doesn’t work! These tasks include extra jobs outside of daily cooking and cleaning. Things like cleaning windows, organising rooms/cupboards/DIY’s/bulk cooking/spring cleaning or deep cleaning the fridge and freezer.
By setting aside one task per week you will get through more than if you try to add in all the big tasks at once and pile up your load of work. By the end of the week you feel disappointed as you set the bar far to high!
3. HOmemaking Checklists
Create a checklist of jobs for the week on Monday morning and schedule out each day.
Consider the days you have extra activities on and schedule what is manageable on these days.
Consider breaking up the cleaning routine if you find getting the whole house cleaned in one day overwhelming or impossible with the little kids or lack of time due to work commitments.
Use your phone or apps like spotless to help create checklists. Ticking things off a list is so satisfying!
Review your checklist each morning and add or modify the days lists as you need to. Getting your ideas out on paper is helpful in organising your thoughts and creating realistic, achievable goals for yourself.
4. homemaking (being a wife/mother) is a 24/7 Gig
This means you need to schedule in the down time and prioritise rest. (as a new homemaker I find this particularly challenging as I am used to working and being pressed for time and working all day “on the clock” mentality).
The housework is one of these things that will never be finished. Just as you empty the washing basket it just fills right back up. Recognize this and manage feelings of stress, overwhelm and battling perfectionism by stopping, resting, doing devotions, and sitting down with your spouse or playing with you kids.
- Exercise, eat well, rest, devotions, Bible study – We cannot serve our families on an empty tank! Recharge, slow down and finding balance is key.
5. HOmemaking Get it done Tips
To avoid becoming overloaded by all the things or bouts of “less” productivity try using a power hour method or using a timer such as a tomato timer. These methods utilise time blocks with rest blocks incorporated in. They are proven to increase our productivity by decreasing distractions and helping us focus on one task at a time. This is also why checklists are helpful!
Avoid bouncing between tasks focus on tasks and if they are seeming overwhelming e.g. organising the laundry room cupboards then break it down into smaller tasks. E.g. empty all the cupboards, clean cupboards out thoroughly, grab empty bottles and recycle etc. (The book Less Stuff is a helpful tool to assist in knowing how to break down organisational and cleaning tasks).
6. Be Present with your family !
Set aside time when the kids come home or when your husband gets home to be with them. Sit and have a cuppa, talk about their day, go for a walk together. This is equally as important as keeping your house clean! By being present you are creating a stability in your home. As Mum and Wife you are their as a listening ear, an encourager and a teacher.
7. Daily Tips for smooth sailing in the kitchen
- Meal plan for 3/4 days at a time. Think ahead and pre-plan or pre-cook so busier days require less time in the kitchen. Maybe it’s cooking 1 meal for two nights. (See my Bulk Cooking blog post).
- Coles and Woolies magazines often have weekly meal plan ideas to try!
- Use the slow cooker for busy days so dinner is done in the morning.
- Bake a few things at a time so you have a few things on hand. Saves buying already made food.
- Stock the pantry so you have ingredients on hand and ready to go for your baking and cooking – keep staples on hand so you aren’t rushing to the grocery store every time you need to bake or cook.
- Clean out your fridge and pantry regularly so you know what you have on hand and what you need to put on your shopping list.
- Consider making dinner in the afternoon or morning and either re-heating or using a thermoserver so the busy after school/work and before dinner hours can be focused on supporting your family and being present with them.
8. Learn and Teach Homemaking
If you are an older mother or maybe a grandmother. Reach out to us young mothers! We need your godly wisdom. We need your experience and we need your prayers and encouragement. Consider mentoring a younger women in both spiritual growth and homemaking!
If you have daughters that are able to begin helping in the home. Take the opportunity to teach the art of homemaking. I will be forever grateful to my Mom for teaching me to cook, clean, sew and do the laundry. At the time I probably complained or grumbled but I look back now and see it as a massive blessing to come into marriage and motherhood with the basics of looking after our home!
If you are a new wife or mother consider the wise words of more experienced mothers. Don’t become defensive towards suggestions or ideas. Seek out support, ideas, encouragement. Consider a godly mentor to help you learn and grow in your walk with Christ! Keep your peers accountable and give each other support.
Concluding Thoughts
We are here as godly women to serve, encourage and grow. Through this blog post I hope you can find some helpful tips or encouragement in your task as a homemaker.
I would love for you to share more ideas in the comments below because I am sure there is a lot more learning and wisdom to be shared! Maybe it’s a encouraging Bible verse, maybe some tips on budgeting for groceries. Share your thoughts below!
Loved this Denae! Homemaking is such a challenge but such an honour and blessing and it’s so wonderful to be able to cultivate a good home environment for everyone. I also continually remind myself that even if no one else sees my work or cares, God does, and it pleases Him when I do my mundane work for His glory.
Thanks for your comment Kim! Yes it is definitely a challenge but a blessing! I tend to think the hardest things work out to be the best things! God is seeing all we do and He knows our heart attitudes too!