A super-honest opinion about homemaking…
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Did you get a chance to read this week’s blog post? It’s about how to begin simplifying your life in a world that glorifies the hustle.
One of the resources I mentioned in the post is the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle <not currently available>, and I wanted to take a moment to discuss a question I got that really made me think about a few things:
“Do you consider yourself a homemaker?”
It was a simple, honest question… and one that brought up some interesting emotions and memories.
First, some background: From the time I was a little girl, I always thought of “homemaker” as someone who cleaned and cooked all the time because she wanted to or because she had no other life choice — and I did NOT want to be either of those women.
I’ve held several “roles” during my life. I’ve been a career-focused single woman, a SAHM with little ones, a part-time working mom with young children, a full-time working mom, and now a part-time working mom with a side hustle and older teenage children… but never did I consider “homemaker” part of my job description.
Several years ago some of my favorite bloggers began talking about this thing called an Ultimate Homemaking bundle. To be completely honest, I blew them off, usually skimming past that part of the email or blog post. Why would I want to buy a bunch of ebooks about how to clean my house? I was a working mom, not a homemaker.
But then, somewhere along the way, I began to redefine how I thought of homemaking. I finally came to the realization that homemaking is about creating a place where my family can be happy and feel comfortable… and that includes me! (Happy mama, happy family — right?)
It’s not about cleaning up after everyone else or having a perfectly decorated home ready for a gathering at a moment’s notice or serving 7-course meals every night.
It’s not about my job title on a tax form or a child’s school information sheet. It’s not because I’m a mother, whether or not I’m a SAHM or a mom who works outside the home.
It’s simply this: I have a home that I want to be a place of love and peace, so I am a homemaker.
I have a home that I want to be a place of love and peace, so I am a homemaker. Click To Tweet
When this year’s Ultimate Homemaking Bundle <not currently available> was released, I actually looked at it — and then I bought it. Lots of mini twinkle lights went on in my brain and it was like, “Ohhhhhhh… THAT’s why this bundle is so popular.” (over 67,000 sold) The Ultimate Bundles people really GET that our lives as women are not all about cleaning the house. In fact, my personal favorite resources from the bundle have nothing at all to do with cleaning or cooking.
Thanks to my renewed definition of homemaking and finally letting go of old and restricting emotions, I felt free to purchase something with “Homemaking” in the title — all because I want to be the best person possible and live in the happiest environment possible, for myself and everyone around me. It’s a fantastic feeling!
What I’ve discovered inside the bundle are valuable resources that help not only with making my home a nicer place to live, but help me live more intentionally, organize, and take care of myself. ALL of that contributes to making a peaceful home.
Some of the things I’m most excited about:
30 Days to a Simpler Life eCourse by Brian Gardner
How to Achieve Your Goals and Create a Life You Love by Aby Garvey
Your Morning Manual: A Guide & Workbook for Resetting & Maximizing Your Mornings by Emily Bredeson
Command Center 101: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Command Center that WORKS for Your Family by Meredith LeRoy
Stretched Too Thin: 10 Days to Overcoming the Hustle and Thriving as a Working Mom by Jessica Turner
Now let me ask you the same question: Do YOU consider yourself a homemaker? Comment below with yes or no and WHY you feel that way. Or send me an email — [email protected] — and tell me how you feel about the subject.
I just read this after a decluttering post by you and this post gave me my “Why?” Home, where the heart is, is what I am striving to make. A home of love and harmony. If I am constantly in hyper-drive, I am not a homemaker, I am a tyrant, with emphasis on the “rant” part. Some things just have to be done by me, but not in a hurried panic. I can do them at a pace that keeps my goal of “home, sweet home” in the foreground, and the noise of “someone might see our mess” in the right place, in the bin of ‘less important.’