The difference between a good home maker and a poor one is a matter of following the correct principles.Here are some fundamentals which lead to a clean,uncluttered, well-organized household:
1. Concentrate:The managementof a household requires concentration.You can’t day dream ponder problems and at the same time work efficiently.Work such as ironing cleaning windows and doing dishes can be done while daydreaming but most work requires thought as well as hands especially organising and meal preparation.What is considered lack of homemaking ability is usually mental laziness.
2.Simplify: You can’t become a good housekeeper if you have too many things, such as too much furniture,too many dishes,unnecessary clothes,old newspapers and magazines.They are only of value if they are useful or add beauty to the home.For greatest efficiency have only enough goods to serve the family.
3.Organise things: To be well organised,have a place for everything. In the kitchen every dish, bowl, glass or pan should have a place of its own.The same with shoe polish,scissors,stationary, newspapers or magazines.Organise bedrooms closets with enough rods, shelves, baskets and hooks. Provide drawers or just a box under the bed.When everything has a place of its own do the following.Always put things back in their exact place and teach all family members to do the same.when things in your house are this well organised you can get up in the night without turning on the light and find what you need.
4. Make him comfortable: With all your diligence in homemaking allow your husband to be comfortable. Remember his home is his castle. Let him hang his jacket on a chair, lie on his bed without concern for the bedspread,stack his papers on his desk and his shoes by the door.This doesn’t mean you invite him to be untidy but let him be relaxed and comfortable in his own home.
For example, a man was married to a fussy perfectionist housekeeper.She followed him around picking after him, straightening the pillows,smoothing the rugs,picking lint from the carpet and removing his clutter.Finally he tired of this foolishness and divorced her and married a woman who was the opposite. She was a good housekeeper but allowed him to relax and be comfortable. In comparing the two women, he said “The change in wives was like taking off a pair of tight shoes and putting on a pair of soft,comfortable slippers. Children should not be given the same relaxing privileges as their father. They should bend to your training and instructions.
adapted from” Fascinating Womanhood”