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Monday, May 21, 2012
Economic Limitations - Homemaking Lifestyle
“You can’t have everything.”
While this tends to be something we say to our children, it’s not such bad advice for ourselves as well, reminding us that there is a cost to the homemaking style that we have chosen.
Obviously, we operate on less money than our two-income counterparts – we knew that when we started the race, but sometimes it’s easy to forget just what that means:
Dinners in, as opposed to dinners out; renting a movie instead of traipsing to the theater; camping for vacation, the one motel night in a room whose view is a parking lot. Most of the time we’re good with this, finding fun in the challenge, but sometimes we wish we could have the room with the view; dinner at a restaurant whose “waiters” aren’t behind stainless steel counters; something
While this tends to be something we say to our children, it’s not such bad advice for ourselves as well, reminding us that there is a cost to the homemaking style that we have chosen.
Obviously, we operate on less money than our two-income counterparts – we knew that when we started the race, but sometimes it’s easy to forget just what that means:
Dinners in, as opposed to dinners out; renting a movie instead of traipsing to the theater; camping for vacation, the one motel night in a room whose view is a parking lot. Most of the time we’re good with this, finding fun in the challenge, but sometimes we wish we could have the room with the view; dinner at a restaurant whose “waiters” aren’t behind stainless steel counters; something
Monday, May 14, 2012
Oh, How Baths Have Changed
One of the first items I noticed at our museum was a very large, circular metal item hanging from the ceiling on hooks. It looked like a dish with a very large rim. I was new to the position, and asked the former Curator what the heck it was. Imagine my astonishment when I was told it was a bathtub.
It's tin, and approximately three feet across with a small seat area indented into the rim. In the center is a small bowl area about 10 inches deep that held about 5 gallons of water.
Bathing in the Past
I tried to go back in time and imagined myself sitting on that rim, soap in hand and ready to enjoy my bath. Of course, the water was heated elsewhere, probably on a wood-stove and carried to the spot where the tub was. Chances are, the water was hand-pumped in the yard, or
It's tin, and approximately three feet across with a small seat area indented into the rim. In the center is a small bowl area about 10 inches deep that held about 5 gallons of water.
Bathing in the Past
I tried to go back in time and imagined myself sitting on that rim, soap in hand and ready to enjoy my bath. Of course, the water was heated elsewhere, probably on a wood-stove and carried to the spot where the tub was. Chances are, the water was hand-pumped in the yard, or
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Laura Ingalls, You've Got Nothing On Me
The world I envisioned as a child for myself while watching "Little House on the Prairie" has finally come true. My dream to go back in time to a simpler place has taken root now in my ability to cut back and live as simply as possible. No more worrying that my car isn't as new as the others in the parking lot. No more concern that what I'm wearing might not be as cutting edge as the other girls in the office.
Living 14 miles from the nearest town on a quiet, dead end road, with 3 acres of woods, the Laura Ingalls in me is out and proud. Learning over the last 6 years what is important to me; and what isn't has become a new way of life that offers new challenges every day. I find new ways to live as simply as I can, without enjoying life any less.
Some things that I've
Living 14 miles from the nearest town on a quiet, dead end road, with 3 acres of woods, the Laura Ingalls in me is out and proud. Learning over the last 6 years what is important to me; and what isn't has become a new way of life that offers new challenges every day. I find new ways to live as simply as I can, without enjoying life any less.
Some things that I've
Fast Food That Doesn’t Come in White Bags
Say the words Fast Food and you think white bags, drive-ins, and cheap plastic toys, but it doesn’t have to be this way.
Fast Food is just that – something to fill people’s stomachs that doesn’t take long to make – because as you know, even though you’re home all day (doing nothing, probably; isn’t that what homemakers do?), more than once 6 p.m. rolls around and the onions aren’t chopped and the meat is still frozen.
What to do?
Try this:
Cook some spaghetti. While that’s happening, sauté garlic in olive oil (even faster if you have a jar of pre-chopped stuff on hand). Add spinach until it’s wilted; if you don’t have spinach, microwave some broccoli until tender and add that; no broccoli? Toss in frozen peas. No vegetables at all?
Do something about
Fast Food is just that – something to fill people’s stomachs that doesn’t take long to make – because as you know, even though you’re home all day (doing nothing, probably; isn’t that what homemakers do?), more than once 6 p.m. rolls around and the onions aren’t chopped and the meat is still frozen.
What to do?
Try this:
Cook some spaghetti. While that’s happening, sauté garlic in olive oil (even faster if you have a jar of pre-chopped stuff on hand). Add spinach until it’s wilted; if you don’t have spinach, microwave some broccoli until tender and add that; no broccoli? Toss in frozen peas. No vegetables at all?
Do something about
Monday, April 30, 2012
Enough of Suzie Homemaker Already
I hate the term Suzie Homemaker – it’s disrespectful, demeaning, and derisive, implying that women who stay at home wear frilly aprons and bonnets, and that they’re not particularly intelligent.
By extension, “traditional” pursuits of women throughout history – sewing, cooking, knitting, crafting, quilting, gardening – are dismissed as archaic and outmoded, the inference being that contemporary 21st century women are too busy building computer motherboards and writing software for war games that they don’t have time to put up jam, bake Snickerdoodles, or sew a pair of pajamas.
Maybe you do write software. Cool. But don’t let that stop you from baking bread – in less than three hours and that many dollar bills you can create something unlike anything that you can
By extension, “traditional” pursuits of women throughout history – sewing, cooking, knitting, crafting, quilting, gardening – are dismissed as archaic and outmoded, the inference being that contemporary 21st century women are too busy building computer motherboards and writing software for war games that they don’t have time to put up jam, bake Snickerdoodles, or sew a pair of pajamas.
Maybe you do write software. Cool. But don’t let that stop you from baking bread – in less than three hours and that many dollar bills you can create something unlike anything that you can
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Do you have an organized home?
What does having an organized home really mean?
For some it means scads of cabinets, each organized with plastic drawer units and additional shelving. For others it means that when they need a rubber band, they reach for the mug that little Johnny made in art class which seems as good a place as any to keep rubber bands. For still others, it is an alien concept that does not compute and rubber bands might be lurking in any of a dozen places.
While there is no right or wrong way to have an organized home, some basic classification of your "stuff" is helpful. After all, it is much easier to find your keys if you make a habit of leaving them in the same place each day. Organization is simply the act of creating a sense of order, most of the time
What does having an organized home really mean?
For some it means scads of cabinets, each organized with plastic drawer units and additional shelving. For others it means that when they need a rubber band, they reach for the mug that little Johnny made in art class which seems as good a place as any to keep rubber bands. For still others, it is an alien concept that does not compute and rubber bands might be lurking in any of a dozen places.
While there is no right or wrong way to have an organized home, some basic classification of your "stuff" is helpful. After all, it is much easier to find your keys if you make a habit of leaving them in the same place each day. Organization is simply the act of creating a sense of order, most of the time
Thursday, April 19, 2012
The Gift of Food - Saving Money
It’s a secret, so don’t tell, because I don’t want the guy to get in trouble, but years ago when I was shopping at our local little grocery with four kids under the age of 12, one of the men working in the bulk foods section sidled up beside me and murmured,
“Does your family eat lentils?”
Surprised, I replied, “Yes, we do.”
“Then please don’t be offended,” he continued, “but I just spilled nearly two gallons of lentils on the floor. The floor is clean because I washed it less than half an hour ago and it dried. I’ve swept the lentils into this bag, and I will give them to you if you want. I noticed that you have a large family to feed.”
Not only was I not offended, I was flattered that I looked intelligent and resourceful enough to know what to do
“Does your family eat lentils?”
Surprised, I replied, “Yes, we do.”
“Then please don’t be offended,” he continued, “but I just spilled nearly two gallons of lentils on the floor. The floor is clean because I washed it less than half an hour ago and it dried. I’ve swept the lentils into this bag, and I will give them to you if you want. I noticed that you have a large family to feed.”
Not only was I not offended, I was flattered that I looked intelligent and resourceful enough to know what to do
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