Simple Homemaking: How to Focus on What Really Matters

Inside: There are a million things you could be doing at home, but only a few that you need to be doing. Here’s how to strip away all the fluff and keep your schedule simple.

Look, there’s a time and a place for homemade bread and grinding your flour. But it might not be that time for you right now.

What are those must-dos for homemakers? What are things you do and know that you got enough done? Not the bare minimum, but enough? What if you don’t want a multistep morning routine or a big garden, and you need to focus on foundations? 

I understand and want to share with you a simpler approach to your daily routine. You can stay at this level for a while or forever. Guilt-free. 

1. A Load of Laundry, Start to Finish

Having a laundry day can be overwhelming because the problem is now huge. And if you miss it…chaos.

But doing a load of laundry every single day is simple. When you wake up, start it. After breakfast, move it to the dryer. Before lunch, fold it and put it away. If it’s one of your children’s baskets, have them put it away.

Don’t sort into lights and darks. Have everyone keep a basket in their room for dirty clothes. Wash them all as one load. Then you never have to sort by person. They’re already sorted. Maybe your whites won’t be as pristine. That’s okay.

This is a beautiful system because it keeps the job small and manageable, you don’t have to plan or think about it, and if you miss a day, it’s okay. But don’t miss too many days. Then you’re right back where you started.

If you have a small family, a load on weekdays only or every other day might be better. Large families might need two loads a day. Just break it down and keep the system moving. 

2. Know What’s for Dinner Before Lunch

Know what it is, have it defrosting, and make 100% sure you have the ingredients. Most of what you hate about making dinner is actually the mental fatigue of deciding what to make for dinner. The longer you put it off the worse it gets.

This doesn’t mean you need to have a gourmet meal planned. Even if it’s just knowing you’ll order a pizza or making frozen chicken tenders, you need to free your mind. It’s the decision that’s important.  I highly recommend you keep a list of easy dinner recipes handy for when you need one.

Of course a weekly, monthly, or forever meal plan is better. But one day at a time might be where you need to start.

3. Clean for 7 Minutes

Why seven minutes? Because ten feels overwhelming and you don’t need it. Set a timer and go. 

This doesn’t mean dishes, laundry, or straightening up. It means cleaning. Like spray bottle or scrub brush situation. It could be your powder room, a kitchen cabinet, a dusty ceiling fan. I don’t care what you clean or what room you clean or what time of day you do it. But do some actual cleaning every single day and you’ll never have a dirty house. 

The key is consistency and intensity; don’t get distracted.

You must set the timer! It’s the key to making this work.

4. Get Every Single Dish Done And Take Out the Trash Before You Go to Bed

There’s nothing worse than waking up to a messy kitchen. It’s just…defeating. Lucky for you, it’s simple to avoid. Before you go to bed, get every dish in the kitchen clean or loaded into the dishwasher. Find the stray cups, the reusable water bottles in backpacks, all of it.

You don’t have to be the one doing this, but it has to get done.

There will be days when you don’t feel like doing this or you tell yourself a pot has to soak overnight. That’s the quitter in you talking. Wash it. Your future self will thank you.

Done? Great. Take out the trash. 

5. Run the Dishwasher Every Night and Unload It First Thing in the Morning

The way your day starts sets the tone for the rest of it. If you wake up then work out and shower, I can pretty much guarantee you won’t spend the rest of the day scrolling on your phone and eating candy. 

Similarly, if you do something small that moves the needle right away, you’ll have a better day overall.

So every morning, get everything put away from the dishwasher. This means every night, you have to run it. This means every night, you have to get it loaded. A beautiful cycle of dish happiness. 

This also keeps the kitchen functioning better. No dishes in limbo waiting to go in to the dishwasher. Clean dishes are readily available, and there’s room to load dirty ones throughout the day. Lovely. 

Success Brings Success

I can hear you now… but what about decluttering? Meal prep? A flower garden? Making homemade dog biscuits?

Yes, yes. All of those are wonderful things. And you will get to them , if you want to. But you can’t if you’re overwhelmed by dishes, overthinking your cleaning schedule, or drowning in laundry.

Take the small wins. 

You’ll feel more in control of your day, and that sense of control will carry over into other areas of your life. You’ll be more motivated to tackle those bigger tasks you’ve been putting off. You’ll think, “Hey, I can do this!” And you’ll be right.

The Next Level: When You’re Ready

All of these will make your life easier over time. But I recommend you master them one by one. It takes time to develop habits, and the foundational tasks above are more important.

• Assign chores to your kids: First of all, your children should clear their dishes, clean their rooms, and put their laundry away. That’s not a chore. I’m talking about taking out the trash, sweeping, dusting, vacuuming. I promise you they can do it. 
• Make a weekly meal plan: Every Sunday, make a meal plan for the whole upcoming week, lunches and snacks and all. Think about it once and let it go.
• Start simple meal prep: This does not mean containers of chicken and rice. Something as small as breaking down a bag of chips into smaller bags of chips can save you time and money. Start small. Tiny!
• Family tidy time: Along with the 7-minute clean, add a 15-minute tidy-up session daily. Everyone can help put things back in their place. This way, the house stays neat.
• Create a way to manage paper: Figure out a system that works for you to manage school papers, artwork, homework etc. so they don’t take over.
• Add theme days to your schedule: Take homemaking to the next level by getting ahead, enjoying your hobbies, and making those dog biscuits.
• Start a Sunday reset: Every Sunday, get ready for the week ahead.

I could say more, but that would defeat the point. If you want to add this over time, that’s great. But you don’t have to.