In days gone by there were certain skills that were expected of women. These were required to to keep a home going and take care of the family. Due to modern conveniences and technology, these skills are no longer needed to maintain a home. In fact some of them may be a dying art.
I think these skills started fading out clear back during World War I when women entered the work force outside the home. Technology rose to the occasion and started coming up with modern appliances to help women with their everyday house work.
My mom was what we now call a stay-at-home-mom. I can remember her using a wringer washer. With the old wringer washers you had to fill the tub with soap and water; the washer would agitate the laundry and then you had to run it through the wringer (two rollers that squeezed out the excess water) into rinse water. After that you still had to run it through the wringers again. And of course you had to hang everything out to dry.
Food companies also kicked in creating items to make a tired working woman's life easier. They came up with things like cake mixes, bread (white and sliced), even canned fruits and vegetables. In order to run a household on a low income, my mom canned food grown in our garden such as pickles. I still remember her dill pickles and sweet pickles. These were staples in the winter when fresh vegetables weren't available.
Now I'm not saying I'm willing to give up my washer and dryer, but I think it's a great idea to keep these skills alive and know how it's done in the event we are ever forced to return to a place where self-sufficiency is a requirement for everyday living.
Some the things I like to do is gardening - there was a day when EVERY family had a garden. You didn't waste water keeping a green lawn, you had a front yard garden. There was no such thing as going to the grocery store for vegetables; you grew your own. This led to canning. My mother never taught me to can. I learned from books, but my husband's grandmother passed on some of her recipes to me. You had to have a way to store your excess and freezers were not available. It's good to know how to freeze vegetables and fruit too, but what if your power goes out. Also, there is nothing better than home made jam. Yummm!
Quilting is another skill from the past that now is considered an art form. There was a time when you recycled all your old clothing in quilts. If your kids outgrew their clothes and there was no body to pass them on to, you turned them into a quilt. Maybe your dress was stained or worn in certain areas, you cut out the good parts and used them in a quilt. Now we buy brand new material from the fabric store to create quilts and since blankets may be purchased so easily at Walmart or Target, why bother with the art of quilting. Let's not forget that those quilts were made by hand and now we use sewing machines. There are still a few women out there in small communities like Reedley, California that get together to quilt. These are called "quilting bees". The quilting bee was an opportunity for women to get together and gossip while still being productive. These gatherings were what produced tight knit communities.
Crocheting and knitting are also some of the crafts that I have learned. My paternal grandmother taught me the basics of crocheting and my mother is teaching me to knit.
I'm also learning how to make wine from fruit, herbs and flowers. This is another way to enjoy your excess. Even if you don't drink wine, there are wines you can make for cooking purposes.
Animal husbandry was a requirement for pioneer women. Their husbands may have been responsible for the larger livestock like cows, horses and pigs. But the women often tended the chickens collecting the eggs for baking and the big breakfasts they made for their families. There is nothing better than eggs from your own chickens. There's also the peace of mind from knowing what your hens are being fed and watching their funny antics.
I'm always wanting to try new things. To me they're interesting. I'm trying my hand at growing mushrooms. My first batch isn't doing so well as it decided to grow mold too. I would like to make soap sometime. I've made tinctures and syrups for the home medicine chest. I want to also make some healing salve from comfrey. I think I will never run out of things to try. If I don't like it, I don't have to do it again. Not only do these skills give me a sense of self-sufficiency, they give me a link to my heritage. Since there are so many different things that fall under this umbrella, I just call it all home crafting.
Oh yeah, I hate everyday housework. Boring.
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