Practical Homemaking Tips for the New and Experienced Homemaker

For some women, staying at home sounds like a dream. To others, it’s their worst nightmare. As a homemaker myself, I side with the former. I absolutely love being a homemaker, but if I’m honest, it has not been easy. I’m sort of writing this post for me as much as others, but if you are a new(er) homemaker, I’m sure you can relate. My husband and I have only been married for about seven months. During that time, I moved from Pennsylvania to Kansas and then only lived in Kansas from March until June. We moved to a new duty station and were in an Airbnb for about a month before finally moving into our home at the end of July. Essentially, I’ve only had two actual months of learning to be a homemaker. I’m not sure about you, but I love reading homemaking tips because I want to learn as much as possible!

I fell into homemaking, as I know other women have. Homemaking was never the “career” I sought for myself, mostly because I was never told homemaking was an option. However, through divine intervention, the Holy Spirit put it on my heart to have the desire to stay home. While I never desired to become a “career woman” or “boss babe,” I never thought I’d want to stay home. But here I am, more than a year later, embarking on my homemaking journey! I’m in a unique place because we don’t yet have children. However, it’s a blessing to start my homemaking journey before we have children so I’ll have some routines and systems in place once that eventually happens.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you.

Who is a homemaker?

Homemakers are usually thought of as women who stay at home full-time with children. However, if you have a place to live and you take care of it, you are a homemaker! This includes women who work full-time and women who don’t have children. Whether you had a great example of a homemaker growing up, you can be a great homemaker in your own home. You don’t have to stay home full-time with a brood of little ones. And you also don’t have to wear an apron or practice animal husbandry to be a homemaker. Anyone can be a homemaker! One of my favorite books I recently read is Domestic Extremist by Peachy Keenan. What I love about her book is she is not a homesteader and jokes about barely keeping her sanity as a homemaker. But the beauty is that she still chose to become one.

Can anyone become a homemaker?

The short answer is yes! Not everyone can or wants to stay home, but if it’s something you desire, I encourage you to talk with your husband about ways you can make it happen. Trust me, it’s possible for just about anyone. Yes, it means making sacrifices, but it’s worth it, in my opinion. Even if you don’t want to stay home full-time though, I think just about anyone who keeps a home can learn something from these homemaking tips. Even though I am a new homemaker, I think it’s important to share what I’m learning along my journey. I can’t wait for you to join me as I share some practical homemaking tips.

Homemaking Tips for Any Homemaker

Understand it will all take time.

Are you an impatient perfectionist like me? Check if you:

• Want things done right now.
• Want things done right now perfectly.
• Get frustrated when plans don’t go your way.
• Think that you should get everything right the first time.

I know you’ve been there at some point. It’s taken me a while to understand that finding my place as a homemaker is taking more time than I thought it would take. Of all the homemaking tips, this one is first on the list because it hits home the hardest. I want to be the wife with the perfectly clean house who has dinner ready as soon as my husband gets home. I wish this would happen every day. However…

My routine gets thrown out of whack.

I start dinner later than I anticipated.

An appointment went late so I only get back with enough time to hop on for work.

I slept in late because my body needed the rest.

I met up with a friend so I didn’t clean the area I planned to.

Life happens and you can’t always anticipate when things will go awry. However, you can understand that it’s going to take time if you are a new homemaker. The beauty is that it’s perfectly ok to figure things out as you go.

Think of homemaking of a lifelong career.

The next of the homemaking tips might be challenging. The more you think of homemaking as a career, I think the better off you’ll be. But, if you’re home all day and you don’t report to anyone else, why would you think of it as a career or job? I’ll tell you why. A job includes responsibility, accountability, and completing tasks. If, as a homemaker, you are not responsible or accountable and you don’t complete any tasks, your home will fall apart.

As a homemaker, you are your own boss and you are accountable to your family. Nobody wants to come home to a house that’s dirty and unkempt. That’s not to say it needs to be spotless, but it’s important to have a home that’s tidy and in order. That will look different for every family, but if you are a full-time homemaker, you should be prioritizing making your home cleanly, at least during certain parts of the day. If you’re unsure where to start, grab a copy of Habits for a Sacred Home to find some inspiration.

Don’t box yourself into a strict schedule or regiment.

I am not a “scheduled” person. For me, there is a time and place where schedules work, like block scheduling. I’ve tried the hour-by-hour schedule and it just doesn’t work for me. I feel restricted and I become anxious, especially if I don’t complete a task on time. If you’re similar, let’s be friends! For some women, relying on a regimented schedule works great, but I’m giving you permission to pitch it if it doesn’t work for you. I do love organization and planning, and for that I use a Day Designer planner. I’ve preached how amazing this planner is in multiple blog posts. It’s the only planner I’ll ever use. You can be as detailed as you like, or you can keep it simple. Either way, it’s a great option whether you like schedules or not.

RELATED: Ways to Have Peaceful Summer to Fall Transition

Focus on building routines and rhythms.

If you don’t like schedules, shift to a routine mindset. This is one of my favorite homemaking tips. As I hit my 20s and tried to figure out my own style as a keeper of the home, I thought living by a schedule was the only way to live. I’m so happy to tell you this isn’t so! Since entering my 30s, I’ve shifted to living off of routines and rhythms. Except when I’m time blocking or have set appointments, it’s rare that I actually schedule tasks at specific times.

It’s taken a while to figure this out, but here’s an example: My husband wakes up at 6:00 AM and heads off to PT (physical training) until 7:30-8:00. If I’m not already out of bed, I get out of bed once he leaves and that’s my time to do housework. It works SO well for me because I’m most productive in the morning and I don’t like to clean, so this gets the most annoying tasks out of the way. During the 6:30-7:30/8:00 time period, here’s a sample of what you can find me doing throughout the week:

Before my husband leaves for work, I also like to stay off devices as much as possible. It gives my brain a break and allows me to stay focused. Getting my daily cleaning task done is like a carrot for me getting to do computer work. Usually once my husband leaves, that’s when I exercise. I do blog/website work around lunchtime and then I currently work from 1-3 PM as a virtual office assistant. I cook dinner on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings. Once work is over, this is my cue to begin cooking dinner.

If you like the idea of having routines but hate the idea of a strict schedule, check out this undated planner. It’s great if you don’t plan every single day!

REALTED: Ideas for a Cozy Fall Morning Routine

Find community and friendships.

Being home all day can be quite lonely sometimes, especially for those of us who are extroverts. Fear not, though! I’m happy to tell you, the next of the homemaking tips will help you avoid this. If you’re living in an area that’s familiar, this might be easier because you already have somewhat of a community. However, my husband is in the Army, so we just moved to a new location. We came to Colorado Springs not knowing anyone at the beginning of July, but I can now say I have multiple friends and am building a strong community at church.

It can be scary to step out of your comfort zone and meet new people. Even the extroverts can sometimes find this challenging. But you can make it happen! Even though I like liver a lower-tech lifestyle, technology has become so beneficial in helping me meet new people. The Internet helped us find our church and I’ve met so many friends through the Bumble BFF app. Here are some ideas to help you meet new people:

• Join Bumble BFF
• Find a home church and plant deep roots there
• Say hello to neighbors when they are outside
• Join Meet Up to find gatherings in your area
• Find an online forum for people in your location
• Talk to random strangers at places you frequent
• Find meet-ups specifically for moms
• Join your military base’s spouses’ club or Family Readiness Group

Take time to discover yourself as a wife and homemaker.

This is definitely one of the most important homemaking tips on this list. If you are a young homemaker (i.e., early or mid-20s) though, you may not have had much time to discover who you are. I don’t mean this in a woo-woo way like you see in Eat, Pray, Love. Even though you might be married, you still need to figure out YOU. Christ designed us as individuals with unique needs and interests. It’s important to tap into those. The more you can figure out yourself, I think the more content you will be as a homemaker.

As a Christian, I foremost have to identify who I am in Christ and then the rest trickles down from there. The Daily Grace Co. has a great devotional to help you embrace your identity in Christ. Once you begin to figure yourself – your interests, desires, and unique rhythms, you will better to be able to figure out yourself as a homemaker. You’ll begin to decide things like:

• Cleaning in the morning, afternoon, or evening
• Laundry every day vs. once per week
• If you want a part-time job
• If you’re satisfied being at home all day or if you need to get out of the house
• Which days you most enjoy cooking
• What day is best for you to run errands and shop for groceries
• If you like a quiet house or if you’ve got to have some noise in the background

To-do lists will be your best friend.

Ok, I really need to make my own advice on this next set of homemaking tips. I LOVE to-do lists. My Day Designer planner even has a spot every day for creating a to-do list. But friends, I am so inconsistent with creating them! I’ve found myself in a place of winging it, where I complete tasks throughout the day as I deem necessary. According to Indeed, the benefits of implementing a daily to-do list include increased productivity, reduces stress, provides motivation, reduces anxiety, and provides a sense of accomplishment. Creating a to-do list also helps to keep you organized and focused on the most important tasks you need to complete for the day. If using a planner isn’t your thing, grab this spiral-bound to-do list notebook!

Use a planner to help create your day and week.

I may be beating a dead horse at this point, but I can’t stress how important planners are. Even though I tend to be more laidback and Type B, I love using a planner. There are so many planners out there and you can definitely find one to fit your style. Most people will fall into two categories of planners they like: dated and undated. There are arguments for both, but I personally like a dated planner, simply because I like having the dates already filled in! The more specific, the better for me. I like a planner that has a monthly calendar and also one that has each day broken down. That’s why I love my Day Designer planner. You might want something a little less detailed and that’s ok! Maybe you only want one for monthly appointments or maybe you want a time block planner. No matter your preferences, there is a planner out there for you! Check out some of these great options below.

Clean, but don’t over-clean.

Are you a lover of cleaning or a despiser of cleaning? I’m somewhere in the middle. I don’t necessarily enjoy cleaning but I like having a clean house. In the next of these homemaking tips, let’s talking about how to be fair with cleaning. Just because you are a full-time homemaker does not mean you need to follow a 1950s housewife cleaning routine, especially if you have children! If you love to clean, go for it, but if I could snap my fingers and turn my house spotless, I would. To me, cleaning is a necessary evil because I don’t want to live in filth.

This is where having a routine becomes really useful. Sometimes I make a cleaning list, but because of my routine, I usually don’t. I know what needs to get done each day of the week and I regularly do it. My suggestion is to complete one bigger task each day and to not spend more than 30 minutes cleaning. What that looks like for me is focusing on things room-by-room. Generally speaking, I don’t spend time on a lot of tiny tasks like washing windows or cleaning the baseboards. I consider those “as-needed” and get to them when I feel it’s necessary.

It took me a while to figure out a rhythm that works for me. I knew copying someone else would only be so effective. I based my own routine off of this amazing cleaning routine from Katie’s Kottage. It is such a life saver! The best decision you can make is to figure out how clean your house must be in order for you to stay sane. What does this honestly and reasonably look like for you? Maybe you work full-time and can only dedicate 15 minutes per day or can only clean on the weekends. Maybe you are able to outsource your less desirable cleaning tasks each month to another person. Either way, you’ve got to find what works best for you. Only then will cleaning seem more enjoyable.

Create set nights for cooking dinner.

I LOVE to cook so this is one of my favorite homemaking tips. My incredible husband actually helped create this one. Once we got married and began to figure out a routine, decided cooking every night was not an option. Instead, we opted to cook on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday or Saturday each week. Not only does it let me off the hook a few days during the week, but it keeps us organized each week for planning purposes. We start by picking the proteins we plan to eat and then build out from there. I’m a very seasonal cook and love to flow with the flavors and produce of each season. Now that we’re in autumn, the meals I make are much heartier and comforting. Check out some of my favorite meal planners below.

Declutter regularly.

When I lived on my own, decluttering didn’t happen too often. But now that I’m married and live with another person, I have to keep in mind that he doesn’t like clutter. It’s forced me to take inventory of our spaces throughout the day and make sure I’m keeping up with them. No one wants to come home to a mess. We feel better when a space is clean and organized (within reason, of course). No one is saying every inch of your house has to be spotless. You have a personality and most likely don’t want your home to look like a museum or model house. The quirks and unique touches are what make it your home. But, I recommend taking some time throughout the day to pick things up. Here are some easy ways to declutter throughout the day:

• Put shoes in a specific place
• Fold blankets and straighten up pillows
• Keep your kitchen table and counters cleared off
• Put dishes away regularly
• Make your bed
• Fold and put away laundry soon after it’s dried
• Store small items in hidden but organized places

Discover your organization personality.

Recently, I discovered about the Four Organizing Styles from Clutterbug. I took the quiz and I was floored! The four types are Bee, Cricket, Ladybug, and Butterfly. I found out I am a ladybug. I’m someone who does not like surface clutter and I like hidden storage for items. My downfall is that when I get stressed, I either give up or just shove things in places. I prefer quick and easy organizing systems that don’t require me to organize every item. I just want to put it in a bin, close the drawer, and go! Finding this out was so encouraging because it gave me the “why” behind my decisions when it comes to cleaning and organizing. I suggest you also take the quiz to find out your own organizing style. It’s free! It will give you some great tips for how you can better organize your home.

Get dressed every day.

Next in the list of homemaking tips is to get dressed every day. It’s REALLY easy to spend all day in athletic clothes or yoga pants. They are comfy and easy. However, I challenge you to get dressed. Maybe it feels like too much to get dressed every day. No worries! Start small. Maybe that’s getting dressed once or twice a week or putting on jeans and a blouse instead of athletics. Even if you don’t plan to go anywhere, getting dressed gives you a sense of purpose for the day. I almost always feel better and more productive when I wear actual clothes instead of athletic clothes. Athletic dresses are really in right now and are a great way to still feel comfy while feeling dressed up. Check out some of these great clothing options.

• Desol Athletic Dress
• Casual polka dot dress
• T-shirt dress with pockets
• Long-sleeve crew neck fall dress
• Short sleeve lace top
• Floral print smock long-sleeve top

Build your day around the biggest or most important tasks.

All of these homemaking tips sort of build on one another, if you haven’t caught on to that. When you work with all of them together, things go smoother. That’s why this tip is on the list. When you plan your day around bigger tasks, things kind of just fall into place. At the top of my list is weekly appointments. I put them in my planner and on my daily calendar that’s in my planner. From there, I build out my day. If I know an appointment will run into my exercise time, I have to shift things around. If I know we have to push dinner a day to the right or left, it allows me to work around that and still get tasks done.

In my opinion, it’s easier to start with the bigger picture and work down to the smaller details. This is where creating a priority list can be useful. A priority list can look anyway you want it to, but it’s important to determine your top priorities. For me, it’s making sure I get housework done and I exercise at least four days a week. Your life is different than mine so it will look different for you. Start with what’s most important make sure that that gets planned into your week. From there, you can begin to work in the smaller or less important tasks.

Find time to enjoy yourself.

I saved the best of the homemaking tips for last! Even though you may look at homemaking as your job/career, you still need time for fun and enjoyment. I try to sprinkle this in every day in some way. On days that I cook dinner, I turn on Gilmore Girls. When I clean, I listen to a podcast and when doing my kitchen deep cleans, I watch fun vlogs on YouTube. Fridays are usually saved as my “fun” day where I take myself somewhere I enjoy and go grab a coffee or buy a new book. Even just getting out of the house for a drive has a big, positive impact on my day. You don’t have to spend a lot of money (or any at all!) to do things that bring you joy.

There are a multitude of ways you can find enjoyment in the mundane. Romanticizing an ordinary life has become increasingly popular and it’s also a great way to find enjoyment. Here are some other ways to treat yourself.

• Go to the library
• Treat yourself to a coffee at a local café
• Go out for breakfast
• Meet up with a friend for a walk
• Visit a local park
• Get a spa treatment
• Buy a new outfit
• Visit a local produce stand
• Watch a fun video or show while cooking or cleaning
• Take a yoga class
• Make a special treat or baked good
• Buy a bouquet of flowers
• Take a cooking class
• Head to the movies
• Take a drive with no plan
• Make pizza – homemade or frozen!
• Put on your favorite playlist or an interest podcast
• Check out a local museum

RELATED: How to Host the Ultimate Gilmore Girls Fall Party

I hope these homemaking tips not only inspire you, but also give you encourage, especially if you are feeling unsure of yourself or down about being at home. Homemaking is such a beautiful career and is a high calling from the Lord. The more you can implement some of these homemaking tips, I think the better time you’ll have while figuring out your own homemaking journey. Until next time, Kayla.