Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Homemaking 101


I like to live with order. I've said before I am a planner and I plan my days. But there is something my mom taught me about homemaking and making a home. My schedule before Mr. Dunbar gets home is always the same; have dinner either in the process or complete, be refreshed, clean the kids, and put on a smile. Now, does this happen every single day? NO Way! Not with my lil' demanding men. But I try and I pray that I will continue to refine my late afternoons, so that my home is a haven for my man.


I ran into the following on someone else's blog. (Sorry I can no longer find it, so I can't give credit. Really truly sorry.) But the following ideas came from a 1950's Home Economics textbook. Little did I know that I was born into the wrong decade!


Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal, on time. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospect of a good meal are part of the warm welcome needed.
• Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so that you’ll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your makeup, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people. Be a little gay and a little more interesting. His boring day may need a lift.
• Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the home just before your husband arrives, gather up schoolbooks, toys, paper, etc. Then run a dust cloth over the tables. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift, too.
• Prepare the children. Take a few minutes to wash the children’s hands and faces (if they are small), comb their hair, and if necessary change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part.
• Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer, dishwasher, or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet. Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and be glad he is home.
The Goal: Try to make your home a place of peace and order where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit.
Taken from a 1954 high school economics class textbook
What do you think about this?

3 comments:

Heather of the EO said...

I think it's a really nice idea. I try to have things cleaned up and dinner going too. The reality though is that in this decade, it's so much harder. The faster paced, technological world we live in makes it really hard. And many women don't feel they need to do this and I can accept that too. I'm just rambling from thing to thing here...
I want our home to be a haven, a place to rest too. Part of that is having a warm inviting home. Sometimes I can keep up, most of the time I can't. Most importantly, aside from dinner and cleanliness, I want my attitude to be a safe place. If that made any sense at all. :)

Anna Cecilia said...

I love that you love your husband so much. And that you do what you need to do to let him know. I've read that cosmo article before and I liked it. It's really that simple, isn't it? I try to do the same things.

Unknown said...

I saw this put to a video on YouTube once. I went there looking for it to send you the link but I can't find it now. Sorry. Anyway, growing up in a slightly feminist home, I would have found this quite insulting but a couple of months ago God started working on me in this area & I am starting to feel the pull toward one day being a stay-at-home wife/mother. I'm not married & I don't have any prospects but I certainly pray that God prepare me to be the best wife possible & that He provide me with a husband that I will want to treat like this.

I also have to think, if I had been at an office or whatever type of job all day being annoyed & pestered & who knows what else, I know I would appreciate & be love coming home more to a peaceful, welcoming environment rather than a chaotic & loud house. Granted, this can't be expected every day but I would say on a majority level, this would be preferred. :)