There are not a few women who, due to a bad economic situation in the company, have been fired or retired prematurely. Many of these women find themselves in a situation in which they have to face a job that they had not performed before and that is not as easy as it seems: that of housewives. It goes without saying that when both members of the couple are unemployed, the household chores must be shared equally. But, if your partner keeps the job and you want to assume a large part of the burden of the household, we guide you in your new role.

Mentality change

• Household chores are not limited to keeping the house clean. You also have to cook, shop, sew, etc. Being a stay-at-home mom can be exhausting both physically and psychologically, but don’t despair. The secret is in the organization and in being realistic.
• A housewife is above all a person and, therefore, has her limits. You can’t keep your house spotless twenty-four hours or cook special menus every day. You have to recognize how far you can go and organize yourself to do your job to the best of your ability. Demanding yourself more than you can do will only cause frustration.

Organization

• To keep the house tidy and clean you can create a calendar with a time for each task and designate a day of the week to deep clean a part of the house. Thus, for example, you can organize the day with a work schedule in which each hour you have to perform a different task: at nine in the morning tidy up the house, at ten put a washing machine, etc.
• It is also important that you enjoy time for yourself. You can dedicate a few hours a day to go to the gym, to the hairdresser, read a book, watch TV or go to the movies. If you dedicate a few hours a day to yourself, you will clear your mind. You can also sign up for writing courses, theater, etc. or participate in non-profit organizations to meet new people.

Economy

• A housewife controls most of the household expenses: she does the shopping, takes care of the maintenance, etc. For this reason, she must be very aware of the family’s economic situation and know very well what monthly expenses she can afford.
• Some months you will spend less and that will mean you will have more money for the extra expenses of another month. Everything is about organizing the economy based on an indicative figure. Perhaps it can be useful to write down the expenses in an excel and thus keep a more direct control of the family economy.

Involves all family members

• Being a housewife is a job like any other and, without a doubt, it is very hard work. So that you can disconnect, you must stipulate work and rest hours, as well as have the collaboration -as far as possible- of the rest of the family members .
• You can write down a series of rules on a piece of paper that each of them must read and agree to follow. The rules must be affordable and you must not fall into intransigence. You can also make a schedule for each family member in which each one is responsible for a task during one day of the week during her free time. This way all the housework will not fall on your shoulders and you will avoid falling into physical and psychological exhaustion.