Before You Become a Full Time Homemaker

Allison Weeks
Aug 28
4 min read

Companion Blog to S25,E12; Homemaking Deep Dive | So, You Want to Be a Full Time Homemaker

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Making the decision to come home full time can feel overwhelming and scary.

Can we afford to?

Can we afford not to?

What will our family say?

Am I wasting my education to stay home?

What if my husband loses his job?

What if medical or financial tragedy strikes?

These are just a few of the many questions you may wrestle with in making the decision to come home full time. I want to encourage you that wrestling through these questions and getting to the root of your fears and other barriers is well worth your time, thought and energy.

This is exactly what we discuss in Part One of our Deep Dive, So You Want to Be a Full Time Homemaker. My friend and fellow seasoned homemaker, Jessica Fisher, and I, combined, have over 60 years of full time homemaking experience. Both of us had to wrestle through the decision to set aside our own earning potential, come home full time, and learn to live on less. And both of us would testify that we would make the same decision 100 times over.

We cover a lot of ground in part one with the aim of helping you think through the gravity of this choice before you. We are not trying to bind your conscience with hard and fast rules about whether or not you should stay home full time. Rather, we want to give you permission to consider full time homemaking as a legitimate "career" option and help your think through how to make the move.

The main topics we cover in this episode:

Understanding your WHY for becoming a full time homemaker
The history of homemaking and why it fell out of fashion in the last 60 years
What does the Bible say? Is there a specific mandate for full time homemaking?
Common barriers to becoming a ft homemaker: lack of support, fears, money
What to do before you quit your job
What to do when you are ready to make the switch

In Part 2, we will talk about thriving as a full time homemaker by understanding God’s design for your homemaking and learning to manage the three common trouble spots: expectations, time and money.

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EPISODE RESOURCES

Before You Quit (with your husband)

suggestions based on Women Leaving the Workplace, Burkett

Seek the Lord in prayer
Seek counsel from others who are living this lifestyle. If you can't find others in your local network, reach out to online sources. Feel free to reach out to me or to Jessica.
Soberly consider the costs and benefits AND don’t get so bogged down in the details that you start to talk yourself out of it and do not be ruled by fear. Nothing surprises God. He goes before you and He will provide for your needs (Deut 31:8, Josh 1:9, Matt 6:31-33).

When You're Ready to Move Forward

suggestions based on Women Leaving the Workplace, Burkett

You've made the decision, now what? Here are a few suggestions of how to successfully make the shift to full time homemaking. You may not be able to implement all of these suggestions, but doing as many of these as you can will help smooth the transition.

The husband and wife should be of one mind, unified and equally committed in this decision.
Adjust to a one income budget for at least 3 months before you quit your job. Theory and practice are not the same thing. You can theorize all day long about what it will be like to live on one income. But until you actually do it, you won't really know what it's like. So, do a trial run before you have to. You may even want to experiment with certain sacrifices that might be required down the road, such as managing with one only one car.
Set a realistic and definite quit date
Build a cash reserve and plan how you will replenish it if you have to dip into it. Make sure you have some margin in that zero-based budget, both for refilling your reserve and for a few fun things.
Establish a typical schedule for yourself as a full-time homemaker. You are going to make some major sacrifices to stay home full time, so don't fritter away your day and let those sacrifices be wasted. Stay out of the two ditches of aimlessness and over-scheduled. Instead, establish flexible rhythms & routines for the life of your home that include rest, worship, work and play.
Prepare to adjust your expectations. If you find yourself disappointed in the day-to-day reality of homemaking, ask yourself, "What did I expect?" Are you bored? Frustrated? Feeling unfulfilled? This a job. The return you receive is equal to the effort you put in. Read, learn, ask questions, and grow your skill set. Aim beyond the status quo and bare minimum. Remember, you are making a home, not just taking care of a house. Immerse yourself in gratefulness for this blessed existence that God has made for you and your people.
Move forward in Christ-confidence, not self-confidence. Everything we do is all to Him, through Him, and for Him.