I was intrigued when I read the title of Shannon Hayes book, Radical Homemakers: Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture.  In a time of downsizing and working with what you have, I thought I could learn a thing or two from some hard core homemakers.
The book turned out differently than I expected.  Instead of gaining insight on how to reuse or repurpose household items, I learned about a new way of thinking about the home.  The importance of your home is the backbone for each homemaker’s story.  There is a collection of twenty stories from both women and men who are trying to live off the land, homeschool their children, and live a simpler lifestyle.  Some are doing it on a farm in a quiet New England tow, and others are making do with an urban garden.
The book is divided into two parts.  The first explores how we came to be a consumer driven culture. Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique, written in 1963, first explored the challenges of the housewife.  Women were becoming bored with shopping trips and household duties, called the “housewife’s syndrome.”  It sparked an increase of women in the workforce, which in turn led to our reliance on convenient foods and products.  The Radical Homemakers profiled strive to live differently, in a life-serving economy.

“Further, in a life serving economy, we individually accept responsibility for creating our own joys and pleasures.  We do not rely upon corporate America to sell us these things.”

I am guilty of relying on my “toys” for entertainment, but hope I can achieve a healthy balance with non-commercial joys like playing with my kids and cooking a great meal.  Less stuff can mean more time for family and friends on our lives.  Who wouldn’t want to spend less time doing errands and more time playing.  As I work to declutter this week during Project Simplicity, I am very aware of the extra stuff in my home.  The stories in the book reveal how little in terms of stuff we truly need to sustain ourselves.  Everyone seems a lot handier than I ever will be, but I can still work harder to repurpose what I have instead of constantly buying new stuff.

What struck a cord with me in Radical Homemakers is the discussion about the status of eating habits in America.  As I try to focus more on eating real food, I found it sad to learn how prevalent packaged food has become in our society.  One very grim stat is that the US was once one of the healthiest countries in the world, by 1960s we dropped to the 13th healthiest and now we are 25th.  For an education nation, it amazes me that collectively we are still not making better food choices for ourselves.  Another sobering statistic, while the US has the cheapest food in the world, we also have the highest health-care costs per capita.  The connection between the two cannot be missed.  Many of the homemakers in the book discuss a renewed focus on eating as a family, growing your own food, and avoiding the packaged foods that have led to a society with high rates of both diabetes and childhood obesity.

I think if you will enjoy this book if you want to hear an outside the box opinion on schooling, vaccinations and community.  It is refreshing to read about friends and family coming together to help raise children as it was done for many years.  There are some homemakers that are more “radical” than others, but I appreciated hearing their stories.

Visit Radical Homemakers website to connect with other like minded men and women.  There is a forum to share your location to find others in your area who share your passion for production instead of consumption.

I learned about this book from SortaCrunchy‘s book list…anyone else have some great reading suggestions?

Image credit: CountryLiving.com; Life123.com

I’m really going to do it this time.  I make an attempt every couple of months, but now it’s crunch time.  I’m talking about cutting down on the clutter in my home and the overwhelming amount of stuff that needs to be cleared out.  I’m committing to participating in Simple Mom’s month of Project Simplify, starting this week.  Each week a new “hot spot” will be listed to tackle and control the clutter.  Week 1 is our Wardrobe.  I have taken some pictures of my closet to share soon as the “before” disaster area.
I’m motivated now to pack up the maternity clothes, get rid of the clothes I no longer wear, and add some organization to my very crowded closet. I’ve already made an appointment with my local consignment shop for next week!
Do you want to participate in the decluttering challenge?  Leave a comment here to share what areas in your home need the most help. Check in during the next month as I share my progress. Stop by Simple Mom to learn more about the challenge.

When was the last time you read a published book that was handwritten? Maybe never. In Make your Place by Raleigh Briggs, she handwrites and illustrates how to simply take care of your home, your body, and your ailments. Here’s a quote to give you a little flavor of the book,

“For both of these cleaners, just spray on and wipe off. But don’t use paper towels! They’re wasteful and they suck. Wipe off the cleaner with a lint free cloth or crumpled newspapers instead.”

One of my resolutions for this year is to try and make more of my own cleaners for the home. In this tiny little book, there are 21 easy recipes for DIY cleaners. My favorite is the wood cleaner as I haven’t found a great product in the marketplace to replace my old stand by Pledge.

The beginning of this book is devoted to homemade remedies for everything from burns to headaches. Many I was aware of like aloe vera treatments, but other’s like the cold & flu tea sounded promising to help get through these last weeks of winter. Other poultice treatments seemed a little too elaborate for my needs, but interesting none the less to learn what herbs do what.

I got this book out from the library, but I think I may splurge and get a copy to keep on hand. The little illustrations that Briggs has throughout each chapter keep this book feeling whimsical and light hearted, which still offering easy DIY recipes and more. Enjoy!
Make Your Place: Affordable & Sustainable Nesting Skills