Homemaking As Sacred Practice (as a Mum of five)

Here are five ways I've made homemaking into a spiritual practice ... 

1. Sending Love and Blessings Through the Home

I work from home and I drive my children to school every morning (the fact that they are all at the same school is something I am grateful for each day!). Once I return home, I move through the rituals of tidying the house, lighting some incense, and making the beds. The first reframe here is thinking of it as a ritual not a chore. After this, I usually walk slowly from room to room, which only takes a few minutes, and I send love and blessings to each of my children. I imagine what they might be doing at school in that moment, and I consciously send them my love. This has become especially meaningful on mornings that have felt rushed or strained, when I have been impatient or shouty, because it allows me to restore a sense of connection. I also take this time to practice gratitude for my home and our comfortable lives. 

2. Viewing Motherhood as Service

Over time, I have come to view parenting and motherhood as a form of service. I am aware that this does not always sound very feminist, and there may be resistance to this framing, but I can say honestly that it has supported me again and again. When I think of the work of parenting as a blessing rather than a burden, I feel so fortified. I consider the seeds I am sewing for my children’s future, the memories I am creating for them, and the habits I am fostering day by day. This perspective shift brings steadiness and purpose to even the most ordinary tasks.

3. Practising Deep Gratitude

A deep practice of gratitude also underpins much of how I move through homemaking. I often think of mothers who are not with their children, or who are unable to provide safety or nourishment, and this reflection helps me. As I prepare dinner or fold the laundry, I feel a genuine sense of gratitude for the simple fact that I am able to do these things. It transforms routine into something more reverent and mindful.

4. Giving Children Roles According to Their Nature

I also give my children responsibilities according to their means and their natural inclinations. When I was running yoga studios, one of the things I was often appreciated for was my ability to delegate thoughtfully. I would take time to understand each teacher’s skill set and then invite them to contribute in ways that amplified their natural strengths or even their dharmic calling. I find that I now do the same as a parent. My ten-year-old waters the garden, my twelve-year-old reads stories to my four-year-old each evening, and my youngest, who is only four, has a remarkable ability to tidy up, often more effectively than her brothers (another anti-feminist observation!). My older children, now sixteen and nineteen, recently spent the weekend concreting part of our renovation. Each contributes according to their capacity. There is something very important in this, in allowing children to feel capable, valued, and part of the functioning whole.

5. Valuing a Cosy Home and Time Together Over Material Things

There is also a strong emphasis in our home on the idea that a cosy environment and shared time together matter far more than material possessions. My children are, of course, not immune to the pull of material things, but they have grown up with a familiarity and even a fondness for op-shops and hand-me-downs. As a family, we tend to spend money on experiences together and on good quality food rather than on accumulating many things. When they do want something expensive, such as when my son wanted an e-bike, they are asked to save and wait. Delayed gratification feels important to me in the raising of children. At times, I will match their savings or offer a financial reward when they have worked consistently towards a goal, but always with this broader principle in mind.

A Final Reflection on Reverence

As a final reflection, which perhaps sits slightly outside homemaking and more within the realm of parenting, I have recently become aware of the importance of bringing a sense of reverence, and even God, into my children’s lives. For many years, my children attended our local public school, and over time I began to have more ethical and values-based questions about what they were being taught. Since they began at a Christian school earlier this year, I have noticed a tangible shift in their manners, their respect, and their consideration for others. Part of this is undoubtedly because these qualities are being actively taught and reinforced within the school environment. I have found that secular education, at least in our experience, has become somewhat lax in its expectations around behaviour and respect, and the contrast has been noticeable. I do not believe that this needs to be tied to any one denomination or belief system, but I do feel that centring a Higher Power, in some form, holds real value in a child’s life.

These practices are not elaborate or time-consuming, but shape the atmosphere of our home and my own experience within it. Homemaking, in this way, becomes less about maintenance and more about meaning.

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