Domesticity ~ How to Clean an Iron

Domesticity - home duties and pleasures

Today was laundry day for me. Thought I'd share a link with you that I received from Craftsy this week on methods for cleaning the soleplate of an iron. It's not something I do very often, but probably should do more often than I do. I definitely have to do it when I accidentally press the wrong side of fusible interfacing. Argh!

Some of the described methods I've used, but others were new to me. I surely didn't know about the acetone nailpolish remover. That one may well be the one that works for my fusible accidents! If your iron scares you a little when you're ready to iron that white shirt, click here to go to "How to Clean Your Iron So It's as Good as New."

Oh, and do explore Craftsy a bit while you're there. They have project ideas, tips, kits, patterns, online classes, supplies and much more for sewing, cooking, knitting, photography, gardening, weaving, and more. I've taken several (50+!) of their classes, and all but one has been terrific! Some are free, so you can see what they're like. Craftsy has been a favorite go-to of mine for quite awhile.

Image ~ Drying Clothes, Helen Allingham 1848-1926

public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A Moment's Pause in Domesticity

Domesticity - home duties and pleasures 

Doing a bit of sprucing things up today. Energized by the morning light filtering through the trees out our back windows. Hearing the clear, joyful chirps of birds as they greet one another in happy song. 

Sunlight in the Blue Room 1891, Anna Archer 1859-1935

Being reminded that...

“Life was not intended to be simply a round of work, no matter how interesting and important that work may be. A moment’s pause to watch the glory of a sunrise or a sunset is soul-satisfying, while a bird’s song will set the steps to music all day long.” 

— from “As a Farm Woman Thinks,” in the Missouri Ruralist, April 15, 1923

Work is a Blessing

Domesticity - devoted to home duties and pleasures

Work is a blessing. God has so arranged the world that work is necessary, and He gives us hands and strength to do it. The enjoyment of leisure would be nothing if we had only leisure. It is the joy of work well done that enables us to enjoy rest, just as it is the experiences of hunger and thirst that make food and drink such pleasures.

~ Elisabeth Elliot, Discipline: The Glad Surrender

Painting ~ Soap Girl 1865, Maude Humphrey 1868-1940

Home, Something More

Lord, let our house be something more 

Than just a shelter with a door;

     May its windows glow with light,

     Shedding radiance through the night.

Not just a glitter of glass and chrome,

But give it the "feel" of a happy home.

Let it have flowers, a well-loved book,

Soft cushions in a quiet nook.

     May it be more than downy bed,

     Or snowy cloth with silver spread;

Lend it some smiles, warm sympathy,

With kindly thought, true charity—

     That all may recall, though far they roam,

     That God was there—in the heart of home.

~ Christine White

Painting ~ Room of Flowers, Childe Hassam 1893

Home Duties and Pleasures

 

After Laura and Mary had washed and wiped the dishes, swept the floor, made their bed, and dusted, they settled down with their books. But the house was so cozy and pretty that Laura kept looking up at it.

- Laura Ingalls Wilder from The Banks of Plum Creek

Painting ~ A Girl Reading, 1871  Johann Georg Meyer 1813-1886

Domesticity ~ From the Kitchen

Domesticity ~ devoted to home duties and pleasures

Taking Carrots with Dill & Brown Sugar to small group tonight. Thought I'd share the simple recipe.

3 cups peeled and sliced or frozen carrots
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 and 1/4 tsp dried dill weed
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Cook carrots until tender. Drain water. Stir in butter, brown sugar, dill, salt & pepper.

Woman Peeling Carrots, Gerard Dou 1613-1675

Domesticity ~ A True Home

Home is among the holiest of words. A true home is one of the most sacred of places. It is a sanctuary into which men flee from the world's perils and alarms. It is a resting-place to which at close of day the weary retire to gather new strength for the battle and toils of tomorrow. It is the place where love learns its lessons, where life is schooled into discipline and strength, where character is molded.

~ J.R. Miller, from Secrets of Happy Home Life

Painting ~ Ogunquit Doorway, Abbot Fuller Grace 1839-1936

Just A Little List

Domesticity - devoted to home duties and pleasures

My usual grocery day is today, but I didn't get there, so plan to go tomorrow. As we've been clearing things out getting ready to move, I was going through old planners and came across some unused shopping list pages. I tried using one last week, but it just didn't work for the way my mind works while I'm grocery shopping. 

I drafted my own a few minutes ago, and just thought I'd take a few minutes to share it with you before I settle down for the evening and do a little reading. With this list I can have all my needs categorized for the same areas and won't be walking back and forth getting things I missed. 

Testing it out tomorrow, and I think I'll make it through in record time!

Poster Print ~ Daisy by Kate Mawdsley

Perk-Me-Up Zinnias

Domesticity - devoted to home duties and pleasures

With going through things and clearing out the garage and sending things to the dump and Restore, and taking things to the thrift shop, many of my home duties these days are not particularly pleasurable. Getting ready to move is exciting for me, yes, and therein lies the pleasure, but it's more of a dismantling job instead of tender tweaking.

So, I cut some of the bright zinnias from the front garden to brighten the supper table today. Just a little vase of color made stopping to prepare a meal a much more pleasurable task. They seemed to energize the room... and me! I think God intends flowers to do that and much more for us. They celebrate and console.

As someone has said, "God loved the flowers and invented soil. Man loved the flowers and invented vases."

From the Kitchen ~ Soup

Domesticity - devoted to home duties and pleasures

Soup 1865, William Adolphe Bouguereau 1825-1905
Wiki Commons public domain

The winter weather these past several days has called for soup, which has probably been a menu item for a lot of folks across the country lately. From the looks of things, there's more winter weather ahead, and more soup to be had. Sharing a recipe with you today to warm up those winter days. It was originally a minestrone recipe that I adapted, but at times I use tortellini. It's delicious either way. So, depending on what you add, it's either....
 

Minestrone or Tortillini Soup

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. margarine or butter

2 large carrots, thinly sliced

2 celery stalks, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 zucchini, halved and sliced

4 cups vegetable juice (I used V8 lower sodium)

1 can cannillini beans, rinsed and drained

1 Tbsp dried basil

1.5 tsp dried parsley flakes

1 tsp dried oregano

½ tsp pepper

1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni (I use whole grain)

     or 20 oz package cheese tortellini

            (This time I used sweet Italian sausage tortellini. It was yummy!)

grated Parmesan cheese 

1.  In a large pan, sauté carrots and celery in oil and butter until tender. Add garlic and zucchini, cook 1 minute longer.

2.  Stir in vegetable juice, beans, and spices. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

3.  Meanwhile, cook macaroni or tortellini according to package directions, then add to soup.

4.  Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with cheese.

Homemaking ~ Creative Expressions

I went grocery shopping this morning, had a quilt class this afternoon, doctors' appointments last week, tomorrow and the next day. Some days can be a blur, and being a keeper of the home can certainly have its challenges in our hurry-scurry culture. It was particularly challenging when we were homeschooling, but I could have lived in those years forever. Seasons change and go on, though, which is the ebb and flow of life.

Thankfully, things will slow down next week. I very much dislike the feeling that I'm constantly facing a doctor's appointment month after month, so I intentionally set my 6- and 12-month routine appointments in January or July to get them out of the way and behind me. Gives me more planning space for something else. Like quilting. :-)

Talk at the quilt shop today went to the love of quilting and the dislike of housework. I was told many years ago that housework is like an artist's brush. You've got to keep cleaning it in order to create your work of art. That's a good perspective to keep. There's creative expression in homemaking, as Edith Shaeffer wrote in her book The Hidden Art of Homemaking. I read the original book back in the early 70s as a young woman. This is a book that keeps selling.

There are others in the class who are in the same school of thought, so we encouraged one another in our perspective that it's much better to tend to responsibilities first, then savor our leisurely sewing time. Add to that the pleasant feeling when dirty dishes, unmade beds, rushed meals (or undone exercises) aren't calling my name, and I find a sense of satisfaction with the day.

Do drop by again when you have a few moments, and I'll try to show you over the weekend my homework for the quilt class.

Painting ~ Quilting Bee, Henry Mosler 1841-1920

via American Gallery public domain

Simple Goodness in the Home

Feeding Time

It is necessary that the whole home-life and home-spirit should be in harmony with the teaching and training, if these are to make holy impressions. Simple goodness is more important than the finest theories of home government, most thoroughly and faithfully carried out. There is nothing in the daily routine of the family life which is unimportant. Indeed, it is ofttimes the things we think of as without influence, which will be found to have made the deepest impression on the tender lives of the household.

The Home Life ~ J.R. Miller,1882

Painting ~ Feeding Time, Eugene Zampighi 1859-1944
Wiki Commons public domain

The Wise, Thrifty, and Cheerful Regulation of the Household

I was looking through a vintage magazine this evening that had caught my attention not long ago at an antique shop—The Modern Priscilla, published January 1920. I liked the cover, so I bought it.

U.S. involvement in World War had taken a toll on the American economy, and The Modern Priscilla referred to homemakers as the Woman Army. The introductory article entitled "The March Toward Better Things" gives the mission of the magazine--"If we can help the women of today to the realization of greater beauty in their homes, ... to the wise, thrifty, and cheerful regulation of their household--if we can do all this, and add thereunto the relaxation of a good story, with now and then a thought to carry through the busy days--we shall feel that we have a rightful place beside her in this Woman Army's march toward better things."

And so to encourage the wise, thrifty, and cheerful regulation of her household, the publishers of The Modern Priscilla ran a Budget Contest and published three prize-winning manuscripts. I found the winner of the “Over $2500” category (the highest of the three categories) particularly interesting. She explained their reasoning behind their family budget and gave a rundown of their “Monthly Division”. They were newlyweds, with a mother living with them. Old Dear is the husband. It’s evident in her writing and the budget itself that this young homemaker is not self-focused and looks well to the ways of her household.

Savings $65.00

Insurance 12.00

Lord’s money 15.00

Rent 31.50

Sundries 1.00

House expense 45.00

Clothes 15.00

Health 5.00

Recreation 10.00

Entertainment 2.50

Old Dear 30.00

Mother 10.00

Yours Truly’s pin money 8.00

She writes—

“When we returned from our honeymoon last September, we sat down together to a delightfully serious session and discussed finances. There, I believe, stands the first principle in budget-making. The budget must be a joint proposition. It must represent the added experience of both husband and wife. They are partners in a going concern; both must take financial responsibility; both should know the resources and liabilities of the family. Then, if one of those distressing accidents which will sometimes happen, should occur, money affairs will go on smoothly and not prove an added burden. Then, too, if there is mutual frankness and confidence, the working out of the budget will not prove irksome.”

     She sums up the advantages of a budget:

1. It insures saving. You save a definite amount, not what is “left over.”
2. Having a definite amount makes wise investing easier.
3. It insures money on hand for all ordinary, and some unusual needs.
4. Prevents extravagance in any one direction.
5. Prevents marring the serenity of the home or bickering over finances.
6. Makes the wife a real partner in the firm.
7. Gives the humblest clerk the fun of managing a real business.
8. Makes for a balanced life. Sometimes the figures show startling facts.

And—the figuring takes very little time, far less than that consumed “wondering where the money goes.”

Good advice for those of us managing a household in 2011 as well!

She looketh well to ways of her household…Give her the product of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gate. ~Proverbs 31

Domesticity ~ Muddled Ideas

By Helen Louise Johnson 1906 

[Feminism] is mixed up with a muddled idea that women are free when they serve their employers but slaves when they help their husbands.

~ G.K. Chesterton

An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. 

The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. 

She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.  

Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 

"Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all."  

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, 

but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.  

Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.

Proverbs 31:11-12, 28-31

Image ~ The Enterprising Housekeeper via Recipe Curio.com

200 Tested Recipes By Helen Louise Johnson 1906  

  Illustrated With Kitchen Helps
Price 25¢ 1906 

Domesticity ~ N Is for Nurturing the Nest

Domesticity - devoted to home duties and pleasures

The nest may be constructed, so far as the sticks go, by the male bird; 

but only the hen can line it with moss and down! 

  - Frances P. Cobbe

Today is cleaning day at our house, so I thought I’d share just a few things that help to nurture our nest. Actively managing our homes nurtures the beauty and peace that can be found there. It brings contentment and gratitude for the place we call home.

1. I don't know about you, but I tend toward idleness or piddling. It helps to keep my focus toward Proverbs 31-- "She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness....Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates (Proverbs 31:27, 31). I do want a fruitful harvest, and I know idleness and piddling will not produce it.

2. I view my homekeeping as stewardship of my giftedness. What better place to receive the benefits and blessings of what we do well?

3. Weekly Routines—No matter what the routines are, they help us follow through. God created day by day. It helps me to have a day for each major task, and it changes with seasons (weather-wise, family-wise, and me-wise).

4. Daily Routines—I divide the day into segments that I fill with daily routines. These have varied over the years, depending on family situations, etc., and yours would be different. I have five segments with wiggle room that helps me plan and move through the day. I try not to carry tasks from one segment over to the next unless it’s absolutely necessary. Instead, I carry it over to the next day.

5. I try to do a little each day as time permits. For some ideas, here’s a link for 40 Household Jobs in 5 Minutes or Less.

6. I generally pick up as I go. I try to be consistent in not putting it down, but putting it away. All those little things add up to lots of time when it has to be done all at once.

7. Delegate responsibilities to the children. My daughters were doing their own laundry (not the ironing) when they were nine years old. Children can do a lot more than our culture expects of them. A homeschooling lifestyle allows time for learning life skills.

8. To help with clutter, I kept a basket for odds and ends left out at the end of the day. Anything I had to pick up after the children were off to bed went into the basket, with a small fee the next day for retrieval of each neglected item by those old enough for allowance.

9. I find it helps to preview the evening before as to what I'll be doing the next day. That way, if I need to make any preparations, I'm ready to get going with it. It also helps me begin the day focused and not piddling away the time. 

10.  These are just some of my frameworks for living a disciplined life. I use a pencil when I make my plans because I know God has a big eraser. First and foremost is to glorify Him.

Live and love the season that you're in. Rainbows and childhood too soon disappear.

N is for Nest, 
art.com