My Honest Thoughts About Homemaking After 10 Years

It seems that homemaking has been a hot topic on social media for quite some time now, and I have a few thoughts on it myself. If you scroll through the trending homemaking content, you will see a lot of flowy dresses, homemade loaves of bread, and perfectly curated homes. Homemaking flavors range from homesteading and homeschooling to cozy homes and perfect morning routines. Every home and homemaker has their own unique flair, and I think this is a beautiful thing to behold. As we say in the South, there is more than one way to skin a cat. Homemaking is certainly a full-time job with lots of misconceptions.

Taking care of your home and family is honorable and hard work. I get so tickled, and a little annoyed, when I hear someone say (or comment on social media) that it "must be nice" to sit at home all the time and do whatever you want. Is the sitting around with ultimate time freedom in the room with us? Cleaning, cooking, raising children, schooling, working (from home or otherwise), shopping for groceries, chauffeuring kids around, and all of the thousand other things a homemaker does are hard work. You can love being a homemaker and also admit that it is super tiring (because it is)!

It is a big job, and an even bigger blessing, so I want to share my thoughts as someone who has been a homemaker for over a decade.

1. Homemaking is not easy, nor is it always glamorous! It is fun to create a cozy and welcoming home, but it takes a ton of hard work. The work is completely important and worthwhile, but house management is very taxing. Did you know that the average paid house manager makes between $50,000 and $150,000 annually? The cleaning, endless dishes, and million-item to-do list can be daunting, but so is any job! As the old saying goes, nothing worth having is easy!

2. Homemaking can be mundane. Homemakers do a lot of repetitive things every single day, week, and month. Just like any other job in this world, it can get mundane, and you can get burnt out from it all. These are the times when your discipline and gratitude muscles really get exercised. You can love homemaking and admit that it is hard, really. I promise two things can be true.  

3. A homemaker's value and earnings may not be in monetary gain, but sowing seeds via caring for your home and family reaps great benefits. I have struggled a lot with feeling guilty about not bringing in income, as many homemakers do. However, I am so grateful my husband works hard to provide for our family so that I can be home with our kids. A husbands work is valuable and so is a wife's.

4. To create a safe, happy, and restorative place for your family to land is a beautiful thing. Although it might not look perfect like June Cleaver dressed to the nines before breakfast or the cover of Southern Living Magazine, it is something special to build your own family culture with your own hands. The Bible says that the wisest of women builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her hands. What you're building within the walls of your home matters far more than you can even imagine.

5. Homemaking is both an art and ever-changing. No two homes look or function the same way, and that is what makes it a unique work of art. It is ever-changing as seasons change, children grow, and your family's needs stretch and shift. You might not fit into one particular homeschool mom mold and family, and that is okay. I am not a homesteading/make-everything-from-scratch kind of homemaker, but many are and love that lifestyle, and I am happy for them! My version of homemaking looks different than other homemakers, and yours probably does too! Embrace your unique flair and stop trying to fit into others' molds-we are not robots! ;)

6. It's my job to take care of my family first and then everything else in my life second. When I am not taking care of my home or children, I am writing, and I love it. Writing is something God has called me to do, and I have big dreams for my own brand and writing career. However, it is not more important to me than my family. Our homes and families need us to prioritize and invest in them so they can thrive, and what a great responsibility that is!

7. I both want AND feel called to be home with my children. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about how it is my job to teach my children about Jesus or how thankful I am to be with them at home. It is our job as Christian parents to teach our children about Jesus every day, even if we are not homemakers. What a gift!

I hope you enjoyed my thoughts on homemaking! Feel free to share this article with a friend.