8 Slow Living Habits for Your Homemaking
As a busy, working mom of a toddler, I’ve been craving a lifestyle where I can move and live at a slower pace. Instead of rushing around, and stressing myself out from the daily to-dos of taking care of my home, I want to slow down, be present and relaxed. I want to actually enjoy the home that I’m making. And I’m sure you do as well. So today, I’m going to talk about how simple slow living habits can benefit your life and help you to make your homemaking more enjoyable.
How can I make my homemaking more enjoyable?
If you’re anything like me, you have a constantly running to-do list of things to do, and homemaking probably feels so stressful. You want to be productive. You want to get as many things done as possible. But are you happy? Or are you stressed?
Trust me, I’m all about efficiency and getting as many things done as I possibly can. But homemaking is more than just being efficient and productive. Homemaking is meant to be enjoyed and treasured. After all, you’re making a home, a place to be enjoyed and treasured by your family. If you don’t enjoy the process of making your home, it will surely reflect on the atmosphere of your home.
Homemaking is taking the time to do each task that assists in the creation of your haven. It’s paying attention to how small your little one’s clothes are, and recognizing that he won’t be that small for long. It’s being intentional about setting the right tone for your home, so that you and your husband enjoy settling in after a long day of work, and your little ones feel loved, safe, and taken care of.
Homemaking is meant to be done slowly.
What is the meaning of slow living?
Slow living is taking a slower approach to everyday life, to consume less and enjoy more out of your life. It’s not doing things so slow that you miss deadlines or don’t get anything done. It’s taking the time to be present, and savor the moment.
Slow living was actually a concept that came from the slow food movement – a campaign that treasured healthy local and traditional foods over unhealthy fast foods. The slow food movement savored cooking and eating with friends and family, and treating it like a celebration. “Slow” essentially means “quality over quantity” in food, work, and home life.
What are the benefits of slow living?
There are several benefits to slow living. For one, slow living allows for you to save money. Slow living puts the focus on relationships and experiences over things. So you’re more interested in spending time with others or doing the things you like doing instead of going out shopping.
Slow living also allows you to experience your life more deeply. When you have the time to pay attention to what you’re doing, you’re able to experience the joy and fulfillment of the moment, which leads to more meaningful experiences and relationships.
Despite popular belief, slow living actually helps you to be more productive. A study published in the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies found that multitasking provides the illusion of high productivity, but in reality, productivity decreased the more people attempted to multitask.
Living slower is also beneficial to your health. When you’re not trying to multitask and do everything at once, you have less stress and anxiety. Not only is this a positive boost to your mental health, but your physical health as well. Without the stress, your body will experience less muscle tightness, headaches, aches and pains, gastrointestinal symptoms, and exhaustion.
8 Slow Living Habits for Your Homemaking
So homemaking is best practiced slowly. Creating a home for your family to find comfort, love, and rest should be enjoyable for us as women. So how do you practice slow living in your homemaking? Here are 8 habits for slower homemaking:
1. Slow your pace.
This doesn’t mean you have to be as slow as a sloth. Doing things extremely slow helps no one. But you shouldn’t be rushing around either. Slow down a bit to really think about and embrace what you are doing. Cleaning the counters? Enjoy the smell of the scent it brings! Doing the laundry? Take it outside to fold and enjoy the sound of the birds chirping or the breeze drifting on by (🎵you know how I feel🎵). Be mindful of the tasks you are doing and be completely present in them. You will even notice how slowing down really decreases your stress levels and heart rate, providing you a little peace in your day.
2. Don’t multitask. Do one thing at a time.
As I covered above, multitasking doesn’t make you more productive, but rather it makes you less efficient and accurate. When you try doing multiple things at once, you aren’t able to focus on doing each task to the best of your ability, so you end up less productive. And in the end, you are left feeling rushed and haggard. Just don’t multitask, and do each task separately, giving it the time and attention to detail that it deserves. When you’re able to focus on one thing at a time, you are better able to do that task correctly and enjoy it a little more.
3. Do it yourself sometimes. Take a break from modern conveniences.
For us busy moms, modern conveniences like the microwave, dishwasher, washer and dryer are all fantastic appliances. I couldn’t live without all of mine! But sometimes, it’s nice to take a break from them and do things myself. Take your laundry out on the back patio and hang them out to dry, or hand wash your dishes. Learn how to make your own laundry detergent or dish soap. Enjoy the time you take with each task.
4. Set your priorities, and minimize them.
Go ahead and have your to-do lists. But only write about 3 things that you know you can accomplish if you do them at a slower pace. Sure, it would be nice to check off 10 things off that list today. But would that make you feel joyful and at peace, or will you inevitably rush around to do it all and feel stressed? Minimize your priorities, only giving time to what is the most important, and do them. Don’t stress about other things that need to be done. They will get done in due time.
5. Create relaxing homemaking routines.
I am BIG on routines, and even include most of my regular to-dos in a morning or evening routine so they get done. If you create a schedule of your everyday activities, you won’t feel so rushed, and you can better focus on each activity. Even better, make your routines relaxing. Add something that puts you into a calm and joyful mood, like playing soft, instrumental music while you work, or start (or end) with a cup of your favorite beverage. Practice mindfulness when you plan your relaxing routines.
6. Unplug.
Turn off your phone, laptop, tablet, etc, and just enjoy the minimal noise around you. With your electronics off and away, you will be less distracted and more relaxed. And very rarely as moms do we get to enjoy pure silence (hence why I said minimal noise… if you have the opportunity). If you have the house to yourself, or your little one is down for a nap or the night, enjoy that rare silence as much as you can.
7. Cultivate a positive attitude and atmosphere.
A big part of slow living is feeling less stress and anxiety, which keeps you from achieving peace. The less negativity that you feel and engage in, the more positive and better you’ll feel. This is the same with cultivating a positive atmosphere for your family. The less stress and negativity you have in your home, the more positive and tranquil your home will be for the ones you love.
8. Don’t overwork yourself.
Finally, don’t overwork yourself! Stop putting in the extra effort on things that are just fine being done adequately. Overworking yourself only makes you more stressed and exhausted.
