Recently I had the lovely opportunity to witness my sister-in-law getting married. It’s a glorious thing witnessing the beginnings of a homemaker’s journey. A host of helpers gifted her things and assisted with her setting up your new home. Watching it all come about really made me realize how everyone as their own unique way of homemaking.

I’m coming up on 10 years of marriage, aka 10 years of homemaking, and it has me thinking back through the years. All the different styles and eras I have undertaken to make me what I am today. I don’t regret any of these eras because they have helped grow me in different ways. I have learned it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Each season of life will require different things.

When I started out I did a lot of things similar to how my mom did them. I think a lot of us do. It’s what we are familiar with. It didn’t take long though to branch out and try new things. Pinterest was all the rage so 5 minute crafts, recipes, and a tutorial for anything was my life. Ideas galore. Truly a lovely time if you have a creative spirit like myself. Starting out in married life we didn’t have a ton of money so trying to DIY everything had it’s helpful moments. There were probably a horrifying amount of awfully tacky looking projects.

Minimalism Era – This was when I had two toddlers running havoc in my little house. The call of bare counters and empty spaces sounded blissful (still does from time to time). This was a good time for me to learn to let go of things that didn’t serve me or my family. Especially because we live in limited space. I do still have some white walls left from this stage. This is the time I started obsessing about my house looking a certain way. I did have to learn that I wouldn’t be able to make everything feel wide opened and bare, in my 800 square foot house the same as some one could in their 1500+ square foot house. I may of offended a few people along the way by getting rid of gifted items (sorry mom). In my defense it’s a tiny house!

Zero-waste era – One day I read how long it takes for a toothbrush to decompose which is basically forever. That sent me down a rather lengthily rabbit hole. Things I thought before, like food will still decompose in a landfill instead of compost, got new light shed on them. Because things get trapped in big landfills they can’t always properly decompose. So I installed composts which ends up only benefiting us for gardening. Things that convicted me were the amount of food waste we produce as a 1st world country is appalling. This era actually saw me implemented a lot of every day things that help with our over all food waste. After all it’s all part of being a good steward as well. I did away with things like paper towels. I banned single use plastic items. I would take glass jars to Bulk Barn to reduce food packaging. I learned how to properly dispose of a lot of things instead of just throwing it out. I likely did go a bit over board in some areas and I for sure got greenwashed a few times. However, a lot of things I discovered ended up being good for the household. In the name of balance there are some things that made a come back. Like I use gallon Ziplock bags for freezing things but for other things a mason jar does wonders.

Crunchy Era – Everything is poison! I learned so much about how things effect our bodies. So many hidden things that cause a plethora of health problems. I went extreme here. I de-chemicalized our home, switched everything to glass, tried to buy organic as much as possible, refused to buy processed food, and probably a lot of other extremes my poor husband had to endure. This era was fueled however by an obsession to look and be like someone else. I did think it had to be an all or nothing lifestyle. I did let the fear of forever chemicals rule over me for a time. Those minds sets were not helpful or healthy. Which was completely contrary to the whole reason for the lifestyle.

The thing I learned through each of these eras is if it doesn’t serve my family it needs to go. Sometimes a cheap DIY project costs more in the long run than a prudent purchase of a more quality item. If other family members feel they can’t function in their own home without dissolving the aesthetic, it’s not serving you. If a lifestyle is causing strife in your marriage it’s likely not serving you, even if it has the possibility to do good in other areas.

No matter your homemaking style or inspiration, how it affects your family and household is the only way to measure if it’s worth it.

My current style is a mixture of things. I love collecting little treasures so my spaces are not minimalist. I love making most of our food from scratch and put a lot of effort into canning and preserving things. However, I do buy the processed things when requested and sometimes have chicken nuggets in the freezer. I love to thrift as much as possible but sometimes I just need to buy the new thing.

One thing I for sure have noticed is if I’m feeling dissatisfied with my space I either need to try something to change it and/or I need to stop comparing my space to someone else’s curated Instagram post space. The homes we have are the ones God has blessed us with. We have a lot of control in how to create them to our liking but our sinful nature will always find something that would be better “if”… Being content in our spaces and seeing them for the blessings they are, is the biggest way we can create that “home” feeling.

I’d love to hear what different homemaking styles you have! Write a comment or message me on Instagram. Happy Homemaking – Alyssa