Homemaking is a full-time job and one of the most rewarding jobs. Daniel Wise articulated the popular sentiment when he proclaimed, “Home is woman’s world, as well as her empire.”
Twenty-four percent of women entered the workforce between 1940 and 1945. The gap in the labor force created by departing soldiers meant opportunities for women. In particular, World War II led many women to take jobs in defense plants and factories. According to labor force data, this number has doubled gradually over time. Women entering the workforce full-time have offered enormous benefits to businesses and the economy. However, as Thomas Sowell says, “There are no solutions, only trade-offs.” What tradeoffs are we facing in the 20th century?
On average, children are away from home for eleven hours a day, including before- and after-school care, starting as early as infancy.
While searching for statistics to provide you, it dawned on me that statistics usually do not matter when weighing our life choices. I have always valued working hard, advancing my career, and earning more as we move up the ladder. I still do! But in the world we live in today, I see a culture that is losing its children. I see a culture that is outsourcing parenting. This phenomenon has taken me to a new place: homemaking, a job that continues to decline yet is so precious. Of course, the roles can interchange between males and females, women and men, but there is a natural law. Women are the ones who bear children and are the only ones who can nurse them. Nurturing them is a natural part of nature.
What better role to enter than an engineer engineering a healthy, peaceful home? One hundred years ago, women had side jobs selling products or services to their community; they worked to live, not lived to work. I only mention this because some may conclude it’s all or nothing. We, too, can pursue passions or earn money while being anchors in our homes. We now have online work-from-home opportunities; it’s a great time to get creative!
A home is not just a place to live; it’s a place to love an atmosphere. A homemaker is the heart of a home who manages it skillfully. Take careful pride and care in all details. As the heart and soul of a household, a homemaker is responsible for managing and organizing the home’s finances and day-to-day operations. This role requires creating and managing a home, especially as a pleasant place to live. It is an essential and valued role!
Eight Homemaking Principals
1. Rise before the household
“The early bird gets the worm” is as accurate today as in 1605 when William Camden coined the phrase. Wake up before your family does, and give yourself time to read, pray, work out, and plan the day. The most valuable time of the day is the morning, as typically, there are no interruptions, making it a perfect time to get the mindset for the rest of the day. Proverbs 3:15 tells us it is wise to wake early to prepare for our families.
The quietness and stillness of the mornings can not be captured at any other part of the day; therefore, it must be relished and enjoyed!
2. Clean & Prep
Clean the home and prep meals during the second part of the morning. Remember that from here on out, the rest of the day is not about us; it shifts from us to our family. Trying to toggle between the two may leave you frustrated. Therefore, secure your mornings for yourself, then lean into the rest of the day as an act of service to your family. Cleaning the home never ends; we mommas all understand this. However, cleaning in the mornings will help keep the house organized. Leave the deep cleaning for once a week and the deep deep cleaning two times a year: fall and spring. Use the time change as a marker for purging garages, attics, and anywhere that needs a good dusting and thinning out. Look at what needs to be done to prepare lunches, dinners, snacks and do it. Prepare! The rest of the day will run smoothly. Include the children in the process; tasks and chores are our duty to the household. It is crucial they learn this at an early age (age-appropriate).
3. Homeschool
In the third part of the morning, begin homeschooling lessons. The Charlotte Mason philosophy states an excellent principle that we should be teaching our children the act of attentiveness to their studies. Allowing them to learn and understand time, once lost, is gone. Therefore, once seated for school, try to keep them engaged. This takes time and training of their will to do what they ought to do. I trust most teachers feel the same. They don’t always get done all they set out to do. That is ok! Our children are not robots; sometimes, things take longer than expected. Try to keep school hours to designed time blocks if possible. In the long term, the goal is not to fatigue ourselves and not to exasperate our children, as stated in Ephesians 6:4.
4. Break
Mid-day, take a break, eat lunch, and play! Enjoy your children. After this, work on any household budgeting paperwork. After the lunch break, finish any home school studies.
5. Run Errands / Enrichment Class
Pair errands with scheduled enrichment classes. It is practical for time management. Once you’re out, it’s best to tackle the grocery store and any other stops before or after outsourced classes. This is also valuable learning time. Children are always learning, and grocery shopping teaches the principles of food choices and finances.
6. Cook
Since dinner is prepped in the morning, cooking should take 30- 40 minutes. Keep meals simple. The dietary choices are most important.
7. Relax & Play
After dinner, relax and play. Of course, this may not happen every night, but most would be beneficial. Togetherness is important for our children; they will have fond memories to take with them throughout their lives.
8. Tidy Up,
Ending the day by tidying up and putting things back in place provides a clean start for tomorrow. Here are some great tips from A Monk’s Guide to a Clean House by Shoukei Matsumoto.
- Cleaning is training for staying in the now; a clean house is a clear mind.
- Cleaning is not something we do when we find time; it eliminates gloom in our minds.
- Laundry needs to be done every day. Wash. Dry. Fold. To make laundry tasks less demanding is to reduce the number of clothes you wash. Doing this will make you look neat and no longer require many garments.
- Repair rather than re-buy. If we treat our items carefully, we will treat people the same. People who endlessly chase new things have lost their freedom to earthly desire.
- Don’t push yourself too much with tasks. Always leave a little in the tank; you will always be ready to work.
In conclusion, homemaking is a service of love that brings warmth and joy and turns a house into a home. It is a discipline that requires careful planning and managing. It is an essential and valued role! “Home is the nicest word there is.”
― Laura Ingalls Wilder