I found this gem of a video a while back. I found myself both intrigued and annoyed by it. Intrigued by the scope of what Home Economics covers (or used to cover), and annoyed because I (and I would hazard a guess that many others of my generation and beyond) lack so many of those skills. And they're skills I wish that I had. I found myself repeating the sentiments of one of the girls in the introduction - "But I don't want to just get by, if I'm going to be a homemaker the rest of my life, I want to know what I'm doing."
Now, I'm not strictly a homemaker, I do work in the "outside world". But I am also the primary keeper of my home, which makes me a homemaker of sorts. All of the ground Home Ec covered (according to this video) applies to me in one sense or another. Regardless of whether you're home full time, you still have to cook, clean, dress yourself and make your home more comfortable to live in. (Well, I suppose you don't HAVE to do these things, but life is inevitably more comfortable when you do.)
And there is much I don't know, and was ill-prepared for - Spring cleaning, for example.
But there is always time to learn, and so many resources out there to learn by - I'm getting there. I'm slowly learning the "why, as well as the how" (as I sit here noticing how dusty and dingy my computer keyboard really is. When was the last time I cleaned this baby?)
So whether or not this little ditty spurs you on to find out more about the art and science of keeping home, it will, at the very least, likely give you a little chuckle. Things were very different back in 1955, although perhaps not as different as we may think.
April 30, 2014
Bring back home ec, I say! Practical, useful, and fun, too. The how and why of keeping house is something everyone should know.
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