Rhythm of the Home: Homemaking as a Spiritual Practice

Maggie:
Is homemaking regressive? Is it limiting our potential to be a homemaker? Homemaking is a creative, personal role rather than just a set of chores. It's the art of managing a household, creating a nurturing, organized, and welcoming home environment. It goes beyond cleaning and cooking. Focusing on creating a safe, loving atmosphere that meets the emotional and physical needs of family members. Transforming a house into a place of rest or sanctuary. Homemaking is complex, skilled, and exhausting work, but it is the most gratifying work that I have ever experienced. Welcome to Women Folk Revival, where we are deeply rooted and wildly intentional. I'm Aggie.

Meara:
And I'm Meara. And last week we spoke on women's health being a sacred duty and advocating for yourself in the world of medicine. So if you've missed that episode, don't forget to go back and check it out. It's episode three from last week. And don't forget to download your free advocacy tool kits from the United States and from around the world on our Facebook community page that you will find in the link below this episode.

Maggie:
So this episode is on how to make your home more natural, healthier, and how to make it your sanctuary. And in our discussions, Mary and I realized that we needed to make this a two-part series because there's just so much information that we needed to share. And we discovered that this all begins with creating natural rhythms in the home. It's less about having a strict schedule and more about establishing predictable patterns that follow the flow of life or what I like to call a living day. When you are a homemaker, when you are a mother, your daily life is never going to be the same each and every day. There's always going to be things that pop up and you need to be able to move along with those things that pop up. And if you have a rigid schedule, it's just going to cause frustration and stress and chaos. But having rhythm, having a fluid motion where you have think more like anchors that you can hold on to. So you have your morning time and the certain things that you do in the morning time, whether it be chores, homeschooling, and then when things pop up, you deal with them as they come, but you still have that, or maybe like a block schedule. If you are a homeschooler, then you might know about block scheduling.

Meara:
Thank you.

Maggie:
and you have a certain timeframe to get certain things accomplished. It's not a step one, step two, step three. It's whatever you can do in that moment and that timeframe. It doesn't matter the order. It's just how it flows naturally through the day.

Meara:
Mm-hmm. Yeah, so many of us have been taught that control is the answer. You have a perfect schedule and life will magically fall into place. Rigid routines is my thing. The thing I like to say is rigid routines create more stress, not less. Life doesn't run on exact time blocks. Having...

Maggie:
Mm-hmm.

Meara:
timeframes, we do have hours where we start to do things, but it doesn't have to be that exact time, like, seven o'clock, okay, we're in bed, good night. know, kids get tired, babies need attention, some days feel slow and some are completely full. Having a rhythm isn't about bending your home to the clock. It's about noticing our kids and noticing our energy and noticing the seasons of life and asking what actually works for us. So once we shift that mindset, everything in our home will start to flow differently. Our days will feel a lot more calmer. Things will be more secure. The kids will feel more secure. I see it as it's not a chore that we're just delegating to our kids.

Maggie:
Mm-hmm.

Meara:
Everything that we do is working together as a family and we're working together not against one another. So rhythm doesn't mean not having structure. There's gotta be structure. There's always going to be structure. It's just about creating that predictable flow. without pressure of exact times. Kids respond to patterns. Kids crave structure. Really, they crave structure. My mom always told me this growing up. When I had my first two children in my early 20s, she said, your kids crave structure. And she's an early intervention specialist. So of course, I was listening to her and it's true. We've had a pattern in our home since my children were little. And my oldest is...

Meara:
21 years old? Yeah, wow, he's 21 years old. So predictability reduces anxiety. and power struggles in our children. This is why rhythm works. The flow also helps everyone in the household, kids and adults. I know there's a lot of us adults out there that need rhythms, that don't have rhythms. So regardless if you have kids or not, this works for you because it works with your natural energy, right? And then it creates a calmer, more peaceful home without the stress of looking at the clock. We never live this way.

Maggie:
Mm-hmm.

Meara:
Like I said before, two oldest, 21 year old and my 20 year old, they went to Montessori school their whole life. And it wasn't that overwhelming because I was in my 20s and my 30s and I also had the help of my mother who was like, okay, you know, just do things this way. It doesn't have to be perfect. Everything should just be simple. And then later our middle two children, they attended Montessori school as well for two years. But then after the two years, we decided to transition them into home school, but online. homeschool because of the work that my husband was doing and my job, it was the only way we can take them out of school and do homeschooling for us. This is what worked. The system started to feel overwhelming for us and classes weren't really becoming. They were just weren't that appropriate for our kids. So we pulled them out, which is another topic of discussion. So now we have these, our kids are in homeschool and I totally lost my train of thought. We're still, basically what I'm trying to say is we're still working on finding the right balance and we're still trying to explore what works for our family. And everyone's gonna be at.

Maggie:
Mm-hmm.

Meara:
a different pace in life, and that's fine. Just make sure that everything you do at home is centered around what you can realistically maintain while building that independence and responsibility in a calm, sustainable rhythm. know? So.

Maggie:
Mm-hmm. Yeah, for me, I am not a fan of structure and I'm very free flowing and organic and just kind of, I just like to go with the flow of things. And as our kids have gotten older and we're homeschooling and I'm doing the majority of that because I'm

Meara:
You are.

Maggie:
I stay at home, I see that my children need some kind of structure. And when I have kind of poked around with that, I see an immediate change in them, a positive change. It is still a big struggle for me. But trying to create these more of these rhythms. where I can look at it as, you know, a big space that I have that I can fit certain things in. And again, it doesn't have to be the same every day, but it's the same things every day in that timeframe. But I can do one, two, three, four, five. I can do three, four, two, five, one. I can do it in any order I need to that fits. that fits well with me, but still works for my kids. So they know in the morning time, we're going to do these things, these specific things. In the afternoon, we have specific things that we do. And then the evening, we have specific things that we do. And then I no longer have to hear mostly my daughter ask me, mommy, what are we doing tomorrow? Mommy, what are we doing tomorrow? She'll be able to. she'll know what we're doing tomorrow. She won't know the exact order because, you know, it'll change because it's a living day and it can go any which way we want it to. But we are still held accountable for the things that we need to get done. I think it'll be a good thing for me as well as them. But I just need to I need to get, you know, get in that habit and I know.

Meara:
Mm-hmm. I like that. think it will too. Get on with the ball, Maggie. Yeah. You are. I'm so proud of you. You've come such a far, you know, such a long way. I know that with your children, that that would be perfect for them.

Maggie:
You know, I'm working on it.

Meara:
because your kids don't let, I can just see that they aren't the type that are like, okay, we're gonna do the same thing over and over and over every single day, they'll get so bored. My kids, if I did the same thing over and over every day, they probably wouldn't get bored, but that's just because my kids are just, yeah, but.

Maggie:
Mm-hmm. They're like you.

Meara:
You so of course everybody's home is going to be different. you know, so you have to, you have to switch it up every day. And then in my house, I don't necessarily have to switch it up every day. So it's going to take some time to find a rhythm. no matter who you are and where you're coming from. And like you said, you know, you're a stay at home mom. I work full time, 52 hours a week, actually. my husband's full time as well. And I'm a stay at home mom and I'm a homemaker and I'm trying to do home studying. So, it's, you know, it's, it's a lot to juggle.

Maggie:
Mm-hmm.

Meara:
But we... You gonna say something?

Maggie:
Alright, well, I didn't want to interrupt you.

Meara:
Go ahead.

Maggie:
just bringing up homesteading that so cyclical living also. So having this, what I call living day allows you, you know, different times of years, you're going to be busier and we homestead as well. Or we, we do our best to, which is a whole nother conversation, but

Meara:
Mm-hmm. Sure. It is.

Maggie:
You know, right now we are starting seeds and we are preparing the garden beds and we have so much to do outside. And a lot of that stuff needs to fall on me because I'm here all day long. Now, of course, we include the children into that and that's a part of their learning as well. So that that is, you know, part of our homeschooling schedule throughout certain times of the year. So that's why, especially for us, it has to be able to to change drastically and for us to still be able to get our our needbees done.

Meara:
flow. Well, that's a very important thing that you bring up with including that in their homeschool. You know, that's what we're trying to do is teach our children the roots and going back to that women folk good old revival that we're trying to do, you know? So I know with you, you were talking about how...

Maggie:
Mm-hmm.

Meara:
everything just kind of flows. You never really had that pattern or that rhythm that fit perfectly for your family. You know, I'm quite polar the opposite. Growing up, I was diagnosed with ADD. So in college, in order to get through school, I had to train my brain to do things a certain way. And one of those was mass structure. Now, was I kind of all over the place? Sure. But till date, since having kids, it was just kind of an automatic thing that I fell into. So even now, Everything has a structure and everything has a time, but it doesn't have to be at that specific time. So every day my kids know exactly how things happen. We wake up the two middle kids, oldest, because they live at our house now still. So the two older kids, they're in school all day. And then the little still have breakfast if they want. The two older sometimes skip breakfast and then they eat lunch. And then we eat dinner before five o'clock. And then six o'clock is our wind down time. We clean up the house. The kids are delegated tasks. The older two do. dishes, the younger two pick up the toys, you know, we start winding down for the day. The four-year-old and the three-year-old are in bed by 7 p.m. The two older kids by 7 p.m. are in their room reading a book or doing something of their choice and then by 7 30 they come out they say good night and they send themselves to bed by 7 30 and then the baby goes to bed with with us, which isn't that much later. So while the timing is fairly structured, the focus is still flow over rigidity because sometimes they're in bed by eight and that's fine as long as they have that time to wind down before they go to bed. It's not about the exact minute, it's about steps, dinner, cleanup, quiet time, sleep. And this works for us because rest is essential and it helps. children and adults regulate emotions, settle their energy and be able to transition smoothly into bedtime. Sleep is huge. It's extremely important. It's a non-negotiable because it affects everything. That's why we're in bed so early. know, kids need nine to 12 plus hours depending on their age. It helps their bodies grow and repair. It helps their brain process the day. It helps their emotions regulate except for mine because they're girls and that's just how we are.

Maggie:
Mm-hmm.

Meara:
Well-rested kids handle frustration better. They listen easily and they have a lot less meltdowns and it strengthens the immune system. Did you know that as adults we need seven to nine hours as well? I don't know if you guys all notice, but with more sleep we're more patient, present. and a lot less overwhelmed. So protecting our sleep is to me the foundation for a rhythm based home. And I'm old and I love to sleep. we're not. Okay, okay, okay. I am seasoned and I love my sleep.

Maggie:
You are not old. We are not old. You can't say things like that. We're the same age and I am not old. You know, I have seen many studies showing that women need more sleep than men because we have more complex emotions and thought processes. So, so women get your sleep. I love my sleep. Yes, it is.

Meara:
We do it all. this. get it ladies it's amazing yeah in our home Responsibilities are not chores. They're just a part of life. You know, so like I said before, tasks are age appropriate, natural, and sometimes even playful. We give them so much praise. Are too older, they do their laundry whenever their laundry needs to be done. We don't have to tell them anymore when to do their laundry. They take showers on their designated days. know, pride and confidence grow when children can contribute.

Maggie:
I think most people are going to hear that and say what on their designated days. Mira and I, do not, yeah, we do not either. It's so much better for your health if you do not.

Meara:
yeah! They don't shower every day. We wash, we wash.

Maggie:
I used to have horrible allergies and when I stopped showering every single day, they went away. Now when I'm out working in the yard, if I get totally gross, if our kids get totally gross, yeah.

Meara:
yeah. summer's different. We don't shower in the summer every day either, but we will hose you down if you're dirty. And we do wash. We wash every day. yeah, know, kids' confidence grows when they're able to contribute and when they get praise and they see that their responsibilities aren't forced. It becomes a part of a natural rhythm and that whole being intuitive, not intuitive.

Maggie:
Yeah.

Meara:
what is that word I'm looking for? Intentional. You know, being intentional about doing things and bringing our creator into it makes it even better because then they see, you know, I'm being watched by the creator and I'm making them proud. We build a sense of teamwork in our house pretty much with everything we do. And we bring intention into song.

Maggie:
intentional. And I love that every time you talk about your family and how things work, it's so beautiful and it's so dreamy to think about. And in my household, we are so far from that, but we want that and we're working towards it. And granted, my kids are a little bit, well...

Meara:
Thank you. you'll get there. You'll get there.

Maggie:
You have your two orders, elders, orders, whatever you call them. And, you know, they're able to do more. Whereas my oldest is, well, she'll be eight soon and, you know, then she'll start kind of tacking on more things like that. Maybe laundry and that sort of thing. But we're not quite there yet. But I can definitely see they are much more likely to.

Meara:
Hmm. Well...

Maggie:
to do things, to do chore like things when they're not necessarily being asked. When they know that, you know, it's there needs to be done. They like the, they like the feeling of helping out and then they come and let me know. And then sometimes it's almost, it's almost a competition for them. They want to be the one who does more. Mommy, I just did this. Mommy, I just did this. Well, I did this. And you know, sometimes there's some bickering involved, but you know, I give them equal love.

Meara:
Mm-hmm. and getting praised.

Meara:
Mm-hmm.

Maggie:
and equal praise and and it's so much it's so much better that way than you know feeling like you're demanding them to to do these things it's so frustrating

Meara:
Mm-hmm. It's... Yeah, it's hard. You never get anything out of them and you get them talking back to you, this, that, and the third. And you know, and it's not all roses here. My house is by far perfect. We have so much to work on. But for that, being able to have our two elders, we call them our elders, you know, they're... God sent from us. mean, they're just amazing. They will help with anything and everything. And it's all about, you know, reward of praise and good job and you're so amazing. you know, so life, living in cycles is the way to be. Some days are going to be slower. Some are going to require more rest. We adjust based on our energy and the needs, like you said, seasons, different times of the year.

Maggie:
Well, and speaking of that and energy needs, especially with us being women, our entire lives is a series of cycles. And that continues regardless of what's going on in your daily household. You know, there's going to be days in your cycle where you feel great and wonderful and you're on top of the world. And there's going to be other days in your cycle where, I mean, the day just can't get over soon enough and you just can't

Meara:
sure is. Hahaha Yeah. Yeah.

Maggie:
you can't get your mind right and you know you're bloated or you're just feeling just feeling off so well sure yeah

Meara:
cycles. Are you speaking of menstrual cycles? Yeah, we're gonna have a whole other episode on that. Yeah.

Maggie:
yes, because women don't know enough about our cycles and their major impact... everything.

Meara:
They do not. I just learned not that long ago. So if you want to create a rhythm in your home,

Maggie:
You too.

Meara:
Start small. You can do it. You don't have to be perfected. It does not have to be perfected in a day, week, year. Just pick one area and start small, whether it's delegating tasks or, you know, just getting laundry done in a week's time the way you want it to a same time every day, something, not same time, but same flow every day. You know, don't stress about exact times. Focus on the flow. Introduce responsibilities gradually, whether it's to your kids or for yourself. I know a lot of adults have issues with

Maggie:
Yes.

Meara:
of being able to work on themselves as well with this. And always prioritize your sleep first. It is a non-negotiable sleep. Sleep is the foundation for everything. And with that being said, again, we have some available resources for you, some guides that can help you on our Facebook community page. Again, link is in the, link is below. I have a,

Maggie:
you

Meara:
We have put together life skills activities and daily rhythm guide for kids building their independence, responsibility and fun daily habits. We also have daily rhythm schedule example for kids, just an example to see how your day can flow naturally without feeling rigid. And bonus adult life skills and personal growth chart. I had to throw that in there. Practical tools, self-care ideas, and habits for intentional flow. These resources are designed to help support your whole family in creating flow, consistency, and meaningful routines without the stress of strict schedules. You do not have to download these. I'm sure there's other things you can find plenty online that would help you as well that are for free. Do not pay for these things.

Maggie:
Mm-hmm. you

Meara:
So always remember you don't need a perfect schedule. You need a daily rhythm that fits your family's unique needs and energy. Focus on patterns, not the clock, and let your day move more naturally. When you embrace rhythm over rigidity, children feel secure, us adults feel secure, parents feel less stressed sometimes, and your home runs more smoothly. So is there anything else that you needed to add?

Maggie:
yes, tune in next week when we discuss natural cleaning. how organization helps immensely. cooking. What else, Mira? Ridding your household of toxins. Woof. Cause that is affecting your behavior and everyone's behavior and health too.

Meara:
yeah, toxins, toxins, chemical toxins. It can be chemicals, can be everything. It sure is. And plants, healthy plants that, you know, restore energy and oxygen. Yes. And remember, follow the flow, honor the rhythm, and create a home where everyone can thrive.

Maggie:
Yes. Bringing the outdoors in.

Meara:
Be sure to tune in next week. Don't forget to get your goodies. Meggie mentioned it last week. Now I can't stop saying it. Goodies! Don't forget those PDF goodies to download. in the meantime, don't forget, day.

Maggie:
Hehehehe. Hehehehe. Hehehehe. to stay. Stay reading and stay wild.

Meara:
Stay wild.