Looking to sharpen your homemaking skills? These 9 dependable homemaking skills will help you in many areas of homemaking.
Being a homemaker is a role with many hats, and each one requires one or more skills. Being a homemaker means being a jack of all trades, and there are certain skills that will help you achieve this. As a homemaker, I am going to give you 9 dependable homemaking skills that will make your job as a homemaker seem less daunting.
From cooking to decorating, you will learn about core homemaking skills that you can depend on everyday.
After reading this post, you will be able to apply these skills, and become a homemaking guru.
9 Dependable Homemaking Skills
These 9 dependable homemaking skills may seem surface level, but you will see that they are in fact very complex. There are always more responsibilities to a job than people on the outside looking in may realize. Homemaking is no exception. Homemakers are able to take these skills and turn them into a form of art.
As homemakers, there will always be more skills we can learn. However, these 9 skills are the basis for all others to be built upon, and are at the core of homemaking.
1. Budgeting
In most cases, being a homemaker means living off of one income. With the cost of living these days, this is no easy feat. With planning, intention, and follow through, homemakers find a way to cherish each and every dollar. Being able to create a visual of the budget is helpful, such as a spreadsheet. This helps to actually show where the money is being spent, and how much is going into certain areas.
Creating a budget is not hard, but sticking to it can be a challenge. Homemakers take this skill very seriously, and know their success in this category will allow them to continue living the homemaking dream. Not only do homemakers create a budget, but we create IN DEPTH budgets. Creating categories and systems is just the beginning of how far it can go. As creating a budget is part of the skill, the bigger part is the steps and actions we take to ensure our budgets are not made in vain. Below are a few of the ways homemakers can build their skill of sticking to their budget.
Live Within Your Means
You want it, but can you afford it? Living on one income means acting like you live on one income, no matter what things you may want. Being a homemaker means sacrificing other things. If this bothers you, homemaking may not be the best option for you! Homemaking is a very fulfilling lifestyle, but you have to be ok with not having the best of the best when it comes to material goods. This does not mean you can’t have nice things or treat yourself. It just means that you live a lower profile lifestyle and enjoy the simpler things in life.
Determine What You Want VS. What You Need
This is something my dad taught me from a very young age. Is this something you want, or something you need? A simple concept, but something I use as a guide when making purchases. You’d be surprised at how many things fall into the “want” category rather than the “need” category. This can apply to small things such as a fancy snack at the grocery store, as well as to larger things such as a new phone. Deciphering between the two is important, but prioritizing your needs over your wants is even more important. Sometimes this is hard and it’s definitely not always fun, but in the end it is for the best.
Shop The Sales And With Coupons
Groceries, clothing, decor; all apply! Groceries is the biggest category and the best one to focus on since it is a frequently recurring expense. There are so many ways to save money at the grocery store. Read about my tips and tricks for saving money on groceries in my blog post, Quick Guide: How To Save Money On Groceries With 8 Easy Tips. Being able to utilize coupons and sales at the grocery store will add up, and will teach you how to avoid wasting food!
As clothing and decor are not as frequently purchased, there are still ways to save money. Using promo codes and hitting sales are two great options for this. It is also helpful to learn how not to over-purchase items that you may not use/wear, or that you have something similar to. Sometimes, less is more.
2. Meal Planning
Meal planning is a skill that has many benefits. Some benefits include: reducing stress of figuring out what to make every night, avoiding food waste, and not overspending at the grocery store. Read my blog, Beginner’s Guide: Meal Planning For The Week for an in-depth explanation and step by step guide for how to meal plan! Meal planning goes hand in hand with budgeting, and is a skill that takes time to build. I have been meal planning for over three years now, and have just perfected my system. As you do it more and more, it will become easier, and you will learn tricks for how to meal plan more efficiently.
Being able to meal plan for the week helps to set yourself up for success. Rather than feeling uninspired and unsure about what to make for dinner, you already know exactly what you’re making every night. This alleviates that “what do I make for dinner tonight?” dilemma. It makes you feel more prepared and motivated, and provides you with a guide that will allow you to create and eat a beautiful dinner every night.
3. Cooking
You can’t be a skilled meal planner without being a skilled home chef! Cooking is truly an art that comes with practice. When I first started cooking, my food was less than impressive. From overcooked pork tenderloin to undercooked veggies, I was truly starting from level 1! As the years passed and I continuously worked on my cooking skills and broadened my menus, I became more confident and creative with my meals. Homemakers can’t expect to be a 5 star chef the first time they cook a meal. Cooking is a skill that has a lot of different parts to it, and each one takes time and practice.
Taking the time to learn how to cook and not getting discouraged is key to building this skill. Homemakers are gifted with the time to do this, and cooking is an important part of being a homemaker. Starting by choosing recipes within your abilities at first will be beneficial to you. Once you feel more confident, you can then start choosing a little bit more complicated recipes.
Cooking has two skills attached to it; cooking and recipe collection. Finding good recipes is time-consuming, and happens over the years. Knowing what kinds of recipes the people in your household prefer and what ingredients make a good flavor will come with practice. Once you’ve made the recipe once or twice and know it is good, you can then modify it in different ways. This can include adding or omitting certain ingredients. Cooking is a true labor of love, and only gets better with time.
4. Supply Management
Supply management is always having what you need, as well as predicting and planning for what you will or may need. This applies to all categories of a home. From cooking supplies, to household supplies, a homemaker makes sure the home and those in it are never without! This skill will help your household run more smoothly, and will eliminate those last minute, inconvenient trips to the store. Knowing what you will need and when to buy it is a skill that develops over time, and will become second nature after your brain is trained to think in such a way. To read more about supply management and everything that goes into it, read my blog post, A Homemaker’s Role.
5. Time Management
Different tasks in a homemaker’s day take different amounts of time; knowing this and knowing how to navigate this is time management. From large tasks to small tasks, homemakers must know how to properly manage each one, and plan their days accordingly. Even something as small as making dinner for a certain time is all dependent on correctly managing time. Keeping an eye on the clock and having a pre-planned schedule for the day will ensure your time is being used wisely and efficiently. Below are two tips for how to manage time as a homemaker.
Time Block Your Day
Pre-planning the day is something that takes very little time, and can help a homemaker with time management. To do this, you can create an overview of your day and determine what tasks need to get done. Then, assign each task to a time; this will help you stay on track, and will give each task a deadline. Lastly, stick to your plan! Don’t procrastinate or waste time. You can find some cute daily planners to time-block your day, or can make your own on your laptop or in a notebook! It is a simple activity that serves as a guide to time management for the day.
Avoid Idleness
With homemaking being a self-motivated job, proper time management is a skill that can determine a homemaker’s productivity. Homemakers are in charge of their own schedule, which can be both a positive and negative thing. Being able to set priorities and shift things in the schedule to fit your home’s needs is something great about this. However, with this flexibility can come idleness. This is what we want to avoid. Having some downtime as a homemaker is beneficial to our minds and bodies. Having too much downtime will negatively impact our homes. Time management is all about finding the right balance between the two, and managing the length of time each task takes.
6. Planning/Thinking Ahead
If you’re a natural planner, you may not realize this is a skill. Planning for both short and long-term events is a skill that is important in homemaking. From planning dinners for the week to planning what to bring to a family get-together next month, it all gets done timely if it is pre-planned. Having to rush around to complete tasks at the last minute will only cause stress, and homemaking is supposed to be a slow, intentional kind of work. Pre-planning these things will allow enough time to thoroughly get the job done, and will allow you to put your best foot forward.
7. Organization
Working hand in hand with planning and thinking ahead is organization. Being properly organized will allow homemakers to more accurately plan ahead. Knowing about upcoming events and tasks that need to be done for them is all rooted in organization. There are two main categories of organization: Home and Social.
Home
Home organization can be anything from pantry organization, to closet organization, to recipe organization. Anything that has to do with creating better systems within the home is classified as home organization. When it comes to home organization, it is a continuous cycle of improvements based on how well the system serves you. Constantly keeping up with organization in your home is a skill. There are so many resources out there to help those who do not have home organization in their natural skill set (such as myself). I am constantly scouring Pinterest for new home organization ideas, and for new systems that will help to better keep my little home tidy. Home organization is a lot of trial and error, and is a skill every homemaker needs.
Social
Social organization can be anything from buying birthday cards/gifts in advance, to planning what hostess gift you want to bring to your upcoming social engagement. There are so many different things homemakers must think about when it comes to this category. It is our responsibility to think of these things and take action.
Organizing both your home for yourself and your family along with organizing proper social interactions is a skill that will benefit your home, your family, and your relationships.
8. Decorating
Speaking from experience, this is a skill that can take YEARS to hone in on. Finding your decor style and fitting it into your home is not a simple task. This takes thought, time, and intention. Finding what you like and what fits your home will take trial and error. Once you perfect it, your home will become everything you’ve imagined it would. If you’re searching for a home decor theme, check out my blog post, 15 Unbelievably Charming Cottage Decor Ideas For Your Home. Decorating your home does not have to be expensive, as you can find very affordable home decor items at many places. Decorating your home on a budget is easily attainable, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself to purchase the best of the best!
Another facet of decorating is creating a cozy, homey feeling in your house. This is a skill that many homemakers intuitively have. Making a home of course requires decor, but it also requires things such as cooking, baking, and creating a haven for you and your family. Creating a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere is one of the homemaker’s most important jobs. As decor does add to the experience, it should be paired with other homemaking activities that add to the cozy aesthetic.
9. Practice Being Content
Arguably the most important part of being a homemaker. As some may argue that this is not a skill, I believe it is in a world where nothing is ever “enough.” A newer car, a fancier house, nicer clothes… there is always something to be discontent with. Choosing to be content with what you have is a skill that many people have not yet mastered. More is sometimes perceived as better, but when it comes to homemaking and living off of one salary, sometimes more is not an option. You learn to cherish and be thankful for what you do have, and to drown out the noise of society telling you it is not enough.
These 9 dependable homemaking skills will enhance the experience of being a homemaker. Sharpening these skills will provide both order and soul to your home.
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