As young children, most of us probably read the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  Reading them as an adult helped me to realize how many homemaking and life tips there are in these books!

In case you missed it, the 7 Homemaking Tips from Little House in the Big Woods (the first book in the series), you can read it here.  

1. A homemaker keeps things neat and tidy as a habit. 

The Ingalls family had left their house in the Big Woods of Wisconsin and was traveling.  The description in chapter 3 was rather fascinating to me.  In spite of the fact that they would probably not see anyone that day or even that week or month, Ma kept up on the laundry.  In addition, Mary and Laura did the dishes after breakfast; then they picked up sticks so that their campsite would look tidy–in the middle of nowhere.

Ma believed in good homemaking wherever she was; it did not matter if she lived in a house, cabin, or a wagon.

You may not have the house you wish to have, but it’s still possible to do your best to keep it neat and clean.  🙂  Whether you rent or own, live in a condo or a mansion, keeping your home clean and tidy should be the goal.  However you take care of your current home will be how you take care of your next home because you are forming habits.

2.  A homemaker looks presentable always. 

As we noticed in Little House in the Big Woods, Ma had a day for ironing.  Out in the prairie, she ironed too.  It was ingrained in her to look well for her family and even for herself.

Today we do have dryers, and clothing taken out at the correct time may not need ironing.  However, if it does, let’s take a few moments to iron it before we wear it.  🙂

Sometimes we think it’s important to look nice if we are going to church or to the store, but that it doesn’t matter what we look like at home.  How we dress affects how we feel, and if we are in sloppy clothing, we do not feel industrious.  We usually are in “relax” mode.  

We also need to remember that although we may not be looking in a mirror non-stop, other people are looking at us all day.  In addition, if you take the time to look nice when you are home, you don’t need to worry about who will and will not see you.  🙂 

3.  A homemaker makes her home look pretty. 

In chapter 9, after Pa made the table, it “looked very nice when Ma put a tablecloth over it.” A simple way to transform your table is to use a tablecloth.  A tablecloth can make mealtime more pleasant and cheery.

Simply covering the table with a tablecloth can make you feel as though your meal of rice, vegetables, and chicken is fit for a king.

An older table may show signs of many happy meals eaten at it.  In today’s culture, some people may think that a worn-out looking table must be replaced.  However, covering it with a tablecloth can transform the table instantly until you can refinish it or replace it.  

4.  A homemaker does not waste. 

In chapter 10, Pa built the roof for their home.  Sometimes a nail was lost.

“Then Mary and Laura watched it fall, and they searched in the grass till they found it. Sometimes it was bent.  Then Pa carefully pounded it straight again.  It would never do to lose a nail.”

Some of us might think that a nail was such an insignificant item to lose.  However, Pa would need to ride about forty miles to the nearest city in order to purchase more nails.  In the first place, this family’s money was usually scarce.  Second, an eighty-mile trip would take Pa several days and would mean that the roof would be finished a week or more later.

How often do we waste things simply because we think we can easily replace what was wasted?

5. A homemaker is content. 

Ma was content to live in a covered wagon for days and weeks while they moved.  Then, she was content to continue to live in the covered wagon while Pa hauled logs for the house.  She was content to move into a house that was not completely finished.  The doors, floors, windows, and roof were not all completed overnight.  Each task was accomplished by the family working together and sometimes by trading work with a neighbor.

In today’s world of technology, we can sometimes expect unrealistic things.  If you purchased a home that wasn’t completely perfect, it may take months and years to do all the work inside, whether you do it yourself or you hire someone to do it.

Let’s learn to be content even when things aren’t perfect.  🙂

6.  A homemaker preserves food for her family. 

In chapter 15, Ma and Laura go blackberry picking for several days.  Those days, they ate blackberries to their heart’s content and also dried the blackberries for use in the winter. 

Today there are many ways to preserve berries; however, drying them takes very little time and won’t make your house hot like making blackberry jam would do. 

Also, today we think we need to have dehydrators to dry food.  While having a dehydrator is not a bad thing, if you run out of room in your dehydrator, you can dry food in the sun.  You would need to cover it up with something like a cheesecloth and keep the squirrels away, but it can be done!  

7.  A homemaker is quick-thinking. 

In chapter 16, there was a fire in the chimney; Pa was gone, and with Ma’s quick actions, the house was saved.  Had she taken too long to realize that the chimney was on fire, the entire family could have perished. 

Also, Laura, the little homemaker saved Mary and Carrie the baby by pulled them out of the way of a burning stick.  Then she threw the burning stick into the fire.  Even in an emergency, she had remembered that her mother had taught her never to leave burning sticks on the floor.  

Which of these tips was your favorite?  Did you glean other homemaking tips when you read this book?  I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. 

If you learned something new from this article, please share it with a friend or on social media.  The image below can be used to save this blog post to Pinterest.  

Homemakers can feel tired after a long day of cooking, cleaning, organizing, and even working a job away from home. 

Here are three products that can help a homemaker relax at the end of a day (I will earn a small commission if you purchase these items, and this fact does not change the price of the item): 

My favorite herbal tea has no caffeine, calories, or sugar but tastes sweet because of the cinnamon in it; it also has chamomile in it to help you unwind. 

This overnight mask nourishes your skin with aloe vera and other botanicals while you sleep. 

Take a shower or bath with this soap that will leave your skin hydrated and soft.  A little goes a long way. 🙂