Creating a Homey Feeling

Painting by Klaus Dietrich

 If homemaking consisted only of cleaning house and getting the laundry done, there would be no need for the homemaker. There is a big difference between house cleaning and home making, which will be explained in this post.

Every homemaker will want to be happy in her place at home.  If she can surround herself in a certain amount of beauty and comfort, it adds to her contentment.  No matter what kind of dwelling it is, whether it be a trailer, terraced house, contractor house, or log cabin, it can be made the dearest and brightest place, with a little care and some thoughtful additions.

Wild Rose Manor by Ron Carter

Since the family, and especially the homemaker, will be spending many hours in the house, it is important to have a pleasant place to live.  Here are a few things that show how it takes the whole day, every day, to really keep a home. At the same time, these are activities and touches  which will increase her feeling of well-being and happiness inside her own home:

Cleaning: Although it sounds like only work, cleaning can be creative. As you sweep, wipe or clear clutter, leave every area looking not just cleaner, but more attractive and well-arranged. The task seems more pleasant  when you consider cleaning as a creative endeavor.

 Really thoughtful homemakers do not just clear the dishes from a table. They wipe up all the food crumbs, straighten chairs, change the tablecloth to one of a different color, and add a cheerful and inspiring centerpiece. It is a beautiful way to finish a cleaning job. This habit applies to all areas of the house, including the living room, where things are straightened and the coffee table is cleaned to make way for a pretty display. 

 Keeping the front door area attractive and neat can create a feeling of being in an important and rich place, even in the humblest of homes. These are just a few areas where cleaning can really make a big difference in your mood toward homemaking.  It costs less than painting or remodelling, and often makes a huge difference. It is in a sense: creative arranging and changing, to make the house the best it can be.

Log Cabin Retreat by Kim Sung

Find the most appealing  supplies for the home: This is a lovely time to be a homemaker, because of the myriad of attractive cleaning and storage products available for the home. Check out the product reviews that some of the homemakers are doing on their blogs, and you'll get a sense of how uplifting house keeping can be, with all the attractive soaps, towels, containers, and cleaning supplies available. The natural products are packaged to go with your kitchen or bathroom so that they look like luxuries.

 Wear a fresh, feminine style apron, use pretty rubber gloves when washing dishes, and listen to your favorite music. House cleaning does not have to be a grueling drudgery. It is a good idea to relax and enjoy each moment of the day, whether working or relaxing.  If you live like this, home becomes more like a vacation resort where everyone can be revived.

Create a writing space for yourself:  Get some good office supplies that make you feel that your job is worth it:- a nice pen and a notebook in the style you really prefer. Have a desk of your own or a space somewhere to sit and begin your morning Bible reading and plan out your day. Be flexible with this, but do list some things  you wish to accomplish, plus a list of errands and shopping, future plans, and reminders.

Please do not think you have to spend money for your office area. You can create your own space in many ways. Use one of those old metal typewriter tables that no one wants anymore,  or  your desk can be a folding wood tray scooted over to the couch  or used with a spare chair. You can make your own notebook by choosing the papers you like and putting it together yourself. You can even cover your pen or pencil in a matching paper. Creating your own area and having pretty supplies can make a big difference in your motivation as a homemaker.

 You can find pretty products for the kitchen and the bathroom and everything inbetween, or you can find attractive containers to hide the most mundane objects.

 Emily Barnes wrote in her book, "The Spirit of Loveliness" of peeking into someones pretty bedroom and noticing a little trash can lined with a scented  pink plastic trash bag, in which was placed a piece of paper doily.   It gave the impression of a homemaker who went beyond the mere obligation of cleaning a room, and added a thoughtful decoration to make it all complete.

If you ever have a homemaking class in your home, try having your students make a list of every possible good thing that could go on in a home. List all the things that could be learned in a home, all the work that could be done in a home, all the social things that could occur in the home, and all the possible creative things.

 Decorating, hospitality, care of family members recovering from illness,  benevolence, Bible study, art and crafts, sewing,  caring for those who aren't feeling well,  and many other things can be centered in the home. Once such a list has been made, it becomes clear that it takes a full time homemaker to see that it is all done. There is more to homemaking than cleaning a house. It has to be cared for as if it were your own lodge, or your own bed and breakfast, by putting beauty and cleanliness into it. You simply cannot have an inviting atmosphere if you are not there making sure everything is in place and looking like a dignified home.

Put refinement and elegance in every place of the house : When a woman truly makes her home a beautiful place of comfort and creativity, it is often more desirable to stay in, than to go out. Think of this: every thing "out there" is practically producible in your own place: your favorite foods, a lovely lounge area, a tea room, an art/sewing/crafting studio, your own library which consists of your favorite reading material, a desk for correspondence and accounting, and a favorite spot in which to relax. There is not a part of the home that cannot benefit from cleaning, creating and beautifying. I have seen lovely laundry rooms, though small, which are cheerful and inviting, and some back porches made into works of art, just by keeping them clean and adding a plant or a decorative birdhouse.  If you tend to be discouraged, just try cleaning up a surface and, like a new canvase, creating a scene with what you have, whether it be a climbing ivy plant or a basket of shells.

Arrange and Rearrange Furnishings and Decorations:
With this kind of approach to home living, a woman does not have to wait until she can afford her dream house. She can make restful  areas in the place she already has. I have seen  women create entry ways in small houses where none existed, and porches where none existed. Architectural interests such as fireplace mantels or shelves makes home living appealing.  Many women have become creative out of necessity. When they had to make room for a study area in their house,  a guest room, foyer/entryway or a seating area in the kitchen, they have innovated and created whatever effect they needed.

Merely moving furniture around seasonally changes the look of a house and makes it seem new and fresh--in a sense, a different place. Simply changing the blanket you keep on the back of the couch in the winter to a lighter piece of fabric in the summer, gives an old couch a new look. It is easy on the eyes and it gives the homemaker a sense of newness.

Don't let others discourage you: There will always be those who will suggest that you must be so idle that you have nothing better to do than rearrange furniture or clean sinks and create new center pieces. If she does not have to be outside the home all day, a  homemaker does have the time to add these niceties and extra comforts to the home. She is not just there to do the hard work; she is there to light the home with her ideas and to put her own personality into it.  Besides being a worthwhile work, it becomes a way of life.

 By now, everyone is familiar with the cynic, the critic and the discourager, who is not happy if you are working hard and accomplishing something, and not happy if you are relaxing and enjoying leisure activities. The following poem, written in 1930 expresses it perfectly. These kinds of sour-on-life people have always been around and always will be.

PEOPLE WILL TALK

Yes, people will talk, the saying is true,

They talk about me, they talk about you;

If we go to the opera, someone will say,

We should go to church and learn how to pray.

If we go to church and offer up prayers,

They say we are hypocrites and putting on “airs”;

If we are rich, they call us a thief,

Scoff at our sorrows and laugh at our grief.

If we are poor, they say that we shirk,

We’re always lazy and never would work;

They talk of our prospects, they talk of our past,

And if we are happy, they say it can’t last.

They talk of our loved ones, they talk of our foes,

They talk of our follies, they talk of our woes;

They talk of our joys, they talk of our fears,

They talk of our smiles, they talk of our tears.

They talk if we’re single, they talk if we’re wed,

They talk of us living, they talk of us dead;

Tho’ we live like an angel with circumspect walk,

Our efforts are useless, for people will talk.

Most people are afraid to offend anyone, and afraid to be called conceited or be thought of as a snob. This is one tool that Satan uses against anyone who is trying to do a good job at home and make their homes lovely places. You will be called   a snob if you do not allow anyone to disrespect or destroy your personal property, or to behave badly in the home. People will say you are conceited if you have a tea party for friends. They will say you are putting on airs if you dress up at home or when going out in public. They will say you think you are better than other people if you don't accept the careless way in which the rest of the world lives.  As the poem says, it creates an attitude that all must stop, because people will talk.  You cannot give up on your efforts to be creative and productive. If you do nothing, people will still talk, so it is best to do what you know to do, to the best of your ability. James 4:17 says "Therefore, to him that knoweth to do good, and does not do it, it is a sin."


Do it for God and for yourself: If a wife, mother and homemaker gets too caught up in the appreciation of the people around her, she may lose sight of why she is doing more than absolutely necessary. You have to make your home a place you would most like to be. You are the home keeper and the guide and guard of it. You are the lady of the house. You do most of the work or the supervising, and so it belongs to you. You decide what you like and what you do not like, because you will be in the house probably more than anyone else. The way you set a table, arrange flowers or clean up a room has to have meaning to you. You have to put your own personality into the home by using the things you love and arranging them in a way that cheers you up.  Ultimately, we do what we do for God. Others may not appreciate it but we should continue in well-doing. (Galations 6:9)*


There is nothing wrong with you:  If you are particular about the appearance of your house, inside and out, and prefer to have things in order, things put away in their proper place, and do not like to sit in a mess, there is nothing wrong with you. Today's casual attitudes suggest that anyone who has any standards has a "problem" and needs to "loosen up."

 If you have the habit of cleaning up and putting things away and you like to have a neat and tidy home, you are very blessed. Some people struggle for years trying to develop good habits like that. If you have been trained in your youth, you have an advantage. There is nothing wrong with you if you like your clothes to match your hair bow, or if you enjoy having dishes that match and furniture that goes together.

 Today if you even attempt to have some kind of order in your life, others may accuse you of being too "materialistic."  We are obligated to look after our material possessions, from dishes to furniture, and we should do so, with a sense of personal responsibility and pleasure. It  allows others to enjoy our homes when they are not broken down and ruined. It shows good stewardship. There is nothing wrong with you if you dislike loud music or arguing in your home, and there is nothing wrong with you if you shrink from things that are not good, pure and lovely. (Philippians 4:8)  A homemaker will always pay attention to the atmosphere of her home, by making sure the sights and sounds are in accordance with the loveliness and appropriateness that brings glory to God.

Cling to your homemaking values: Know how to live  when you are prosperous, and know how to live when you are not.  There is a time to be generous, and a time to cut back. It is that way with life, and will always be that way. No one can be completely free from worries and no one can be perfectly secure in this life. Even those who make great plans for the future, saving huge amounts of money, can lose it through the ups and downs of the economy. We cannot put our trust in money, but in the commands of the Lord. If God saw fit to give women a place in life, a place in the home, there will be ways to accomplish it.

*Galations 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.



Bible Commentator, Adam Clarke (Irish, 1762-1832) wrote, concerning this verse:

"Let us not be weary - Well-doing is easier in itself than ill-doing; and the danger of growing weary in the former arises only from the opposition to good in our own nature, or the outward hinderances we may meet with from a gainsaying and persecuting world."