Homemaking schedule to ease your homemaker’s week with a good plan. Learn step by step with a free workbook on how to create your homemaking schedule by identifying yourself as a homemaker, clearing your purpose, and prioritizing tasks. Fill your ideal homemaking week into the free Homemaking Schedule to shift your lifestyle into effortless and natural homemaking.
How to create a homemaking schedule for yourself
If you have been using schedules and planners and you feel like they do not work, here is why: they have not been customized to your needs. When you download one planner or a schedule it is made by someone who doesn’t have the expertise of your life and your daily challenges.
That is why it is best to create yourself a schedule and rhythm that suits your lifestyle. To make your schedule sustainable you must clarify a few points before starting. Download the free homemaking schedule with the workbook so you can fill it in following the next steps.
Why you should make a homemaking schedule
Unclarity, overwhelming, uncertainty, feeling that you are not enough.
These are only a few things that could be the reasons to make yourself a homemaking schedule. I am a big fan of making schedules, but that does not mean that I stick to them and use them forever.
The idea of having a schedule is to clarify how you are using your day and how you would like to use your time. With a homemaking schedule, you introduce yourself to the lifestyle and daily rhythm that you want to make flow naturally day after day.
The homemaker’s schedule is there to make yourself a tangible and visible structure that will become so clear to you that you do not need the schedule anymore. It is also good to revisit the schedule-creating steps from time to time to make sure that you have the rhythm that you are still comfortable with, or if you want to introduce a new habit or routine into your daily life.
The steps to start
Who, why, what, where, when. These are the questions I run through my head when I start shaping my daily life and flow to create a homemaking schedule. So let’s run through those questions. I will give you some examples of implementing these in your life.
Download the homemaking schedule with the homemaking workbook. Use the first page as a worksheet to fill out as we go through these next chapters.
Who – Identify yourself as a homemaker
Who are you? If you do not consider yourself a homemaker and that your actions will matter then it is irrelevant that you have a homemaking schedule too. Think about the question again.
Who are you?
Identify yourself as a homemaker, and list five things that describe what kind of homemaker you want to be or how you want others to feel at home that you are steering. Reflect on what kind of homemaker you are. Are you a modern homemaker or do you prefer the old-fashioned homemaking more?
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Why – The purpose of the homemaker
Why? Why do you keep the home tidy? Why do you organize the home? Why do you make food from scratch? These might sound silly questions, and you might feel like you would respond “Well if I don’t do food then no one will have anything to eat.”
Well, that’s correct.
If you are not making the effort and loving the family and home like you do – who will? And as well what will your kids learn from the amazing example that you are offering by taking care of the home, bringing beauty, and keeping the atmosphere cozy and lovable?
List five things that you appreciate at home and things you know the other family members appreciate. Focus on the feelings that come up while you are writing.
What – What does your dream day look like? Dream.
What does your dream homemaking day look like? Now dream big. Are you a cozy morning person and you prefer to have a cozy time with a coffee, or do you want to head to the forest first thing in the morning? What would be your dream morning routine?
Put aside all things that are not possible, and just write what things bring you joy during the day and how you would like to have your day without thinking of any money, time, or engagement restrictions. Write freely for about five minutes to see what you come up with.
Where & When – Where is your attention needed? And when do you need to do these tasks?
Now let’s come back to this moment and figure out where your attention is needed. This is what I think when I need to prioritize. Write down the household tasks and when they need to happen. Categorize them as daily tasks, weekly tasks, and monthly tasks. Write only the things that have to happen to get you the backbone of your schedule to start with the most important things.
With a priority-based schedule, you clarify the important tasks. Think about what tasks on your schedule you can delegate, everything doesn’t need to be done by you.
Homemaking routines to enter into your homemaking schedule
Now you have bit clarified the reasons, purpose, and what you actually need it is important to notice the small routines you have in your day already to introduce some new ones. Read through and start planning what you want to include in your weekly homemaking routine.
Short note on habits
Before entering the homemaking routines I want to make a quick note on homemaking habits. A daily routine that does not take much time is actually just a chain of habits that you have learned that fit nicely together.
To learn a new routine, you can enter one habit at a time into an old routine you have or use triggers to start them. Here are two habit-learning techniques that I use all the time:
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When A happens I do B
Using triggers you can enter plenty of habits to make them part of the routines you already have. For example, I use triggers to start my chain of habits aka routine:
I wake up (trigger), then I go to the bathroom, wash my face, and brush my teeth. Then I enter the living room and start my creative task for the morning before the rest of the family wakes up.
Another example is that whenever I enter the first time in the morning to the kitchen I drink a glass of water.
Combine new habit with the old one
Another simple way to introduce a new habit is to combine it with an old one. For example: I have a habit of taking the garbage out when they are full. Then I add a new habit of wiping and cleaning the garbage cupboard.
Another example.
I have a daily habit of brushing my teeth in the morning and the evening. Now when I brush my teeth I also wipe the sink with a sponge that I have placed behind the faucet.
When you track your doings a few days you find the time pockets and the perfect moments to add new habits that will support you as the homemaker you want to be.
Planning routine
The planning routine and the mindset of a planner stick with some people better than others. Know and notice which one you are. I have found it helpful to have a planner on the phone, where I have appointments and engagements outside the home with dates far ahead with a reminder if they need to be specially noticed. On the side, I use a paper planner that I use for the weekly layout.
Depending on your rhythm of life, if you are a full-time homemaker, working part-time, or have a full-time job set aside weekly a moment to plan out your week roughly. Giving yourself a guideline for the week helps you accomplish more things and feel successful with your day.
Divide your day instead of inflexible hourly schedule
I do planning on Sundays. With a cup of coffee or tea, when my daughter is napping, I schedule out the week. I divide my day into three, a trick that I learned from Sina Port, and I plan for the morning slot creative tasks, midday slot admin and social tasks, and evening I do some learning. With this division instead of an hourly schedule, I get into my homemaking schedule some time for sports, learning to feel more relaxed and balanced.
Groceries and making food
Making food is a daily task. It takes time and it is good to clear out some space for cooking in your daily schedule. I have a routine to prepare the veggies or other ingredients for lunch (or even dinner!) already when my daughter is having breakfast. That way we can enjoy the morning time in peace and lunchtime doesn’t sneak up on us.
Using a Notes app
Consider using a note app for groceries on my iPhone to keep up to date. I have simply listed in one month every time I do groceries the things that I am buying under the headings “veggies”, “dairy”, “meat”, “flour & pantry”, “spices”, “frozen” and “miscellaneous”.
When something runs out I tap the product on the list and it jumps on the top of the list uncrossed. At the grocery store, I cross it tapping the circle to cross it off from my list. This way I do not have to write the list again every time and it saves my time. The best part is that if your husband has an iPhone too you can share the grocery list and use it both and it works very well and effortlessly!
If you have a little helper with the grocery shopping, use some emojis for the fruit and veggies for example because it is fun for the young children to do the groceries with you with the images. My daughter, for example, doesn’t know how to read yet, but that doesn’t mean she can’t participate in weekly grocery shopping.
Planning meals or ingredients?
Meal planning or meal prep for the week itself, I feel is too restrictive, do so if it helps you! But just a tip that I have started to do ingredient prepping like Lisa Bryan at Downshiftology, to combine the lunches and dinners more freely without a strict meal plan to follow and it has been a game changer.
Cleaning Routine
For an effortless cleaning routine try to do tiny things all the time to move the needle. When you create automation for your habits and routines to have a clean home you need fewer things to put into your schedule. Later on, it starts to feel that you suddenly have enough time to do something else. Reflect on the cleaning tasks. Are they all important to do right now? Do you have to wash windows every month? Some people do – for me, to be honest, it is not a priority. Find the appropriate time for the task if it is not a must-do.
Here are some simple cleaning tasks to pair with some daily habits.
Wipe counters and wash utensils after preparing the meal to have a feeling of a tidy home.
Wash dishes after the meal.
Run one load of laundry machine when the basket is almost full. I like to use the timer on the washing machine to load it in the evening and let it run in the morning to unload the machine after breakfast.
Water all the plants when you see one is a bit dry.
Some people love weekly budgeting and that was sure the case in my early years when I was tight with money – it seemed necessary. Play with the idea of how often you want to do it. Sometimes it is better to do small junks often than plan a huge moment to do all the things – I see myself that I get overwhelmed if I think that I would be making a budget for the year for example.
For our household, I have noticed that it is enough to track the spending by month. For some it can be done in the online bank already, we decided to have bank accounts without monthly fees, so what I save in money I pay now with my time on filling my Excel budget! That’s my choice, choose what is best for you.
When tracking the spending monthly or weekly you can see if you have some buying habits that do not serve you and start to cut them down one by one. Or even better: replace them with some better spending habits to support your homemaking goals!
Inventory routine
One homemaking task to schedule in your homemaking schedule is inventory. It’s something that we don’t think enough at home. Businesses have clear inventory days at the end of the month due to financial obligations, but that is something that we homemakers can learn from. Instead of using 4 hours to count every syrup bottle and juice box and mark it in Excel, as I have for years when I have worked in restaurants and cafes, we can do a simpler and more down-to-earth approach:
If you need inventory help in the kitchen to make it more efficient and track down your essentials, make sure to check my checklist for the essentials of the kitchen to help you build up your new kitchen, do inventory, or even declutter some things.
Feeling like a failure at homemaking and how prevent it from happening
There are moments when we all feel that we are not up for the task and that everything is falling apart. On those moments clear your schedule and mark down only what you have (not everything you would like to do!) to do to return on track.
You are not lazy, you have just made too tight a schedule. Busy schedules don’t mean you are productive.
Make a breathable schedule
I cannot emphasize enough that you need to make more space in your schedule and plan some downtime to succeed. Keep it simple. Make fewer appointments and say no to some engagements to free up your time. There is a limit to what you can achieve in a single day.
When you list too many things to your schedule or your to-do list you load for yourself an impossible day and you do not fail to plan but plan to fail in this case. I am talking for me too with this one, but I just discussed with my close friend how we both know the unsatisfied feeling at the end of the day. You do not feel happy with the work you have done if you load too many things.
You treat yourself as a failure though you have done plenty.
Add fewer things to your homemaking schedule, but do things DAILY to move the needle.
Did-I-do-it? list
If you use a to-do list, change the name and purpose: a did-I-do-it? list takes the mental pressure off your homemaking tasks and makes a huge difference. I talk more about this in my post on my annual cleaning plan and how to use it without being overwhelmed.
The example of my day as a homemaker with a young child
Here is an example of my daily schedule that repeats almost the same every day. See how I leave space and give things vague names to keep things doable and to have some wiggle room. Now that I have learned the routines I write down only the things that need special attention outside of our daily schedule.
5 am-Noon: Creative work & tidy up
Morning routine
Work routine for creative tasks until daughter wakes up / Gym routine (if a workout day)Playtime and yoga together
Preparing and eating breakfast
Prepping something for lunch already
Cleaning the kitchen or other rooms that need attention
Drawing/painting or walking outside
Daughters lunchtime
Nap time
Noon – 5 pm: Admin tasks & planning
Work during quiet time: admin tasks and planning
Playtime
Daughters snack time
5 pm – 9 pm: Learning & Winding down
Housework or business work
Reading or other learning
Eating dinner
Downtime or yoga
Evening routine: brushing teeth
Reading in bed
Lights off at 9pm
Share your schedule with me!
Share your finished Homemaking schedule with me by commenting below or tagging me on Instagram with @blue.tea.tile. I would like to see your perfect homemaking flow come true!
Former fine dining headwaiter with over 10 years of experience in the food industry, organizing, and natural ingredients, escaped from the fancy rat race to live a more balanced life.
I guide sisters from messy and busy lifestyles to live a more natural, content, and sustainable lives. Join the Nordic Natural Living Community, to step on the path to a more natural life.
