homemade pumpkin cookies || clean dishes || sifted flour || dirty laundry || clean & folded || firewood ready for splitting & seasoning || shirt to mend || cabinet organized || kindling for next fall
I have been thinking a lot about chores and what it means to home-make. To make a home really means to keep it well, to pay attention and do the little things on a daily basis so that they don’t become big things. I have never really understood that saying that people put up in their homes, “A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.” I mean, I guess I get it to an extent: don’t waste all your time cleaning up or you’ll miss out on the good stuff. But really, I still can’t get on board with that quote.
To me, a clean house, organized drawers, things put away in their places (including toys), and an overall tidiness brings me such peace. I try to do housework with a cheerful attitude and see the importance in each task, no matter how basic. But of course, there are those jobs I can’t stand, like dusting or cleaning toilets.
My favorite jobs are cooking, baking, dishes (though Andrew does them every day), laundry, and any outdoor work. Gathering free logs during the summer for Andrew to split, stacking them in our garage, and watching the pile slowly grow as the wood dries over the hot summer is so satisfying. Weeding the garden is a chore I wholeheartedly enjoy, though I understand not many people do. And of course, planting and watering and watching those plants grow seemingly overnight into vegetables I can carry a mere feet to my kitchen sink?! There’s nothing better!
What does homemaking mean to you?
I love when everybody has clean sheets…there’s something very satisfying about three made up beds with crisp, freshly washed sheets. Clean toes to go in the clean sheets …..
I wish I had a love for cleaning. I adore cooking and baking and gardening, I love general home organization and design… but laundry, dishes, vaccuuming, dusting – I really can’t stand any of them and I’m very grateful to have a husband who does more than his fair share of those chores. I’d really love a housekeeper!
Your homekeeping looks so peaceful and organized. We’re pretty decent at staying on top of toys and general clutter too, it’s that laundry that kills us every time!
i absolutely LOVE cleaning our home. When it is clean and organized my family is peaceful, and there is space to relax. Clean sheets and freshly mopped floors give me so much joy! However, making everything from scratch in our kitchen, and not having a dishwasher has begun to take its toll. I am over it. Can’t wait for the day I can push a button:)
I love homemaking! I’m very fortunate that we have cleaning help for the not-so-fun jobs like toilets and dusting, but I love organizing, laundry and general upkeep.
What a perfectly timed post! We just did a major kitchen clean and organization, and got it just right for the first time since we moved in. I immediately felt AMAZING. I can stand behind the “This is a house, not a museum” quote…because my house certainly looks very lived in a lot of the time, but as I’m getting older (wiser?) I’m realized how much peace and happiness a clean, organized space gives me. Last night as I was looking around the kitchen I had this feeling of “WOW, this what HOME feels like.” So weird for me because I’ve never been a cleaner. 🙂 Now to just give the other rooms in the house the same treatment..
Because my husband and I both work, we’ve decided having someone come in to do the cleaning we dislike is a priority. However, I always feel like I’m reigning in the toys and clutter. There are times I recall the days I had an apartment all to myself, where nothing ever moved. Wow, that was nice! Too quiet, but nice.
The chores I don’t mind, and often enjoy, are cooking/baking, dishes, laundry, changing sheets and taking out the trash. I think I enjoy throwing things away a little too much. 🙂 Fortunately, my husband loves to organize and create systems and spaces. And, he can fix anything.
On the days I’m home with the kids all day, I notice that food (meals & snacks) can absolutely take over. I plan dinners for a month at a time, so that’s usually figured out, but there have been many lunches where I’ve stood in front of the fridge perplexed. How do you keep the food preparation/clean up from becoming the day’s work?
Do you have a recipe for the pumpkin cookies posted? I was hunting through past posts and couldn’t find it. They look sooo yummy!
That saying has always rubbed me the wrong way, too. I don’t see why spending time with the kids and having a clean house have to be mutually exclusive. Sure, there are times I have to set aside cleaning some days or even weeks because of illness or a new baby, but most of the time, I’ve got a regular schedule of cleaning going on around here. I don’t clean all day, but there is time set aside each day for it just like there’s time set aside for going to the park and reading to the kids. Besides, I think it’s important for kids to learn to be good stewards of the things they have and use and that means learning by example.
Homemaking means to me making sure that everyone’s needs (food, clothing, health including a clean and hygienic living environment) are well taken care of. That also includes mental health, so for example my own need for a relatively clutter-free house that I feel good in, sensible systems that keep us from having to search for things or not knowing where to put stuff, and also having enough time and energy for play and relaxation, which is why we have someone come in for dusting, cleaning floors, bathrooms and windows. My mum does our ironing when she comes over. What I enjoy most are “clean” jobs such as changing sheets, doing laundry and unloading the dishwasher, and of course cooking and baking.