Simple Homemaking Rituals That Heal the Heart and Home
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🍋 Simple Homemaking Rituals That Heal the Heart and Home
By Genika “GG” Simon | Swell Journal
Let’s be honest — some days, homemaking feels like Homemaking Therapy. Other days, it feels like a hostage situation between you, a mop, and your last nerve.
But here’s what I’ve learned after burning out, breaking down, and finally getting back up again (with a dust rag in one hand and Jesus in the other):
When you treat homemaking like healing instead of punishment, your whole life changes. I call it Homemaking Therapy — the slow, soulful rhythm of turning everyday chores into acts of healing.
It’s not about a Pinterest-perfect home. It’s about creating peace in your space — and a little humor while you’re at it — because if you can laugh while cleaning the junk drawer, you’re basically enlightened.
🕯️ Homemaking Is Holy (Even If You’re in Sweatpants)
Once upon a time, I thought cleaning was just… cleaning. Something to rush through so I could finally “relax.”
But over time, especially during some of my darkest, loneliest seasons, I realized that tending to my space was a way of tending to me.
When I couldn’t fix everything, I could still wash the dishes.
When I couldn’t stop crying, I could light a candle.
When I didn’t have the words, I could pray while folding laundry.
It became my rhythm of recovery — the Swell Living way: finding grace in the small stuff, beauty in the chaos, and peace right where you are.
Because when our outer world calms, our inner world starts to exhale too.
🍊 1. Simmer Pots for the Soul (and Sanity)
If you’ve never made a simmer pot, let me introduce you to the easiest therapy session you’ll ever have.
Take a small pot, fill it halfway with water, and toss in whatever you have — orange slices, cinnamon sticks, cloves, a few drops of vanilla, maybe a sprig of rosemary if you’re feeling fancy.
Let it simmer on the stove, and as the scent fills your home, breathe deeply. It’s like aromatherapy for your spirit and a gentle reminder that beauty doesn’t need to be expensive or complicated.
My favorite mix? Orange, bay leaf, clove, and vanilla — smells like hope.
Your house will smell like you bake for a living and have your life together — even if dinner is cereal and you just Febrezed the whole house instead of cleaning it.
Pro tip: Throw in a bay leaf or rosemary sprig if you want to smell like you own a cottage in the woods and not a pile of laundry.
Simmer pots are proof that healing doesn’t have to be hard. Sometimes it’s just aromatherapy and vibes.
🧺 2. Decluttering with Grace, Not Guilt
You know that drawer. We all have one. The junk one.
Instead of tackling your entire home at once, choose one small space — a drawer, a counter, a single shelf. As you go through it, whisper gratitude for what’s served you and gently let go of what no longer does.
Decluttering isn’t about perfection. It’s about creating breathing room.
You’re not throwing away your past — you’re making space for peace to stay awhile.
📓 3. Journaling (a.k.a. Emotional Decluttering)
Grab a notebook. Any notebook. (Even that half-used one from 2014 that says “Boss Babe” on the cover — no judgment.) You don’t need a fancy notebook (though I do love a pretty one). Just a pen, a page, and five quiet minutes.
Now, write.
Write what’s bugging you, what’s beautiful, what you ate for breakfast, or what you wish you hadn’t said three days ago.
No filters, no grammar rules, no fancy pens required.
Some days I just write, “Lord, it’s me. I’m tired.”
Other days, I list everything I’m grateful for: coffee, candles, clean socks, and people who return texts.
Journaling is how you take the clutter out of your head and put it somewhere safe — like a mental junk drawer you actually clean out.
Write what’s heavy. Write what’s hopeful. Write what you wish you could say out loud.
Sometimes I start with a prayer:
“God, here’s what I don’t know how to carry.”
By the time I’m done, I usually find clarity, or at least enough calm to get through the next thing.
If words don’t come easily, make lists — gratitude lists, comfort lists, homemaking checklists that double as emotional resets.
Writing helps us see the goodness still present in our days — even the hard ones.
🕯️ 4. Beauty in the Everyday
Let’s be real: life feels better when things look slightly put together.
You don’t need matching jars or an HGTV budget. Just light a candle, open a window, or put on music that makes you feel like you’re in a movie montage turning your life around.
Fold your towels with love (or mild irritation — both count).
Arrange your fruit bowl like you’re on a cooking show.
Set the table for dinner, even if dinner is takeout eaten in stretchy pants.
Homemaking is how we say, “This is my space, my story, my sanctuary — and I’m making it swell.”
🪞 5. The Swell Home Reset
If your home feels heavy — spiritually, mentally, emotionally — open the windows. Play soft music. Pray in each room.
Sometimes peace needs an invitation.
Here’s a simple practice:
The Swell Home Reset
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Light a candle or simmer pot.
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Say a prayer or affirmation aloud (“This home is a place of peace.”).
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Tidy for 10 minutes.
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Sit down and breathe.
That’s it. You’ve shifted the energy from chaos to calm — and that shift matters.
🌙 6. The Nighttime Wind-Down
I don’t care how chaotic your day was — end it intentionally.
Turn off the big lights, play soft music, put the phone away (scrolling is not self-care), and sip something warm.
If you pray — pray. If you journal — journal. If you just stare at a candle and breathe — do that.
You’re closing the day with gratitude and peace, not chaos and crumbs.
💛 The Heart of Homemaking
Homemaking is not about perfection. It’s about presence.
It’s saying:
“I may not have everything figured out, but I can make this corner of the world beautiful.”
It’s faith with a mop and love with a dustpan.
Homemaking, at its core, is love in action.
It’s how we say, “I matter. My peace matters. My home matters.”
It’s how we build resilience — one pot of soup, one clean counter, one prayer at a time.
And it’s how we heal — by returning to what’s right in front of us.
Because God doesn’t always ask us to start over. Sometimes He just asks us to start here.
💌 A Final Note
If this spoke to you — if you’re craving a softer, slower, faith-filled rhythm for your home and your heart — you’re not alone.
That’s exactly why I started Swell Journal and my newsletter, Swell News — a cozy corner of the internet (and one day, print) where women can find inspiration for home, healing, and hope.
👉 Subscribe to Swell News to receive weekly encouragement, homemaking rituals, and a little Swell-style humor in your inbox.
Because home is more than where you live. It’s how you live.
And darling — it’s time to make it swell. 🍋