Article I enjoyed re. "Radical Homemaking"

[Shellie]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/ma...tml?ref=dining

I didn't know someone had coined a term for what I am, LOL, but I really enjoyed this article. It may have been shared here before but I thought I'd post for anyone who missed it.

[lakeruby]

That's very interesting! Thank you for sharing.

[kyndmamaof4]

Great article! She really put in perspective, that when I take the time to do all these things myself, someone DOES notice and care. I've never felt less than because I SAH, it's good to see that old fashioned values are again returning to new mode. I lived with my grandparents as a kid, and all this stuff was just what was done in their house (both were born in the depression) Homemade clothes, food growing, eating our own chickens...they are now quite wealthy, but didn't start that way, and being self sufficient and frugal is WHY they nurture the nest AND have a nest egg

I am sure if the shi* hit the proverbial fan tomorrow, we would get along quite well. I think knowing how to make do, use up, or wear out is a lost art. When my DH rips a pair of pants or a shirt, I get out the old sewing machine and remake it into a pair of kid pants or back in the day, it would have been a cloth diaper

This is what I *always* wanted to do, be a homemaker. I'm so happy to see that I'm not the only one. Begone the days when SAH was for the meek and mild, welcome to where SAH can be WILD

[hildare]

TFS! I passed that along!

[justmama]

very cool. i like that. i think since the "recession" hit it's been all of a sudden popular and trendy to save money and pay off debt and be frugal and I think it's a step in the right direction. I think ultimately once the unemployment rate drops again, people will go right back to their consumeristic lifestyles feeding like locusts and destroying the Earth but it's nice not to be the weird one out every once in a while.

[nathansmum]

Just came on to see if anyone had posted this article. I read it a few days back and it really resonated with me and I've posted it as a facebook update to inform my friends and family who don't quite know what i've really been up to in the past few years when it may appear that I am a Betty Draper wasting away at home (not that I know who she is lol, but can make a guess) yet here I am embracing my SAHMing in a powerful productive way.

[tifpaul]

Here is a link to the book she mentions.

I haven't read it but saw the review in "Brain, Child."

Radical Homemakers: Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture

[mamadelbosque]

That was a great article! I'm so excited for it to be warming up again, so I can start gardening again. Spring is such an exciting time of year... trees get leaves, the grass starts to grow, we start to plant stuff... our ducks are finally laying eggs and our goats just gave birth for the first time (and our 'herd' has jumped from just 4 to 6!! WOW!!).

[Birdie B.]

Wow, that is awesome! I see this all the time among my friends - many are highly educated and sucessful, but want to commit to their home and children. We can truly revolutionize the dominant paradigm this way, I believe.

The book that got me started thinking about all this stuff is Laurel's Kitchen, anyone read it? She goes through the transformation to all homemade, vegetarian food, and talks about how keeping the home, nourishing our families and being sustainable is the true path to a greener, more peaceful world. That definitely planted the seed in my mind to becoming a SAHM. I thought I had to be out in the workforce to effect any change or make things happen; now I see that it begins at home.

[Shellie]

I bought the book but haven't had time for more than a quick thumb-through. I liked what I saw though.

I also recently started a chapter of "farmgirls" through Mary Jane's farms...I have been looking for local women with similar ideals.

[jess5377]

I'm reading the book right now - it's good. The first half gets a little repetitive (could be summarized very easily), but I really like the second half where she profiles different families and homemakers living this reduced lifestyle.

[nathansmum]

Jess, that's good to know because I have it on order.

[almadianna]

oh that book looks awesome.

I love how going back to basics makes someone a radical, people who breastfeed and cosleep = radical parents, people who use homemade cleaners = radical. it is almost sad.

[Shellie]

I know, isn't that just a silly thing? Dh and I were just talking about this the other day when I told him that the term for what I do is "radical homemaking." I guess it's just all about the pendulum swinging back and forth...for years SAHMs were looked down upon by many WOHMs, for various reasons. I remember being a SAHM in the mid-90s when my oldest was little and I felt like I didn't fit in, anywhere. I'm glad there's a "movement" now of women (even highly educated and successful in the corporate world) SAHM by choice and getting back to basics. I've always said I would have fit in better if I'd become a mom in another time.

[IntuitiveJamie]

That is a great article. So glad you shared it. Thank you. Wish I could tweet it directly. I'll just copy and paste though.

[bananahands]

The book really is terrific. I'd agree that the first half can seem repetitive if you're otherwise familiar with the issues the author covers, but I also felt like she added to the conversation in a way that was very helpful. One example, she speaks to some patterns that tend to evolve as families adopt simpler, more home-based lifestyles. And for someone like me, who is really going against the grain within my extended family and who has had very little personal exposure to the kinds of people she interviews, it was a comfort and a reminder that milestones exist all along the way, things you can focus on and celebrate, even if you're still far from your goals.

"Radical" is definitely a funny and loaded word, but that, too, felt right to me. I bet it's hugely dependent on context and familiarity; in my universe, for example, I get eye rolls for something as simple as making pancakes from scratch rather than starting with a mix ... I hear a lot of "Why are you always trying to make things harder than they need to be?"

Anyway, I'd definitely recommend it!

[nathansmum]

THanks for the review. I'll be stalking my letterbox over the next few days (I'm in New Zealand) lol.

[Amys1st]

Thanks for the article and the link to the book. I think I will order that book. Its not at my library, so after finishing it I can donate it to them. I guess IRL, some of the things I do that fit in here so well, we are a bit um radical compared with others.

Also, its weird as sort of said pp, that mainstream media has green being the new little black dress, frugal and not over loading your credit cards are now chic. Sometimes DH and I will here about things just like this and LOL.

[nathansmum]

Have been really enjoying this book! Has really made me reassess and look at what is my drive behind this lifestyle choice and what my "purpose" is and whether this alone is enough to feel satisfied and fulfilled long term.

[Shellie]

Bumping this great link for the newer crowd. :)