Do some days get you down because you know you need to wash the windows? Or how about that dreaded checkbook that needs balancing? Whatever it is, we all have homemaking duties that we don’t love. Or not even like. Let’s look at a few ways you can train yourself how to love your homemaking duties.
Perspective on How to Love Your Homemaking Duties
One of the ways I continue to enjoy my homemaking duties is with perspective. For me, this means looking back at how I grew up and what we had to do to keep our home. We didn’t have a dishwasher, so I’m grateful that I don’t have to always do all my dishes by hand. We did our laundry in a wringer washer and had no dryer. I’m grateful I can just open doors and push buttons and have clean laundry. Our windows, rarely – if ever – got washed because of their condition. If they got opened, some wouldn’t close again. Or they had to be washed from the outside. I can easily crank and wash my windows now without worry.
You might not have the same perspective I have to compare to. But just look around: Do you have electricity? Do you have laundry appliances inside your home? Or just up the street? Do you have covered floors to sweep and not just dirt?
Perspective is a helpful tool when it comes to appreciating the things we don’t always look forward to.
8 Ways to Love Your Homemaking Duties
1. You GET to do this!
Attitude is everything for how to love your homemaking duties and that’s where we’ll start. Rather than looking at everything as something you HAVE TO do today, look at it as something you GET to do.
You GET to be home for your children all day and be the one to snuggle after an owie. You GET to be the one to cook your family’s meals and control what nutrients they are consuming.
2. Express Gratitude for Your Homemaking Duties
I know, another mindset shift here, but go with me. Instead of griping over the amount of dirty laundry, be grateful that your family has clothes to wear. Instead of grumbling through the dirty dishes, be thankful that your family has dishes to eat off of.
Meal times are time intensive and take a lot of prep work. Be grateful that your family has food to eat. That your husband is able to work to buy the groceries. That you are physically able to hold a knife and chop while standing on your own two feet.
Always, always there is so much to be grateful for when we just stop and look around. This will cultivate your heart to love your homemaking duties.
3. Put Some Music On
Music has lots of benefits and one of them is helping us enjoy our current situation more! Put on some fun, uplifting music and get going.
My son thinks I’m crazy when I crank the music and get ready to clean. But he loves it and joins along in with the random bursts of dancing and singing!
4. Listen to an Audio Book
Audio books motivate me in a different way than music does. Music gets my blood pumping and amps me up to get to work. Audio books are more of an incentive to me because I only turn them on while I’m working: like folding laundry or doing dishes.
Make sure to pick a lighthearted one so that its easy listening and you can walk in and out of the room without feeling like you always have to pause it. Go back and revisit your childhood favorites. This way you enjoy listening, but you still know what happens if children come ask questions, the baby starts crying or you have to leave the room.
5. Place Rewards in Your Day
Sometimes there are homemaking duties that you just plain don’t care to do. I get it. For me, it’s washing windows. I love the sparkling result, but to actually get around to doing is another matter.
When you have a looming homemaking duty like this, offer yourself a reward for after the job is done. For example: after I get the windows washed, I get to read for half an hour; or I get to make an iced coffee and sip on it while I watch the kids play outside.
Whatever is relaxing or a treat to you, use it as motivation. I may not ever fully love the homemaking duty of washing windows, but I love what I get to do afterwards!
6. Set a Timer
Setting a timer is like racing against yourself. You challenge yourself to clean up the living room putting everything back in its place for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, you can relax and read books for 15 minutes.
Then set a 15 minute timer for your next homemaking duty and go like this for several hours until you’ve gotten your list accomplished. A timer will help keep you focused on the task at hand but also allows scheduled breaks so you don’t burn out and just sit numbly on the couch for two hours.
7. Get Dressed for Homemaking
This might sound pointless but getting dressed to the shoes, as the FlyLady puts it, is super motivating for tackling your homemaking duties.
When you love the way you look and feel in your skin (Yes! Even put makeup on!) you have a better outlook on your day and feel up to the task.
8. Eat that Frog!
Okay, so I’ve never read the book but it’s definitely on my list. Have you heard of it? The idea behind the title is that if the first thing you do in the morning is eat a live frog, that will be the worst thing you have to do that whole day.
So what’s your frog? Whatever homemaking duty you like the least, make sure to get it done first thing in the morning so that you don’t have to dread it all day. Get it done. Get it out of the way. Don’t let it hog anymore mental energy and strain. Just do it and the rest of your day will be much better.
Quite often when I’m dreading doing something I keep putting it off and putting it off. But you know what? When I actually do it, it took less time than I anticipated, wasn’t as difficult and then I kick myself for giving it so much mental space.
Even though I love being a homemaker, I still struggle to love some of my homemaking duties. And that’s okay! We aren’t expected to love doing everything or thrive at doing everything. We just need to get it done to keep our homes functioning at a somewhat peaceful level. But incorporating these practices will help you love your homemaking duties.
