At a certain point in life, the youngsters will eventually have their own life. Living independently has a lot of perks especially for the younger generation who loves to explore and live their life to the fullest. It is also undeniable that the generational gap between parents and their kids is too wide. Most of the time, this results to miscommunication especially when parents overlook their children’s capacity to make their own life decisions. Aside from generational gap, there is another problem, the strictness of a Filipino household. Whatever would be the drive for the youth to start their own life, he or she must be matured enough to a look at the bigger picture of independent living.
Expenses like rental, utility, food, and other necessities causes a major headache for the majority especially if your salary is not yet high enough to cover everything you need. But if money is not a problem, there are still household chores that needs to be done. The obvious solution for this is to hire a house helper. Yes, this is the most convenient option rather than doing the chores on your own. However, how will you know if the chores are done correctly? In case that you cannot find a helper right away, who will do the chores? For sure, you wouldn’t want to make your home nasty until you employ a helper. Besides, they are called “helpers” to help you not to do everything for you. Nevertheless, say it or not, you desire to have a home that is a place of comfort especially after a stressful day of work.
Aside from being financially stable and academically smart, you must learn some basic homemaking skills to ready yourself for independent living. Even if you haven’t decided to live separately with your parents, you still need to learn these life skills as these might be considered as essential survival skills that every person must know. “Start them young” is the best advice in learning these life skills as you can easily build these as your habits. But if you are still naïve on this aspect of living, it is not yet late to learn! Besides, the 2022 is about to end and perhaps, you are now thinking about your new year’s resolution to help you become a better person. With this, we will help you map your journey towards learning the basic homemaking skills that you should know to make yourself more independent.
What is Homemaking? Does it Really Matter for Independent Living?
Of course, it matters! Haven’t you been nagged by your mother that you should learn to organize things or fix the clutters at your home? Without doubt, for once in your life, you have been scolded by your mom for your clutter especially when you already reached the age where you are capable of fixing your things by yourself. If you are still a kid or a toddler, you might be spared from the scolding. Regardless of the situation, the main point of scolding is to discipline you and learn to do daily activities by yourself instead of depending on your parents or house helpers. Reality wise, there will be a time that you will be alone and you do not have a choice but to help yourself with the chore. It is not enough that you have money or you are smart academically, there is always more to learn in life like the basic homemaking skills.
Perhaps, there is a connotation when you hear the term homemaking. Your mind might be forming a picture of a woman in skirts, apron at headbands. Basically, the appearance of the house helper or maid in fantasy movies is what we imagine. But homemaking is simply just managing your home. When talking about managing your home, it goes beyond the idea of cleaning, cooking, and organizing stuff at your home. In fact, it includes caring for your family members and budgeting your daily household expenses. See? Homemaking is a wide concept. Just like the definition of home. It goes beyond the structural house we live in as it includes the family residing in the house and the overall environment created to achieve convenience and comfort. Still, with the hustle culture exhibited by majority of the population, this is often overlooked. The working population tend to focus on making money. Though it is understandable, finding a balance on work and creating a comfortable and sustainable living should be learned by every working individual. Comfortable does not mean having a lot of money. It is having a good home and having a life outside of work. Allotting some time for learning life skills is a must because believe it or not, the satisfaction of doing things by yourself is fulfilling. It may be a simple job but it is an act of care for yourself and your family. So, here are the basic homemaking skills that you should start learning.
The 6 Essential Homemaking Skills to Learn for Independent Living
1. Cooking
Cooking might be hard at first especially if you are not knowledgeable about the basic cooking techniques. Thanks to the free tutorials brought by the internet, you do not have to enroll in cooking classes to learn these simple yet important techniques.
But why should you learn to cook if there are readily available foods to purchase, right? Or you just need to have a lot of money and order the best food in your area to satisfy your hunger and cravings. This is the common argument for people who do not know how to cook. There is nothing wrong with ordering food especially the dishes which are very impractical to prepare at home or it is too complex to cook at home with the limited cooking equipment you have.
Nevertheless, learning too cook has many benefits. May it be financial or health aspect, having this skill will give a huge impact. If you know how to cook, you can prepare simple, cost-effective yet healthy meals instead of ordering food from restaurants. In fact, restaurants use a lot of artificial flavorings and seasonings to make their foods taste better. These artificial ingredients are harmful for our body. If you prepare your meal by yourself, you are assured that you will have the best and natural ingredients which will prevent or lessen health issues.
Additionally, if you have cooking skills and you are craving for a menu from your favorite restaurant, it will not be a problem anymore. You can do it by yourself and if you have limited budget, you can make a less costly version of yours. It may sound like a compromise but replicating or making your favorite restaurant dish will surely satisfy you and improve your self-esteem.
Preparing your own meals may not sound extravagant but this simplistic way of living is often missed by most people. Homecooked meals are far better than those served in restaurants especially if done right. To convince you more, don’t you crave for the signature dish of your mother? Homemade foods have a unique taste that you will always remember and make you obsessed with its taste. It is like a standard for that dish as no other person can easily replicate the unique taste you have experienced.
2. House Maintenance
Simple carpentry, plumbing, and electrical repairs are a must-learn skill for every homeowner or by any housemate. Wouldn’t it be a hassle to call for service maintenance just to repair faucet leaks, broken light switch or light, or the simple assembly of readymade furniture bought in malls. YouTube will always be our friend in learning for these simple house maintenance activities. You might be nervous because you might cause more problem instead of solving it, right? You are not alone! That’s why there are in-depth guides available on the internet and most of the materials have instructions that you can follow. All you need is to understand the guide and believe in yourself that you can do those simple repairs or DIY activities.
Of course, you cannot do these maintenance activities if you do not have the rights tools. So, it is better to have a basic toolkit on standby for these housework. You do not have to be afraid to do these simple repairs and maintenance as these are part of daily living. You never know, you might have a hidden talent on carpentry, plumbing or electrical repairs. You just have to do it and search for the right guide on the internet. Or it is best to have someone more knowledgeable to teach you on your first repair activity.
3. Laundry
This might be the easiest homemaking skill to learn especially if you have a washing machine in your house. It is the easiest because you just have to fill the tub with water and detergent together with your garments then you are ready to operate the machine. These saves you a lot of time and effort in handwashing your clothes. All you need is to wait for it to finish and organize your clean clothes after it dries.
This might be easiest to learn but there are beliefs that must be corrected in maintaining a washing machine. Learning to operate a washing machine makes your life more convenient but it comes with learning the proper maintenance of the machine. Would you believe that it needs to be cleaned? Yes, you read it right! There is a proper procedure for cleaning your washing machine tub.
4. Sewing
If learning to do your laundry is the easiest, learning to sew is probably the hardest. Sure, there are a lot of internet guides to follow and this is thought in schools. But sewing is more than understanding the guide. It takes a lot of practice to perfect especially when it comes to hand sewing. Learning this skill needs a lot of patience and hard work but if you know how to sew, the simple holes and tears on your clothing will not be a problem anymore. You do not want to buy another shirt because of a small hole, right? Especially if that shirt is your favorite, you would always wish it to last for many years as possible.
5. Tidying up
Tidying up is more than sweeping and mopping the floor or wiping off the dust from your home decorations and appliances. It includes organization of things like having an allotted space for clothes, equipment storage, and other stuff. Aside from organizing, it also encompasses decluttering. “Ask yourself if it sparks joy” this the most basic advice of Marie Kondo, a popular personality who is an expert in tidying your home. If it does not spark joy anymore to you, you have to let it go. One reason why homes are cluttered because of the bunch of useless stuff we store hoping that time will come for it to be useful again. Learn to have a balance of what you should store for future use and what should be given away to people who may find joy and use on your clutter. A one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
6. Meal Planning and Shopping for Essentials
A clean and organized home will not be complete if there are not enough supplies or stocks in your storages. You must learn what essentials to have at home like food supplies, tools for cleaning, hygienic products and many more. Without a plan, it is easy to splurge so much on essentials especially in food. If you do not know what to eat for the day, you usually buy random foods from restaurant. This is bad for your health and financial budget. So, plan your meals ahead of time. You can fill your fridge with frozen goods which you can cook for the upcoming days or have a list of the dishes you want to have for the entire week. In that way, you will not go over your budget and you have the opportunity to monitor your food intake which is important in taking care of your health.
Financial Management as the Foundation of Independent Living
Learning all these basic homemaking skills will not be possible if you do not have a financial capacity. You need to have the resources to apply these skills. And if you have the financial capacity, it does not mean that you are fully capable to have a sustainable life. You need to manage your finances very well to make ends meet and provide your essentials like food, shelter, clothing and many more. So, being financially literate and capable are the foundations towards an independent life. It is as important as these homemaking skills for long-term survival. Having all these knowledge and skills are signs of maturity and readiness to leave separately from your parents and start your own life to pursue your endeavors even more.
If you already learned all these skills yet you do not have your own home to complete your independent living era, you should consider buying one! Bria Homes offers a lot of affordable house and lots and condominiums. You have a variety of models to choose from depending on your needs. Its house models are perfect whether you are single or planning to build a family in the future. Its vision is to provide a residential property that is affordable, has fast construction time, situated in a pleasant community, has good customer service, and built with close proximity on places of interest like places of worship, hospitals, schools, and commercial establishments. They are also near major roads and highways. You do not have to worry about the financing! You can purchase it through bank housing loan or through Pag-IBIG loan.
To learn more about what Bria offers, you may visit their website or contact their social media account. Bria continuously innovates its offers as it wants your investment to be worthwhile by establishing properties in locations with potential for growth and further development. So, go and check Bria Homes.
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