Joy of Homemaking | Tips, Tricks & Tools

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” Colossians 3:23-24

Joy of Homemaking | Tips, Tricks, & Tools

Welcome to Day 4 of Blogtober, where I’m writing a post every day for the month of October. Okay, so I started a few days into the month and not right at the beginning, but we’re all about grace here, right?

Today as I worked at my most dreaded home task–vacuuming and scrubbing floors–I was thinking of the joy of homemaking. Even though the endless cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping, and organizing is sometimes tedious and feels like–okay, let’s admit it–drudgery, I receive so much satisfaction from maintaining my home.

I want to share some of the tips, tricks, and tools I’ve learned over my decades.

Homemaking Tips

1. Choose Gratitude

Sometimes as I’m mentally grumbling, I’m struck by the fact that many people would love to be in my shoes, to have a home to maintain and a family to care for. I want to be always mindful of the privilege I have to live in a safe, climate-controlled, and more-than-adequate home. And I want to always be giving thanks that I have loved ones who make it necessary for me shop, cook, launder, and clean.

2. Accept Help

If your children are still in the home, train them to assist with the household tasks. Start young! Yes, I know it requires Herculean effort in the beginning to teach a child to properly clean, fold, load a dishwasher, etc. However, soon they will actually be of assistance. And honestly, I consider this a basic duty of parenting. A young adult who doesn’t know how to properly clean a toilet or load a dishwasher is not going to be prepared for life.

When your spouse pitches in to help with housework, do not criticize his methods. If you are constantly griping, grumbling, and nagging at how your spouse loads the dishwasher, they are not going to want to do it. Let it go, ladies!

3. Evaluate Your Expectations

Many of my friends have a maid service come in to their home. It occurred to me that none of my friends have the maid come in weekly; most have a bi-weekly service. Then my friends just tidy up around the edges as needed between big cleans.

This made me stop and re-evaluate my expectations. Do the blinds need weekly dusting? Does the kitchen floor need mopping every week? Is it necessary to scrub down the shower so often?

I have severe asthma, so I do thoroughly clean the bedroom each week, including dusting blinds and ceiling fan. And I change the sheets because I love that clean sheet feeling. But I realized that the entire house does not need a thorough clean every week. I can let some things slide.

Joy of Homemaking Tricks

1. Just Do It

If the job is quick, just do it. Right now. Don’t put it off, don’t allow all those nagging little tasks add up until it’s a great big job. Throw the trash away. Carry the item back to the correct room.

For example, when I stepped into the garage earlier today, I saw the recycle bin was full and needed to be emptied into the large recycle wheelie bin outside. My inclination was to do it later, because I was ready to head out to the grocery store. But I realized I was standing in an open garage, and it would take less than a minute to just do it. So I did.

2. Make Use of Small Blocks of Time

I drink several cups of tea per day. Preparing a cup of tea takes several minutes: a few minutes to boil water in my electric kettle, and then four minutes to steep the tea. I have been surprised at how much I can accomplish while I’m making my tea!

I can empty the dishwasher or wipe down a bathroom or put in a load of laundry…or even hang up a finished load of laundry!

Favorite Homemaking Tools

Post contains affiliate links. Disclosure

Often, I stop and ponder the marvel of all the electronic maids I have at my fingertips, and wonder what my Great Grandmother would think. Dishwasher, washer and dryer, self-cleaning oven, double-pane windows that keep out much of the dust. It’s amazing, isn’t it?!

My favorite newer gadget is “Rosie”, my Shark robot vacuum. We have a very hairy Golden Retriever, so I still vacuum once a week, but Rosie helps out substantially. I highly recommend them! Here’s the one I have:

A steam mop is also a great investment. I don’t add any chemicals to the water; a few drops of lemon essential oil gives a gentle fresh scent without triggering my asthma.

As you can see, we’ve had good success with Shark products for cleaning. This vacuum cleaner has lasted longer than other brands we have previously used.

For cleaning products I have to be careful. Many cleaning products are asthma triggers for me. I keep things pretty simple with Clorox wipes, damp rags or Swiffer for dusting, and Mrs. Meyer’s products.

Joy of Homemaking Wrap Up

Homemaking is important to me. Not having a spotless showcase home, but creating a lovely and inviting space for my family and friends–and me–to feel welcome and relaxed. Our home always has a little clutter about: an art or craft project, my husband’s work computer, multiple dog toys, and books and magazines galore. To me, these things are warm and welcoming, so I’m perfectly okay with that. Nothing makes me happier than for a friend to tell me that when they enter our home they feel like curling up in a blanket and browsing the magazine pile!

I’d love to hear your homemaking tips, tricks, and tools! Please comment or send me an email and we’ll chat.

Here are links to posts you may enjoy!

How to Find Joy in the Mundane

Finding Joy in the Mundane

Faithful | Word of the Year

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