Why are Millennials turning to modern homemaking?

Millennials are increasingly turning to modern homemaking as a way to reclaim control over their lives and is fueled by a desire for more meaningful work.

Nov 13, 2022

Have you noticed the growing trend of modern homemaking among Millennials? In a world driven by tech and fast-paced living, more and more of us are turning back to the simple joys of home life — think cosy home-cooked meals, gardening, DIY projects, and even creating intentional spaces that reflect our values.

It’s not about going backward, but rather redefining what homemaking looks like today: blending creativity, sustainability, and self-sufficiency into our daily routines. Today I want to dive into why this movement is taking off and how embracing modern homemaking can bring more purpose, calm, and fulfilment into our busy lives.

So why are millennials turning back to modern homemaking?

Women can do anything, we really can.

That is the message we have been receiving for decades, that we can do anything, be anything, work at anything and that we should want to excel at our career ahead of everything else. None of this is wrong, but the power isn’t in that we can do as much as men, succeed in careers as much as men, or be as powerful as men in this world (that last point I actually don’t believe to be true - there is still a lot work to be done). The power is in the choice, the choice whether a career (equivalent in the success and pay as men are afforded) or staying at home is what they choose, and each are afforded the same level of respect for both across society as a whole.

I decided to turn my attention to modern homemaking and why millennials are turning their hands back to homemaking, a skill that used to be embraced but is now one of those lost arts for many.

So why are Millennials turning back to modern homemaking?

Homemaking isn’t new, but is it making a comeback? We live in such a polarised world and slowing down, simplifying and living more in alignment with the seasons seems almost like a radical idea when really it’s just a normal part of what we want to do as humans.

I should probably add here: All of our choices are valid, whether you want to stay home or whether you choose to work outside the home, or whether you decide to blend the two, all our choices are valid and important.

When I had my first child I didn’t really know how I felt about what the ‘end’ of maternity leave might look like. I worked for myself so I could essentially decide how long I wanted to take off. I was able to take the normal amount of time off and actually decided to take a bit of extended leave, at around the 15-month mark. I didn’t really know whether or not I wanted to return to work, but I thought I might dip my toe in the water and see how I felt. Incidentally I “returned” to work (for myself, and very much on my own schedule) in March 2020, just as the rest of the world was closing down. I worked, on a part-time and ad hoc basis until the birth of my second child in May 2021.

We had always said that I would be home full time with our children and it was something that we had set up our life to accommodate from long before we had children. For that I am so grateful for today. So often I hear that staying home, working for myself or home educating my children is a privilege. And while it is, it’s also a sacrifice. Would life be easier if we both worked full time? Maybe it would. But I don’t think it would afford us the life we desire. So while it might make a financial difference I don’t think it would give us the home life. I am always so mindful when I speak about this, it’s a hard balance, with many people having to have the full time, double income to just survive. I know I am lucky that we don’t, but also we sacrifice things in order to make that so. We only have 1 small car, we live in a split level flat, and like I said, we set our life up like this long before our children were born.

When my maternity leave finished after the birth of my second child I never felt any pull to go back to work in the job I had worked in before, even though it was for myself. I just carried on with life as normal and waited for a sign of what was next.

Returning to work?

I did’t need to return to work - a very privileged statement I know - but thinking back I had had this huge mindset shift and embraced a slow, simple, and more minimalist life. It just felt right to embrace homemaking.

I didn’t know that I wanted to be a homemaker if I am honest, and it’s not like I am designated with all the tasks around the house and my husband gets to kick back and be waited on hand and foot, in fact the opposite is true. My husband has a very active role in our entire household, sometimes more than me in fact. I would say we very much have an equal share of what takes place inside our home. There are no designated tasks, we just pick up the slack and do the tasks that need to be done. If he has a particularly hard week of work I might pick up more of the slack, and if I am having a more difficult week then he will pick up the slack.

mother and daughter playing together — Photo by Werner Pfennig on Pexels.com

The question is always money

Financially our money is obviously for our family and that was a hard adjustment for me at first and I would always refer to it as his money. It’s not an easy adjustment to make when you have always been someone who is earning.

When we made these decisions to have me at home, we did it with the intention of it being a long term decision. Our ultimate choice is to home educate them, and so this really is a long term decision for our family.

So what is my role, and what does life look life for us going forward?

I would say I sit in this odd position. I am a homemaker and home educator first and foremost. But I have returned to working for myself, in a totally different capacity. I used to work as a copywriter and personal brand strategist but now I work creating in the slow, simple and seasonal living niche. It’s a new thing for me and I get to fit it around my life and that feels good.

It’s taken me a long time to embrace the nametag of homemaker and really to embrace homemaking as a whole. I guess some of that is this preconditioned idea that the work we do inside our home isn’t as valuable as working for an employer or working for money. The work we do in our homes, within our families, in raising our children, is the most important work. Society doesn’t value this work and it shows. We are always judged by “what we do” in terms of our job. Society doesn’t value the work I do within the home. Capitalism wants us to keep those cogs turning. It wants us, as parents, to get back in the workplace, but there is a slow rumbling movement of people who are saying “no, absolutely not, I’m not subscribing to that”. We cannot keep functioning in this fast paced, always on, hustle culture.

I’ve also had a hard time really figuring out my role. I stay home, I raise and educate my children, I am a homemaker, but now I also work ad hoc too. I don’t completely have both feet in homemaking, but I also don’t really have the kind of work that makes a working parent either. So I sit in the grey area, embracing it all to some degree.

Now I am not suggesting we all need to rush back into the home if that is not our desire. We can, of course, be whatever we want to be as women, but also we still have a way to go. That gender pay gap is very real.

We still have a long way to go

But being a homemaker is undervalued. Being a parent is still undervalued in our society. Our work in our homes and as parents of the next generation isn’t appreciated. There is still so much to be done, and maybe that is the whole point. We have the power now to make that decision for ourselves, and we don’t have to be defined by a job or what we do. I had to sit quite uncomfortably with this title of homemaker for quite a while, because of all the negative connotations that surround it, but I am embracing it more and more, and as I do I feel more like I am stepping into my most authentic self.

My work is valuable. Your work is valuable. The work we all do within our homes is really important. We need to keep this conversation going.