Living The Viva Vintage?, Or Just Plain Loco?

Hubby sent me this link to Jen But Never Jenn's 50s Housewife Experiment; he found it via this post at MetaFilter, which was anything but kind.

This made me think about addressing an underlying question about this blog: Do I live a vintage lifestyle?

The simple answer is, "No, I do not." (And if you've read any of my other blogs, especially Kitsch Slapped, you'd probably know that lol) But the more in-depth answer is that I pick and choose what tips and practices of the past fit the needs of my family and myself.

My reasoning, is two-fold.

One, that I'm too well-aware of the unrealistic expectations of that time, for both genders, to pretend otherwise. As Jen mentioned, and I'm pretty sure I myself have written somewhere, is that the past is far too easily romanticized; we tend to recall and pine for the powerful love story of Casablanca, but forget the realities such as the actual pain of unrequited love and living with someone we are beholden to, but do not love -- let alone recall the wounds of war!

Two, I'm too busy to summarily reject out-of-hand modern conveniences which actually do the work more efficiently and even more cost effectively than if done the way our grandmothers did it.

While I'm too old to just pretend and play house, my age (an astonishingly old -- especially on the Internet! -- 46) and experience does provide me an interesting perspective...

It's true that some of us have overly romanticized the 1950s (or any era, really); but some of us have demonized the past as well. In the process, we've thrown the baby of helpful household tips out with the bathwater of modernism and/or feminism. This "either or" or "all or nothing" thinking has diminished the value of housewives and housework, and, in my opinion, many of the so-called conveniences are anything but -- they've only raised other economic, environmental and health problems, for individuals and our country as a whole.

I'm in the middle of reading a great book about the history of home economics which addresses much of this and, as I'll be reviewing it here, I'll wax on then.

For now I'll just summarize that there's a lot we can learn from the past, practical and otherwise, and I use this blog to help remind us all of it; it's up to each individual to decide what, if anything, is helpful enough for them to reclaim.

Image Credits: Housewife Marjorie McWeeney with Broom Amidst Display of Week's Housework at Bloomingdale's Store, photo by Nina Leen for LIFE magazine.

Vintage Recipe For Corning Liquid & Irish Corned Beef And Cabbage

The following recipes for making up to six gallons of corning liquids and Authentic Irish Corned Beef & Cabbage comes from the amazing Bull Cook and Authentic Historical Recipes and Practices, by George Leonard Herter and Berthe E. Herter. (I may be sharing more from this book -- but not all will be at this blog because much of the text is far too unlikely to be practical. So please keep an eye on my other blogs, &/or follow me on Twitter!)

Use An Old Card Table As A Frame For Hooking Rugs

Also in that Hint Hunt booklet, an impressive tip that addresses recycling an old card table and ease in crafting!

Forget The Spoonful Of Sugar - Try This For Giving Medicine To The Kids

The following tip for improving the ease of giving liquid medication comes from a vintage Hint Hunt booklet, circa 1940s. Hint Hunt was an old Armour Radio show broadcast on CBS and this booklet contains "367 prize winning household hints" -- although, some pass the test of time better than others. *wink*

Vintage Consumer's Pledge

This scan of Make and Mend For Victory (The Spool Cotton Company, 1942) isn't from my own collection (but now that I've seen it, I'm going to get one!), but I love the text of the Consumer's Victory Pledge:

As a consumer, in the total defense of democracy, I will do my part to make my home, my community, my county ready, efficient, strong.

I will buy carefully - and I will not buy anything above the ceiling price, no matter how much I may want it.

I will take good care of the things I have - and I will not buy anything made from vital war materials which I can get along without.

I will waste nothing - and I will take care to salvage everything needed to win the war.

CONSUMER DIVISION,
Office of Price Administration

Handy Gift Sewing Kits

This vintage tip was found in a 1956 issue of The Work Basket. What I like about it is that as far as gifts go, it's one thing most people could actually use -- too many folks do not even have a sewing kit. The other things I like about it is that it's neither too expensive nor too difficult to make -- yet those who receive it, those who do not have a sewing kit or know the basics of sewing, likely will have their minds blown that you made it. *wink*



PS Sorry for the long gap in posting; we moved this summer -- and along with moving into a smaller space, we had to make room for all the vintage magazines & publications (the Things Your Grandmother Knew!) and collectibles. And the kids still insisted on having their rooms filled with their own stuff; go figure!

How To Dry Chenille Bedspreads

A tip for drying chenille bedspreads -- which I imagine is equally good for robes, etc. -- that's not only green, but probably safer to do with your vintage chenille collectibles that you're afraid to put in the dryer. And, yes, this is a way to keep the chenille fluffy!

Angel Food Cake Tip

A vintage baking tip about letting the angel cakes and sponge cakes cool before turning them upside down on the cake rack.

Easy Homemade Upholstry Cleaner

Another use for soap jelly, this time whipped-up with an egg beater to make a cleaner for upholstered furniture. This is tip #475 in 1003 Household Hints & Work Savers.

Sew, Whatever Happened To Learning How To Use A Needle & Thread?

One of my daughters starts high school next year. She tried to select a beginner's sewing class as one of her electives, but, since only four other students registered for the class, it was canceled. You'd think that with the popularity of Project Runway, etc., a full class would be possible; but no. This disturbs me for several reasons.

One, my brother in law cannot sew a button on his shirt. I know this because he was given a shirt as a gift and the pocket seam was undone -- it just needed a few stitches to tack it in place on one side -- but he couldn't do it. I told him, "If you can sew a button on, you can tack that back down." He said he couldn't do that. And that he didn't bother to learn because the dry cleaners always did that for him. Now, I love my brother in law, but I don't want my kids that helpless.

Two, if I want my children to have sewing lessons (and at least the girls want them; they are interested in costume design as well as crafty things), I'll have to pay for them. I'd prefer that the public school I fund with my taxes would provide the education on such basics. And beyond.

Yes, I could teach my kids to sew -- at least what I know, remember and teach myself (see my Stitches In (My) Time post).

But you moms out there know how well that goes with teenage girls... Getting them to sit with me to learn basic sewing and repairs does not go over as well as teaching them "more fun" needlework and craft projects.

Like teaching my kids math etc., it works best when the school provides the core curriculum and I add onto it myself.

As long as we still wear clothes made of fabric, sewing should not be a lost art.

The good news may be that I'll find sewing lessons for all three of us girls... If I can afford that. (Hint hint, if you're in Fargo or know an inexpensive resource here!)

Image credits: Needlework Before Housework by Radical Cross Stitch (E-Pattern from Radical Cross Stitch aka Radical Rags at Etsy).

Soap Jelly

A wartime tip on the benefits of saving soap scraps in a jar of hot water, aka "soap jelly."



More info on soap jelly here.