10 Habits That Keep My Home From Falling Apart

Cultivating a warm and welcoming home is a huge, and often overwhelming, undertaking and inside today’s blog post I am excited to share with you ten rhythms that have been grounding to me as a homemaker.

What I’ve learned over the years is that a peaceful home doesn’t just happen, nor is it just having a clean house. My home is peaceful and runs smoothly because of a few quiet rhythms that keep things from unraveling into chaos.

These are the simple rhythms that ground me, that keep me moving forward, even in busy seasons and full days. Today I’m sharing a few of the habits that make the biggest difference in our home.

1. Morning rhythm

Not everyone is a morning person and I get that. However, what I have learned is that when my morning starts even 15 minutes earlier than the rest of my house, I am in a much better frame of mind to care for the needs of my family. Creating a simple, repeatable rhythm will help your mornings feel smoother and more peaceful.

As you think through your existing morning rhythm or one you want to start, take time to reflect on what things are meaningful to you and what would best set you up for success the rest of the day. For example, I always start my morning rhythm with my red light, a mason jar of electrolytes and peptides, and my Bible. After this I will do a workout or a little bit of work before getting ready for the day, depending on how much time I have and what’s happening the rest of the day.

If creating a morning rhythm is new to you, here’s a few ideas to get you started, but feel free to include what is most important to you.

Mental health rhythms

pray or meditate for 10 minutes
write 5 things you’re thankful for
read a chapter of a book

Physical health rhythms

drink a glass of water
eat some protein
walk or workout
do a skincare routine

Emotional health rhythms

make a special drink
journal
get early morning sunshine

Productivity rhythms

make your bed
start a to-do list
identify priorities

Don’t be discouraged if things don’t go smoothly right away, especially if a morning rhythm is new for you. Give yourself time to adjust, and don’t be afraid to make changes to find what works best for you and your family.

Create morning anchors

The concept of having morning anchors, tasks you just do without thinking about, is also helpful. Part of my daily morning rhythm is making my bed and starting a load of laundry. It’s just part of getting ready for the day and I don’t even think about it any more. Including little tasks like this into your morning can go a long way towards helping you check something off your list and feel one step ahead for the day.

Keep breakfast simple

One more tip for your mornings, keep breakfast simple. I have a handful of nourishing recipes that I rotate through each week. You can find a whole list of my favorite make ahead options in this blog post.

2. Get dressed for the day

Sometimes as a full-time homemaking mama I wonder if it’s worth it to dress every day, can’t I just wear leggings and a big sweater?! I clean, bake, tussle with kids…if you’re thinking this, you’re not alone.

But here’s what I have found, dressing for my day helps me show up better. When I throw on a little make up and a cute outfit I automatically feel better about myself and more prepared for the day ahead, and I’m more productive.

And really, our homes are worth showing up for, are they not?

Now let’s get practical. I am not saying you need to wear a dress and a full face of make up every day. I think exactly what this means will be different for each person. If you enjoy cute clothes, go for it. If you’re more of a casual mama, and you want to wear pair of joggers and cute sweatshirt, that’s great too!

What I am saying, is find what makes you feel confident and put together. Maybe it’s a little mascara and a cute pair of earrings. Maybe it’s not. But I can almost guarantee you that when you put a few minutes into caring for yourself and your appearance you will show up better in your home and that is worth it.

3. nourish my body

As moms, feeding ourselves last or eating table scraps is all too common and it just doesn’t set you up for success. The truth is, when your body is nourished, homemaking feels less heavy. Emotions are more regulated. Energy is sustained. You can show up at your best.

So that being said, my big three in this area are hydration, protein, and movement.

Drink enough water

Adequate hydration helps support the immune system, boost energy, clear thinking, and even suppresses appetite. Drinking enough water is one of the simplest things you can do to improve your health and you’ll notice a difference in how you feel right away.

Let me tell you a little story…

I use to be a daily coffee drinker. Like, I-can’t-wake-up-without-it kind of girl. A few years ago, I quit drinking coffee all together in the thick of anxiety and postpartum depression. Fast forward a few months and I started drinking coffee again – this time after a protein breakfast and a glass full of electrolyte water.

The difference has been amazing. To this day, I still drink a mason jar full of electrolyte water first thing in the morning and I feel much more alert and energized than I ever did with coffee.

Eat whole foods

Eating protein is key as a mom. It helps to balance blood sugar and reduces food cravings, supports hormones and mood, helps repair and build lean muscle, and so many other things. On days I am having trouble getting in enough protein, I turn to these protein bar s for a quick snack or add protein powder to yogurt, muffins, smoothies, or even hot chocolate.

It’s also important to focus on fresh fruits and vegetables and fiber. These help support the immune system, replace key nutrients and minerals, improve digestion, and protect against chronic diseases.

Move your body daily

Daily movement is so important not only for physical health, but also for emotional and mental health as well. When I move my body everyday I notice more energy, more strength, improved mood, better sleep and less stress.

In some seasons, it just looks like a 10 minute walk. Other days it looks like a 20-minute strength training workout. The goal is consistency, making a habit. Showing up for yourself, so you can show up well for your home.

4. Laundry rhythm

Laundry can become an overwhelming problem SO quickly and if you’re feeling this, you’re not alone, so hang in there, I’m going to share a few different ideas for keeping laundry simple and manageable. You’ll have to figure out what works for you and your family in this season, but I think the biggest secret is to stick with it.

This is true for all rhythms, but if it’s working, keep doing it. If it’s not, try doing it differently. And just because something worked in one season and isn’t working now, doesn’t mean it was bad.

WEEKLY RHYTHM

You could approach your laundry with the weekly system, choosing one day of the week to do all of your laundry, including clothes, linens, and towels. The advantage of this is once you are in the groove, you can keep laundry moving through the cycle and have all of your laundry clean at once.

DAILY RHYTHM

For this method, you simply start, flip, and fold one load of laundry each day. You could assign days for certain categories such as whites on Mondays, sheets on Thursdays, and so forth. Alternatively, you could address the needs as they arise, just making sure to run one load from start to finish each day.

Personally, I love to start one load of laundry each morning, flip it to the dryer before lunch, and then fold it in the afternoon. If you have kids, enlist them to help. This is even a great time to read-aloud or talk while folding laundry together. Easy, peasy and the laundry is never overwhelming.

On a side note, switching to non-toxic laundry soap was one of the first changes I made in our home. You can read more about simple swaps for a low-tox home in this blog post, but if you need clean laundry soap that actually works, you can try out this one for just $5.

5. daily afternoon reset

Each afternoon I like to take a few minutes to reset. I quickly tidying our living room and get a head start on prepping supper, maybe chopping veggies or thawing meat. Sometimes I sneak in a workout or a quick walk.

This 10 minute block of time is a really powerful way to reset your afternoon and set yourself up for success for the evening and I can almost guarantee it will help your evening feel more peaceful.

6. meal planning

I know that for many of us, meal planning feels like another chore, another thing to manage, another decision we have to make now. But here’s the thing – meal planning is making decisions now, that will eliminate stress, help you avoid the take out food line, and save your grocery budget later. It’s a gift to your future self.

Peronally, I love to sit down at the end of a week and plan the next week’s meals. Sometimes I just make a list of ideas, other times I actually schedule it, but it’s helpful to know what I have on hand before I actually get into the dinner crunch time.

If meal planning seven days out feels too stressful, try planning the next 2-3 days, and don’t be afraid to repeat favorite, tried-and-true recipes weekly. In this blog post I share some of my favorite, quick and easy family dinners.

One thing that I will do sometimes if I’m in a meal planning rut is to make a list of what I do have in the pantry or freezer, plug it into chat GPT and ask it for meal ideas. This is a fantastic way to find fresh ideas and creative ways to use up what you already have.

7. cleaning system

One of the hardest things about running a home is keeping it clean and tidy. No sooner do we mop the floor and someone walks through with muddy shoes. Ya know?!

We all want our homes to feel warm and welcoming and yet, one of the fastest ways for our homes to feel unwelcoming is an unkept house. So how do we juggle it with everything else on our plates?

Early on in my homemaking, I set out to find a good rhythm for cleaning my home and I found it. Although this rhythm has shifted over the years, I now feel confident that my house is clean, has a time and place to be cleaned, and I don’t stress when something doesn’t get done.

I’m going to share two different ways to approach this and keep in mind that one way might work better for you in certain seasons than others. Don’t be afraid to try new things and switch things up if it’s not working for you. Rhythms should serve you and your family, not the other way.

Alright, let’s talk about two ways to approach this cleaning our homes.

The weekly cleaning rhythm

I am currently in a season where this is my approach. I set aside a couple of hours on Friday morning and do a whole-house clean. It’s a family affair and we do everything from mopping the floors to cleaning the bathroom and everything in between. I love having the whole house clean at the same time and just before the weekend.

The daily cleaning rhythm

This rhythm has worked well for me in other seasons. I divided my home into sections and cleaned one room or area each day. The beauty of a system like this is it can can be accomplished in a shorter 15-30 minute chunk of time.

8. Evening kitchen reset

There is nothing that will make you feel more behind than waking to a sink full of dirty dishes. A quick evening tidy of the dishes and “putting the kitchen to bed” goes a long way towards making you feel more prepared for the next day and your morning self will thank you for the gift of a clean kitchen.

Load dishwasher
Wash large items, dry
Wipe counters
Sweep floor
Scrub sinks
Fresh hand towels and washrags
Tidy clutter areas
Prep coffee/morning beverages
Pack lunches

Feel free to take this list and make it your own. Tailor it to your own personal tasks and add those things that would help you feel more prepared for morning.

9. social media boundaries

If you’re like me you have found yourself weary, anxious, overwhelmed, and distracted in your home, with your kids, your husband, your friends. While there can be many factors, the one thing I have noticed will make immediate changes in these feelings: limiting my phone time and deleting social media apps.

Now, here me out. Our phones are wonderful tools and I enjoy the connection and community of social media. But. It is also draining and causes me a lot of anxiety. Awhile back I read this little book that completely changed the way I view my phone and encouraged me to create some hard boundaries with it.

When I am struggling to find presence and peace in my home, just taking a look at my phone usage and pulling way back makes a huge difference. Our brains are not meant to be thinking about three things at once, jumping from thought to thought, and weighed down with all of the cares of the world.

What I have found is that when I am not holding firm boundaries with my phone, I am distracted, no longer noticing and enjoying the life right in front of my eyes — and that’s not where I want to live. So I encourage you to take a hard look at your phone usage and set some boundaries. Sharing mine below for some practical ideas!

My phone boundaries:

ALL notifications are silenced – except my husband, his calls and texts will always ring through.
No social media on Sundays, daily time limits for the apps, and I regularly delete the apps if I find myself gravitating to them just to scroll.
My phone “sleeps” in the living room each night.
No phone/screen time when I’m with my family unless we are looking at something together.

10. weekly rest day

More than 10 years ago I began implementing a weekly pattern of rest into my week. And I can never go back. I love knowing that no matter what the week holds, a day of rest is coming.

We plan our weeks and days around a full day of rest on Sundays. No housework or chores, not outside commitments. Just a day at home to be together, enjoy each other, and rest. This will look different for you depending what season you’re in, but I highly encourage you to take a day or an afternoon for rest in your home each week.

It can feel very hard at first to give yourself a full day to rest, but I challenge you to give it a try. You might find you are even more productive during the rest of your week.

Conclusion

These ten habits are things that I have been implementing into my home for years now. I hope that this list has given you some good ideas and a starting place for your own home. If the idea of rhythms in your home is new to you or you just don’t know where to start, I encourage you to pick one thing and start there. Practice it regularly until you have made it a habit and then add something else. Slowly stack rhythms until they become a habit.

I truly believe that we were not meant to live in a constant state of chaos and overwhelm and that with good rhythms and intentionality with our time, we can create homes full of peace, joy, and margin.

10 Habits That Keep My Home From Falling Apart