Today we begin the first annual LWD Homemaking Week! As I’m sure you know by now, homemaking is something I’m passionate about. And in these uncertain times I believe it’s even more important than ever that we make our homes true sanctuaries.
Home…the word speaks volumes. Comfort, belonging, protection, security, family and so much more. Homemaking, the act of making a house into a true home and all that entails, is a subject near and dear to my heart. From the time I was a tiny little girl I was a born homemaker. I had my own bedroom which I turned into a private sanctuary. Whenever I “played house” with my cousin at our grandparents’ house I would turn “my” corner of the den behind Grandpa’s chair into a house for me and my dolls. On vacations I always claimed a little space as my own nest.
This post may contain affiliate links and as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Read more here.
Homemaking Week
Of course, it was all so much easier in those days. Homemaking became much more complicated and labor intensive after marriage and a couple of children came along. Real babies and toddlers don’t stay put like baby dolls. Putting meals on the table three times a day, seven days a week is vastly different than “cooking” on the pretend stove I made out of a cardboard box. Keeping an entire house clean takes a lot more time and energy than just putting away one’s toys and making the bed.
I spent my childhood looking forward to having my very own home to take care of and truly thought I would ace that homemaking thing.
As a young bride of not-quite-nineteen I began my homemaking career in a tiny, one-bedroom apartment. We started out with almost nothing so cleaning took almost no time at all.
One summer during high school my mom hired me to shop for and cook dinner for the family. For the most part I had the cooking thing relatively under control.
Yet I discovered a couple of flaws in my homemaking “systems”.
First of all, despite having done my own laundry as a teenager I didn’t have any sort of system for completing it. I’ll share more about how laundry became the most challenging part of homemaking for me and how I finally solved the issue in an upcoming post about creating a laundry system. But suffice it to say it was a huge issue.
The other issue didn’t really come to light until we moved into our first house – an older home with the least efficient kitchen ever. The sink, original to the house, was a single compartment basin with two separate faucets for hot and cold water. Dishwashing was a challenge and on way too many occasions I would stick the dirty pans in the oven to deal with “later”. I was pregnant with my first and let’s just say morning sickness and dirty pans left in the oven too long is not a good combination.
I’ve now been keeping house for close to four decades. I’ve lived in a tiny apartment, an old house with few modern conveniences, a new mobile home, a 1930s cottage I adored, and our current home in the country where we’ve now lived for over 22 years. I’ve been a new bride, a mom of babies/toddlers/preschoolers, a full-time nursing school student, a part-time nurse, a full-time hospice nurse, a homeschool mom for almost a decade and a stay-at-home-wife the past 15 years. Each stage of life had its own particular challenges.
This week here on Life With Dee we are going to explore several aspects of homemaking. This will kick off an ongoing series – Homemaking 101. In the days and weeks ahead we are going to really dig in and learn how to create homes that nurture and nourish our families and ourselves. We’ll cover the basics of cleaning, cooking and laundry but we’ll go much deeper than that. For homemaking is so much more than how to get out stains or how to make a white sauce.
In its truest sense, homemaking is about creating a home life that you and your family love.
This week we will start with a few basics:
- Creating a Homemaking Binder/Notebook
- Creating a Cleaning Schedule That Works For You
- Setting Up a Laundry System
- Menu Planning: Why and How?
- The Daily Three: Stay on Top of Housework With Three Daily Tasks
If you are new to homemaking or just don’t feel you have a good grasp of the basics, these first few posts will provide a good start.
If you’ve been homemaking forever and have these basics down pat, I’d like to ask a favor. Do a quick skim of these posts and then pop into the comment section to add your expertise to the conversation. I’d love to provide a place where new homemakers can ask questions and learn from those with more experience.
Another place for homemaking advice, recommendations and encouragement is the Facebook group my daughter and I administer together:
It’s a very inclusive group and we strive to be welcoming to all homemakers.
You may also enjoy:
Though I don’t have nearly as many years experience with this kind of thing as you, I have been a homemaker for more than 20 years, and was good enough at it as a pre-teen to earn a badge for homemaking in Girl Guides (got one for being a hostess, one for childcare, and one for first aid too, among others). But I firmly believe you never stop learning, so look forward to reading your posts, and learning a few things along the way.
Even after all these years I’m still working on improving my homemaking systems. 🙂
I have always had a homemakers heart, although I grew up with a mother who didn’t. I used to rearrange my room while I was growing up and I would clean out the kitchen cabinets to organize them as well. I am now 32 with 3 little boys that I homeschool and another one on the way. I’ve already started a weekly meal plan and designated a day for deep cleaning, although I try to keep up with it before I have to catch up. I grew up in a small town but we now live in the country on a little farm and I can’t think of a better place to be. I love reading all your emails and posts. I feel that there is always room for improvement so I love to read other people’s ideas. Thank you for all the help and encouragement. ?
I used to rearrange my room all the time, too! Did you know that I homeschooled my kids? Sounds like we have a lot in common. Enjoy those little boys!
I did see that you talked about homeschooling somewhere. It is so nice to find someone relatable with common interests. You seem like a really awesome lady!
What a sweet thing to say. Thank you. 🙂