The #1 Secret to Cultivating a Happy Home

    How to Create a Home You'll Love 

    Most small business owners spend a lot of time and energy creating a business they love. Don’t get me wrong: this is still really important. However, the point of running your own business is to give you the freedom to build the home life you’ve always wanted. As important as it is to invest in your business, it’s even more important to invest in a happy home. After all, a home is the place you come for refuge and relaxation after a long day of work.

    My #1 secret to cultivating a happy home is pretty simple: run your home like it is a business. The methods and systems you’ve learned to make your business successful also work at home. To create the happy home you’ve always wanted, take the time to build leadership at home, create a family vision, and systemize your home. These three things will help your household run as smoothly as your business.

    Leadership at Home

    You should manage your home like a boss. As you create the home life you’ve always dreamed of, take the time to build leadership in your home. You and your spouse should be the leaders of your home, with your children participating as team members.

    One major way you can invest in the leadership at home is to develop rules and expectations. Your children should have a clear understanding of what your expectations are and who is responsible for doing what in the home. 

    Habits play a big role in leading at home. As your family works to cultivate healthy habits, the question of who is responsible for what becomes less of an issue. For example, your children may develop an evening routine to help them get things done before settling down to sleep. This routine may include picking up their rooms, brushing their teeth, and changing into pajamas. As the parent (and the leader in the home), it is your responsibility to teach your children so that they build the habits you want them to have.

    In addition, include them in chores; make a chore chart for each kid and place in a visible spot. Some of our friends are surprised to find my kids - as young as seven years old - unloading and loading the dishwasher as part of their chores.  But kids are absolutely capable of taking an important role in the upkeep of the home.  Believe if or not, kids actually feel a sense of responsibility and take pride in their involvement in running the home (despite the occasional complaints :))! When you take the time to teach them (and to gently remind them when they forget), the habits they’ve built will help them automatically do the things that need to get done for your household to run efficiently.  And help free up you and your spouse’s time to focus on even more important things, like family fun!

    It’s important that you learn the difference between being in charge vs. being in control as you lead your home. This is the difference between being a leader and being a manager. As you lead your family, it’s important that you lead by example and work together with your family to create a home life you all will love. Learn what motivates each family member and leverage that motivation on the hard days. When your family works together toward a common goal, they make a greater impact.

    Create a Family Vision

    You’ve probably created a vision for your company before, but did you know you can also create a vision for your family? It’s important that the members of your household share a unified vision if they’re going to work together to build a happy household. 

    Take the time to define your family’s mission and values. For example, your family may value hospitality. Because of this value, your family schedule may revolve around the opportunities you have to host other people for meals in your home.  When your family works together, you can embody this value you’ve adopted.

    As you create a family vision, it’s important that you have buy-in from your family on what that vision is and how it should be lived out. As parents and leaders in your home, it is important that you set the example of what values matter to your household. When you are a positive role model of the values you want to pass onto your children, your family members will also come to appreciate and adopt those values.

    Systemize Your Home

    After you establish leadership in your home and create a vision that inspires each member of the household, take the time to put the right systems in place so your home can run smoothly.

    Some systems will be fairly easy to establish in your home. Take the time to create chore charts, a meal plan, and a home binder to help build the organization you need to effectively run your home.

    As your family becomes more comfortable with milder forms of organization, make an effort to systemize other parts of your home life. Decluttering is a major area where families can execute to create the right environment. The truth is, most homes in America have way too much stuff. Take the time to declutter your home, removing items that are never used or no longer needed. Once you’ve decluttered your home, take the time to organize what possessions remain so that every item has a home. When every item has a home, it is easier to pick up and put things away.

    In the same vein as decluttering is the idea of building a capsule wardrobe. There are lots of options regarding what you have in a capsule wardrobe, but the basic principle is that you should have a limited number of clothing items. They should all fit and coordinate, allowing you to dress in a professional way without requiring a massive selection of clothing. Many people have clothes that either don’t fit or never get worn. In a capsule wardrobe, every item is worn.  And a big perk to this? Less  overwhelming laundry!!  You cannot have a mountain load of laundry if you don't have a mountain load of clothes!

    As you organize and systemize your home, you’ll discover other things that can be systemized for greater effectiveness. Take the time to know what needs to get done and who is going to do it. When you have a well-organized and properly systemized home, you create an environment you’ll want to come home to.  And most importantly, as a mompreneur, you free up valuable time that can be used for more important things in your life and business. 

    Do you want to get ahead at home (in addition to your business), but don’t know where to start? My 5-step get ahead in your home system - that I teach in my KingdomMBA program- helps you to build the simple systems you absolutely need in your home to free up and maximize your valuable time. My program also includes information as well as the forms and templates to help you with meal planning, decluttering, building a capsule wardrobe, crafting a mission statement, setting rules and expectations, creating routines and rituals. It also includes a home binder and resource lists to help you set up the systems you need at home.  Basically, I walk you step-by-step through how to practically and holistically establish these systems in your home (in addition to your business) so that you actually get it done quickly in a non-stressful way and so you finally have the business and home you desire!

    I’d love to help you to do this too! Schedule a FREE call with me if you want ot hear more about what working together in my KingdomMBA program would look like.  Totally free and no pressure! Schedule a call here.

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