NEW SERIES: Homemaking 101 Intro Post

A couple of months ago a young woman, V,  came to spend the day with me.  We had such fun talking all day long!  She's a newlywed with a deployed husband and in June of this year she becomes, in her own words, "A member of the bon-bon club."  That statement refers to a joke between Chance and I about what a homemaker does all day long "Sits with her feet up, watching soaps and eating bon-bons..."  Fulltime homemakers know that isn't true at all!  The problem however, is that many homemakers, new ones and old ones alike, haven't a clue how to keep a house, make out a budget, develop a routine of housework, have a bit of fun and plan their time for play and craft.

V contacted me early last week. She's going to try her hand at being a full time homemaker and work from home part time.  She has lots of questions about how to manage her budget, her time, her skills and I'm all for helping her.  If I can save her some of the trials and errors I went through I'll be happy.  If I pay attention to her as she goes along, I may even learn a few things myself and that will make me even happier!

I didn't step into homemaking knowing all about it.  Mama had made sure I knew how to do basic cleaning but deep cleaning was unheard of in our home and in mine until this recent time at home.  I could can and freeze garden harvest but had (have) no clue how to plant.  I could sew, but can't cut a pattern and alter it to fit.  I could iron all sorts of fabrics all day long and Daddy said my creases rivalled military regulation creases, but washing clothes?  Hadn't a clue.  I could plan for and cook a decent meal but didn't know a thing about grocery shopping.  Money management was never mentioned...And let's just skip the whole time management issue okay? That was unheard of in my childhood home as well.

I learned the hard way that a limited amount of time daily plus an unlimited number of duties could lead to one of two outcomes: an overtired frustrated homemaker, or a sloth. I've been both in equal measure!  That's why I say over and over again, this incarnation of being a fulltime homemaker I was determined to treat it as a vocation not a vacation, but I'm a huge believer in giving up perfectionism as well.  My goals are simple: a clean orderly home without undue labor, know and live within my budget, good meals with little waste, work and rest in good measure, quality time with my husband. 

It took quite a bit of trial and error to get here.  There were mistakes, poor choices, advise from both seasoned and new homemaker's alike that helped me reach this point.  Mind you, I'm still learning.  It's important to remember this about homemaking: it's never stagnant, always changing.

In this series of posts, I plan to address budget, home routines, order and beauty in the home, recognizing time and money wasters, self-sufficiency and other subjects that relate to creating and running a home that is uniquely suited to those who live there.

As always, if there are any questions about a post or areas you'd like to see addressed then please let me know.  If you have helpful suggestions send those in too, because we can all use a little extra expert help and any woman who runs her own home successfully is certainly an expert.