23 Homemaking Skills That Will Make You a Good Homemaker

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In high school HomeEc class, I learned how to make an omelet and sew an apron. That was about all the homemaking skills I was ever trained to do.

When I got married, my omelet and apron making skills did me no good. I was lost and overwhelmed as a homemaker. I felt like a failure.

But the truth is there is so much more to being a homemaker and much more basic skills than knowing how to sew. I wish someone had come along side me and shared the basic skills I needed to succeed as a homemaker.

Instead I learned them the long, hard way. But I’m so thankful now for what I know!

If you feel the same way, this post is going to give you the Homemaking 101 you never got in school. And let me tell you, these habits are not going to happen over night.

They take time, repetition, and figuring out what works specifically for you. But they are totally possible and worth it!

Why Homemaking Skills are Important:

One of the most important jobs you’ll ever have is caring for your home and family, yet there is very little education or training on basic homemaking skills.

Your home is the place you and your family spend the most time. Home is the place where your children learn and grow. It should be a safe comfortable place where they enjoy being.

The home you create has a direct result on the way your family treats the people they come in contact with each day. Homemaking has far reaching results.

If your children and spouse feel safe, loved, and comfortable at home, they will treat friends, co-workers, and strangers well when they are outside the home too.

Most Important Homemaking Skills:

There are so many different homemaking skills that you’ll want to explore and possibly develop. However, there are some basic skills that are the most important.

Your family’s most basic needs are being able to eat, sleep, clothed and be loved. So as a homemaker, you’ll want to make sure you focus on these needs and develop the skills to meet these needs.

1. Flexible Daily Routines

One of the best things I did as a homemaker was to follow daily routines.

My morning and evening routines allow me to get the laundry and dishes done without really thinking about them. They’ve become daily habits that take little time.

As you plan your day, be sure to include a time to wash the dishes and do a load of laundry. That way your family will always have clean clothes to wear and clean dishes to eat off of.

Following a daily routine also helps your children sleep better. When you plan out your day, you can stick to consistent nap and bedtimes for your kids.

2. Take care of yourself.

When you think about homemaking skills, you probably think cooking, cleaning, decorating. But before any of that gets done, you have to care for yourself.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “You can’t pour from an empty pitcher.” ?

Homemaking is a lot of work! If you are constantly giving of your time and energy, you’ll get depleted and worn out.

As a homemaker, you are pouring into so much each day. In order to have to have the energy you need to accomplish these things, you have to take care of your basic self care needs. 

I see far too many moms and wives making time for everything and everyone else, but neglecting self care, and it breaks my heart! You can take care of yourself, your home, and your family. You don’t have to choose one over the other.

When you do make self care a priority, you are then able to make your home and family a priority as well.

It’s really a domino effect.

Here are basic self care habits for homemakers:

• drink enough water
• get showered and dressed every day
• eat healthy foods
• get in some movement
• take breaks
• go to bed on time

3. Create a system for meal planning.

The first several years of marriage the smoke alarm went off so many times while I was cooking. I didn’t know what I was doing and often felt overwhelmed.

But when I decided to go all into homemaking, I knew I had to figure out meal planning and preparation. So I simplified what I cooked as much as possible.

If you are feeling overwhelmed with meal planning and cooking, here are some of my best tips:

Create a master list of meals that your family likes and you feel confident cooking.

It may only be a handful of meals at this point. That’s okay! Start where you are and slowly add in new meals.

Lower your expectations.

There are SO many recipes out there on Pinterest or the Cooking channel, let alone your cookbooks. You may be tempted to try new meals every night.

But that will only wear you out, especially if you aren’t experienced with cooking. So try new recipes once a week or every other week. Don’t put pressure on yourself to make new recipes all the time.

Serve simple food.

I used to think everything I made had to come from a recipe. It doesn’t!

Meat can be marinated and cooked easily. Roasted vegetables are an easy side dish. You can even roast frozen vegetables and add seasoning.

Related Post: 2 Steps to Simple Meal Planning

Simplify meal planning with this helpful resource Meal Planning Bundle on my Etsy shop. You’ll never run out of ideas!

4. Simplify household cleaning.

Cleaning my house used to feel like such a burden. The kitchen sink was always full, the laundry basket was overflowing, and the bathroom needed a scrub down.

I used to spend hours cleaning it all on the weekends. But spreading my household cleaning tasks throughout the week was a game changer! Now, I only spend 10-20 minutes here and there. Cleaning doesn’t feel like a giant chore anymore.

It’s a homemaking habit. Here’s what that looks like:

Daily Household Chores:

• load of laundry
• clean kitchen after meals
• general tidy up
• beds made
• sweep floors

Weekly Household Chores:

• clean bathrooms
• dust
• mop
• change bed sheets

I spread out my weekly cleaning tasks throughout the week, and it makes cleaning so much easier!

5. Love the people in your home. 

This is last, but the most important homemaking skill. The people in your home need your love and attention.

It so easy to become focused on homemaking tasks like cooking and cleaning, that we forget WHY we are homemakers.

The reason why you prioritize homemaking, is not for the sake of having a clean home, or decorated home, or impressing others. It’s for your people to have a place where they can feel safe and loved.

As you work on developing your homemaking skills, don’t forget to think of ways you can show love to your people. The words you use. The attitude you have. The time you spend listening and laughing.

It’s all part of being a good homemaker. Even the Proverbs 31 Woman balances the tasks that she does with the relationships with her family.

I hope this list of homemaking skills has encouraged you whether or not you would consider yourself a full time homemaker.

Because the truth is we are all making homes for our families! If you have a home, you are a homemaker.

It is absolutely possible to balance a clean home, dinner on the table, and time with your family! Find out how with the FREE Balanced Mom Checklist.

Practical Homemaking Skills

The following are a quick run down of skills you will need to know as you create a home for your family. You may decide that some skills don’t interest you. That’s totally fine. Homemakers come in all types!

However this list will give you some inspiration.

1. Laundry

Laundry is a never ending household chore. However, you can easily keep up with this task by doing a load each day. Here are some skills related to laundry that you’ll need to practice.

• stain removal
• ironing
• folding and putting clothes away
• changing bed sheets
• washing towels

2. Meal Planning

Your family has to eat. That’s why it’s important to figure out a meal planning system. I like to use a master list of dinner ideas when I plan.

Along with meal planning you’ll need to practice these other skills.

• grocery shopping
• keeping a food inventory of the pantry and freezer
• keeping a stockpile of canned and boxed goods
• washing and prepping produce
• freezer meals

3. Hand washing dishes

You may have a dishwasher for the majority of your dishes, but it’s also important to know how to hand wash your dishes.

As a stay at home mom, I wash my dishes throughout the day after each meal is complete. That way the sink is always clear and there isn’t a huge pile of dishes at the end of the day.

4. Mopping and cleaning floors

Your floors get a lot of use. You’ll want to sweep and vacuum your floors on a daily basis. Mopping should be done once a week.

Once a year, you’ll want to steam clean your carpets.

5. Dusting

One of the easiest ways to dust is using a small microfiber cloth. It easily picks up dust and doesn’t leave cleaning residue behind.

You’ll want to do a quick dusting of your major surfaces once a week. But once a month you can give your home a through dusting where you dust everything and wipe down cobwebs in the corners.

6. Cleaning Bathrooms

Every day the bathrooms need to be tidied up and the main surfaces wiped down. Once a week, you’ll need to clean the whole bathroom: mirror, sink and counter, toilet, shower, floors.

7. Decluttering

An important skill is knowing what things need to stay in your home and what things need to go. Get rid of things your family no longer uses on a regular basis.

8. Organizing

Sometimes people confuse organizing with decluttering. They actually are related. In order to organize a space, you’ll want to make sure all of the clutter is taken out first.

There is no use organizing your clutter.

9. Time Management

Homemakers have no time clock. It can be easy to become idle at home. That’s why it’s important for homemakers to make a flexible plan for the day.

10. Sewing

Homemaking doesn’t mean you have to sew your clothes. However, you’ll want to learn basic homemaking skills like sewing on a button or hemming a pair of pants.

You can save your family money by not having to throw out clothes you can salvage through basic sewing skills.

11. Painting

As a homemaker, you’ll need to keep up with the paint on the walls. As the years go on, the walls will need some touchup paint or you may decide to paint them a different color.

12. Homeschooling

Not all homemakers have children, but those who do may want to homeschool their kids. I’ve known many stay at home moms who end up homeschooling their kids and absolutely love it.

13. Flower gardening

One way to add to the beauty of a home is a welcoming flower bed. If you’re not familiar with flowers, pick one or two easy to grow perennials that don’t require a lot of maintance.

14. Vegetable gardening

Growing your own vegetables is fun and rewarding. Plant the vegetables that your family enjoys eating.

15. Canning

Once your vegetables are grown, you can preserve them through canning. If you’ve never canned before, get a book that you can easily refer to.

16. Hair cutting

If you learn how to cut your family’s hair, you’ll save so much money! It’s a skill that we sometimes forget about, but is really helpful to hone.

17. Budgeting

An important skill is knowing how to use your family’s income wisely. You’ll need to set aside time each month to make a monthly budget and then keep up with it all month long.

18. Basic First Aid

As the keeper of your home, you’ll also be caring for the people in your home. Learning basic first aid, could save your family costly medical bills.

19. Home Remedies for Sickness

It’s also important to learn basic home remedies for when members of your household become ill.

20. Make your own cleaning supplies

Finally, a great way to save your family money and to reduce toxins in your home is to make your own cleaning supplies. Basic household supplies like vinegar and backing soda can clean a lot.

21. Ironing

Ironing is a skill needed for wrinkle free clothes. I’ve also used it to get wrinkles out of curtains.

22. Making food from scratch

An instant way to lower your grocery budget is to make food from scratch. It does take time to learn new recipes, but usually tastes better and is healthier.

Over the years, I’ve developed this skill. I started with one recipe and then added another one. Here are the things I’ve stopped buying and now make from scratch:

• sweet tea
• pizza dough
• biscuits
• taco seasoning
• enchilada sauce
• waffles
• salad dressing
• french fries
• mashed potatoes
• muffins
• quick breads
• cinnamon rolls

23. Basic home repairs

Another way to save your family money and become more self sufficient is to learn how to do some basic home repairs. If I don’t know how to do something, I usually search the internet for a tutorial instead of hiring someone.

Homemaking Skills FAQ

Overwhelmed at home? Have a clean house, dinner on the table, and family time with the free BALANCED MOM CHECKLIST.

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