Staying Home is a Job, Too

There are about 2.2 million domestic workers in the United States of America. These numbers suggest that help at home is in demand. Why is that so?

1. Many people work long hours and want to come home and relax!
2. Families with children, animals or lots of visitors have more laundry and dirt building up, so they will ease the pressure of cleaning with hired help.
3. Mothers who have a new baby are often exhausted. Hiring help is often a natural choice.
4. Some people don't consider themselves good cleaners or hate doing it.
5. For those who regularly travel for work or pleasure, a helper is hired to air and clean the property to keep it fresh.
6. People who need to work while caring for elderly family members might choose to get a housekeeper.

If you remove domestic help, it becomes evident that there is much to do in our homes. When you work outside your home, many household tasks get neglected without a helper. Opting to stay home is no vacation.

My Personal Experience

I was a housewife even before I had children. One working-class professional friend told me she wished she could stay home like me and have all that time to spend with God. To some extent, her desire could be fulfilled if she didn't have a daily "9 to 5."

But there might be a bit of misconception: even before I had children, there was a lot to do. Now that I am a mother, my workload has tripled. So as admirable as my friend's desire sounded, it suggested that folks who stay home have nothing to do and have zero distractions. Fact: you can stay home and still lose your spiritual fire.

Of course, before motherhood, I did have more freedom for prayer, Bible study, and fasting. I was also better able to pace myself between tasks.

What is a Day Off?

Your full-time job might come with vacations. Those days off and holidays often turn out to be anything but. When they are spent doing business, deep cleaning, and, yes, catching up on extra work, are those times really days off?

We can all agree that we must abandon the notion that the person who does not have a full-time job or stays home has nothing to do. We who choose to stay home aren't just sitting around. We are not lazy.

Home takes work, and being out in the corporate world is not superior to it. Both take discipline, time management, and multitasking. Both can place strain on the mind, body, and spirit, requiring you to be severely intentional about resting.

What About Labor-saving Devices?

Although the term sounds very attractive, don't be fooled by "labor-saving devices" that are meant to save time and sweat. They need to be cleaned and serviced, too!

And while we have added such devices, we have also put in smartphones, computers, cable TV, and the internet in the mix.  Where we may have gained time with fancy machines, we have equally consumed it with clicking and scrolling.

Final Thoughts

Staying home is a job like any other, and it is a blessed one. Never look down on your choice to stay home as inferior to spending time in a corporate space.

References

Building domestic worker power across the United States

10 Reasons to Hire a Housekeeper

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