Housework

There is a recent trend among my blog posts about housework. This is a little strange, but it seems that I have easily transitioned to the post of housewife since I have been married and because I am bored out of my mind, I finally need to accept the official title of "Housewife". I guess it all started from a book that I received for a wedding present from my cousins called Home Comforts...the Art and Science of Keeping House. It is an awesome book. In it it tells you how to fold clothes, get stains out of fabrics, how to set the table, how to set a schedule for cleaning, and a small amount on property laws and contracts. I refer to it all the time (especially for the stain removal and homemade cleaning product sections).

I am not by any means an advanced housewife, I have a simple schedule that keeps the house clean. I have a few chores that I am religious about: I vacuum, dust and clean the bathroom once a week as well as set up the weekly shopping list, I wash the dishes (we don't have a dishwasher), do the laundry and make dinner every night (Richard hardly has to lift a finger except to clean the litter box). Once a month I try to do an advanced cleaning, scouring pots and pans, get rid of the mildew in the shower, and clean appliances that sit out on the counter. For a while I tried to be religious about ironing bed sheets and stuff, but I don't do it that often because we have a really inadequate ironing board.

I have noticed that an apron is essential. I get more housework done if I am donning an apron, and because of this, I have become obsessed with them. I have yet to start collecting them (oh, but I want to there are so many on etsy) and if I had a sewing machine, I would be right there. I have noticed that this is a common observation among housewives, you get more done while wearing an apron. The apron is a part of the housewife's uniform and as such it allows the woman to be transformed into a domestic goddess. Who knew that a piece of cloth could do that. I know that when I was at work, I didn't let people talk shop with me until I had tied my apron. I guess it is the same for the house apron. I don't see myself sporting high-heeled shoes and a dress anytime soon, in fact, under my apron I wear sweatpants and an old t-shirt, but the apron makes me dressed. Without the apron, I sit in front of the computer all day (I am not wearing my apron now).

The appearance of my house to others has also become very important to me. If I know someone is coming over (with the exception of Emma...sorry Emma) I do a complete clean (Mom, my house is going to be so shiny when you get here). But I believe this is a good thing. Given, not many people come over, but my house is my place of work as well as where I spend all my time and keeping it up only shows that I care about it.

Awhile ago I watched a programme called The 1900 House. A family was moved into a house for 3 months and had to live life like a middle-class English-Victorian family of the year 1900. They had to do everything by the books for 3 month. The woman of the house used Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management as her guide. This book is awesome, and I was lucky to find a copy you can read online (you can also buy it on Amazon). Life as a mistress-of-the-house was a big deal and hard work. What is cool about this book is it isn't only a guide on keeping and running a house, but is also an etiquette guide. Etiquette among the middle-class was very important and is almost impossible for a woman of the late 20th-early 21st century to comprehend. Also in this book, it tells you how you might rear your children and how to alleviate disease. This book was written in 1861 and they didn't know much about how the body worked as we do...I now understand why child mortality rate was so high (besides the lack of child labour laws). I recommend a quick look through this book. It even tells you how to pick a servant and how much you should pay them.