Homemaking Skills That Will Make Your House the Home of Your Dreams
Your home should be your oasis and the most comfortable place you could want to be. We have many things that can make our house feel like a home, but some skills just cannot be taken for granted that help to make our house a dream come true.
In this article, you will learn about the skills that will help turn your house into the home of your dreams.
What is a Homemaker?
The term homemaker is defined as one who manages a household, especially as a spouse and parent (Source: Merriam Webster). When you become a homemaker, you need to learn a series of skills. These skills will help make sure your house is a welcoming home. Typically, a homemaker does not work outside the home, which means they can devote all their time and energy to the home.
Often the role of a house maker is discounted as a small job that anyone can stay home and do, but to be an effective and efficient homemaker, you need a wide array of skills.
Skills Needed
To be a homemaker, you need specific skills to help you reach and maintain the home of your dreams. Along with the skills, you need to be excellent at being flexible and multi-tasking because, unfortunately, not every day will go as planned. Here are some skills you should be adept at.
Meal Planning
Meal planning is one thing that will help keep your house running smoothly and is an integral part of maintaining the home of your dreams. If you are new to meal planning, the process can seem overwhelming. The best thing you can do is start small.
How to Plan Meals Effectively
Planning meals will take time on the front end but will save countless hours in the kitchen and grocery store. When meal planning, you can plan for a week or longer. If you are a beginner meal planner, it would be wise to stick to a weekly plan for dinners and work up to planning full days and months.
- Family favorites: As you begin to meal plan, start with a list of meals that are family favorites, go-to meals, quick-prep meals, and crockpot or slow cooking meals. This list will be invaluable as you begin to plan for the week.
- Schedule: Always check your schedule as you begin planning for the week. If you have a busy evening, you want to plan a proper meal.
- Calendar: Set up a meal planning calendar by penciling in the meals you have chosen for the week. Remember, the calendar does not need to be set in stone. You can easily change the days of meals if needed.
- Grocery list: Create a list of items you will need from the grocery store to prepare the meals on your list. Before making your list, check the pantry, freezer, and refrigerator to see what items you may already have.
Meal planning is a skill that can help you to feel in control of your household by freeing up time for other things that need to be done.
(Sources: To Taste and Chaotically Yours)
Cleaning Schedule
Keeping a home clean is a never-ending task that can seem daunting, especially if you have a large family or pets. To help keep cleaning from becoming overwhelming, create a schedule. The schedule you create needs to work for you and your family.
Creating a Schedule
Creating a house cleaning schedule is a fantastic way to stay on task with cleaning. It is easy to get lost in the details of a cleaning schedule. Be sure to keep the schedule simple. Following these steps can help:
- List the rooms: Make a list of the rooms in your home to be cleaned. Include hallways and entryways in this list.
- Needs: Identify the cleaning needs of each room (vacuuming, mopping, dusting, etc.)
- How often: Write how often the rooms need to be cleaned. For example, a guest room that is rarely used may not need a lot of attention.
- Materials and tools needed: Decide what you will need to accomplish each of the cleaning tasks and see what you have on hand already.
Once you have created your schedule, try it out to see if it works. Remember, you can easily switch your cleaning schedule based on the need and time you have each week. You will find the cleaning schedule becomes a habit for you and saves time.
(Sources: Better Homes and Gardens and Organize My House)
Budgeting
A large part of maintaining a home is sticking within a budget. Budgeting will look different for each household. Sometimes the homemaker is solely responsible for creating and maintaining the budget. Other times, married couples will work together on the budget.
Sticking to a budget is a part of keeping your home running smoothly. When budgeting, you want to factor in these things:
- Groceries
- Field trips/school expenses
- Entertaining
- Home purchases – cleaning or decorating
The list of items in the budget will differ for each home and situation.
Entertaining
One way to make your house feel like a home is to open it up to others by entertaining. If you are an avid entertainer, you will want to set your home up to accommodate guests.
The goal of entertaining is to make your guests feel comfortable and at home. To help accomplish this, you will want the space to be open and inviting. Entertaining may require special foods, drinks, or decorative pieces. Entertaining comes easily to some but takes work for others, depending on your personality. If you are beginning to learn the art of entertaining, it is best to start small.
Final Thoughts
The job of being a homemaker is time-intensive and requires several skills. It takes time to strengthen the skills you will need to be a homemaker, and you should start small until you reach your comfort level.
