What Does A Homemaker Do?

Many people are very quick to underestimate how much a homemaker does in the day and some people even go as far as believing they spend their days sat on the sofa watching day time TV, but that's not really the case.

The homemaker puts in incredibly long hours that usually start from the minute he/she wakes up and only finishes when they go to bed. If the homemaker is also a parent, they can often work all through the night too.

Their main responsibilities are to maintain just about everything that has anything to do with the home and family. Being a full time homemaker and a parent is one of the hardest jobs you will ever come across, but is it also one of the most rewarding jobs as well.

A homemaker is there no matter how tough things get and in more cases than not, they will put everyone and everything before themselves. If you need a hero among your family then usually the homemaker is first on call.

A homemaker supports their partner as much as possible which can increase their partner’s productivity in his/her everyday life and even in their job. He/she can relax knowing they are coming home to a tidy, well organised home where the bills are paid, the children are looked after and usually a good wholesome meal on the table.

The children benefit from having a good, unrushed, loving and stable environment where they constantly have someone to turn to if and when they need to.

Some will tell you that it is the most rewarding thing a person can do and that they feel totally fulfilled in life. Others will say it’s frustrating, lonely and they rarely see any thanks for what they do. It’s quite true in both cases and it really depends on what the person is happy with. There is no right or wrong as to whether someone should be a homemaker or not, it is what works best for them and their family.

The homemaker usually appreciates that they get to spend more time not just with immediate family, but also more distant family and friends. This can greatly improve their fulfilment, if they feel they have a bit of support from other people, whether it be from their partner, friends or family.

They take on so many that if you wanted to advertise for a homemaker, your placement would look something like this:

Homemaker - Mock Job Advertisement

I need someone that is willing to work for free and around the clock, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and for 365 days a year. As the budget is tight there will be no time off and no sick pay.

They will need to remain happy at all times possible. They must be patient, understanding and supportive when required even if it is at 4am in the morning.

It’s absolutely essential that they are quick on the toilet and still be able to pee whilst a queue of people are knocking on the door and telling you they need the bathroom immediately. You must be prepared to jump out of a bath at a moments notice should the children urgently need you to decide who had what toy first, and remain professional when answering the door in your bathrobe. You must fully enjoy eating at least 90% of your meals when they have gone cold.

Duties/Roles you will carry out on a daily basis are as follows:

• Financial adviser
• Accountant
• Meal planner
• Shopping
• Chef
• Fashion adviser
• Nanny
• Decorator
• Gardener
• Handyman/woman
• Pocket money distributions
• Nurse
• First Aid
• Swimming instructor
• Fitness instructor
• Cleaner including washing and ironing
• Referee (between the children)
• Secretary / receptionist and PA
• Diary management
• Time management
• Welcome all visitors
• Telephonist
• Play worker
• Teacher
• Support worker
• Chaffer
• Health adviser
• Assisting children in getting dressed. (Must be able to remain calm at all times, whilst arguing that shoes are on the wrong feet)
• Security Guard to the children and quite often their school friends too
• Events organiser (this includes all outings, holidays and parties)
• Actor (you must able to keep straight face when disciplining the children against something they shouldn't do, whether it was comical or not)

You must also be:

• Loving
• Caring
• Gentle
• Fun
• Stern
• Energetic
• Patient
• Enthusiastic
• Confidential
• Flexible
• Amazing at multitasking
• Able to work well under pressure
• Able to raise voice when necessary (please note: I can not be held liable for lose of voice, sore throats or any other vocal damage)
• Outstanding Role model

Please note: This is not the full list of specifications; you will also be requested to follow up any other given tasks that the family requires.

If they could do all of the jobs in the outside world and get paid for them, their salary would be somewhere close to £250k per year and yet they do the entire lot for free and out of love.

Many homemakers are so content with their lifestyle and being at home, that when the time comes that they need to start work, they often look at ways of setting up their own work-from-home business. And with that much experience and skills behind them, it’s not surprising that many of them go on achieve it very successfully.

It’s not uncommon that a homemaker gets pulled away from doing what he/she loves because of finances and the economy and they have to find themselves a job in the outside world.

Some people are very relieved just to have a break from all the ciaos of running a household. They can go to their jobs and work extremely hard and still do less than they would do at home on a daily basis.

Others feel heartbroken that they have had to leave the family to go to work.  A job in the outside world doesn’t usually compare to the pure ciaos that they have grown use to at home, so they sometimes feel lost, unchallenged and homesick. They wish for nothing else than to be back home where they feel they belong, and for their life to be back to how it was before, just the way they liked it.

I for one - solute the homemaker, there really is no other job like it in the world!