TV shows and movies depict modern homemakers as housewives with too much time on their hands and not enough to do.
This is far from the experience that the average homemaker has. While many homemakers are stay at home moms who have to care for children, many homemakers don't have children for a variety of reasons. A homemaker, with or without kids, is responsible for managing everything in the home and keeping it running smoothly. While Hollywood would have you believe that the homemaker spends her days watching soap operas and lunching with the girls, those moments are few and far between.
So what does a full time homemaker do all day?
In short, A LOT.
I am currently a second shift girlfriend. My boyfriend works from 2:50pm to 11:20pm an hour away from home. He gets home from work between 12:15am and 12:30am. We relax and watch TV for a bit before going to bed, or if we have a project that doesn't make too much noise, we work for a bit. Dinner is also really late for us. He is changing to 3rd shift soon, and our daily schedule will be changing. I can't wait!
For now, my daily routine is pretty set in stone. I will be using the same routine, but I will be switching up when I complete my daily tasks to match his new schedule. I am not switching to a third shift sleeping schedule like I did for second shift.
My day starts when either my alarm goes off (between 8-10am depending on what time we finally made it to bed #secondshiftproblems) or when Solo (our Carolina Dog) starts crying to go outside. Actually, I think it's because he wants breakfast or to hop into bed, but outside is the first stop in the morning. To let the dogs out, I have to go to the laundry room, so this is when I start my daily load of laundry.
Now, if I am REALLY tired. Like we stayed up watching a long movie or chatting until 5am (it really happens... way too often), I will go back to bed for an hour or so, depending on what time it is.
If I am ready to start my day, I start with unloading the dishwasher and planning on the tasks for the day. Weather dictates a lot of my daily tasks, because a lot of my work is done outside. Many homemakers don't have the property size we have, and may not have as many outdoor chores to complete. This is also a great time for me to have a cup of coffee and relax into the start of my day. It took a long time for me to adapt to a slower day when I came home full time from my retail job.
Around 11am I start making Andy's lunch. When we moved into our home, I made this little task my priority. Providing less processed foods than what he can get while he is at work and saving us money. As homemakers, we need to be looking for ways to cut costs where we can to contribute financially to our families. It is much less expensive to take a lunch than it is to buy one everyday. He loves taking a lunch to work, and I love hearing about how everyone wanted to know what smelt so good when he heated up his lunch in the break room.
Until 1:30pm I work on tasks in the house that need to get done, run local errands, and help Andy with anything he needs to make sure he is ready to leave for work. This can vary a little bit depending on what time he is actually leaving. Sometimes he goes in early so he can pick up pallets and other items we need for projects while he is in town. We live in the middle of nowhere, and try to be as resourceful as possible to get the items we need on our homestead.
After he leaves for work, I switch laundry, and start tackling my daily to do list. Whatever happens to be on it. I am working on time blocking to increase productivity, but the best part of being a homemaker is being able to dictate your own schedule. If I am not feeling motivated to do a task, I can usually push it to another day. Any phone calls I need to make are usually done right after he leaves so I don't forget. Things like calling our pest control, paying bills, making appointments, etc.
I love working outside during the warmest part of the day, right now anyway. I am sure that will change as the weather gets warmer here in the South. I try to schedule any outdoor chores (there are plenty to do) for days that are nice. On days that it has been rainy or too cold, I focus on things we need to do in the house. We just purchased our home in September, and I have been painting every room (only one bedroom, the bathrooms and closets are left to do!!!), decluttering paperwork in the office, unpacking, mini home improvement projects, etc. You can check out our Property Tour.
Idealy, after the sun goes down, I would be working on my business. Right now, I have been focused on the home, and getting it exactly the way we want it. It takes a lot of work to move into a new place. Especially, when you live on a 12 Acre Wonderland.
I spend the last hour of my day doing my daily chores list. You can download my Daily Necessities to Keep Your Home Ready for Unexpected Guests Anytime to see the whole list. It takes no more than an hour everyday to keep our home fresh and clean. Anyone can adopt this list and make it work for their lifestyle. Whether you are a full time homemaker or work full time and only have a few hours a day to accomplish your homemaking tasks.
In between all of the tasks that I am doing, I am preparing meals, grocery shopping, making sure all of the errands are done, paying all of our bills, scouring Facebook Marketplace for items we are looking for, vet appointments, grooming appointments, and any other tasks that need to be done to keep our home running smoothly. As we add chickens, guineas, gardens, and other things to our homestead, my daily tasks will change to care for each new thing. Being a homemaker means being flexible and adapting to whatever needs to be done in your home.
And then I have days like today. Days when we stayed up way too late the night before, overslept by way too much, and I just can't find the motivation to do much of anything, despite the beautiful, sunny 75 degree day outside.
There's always tomorrow.
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