Proverbs 31:27
She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
These are just some helpful suggestions, not rules that you have to follow, but are some things that have worked for me. If you are unable to be a full-time homemaker, you can adjust your schedule in a way that works for your family.
God wants women, especially the young women, to be busy taking care of their families, studying His word and teaching her children Gods word. He doesn't want us being idle, nor to be busy doing things that are not profitable or edifying.
1 Tim 5:6 says,
But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.
1 Tim 5:
13 And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies (gossiping), speaking things which they ought not. 14 I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. 15 For some are already turned aside after Satan.
So instead of going around gossiping, or in our day also spending hours on social media, watching the news, reading about celebrity and royal gossip, spending hours and hours shopping, obsessing over our appearance or the latest fashion trends, playing video games, etc we should be spending that time taking care of our families and homes as well reading and studying the word of God and then teaching it to others, primarily to our families first.
So, one practical suggestion for homemaking, to keep ourselves productive, that really helped me when I first became a full-time homemaker, was to keep a homemaker schedule. It actually made things a little easier on my family and I as well so that we were not totally overwhelmed by a messy house and I wasn't putting too much on my plate each day either. Instead of trying to do too many chores and other things on one day, I set days for specific chores, errands and tasks.
This includes for example:
Daily Cleaning
• Wash dishes, wash down counters
• Straighten up living room and bathrooms
• At least one load of laundry per day
• Sweep and mop kitchen
Weekly Cleaning
• Mondays - Deep clean the kitchen (this is more than my daily kitchen cleaning and would include some or all of the following - wash dishes, wash counters, clean out fridge, clean inside microwave, sweep and mop behind appliances, wash down cupboards, organize cupboards, etc)
• Tuesdays - Deep clean the bathrooms (scrub toilets, wash sink and counters, organize linens and towels, scrub bath and shower, wash mirrors, etc)
• Wednesday- Clean living room and vacuum all rooms (it might include dusting and polishing furniture, wash windows, vacuum floors and couches, use a rug shampoo or mop depending on the flooring, organize book or dvd shelves etc)
• Thursday - Clean bedrooms and wash all sheets (dust and polish furniture, vacuum, clean bedding as needed, organize clothes and closet when needed etc)
• Friday- Clean bathrooms (just a general cleaning as needed - I scrub the toilets about twice a week) and any other chores that I might notice need done. If not much needs to be done, I can relax a little more this day or do something special with my family with the extra time. You could also exchange this time for baking, meal planning, hobbies, crafts, just relaxing in bed, reading or listening to a book, watch a movie, gardening, calling relatives or texting a close friend or having another female Christian friend over for tea.
• Saturday- Outside or patio chores, gardening or maintenance on houseplants etc or take the day off and do something enjoyable with your husband and family.
• Sunday- Just do a few basic chores and rest. I like to either order dinner, make something simple or have a simple and easy to make soup or crockpot meal on these days.
You can add any other necessary tasks to your schedule as well on specific days like grocery shopping, doctors appointments, visiting the library, taking your kids to the park, etc. For me personally, because I am an introvert and a highly sensitive person, I like to try keep our schedule the least busy that we can as I can get overwhelmed too easily if I have to be going out all of the time. My husband and daughter are also introverts so they are just fine with a less busy schedule too!
Keeping a regular schedule helps to keep more things in order in your home and makes things a little easier on your family and keeps you from being idle as well.
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