traditional homemaking: a homemade winter! - Page 7

[earthnut]

I'll take another look at Flylady. The last time I looked at her website i got overwhelmed!

[BMG580]

subbing

[greenmamapagan]

Originally Posted by jrabbit

us, too ... same reasons!! backyard chickens and a baby on the floors.

Glad I'm not the only one

[1jooj]

We're a no-shoe house, too. Both dh and I grew up in no-shoe houses. I was on a dairy farm, and he was in North Africa, where it's normal. I agree that it feels "uncivilized" to leave shoes on, and I get very offended when visitors leave theirs on.

I do not "keep" a clean house. A few days a week, I tidy up really well. I try to keep it to a point where I feel good about it, and I do floors from time to time...as needed, I guess. But we dirty up fast here.

I want to get more organized this year, so that I can enjoy the things I'm doing. I hate having to scramble to put together a meal at 4PM because I didn't think about it earlier. So, I am trying to arrange a morning routine that promotes a calmer house. I think I am going to move barn chores back to pre-schoolbus time, too. I used to feed and water at 6:30, but now that I don't have to be at the office at 8:15, I got lax about it. I would like to leave to do my workout right after the bus goes, and that means having morning chores done. We'll see.

So, chicken is thawing, laundry is drying, chores are done, eggs are boiled for my lunch later, and I am packed and heading out the door. In 3 hours, I hope to be back here, writing and working on the house. There's a poetry reading I want to attend tonight.

[_ktg_]

We're a no shoe house here too, but I do not have chickens only a little one.

For the vinegar - this is my first time making it, so I'm crossing my fingers it works. Essentially I poured 100ml Braggs ACV (unfiltered) into my qt. mason jar, added my leftover wine (it was about a cup each) (I had a little red & a little white), covered with cheesecloth & put on the rim so it could breathe and ferment proper without any little critters getting into it.

The jars are currently in my upstairs pantry to ensure even temps. I'll let you know if 3 months if it worked or if I just have sour grapes on my hands (hahahahahaha!)

I didn't get any cooking done this weekend, but I'm trying to rally myself for this new year and get back to running, with my yoga for some much needed release & balance.

[1jooj]

We don't drink wine (and if I did I wouldn't have leftovers ) so I'll have to keep buying my vinegar. I am now applying vinegar to my kids' head twice daily. Yep, still fighting the stoopid ringworm. But I do brew kombucha, love it, and have successfully sent scoby to friends. Just saying.

I feel so good when I exercise hard. I feel like I can do anything! So I'd better get down to doing something! Going to clean up the house a little, do laundry, write and have coffee in about an hour and a half. I know it is so selfish to be so happy school is in, but I can barely contain myself.

[AngeliqueW]

Good questions earthnut. You really got me thinking.
For me being a homemaker means attending to the majority of the cooking, cleaning, childcare, laundry etc- but doing so in an intentional systematic way. Making an art of things others might see as drudgery. I really like the idea of practicing everything- being present in the moment and giving your full intention and best effort to the task at hand. When I am able to achieve this state, I enjoy everything, even cleaning the toilet. Of course there are lots of times when I am far from this enlightened state, but it is where I aspire to be.
I grew up poor, so we made things from scratch, on the cheap, out of necessity. At the time, I didn't fully appreciate the effort my mother put in to all the little things. To be honest, I resented our lowly station and all the "stuff" we were "deprived" of (eating out, new clothes, trendy toys, etc). In reality, we were so lucky to have such a resourceful mom. She made our dolls and their clothes and furniture, halloween costumes, birthday and holiday cakes and decorations, clothes... She makes an art of upcycling, repurposing, and dumpster diving. Yardsales and thriftstores delight her. She has a real flair for pulling a miracle out at the 11th hour.
Now that I'm a sahm, I find that much of the traditional homemaking duties &/or skills are second nature to me. I learned a lot from my mom that goes beyond the skills- there's an spirit of adventure in homemaking.
The second-class drudgery that many people project onto homemaking is a sad misconception. There's so much triumph and joy to be had in it! A seed I planted grew! My pie crust was flaky! I invented a recipe! I found an awesome bargain! I fixed the computer printer with a swiss army knife and scotch tape! Everything in this salad came from our garden! And on and on.
Then there's a satisfaction in enjoying the fruits of your labor: the feeling of crawling into a bed made with clean sheets, the taste of zucchini bread fresh from the oven, the warmth of custom mittens you made to match your coat, knowing just where you stored that orphaned button you knew would come in handy some day.
There's the security in knowing you can whip up a delicious meal in a pinch, speed clean before company arrives, live well for weeks off the food stores in your pantry and freezer, mend you favorite skirt, or entertain children for hours on end with simple materials on hand.
And there's a serenity too. On days when no one makes it out of their pajamas, the floor is littered with toys, and dinner is a cold bowl of leftovers from the fridge, I can hear my mom saying, "it's not the end of the world, you did your best and that's all you can do."

[artparent]

angelique, beautifully said x

we are no-shoe too, though it is much harder to convince folks in england than in canada, where that's pretty standard. i wonder why? now our floors are done i will simply cry new floors, and if they look unconvinced i will point out that my children regularly eat food dropped on the floor, so please

ijooj, i have a moment of jealousy about having the house to yourself oh well, someday i'm sure they'll take more classes *together* and go to friends' houses more often, without me. at the moment their friends mothers are my friends, so i get social time along with them

we've been sleeping in since new year's, so i haven't been squeaking yoga in before friends come over! off to do that now..

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[_ktg_]

I agree - very well said Angelique!

As I read it though - I find myself coming back to the question - what does it mean to be a homemaker. I consider myself a homemaker, but I have a f/t outside of the home job. Can I label myself a homemaker as my intent lies in providing my family with a warm, cozy home or does society not let me because of the fact I have a f/t career, so I am only stuck in category of WOHM?

not to hijack at all... just musing of thoughts rolling around in my head.

[artparent]

ktg, i think you get the magic word *and*. i am an artist *and* homemaker. i don't think anyone is just one thing, though homemaker may be so many things!

on the other hand, i'm not sure the label is important, at any rate...i'd rather say that i like to make things, animations and socks and preserves and gardens and ceramics and logos. i can get very confused about myself when i say i am an artist, for how do i then define that? am i being an artist when i knit a mitten? what about when i'm making a website? does making a beautiful dinner for friends and family mean that i'm neglecting my artwork? what about cleaning the toilet with vinegar? when i'm working on my animation project is that of more value than when i help my little girls learn to sew? at this point, i am myself, and there are things i love to do, and i'm always learning more...and as this thread can hold so much, i see that much of what i love to do is in the traditional homemaking mode..so here we are!

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[1jooj]

I know that when my mom was most active working at making the home a place like you describe, she was also WOHM (in addition to FT farming for profit).

In my case, I don't know if it's my own nature or the nature of the work I do, but when I WOH, I do a lousy job here. It's embarrassing, but it's the truth. And when I am focused on making things clean and neat and nice and delicious and yummy smelling here, it matters little how much $$ we have, as long as our necessities are covered. I have definitely noticed we are all much more relaxed and well-seeming. When I WOH, I turn into a nervous wreck trying to manage the inside and the outside. It's my issue, and then it becomes a family problem. I'd hope not everyone is the head case I am.

[artparent]

i'm that kind of headcase

working at home a bit works for me, though.

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[greenmamapagan]

Originally Posted by 1jooj

We're a no-shoe house, too. Both dh and I grew up in no-shoe houses. I was on a dairy farm, and he was in North Africa, where it's normal. I agree that it feels "uncivilized" to leave shoes on, and I get very offended when visitors leave theirs on.

So do I. When we held DD's first birthday party I actually drew up a chalk sign on the wall outside the door saying "shoes" and pointing the the pile of our own shoes. Didn't work though, only one family took theirs off.

Originally Posted by artparent

we are no-shoe too, though it is much harder to convince folks in england than in canada, where that's pretty standard.

I think we've probably got out English roots to blame that it's so unusual in Australia. I grew up in "shoes on" houses and it wasn't until I was 18 that I met someone who lived in a shoes off house. I remember living with someone at uni a year or two later who had also grown up shoes on and we had this big heart to heart when we moved house, took a deep breath and declared our new space shoes off. It felt so weird but at the same time so good, I guess it was the baby-step beginning of my long journey to home-making Not that I'm saying shoes off is neccessary, just that it works for me.

Originally Posted by 1jooj

When I WOH, I turn into a nervous wreck trying to manage the inside and the outside. It's my issue, and then it becomes a family problem. I'd hope not everyone is the head case I am.

I am. I can't cope with the juggling act and I'm so grateful I don't have to right now.

[koofie]

We used to be a no-shoe family, but when we moved into a house with direct access to the outside, we found it hard to stay no-shoe. This is because of the dogs. Our dogs have taken over the front yard, and we let the out multiple times per day. I have had no luck getting their paws cleaned in between the front door and their crates (they are crated in the house). My socks were getting so dirty that I finally gave up and we started wearing shoes. In addition, we have to entrances to our house (front hall and kitchen, from the garage) and neither is a good place to take off shoes. If we tried harder we could probably do it, but right now I just don't care enough. We have no carpet, so at least it is fairly easy to sweep... not so easy when it is muddy out and the dogs run in!

I'm also a WOHM. I kind of consider myself a homemaker... I wish I were better at it. Luckily for me, my husband does most of the cleaning (he's OCD). I take care of the cooking, laundry, do most of the kid-caring for, etc. I would love to stay at home, but we need both our salaries to cover the basics.

[luv-my-boys]

Originally Posted by IntuitiveJamie

Thanks for all the input ladies. I am well into making the decorations. I don't know that I could sell them after all as they are not perfect. But I do hope to pass them onto a local friend or something.

Re-usable decorations are great! I made some fabric penent style banners to use out of muli colored fabric scraps and a big ball of twine. I also have a fabric white table cloth and each yr it is lovely placed on our table for that childs bday, we use a permanent marker and write well wishes and such. Plus usually some time I do a handprint of each yr in fabric paint. Each yr its nice to see how they have grown and one day their table cloth will be filled of memories from all their bdays.

[artparent]

those with wood floors: what do you use to clean? i am thinking of bringing a favourite family broom if i can squeeze it in my case...i have a hand-vac for everyday stuff - but what about mopping/wiping? suggestions? anyone know what folks did in the old, pre-swiffer days? a good sponge?

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[MamaFern]

Originally Posted by artparent

those with wood floors: what do you use to clean? i am thinking of bringing a favourite family broom if i can squeeze it in my case...i have a hand-vac for everyday stuff - but what about mopping/wiping? suggestions? anyone know what folks did in the old, pre-swiffer days? a good sponge?

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http://www.methodhome.com/all-produc...lmond/612.aspx

i have this mop. its not at all old fashioned but its great. i love it. like..really like it.

[1jooj]

I hand-and-knee with old diapers and Murphy's Oil Soap. Boring, I know.

[_ktg_]

I have the same mop as Fern - love it and the almond of the soap/wood cleaner. If that mop is dirty or being washed, its the ole hand & knees with a sponge.

mmmmmmmm

[artparent]

x
looks like a cool mop!

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