When I see “homemaking content” on social media I very much notice a trend. Married women with lots of children, usually wearing aprons and flowery dresses, cooking and tending to chickens. Don’t get me wrong I love this homemaking aesthetic–minus the chickens–, but this social media view is only a very narrow look at what homemaking actually is, so I want to tell you why I think homemaking is for everyone.
The Mindset
I believe that everyone can benefit from a little bit of homemaking, whether you live on a farm or in an apartment downtown. Beyond the children and the sourdough bread, homemaking requires a mindset shift. I consider myself a homemaker, and before I had my first baby I was doing, what i thought was, a pretty good job at it. Dinner was homemade (most) nights. The laundry was getting done regularly. The floors were swept and vacuumed. And then I had my son, and if you’ve also had a baby you will know that everything else has to take a backseat.
Fast forward a few months and I was slowly starting to get back into the whole homemaking thing. Unfortunately it was much harder than I remembered. Was the laundry getting done? Yes. Was I overwhelmed and frustrated? Also yes. This is when I realized that doing everything because I felt like I had to was actually just housekeeping. After this realization, I shifted my mind set; and shockingly, my house was still getting clean, but my family was being loved and cared for better because I was prioritizing them and myself more. This is the first reason why I think homemaking is for everyone. Your mental health and the people around you will benefit from the intentionality that is required for homemaking.
The Environment
After I had the lightbulb moment I didn’t start neglecting my house in favour of my mental health. There’s still dusting to do and mouths to feed, and I’m still doing those things. But shockingly I’m doing better and in some cases doing more than I was before. This is because I also started to treat my house with intentionality. I had an idea of the kind of home I wanted to have, and I slowly started to build that. I started collecting little decor items that I thought were beautiful and got rid of the things that I didn’t. I also started to implement what I like to call my rhythms (More on that another time) to help manage the housework, especially when I’m tired or not feeling well or just have other priorities. This is the second reason I think anyone can benefit from a little homemaking. Having an environment that you think is beautiful and you are comfortable in is something that everyone deserves.
Conclusion
Homemaking doesn’t have to be stressful and pristine and have an aesthetic that you don’t like– or any aesthetic at all. It is just the making of a home, the place that you spend the most time, and that is why I think homemaking is for everyone. And if you think that homemaking is for you but you’re not sure how to make it work with a busy schedule, stick around as I share with you my practical homemaking tips to make your house into a home.