What comes to mind when you hear the words modern homemaking?
You might picture June Cleaver in her immaculate home and heels, or maybe modern homemaking makes you think only of mothers with young children.
The dictionary defines a homemaker as a person who manages the family household. That’s it. There’s nothing about having a perfect home, or having children of a certain age. In fact, some homemakers aren’t even mothers at all!
This small definition covers a very big endeavor! I think of homemaking more as a work of art that I must continuously give attention to with love. As a homemaker, it can feel that managing the household is never quite done. This is similar to an artist working endlessly on their painting and finally accepting it as finished.
I remember the moment when I realized my calling as a homemaker. I was teaching an elementary school religion class. It struck me that some people are called to care for their home and family. Modern expectations and norms had made me think that I should try to have it all — career, family, and a freelance leisure pursuit, or side hustle, as a blogger — without giving my family my full attention or giving myself a time to rest.
Vocations, or a person’s true calling in life, are more than a job or a career. My heart knew that life would lead me in the direction of being a homemaker. Today, I raise two school-age children. From time to time, I work at home. Mostly, I focus on homemaking.
What is Modern Homemaking?
Modern homemaking means combining the art of traditional homemaking with modern-day living. Some days this looks like a beautiful home and an organized schedule for the family. Other days, it looks like ordering take-out pizza and letting the house descend a bit into chaos. Having an imperfect home from time to time allows everyone to rest and generate enthusiasm for another busy week.
Being a modern homemaker means that I can fully accept the mental load of running a home and embrace that responsibility with love. When I face a new day and try to muster up the energy to get to the coffee maker, reviewing the reasons behind my homemaking helps.
Making the Home a Sanctuary
It’s easy to become happier at home. Making the home a sanctuary includes de-cluttering, rearranging, and decorating. Simply paying attention to the colors, layout, and fabric in each room can bring a sense of peace when someone walks into it.
Our home is where we spend most of our time. Sometimes, our home is a replacement for the anticipation of a weekend vacation, or for the sense of reconnecting over a meal out together.
Creating a comfortable space evokes positive emotions. It helps everyone to have their best mindset for school and work when they walk into a space that brings joy and peace.
Lighting candles can make being home feel like a special occasion. Plants and natural sunlight bring about a sense of calmness.
With children at home, I like to add in seasonal decor to bring happiness and excitement to our space. You can see some of my home decor picks in my annual Valentine’s Day Gift Guide, Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas for Daughters and Mothers.
Adding in seasonal decor also serves an educational purpose for my children. It’s similar to teachers changing up their bulletin boards for new topics to stimulate student’s brains and get them thinking.
As an example, for Valentine’s Day, teaching my children about St. Valentine performing marriages in secret became a memorable teaching moment and not just another lecture from mom with the festive XO’s on the blankets and heart wall decor as a backdrop for the story.
Bringing Joy to the Home with Arts and Crafts
Arts and crafts bring beauty to the home. They also give joy and a sense of accomplishment to those who create them. Having creativity time on our family schedule gives us a sense of serenity.
Creating my own decor gives the home a personal touch, and it saves money. Being confident in making arts and crafts inspires my daughters to do the same. I have a dedicated crafting station for us all to use that has plenty of natural sunlight and well-organized supplies.
Although many of the creative projects that bring us together are screen-free, modern homemaking means embracing today’s technology. They do Procreate on the iPad, and I design using the Cricut software. We also like to make stop motion movies together and submit them to film festivals. It builds confidence to celebrate their final creations and awards!
If you have kids who are interested, you can check out my 5-Day Learn to Make a Stop Motion Animation Movie Camp.
Sustainable Homemaking Choices
Raising environmentally-conscious children matters! Making sustainable, modern homemaking choices helps our family have a positive impact on the world around us. I hope these choices reduce our ecological footprint.
Being a better global citizen also teaches my daughters about kindness and generosity. Whether they are tasting the sweetness of homegrown Stevia or watching our own Painted Lady butterflies fly into our forest, they become more aware of the world around them.
Raising Children Who Wander (And Wonder)
Growing up, I was raised by parents who enjoyed traveling. My family’s vacations usually served an educational purpose, which inspired me to journal about everything around me.
Sometimes, we would walk the city of Rome before prayerfully stopping at the Vatican to see the most beautiful masterpieces of the Sistine Chapel. Other times, we would accompany my father on a medical trip to Nepal, where we would spend our itinerary visiting local temples, such as the Boudhanath Stupa, and learning about their culture.
Despite not traveling as often with my own children, I hope to spark a sense of wonder in them. First, as a modern homemaker, this means giving them access to books, apps, and movies. Having quality media in our home helps them travel to other places through writing and visuals. It also means educating them on how to be critics as they observe media, instead of mindlessly consuming it.
Next, cooking with a good recipe can become a teaching moment. They delight in the colors and textures when they try new produce. As they taste it and cook with it, they open their mind to new experiences.
Last week for the first time, my daughters and I prepared Ropa Vieja with Cuban black beans and cilantro rice with fried plantains. At dinner, we talked about the dish’s origins. They came up with ideas of other places they would like to travel to through our meals. These are children who groan over eating the most mundane dishes, but they were suddenly willing to experiment with their taste buds.
Raising children who wander (and wonder) also means taking care of our yard and acreage beyond the fence. With yard maintenance taken care of, they can enjoy our land for its beauty and wildlife.
Meal Planning for Healthy Living
Being home means that I can prioritize making healthy meals. To inspire my cooking, I spend time reading recipe books. I plan ahead days in advance, and I prepare the kitchen.
Seeing the colors of fresh fruits and vegetables in the produce aisle can take my meal planning in another direction. Designing our family’s meals for the week requires a mixture of organization and flexibility!
The best part is that since homemaking is my main priority, I’m not too tired to enjoy sitting down and chatting during a meal. Dining is a time to relax and hear how everyone’s day went.
In modern homemaking, meal planning also means accepting the occasional simplicity of take-out food. Since I plan our take-out night in advance, I know it will fall on our special weekend family night, and I make sure not to buy extra food to avoid waste.
Cleaning and Maintaining the Home
My goal as a homemaker is to lighten the burden for my family. I hope they use the time that I free for them wisely and with purpose.
Keeping a cleaning schedule involves tidying up daily. After dropping my children off at school, I return items to their proper location. I make the beds. Then, I run the laundry and the dishes. While they run, I might get some writing done or check emails to sit for a moment.
Every week day, I try to fit in at least one bigger cleaning job, which might be deep cleaning the bathrooms, vacuuming and mopping, dusting, wiping down the kitchen counters and refrigerator, or changing the bedding.
Much of my cleaning routine pauses over the weekend so we can rest together. Although everyone has their own chores and work to do, it is nice to have time to enjoy the space we share too.
Finding Rest Every Day
Finding time to rest every day matters. After all, shiny floors won’t greet my family with the smile and hug that they need! Homemaking is about bringing warmth into the home. It’s not possible to pour from an empty cup!
Around 10 minutes before picking the children up from school, I quickly do one last check around the house to make sure it looks nice. That is not the best time for me to rest because I want to make sure everyone can see the effort I put into our home! Instead, I use the time waiting in the carpool line to rest.
Sometimes, I bring a book, and I turn on my favorite songs. I use that time to cultivate a positive mindset before greeting everyone at the end of their day. Usually, they all had wonderful days, but just in case, I want the moment they get home to be a welcome relief from their busy lives.
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