Homemaking Tips For Young Wives

Homemaking Tips For Young Wives

Many young wives have no idea how to keep up with housework or how to run a home. I asked the wise women in the chat room for their best homemaking tips for young wives and here are some of them:

“Don’t expect your husband to do half of all the household chores. Plan that you are responsible for housework and be grateful when your husband helps you. Entitlement leads to disappointment and conflict. If you assume it’s your job, you will feel gratitude for the help rather than checking to see if he did all of his half.” (Lindsay)

“Have a written daily list of chores to do. Make a separate list of deep cleaning items and rotate through them regularly. Do laundry at least once a week and up to daily as your family grows. Find the most frugal ways to do everything you do.” (Debbie)

“If you see something that needs to be done, do it right away! Have a place for everything and teach everyone to put everything in its place. Make beds every single morning. Teach your children to make their beds. It makes the room appear cleaner and instills the daily discipline which translates into other areas. Plan meals ahead to save money on groceries, ensure you don’t waste food, and cuts down on the grocery bill/eating out. You will eat much healthier this way too!” (Danielle)

“Do all things for the glory of God and respect your husband.” (Nancy)

“As the great Elizabeth Elliott has wisely said, ‘Do the next thing.’ Don’t focus on all your tasks, just do the next thing.” (Jennifer)

“Make your home as lovely as you can afford while keeping it simple and minimal. This will help make cleaning and keeping it tidy manageable.” (Beth)

“Greet your hubby with a cheerful heart and kiss as soon as he walks in the door no matter how hard and busy your day has been.” (Yrena)

“Be in a constant state of decluttering. It’ll prevent things from becoming overwhelming. Go through the mail daily and throw out the junk and extra envelopes and what not. Take ten minutes to straighten the linen closet before it becomes a black hole that ends up taking hours to reorganize. Find joy and freedom in minimalism.” (Brook)

“Believe, study, and apply God’s truths on the importance of homemaking (not being idle, attitude/temperament, being a wise woman, etc.) On the days that I don’t feel like homemaking, remembering God’s word helps me to stay the course!” (Nisha)

“When you get something out and when you’re done, put it away. When you do the laundry, as soon as it’s dry, fold it and put it away. When you get home from the grocery store, put the groceries away. A non-junky house is much easier to clean.” (Rebecca)

“Stay home. Be a keeper AT home. You already have a job in the home. You don’t need one outside of the home.” (Stephanie)

“I’m not a wife yet, so I will mention something my father said once to me. He said that he was always happy to come home, because he was greeted by children running to him to welcome him home. My mother was usually in the kitchen already, putting on the finishing touches on supper. They always kissed after we kids finished greeting father. My mother would help by calling out, ‘Daddy’s home!’ if we kids got too distracted to hear him walk in. We kids literally dropped whatever we were doing to run and greet him! He said he loved going straight home after work!

“My father also said he had coworkers who literally did things like going to bars to avoid going home to chaos, messy homes, loud children, grouchy or indifferent wives, etc. In other words, it was not pleasant to go home.” (Genevieve)

“Start your day in the Word! It sets the tone for the entire day.” (Ashlyn)

“You are in God’s will. Focus on Him and trust that He sees your diligence and heart. He sees the effort, even when no one else does, and He will reward you.” (Paige)

And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.
Colossians 3:23

27 thoughts on “Homemaking Tips For Young Wives

  1. I would add how important it is to dress respectfully for your homemaking day. When we dress with dignity and honor, we better understand how important our job in the home really is. Most careers outside the home dress for success. Therefore, we should be all the more diligent in dressing well for the home. It is a high, noble calling to be a keeper at home…. the best career there is!

  2. “Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him.” -Hudson Taylor

    I often had laundry baskets full of clean, crumpled laundry. So I actually stopped using laundry baskets (that way, at least). Now I fold straight out of the dryer, and the next load does not go in there until the first load is folded. That has helped me so much.

  3. Great tips for young wives and “seasoned” veterans such as myself; you’re never to old to learn! I do 95% of all inside chores and about 5% of outside chores and vise versa for my husband-it works for us. I work outside the home (and an empty nester) and my tip would be – become an early bird. I’m most productive when I wake up at 5 am. And, as an accountant, I make lists for EVERYTHING-I’ll start my week with a list and scratch off what I’ve done, and I add and then scratch off what I forgot to put on the list-it’s amazing to see what you’ve achieved in a small window/time frame.

  4. ContentWife – I love the Hudon Taylor quote! I’m in charge of my church’s weekly bulletin, I’m going to add it sometime.
    Thanks – Lake

  5. I would advise young wives to ask their husbands or learn from listening and observing their husbands before deciding on top priority daily goals on their chore lists. Failure to do so may lead to a wife focusing on an area of housekeeping that is important to her family of origin, or to the author of her favorite housekeeping manual rather than to her husband which may cause some conflict. I used to want to cook each evening meal from scratch like my mother did; as well as fitting in some ironing in the late afternoon.

    As the family size grew, it left me exhausted. I was dull and sleepy by the time we sat to supper. After talking to my husband about it, and hearing him say that he valued a vibrant lively wife when he got home, more than a pile of ironed shirts or an elaborately prepared meal, I started making bulk meals on Saturday when he is home and doing fun things with the children. That leaves only vegetables to be prepped for our evening meals on a daily basis. He also took the ironing from me and he puts in a good hour on Saturday afternoons to sort it out. I’m well rested when he comes home in the week because I spend the late afternoons reading aloud to the children (the best part of homeschooling) and the children are not high strung either. There are other areas where I’ve been stressed out over the years because of self imposed great expectations and my husband has come to my rescue to point out that it was not feasible for that season of life or helped me move things around to get it done more efficiently and realistically. So young wives, don’t ignore your greatest asset, your husband; bounce those ideas off him and you’ll be blessed by his capacity for problem solving.

  6. Making Crock Pot meals saves a lot of time on cooking preparation, as well as Instant Pots. Also, learn to freeze your leftovers. Look into possibly planting a garden; just growing potatoes and beans provides you with so many different meal options, and you save a little bit of coins, too! I also recommend getting a Kindle if you’re a big book fan like me, it saves your house from getting overrun with books without a place to put them. Dishwashers are always wonderful, look into investing in one today!

    When the time for homeschooling your children comes around, making meals, doing laundry, and washing dishes I’m sure can easily become overwhelming. Times like these are when you become discontent with your husband’s apparent “laziness”. So I recommend investing in homemaking products that will buy you more time to train, educate, and enjoy your children; and their father when he comes home from work. 🙂

  7. I totally agree. I was killing myself folding clothes a certain way & dusting all the time. Turns out my husband doesn’t really care about how his clothes are folded (he just wants the clean laundry) and doesn’t even notice dust until it’s built up for 2 weeks. He much more appreciates having dinner hot and ready and me being cheerful and well-rested.

    You can easily figure these things out by asking during a casual/normal conversation: What about your family home was your favorite? What were the things that irked you? What do you love when I do? What do you love to come home to? What around the house bugs you the most?

  8. In the past few days I’ve made a good stock out of leftover chicken and turkey, an Asian inspired vegetarian soup, spaghetti with leftover chicken and my homemade spaghetti sauce, and a cheesy chicken casserole. I usually make enough for several servings.

  9. I did not learn any of the housekeeping tasks from my mom as she was completely scatterbrained from having too much to do and not enough hours. Our house was pure chaos. My grandma did all her cleaning at dawn, before my grandpa came home from his night shift. The house was quiet as a tomb during the day so he could sleep. She arranged her schedule completely around his/him.

    Early in marriage, I read The Tightwad Gazette and thus began my dive into homemaking. I made it a habit early on to use my dryer as little as possible so the laundry went in first thing in the morning. Clothes hung up and were dry (Southern Cal) before noon. I was told about FlyLady. Lots of great stuff for a beginner, but I eventually tweaked it to fit me and my needs. I put my home into 5 zones and cleaned one zone daily from M-F. Each week was also a zone for deep cleaning. For me, that’s been the easiest way to keep things tidy and organized. Even if I get sick, it’s easy enough to just fall right back into it without playing catch-up. In a week’s time, I’m all caught up and back on track.
    I like getting the less exciting things done early and first, like toilet scrubbing lol. That leaves the afternoons free to do things with more enjoyment like sewing, making gifts, etc.

    My husband is completely non critical or bossy about anything. His only comments are about loving the magic drawers with the clean clothes.

  10. All of this information is so wise, and helpful for somewhat of a veteran like me!

    In addition to the excellent advice above, May I add:
    Being a keeper of the home (a job I love) often has me in warm, comfy fleece when I’m doing paperwork or old sweats and t-shirts when I am cleaning, cooking, baking or ironing. My husband never complains but I can tell he appreciates it when I have showered and put on an actual outfit (even if it’s just jeans and a button up shirt and simple earrings) for when he gets home. Eating at the kitchen table this way I actually even feel like we are “dining out” instead of “the cleaning lady is having dinner with Dad” lol. His compliments are my reward for taking time to get myself fixed up before he comes home from work.

    Learn to be content with what you have and find new and more efficient, cheaper ways of doing things to save your household money and help your husband to have more while working less. Sadly, I remember a family member always wanting this and that. When she got it, she moved on to the next “thing” to add to the house or make her life easier. The man must have felt like he was on a treadmill that didn’t have a STOP button. Example; instead of wanting new dishes now, wait til your favorite pattern goes on clearance. Or better yet, if you are setting up house for the first time, make a game out of thrift store shopping for certain furniture pieces, pyrex, china, glassware, appliances, etc. Goodwill and other places has TONS of kitchen items, placemats, dishes etc. on display for cheap. Many years ago, I believe I read that John Templeton (of Templeton Funds) and his wife did this when they got married and set up their first apartment. Even their friends got into it and they set up their first apartment together as a married couple for $100, if I’m not mistaken. That was many years ago, but the concept still applies today.

    Also, I try to use the weekdays to take care of the house, the errands, the grocery shopping, meal prep and planning, kids appointments, the bills/paperwork or getting the lawn cut. Since my husband works M-F and is home on weekends, I try to reserve the weekends for whatever my husband’s priorities are. I might have plans in my head to do this or that on a Saturday, but if my husband’s priority is getting the garage cleaned out….that’s what I help him with. If he has nothing he needs my help with or it’s a quiet weekend, I will then bake bread, iron or work on one of my hobbies.

    Keep the TV turned off. It’s just a distraction and commercials fuel discontent of all the “things” you don’t have. Limit your time on the computer unless you are trying to learn something new. Recently I learned how to turn vegetable scraps and chicken carcasses (thrown into the deep freezer til I need them) into homemade stock and the discarded strained veggies and cartilage I pulverized in my cuisinart and made/froze portions of homemade dog food. My family and the dog were quite happy with my efforts.

  11. If possible,

    Buy Fresh Flowers.

    When I buy pretty flowers, I immediately want to have the cleanest home possible in order to show them off!

    Flowers are meant to be in beautiful surroundings!

  12. Also, don’t focus on plastering everything you do fantastic on Facebook. Stay humble. Don’t try to keep up with the friend or acquaintance that shows her perfectly clean home and gourmet meals on Facebook and YouTube.

  13. Anon, I had to comment on 2 things in your post.
    The first was about greeting your husband in *real* clothes and not your cleaning duds. Years ago, I chatted online with a group of housewives and we wondered if men would notice such a thing. Some commented that they remember their moms bathing & putting on a fresh dress for their dad’s return. So, we all tried it and posted our results. More than half our husbands commented on how nice we looked or where we’d been! Yes, they definitely notice.

    Second, the new dishes. My tightwad friend desperately wanted new dishes, but it just wasn’t in the budget. She saved some money for them, but just wasn’t finding something that she loved. She went to a neighborhood garage sale one day and hit the jackpot. She found a home that was selling china. Real china. It seems the woman was married to a man who often had dinner party meetings for work. The woman was selling 3 sets of different china. 2 8 pc. settings of each, glasses to match & all the extras. My friend found one she just loved and it was $150 for the 8 settings. She only had $100. She asked the woman if she could just have the one set without the matching gravy boat, etc. The woman sold it to her and told her to take the extra pieces, as well. She said she bought 16 place settings every year or so! We looked it up and it was a Mikasa pattern for over $100 per place setting, no extras. My friend’s patience paid off.

  14. I find creating a menu, by asking hubs and my daughter what they would like very useful. Create a shopping list. You can do a big shop of non perishable foods, and then buy veges , bread etc as needed. It should slow down impulse buying, though I am still a sucker for chocolate!
    Buy bulk dry goods where possible.

  15. I agree being a keeper at home is a high and noble calling however as a young mother who is constantly being thrown up on, sitting on the floor playing with my child, getting on my hands and knees to clean the floor after she has made a mess from eating, it is not practical to dress the same as someone in a corporate business. Much the same as a janitor, nurse, cook, or school teacher do not all dress the same (which are all roles of a housewife). All of those professions are honorable yet they do not all dreSs the same. I try to wear nicer clothes after I have showered for the day (which is usually in the afternoon during my daughters second nap), bit before that, I’m doing all of the above, or additionally walking, exercising, or taking care of another friends child two days a week.

    Anyway, I agree with you it is a noble calling. Just adding my thoughts on your comment 🙂

  16. Someone commented on this blog a while back that she tried to have all her housework finished so that when her husband comes home they can spend time and relax together. I love this so much! Obviously there are some chores that may fall after your husband comes home (cleaning the kitchen, for example) but it has helped me a lot!

  17. I think some of the biggest struggles I had were not only in how to do a certain task (which way was the best and most efficient) but also as our family grew, as there were more things to do and balance. I suppose everyone struggles with these things.
    I found it helpful to have a schedule for daily, weekly, monthly, yearly or seasonal tasks, and also to simplify. I bought white sheets for every bed in the house, matching comforters/quilts for each room, all the girls have one type of socks (the pckg. has two white kinds, and a pink) and the boys have another, all of the underwear is from same brand but each age group has different patterns to be able to differentiate quickly, they each have a certain amount of shoes (one for each occasion and they must keep them all in the laundry room or garage, depending on whether they are boots or not- this helped from creating a mess in the bedrooms or elsewhere in the house), clothing is also simplified: a couple short sleeve tops, and also long sleeve tops, girls have jumpers or dresses, boys have jeans or shorts, plus a few cardigans in basic colors, coats, etc.(this has helped so much!! I do laundry everyday, 2 or 3 loads, sometimes more. But it’s organized and not overwhelming anymore. We no longer have too many clothes), their personal things are stored by type (for example; papers they each have a bin and the bins are all together in the downstairs closet, crafting or needlework supplies stay altogether also, but they each have a storage container – this keeps their bedrooms organized; for very personal things they each have a basket with a lid under their bed), etc.
    It takes a lot of work to run a home and I desire a pleasant home, so does my husband. Our children are learning the value or a clean and organized home and lifestyle. They mention to me how much they like it when it’s clean and how they even enjoy cleaning as well. It’s a process. For a while I thought I would never get it all under control, and some days we have messes I’m not sure where they come from, but we have systems put in place and they also know what is expected of them and where everything belongs.
    For a mama who is still struggling, I really learned a lot from a book I bought to use with my oldest daughter when she was 8. It is Girl’s Complete Guide to Home Skills by Marmee Dear (Martha Greene). It has been sort of a foundation to how I schedule our cleaning. For example, on Mondays I always clean the bathrooms (sometimes every other week). We also wipe it every other day with disinfecting wipes which helps to keep it clean. Each of the twins checks on the little trash cans and refills the basket of tissue. Each child has a part. On Tuesdays, I clean the refrigerator and then I pickup groceries and have a clean fridge to put them in. We all work together. We keep the kitchen clean by always wiping everything that needs it. Of course I have had to find what works for us, and have made the schedule work for us, but I can say that this book helped me a lot in getting there!

  18. I’ve read of a few homemakers that like housedresses with an apron – inspired by the kind they wore in the 40s and 50s, just updated a bit. The dresses are always easy to wash and move around in, and quick to put on the morning. Not necessarily “vintage” looking, just something simple in colors or patterns you like. A knit wrap dress is handy for nursing! The apron catches spit up and spills, and can be whipped off at a moments notice so you’re in a cute dress to step outside or greet someone at the door.

  19. Lakelie, I work full time and homeschool with A LOT of help from tutors. I usually get up at 3:00am to clean (no vacuuming or loud chores) a couple of days a week. I have a daily (rotating list). A weekly list. A monthly list, quarterly, and I include seasonal decorating and gardening on those lists. Mother Dearest and Kate, I cook almost all my meals on Saturday or Sunday afternoon, portion out and freeze them. I add the salads and fresh veggies the day of the meals. It helps make sure we are eating a more balanced diet, and I don’t have to wash many dishes every day. (My personal LEAST favorite chore.) Kate and Mother Dearest, my Mom ironed and had her many daughters iron bedsheets, pillow cases, aprons, dish towels…….I was the youngest daughter and came home from school and ironed at least an hour every day and two or three hours on Saturday. I rebelled around age 17 and said that I would iron clothing, pillow cases, and table cloths, but if the dish towels didn’t have creases or her aprons were a little crinkled – she was going to have to cope! Mother Dearest – my husband I bought our first house we wanted to paint some rooms. I said we will have to vacuum the walls and ceiling and wash them. My husband was like “wash walls? People don’t wash walls.” I pushed the button on the vacuum and lifted the wand up and vacuumed the walls, ceiling and light fixtures……my husband was amazed. He didn’t know they did that. He said he wondered how I was going to push that vacuum up those walls.

  20. This list and subsequent comments are so helpful! ? I’ve been married almost 20 years and I’m late to the party, so to speak. My husband frequently tells me I do too much and I don’t stick to a schedule. It’s an area I struggle with. If the house isn’t spotless while I’m out I get fidgity and anxious and just want to get home to fix it all up. But that’s just it, it will never be perfect. Especially if I’m the only one cleaning it. I’m slowly learning to let go and delegate. (My children are 13, although she is wheelchair bound,non verbal and completely dependant on help with daily tasks. Almost 9, almost 8, & 6) so there’s some tasks I insist on doing myself. But I need to let them work beside me in that situation.

  21. I’m so glad I read this today! All of this stuff is pure gold! Seriously. It’s funny, just this week I began a search for the best books on Christ centered homemaking, to help me “get it together.” I love to learn new ways to do things efficiently, or just learn SOMETHING, cause I went into marriage and motherhood with zero skills. Who knew people iron bedsheets and napkins? The comment about dividing your home into cleaning zones, to me that is genius! I’m definitely going try that. But if anyone knows of some good books on homemaking, please share.

  22. There’s no need to wear a dress with small children at home . There is a large market for young moms who desire to wear stylish workout clothes which are appropriate for playing with small children, exercising, running errands, and perfectly acceptable for answering the door. Walmart, Target, Kohl’s, and Old Navy all sell great pieces for different budgets.
    I agree with you, Christ follower, after showering it’s nice to dress for the late afternoon and evening, but during the day with children, comfort is key. Great job with walking and exercising! It’s challenging with little ones, especially when babysitting additional children.

  23. 10 months later, and this post and thread is still so very helpful! I love reading everyone’s tips and tricks for what has worked well for them. I am not married, but I am home most of the time now, due to teleworking, so it’s become imperative to have a clean and orderly home. Thankfully the time saved from not having a commute has allowed me extra time to focus on my home.
    Thank you all for sharing your helpful hints! 🙂

  24. Totally feeling this comment! In the span of 2 weeks we have a birthday, Christmas & moving out of state – all while homeschooling, making sure I am training them up properly & spending quality time with my family. Not to mention the housework! Which homemaking products do you recommend to buy me more time? I’m all ears!!

    I’m planning to begin cooking several different meats on Sunday to last through the week so I only need to whip out veggies & sides each day.

  25. Yes!! When I lived close to a Trader Joe’s I did this weekly ? it’s amazing how much better I felt & our home looked when I made it a habit!

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