Blue Collar - Working Class - Housewife

Library of Congress: Provincetown, Massachusetts Family, 1942

 

Sometimes I feel like a pampered housewife, who has it made.  I don't have to earn money. I don't have to financially support my family. But I do have to work very hard at home.

In the old days, homemaking was more time consuming. Wash day was an enormous undertaking. Baking and Cooking, before processed foods were available, took the majority of mother's time.

Wealthier women could hire a cook, a maid and even a nanny to help with the children. These women were the pampered ones - they were the wealthy class.  They did not have to work at all.

There is a middle ground - the white collar working class. I cannot speak for them, but I know they are well educated, work in specialized jobs - law, medicine, etc, and often hire help for some of the work at home.

As for the old fashioned, blue collar housewives, we are still here.  There may not be as much heavy labor for us, but there is still so much to do! We must constantly economize, run errands, cook, clean, bake and care for our children. It is a struggle to come up with extra money for treats or presents. We have this healthy glow in our cheeks which comes from heavy labor.

Yesterday, I was reading  "Mama's Bank Account,"  by Kathryn Forbes. I love reading about life in the 1920's for the working class! This Immigrant Mama had such wisdom:

- Whenever she was relieved after a trial, or worry, she would say, "Is Good." This comforted her family and herself.

- "A mop is never good. Floors should be scrubbed with a brush." [I loved this one!]

- I also loved how she would take the weekly income, sit at the table surrounded by her family, and carefully put coins in stacks for things like "The landlord," and "For the Grocer."

She was such a hardworking mother. She was a working class mother. These mothers have helped build this country with their own hands.

We mothers are still the foundation of society. Even though money is scarce, and we are often tempted to leave home to earn an income, our work at home . . . our influence at home,  is essential.



blessings
Mrs. White

From the Archives -

What many of us crave - An Ordinary Life at Home.  

Financial reality - Retirement Planning for the Poor.  

 - To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

 

 

For old time encouragement in living simply on a limited income, order Mrs. White's book:

"An Old Fashioned Budget: Humble Financial Management for the Christian Housewife"

 77 pages, paperback.

 

The Neglected Garden

I went to my mother's porch a few days ago. I walked along, looking at all her plants. She had so many colorful flower boxes, sitting on top of the railing.  There was also a large tomato plant on the floor. She had all kinds of flowers growing in different planters.

As I walked, I realized the great neglect. Mother is away and asked me to take care of her plants.  I had agreed to water them - to visit them.  I had planned to go out there each day and tend to her beautiful porch garden.  But on the first day, it rained. On the second day, it rained again. I didn't think the flowers needed me. So I stayed indoors.  By the end of the week, I suddenly realized I needed to check on them.  But it was too late.

The flowers were dying. They had been abandoned. They were forlorn and pitiful because of my careless neglect.

I quickly found a watering can and tried to revive them. For two straight days, I diligently tended them. They are showing no progress.

This reminds me of my home. It can be tempting to ignore all the work I have to do. It is easy to just put it off . . . But this will lead to a forlorn place. . .  It will not look like a lovely garden. Weeds will spring forth. Flowers will wilt. Doom and gloom will be the aura of an abandoned home. It would be a sad place indeed, if I neglect my home, the way I neglected Mother's garden.

Blessings
Mrs. White

From the Archives - 

My Mother's Example - Housekeeping All Day.  

Beautiful Living - Feminine Grace. 

 Unwanted Advice for the Family - Quieting Myself for the Good of Others.

 

- To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

Resting at the Estate

Even a simple, humble home can have beauty. I like to call our old house an estate. It brings a touch of elegance to our lives.

I like to walk around the property and just enjoy the scenery. I enjoy sweeping the porch and the stairs. I like to sit at the picnic table and read a book.

Resting, here at home, means moving around slowly and being grateful for what I have.  It helps me to take a break from the weekly worries.

Thinking of home as an estate, keeps me calm and sweet-natured. I feel priviledged and content.

"A Lady is at her best when she exhibits a modest and retiring manner." - from, Keeping Hearth and Home in Old Massachusetts   *

May your weekend be relaxing and pleasant. . .  And may home-life be lovely.

Blessings
Mrs. White

* I bought this book, many years ago, in the gift shop at Plimouth Plantation in Plymouth Massachusetts. It is a treasure!

Mother's Dress

J. F. K., his wife Jacqueline Kennedy and a nurse carrying their son John Jr. arriving from the hospital to their home in Washington, 1960. LOC.

Okay.. I admit it... I was a little envious while watching television. I saw this great family,  and they had nice, new clothes all the time. While I know it is not real life, I had a twinge of yearning for a trip to the local shopping mall. I wanted a purse full of hundreds to buy a sparkling new wardrobe. Not just for me, of course, but for my entire family. (smiles)

It took me a few hours to get over this horrid feeling. . . I remembered that in the 1800's, a normal mother had only one good dress. Mother would wear this to church, or on the rare trip to town. It was her best dress.

Then I thought of my own mother. During her childhood, the custom was to have three articles of each kind of clothing. She had three dresses, three pairs of socks. . etc. etc. The saying went like this:

- One in the Drawer.
- One on your Back.
- And one in the Wash.

Yet people still managed to look nice! Can you imagine not having new clothes all the time? I know, I know. . . I am spoiled beyond belief.

I think the only way I am going to cure this envy, is to get all dressed up today, complete with pearls and heels, and go about my day.  Maybe I will even take a trip to town.

Blessings
Mrs. White

From the Archives - 

Make it look like - The Maid was Here.

*contented sigh* - I love to have A Heart for Staying Home.

 To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

Learn How To Manage Money on a Small Income, with this helpful book:

- It is an honor to be the bookkeeper for the house! - 

Find detailed instruction and inspiration in budgeting on a small income, along with a method for keeping a handwritten ledger, with lots of thrifty ideas, in Mrs.White's book:

 -An Old Fashioned Budget: Humble Financial Management for the Christian Housewife. 

 Paperback, 77 pages.

A Lovely Rainy Night

It is quiet and peaceful here at home. The sky is dark. The evening hour has come. Rain is pouring on the roof. It is a pleasant sound.

Earlier today, I left the clothes on the line. But I didn't care. I love to see laundry on the line, even if a sudden rain drenches them! 

Many years ago, Mr. White and I were house hunting here in rural Vermont. We were going to buy an old farmhouse. It had been owned, for a lifetime, by one family.  In this house, things were still run like in the old days. There was a cookstove in the kitchen. We thought it was charming. There were no showers - only a claw foot tub. But the most endearing thing of all, was the rows- and- rows of clothes-lines, hanging on the covered porch. We were told that, even in the dead of winter, farm wives would hang the clothes outdoors! Later, they brought them in, stiff, and ready for a hot iron.

As the rain falls on this warm summer night, I am thinking about the old ways of housekeeping. I love the labor involved in keeping things neat. I love that I have important things to do, here at home.

I am also very grateful, that we bought this large old colonial house instead of the farm house. Because, honestly, I dearly love the idea that we live in a house that was built for a lawyer, who had a wife and 10 children. I love that this house is my museum. And I love the retreat-like-setting we get to enjoy, even though this place is beat -up, and in need of repairs.

There is nothing like a little rain, to make one nostalgic.

Blessings
Mrs. White

To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

 

For happiness and cheer in the kitchen:

Mrs. White's old fashioned cookbook focuses on serving meals and setting the table in a humble home.

"Serving in the Kitchen: Cookbook with Recipes, Advice, and Encouragement for the Christian Home"

152 pages, paperback

Old Fashioned Housework

It is a beautiful day outside. I will open the windows and let in the fresh, clean air. My plan for today is to spend 2 hours doing some old fashioned housework.

I will start in about 10 minutes.

This is what I will do:

1. Sweep the front porch. Then set up a chair so I can sit out there this afternoon, with a good book.

2. Clean the front entryway and wash the glass doors.

3. Vacuum the living room.

4. Do a load of laundry. Then hang clothes on the line.

5. Deep clean one of the children's rooms.

6. Make a delicious lunch. Freeze the leftovers for quick and easy suppers for my teens.

7. Clean the kitchen.

Before I start my work, I will put on some Old, Southern Gospel Music. Then I will put up my hair and wear a pretty apron.

It is going to be a lovely day at home!

Blessings
Mrs. White

To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

 

For happiness and cheer in the kitchen:

Mrs. White's old fashioned cookbook focuses on serving meals and setting the table in a humble home.

"Serving in the Kitchen: Cookbook with Recipes, Advice, and Encouragement for the Christian Home"

152 pages, paperback

The Vision of Home

Painting by Mark Stilleven Van Bloemen, (1792-1844).

Temptations, Invitations and Urgings keep trying to call me away from home.  They keep trying to get mother away from keeping the home.

There is so much tranquility here. It is a slow - paced kind of life, when Mother is always at home.  She is able to cook and bake and clean. She is able to pray and spend time with her family.

The other day, I was working in the kitchen and getting so much accomplished. I made several batches of suppers for the freezer. This was for those rough days when I needed to rest, or focus on other things. But I needed to stay home and have the strength to finish my work.

I remember someone mentioning Nehemiah in the Bible and how he could not come down from the wall, because he was doing God's work. Was something trying to call him away?

I don't want my home to fall in ruins because I did not have a heart for it. I have a calling to be here. Please, don't tempt me, or distract me away from my work.

What a great blessing it is to have a vision of home. It is not only a vision but a dedicated heart. It is a form of heaven on earth - an artistic endeavor in hospitality, and of creating the beauty of a traditional family.

Blessings
Mrs. White

Mrs. White

 From the Archives:

What many of us crave - An Ordinary Life at Home.

Remembering my Childhood - When Television was Special.

Encouragement - How the Old Time Mothers Survived Poverty.

 

 - To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

 

Find Home-keeping Inspiration, in Mrs.White's book:

 - For The Love of Christian Homemaking.  

Paperback, 274 pages.

Childhood Home as the Nursery

"New England Cottage" painting by Edmund H. Garrett, 1800's.

Sometimes my grown children get homesick. They miss the days of the nursery - where Mother is here for them all the time. When Mother bakes cookies, makes supper and plays games. It is the soothing seclusion of a loving home - where the world is shut out for a time.

I can often see pain, in the eyes of my teenagers. But I cannot make it go away. I cannot stop them from hurting, or from suffering, in this life. But I can be here, with a loving smile and open arms.

I can listen to their stories. . . without judgement. . . I can hear their trials and tribulations and say nothing. This is the resting place. Home is the place to recover from the world. But I cannot make the world go away.

So I play cards with them. .  We gather around the table and we laugh and have a good time. We all have hurt in our eyes, but we push it aside.

And we play pool, in our beat up, unfinished porch that we call the game room.  We play on teams and I hear stories and jokes and I hear things I never thought could be so funny! I enjoy my teenagers and grown children. But I do not try to run their lives. I do not try to control them.

I am the keeper of the nursery.

Come here, my precious babies, when the world has become too painful. . . Come home to the nursery, where I will always be - with the cookies and the cards and the loving smile.

(Love Mom.)


blessings
Mrs. White

From the Archives -

Advice for a Happy Home - Peaceful Living by Rules.

Careful thrift in the Home - Reducing Expenses.

A Peaceful Old Fashioned Bible Time - The Prentiss Study. 

 - To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

 

For Encouragement in Christian Homemaking, order Mrs. White's book, "Homemaking For Happiness: Wonderful Days at Home."

In this book, you will find essays, articles, and diary entries about life in a Christian home.

Entries are arranged by season, and include:  "Keeping a Frugal Kitchen;" "Missing the Lilacs;" "An Evening Walk in the Garden;" "At Grandmother's House;" and "Chores for Grandchildren."

You will also find a few photographs showing a little of the local landscape.

Paperback, 307 pages.

A Clean and Happy Home

I have been working on my kitchen for the past hour. The dark green counters are polished and clean. The sage cabinets, red breadbox, and pretty curtains make the room look very unique. I love to keep it clean.

A few months ago, I ran out of kitchen matches. I really miss lighting candles. I usually keep a large scented one on the center of my stove top. I am missing that little touch of romance in my home.

I gave the children a list of chores to accomplish by 3 p.m. It has been lovely seeing them help with the household tasks.

In just a little while, I will start supper. But first, I want to straighten pillows in the parlour. I want to vacuum the carpet and tidy the hutch shelves. I want to dust the window sills.

I will listen to Mozart, on my kitchen radio, while I work.  There is nothing like the joy of a clean and happy home.

Blessings
Mrs. White

  - To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -