Motivation for Homemaking | How to Keep Homemaking Simple

The changing and slowing of the seasons are evidence that God knew our souls needed rest, which is where I find my motivation for homemaking.

You can watch the video that goes along with this post HERE.

Before we dive into this I have to be completely honest with you.

This has been a very difficult post to share.

I’ve typed it and then deleted it multiple times.

But I keep feeling like I need to share it because I don’t think I’m the only person who battles with this.

So at the expense of being overly transparent, I’m going to share what I’ve learned.

***I also want to share that I wrote this before we moved to our dream homestead.

This was the last post I typed and filmed before we moved.

I thought about not sharing it, but as I get ready to jump into this new life with DIY projects galore (specifically thinking about our kitchen plans!!) I felt it was more timely now than it was back when I wrote it.

Kind of like God knew I was going to need this reminder now.

If I had finalized this post and shared it I probably would have completely forgotten about it and just kept moving forward, ya know?

Motivation for Homemaking – The Productivity Lie

Productivity and rest.

Oh my word!

How I battle with productivity and rest.

Rest more than productivity if I’m honest.

For me a productive day often looks like getting things checked off my laundry list of things to do.

But on those days when I don’t feel I’ve had a productive day I find that I’m beating myself up.

My self-talk tells me I don’t get to rest because I didn’t earn it with a productive enough day.

There is more to do.

But let’s be honest…even on the most productive days, there is still always more to do, right?

There will be more dishes, more laundry, and more cooking.

I never really arrive.

I just finish chasing productivity until another day.

I’ve been battling with productivity for a week or so now.

Some days are filled with tears and others are filled with understanding.

But the one thing that remains constant among those days is that this idea of finally arriving is a lie and elusive at best.

Motivation for Homemaking – A Conscious Choice to Rest

You guys, I’ve got to be honest.

With all the busyness going on over here I have been sensing that we have needed a “rest” day.

A day when I didn’t worry about getting a specific amount of math lessons done or 3 loads of laundry cleaned AND put away (anyone else good at washing the laundry and leaving it in the basket for another day?).

I decided to do fun things instead.

The things our girls love doing, and things I love doing with them.

So we took a walk on the paths our neighbors mow on their property.

We picked wild grasses to bring inside for a fun fall craft, and we baked some yummy pumpkin bread.

Then we snuggled on the couch and watched one of our favorite movies while the rain poured down outside.

I crossed NOTHING off my list of things to do in the eyes of productivity.

If I was allowing “productivity” to be my standard, it goes down as the worst day.

Now, I don’t believe productivity is bad.

Trust me, my drive to get things done is partially to blame for why my family doesn’t live in a pig pen.

But there is a balance.

Motivation for Homemaking – Finding Rest

What I realized that hit me like a ton of bricks was, “Rest is not idleness”

But as Summer turned to Fall and Fall faded into Winter I remember that God gave us seasons for a reason.

I see so many girls doing so many wonderful things this time of year.

(My blogging and YouTube friends are amazing and do so much more than I do.)

They are so productive and it is encouraging watching and reading about all they are doing.

But as I was crying about all the things I have to get done (and I’m not getting done), my husband graciously reminded me that even though we are all in the same season of the year, it doesn’t mean we are all in the same season of our lives.

I know I’m not alone in this.

So I wanted to share a post of transparency just in case someone else needs to hear these same words of encouragement.

I read something recently that said, “Your children only get one childhood.”

Even as I type it I want to cry.

How many days in their childhood have I wasted chasing a lie?

How many moments have I missed because productivity was beckoning me to something “more important”?

I’m not going to beat myself up, but I do want to take a serious dose of perspective and balance.

The dishes, laundry, chicken chores, decorating, DIY projects…all of it will be there waiting for me whether I cross these things off the list or not.

But what will NOT always be there waiting for me are my daughters’ childhoods.

Rest vs Productivity

A fun habit that we’ve started at the new house is we turn off the lights and eat dinner by candlelight.

Then after dinner is over, I forget the dishes, and we all head into the living room to read a book.

Again, this is all done by candle light, which has been really fun for the girls.

We read as a family for nearly 30 minutes while my husband picks at his guitar before we send the girls upstairs to get ready for bed.

If we don’t read we go to the living room and play Scrabble as a family.

The really cool thing about this is that after we finally get the girls into bed I find that I have energy enough to walk over to the sink and work on the dishes before bed.

I’m also falling asleep much quicker and then can start my morning earlier and more refreshed the next day.

Rest and productivity work hand in hand.

Without rest I eventually crash and can’t continue being productive.

But as I schedule rest into my life I find that I am able to accomplish more than I would have otherwise.

It’s like God knew what He was doing when He rested on the seventh day and in turn, told us to rest.

I hope that if you’re looking for some motivation for homemaking you find it in rest.

Being intentional about balancing rest and productivity has helped me maintain my motivation for homemaking and I think if you’re struggling with it like me, you’ll find it there too!

Thanks so much for stopping by and spending some time with me.

It means more than you know!

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Have a great week! XoXo

Open Your Doors,
Aliya

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