I had never really realized, until recently, what homemaking actually meant.

I mean, sure, I was home a reasonable amount as I am a Work at Home Mum(WAHM) and I cooked and cleaned and stuff, but as for homemaking? Well, up till now, I thought that’s all there was to it.

The Oxford Dictionary defines homemaking as “the creation and management of a home, esp. as a pleasant place in which to live”.

When I learned that, I realised that what I had been doing to date was not in fact homemaking. Yes, it was house work, household management or chores but I wasn’t creating my home, I wasn’t making it a pleasant place in which we could all live.

Our home had become more of a camp or stop over – we’d stop over after our work was done, stop over to eat, stop over to play with our daughter but all of these things were separate to each other. They didn’t flow together, there was no flow in the home. It wasn’t really a home – just a house with stuff in it.

Now that I’ve started simplifying life and focusing on creating a loving home, I am looking at my house in a new light. It’s as though the veil has been lifted and I can see just how much “stuff” we have spent these passed years accumulating – none of which has made our home feel more “homely”.

As I looked around at the knick-knacks, artworks, books, antiques and other bric-a-brac we have filled this house with I realized that none of it is really “us”. It is just stuff we bought thinking it would change our home, make it more…something. It didn’t change anything. It just became clutter, more things to dust around and move around.

So far I have de-cluttered the kitchen (except my herbal dispensary and I need an entire weekend to do that!) and my lounge room. I have moved all my books downstairs to our library in the rumpus room and placed only the best, most beautiful and most important items back on the shelves. Some shelves in the lounge have only one item on them or 2 books. It is simple, clean and pleasant to the eye. I like it much better now without all the titles of myriad books jostling and vying for my attention. It is a much more peaceful space to be in.

The kitchen is looking more sparse, with just about everything possible off the counter tops and away in cupboards or drawers. Our red coffee and tea canisters are up in the cupboard above the kettle and the 35 mugs (yes, 35!) we had collected have been streamlined down to 2 sets of 4.

When I walk in there now, there is so little to grab at my attention – it’s a small pleasure to behold my neat counter tops, my bare walls, my cupboards with their contents standing like soldiers in straight lines, neat and tidy. My heart does a little skip of joy when I open the cupboard to take out a glass now whereas before it would just cause more overwhelm.  

Clutter becomes visual stress, things that grab at your attention, try to lure your eye and fill your head with more to think about and behold. It’s not good for one’s peace of mind and it meant our home was filled to bursting but wasn’t nice to be in.

Now, with the more minimalist look that I have created (not totally minimalist - think ‘country minimalist’) our home FEELS like a home, not just a stop-over or campsite. Already there is a ‘lightness’ and a freeing of energy in the spaces that previously felt stagnant and overloaded. My aim is to create a home space that feels like I wish to feel more on the inside – peaceful, at ease, functional, organised but not overly controlled. Easy, simple, calm.

I studied Feng Shui a lot in my single life and found it very useful in setting the space and “vibe” of a home. My former home was always sought after my friends and I was forever entertaining, being told that the space was “harmonious” even though I was anything but.

Combine that with my new understanding of ‘homemaking’ and I can see how the energy of a home can be affected by what is placed in it, and where.

For example – I once placed 2 pink candles in the back left section of my former home and 2 pieces of Rose Quartz beside my bed to enliven my love life. It was enlivened alright! I had never had so many dates or opportunities to meet quality men come my way all at once. I met some lovely people during that time, most of whom are still friends to this day.

So whilst I am indulging in under-indulgence by living more simply, my homemaking and the feeling our home creates for us has become a priority.

I do have to say no to things, I do have to give things away I might like to hang onto and I do have to cut back on commitments to others. Some get their noses out of joint about this; friends and family have thrown around words like “hermit” and “anti-social” but really I am just taking some time to find the joy in my home, feel how it feels and alter what is needed to create that loving space where you feel nurtured as soon as you walk in the door.

As a new family, with a new home that was filled with the belongings of another family before us, we have developed no real style of our own and the home felt unloved.

Even with just a couple of weeks spent at home, taking time with baking, sewing, crafting, de-cluttering and re-organising, there is a new feel about the place. There is more work to be done but I can sense already the changes in energy and the ripple effect of that – our daughter is calmer, our marriage more stable, our sleep is deeper.

I wish I had known earlier what it meant to “make a home” because all this wasted energy, money and “stuff” we’ve acquired has done nothing for us – just taking some time to be in the space, to love it, to nurture it and help it improve has made all the difference.

How do you ‘homemake’? Have you been doing it long? What differences have you noticed? Tell me about it below :-)

Love,
The Eco Mum xo

P.S.Have you received a copy of my FREE home remedy ebook yet? I am also giving away my super handy Kitchen Remedy to keep on your fridge for any time a little disaster strikes ;)
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