Liv Homolka

When I first became a homemaker in 2016, I had no idea what I was doing and I didn’t even know where to start. I had absolutely no “training” in homemaking and couldn’t even perform basic tasks like laundry or scheduling my own life to be successful at home. I was so accustomed to university professors or bosses at work telling me what to do that I did not know how to self start at home nor did I have any interest in valuing it. As a result, my home was constantly a mess and I was constantly overwhelmed. I had no idea where to start and wish someone had given me some instructions on some attainable ways to make a house feel like a home.

I believe that homemaking can start with even the smallest things. Logging onto Pinterest or Instagram, it feels like we have to be baking sourdough bread from scratch, raising chickens and growing all of our own foods to be a successful homemaker. While that can be one aspect of homemaking, it can be overwhelming to set that perspective as the standard of a “good” homemaker when you are just starting out. (I have been taking my homemaking seriously for the past three years and still do none of those things).

So here’s some actually attainable ways to make your house feel like a home:

1. Learn the basics of cleaning and laundry care

When I first started out, I didn’t know how to do even the most basic cleaning tasks. I often used the wrong products or the wrong techniques. I even ruined my couch cushions by bleaching them and now they look even worse than the original stain. There is an abundance of information on these subjects on YouTube specifically. I have learned so much on that platform and wish it was a bigger platform for that kind of content back in 2016 when my husband and I made the decision for me to stay home and start my “career” as a homemaker. (I specifically have learned a lot from a YouTuber named Krist Yu and love her cleaning content!) Learning how to clean your home is the most basic way to make your home more inviting. A dirty home will never feel like a peaceful and welcoming place. If you can get the basics down about how to clean your home using the right products and techniques, you’re already about 90% there in being a great homemaker.

2. Implement systems and schedules

I am naturally a very spontaneous person. I have a hard time knowing what to do next if I don’t have someone telling me what to do. For a while, I was able to get by doing this but after the birth of my third child, I was suddenly drowning because I was outnumbered with no systems in place. The single greatest thing I did in my homemaking was implementing systems, schedules and routines. I took a good hard look at all the “problem” areas of my home and overwhelm points with my time. I took inventory of everything that I owned and all of my day to day commitments. Then I was ruthless in getting rid of anything that was creating chaos in our day to day life. For example, I used to just throw a bunch of clothes into the wash, forget about them, rewash them and then take forever to fold them and put them away. In a single load, there were items for multiple family members and I felt overwhelmed in running from room to room to put things away when I also had a newborn to attend to. Now, every person in our family and our sheets/towels have an assigned laundry day from youngest to oldest member. The day never changes and I never have to add to my mental load of “what goes where”. This is just one example of the many systems I have successfully implemented in my life that have made our day to day operations SO much less chaotic. (Look out for a systems course coming out late spring which will be available for purchase so that you can learn all of the tricks that helped us go from chaos and overwhelm to a well oiled machine!)

3. Learn the basics of cooking and baking

Again, I am not telling you to be baking scratch made sourdough bread every day like the internet pressures you to do. However, learning the basics of cooking and baking can be hugely beneficial to you and your family. If you can get the fundamentals down, you will save so much money in not eating out, you will save time as you easily know how to throw things together, and your family’s health will improve as you eat out less and consume less processed foods. It also is great fun to learn this skill and it can truly bless others immensely! I would start with maybe learning 5 signature dinner entrees, 3 lunch meals and 2 signature desserts as well as the basics of scrambling eggs, seasoning food and cooking meat to the correct and safe temperatures. And the best part is, this puts you fully in charge in how your family eats! Some may prefer vegetarian diets and you can learn to do so! Like lots of Asian foods? Great! You can learn to cook in that style! I personally love 1950s/60s recipes because they are so easy, classically enjoyable and kid friendly, so that is the style that we eat mostly in our home. You do you though! It is also beneficial to learn desserts because of the atmosphere a homemaker that makes homemade desserts creates. Sure, the store bought ones may look more professional but there is something special about a birthday cake baked by mom or homemade cookies and punch for the Christmas party. It creates an ambience of tender care, love, servitude and warmth. For these reasons, these skills are invaluable!

4. Create warmth in your home

There’s a misconception that an expensively decorated home is a warm and inviting home, but I would beg to differ. You can have a home filled entirely with thrifted items (I do!) and it can feel much more inviting than a home entirely fitted by Pottery Barn. It is truly in the details that warmth is created in your home. Consider decorating seasonally even with items found in nature such as wildflowers in the spring or evergreen boughs in the winter. Correspondingly, find your home’s signature scent for each season through the use of candles, essential oils, or recipes that you cook. Examine the lighting in your home and opt for warm natural lighting instead of overhead fluorescents. Light candles, open blinds and invest in tabletop lighting. Fill your home with things that you consider beautiful even if they are not necessarily trendy. We love religious art and photos of our family hung on the walls even if it’s not exactly “Pinterest perfect”; these items remind us that the love of Jesus and love of family fill our home and adds to the overall warmth of our home. Take a good hard look (and smell) of your home and ask yourself, “Do I actually like the feeling this gives my family and our guests or do I just put this in my home because it’s what’s popular this year?’

5. Make your home welcoming with your own demeanor

This is kind of an unconventional suggestion but I think that it is wildly overlooked. A homemaker is the heart of the home. Without her, merely a house exists. Sure, your home can be clean and beautiful and smell good, but is it even that welcoming and warm if you personally are not? It is truly the people that make home feel like “home”. Start by checking on your attitude as you do your day to day homemaking duties. Are you doing them out of love or drudgery? Do you lash out at your family members as you serve them? Does their messes and needs make you annoyed and, in turn, do you scowl all day as you perform your tasks? Take the time to pray for an increase in the fruits of the Holy Spirit in your homemaking. Pray over each member as you serve them. Consider writing down your “why” for each task that you need to do. And always remember that it is truly you who will be the memory of “home” not if the drapes were white or beige. Work first and foremost on yourself: growing in virtue and growing in sanctification and your walk with the Lord.

I pray that these simple tips have been a blessing as you begin your own journey in improving your homemaking skills!

Many blessings,

Liv