I know that it is easy to become overwhelmed with homemaking. For some it is second nature and for others it is not and they can easily get overwhelmed. I still can get overwhelmed with what is needed in a day!
While I was blessed to have a stay-at-home mom who modeled what a clean home and meals on the table looked like, I still did not have the experience of fully running home until after I was married.
When our family grew larger I knew that there were some things that were critical in running a home. Some of these tips have helped immensely:
1. HAVE A ROUTINE
Just this alone brought more order and peace into our day. It will look different for every family. For us it was getting up, eating, having Bible time, school, chores, etc. The rhythm helped us to know what to do and not waste time. I like to approach homemaking the same way–there are certain days we focus on getting laundry put away, cleaning certain rooms, washing sheets, and on it goes.
2. GO ROOM-BY-ROOM
If your house is a mess try not to get too stressed. Many rooms can be cleaned pretty quickly if they are kept up. Just go room-by-room and tackle them. I also like to assign a child a different room to be in charge of to teach them cleaning and organizational skills while I work on one or two myself. They say what can help is to set a timer for 15 minutes and attack what you can quickly. I like that–especially since most things can be done in that amount of time.
If your stuff is driving you crazy then you probably need to get rid of some of it. I feel that in our home we are constantly decluttering and getting rid of what is no longer needed. I am very visual so it helps not to have piles or things out that will distract us. Now organizing our storage spaces are a whole different issue. Somehow things keep making their way to the basement and garage–this summer I plan to attack that too and getting rid of a ton of it.
4. KEEP MEALS SIMPLE
One thing I have learned over time is not to overwhelm myself with cooking. Most healthy meals are raw vegetables and fruits so I try to add a lot of that in without extensive meal planning. Right now I am trying to do a variety of healthy salads as a main course every other night so that we get more nutrition in. No cooking is a plus! If I do cook, I mostly use my crockpot early in the day and get meals going quickly without spending too much time in the kitchen.
How do *you* keep from being overwhelmed in homemaking?
Please share in the comments!
