Homemaking has gotten a bad rap over the last few decades, but I believe it is making a combat. More women are choosing to care for their homes and their children.
Many women are realising the importance of keeping a home and the benefits it has on their family when they are present in the home.
Ever since I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to be a stay at home mom. I did have several influences in my life such as my mother, my grandmother and my aunt.
I won’t lie, I thought homemaking was going to be pretty easy and that I would be able to stay at home, cook delicious meals and have adventures with my kids. It’s actually a lot more than that!
Homemaking has been a journey of self-discovery, learning new skills, growing as a person and gaining wisdom from many many mistakes! The little people you create will reflect you and you might not always like what you see.
It’s a hard truth but it’s a great way to become motivated to improve yourself, not just for you but for them.
What Is A Homemaker?
A homemaker is someone who tends to all the affairs of the home.
Some of these tasks can vary but overall, a homemaker cleans the home, budgets the spending money, orders the groceries, cooks the meals, does the laundry, runs errands, cares for children, tends to the garden (if you have one) and so much more. These are all great things and necessary as well.
But that’s not all a homemaker is. We are not defined by just the daily task we do everyday! Every person is an individual and your uniqueness will show in your home.
The way you decorate your home, the smells produced in the home, the ambience and feel of your home all depend on you. Your attitude towards your home will affect the way your home feels.
Homemaking Attitude
I’m sure you have heard the phrase “tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife”! It’s true, if you as a homemaker grumble, complain and are miserable the people around you seem to act similarly.
It causes kids anxiety and gets them acting out more I have found.
- Think about why exactly you are angry? Do you feel no one is helping you and you do all the work? Are there too many noises and you are just overstimulated? Have you made an unrealistic to do list and are struggling to get anything done?
- You can’t fix a problem if you don’t know what the problems is.
- I’m big on kids doing chores. This is truly a blessing! Teach your kids in a pleasant manner to help around the house. Make it look inviting by having them join you along while they are “in training”. Once they know what you expect of them and how to do a task you can pass some things onto them. If you want more information on this, I have a blog post Teach Life Skills To Kids By Doing Chores with a free chore chart printable.
Remember A calm pleasant mama seems to bring more often than not calm and pleasant kids. While we are human and it’s okay to get upset once in a while, check to see if your thoughts surrounding your home are more positive or negative.
What you think and say in your mind, transfers to your heart. When your heart is full it comes out through the mouth.
Taming our minds and being grateful for the things we have and the people we get to look after is a blessing. Even if it doesn’t always feel that way.
Having a good attitude towards the home helps the kids learn to have a good attitude too. They are more inclined to help if they see it as a happy experience.
Qualities of a homemaker
Discipline
Training yourself to know what has to get done and then doing those tasks despite your feelings is being disciplined. I don’t think we should be super strict or rigid with ourselves.
But having some discipline in the home is very important in making sure the home runs smoothly and things get done. You can discipline yourself in many different ways.
Examples include finding more joy while doing repetitive tasks, doing the things you dislike most first, taking a set time out of the day to exercise, play with kids, ect. It’s not just all about work it’s about mindset and finding a balance that works in your home.
Motivation
Being motivated to try and try again even if your bread came out like a rock, you burnt a whole in a shirt while ironing, or you didn’t pack enough food for an outing. Being motivated to try again and not just give up on yourself and kids is important.
It’s a quality that really does separate a good homemaker from an average or below average one. Not giving up and having a willingness to learn from your mistakes will benefit you, your family, other people around you and future generations.
The wisdom you gain because you kept trying is knowledge you can share with others. It is a quality that we as homemakers should have.
Patience
I’m sure you have heard patience is a virtue. It’s not just having patience with kids even though that can be the hardest one. But having patience with ourselves while we are learning to manage a home.
Things take time to make, learn, cook and create. When raising children, you might not even see the fruits of your labour for months or years to come! Being patient in all things is hard but is necessary as everything whether we like it or not takes time.
Empathy
Empathy helps the homemaker understand her family better. When your child is losing it because you poured juice in the wrong cup or when your husband is snappy because he worked an extra-long shift and is stressed. Being able to understand how someone feels helps you understand why they might feel that way.
This allows you to be more patient and understanding in your response. When you are empathic you are able to recognise the needs in your home and not take these moments as a personal attack on you.
Resourcefulness
As a homemaker you will inevitably come across all kinds of different problems. Being able to use what you have to solve these problems is being resourceful.
Being a resourceful homemaker helps to save money, time and stress. Having the skills to problem solve and come up with different solutions is a quality all homemakers should aim for.
For example, you might want a garden bed, so you use fallen logs to create a border or pants have a ripped whole in the knee, so you use an old garment with a nice design to patch it up and make it still look nice.
Being able to come up with solutions will leave you feeling satisfied and home functioning efficiently.
Importance Of A Homemaker
As you can see a homemaker has many roles, responsibilities and qualities which can be learned. Keeping a home is no easy feat it requires, skills, time, patience and love.
You are your children’s role models, and all the skills and qualities you learn can be passed down to your children and future generations. Your home isn’t just a sanctuary for immediate family but for anyone who comes into it.
I will leave you with this quote from Mother Theresa “If you want to change the world go home and love your family.”
Let me know in the comments what quality you think is the most important a homemaker should have?