Little Seeds Homemaking

June marks the official start to summer here in Alberta, Canada. Suddenly all the leaves are out and our once barren snow covered land becomes a beautiful oasis. Where I live, the sun stays out for much longer this time of year which means we can pack a lot of events into one day. In this post I will share with you a simplified homemaking routine for summer that works really well for my family. Hopefully this will inspire you to enjoy the warmer weather, spend more time with your kids, and still stay on top of your homemaking chores.

Table of Contents

Daily Simplified Homemaking Routine for Summer

The Quick Version of the Simplified Homemaking Routine for Summer

1. Wake up and have a quiet coffee. I usually aim to wake up 1 hour before my son.
2. Get breakfast made. Find some easy homemade breakfast ideas here. While I make breakfast, my son will practice his piano or do some of his reading.
3. Say goodbye to my husband as he heads off to work.
4. Get outside. Walk the dog with my son. I try for 30 minutes minimum but if we are enjoying the walk we will go for longer.
5. Feed pets and fill the wild bird feeders. I get my son to help with these tasks.
6. Small snack time to refuel.
7. Water the flowers and vegetable garden. Deadhead, prune, and weed a little every day. Again, my son helps me with this.
8. Start laundry. Doing one load a day really helps throughout the summer months when we are outside and getting dirty all the time.
9. Make and eat lunch and do any dishes and kitchen tidying.
10. Get outside again. We aim to spend at least 2 hours outside in the afternoon. I find it easiest to get outside somewhere away from home. For example, a playground in town, a hike in the nearby provincial park, or go fishing at a pond with some friends.
11. Screentime for my son. To be perfectly honest, by this time of the day, I desperately need some quiet time so this is when my son will play video games or watch some TV. He gets 90 minutes for the whole day. Usually my husband gets home from work while we are finishing up screentime.
12. Make dinner and eat dinner. I do some tidying of the house while dinner is cooking so that I don’t have to do as much work when my husband is home. I like for us to be able to spend time as a family.
13. Play in the yard or walk the dog as a family. We usually let our son decide what he would like us all to play together at this time.
14. Last snack before the bedtime routine.
15. Bath time and bedtime. I always prep everything for the next morning before going to bed so that the relaxing morning coffee routine can start all over again.

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Easy Homemade Recipes for Summer

Here are some easy homemade recipes that I have been enjoying so far this summer!

How To Get Your Kids to Help at Home Over the Summer?

I have to admit that a huge reason our summer days are fun and successful is that my son will help me do the daily tasks.

In full transparency, he doesn’t always feel like helping me every day and there are lots of days that involve us arguing over what needs to be done to keep the household functioning properly.

Having said that; we do try to make it all fun most days and he does earn a small allowance for all the work he helps me with. The fun and the money both help him feel like contributing to all the house tasks with me.

I do give us all a bit of break in the summer. What I mean is that there are lots of days where we don’t get around to the tidying and cleaning because we are just having too much fun doing other summer activities. And that’s okay! Your kids are only little once so enjoy the special days that they are with you during their summer break.

If I find that we have had a crazy busy week of fun and the house is starting to overwhelm me with mess; I will do a 2 hour speed clean while my son watches a movie. I do whatever I can while the movie is going and then whatever I haven’t got to, just waits until another day. But, usually, the 2 hours allows me to reset the house pretty well.

Seasonal Changes to the House for Summer

Flowers, Flowers, and, more Flowers

The most significant difference to the house and my homemaking routine is the amount of flowers we have around the yard and even in the house.

Flowers are a wonderful way to bring color and joy to your homemaking routine over summer.

In addition to flowers planted out in planters and garden beds throughout the yard, I also bring flowers into the house during the summer. Here are some affordable tips to having flowers in your house during the summer months.

• Plant seeds for the flowers you love in the winter (February is usually a good time) and then you will have tons of flowers ready to plant or pot in the summer for a fraction of the cost of buying the full plants from the store.
• Sprinkle wildflower seeds in a corner of your garden. Once these start blooming you can use it as your own personal “cut flower garden” and choose which arrangements you want to bring inside. Wildflowers are hardy and have a wonderful variety. So one package can help you pick fresh flowers for your house all summer long.
• If you are late to the party and have not managed to buy seeds in the spring, you can buy house plants that have flowers. For example, some roses will continually give you blooms for months with proper care. This way you only have to spend the money once and continue to enjoy the colorful flowers for weeks to months after.

Additional Outdoor Homemaking Tasks

Luckily my husband really enjoys a lot of the outdoor tasks associated with summer. So in our house, he does all the edges and lawn mowing. No matter who does this job, it is an important one that is added to the list of homemaking tasks during the summer months.

I also designate about 20 minutes each week to garden maintenance. This means that I make sure that the plants aren’t growing into each other and that everything is thriving and getting enough sun exposure etc. I usually do this while we are outside doing other things. It just becomes part of our routine and not something to stress over.

Ideas for Enjoying Summer At Home

• Camping in your backyard.
• BBQ with your neighbors and/or anyone! It is easier to invite people over when you can all hang out in the back yard.
• Do scavenger hunts in your neighborhood or backyard.
• Water gun, water balloon, and/or sprinkler fun in your backyard.
• Paint rocks and decorate your yard with them.
• Pool party (even if its just a splash pool).

As I always mention, I am not writing this post to tell you how to be a good homemaker. I wouldn’t even classify myself as a “good homemaker”! I am just sharing the rhythms and routines that work for me and my family during this season of life. I hope that after reading this you will have some inspiration and ideas for making your summer the best it can be this year.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post and remember to not take the summer too seriously! Have fun and enjoy your family and home while the weather is beautiful. What a blessing summer truly is!

Share this with a friend and leave me a comment about what you will be doing with your family this summer!