It is stormy today. I love the rain and dark skies, but they often come with a weather change and headaches. Not my favorite. My Sweet Husband, the kids, and I planted some grass and oat seed in our north chicken pen this morning before the rain, hoping to sprout some grass there. It is bare! Our meat chickens are scheduled to arrive late March. We are looking forward to having animals again.

When you think of your day to day life, what things cause you to thrive? After many years of homemaking, I can say without doubt that two specific things make my days, Monday through Saturday, run smoother: making my bed and a cleared kitchen table. Let’s see why!

Making my bed: why would a made bed in a bedroom we rarely visit throughout the day, make any difference in how my day runs? 1) A made bed can make a room look 75% cleaner in about 2 minutes. Without making my bed, things look jumbled and messy. 2) IF my bed is made, I am much more likely to keep the rest of the bedroom clean as well. Confession: I do NOT do well keeping my clothes put away. 3) Who doesn’t love getting into a made bed when it’s time to sleep at night?

Cleared kitchen table: a kitchen table is constantly being used in a from scratch, homesteading household, right? How can it stay cleaned off? Why does that matter? 1) A cleared table can… you guessed it, make the kitchen look a large percent cleaner than when it is full. 2) You cannot readily utilize a table that is covered with things. 3) You are much more likely to eat meals at a table that is routinely being cleared off than one that isn’t.

In a normal week, we focus on work Monday through Saturday. Sunday is our day of rest, given by God as a precious gift to His people. We know full well that this is important to our weekly lives, both as a farmer and a homemaker. Sweet Husband does not farm and I do not do regular housework on Sundays unless it is absolutely necessary. No laundry. No dishes. No planting. No harvesting. We reserve Sunday as our day of corporate worship and rest.

That being said, M-Sat means that these daily must haves are always being done. The bed making happens once per day, but the table clearing happens throughout most days. As family, we usually enjoy two meals together at the table. One child sets it, they all help clear it. Meal time is precious to us.

If our farmhouse table could talk, it would tell you of spills, paint projects, schoolwork, craft time, green beans snapped, and pitchers full of flowers… I could go on! It is a central part of our home. It is imperative to me to keep it such and not have it misused and constantly packed so that we can’t treat it like a table.

Does this get your mind churning? What things in your day make you thrive? We are all at different stages, but we can all become susceptible to only surviving and not thriving! Think through what makes your daily life SHINE. Whether you are a full time homemaker or not, these things can truly make our days lighter and run smoother.

What are your daily ‘must-haves’?