Seven Tips for the New Homemaker
In this post I’m sharing the hard lessons I had to learn as a new homemaker over ten years ago. I got married young, with just enough experience to help us get along. We moved away from family for an educational opportunity and so we were on our own, trying to build a community and figure out how to married all at once. I want to be a Titus 2 woman to help YOU, who are coming along behind me. So let’s dig in.
I do place these things in an order of importance. You may disagree with me on some points. But my hope is that you will read on with a open heart and be encouraged!
1. Time Management
If you don’t master your time, it will become your master. This is so important, and yet the most difficult to get a handle on! Managing your time is a matter of self-discipline, which is why we must not work according to our feelings. If I listened to how I felt at any given time throughout my homemaking career, (and trust me, there have been days…) I would rarely accomplish anything. This was indeed a struggle for me as a new homemaker.
Because in life we go through seasons and things change or shift in life, this is often something I come back to and tweak. Your day to day as a homemaker is going to look different when you work a job, or have a child, or when your calendar is fuller. What has helped me a lot is not a strict schedule but more of a rhythmic flow to our day.
For example, when I get up in the morning I immediately move to making breakfast, which flows into starting the children on their chores (clearing the breakfast dishes, unloading the dishwasher, putting away the silverware, etc.). When chores are complete they know they can have a bit a free time while I throw in a load of laundry and get the school books prepped.
In addition to a rhythm for our days, I am very intentional to keep an eye on our calendar. Once a week, usually Sundays, I park myself with my planner and “schedule” tasks I know I have coming up. Whether it’s homeschool co-op or a church event, I track it and decide in advance how I can simplify meals. Crockpots are my secret weapon!
But before I get too far, this leads into my second point.
2. The Value of a Routine for Cleaning and Meals
When planning my week, after I sort through what’s already on the calendar I begin to fit in the regular cleaning plus the meals we will need.
Cleaning a little bit every day (or scheduling one day for a bit more, if we’re absent much of the week), is the way I stay ahead. I used the book Every Home a Foundation by Phylicia Masonheimer (highly recommend!) to develop our own customized routine for tackling parts of the house all week.
There are also plenty of things that just have to be done every day. Dishes. Laundry. General tidying.
Quick side note: how do two adults make so much mess? I never got it.
Each night that I’m able, I “close” the kitchen. I don’t know about you, but I feel a lot better when I wake up to a clean kitchen and floor in our main room. Just the habit of starting the dishwasher, emptying the sink of anything else, wiping counters, etc. signals to my body that I can actually rest now.
Do I always feel like doing dishes at the end of the day? Never. But I’m always grateful that I did. So, as you make your own plans and decide your own rhythms, be a blessing to your future self.
3. To the New Homemaker: Look for Dirt When Cleaning.
Let’s step back and talk about cleaning some more. I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t taught how to deep clean. Or how to thoroughly spring clean each year.
Over the last ten years I still haven’t arrived, but I’ve come a long way. What has worked for me may not work for you, so adapt and adjust as needed. Here’s what I do: focused cleaning on one part of the house every day, taking Sunday off. Is it always done perfectly? No. Am I deep cleaning every single week? Also no. However, it makes a big difference just to reset a space or room each day.
Pro tip: set a timer for 15 min and see how much deep cleaning you can get done. Maybe it won’t be as thorough your first few times, but once the space is deep cleaned, it’s a lot easier to maintain!
When faced with a limited amount of time to clean, I chose to look for dirt as I work through my mental list of tasks. For example, when cleaning the bathroom sink, I look around the counter and even the wall just above for dirt. Wipe it all at the same time. Oh, there’s a cobweb in one corner? Better just grab the dust rag and do them all.
It doesn’t actually take a lot of time. But our brains will resist anyway. This brings us to my next point.
4. Value of Myself
There is a time to work and a time to rest. No one was created to work seven days a week, though I acknowledge that many do out of necessity. My point isn’t that these people shouldn’t work seven days a week, but that we were not made to. As a new homemaker, it’s easy to fall into the trap of staying so busy you’re barely treading water.
When I became a mom, I quickly realized the weight of being “on duty” 24/7. It’s fulfilling to be a mother, but also exhausting those first few years. You cannot forget to care for yourself in these years. So my solution?
I put the breaks on all house tasks for one day a week. Minimal cooking. No dishes, no laundry, no cleaning of any kind. For myself, it’s a necessary boundary. I also really enjoy hand embroidery as a hobby to unwind at the end of the day.
I work harder six days a week in order to rest one. I’m still a mom on that “day off” but I can be fully present to rest, and that’s worth it to me. So when my brain is fighting the idea of going the extra mile, I remind myself rest is coming. And realistically it won’t take that long.
5. Cooking From Scratch
In this section I want to pass on some specific tips that I’ve learned along the way concerning cooking from scratch. Don’t be intimidated by this, new homemaker.
Tip 1, serve leftovers for lunch. Some people don’t like leftovers, and some leftovers don’t reheat well! This is a learn-from-experience thing. I aim to cook meals that will reheat well for lunch the next day. I’m all for cooking less!
Tip 2, prep breakfast the night before. I am a woman with a plan who has learned (painfully) to be flexible. I plan out my breakfasts for the week on Sunday alongside our menu for the evening. It isn’t a rigid plan, I will flip flop stuff around if necessary.
Tip 3, think ahead, plan ahead. Recently, I had a lunch to put together. I could have stopped with lunch and everyone would have been grateful. But, I had time (and an abundance of butter) so I threw together a batch of cookie dough for a mid-afternoon snack. A little forethought goes a long way when it comes to cooking from scratch!
Tip 4, cook double, freeze extra. I have made a habit to make extra food when I can and freeze it. This could be cookies, it could be supper, it could be a breakfast food. Doesn’t matter. If you’re into pressure canning, then canning some meat or meals in a jar is another great way to save your future self.
Below I’m going to list our pantry essentials, which I’m sure is by no means comprehensive. It’s more than likely I will have forgotten something!
6. Establishing a Pantry as a new homemaker
Keeping a stocked pantry is key to a packed schedule. Many of the newly married, new homemaker that I know are working outside of the home.
A pantry full of the essentials is ready to go when you need to throw something together. Flour, sugar, baking soda or powder, salt, these things can produce a last minute cake, blondie brownies, or cookies. As a family of seven, we’re at a stage where we buy most of these in bulk to save money.
So, here’s my non-comprehensive list:
- flour
- sugar
- salt
- baking powder
- baking soda
- cocoa powder
- spices (whatever you reach for on a regular basis!)
- old fashioned oats
- popcorn
- beans
- coffee
7. Live within your means
More often than not, younger married couples go through a season of limited finances. This was true for us!
During periods of time when funds were tight, I learned how to stretch every dollar that came in. From thrifting what we needed to cutting back on restaurants. We have kept a budget for years and leverage it to know where our money is going. A budget is adaptable to whatever season you’re in, and I recommend keeping one even if finances are not tight!
In a time where influencers make Amazon stores, everything is a subscription, and there’s deals going on everywhere all the time, it’s hard to be content with what you possess. I have disciplined myself over many years to not impulse buy, or jump on every fad. When I’m tempted, it helps me to keep the bigger picture in mind.
You might be surprised by how much money you save when you start disciplining your spending. After all, every purchase you make is a yes to something and a no to something else!
To wrap it up…
Well, new homemaker, I hope these tips inspire you to take action in your home. Make changes! Tweak, adapt, and learn as you go. There is no arriving. We press on to learn and grow with every step. It may be uncomfortable at times, but don’t give up. Do hard things and reap the satisfaction at the end of the chapter.
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