What is Home Management and Why is it Important?

Home Management is a holistic approach used to systemize all the things that need to be done so a home can run efficiently. 

It sounds stuffy and strict, but really, if implemented correctly, home management systems can actually help free up a lot of time and provide organization and predictability for a home.

Do you ever feel like you’re running around all day and the to-dos just keep piling up and nothing seems to get checked off the list?

Home management systems eliminate that feeling.

Do you ever feel like your house is never ready for guests and you’re always running behind?

Home management systems make sure your home is ready for those unexpected things that life naturally brings us. 

Get rid of the stress related to always feeling overwhelmed by putting a few systems in place.

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Why You Should Use A Home Management System

For some moms, home management means a sort of comfort in knowing all the things will get done. 

For other moms, home management will finally give them a sense of calm when they were so used to the everyday chaos that can consume us. 

But, for all of us, home management can honestly give us the most precious gift…the gift of more time. 

If you think I’m BS-ing you, ask me the last time I worried about my bank balance. Probably about 10 years ago when the hubby was an intern and we were living on my paycheck alone. Since then I realized how important having a budget is and have stuck to one ever since.

Sure, there are nights I may be exhausted and I want to skip my daily habits, but for the most part, I have seen the benefit of having a clean home almost every morning and that’s enough to make me get off my ass even after an almost 12 hour day to finish my daily tasks. 

Guess what else? My 5 year old daughter does the dishes and she loves it! (pic for proof!) So do I do all of this on my own? Hell to the no! That would be insane. You need help. But when you have it, home management can be the answer you’ve been looking for to calm the chaos of life.

I’m not telling you any of this to brag. Believe me, I am far from perfect. In fact, home management has brought me the peace I need to calm my anxiety that can be triggered at any time. When my home is in order, it’s one HUGE thing I don’t have to worry about and that’s why I find systems so valuable.

I truly believe systems implemented at home can help so many moms out there and that’s why I share all of this.

Kid helping with the dishes
My daughter Nora helping with the dishes!

Types of Home Management

At a very high level, home management consists of a system for each of these things:

Mom Making Home Management

Can you imagine if you had a system in place for each of these things?

What would it mean to you to never have to worry about if you’ll have enough in savings for that trip you promised your kids?

Or never having to worry about what’s for dinner after a long day at the office?

Or never having to stress about making sure the house is cleaned all in one night because you just didn’t have the time or energy through the week?

This is the magic of systems and it can totally change your life if you’re willing to try it.

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What are the Steps in Home Management?

Have a Vision 

Always start with your why. If you don’t know why you are doing something, even something as simple as running a home, it can quickly become overwhelming and chaotic. 

If you know why home management is important to you and your family, it can drive you on the days you want to be lazy and it can give you that long term vision you need when planning. 

For me, on a day to day basis, home management gives me a sense of peace and mental wellbeing. Knowing that the house is in order at the end of each day makes me personally feel at ease and I’m in a much better mental state.

Knowing that I’ve budgeted for longer term goals like family vacations and college funds for my kids also makes things easier because I know longer term plans are already in place and there’s a plan to get there. 

When you just think of the end goal it can be really overwhelming if you don’t know why you want to get there. Even the day to day decluttering and cleaning can be terrifying. 

Having short and long term plans in place also put things into perspective. Do you really need that new pair of $100 shoes now or is that money better spent somewhere else?

Once you know why you want to implement a home management system, it’s easy to start with making a plan. 

Make a List

Well, you have to start somewhere even if it’s starting at zero.

Make a list of all the systems we talked about above and if you have a system in place for any of those items, check that bad boy off (didn’t that feel good?)!

For areas you don’t have any system in place, rank them in order of importance to you. Which ones do you feel like you need to tackle like, yesterday because it’s spinning out of control? Put those on top. 

There may be some areas of your home management that aren’t totally systemized, but it also doesn’t bother you much. Don’t worry about those for now. You can tackle them later. 

Each high level category above is broken down into smaller categories that each require a system. I’ve ranked those smaller categories from easiest to implement to hardest. 

For example, if organization in general is your pain point, definitely start with decluttering, then work towards a cleaning schedule and then hit organization. If you are trying to organize a cluttered home, you will always find yourself getting frustrated and overwhelmed. 

Making a To Do List

Make a Plan & Build a System

Once you have your list in order of importance, make a plan for the first item. Typically, systems start out with building a schedule that can be followed on a routine basis.

The most important part to building out a plan for your system is to start simple. Do not try to tackle everything at once. You could get overwhelmed and find yourself just getting frustrated. It’s ok to start small and build on what is working.

An easy place to start with any system is dedicating a minimum of 15-30 minutes per day. If you are starting out with decluttering and you want to work your way up to full-home organization, spend 15 minutes a day decluttering different areas of your home until you feel you’ve tackled all the decluttering. 

Then, and only then, would you move on to a regular cleaning schedule. Again, start small with a few things you do daily then add to the schedule by implementing regular weekly and monthly cleaning. 

Keep following this process until you have a system in place that works for you and your family consistently. 

Re-evaluate Your Systems Regularly

Just because we are routinely following systems doesn’t mean they can’t be improved. 

Always dedicate some time every year to re-evaluating all the systems you have in place for your home management. 

If you really question each system, you can always find room for improvement. Maybe you realize there’s an item that can be delegated to another family member or maybe, you started to slack on decluttering and you need to bring back a regular decluttering session into your system. 

Another area to consider streamlining is your bills. Are all of your bills on auto-pay? If you are manually having to pay any bill in the month, maybe you can free up some time there. 

Bottom line is, there is always room for improvement with your home management system so always try to find those to free up even more time.

How to Know if Home Management is a Fit for You

If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by piles of clutter in your home or you feel like you can never get caught up with all the things you need to get done, home management can be a great fit. 

The best part about implementing a home management system is that it’s not one size fits all. You can modify your home management system for you and your family.

We all go through seasons in life so there may be times when you can keep up with a robust system and tackle all the things or there may be other times when all you can focus on is a few daily tasks at a time. 

That’s the beauty of home management. It’s what you need it to be in any moment of your life. 

So just remember to start where you can and make your home management system work for you and your family. If it’s not providing value and freeing up time for the things that matter most to you, it’s not working. 

What is a Command Center and How is it Used for Home Management?

Ok, if you don’t have a command center, this is a QUICK WIN and easy to implement. A command center is basically a communication hub for the family. 

It’s a way for your family to stay connected to the things that are important to all of you on a daily basis. 

1THRIVE has hands down the best command centers as they are interchangeable and you can make them unique to your family’s needs. They are also super cute and have all you need for constant communication. 

You can show the meal plan for the week, communicate important events, hang your kids’ chore charts so they’re visible, never lose your keys, and keep all important paperwork that hasn’t been filed in one place. 

We use ours to communicate anything important to my mom who watches the kids every day. On Mondays, I make her and my dad dinner so I write a note telling her what’s for dinner and where she can find it so she can take it home. 

This is by far one of the easiest wins you can get on your journey towards complete home management. 

1THRIVE Command Centers

What is Family Home Management?

This just means the entire family unit gets involved in the home management systems. Each member of a family has the opportunity to lighten the load for everyone else. 

Starting to get kids involved early on (I’m talking even younger than 2) when they start to show interest will be a GAME CHANGER.

When kids are young they think helping mom and dad is cool and they are actually interested in learning how to help. Use this curiosity to your advantage and find chores that match their age. 

My daughter’s first chore was being in charge of the shoe rack by the front door. She showed interest in keeping the shoes organized so we asked if she’d like to make that her “thing” each night before bed. She wasn’t even 2 at the time and she loved it. 

To this day, she is responsible for the shoe rack and a few other things before she goes to bed each night.

Get the entire family involved at levels that make sense for each individual and make it fun when you can. Challenge one another, put a timer on and race or just crank the music and have a good time together. 

How you approach these things matters. When you hate doing “chores” so do your kids so be mindful of that when approaching the subject.

Mom cleaning home with child

Objectives of Home Management

The main objective to a whole home management system is simple: MORE TIME.

It may sound counter-intuitive, but by implementing a home management system you are planning ahead so your home can run effectively in a routine and natural way. 

Once you have systems in place, there is no more thinking about when you need to clean the toilets, it’s just part of your natural routine and it gets done. 

Systems provide stability, predictability and believe it or not, more time. You are never running around last minute staying up until 4am trying to clean your home for guests the next day because your home is already clean. 

You’re never wondering why you paid a late fee on the water bill because all of your bills are paid on auto-pilot. You never pay overdraft fees because you will always have enough money in your checking AND in your savings.

Home management systems provide time freedom and mental clarity. For moms, home management is often the answer to feelings of overwhelm and stress at home.

Tools to Help with Home Management

Clean Kitchen

There are so many tools out there to help when you’re just starting out with implementing a home management system. Here are some that I recommend!

Virtual Hugs, Ashleigh

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