Four Simple Ways to Make Your House a Home

I’ve never really liked the term housewife or understood where it comes from. I’m not the wife of a house. Being called a homemaker though? Right up my alley. It’s a picturesque, eloquent label. It speaks of creative juices and hard work mingling to conjure up a place of cozy belonging. It’s a goal and ideal wrapped up into a name I want to live up to. Homemaker. A maker of a home.

Home is the feeling of being welcomed to a place where you belong. The ability to create that feeling is a valuable tool to have in your belt as you raise kids and love a husband. It’s like putting all the other efforts you are expending toward healthy relationships into a greenhouse that doubles their growth.

Although homemaking is powerful, it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Personalization is my goal, not perfection. When each of my people walk through the door, I want them to feel home wrapping its arms around them to welcome them back. I’ve found that attention to some simple details maximizes that feeling for my family.

Bring on the good smells!

The truth is, I substitute Glade Plug-Ins, a candle, or frozen dough baking in the oven for deep cleaning more often than I would like to admit. But here’s the reason: homemaking is foremost about the way a family feels about being there. I love it when my kids take a deep breath as they walk through the door and tell me they love how our home smells. It’s a powerful first impression. So light the candle first and get to the cleaning when you can.

Put boring evenings at home on the calendar.

A home is only different from a hotel if you actually live there instead of stopping by in between activities. I firmly believe the cozy feelings the word home inspires require quantity time, not just quality time. Since we live in the land of opportunity, quantity time at home likely won’t happen without force. If you want your kids to have memories of building cushion forts in the living room and snuggly moments by the fire, you’re going to have to schedule days at home. Make it happen. Put it on your calendar and tell people you are booked up that day. You are booked–with making a home.

Tidy up.

Organization and efficiency are more important to certain personality types than others, but I think we all benefit from a basic level of order in our home. Tidying is another idea that can’t be bound by perfection and often must be simple to be possible. I can dump scattered dirty dishes into the sink and quickly wipe down the empty counters in about fifteen minutes flat. Doing that before I leave the house means we all are welcomed home by tidy space instead of a job screaming for our attention. Another gift I give myself is a fifteen-minute main floor tidying session before I head to bed. It doesn’t take that long and smoothes the way for tomorrow to be a good day.

Mind the atmosphere.

Just like smells and clean counters, small things in our atmosphere can make a big impact on how our home feels to its occupants. It’s been said that we deserve what we tolerate. A homemaker’s job includes setting clear expectations about the kinds of words, interactions, body language, and actions that will be tolerated in our home. A cinnamon scent can’t cover up the tension name-calling or selfish maneuvers create. This piece of homemaking deserves our highest effort and energy because it builds not only our home but also the homes our children will create for their children one day. The atmosphere of our home impacts each occupant’s character. The effects of this atmosphere are something they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.

Your family may have a different top four things that make a home feel good. Figure out what they are, and then find creative ways to accomplish the things that make your people sigh with pleasure. Knowing your family and personalizing your life and home to meet their needs is homemaking on a professional level. It’s a satisfying and worthy endeavor that reaps large rewards.

.A person with a place that feels like home has the strength to withstand a day full of injustices. They get adequate rest and have time for healing. They have space to figure out who they are in the world and gain confidence. When our families want to come home because home feels good, all the benefits of family life are maximized. Offering a place like that to the people you love is a powerful gift.

Lori Florida lives a life that is all about her people. She’s convinced that being Mrs. to one and Mommy to eight will be her most significant way to serve Jesus. She wants to use her life to cheer on and coach the women around her. She is on staff with Project Hopeful working to give a hand up to moms in poverty in Ethiopia. You can find her at loriflorida.com.

Photograph © Nathan Fertig, used with permission