5 Homemaking Habits That Really Make a Difference
Are you ready to transform your homemaking experience? Today I’m sharing practical advice for everyday homemaking, drawn from my 32 years of experience. This post isn’t just about the daily chores of running a home; it’s about integrating faith and practicality to create a harmonious home life. We’ll explore 5 homemaking habits that really make a difference in your day. These homemaking habits have helped me and I know they will benefit you too.
Whether you’re a new homemaker or have been managing your home for years, these tips are straightforward and easy to incorporate into your daily routine. They’re designed to help you manage your home more efficiently, while also enriching your family life and personal spiritual growth.
So, let’s get started on this practical journey together, and see how these simple changes can bring positive transformations to your home and life.
Table of Contents
5 Homemaking Habits that Really Make a Difference
Today, let’s embark on a journey together – a journey to transform your homemaking with five key habits. These aren’t just habits; they’re life-changing practices that I’ve learned over the past three decades of being a homemaker.
Watch the Video
1. Begin Your Day with Bible Time and Prayer
Start each day by focusing on God’s Word and speaking with Him in prayer. It’s a practice that aligns your heart with His priorities and peace.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” – Matthew 6:33
Imagine starting each day with peace and clarity. I encourage you to open your Bible each morning. Find a quiet corner in your home, breathe deeply, and immerse yourself in God’s Word. Let His truth anchor your day. Then, in prayer, lay your plans and worries at His feet. Ask for guidance, patience, and the grace to handle the day’s tasks. Try this homemaking habit tomorrow morning and notice the difference in your day.
2. Dress for Success at Home
Dressing well isn’t just about appearance; it’s about preparing yourself mentally and spiritually for the day ahead, embodying the strength and dignity of a godly woman.
“She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.” – Proverbs 31:25
You might wonder, why dress up if you’re just at home? Here’s why: how you dress affects how you feel and act. Tomorrow, when you wake or after your shower, choose an outfit that makes you feel confident and comfortable. Notice how being dressed changes your approach to your tasks and interactions with your family. It’s not just about looking good; it’s about respecting yourself and the valuable role you play.
3. Create a Daily Plan
Planning your day is a way of stewarding your time wisely. When you bring your plans before God, He guides and blesses your efforts.
“Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” – Proverbs 16:3
Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by the endless tasks? Let’s tackle that. Tonight, take a moment to write down the top three things you want to achieve tomorrow. Keep it simple and achievable. A planner can be your best friend here. As you check off each task tomorrow, you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment and control over your day.
4. Cultivate a Cheerful Spirit
A positive and joyful attitude can transform the atmosphere in your home. It’s not just good for others; it’s healing for your own soul.
“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” – Proverbs 17:22
This might be challenging, especially on tough days. But remember, your mood sets the tone for your home. Tomorrow, greet your family with a smile and a positive word. When faced with frustration, take a deep breath and choose a kind response. Notice how this small change can create a ripple effect of positivity in your home.
5. Establish a Flexible Homemaking Routine
A routine provides structure and order, but remember, flexibility is key. Every season of life is different, and your routine should adapt to meet those changes.
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1
A routine shouldn’t be rigid. It should be a gentle framework that guides your day. Start with the basics: meals, cleaning, and personal time. Allocate time slots for these, but be flexible. Life is unpredictable, and that’s okay. As you follow this routine, observe how it brings order yet allows room for the unexpected.
In Conclusion
These habits are more than just about maintaining a tidy home. They are about creating a haven where family and faith can thrive. They’re about your growth as a homemaker and a woman of God. I invite you to embrace these habits, adapt them to fit your life, and watch as they transform not just your home, but your heart and spirit too.
I’d love to be part of your journey. Share your experiences and thoughts in the comments below! Your feedback inspires me and others in our community. If you’re interested in deeper discussions on specific routines, let me know!
Thank you for walking this path with me. May your homemaking be filled with joy and blessings! Don’t forget to subscribe for more insights and encouragement. Until we meet again, take care and cherish each day in your beautiful home!
Read the Video Transcript:
Today I am talking about five homemaking habits that really make a difference. My name is Melissa and I blog at avirtuouswoman.org and ahometommake.com. Today I’m talking about five homemaking habits that really make a difference, and I know that these homemaking habits make a difference because, well, basically a lot of the things that I have learned as a homemaker I’ve learned the hard way.
So these habits are things that I know really do make a difference because I have experienced the opposite of when you know I don’t do these things, how much harder life is, and having been a homemaker for over 32 years now, I really want to encourage you to think about ways that you can improve as a homemaker, you can learn new skills.
As a homemaker, it’s really important to learn to be self-disciplined so that even when you don’t feel like doing things, you get them done anyway.
Self-discipline is when you do the things that you know you need to do even when you don’t feel like it. So even if your motivation is low and you don’t feel like doing something because you have established a routine because you have learned to be self-disciplined in your homemaking, it’s a lot easier to go ahead and do those things even if you don’t feel like it.
I’ve known a lot of homemakers over the years who really struggle with time management, who struggle with procrastination, who struggle with clutter and messy spaces in their home. By cultivating good habits, you can stay on top of your responsibilities easier and you can prevent yourself from becoming overwhelmed.
Although I have to say, and I will probably talk about this in a later video, if you are feeling overwhelmed on a consistent basis and you feel like your life is out of control, you may have a problem with setting boundaries and not just self-discipline.
So we’ll talk about that because I have definitely gone through Homemaker burnout and I’ll talk about that in another video.
But today, I wanted to talk about cultivating good habits. So establishing homemaking habits that make a difference in your daily routine will improve your overall productivity.
And it’s not necessary for us as homemakers to be productive all of the time. It’s certainly okay to sit down and rest, it’s okay to take a break, it’s okay to take a day off, it’s okay to do things that you enjoy, and you need to do those things, those are things that you need to do so that you are taking care of yourself.
Those things are important. So being productive is not necessarily the goal, but the goal is to be productive in a way so that you’re managing your time, your space, your energy in a way that works for you instead of against you.
With the right steps, you can start today. Like, if you are not doing these habits already, you can start today and slowly start to transform your day at home as a homemaker. So the first thing on the list of good habits that you can cultivate as a homemaker that really do make a difference is to get up in the morning and begin your day with some Bible time and prayer.
I can’t stress enough how important prayer is for all of us, whether you’re a homemaker or not, but that prayer is really going to set your tone for the day. It’s going to give you, it’s going to get your heart right. It’s going to help you feel more patient with your children, with your husband.
You can talk to God and ask him to lead your day and to help you make sure that the things that you’re doing during the day are in line with what he would have you do. You can talk to God about whatever is on your heart, but it’s just such an important way to start the day that I highly encourage you to begin your day in the word of God and spending time in prayer.
The second habit, homemaking habit that really makes a difference, is to get up and get dressed. I have found that the key to wanting to get up and get dressed and start my day is knowing that I’m more productive if I am dressed and ready to meet the day.
If I’m up and dressed, if I feel good about my appearance, I’m going to be more productive at home. I am going to be ready to meet a guest who comes to the door unexpectedly. I’m not going to feel like I’m in a panic if I’m still in my pajamas when somebody pops in. It just really does and it just makes me feel better about myself when I look in the mirror.
For me personally, you know, if I feel like a slob, I’m more likely to be lazy, just being honest. So, you know, I don’t know how it is in your world, but when I’m still in my pajamas at 4:00 in the afternoon, I’m less likely to be productive. So getting up and getting dressed, and you know, putting a little bit of makeup on or doing my hair really does help me to feel more productive and get more done during the day.
The third homemaking habit that really makes a difference is to make a plan. When my kids were younger, I always used a planner. I kept a running list of things that I needed to do. I made lists for everything because I had so much in my head that I had to remember, and I needed a place to write it down.
I personally enjoyed using a homemaking planner and I have one available on my website. I will link that below that you can download and print for free. But whether you use a planner or just have a notebook or even a scrap piece of paper that you write a list down on, it’s important to make a plan. You can do this the night before if that works best for you.
I have done it both ways, you know, write my list in the morning, write my list in the evening. Having a list of even just a few things that I want to prioritize and get done during the day really does help me to be more productive.
And now that my children are grown, and I’ve had a few weeks to adjust, when our grandchildren left a few weeks ago, I really became an empty nester here. I’ve had to kind of figure out what I wanted my days to look like, but having a list and knowing what things I want to get done during the day really is beneficial because it gives me purpose. And as a homemaker, sometimes it can feel like you’re just doing the same thing every single day.
Maybe you don’t feel like what you do really matters, but it does. And having a reason to get up in the morning, knowing what you want to do in the morning when you wake up, for instance, like waking up early, it’s harder to get up in the morning if you don’t have a plan of what you’re going to do during those early morning hours. It really does help to have a list of things or at least some sort of plan of what you want to do during that time.
Number four is maintaining a cheerful spirit, and this is something that I’m so passionate about. I’ve talked about this many times before. My mom was always the most cheerful, pleasant person. She was such a wonderful homemaker and she really taught me the importance of being cheerful for my family. A positive attitude not only uplifts your own mood but also creates a welcoming atmosphere in your home.
Choosing to greet your family with a smile, being patient if someone in your family is grumpy and not snapping back, and just sharing happiness and joy, waking your family up with a cheerful attitude and a smile, it just really sets the tone for the day. It makes your day so much better, it makes your family members’ day so much better.
There’s just nothing better than coming home and being around someone who is cheerful. Your joy can be infectious and it can light up your household. I really want to encourage you to consider your attitude. I’m not saying that you have to be happy all of the time, but I am suggesting that even if things haven’t gone your way or if you’re having kind of a rough day, you can still maintain joy, you can still maintain a cheerful and pleasant attitude. You don’t have to be grumpy, you don’t have to be snappy, you don’t have to yell, you don’t have to just take out your frustrations on those around you.
It’s okay to feel emotions, but it’s not okay to hurt people. So, I really want to encourage you to think about your tone of voice, to think about the way you speak to your family, and if there’s room for improvement, work on it.
Okay, Mar, go on, go lay down. Here, you lay down. Come on, up, up. Okay, lay down. Come on. Okay, and number five is to create a homemaking routine. This looks different for different people and that’s okay. My homemaking routine when my kids were growing up and honestly, it has changed over the years.
When my five children were at home, we homeschooled, everyone had their chores that they had to do on a daily basis, but Sunday was really our major home cleaning day. We would everybody would pitch in, everybody would have their assigned zones, their assigned drawers, and everybody had their thing that they had to do before they got to have fun on Sundays. We go to church on Saturday, so Sunday was kind of like my catch-up day at home. But tackling the same chores at the same time each day or the same day of the week can really help you manage your tasks and prevent you from feeling overwhelmed.
Staying on top of your daily chores , staying on top of your weekly chores, doing things before they get really bad, like just doing things when they need to be done instead of waiting until it’s a disaster, is so helpful. And believe me, I know this from experience. There have been way too many times over the years when my house has just felt completely overwhelming, and I have another video talking about how to clean your house when you feel overwhelmed by the mess.
I think that as homemakers, we grow in our homemaking as long as we are striving to do better and striving to improve our systems and striving to improve our routines. You’re going to improve as a homemaker. Things will get easier. There will be hard days, but not every day is a hard day, and over time, it gets easier. It really does get easier.
Okay, so let’s recap the five homemaking habits that really make a difference. Number one was to read your Bible and pray first thing in the morning. Number two was to get dressed. Number three was to make a plan. Number four was to have a cheerful attitude. And number five was to establish homemaking routines.
I will be talking about homemaking routines and different types of routines that you can have in your homemaking, how to choose a good routine, coming up. If you want to let me know which video you would be most interested in, I’ll leave a few ideas in the description below, and you can tell me which video on routines you would like to hear or watch next.
So, I would love to hear your opinion and thoughts about that. So, that’s all for today’s video. I hope that you have a wonderful day, and I hope you’re blessed in your homemaking. Be sure to leave a comment below and hit subscribe if you haven’t already, and I will see you in the next video.