Is there such a think as being a good homemaker? Weekends tend to be my saving grace these days to set up my weeks for ease. I work outside of the home I have a husband, two kids and a dog and it can get pretty crazy sometimes.
My brain is so wired for productivity that I need to actively slow my brain down when doing simple tasks. For me Homemaking is something that has taken me years to settle into, because of that I’ve noticed rhythms that have naturally developed over the past 5 years that work really well for me. SO here is my Homemaking rhythm on the weekend as a working mom of two.
- Having Tidy up time: I encourage my kids and husband to join me as we all work to tidy up. Most of the time our home can be tidied up in 15 minutes. But typically if I am lacking motivation I always think of these three things: Beating the clock, 2 minute tasks, and One touch rules.
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- Beating the clock and utilizing timers are my go to when I feel unmotivated to do a quick tidy or clean up. Being the competitive person that I am putting myself against the clock is an instant motivator. Also putting myself through time trials of cleaning has helped me understand that the majority of my tasks take me less than 2 minutes to complete.
- 2 minute tasks: These are the tasks that have developed into habits, like emptying the dish rack, switching the laundry, wiping down sinks, putting shoes , jackets, and hats away. Its knowing which tasks can be done in two minutes or less which gives me the reminder that I can take the two minutes- right now to compete the task loop vs pushing it off for later me, Because present me wants future me to have time to relax lol
- One touch rule : The principle where you can put something away with one touch: Instead of dropping everything all over the place when you get home try taking off your shoes next to your shoe rack and putting them away with one touch. Same goes for hats, jackets, purses etc.
2. Making for the Week: There are a few rhythms we have settled into when it comes to feeding our family.
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- I have been making sourdough bread weekly/ bi weekly since 2021 and I don’t anticipating stopping. It is such a habit now and it has saved us so much money. Not to mention the health benefits of sourdough being a fermented food and better for blood sugar regulation it really is so tasty and wonderful. I have a blog post all about the non fussy way to start sourdough if you’d like to check that out.
- Then we make a source of protein on Saturday or Sunday that I can use for lunches and that can be served for dinners early in the week. This has been so nice to have as I’m not scrambling for lunch or dinner on Monday. Most of the time we already have dinner for Monday all made that we simply need to reheat it. I’m not big on eating out so being proactive in setting up meals before hand has been huge that I’m not coming home and diving into dinner or trying to figure out what we are going to eat. My husband is able to help me out since he works from home and has a more flexible schedule.
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3. Using nap times to be creative. Both of my kids still nap it happens around the same time so utilizing nap times to do something that is creative has been a rhythm I adopted when I started my blog back in 2022. I don’t do house work when my kids are napping. I believe my kids need to see me taking care of our home so any chore that needs to get done is done while my children are there to witness it. So dishes, vacuuming, tidying up toys etc my kids see me doing and are encouraged to help in the process. I’ve also gotten in the habit of picking up as I go as in not leaving a room empty handed so I’m taking things that need to be taken from one room to the next through out my day. The sooner you realize that a magical house cleaning fairy is not going to come and clean for you, you might as well get in the habit of putting stuff away as you use them to decrease the feelings of anxiety and overwhelm that you are unable to take care of your home. You are capable of it you just might need to change a few of your habits and adjust if things aren’t working for you.
Two bonus tips that have helped in the journey of home making:
- Is understandIng how you use your home. This may be odd but if you think of the most optimized and organized your home can get, what is one thing you can do today to get it to that point? I’m big into understanding how your home is functioning for you and allowing yourself the grace to make small tweaks that make your life easier over time.
- Owning less: I recently dove into the deep end of decluttering, minimal living, and just trying to only own things that are serving and adding value to your family. If you have littles like me then you know you are spread pretty thin and if you are working outside of your home you know that you are spread even thinner. I’ve made the decision that this year is the year we minimize our home. We will be moving into a camper this summer and then eventually a 600sq ft home so at some point so there is not going to be a whole lot of extra space. I know working on minimizing now will help us in the future. So Moving and unpacking won’t be as overwhelming. And Everyone in my family will be able to help with this process.
Curious about our home story? Read this.
Want to know more about my decluttering journey? Start Here.
