Homemaking 101

So, after monitoring our daughter’s hearts and prioritizing time in the home, we need to train them in all the nitty-gritty daily tasks of homemaking.

I’ll offer one or two simple suggestions from what my mom did with my two sisters and me (since I don’t have girls of my own!). I’m sure there are many more creative ideas out there, but I hope these will get you started….

First, Mom brought us into her day and taught us along the way. There are so many things we do as moms, probably without even thinking about it, that need to be learned: the cooking, laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, caring for the children and the like. Mom took the time necessary to train us how to do each one of these tasks.  She showed us how to separate the darks from the lights and remove stains from the clothes, how to put a meal together so everything is ready at the same time, and how to care for our little brother.  She encouraged us be in the kitchen trying new recipes. She involved us (ok, required is probably more the idea here!) in cleaning the house.  We all scrubbed the floors together and had our area of the bathroom to clean.

When I was older, my mom even had me practice managing the home on my own. For a few weeks I was in charge of the meal planning and the cooking and the shopping and the laundry. It’s one thing to know how to complete these tasks and quite another to keep them all going at the same time!

Now I know what you may be thinking (at least it’s what I’m thinking as I imagine my boys helping me around the house!):  It’s easier to do it myself! Not only easier, it’s more effective and takes far less time! This may be the case, but can I encourage you to take the time and make the sacrifices necessary to train your daughter?  It may be more work in the short term but it is an investment well worth making.

More thoughts tomorrow….