A homemaking workbook
Faithful With What You Have
A workbook for setting a homemaking standard that fits your season.
40 pages. Print it and write in pencil. About two hours, or 20 minutes for a quick start.
$12. Digital download (PDF).
Decide What Is Enough for Your Home
Most of us never chose our standard for the home. We took it on from the women around us and from whatever we scrolled past last night, then felt guilty when we couldn’t meet it.
This workbook helps you stop and decide what is enough in your home, in this season, with God’s Word as your guide instead of comparison.
By the end, you’ll have a one-page Personal Homemaking Standard, short enough to fit on your fridge.
“Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.”1 Corinthians 4:2 (NKJV)
What’s inside
Three Parts, One Finished Page
- Clear the GroundFind out where your standard came from, and write down what your season actually holds.
- Sort Your HomeWork through six lists that separate what matters from what doesn’t.
- Hold Your StandardPlan your hard-day minimum, sort real conviction from false guilt, talk it over with your husband or a trusted woman, and write your finished Standard. Three examples show what a Standard can look like in different seasons. Then try it for two weeks and revise it on the pages provided.
The six lists
- My Non-Negotiables
- My Nice-to-Haves
- Things I Don’t Actually Care About
- Things I Should Stop Doing
- Things That Guests Probably Don’t Notice
- Things That Matter More Than Appearance
A Peek Inside
How It Works
Go in order, in pencil. Each section builds on the one before it, and you will probably change your mind along the way.
Use the idea banks. Each section opens with a short word of guidance and a bank of ideas. Circle what’s true for you, cross out what isn’t, and add your own.
Keep your lists short. A list of forty non-negotiables is a to-do list in disguise.
Finish with your Standard. Bring your answers together on one page, live with it for two weeks, then come back and revise it.
A Look at One Finished Standard
A sample from the workbook.
Newly married, working full time
A well-cared-for home for us looks like: a calm evening, a meal on the table most nights, and a home where we can have people over without panic.
My hard-day minimum: eggs and toast, dishes washed, nothing else.
When I feel behind, I will remember, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28, NKJV)
Who This Is For
This workbook is for wives and mothers who feel behind, who compare their homes to other women’s, or who are carrying a lot right now, such as a newborn, homeschooling, work, caring for a parent, a recent move, or a long season of little help. The Talk It Over section includes a version for women who aren’t married or whose husbands can’t have that conversation right now.
What This Workbook Does Not Do
This workbook is not a cleaning schedule, and it won’t hand you a routine to copy. It also doesn’t lower the bar for your family’s safety or health: anything that affects either belongs on your non-negotiables.
Nothing in this workbook earns you favor with God. Your standing before Him does not rest on your housekeeping. Because you are already accepted in Christ, you can care for your home with a clear conscience, knowing He has entrusted it to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take?
About two hours in total, spread over a few sittings. Two or three sections at a time is plenty. If you only have 20 minutes, the workbook includes a short path through four sections.
Do I need to be married?
No. The Talk It Over section is a conversation with your husband, and it also gives you a set of questions to ask a trusted older woman, a mentor, or a close friend instead.
Is this a cleaning schedule?
No. You write your own Standard from your own lists. The workbook gives you idea banks to start from, and the choices are yours.
What if I’m in a hard season?
Your season is the starting point. You’ll write down what yours holds, plan a hard-day minimum for the days that go off course, and sort out guilt that comes from comparison from guilt that points to something real. If hard days are outnumbering normal ones, the workbook encourages you to tell someone, including your doctor.
Will I use it more than once?
Yes. You try your Standard for two weeks, then revise it on the Revised Standard pages. The workbook also lists when to review it again, such as a new baby, a move, or an illness in the family.
Do I print it?
Yes. It’s made to print and write on by hand. Pencil works best.
Can I print it for friends or my church group?
No. This workbook is for your own home and family. You can print it as many times as you like, but please don’t print or share it for other people.
Which Bible version does it use?
The New King James Version (NKJV).
Decide what is enough for your home, in this season.
Take care of what God has put in your hands, and trust Him with the rest.
$12. Digital download (PDF).