In today’s post we will be exploring the Lost Art of Homemaking.

In years past, women were expected to be the “makers” of the home. This means that they were to make the building that they lived in a home where they could serve their husbands and rear their children. Of the many things that women were expected to do was to cook nutritious meals, keep their home tidy, and offer hospitality to guests and her husband’s acquaintances.  Mothers would pass down traditions of mending, routines, and recipes to their daughters, and it was natural to be known as having the best pies, sweaters, jams, whatever they would make, in the community.

However, due to the changing of the workforce,  many young women and girls do not know the basics of homemaking or home economics.  The reason for this is because many moms are working full-time, and simply don’t know the routines and methods passed down from generation to generation. And most alarming is that mothers are no longer passing down generations of knowledge. This is most unfortunate. It is no surprise then that many college age young women do not know the basics of simple mending and cooking their own food, and thus live on fast food and pay others to do their laundry, or learn the lessons the hard way.  And when they are out of college, their homemaking skills are still not improved.

    It is saddening that many girls do not know how to do  basic menu plan and knowing how to budget the groceries. They are told that they do something better than be a stay at home mom, such as  having a high paying career. However, in many cases, this is a sacrifice of their learning to make a house a home, a place of rest and refreshment for the family. And when they do marry, they are at a loss to get started and make their dwelling place a true home for their husband and their future family.

This is a true lost art. However, all it not lost. There are many books on the subject of Homemaking, and many women are rediscovering the joy of making a home.

I will end with a quote from  Laura Ingalls Wilder  “Just as a little thread of gold, running through a fabric, brightens the whole garment, so women’s work at home, while only the doing of little things, is just like the golden gleam of sunlight that runs through and brightens the whole fabric of civilization.”

Until Next time,

Alyssa