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Being Disciplined at Home | Disciplined Homemaking

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Self-discipline is a concept that is often easier explained than it is to implement in your life. But, being disciplined at home is one thing that will make the most difference in your life as a homemaker. Today I’m talking about what being disciplined really means.

Being Disciplined at Home @ AVirtuousWoman.org

30 Days Of Intentional Homemaking: Day 10

Families need women who make home a special place to live, learn, and grow. There is no other job that presents as many opportunities for shaping (for the good or the bad) the future of our country – of our world – than that of a homemaker.

Intentional Homemaking @ AVirtuousWoman.org

Each of us is a homemaker. Whether you work outside the home or stay home full time, you are a homemaker. Whether you live with a big boisterous family or it’s just you and a couple of children – or just you and your husband – or even just you -, you are a homemaker. We’ve all been called to the ministry of homemaking.

You can find the rest of this series here.

➡️ Download today’s workbook here.

If I’m being honest with you, self discipline is something that I have struggled with most of my life. I’m a creative, go with the flow, have fun, follow my muse kind of girl. And sometimes self discipline just doesn’t line up with my personality. However, being self disciplined is so important!

I’m more disciplined in some areas of my life than others – I think that’s normal! But, I’d like to be more disciplined.

Here’s the thing about being disciplined: basically, discipline is just something you have to decide your going to do.

Being Disciplined at Home

Self-discipline is basically doing what you know needs to be done even when you don’t really feel like it. Not everyone struggles with self-discipline or struggles in the same way.

Like I said, I’m more disciplined in some areas of my life than others. Each one of us is different and you might be disciplined in areas of your life that I need to work on and vice versa. But, being disciplined is something we can train ourselves to be better at.

Some of us love washing dishes… not me. Ha! Some of you might enjoy vacuuming or folding laundry. A lot of you probably struggle to get the laundry washed – much less folded.

Identifying areas where we could improve on being disciplined is the first step in cultivating self discipline. For instance, perhaps you realize that you have a habit of not putting away the dishes straight away, meaning you have no place to put your dirty dishes.

Or maybe you pull clothes out of the dryer and toss them on the couch… only to fold them three days later when wrinkles have set in and the dog has slept on them.

Or maybe you find yourself struggling to maintain a daily quiet time…

We all have different lives and different schedules. So, being disciplined may look a little different for you than it does for me. But a lot of habits and chores regardless of our schedule look very similar for most households.

Discipline and Chores

If you feel overwhelmed by your household and chores seem to pile up to the point where you don’t know where to begin, then you probably need to take a few moments and make a list of things you know you could improve on.

Being disciplined is often the difference between a messy house and a tidy house. For the woman who struggles to do things immediately, chores can quickly get out of hand! Believe me, I know how tempting it is to sit down and read a book {or scroll through Facebook} instead of cleaning up right away.

I also know that putting chores off does not make those chores less painful. In fact, just the opposite is true! A lot of chores are actually more painful when we don’t do them immediately.

Washing a dish that has just been dirtied only takes seconds. Washing a dish that has dried crusty food on it take a lot of elbow grease – or time soaking. Folding laundry right out of the dryer is much more pleasant and only takes few minutes but folding three loads of cold, wrinkled, stale laundry on the couch takes what feels like forever.

related: A Time to Clean 30 Day Challenge

Being disciplined at home will help you create order and peace in your home where chaos used to reign. Everyone has different levels of comfort. Some people go nuts if there is clutter around. Others seem to enjoy having all the things every where. Most of us will fall somewhere in between the two.

The Link Between Clutter and Stress

Studies have shown that clutter causes stress, can lower children’s IQ, and even cause depression. Being disciplined at home can help you avoid feeling overwhelmed when you look around your home.

The fact that clutter or a messy house can make you feel overwhelmed, stressed, and even anxious is a huge reason to cultivate self discipline to combat those feelings.

Self discipline is the opposite of procrastination. Self discipline means that even though we could wait until morning to clean the kitchen… getting it done before bed will feel so. much. better.

I feel so good about myself and my home when I see chores through until the end – just get it done! I’ve never regretted waking up to a clean kitchen or drawers filled with clean, folded laundry. But I have definitely felt the discouragement of waking up to dirty dishes in the sink.

The truth is, as women, most of the household chores ultimately fall on our shoulders. It’s up to us to either get the job done or to delegate the chores to other family members.

I know that when my house is a mess and we have visitors pop in I feel stressed. I want my home to be warm and inviting – which is not the same as magazine perfect – and welcoming to my family and guests.

I want to encourage you to spend a little time today thinking about and even writing down a few areas of your life where you could use a little more disciple. Being disciplined only happens when we set our mind to doing it. Tomorrow we’ll talk about how to cultivate good habits and become more self-disciplined.

Do you have any struggles with self discipline? Let me know in the comments below!

Action Steps to Take Today

  1. Pray and ask God to show you where you need to improve your self-discipline.
  2. Think about one small thing you can do today to be creating more discipline at home.
  3. Download today’s workbook pages and fill out the worksheets.

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7 Comments

  1. It’s amazing that as I woke up thinking to myself - I really need to start my workout routine again that I saw your article on self-discipline. I questioned whether I was just lazy, tired or a little of both. I like the word undisciplined a lot better! Housekeeping - ughhh but clutter is truly the worse. This blog will definitely help me get started and stay motivated!! Thanks Melissa!
    1. That's so great, Nycolle. When we feel rested it's much easier to be disciplined for sure. I've learned that I never regret getting in my workout time - ever. Even those days when I'm so tired I only do some of my usual routine. Homemaking is the same way. We'll push through together. God bless you!
  2. Hi, Melissa! I struggle with the laundry. I'm like others in the problem of washing them, drying them, then folding. Ugh... Clutter is another problem. It seems that I just move one stack to another place. When you say warm and inviting, I would like to know what you have done to make your home like this... Thank you for posting relevant information!
    1. Hi Shannon! Those are common struggles - you are not alone for sure! I'm going to try to share more tips in the near future. In fact, today's post {up later} should help with some of that. Maybe I'll even write a dedicated post about how to make your home warm and inviting. Let me know if you have any other questions. If I remember, I'll add the link when it's live. God bless you!
  3. This article definitely was for me but it just makes me even more anxious. I try everyday to get things done but only seem to move items from place to place. I used to not be this way when I was younger with less time then I have now. Now that I am 50, it is really discouraging to look around sometimes so basically I just sleep. I pray to God everyday that I get back in the swing of things of being a tidy woman.
    1. Hi Roberta! I'm so sorry you are struggling. I will try to address some ideas I have for helping you be more disciplined in the near future. I do believe that reducing the amount you own will help - in other words, go ahead and have a purge of your belongings even if it seems scary. I'll talk more about this in an upcoming post but in the meantime you should check out my course, A Time to Clean: https://purpose31.teachable.com/p/a-time-to-clean-30-day-challenge. Let me know if you have any questions.
  4. My self discipline could use work in areas of my life not having to do with house work. The stuff I shouldn't be failing at. Important phone calls, important scheduling of appointments -stuff like this. I am making it a point now to write it in my daily calendar and take care of these things FIRST before other things.

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