Extracurricular: an activity beyond official duties of a job or a profession. (One Look)

As all y’all probably know by now, we have a HearthKeeper Book Club! It’s a very loosey-goosey, no-pressure type of book club. We’re reading two books a year right now. The first book was/is Simplified Organization by Mystie Winckler (Jan-June 2025). My co-host, Sarah, shared this quote: “What we find overwhelming is usually the work involved in our basic responsibilities and not the things we can reasonably cut from our life.” Sarah followed that with this comment, “Totally agree with her, but also I usually find my basic responsibilities overwhelming when I’ve taken on too many frivolous ‘extracurriculars’ that I need to sacrifice.”

This really struck me because January-March felt overwhelming. It felt too much. I need to evaluate whether I need to grow or if I’ve committed to too many extracurriculars. Now, before I share my list, let me make it clear that extracurriculars are good things that enrich our lives. We should all have extracurriculars. But like all good things, they need to be handled with temperance. They’re to be enjoyed, not indulged. Indulging them tends to make them odious…or overwhelming because we’re not using them according to their natures. Each homemaker will have to decide what is extracurricular for her. What are the things that we love but aren’t the meat and bones of our homemaking? Also, some extracurricular things are worth the sacrifice of a calm heart and a calm home for a time. I emphasize “for a time”. It is vital for us and our families that the routines of home be maintained by the manager of the home. Sacrifice for a time is good. Sacrifice for always can be detrimental. The constant sacrifice of the safety and production of the home isn’t homemaking.

Reviewing my own January-March, I want to see what was a temporary sacrifice, what was normal life, and what might need to be sacrificed. I’m doing this so that I can see my own home more clearly, and because I hope it inspires you to do the same.

· Vacation: Vacation planning was a big part of this time frame. We combined a work trip and vacation into one long road trip. It was a lot to manage and research and book. It took a lot to do. It’s now done. It wasn’t extracurricular, but it was something extra.

· Writing Class: I agreed to help my sister teach a Creative Writing class. Prepping the syllabus, the outline of the class, teaching the class, and grading the homework took time. This was a blessing but extracurricular for sure. It’s almost done, but I need to finish editing some papers.

· HearthKeepers: Before the start of the year, we added an Instagram account and a podcast. These are good things. But preparing each week's worth of FB prompts, writing articles, prepping podcasts, prepping articles, scheduling Instagram, interacting on Instagram on some level, and staying active in GroupMe was taking up quite a bit of time. Building up to taking off April was a big push for Sarah, Rachel, and me. This is normal, meaning we’re now aiming to take off July, but having just taken off December, it felt like a lot. Plus, we submitted articles to two other publications. Some of this is necessary for my well-being. Writing the articles and recording the podcast keeps me fresh and intentional in my work. But some of this was getting unwieldy. This was part of the decision to exit FB entirely. Not needing to make prompts greatly reduced the workload. It has also made our GroupMe chat more robust. Not extracurricular and now less involved. Win-win.

· Chickens: Getting my hens and myself through their first winter with two baby chicks was a lot to manage. Seeking to balance between their needs, my husband’s love of his yard, and my love of my husband, chickens, and my flowerbeds took constant adjustment. This is settling down. The chicks are no longer chicks. We have a fenced-in chicken yard now. Not extracurricular and settling into a good rhythm.

· Hospitality: This is a big one. I’m seeking to have a joint hospitality and a regular women-from-church get-together with my fellow pastors’ wives. This is a lot but absolutely necessary. It needs to take priority over one-on-one socialization with friends. We started this before vacation, but it needs to be leaned into the rest of 2025. This is not extracurricular, but it is an adjustment.

· Spring: Spring is always a busy time. Winter detritus needs to be cleaned up. Plants and beds need refreshing. New plants need to be planted. This will ease off, but bed maintenance will continue, and watering will be almost daily once the rain eases off. This is both part of my homemaking and extracurricular. It just needs to stay in control.

· Closets: We both lost weight last year. Our closets both needed updating. This involved purchasing, returning, ordering online, and thrifting. This will continue with a few rounds of alterations for both of us but should ease up a little. This is not extracurricular.

· Zone Cleaning: I started this during this busy time. I didn’t get to invest as much time as I wanted into this new way of maintaining my home. Post-vacation, I hope to sink my teeth into it. Some areas of our home really need a slot in my routine. This is not extracurricular.

· Investments: We are working on some new investments with the help of one of our deacons. I’ve taken my time to learn how to do this, and I’m helping my mother-in-law with it as well. It is not my favorite, but it is necessary and profitable. I need to carry on with this. This is not an extracurricular.

· Pecan Neighbors: This is my regularly paid writing. It is ten hours a month, but I tend to give it way more space in my head than that. I need to do a better job of keeping my thought-life about it in control and not allow it to control me. Not extracurricular.

· Church Decorating: As the school year winds down, my co-conspirator, Melissa, will be available with her tools and her know-how to help me keep updating the church. I hope to either tackle one massive project or several small ones. This is extracurricular but a good, short-term sacrifice.

· Family Day: I would like to host two Family Days this year. I’d like to host Halloween again and maybe one in May when the Gabriels are here. These are extracurricular, temporary, and good.

· Thrifting: I easily get into what my friends are into. A bunch of y’all are a horrible influence. 😊 But this is something that I enjoy and can be helpful to my family. I need to keep a firm grip on this. It is extracurricular.

· Social Media: I’m mostly only on Substack as my personal social media, but it is for sure extracurricular. I need to make sure I’m only on it as I have time. It is not as important as HearthKeepers or even the two books I’m working on.

· Crafts, Reading, Writing: These are all beneficial extracurriculars. Seeing them in this category can actually help me feel less overwhelmed and enjoy them more. If I have time to craft, read, and write, I’m not overwhelmed.

Labeling things as extracurriculars isn’t to say there is something wrong with engaging in them. It isn’t to say they’re bad or a waste of time. As you can see, all of my extracurricular activities are good, creative, community-oriented, and exercising of my mind. Going through this list helped me see that yes, January-March was busy and did have some extra things. Some extra stuff is now done, some will continue, and new extras will be added. It has also shown me how much “play” I actually enjoy daily and weekly above and beyond the needs of my home. Going through this list has helped me appreciate what I have.

Making this list and using correct labels has grounded me so that I don’t become too self-focused, anxious, and filled with self-pity. I just might be overwhelmed because I mislabeled extracurriculars as the meat and bones of my homemaking, allowing myself to be led by the nose into the ditch of too much instead of seeing the true nature of what I am doing. Ladies, this is a classic example of why we have our online knitting circle. You never know when someone will say something, not even to you, that sparks a total shift in what you’re doing. How do you label the elements of your work? Have you considered the extracurriculars you engage in?

Extracurricular

Hospitality (Part 4): This is HearthKeeping