Taking care of our homes is a wonderful gift. It is a joy to steward what God has given us and make it beautiful.

But sometimes it can feel overwhelming. We feel like we’re behind.

As new moms, our plates are full. We often feel tired, and it feels like all we can do to keep our children fed and find a clean set of clothes for everyone to wear.

Things like wiping out a cupboard, vacuuming, or cleaning the bathroom can be the last thing on our minds.

We want care for our homes well, and yet in these busy seasons, it can feel impossible.

It is in these busy seasons that it can be helpful to have something to fall back on, a way of caring for your home that takes less brain power and decision-making, a rhythm suited to your season of life.

Enter a homemaking routine – a simple set of habits that help you take care of your home.

There are some household chores that we have to do. These are tasks that if you didn’t do them things would fall apart pretty quickly. Think dishes, laundry, cooking, and bathing the kids.

And there are other jobs that can easily get neglected. These are routines that you often don’t think about until they’re getting out of hand. Dust is starting to accumulate. Clutter is beginning to build. Or you suddenly realize you haven’t washed your sheets in a month.

Today, I want to show you how to build a household routine that incorporates all of these tasks. The stuff you already do, and the jobs you want to do more often.

So let’s begin.

How to build your own homemaking routine.

1. Know your season of life.

What stage of life are you in? Are you single or married without kids? Do you have a newborn, toddlers, school-age kids, or beyond?

I believe your season of life should influence your homemaking routine. A mom of babies won’t clean and tend her home like an empty-nester will. Some things might drop, and that is okay! We need to prioritize what’s important in each season.

2. List your essentials.

Make a list – whether mentally or on paper – of the tasks that are important to you. What makes you feel like your house is clean and reset?

These chores might be things you already do as well as tasks you want to start doing.

List them all.

3. Look at your week.

Now, think about your week. When might you fit things in? What days are already busy? When do you have more time?

4. Implement habits for daily tasks.

Foster habits for the things you do every day. Chores like dishes, baths, sweeping the floor, and making beds can all be fit into little routines each day.

5. Assign bigger chores to specific days.

Choose a day that you want to tackle a bigger chore. Perhaps you’ll clean bathrooms on Saturday when your husband is home and can watch the kids. Maybe you’ll vacuum on Wednesdays because you don’t usually have much going on that day.

Have a plan, so you don’t have to decide every week when you’ll get things done.

6. Don’t overdo it.

Don’t go overboard. Implementing a new routine is a lot of work. It takes time to build a new habit. And if you have little kids, life is busy.

Start small. Try one new habit, and then when you’re ready, you can add something new. Do what you can do, and don’t worry about what you can’t.

6. Adjust as needed.

If you make a homemaking routine and find that something doesn’t work well, pivot! It’s okay to change your mind and try a new rhythm.

Happy homemaking, Mama.