Thoughts on Housekeeping and Being a Stay-At-Home Mom


The whole process of home-making, house-keeping and cooking, which ever has been woman's special province, should be looked on as an art and a profession.

Sarah Josepha Hale (1788 - 1879)
U.S. editor and poet.

I came across this quote and I couldn't agree more. Some people might look down on house-keeping, cooking etc but in reality, these are jobs that takes a lot of skills, patience and determination to master.I must admit before I got married I have the notion that to be a full-time housewife is a comedown for women. I staunchly believed that a wife shouldn't just be at home ironing and cooking the family meals. 

My views on these have changed though. After I gave birth to my daughter, I was still working and this was putting a strain on the family schedules. So I decided to quit working and stay at home to take care our child just until she starts to school.

At first I thought everything would be a breeze. What could be more easier than just staying at home? I imagined myself with lots of time to watch movies, or paint my nails or wash my hair aside from doing the chores around the house. Alas, to my chagrin, I neither have had the time to do all this things and I kept wishing there were more hours to a day than 24 hours. The initial weeks almost made me scream in frustration as chores just keep piling up in front of me. There where times I would just cry in pure helplessness.  I find it unbelievable how stay at home wives cope up with those mountains of chores and I just have one child to take care of. Imagine those who have three or more. 

Initially, the sheer amount of things to do would make me feel just like sleeping it off but I found that it's best to have a schedule for chores. Like in a week I do laundry twice during Wednesday and Saturday mornings, ironing on Sunday afternoon. Grocery shopping every Saturday afternoon, wet market day on Sunday morning and so on.. We also have a planned menu every week to save us time and its easier to do shopping this way. Being organized would really free some time for you and make house-keeping uncomplicated.

Doing house work can also be boring and repetitive. A solution for this is to engage in a hobby or craft and set aside some time for yourself. Wether its a few minutes to paint your nails or go to a salon or have a few moments to read a book, this would all help in keeping you from feeling deprived. Socializing and keeping in touch with friends is a big big help for stay at home moms. It'll keep you connected and not feeling isolated. 

Though I still believe women can and should be able to work outside of the house and pursue a career if they choose to do so, I have now a high regard for wives who stay at home. There are people who ask me why I prefer to stay at home when I could easily land a good paying job, some could be so rude as to say why stay useless at home and not use the degree I've earned to work. Before, it made me self-conscious but after sometime, I learned not to care about these comments and I don't really feel like explaining myself to them and besides, staying at home doesn't mean you are useless, in fact you can do more. With just a little creativity and some know how, you can also earn from home. 

While I was staying at home, I was so into fashion jewelry making as a hobby and before long it turned out into a home-based business. This business led me to learn how to build simple websites so I could have an online catalogue. From this I stumbled into blogging and web design.

When we moved here in Phnom Penh last year, I stopped my fashion jewelry business and I've decided to stay at home and concentrate on blogging and web designing. This would allow me to be at home as well as earn on the side and I'm loving it. I get to cook the family meals, take care of my husband and child, and my free time is for my online endeavours. So I could safely say I am practicing two professions - an online entrepreneur and a housekeeper and I'm really proud of it!

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1 Comments

bingkee said…
I don't consider house3work and repetitive--it's like a therapy to me. Heheheh!
Anyway, I have a favor. Can you please change my URL in your blogroll to my new URL...http://www.ilovehateamerica.com
Thanks so much.