Take one look at my house and you can see that I am far from a perfect homemaker! But when I feel I’m falling apart at the seams there are still a few little things I can do to honor my husband with my homemaking.
Because I am a stay at home wife and mother, I am the main keeper of our home. Yes, my husband pitches in when needed but I often try to make it a haven to come home to.
Honoring Your Husband with Your Homemaking: It’s Not About Me
There are some things around the house that just bug me when I don’t get them done. Sometimes they are big obvious things, other times it’s just little things.
For instance, when I rock my baby to sleep in the afternoon, the sun shining in the windows
reveals all the dust on my hallway floor boards.
Dusting the floor boards really won’t make my husband happy to come home. It’s not something he will notice. How do I know? I’ve dusted them once in the 2 years we’ve lived here and he’s only commented on the dusty floor boards once.
I give.
As much as the dusty floor boards bother me, they just aren’t a priority for making my home a haven for my husband.
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Honoring Your Husband with Your Homemaking: It’s About Him
So I instead focus on the tasks that I know bother my husband if left unfinished. Like the dishes. He loves to see clean countertops in the kitchen.
Before he comes home I try to have the dishes done up as much as I can and the clean ones put away.
I like clean countertops, too, but it’s one of those things where I tell myself, “I’ll just do up the dishes with the next meal. Or at the end of the day.”
My frugal grandma discourages doing dishes more than once a day because it wastes water and dish soap… I think I’ll take my chances and waste.
Honoring Your Husband with Your Homemaking: Talk About It
How do I know a dirty kitchen is my husband’s pet peeve? Because one night I went in and made our bed after supper before doing dishes. He noticed and commented on this strange action.
Somehow I made up in my mind that he liked a made bed more than a clean kitchen.
So we had the conversation about what he likes to see and what is calming for him when he comes home. I realized I was doing more the tasks I liked or thought he liked.
Now I have the facts!
Read More: Daily Homemaking Tasks
Honoring Your Husband with Your Homemaking: Protect His Space
My husband loves to come home and sit in his recliner with a cup of coffee, iced tea or beer depending on the time of day.
His recliner is in the den so its a little removed from the living and dining room.
Even if I can’t clean the house efficiently, I try to clean up around his chair and tidy the den at least.
I pick up our son’s toys, straighten the magazines, put the phone in the cradle to be charged for him and see that the computer is charged if I’ve drained it.
There can be piles of clean laundry overtaking the living room, the dining room table can be piled high with book work, but his space is tidy.
7 Ways I Can Welcome My Husband Home
- Do the dishes – My husband loves clean counters and no dirty dishes. Even if this means me throwing everything into the dishwasher last minute, it’s worth it. Later I come back and stack the dish washer properly. Unless I’m in the middle of meal prep: then it is what it is!
- Make the bed, tidy the bedroom – My husband likes to crawl into a made bed without
having to kick and pull sheets. When I was single I never made my bed because I didn’t feel cocooned. Even when I changed sheets I didn’t tuck anything in. Now that I share a bed with someone else, it is so nice to not have to fight for sheets and covers every night because it’s all tucked in.
- Protect his space – I tidy and straighten the area around his recliner so that he can come home to a charged computer and relax without stepping on baby toys and having to search for a phone (yes, we still have a landline!).
- Laundry – This may not seem romantic or thoughtful, but it is oh-so-practical. My husband hates stepping out of the shower and finding empty shelves where his socks and undies are supposed to be. So then I have to make a dash to the dryer to get what he needs.
“Make your husband want to come home to your home.”
- House smells good – My husband has a very sensitive sniffer. I like to run my diffuser
with some essential oils to freshen the air throughout the day. If I’m baking or making a meal I shut it off to let the food scent the house. Otherwise I like to keep windows open to keep fresh air filtering through the house.
- Keep his favorites stocked – I know my husband likes to relax with a drink. Whether it’s a cup of coffee, iced tea
, hot tea
, berry kombucha, hot chocolate or a beer, I try to keep it in stock. Seasonally, of course. He also likes lunch meat. I try to keep shaved turkey or ham on hand for him to grab and go or eat with breakfast. [Have you tried the Never Any! brand from Aldi? Delish!]
- Bake – My husband’s favorite cookies are snickerdoodles. When I make cookies for other functions, I try to make snickerdoodles so I can keep a few back in the freezer for him. He also loves white bread
. If he has to he will eat my fresh ground whole wheat bread, but I make white bread to have on hand for him. Although this last time I made bread I did half white half wheat and he really likes it! Baby steps!
Read More: Homemaking Hacks for the Lazy Housewife
Do the One Thing
If you have time for nothing else that day, do the one thing you know pleases your husband the most. Don’t assume what that one thing is. Ask him. For me it is the dishes.
Make your husband want to come home to your home.
Please do not think that I get all these tasks done perfectly every day. I am far from that disciplined. Plus, a baby in the house can set anyone’s schedule topsy turvy.
Homemaking is a wonderful way to honor your family – especially your husband. By honoring your husband with your homemaking you can make him feel extra special when he walks through the door at night.
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