HilaryBernstein.com

Helping Women Find Peace and Purpose

  • Home
  • About
  • Hilary’s Books
  • Hilary’s Blog

3 Easy Ways to Manage Homemaking Stress

Hilary October 12, 2016

Feeling a bunch of anxiety over your homemaking? Here’s how to manage homemaking stress…

Feeling a bunch of anxiety over your homemaking? Here's how to manage homemaking stress...

Reader question: Could you please help me? I’d love some advice for homemaking with an inconsistent schedule and dealing with the stress and anxiety. I’d love a more productive solution than “do more work and relax more.”

Even with the most thoughtfully planned daily routine, life is filled with inconsistency. People need your help. Appliances or cars break and need repaired. Sickness might drastically put a wrench in your plans.

And schedules can be filled with inconsistency. Throughout a week, different commitments fill each day or night. And no two weeks (or especially weekends) ever seem to be the same. You might have a few days (or weeks) where you’re on the go (or at home) more than usual.

So how can you even begin to plan for homemaking when you don’t know if or when you can fit it in?

It can feel impossible and overwhelming to attempt to create a haven when there’s just no time. And with the busyness and unpredictability of everyday life, we could choose to dwell on our overwhelmed feelings.

Or, we could choose to manage our homemaking stress with these 3 different tricks:

3 Easy Ways to Manage Homemaking Stress

1. Do something every day

For starters, I like to stick to my non-negotiable chores every day (make my bed, wash dishes, wash a load of laundry, pick up the house) – and I refuse to get frustrated or stressed out if that’s all I can do. Especially during busy seasons of life, that may be all I can do.

Once non-negotiable chores are finished, fit in other cleaning and chores on days that are less busy than others. Try to do these extra jobs in five to ten minutes chunks – and count it a success if you accomplish one. (Your home IS getting cleaner, little by little!)

Some days, you may be able to fit in one extra cleaning chore, other days you might get to four or five. Regardless of how much extra you can accomplish, count every bit of it as an added bonus.
Feeling a bunch of stress or anxiety over your homemaking? Here's how to manage homemaking stress

2. Make a list, check it twice …

To know what bigger cleaning jobs you need to tackle, it’s helpful to write down everything you want and need to do.

Yes, your list might look overwhelming at first. But once you realize you’ve written down everything you need and want to do, it’s freeing.

By looking at your list, you also can judge what you have time to clean during little chunks of found free time and prioritize what you need to do first.

To-do lists also are a great motivation when it comes to cleaning, because it’s satisfying to cross off a cleaning chore once it’s accomplished!

3. A change in perspective

Aside from making a list of chores and then fitting them in when I have extra time, I’ve found that the key to dealing with the stress of an inconsistent homemaking schedule is creating a different perspective.

When we expect more than we could possibly accomplish in a day – or a week – we add a lot of (unnecessary) stress to our lives and homes.

But when we try to give ourselves grace and refuse to live with unattainable expectations, we can relax in our naturally imperfect homemaking.

Ideally, try to find a balance between a house that’s not a pit (refuse to become a hoarder!) and not expecting more from ourselves than we would from others. It’s a hard balance to find … but there’s a lot of freedom in it.

I’ve found that I’m typically the one who adds the pressure of perfection, or trying to do too much.

But if we can just relax, it’s easier to remember that our homemaking may be far from perfect, but it’s manageable.

And that  just might be the best stress-relief.

Feeling a bunch of stress or anxiety over your homemaking? Here's how to manage homemaking stress.

Through the online conference, Balance in Homemaking, 17 different homemaking mentors help you manage stress in your home and family. (I’ve shared how I’ve created Balance in Housekeeping!) For details, click here.

What are the best ways YOU manage homemaking stress?

Disclosure: Links in this post may be affiliate links. This means that, at no added cost to you, I may make a commission on products purchased through these links. Thank you for supporting this website!

All images courtesy of Pexels.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Hilary
Hilary
Hilary Bernstein is a Christ follower, wife, homeschooling mama, and writer who believes every Christian woman can transform her home into a haven. She's happiest when she's hosting friends and family for dinner, going on date nights with her husband, singing along to the radio while driving her kids around, enjoying live performances, relaxing on family vacations at the beach, and spending cozy family nights at home.The author of several books, Hilary loves to encourage her e-mail subscribers!
Hilary
Latest posts by Hilary (see all)
  • Why Your Home Matters to God - January 21, 2021
  • Why Kindness Is The Most Important Thing to Add to Your Home - January 14, 2021
  • The Best Strategy for Decluttering Your Home - January 10, 2021
Please share!
fb-share-icon
Tweet
fb-share-icon

Related posts:

4 Fantastic Ways to Welcome Fall to Your Home
How to Find (and Stay) in a Homemaking Routine with Kids
Keeping Busy at Home
What If a Clean Home Doesn’t Matter?

Filed Under: House & Home 3 Comments

« What Do I Clean First?
7 Ways to Fit Housekeeping into Your Day »

About Hilary

Hilary Bernstein is a Christ follower, wife, homeschooling mama, and writer who believes every Christian woman can transform her home into a haven. She's happiest when she's hosting friends and family for dinner, going on date nights with her husband, singing along to the radio while driving her kids around, enjoying live performances, relaxing on family vacations at the beach, and spending cozy family nights at home. The author of several books, Hilary loves to encourage her e-mail subscribers!

Lovely comments

  1. Sarah says

    October 13, 2016 at 1:13 am

    Thank-you for this. I love reading your articles, they always seem to be relevant to the issues I’m dealing with.

    Reply
    • Hilary says

      October 13, 2016 at 8:19 am

      Thank you for commenting, Sarah! It means so much to me that you love reading my articles. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Natalie says

    April 25, 2017 at 6:25 pm

    HI, I have a geneal weekly routine and had to schedule one day a week for myself to relax,do nails, and something fun. This helps me not get overwhelmed with all my housework. Also being a homemaker you really don’t get a full sabbath day rest. Also a women once told me rest awhile mid day everyday. You will be refreshed.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Hi! I'm Hilary! Click here to learn more about me ... and Home to a Haven.

I believe you can find peace and purpose when you care for your home and family with an eternal perspective. I'm here to guide you with faith-filled encouragement!

Categories

Spiritual Growth

Have you ever thought about how you think about yourself? Far too often, it's easy to become your own worst enemy.
Facing trials in life right now? Like it or not, you're growing in endurance. And that's a good thing.
If you’re trying to hide God’s Word in your heart, there’s a very easy way to remind yourself of Scripture all through the comfort of your own home.
As you’re naturally winding down each night, try inviting God to your bedtime.
Have you ever stopped to think about what difference self-control can make in your life?
Reading the Bible is important ... and so is studying it. But do you know how to study the Bible?

More Posts

House & Home

Do you have a mess of a home and have been wondering how to start decluttering? Let these stress-free steps guide your process!
Wish you could remember your purpose in homemaking? When I forget my purpose in homemaking, I've found it's not so hard to rediscover!
Everyone longs for a haven. But how can you create one?
As I try to manage my home in the middle of life’s busyness, I’ve found the only way I can stay on track is with the help of to-do lists.
Stay-at-home moms, have you ever wondered what to do before your husband gets home?

More Posts

Relationships

Are your expectations in marriage making a big difference in your contentment and satisfaction?
In the busyness of everyday life, have you ever stopped yourself to realize you’re doing a good job, Mama?
Sometimes, you just need to remember that you're beautiful. (The new book "Beauty Begins" can help with this!)
So how can a homemaker manage her time and balance husband and children and cleaning? How can you have time and energy to get housekeeping done each week when you have children in your home or are working a full-time job?
Struggling with showing kindness and respect to your husband? Trying 8 everyday ways may help a lot ...

More Posts

  • About
  • Start Here
  • Contact
  • Hilary’s Blog
  • Hilary’s Books
  • Privacy Policy
  • Join the Community
© 2021 HilaryBernstein.com. Custom site by Moonsteam Design.