Being a homemaker is more than cooking, cleaning, and caring for children. Today let’s have a look at what are the responsibilities of a homemaker.
Ever wondered what a home without a homemaker be like?
How life would be if you worked day and night only to come home to a sink full of dishes, a stinky bathroom, dirty laundry, and personal belongings scattered all over?
Home is the primary place in our lives. When it is in good order, all the other stuff makes sense.
A homemaker is a person who makes a home.
What does making a home or being a homemaker means?
A homemaker is a chef, therapist, teacher, grocery buyer, cleaning lady/housekeeper, pet caregiver, and so much more.
No matter what we think or what social media tells us, the truth is there’s no perfect marriage/family. There is no perfect home or life in this world. So instead of comparing our lives to others, why not try our best and be better homemakers?
That truth is uplifting and appreciative enough to work diligently and persevere in our calling — homemaking.
10 RESPONSIBILITIES OF A HOMEMAKER
1| Cook meals:
Enjoying warm home-cooked meals with my husband is my favourite part of my day.
As a homemaker serving hot, healthy scratchmade meals must be our priority.
Food is a vital requirement. Letting your family eat something out of the package and neglecting your duty to prepare meals for them is something unwelcoming.
Despite saving money (also a responsibility of the homemaker) and time, preparing meals from scratch (using natural and safe ingredients) is the most caring job you can do for your family’s health and well-being.
Homemade food costs considerably less than takeout.
By preparing meals at home, you’re in control of the ingredients.
You serve nutritious meals that are easier to digest.
Unlike takeout or processed food, home-cooked meals are wholesome (low in salt, sugar, and oil).
Home-cooked food taste so much better. Stay fresh longer. And can be prepared in different ways.
With little planning and preparation, cooking at home is easier.
Just pick 5-6 dinner recipes for the week. Make a list of ingredients required for those recipes. Get groceries. Do a little prep work, and you’re all set.
2| Wash dishes:
Keeping the kitchen clean is essential to maintain good hygiene.
You must invest time and effort in cleaning and tidying your kitchen as you don’t want the place where you prepare, consume, and store your food to be messy and cluttered.
A clean kitchen will not only save you time and money but have a positive impact on your family and visitors.
No matter how much you drudge this task, washing your dishes lowers stress and protects you from harmful bacteria and allergens.
Leaving dirty dishes in the sink for longer largely grows bacteria all around the place.
Even the (widely used) soaking method doesn’t work as the grimy, greasy water is a breeding ground for bacteria too (really unsafe for homemakers handwashing dishes especially those not wearing gloves).
In case you fail to wash your hands thoroughly you’re going to spread foodborne bacteria all over the place.
It’s a homemaker’s responsibility to clean the utensils, stove, and worktop surfaces regularly.
Get rid of the trash regularly, keep on top of the dishes, wash the sink at least once a day, and discard rotten food periodically to prevent a stinky refrigerator and kitchen.
Besides this, organize your kitchen in a way that is efficient and safe to work.
3| Do laundry:
After humble food and abode, clothes are a third basic need of human beings.
Doing laundry can feel like having no end.
But as a keeper of the home, it is your responsibility to see to it that the people in your home don’t run out of clean clothes.
Depending on how large your family is, commit one day of the week to laundry or wash one load every day.
Having a proper system in place can help keep laundry under control.
However, doing one load each day would keep things manageable. You don’t have to put in efforts as much as you think.
Earlier I would never run a smaller load.
But I figured the stains and sour smell of clothes get tougher when they sit for a long. Such clothes take extra time and effort, therefore consuming more water and energy.
Make an effort to finish the process — wash, dry, and put away clothes right away.
Along with regular clothes, it is also important that you wash sheets and towels periodically to be able to put out fresh ones whenever required.
Read How To Create A LAUNDRY SYSTEM That Works
4| Iron clothes:
Ironing gives your clothes a fresh and polished look.
Pressing removes wrinkles, creases, and folds, and adds a slight sheen to the clothes.
It’s the job of a homemaker to ensure that her kids and husband look slick at school and work.
Assigning an ironing day is worthwhile. You can listen to your favourite music, podcast, or watch your favourite tv show to make this job bit interesting.
5| Clean the house:
Having a cleaning system in place is crucial.
Ensuring a safe environment is another crucial duty of a homemaker.
All of us love having a neat and tidy space but many of us find keeping home clean out of control.
Well with little ones it is a tough job. But you can still play a more effective role.
Clutter and mess can create disturbance and distraction and keeps you from concentrating on the importat things.
It makes life difficult when you can’t find your everyday-use stuff while getting ready for office/school.
Routines are your friend.
A daily, weekly, deep cleaning routine will really help reduce stress.
Having good cleaning routines in place will ensure you spend less time cleaning.
Because you know regular maintenance versus washing/scrubbing when it’s too dirty. For me, the former is simpler.
If you spend few minutes each day maintaining a clean home, you’ll never have to overdo it to get it back in order.
Plus, you’ll be able to cook, read a book, do something you love, and relax without having to think about all the chaos.
Maintaining a clean space means you’ll never have to freak out when surprise guests visit.
6| Plan meals + grocery shop:
I know that sounds like another chore but trust me it’ll make your life easier.
As homemakers, what to cook for dinner is constantly on our minds. Memorizing things consumes a lot of our energy.
Even if you come up with a recipe, ingredients might be missing.
And even if you know what you’re going to cook, and you have all the ingredients, you may be bored to start preparing the meal right from the base.
I suggest sparing 15-20 minutes (every week) to plan meals and create a grocery list. Try not to spend more than 20 minutes. I can’t tell how relieved you’ll feel. It will take a huge pressure off your mind.
Buy groceries and spend another 5 or 10 minutes prepping a little bit before popping the ingredients in the refrigerator/pantry. You’ll be sorted for the week.
All these efforts will be rewarding, I promise.
Feel free to reuse the same meal plans and grocery list a couple times a month.
Planning meals and taking inventory before grocery shopping helps prevent the wastage from the forgotten food items.
7| Manage finances:
Yes, as a homemaker you may want to draw up a budget and save your husband’s hard-earned salary for several reasons.
It can be for financial independence, building an emergency fund, paying off debt, buying a home/car, paying medical bills, planning for retirement, travel, and so on.
It’s our responsibility as a homemaker to get spending under control and contribute as much as we can.
No matter how productively we work in our homes, the person (our husband) working outside has significant responsibilities, and a more challenging job.
A good homemaker supports her husband financially. It can be done through budgeting, living off one income (if you’re earning a little with your hobbies/working at home), using deals/coupons, finding free entertainment, and so much more.
8| Run errands:
Together with housework, there are tasks outside of the home that you do need to take care of, as a homemaker.
That includes getting grocery, car fuel, medicines, bank work; picking up dry cleaning, doctors/other appointments, etc
Since we stay home it’ll be really helpful if we do these jobs and let our husband focus on his work.
9| Stock a pantry:
It is a wise move on a homemaker’s part to have a well-stocked pantry.
A well-stocked pantry not only helps you prepare for emergencies but also saves time and money.
It is a great way to ensure you won’t be out of stock of main food ingredients, personal care products, and cleaning supplies. Because that can be frustrating.
Also, when you have healthy food and snacks at home you’re more likely to avoid pre-packaged stuff.
10| Care for family:
Along with physical care, the emotional well-being of our family relies upon us.
Regardless of the size of our home and all the luxury, if we can’t make it a sanctuary, it would be of no value.
A little effort here and there makes all the difference.
Some thoughtful gestures like getting a hot meal on the table before your husband arrives, a quick backrub, putting clothes and belongings out for him.
A picked-up home, decently dressed kiddos and yourselves, everyone sharing fun stories at the dinner table, and caring for each other is all that matters.
The numbers continue. But this list of responsibilities of a homemaker pretty much has you covered.
Don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comments section below. Thank you so much for reading. Happy Homemaking!
