Grateful Living: M.H. Spa Retreat

Count your night by stars, not blackness, Count your time by good deeds done. ~Ethel C. Smith

This is the last of my Grateful Living Series--are you grateful?  About 20 years ago I read in my women's church manual about enjoying what you have.  An example was given of an older woman who had a very modest apartment without very many material possessions.  But what she had, she took good care of.  Her apartment was kept neat and clean.  There were little touches such as houseplants and photographs and other simple things attractively displayed.  The little apartment was inviting, warm and comfortable to guests.  Being newly married myself, without hardly a stitch of furniture, the lesson really struck home.  I have followed its guidance in every home I've lived in.

vintage pillowcases hide the laundry

It never occurred to me at nineteen that  in my forties I would choose to live in a mobile home!  I totally sympathize with Janet Palmer who said, "Turning forty was the biggest let-down of my life.  I thought I'd be happy and in control by then."  However, I know I wouldn't trade my life with anyone else.  Having an oasis from disappointments or stress or just plain exhaustion has come in the form of my bathroom or as I like to call it, my "Spa Retreat."  I even play soft, soothing music with calming background sounds from nature--just like at a real spa.

My husband replaced the tile and lights, and installed baseboards and the curtain rods, but basically everything else was done by me during a particularly stressful period.  The job was therapeutic. We had just added a third bedroom and large bathroom to our mobile home and I thought we'd never get it done.  Little did my family know that they would no longer be welcome again in the old bathroom--My Bathroom.  You do what you have to to get by sometimes, and having my own bathroom--the only room in the house that no one could mess up was critical to my psyche!

Dealing with the massive mirrors over the tub was the biggest obstacle.  They came with dark curtains, but I saw a picture in a magazine of a softer, brighter window treatment and knew that would be simple and inexpensive and a huge improvement.  I painted the cheap vanity cabinet with the same kind of paint I used on the baseboards and crown molding (cabinet and trim paint).  My husband sanded the knobs to find a really nice "nickel" color underneath the gold so we kept it like that.  The only gold is the bathtub faucet because the one that came factory installed fell apart and this very expensive model was practically given away at the hardware store.  Everything else in the bathroom is nickle, but I've made peace with the gold faucet.

Pegs hold towels, robes...

I tried flat paint on the walls and ended up repainting with gloss.  Satin would probably do just as well, but I was very careful to finish out the mobile home walls so that there were very few flaws to see.  I painted the ceiling with Kilz first and then ceiling paint.  My best advice for renovating a mobile home is to make sure you're fairly comfortable with what you are doing.  Save up for jobs that you don't feel competent, (especially wiring!).  Study before you take on drywall, painting, even hanging anything on the wall.  As the old saying goes--Measure twice, Cut once!

Keep an idea book of what you like for at least a year before you delve into renovating a room.  When you start to see a lot of ideas that go together in your book, you will begin to know better what you want.  Some people are super gifted with this--not me.  I'm talking to the rest of us who don't have a clue!  The main thing is being happy with the results of all your hard work.  My goal was that when I was inside my home, it was a home not a mobile home.  I can look around and there is nothing left of the "factory installed" and my home is warm, comfortable, and inviting (at least to me!).


Living Small
Homemaking Journals
Homemaking: Homebuilders of the World
Grateful Living: Scaling Down to A Mobile Home
Grateful Living Series: Dress Up M. H. Windows
Grateful Living: Repurposed Trunk
Grateful Living: Class Up the Mobile Home Fireplace
Grateful Living: Front Porches
Grateful Living: The !#*! M.H. Walls
Grateful Living: M.H. Spa Retreat
Grateful Living: My Collection on Reflections of Home

Grateful Living: The !#*! M.H. Walls!

This I learned from the shadow of a tree, That to and fro did sway against a wall:  Our shadow selves, our influence, may fall Where ourselves can never be. ~Anna G. Hamilton

Above is how I arranged my collection of cross-stitch samplers.  I got the idea from a past issue of Southern Living Magazine.  A tip I learned from Martha Stewart is to trace the frames onto wrapping paper and cut out.  Using removable tacky putty (whatever it's called), you can try all kinds of arrangements for picture placement.  I actually keep pictures from magazines of picture arrangements that I like in my Idea Book.  It really comes in handy.  Also, Martha taught me to use little Velcro circles to put at each bottom corner of a picture and then press in place to the wall.  Then the picture doesn't move out of place.  Which is great if you live in a mobile home with paper thin walls.  See my post on Picture Groupings.

I wanted to do something my very Southern grandma did in her hall and have my own "hall of fame."  As children, my sister and cousins and I loved to look at old family photos, baby pictures, and pedigree charts that literally lined my grandma's enormous and long hallway.  Somehow, I had to find a way to make my now less wavy hallway wall more interesting to walk through (and wavy wall even less noticeable).  Here's how I got the hall wall's flaws to be less noticeable.

I'm not sure if this is a common occurrence or cheap building gone amuck, but our hall had become a real
sight!  For some reason the outside wall is all wavy.  My husband's standard response is "What do you expect from a mobile home?"  My reply is always, "Remember that wavy wall in our family room in the house we built for $250,000?  Bad construction happens folks!  I am a great lover of old homes that were built to last but no matter how well-built a house is, there is bound to be something that goes terribly wrong.  You can't just blame everything on bad construction and hope your wife backs off!

So we thought about using spackling to even the wall out, but that would really take someone talented with spackle or someone who has a lot of patience--neither of which was us.  We thought about replacing the wall board (it's literally a cardboard substance!) with bead board.  However, my husband had just put baseboards and crown molding up and we didn't want to mess with that.  I thought about painting the wall in vertical stripes as an optical illusion.  But the hall is such a narrow space that I thought stripes might overwhelm it even if I used narrow stripes in soft colors.

Finally, I was in Lowe's and became attracted to the paintable wallpaper products and noticed some that looked like bead board. That's what I decided on.  My husband, younger daughter and son put the wallpaper up.  My husband is a little OCD and soon learned that you didn't have to place the wallpaper to the wall with great force.  My son's method of simply placing the paper to the wall gently actually held the best.  Here again, my husband complained that nothing was straight in the mobile home and therefore it was impossible to place the wallpaper up straight.  I quietly reminded him that we have never lived in any HOUSE where any of the construction seemed straight.  That's where the kids came in.  They actually seemed to have fun with the project and turned my husband's mood around.  Also lots of yummy snacks keep spirits high.  I kept the paint color the same in the hall as throughout the house.  I use flat paint because wavy walls and other unsightly flaws show up less.


Living Small
Homemaking Journals
Homemaking: Homebuilders of the World
Grateful Living: Scaling Down to A Mobile Home
Grateful Living Series: Dress Up M. H. Windows
Grateful Living: Repurposed Trunk
Grateful Living: Class Up the Mobile Home Fireplace
Grateful Living: Front Porches
Grateful Living: The !#*! M.H. Walls
Grateful Living: M.H. Spa Retreat
Grateful Living: My Collection on Reflections of Home

Grateful Living: Front Porches

When you live in the country (in a mobile home), you have to give serious consideration to a porch.  In our case, we have a closed-in front porch and a "back deck."  Since the front door is the easiest to enter from our attached carport, we needed some way to take shoes off before entering the house.  This is because there is a lot of dirt in the country.  We have a gravel drive which is very dusty when it hasn't rained in a while.  Our cars need constant spraying down due to the amount of travel they go through, (we're 30 minutes from the nearest Walmart).  Also, front porches are really important in the South for welcoming people.  When you live in a mobile home where you walk through the door and HELLO there's your living room, kitchen, dining room, etc., it's kinda nice to greet people on the porch and chat awhile while the family straightens up.  My goal was to make my front porch so cozy (as well as a way to trap dirt) that we might just visit there instead.  The decor has to be simple but homey so that it doesn't become one more place that requires constant attention.  It has to be okay if there are leaves and grass on the floor.  They are easily swept away and pretty much expected on a porch. I added what I call Parlor Touches like the knick knacks, pillows, houseplants.  A double rocking chair with cushions and corner bench with storage are easy to wipe clean.  The porch ceiling is painted a coastal green and the nooks are filled with little treasures.  (Ceiling painted Valspar Signature Colors - Southern Breeze SR901)

Living Small
Homemaking Journals
Homemaking: Homebuilders of the World
Grateful Living: Scaling Down to A Mobile Home
Grateful Living Series: Dress Up M. H. Windows
Grateful Living: Repurposed Trunk
Grateful Living: Class Up the Mobile Home Fireplace
Grateful Living: Front Porches
Grateful Living: The !#*! M.H. Walls
Grateful Living: M.H. Spa Retreat
Grateful Living: My Collection on Reflections of Home

Grateful Living: Class Up The M.H. Fireplace

Some women go through life turning on lamps in the evening.  Others are themselves a light. ~Helen Parks

One of the first renovating projects I did (after replacing the carpet!) in our mobile home was to antique the fireplace.  The original was pretty cheap looking wood and cheap looking tile.  My husband replaced the tile with marble leftover from the house we built.  He also painted the fireplace insert with a brown, "hammered-look" spray paint designed for metal that can be exposed to heat (I think Rust-oleum brand).  I replaced the blah handles with adorable twig-shaped ones.  I used the below product that I found at Walmart at the time.  It was very simple.  Because the adjacent wall has my cross-stitch collection displayed on it and there's a TV above the mantle, I chose to decorate the mantle sparsely.  I have my grandma's figurines from her dining room that my sister and I used to play with (and quite possibly broke!).  

I'm pretty siked about another Rust-oleum product on the market that will class up my kitchen cabinets.  I chose a light color for the fireplace to make the tiny living room appear larger.  I would do the same with the kitchen cabinets as well:  http://cabinets.rustoleumtransformations.com/

Living Small
Homemaking Journals
Homemaking: Homebuilders of the World
Grateful Living: Scaling Down to A Mobile Home
Grateful Living Series: Dress Up M. H. Windows
Grateful Living: Repurposed Trunk
Grateful Living: Class Up the Mobile Home Fireplace
Grateful Living: Front Porches
Grateful Living: The !#*! M.H. Walls
Grateful Living: M.H. Spa Retreat
Grateful Living: My Collection on Reflections of Home

Grateful Living Series: Repurposed Armoire

Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have. ~Kiki Knickerbocker

Living in a mobile home, I had to think about whether I could use another piece of furniture (painted girly pink) that my sister was wanting me to take.  She was about to give it to someone else when I realized that it was just what I needed in my master bath as a linen closet.  I had my husband move the tiny pantry-sized factory-installed cabinet to the kitchen where I could place cans of food in it, and made space for this very pink armoire.

The armoire stayed on the front porch for quite a few days.  Every family member would go out there and sand on it a little.  It wasn't until my eldest daughter spent about three days sanding that I was finally inspired to really go to work.

I pulled off the bottom door that hinged open and painted that space as well.  I found two lined, white baskets at Lowe's that fit perfectly in this opening.  My husband placed two more shelves in the side of the armoire normally used for hanging clothing.  We used regular shelf board from Lowe's.  You iron-on strips to the exposed sides of the shelf to give it a finished look (it's really cool).  We replaced the door handles with something that looked vintage and actually fit the piece better than the original.  I was going for a spa look in my bathroom so white furnishings with the metal door handles added a minimalist, clean feel.


I was inspired by these two pictures from Before and After (ISBN 1574862960).  The first picture convinced me to paint the armoire and the second one showed me what I could do with the empty space once I took off the hinged door on the bottom of the armoire.  I'm only sorry that I didn't take a "before" shot. 

Living Small
Homemaking Journals
Homemaking: Homebuilders of the World
Grateful Living: Scaling Down to A Mobile Home
Grateful Living Series: Dress Up M. H. Windows
Grateful Living: Repurposed Trunk
Grateful Living: Class Up the Mobile Home Fireplace
Grateful Living: Front Porches
Grateful Living: The !#*! M.H. Walls
Grateful Living: M.H. Spa Retreat
Grateful Living: My Collection on Reflections of Home

Grateful Living: Repurposed Trunk

The Spirit of the Hive (Beehive girls' theme):  Have Faith.  Seek Knowledge.  Safeguard Health.  Honor Womanhood.  Understand Beauty.  Value Work.  Love Truth.  Taste the Sweetness of Service.  Feel Joy.

My oldest daughter and I worked on this trunk that my mom had been given by an elderly neighbor who had recently passed away.  It was in pretty bad shape.  I wasn't sure if there was anything that could be done.  But it was built of solid construction and had a lot of character.  Then I saw the trunk pictured below in Flea Market Finds, Before and After, Leisure Arts (ISBN 1574862960).  Since it was a trunk, we decided to go with a travel theme.  As can be seen, the cushion on top of the trunk has gotten a lot of use.  I really like this blog that inspires me to repurpose older furniture:  http://fineandhandy.blogspot.com/.

Living Small
Homemaking Journals
Homemaking: The Homebuilders of the World
Grateful Living: Scaling Down to A Mobile Home
Grateful Living Series: Dress Up M. H. Windows
Grateful Living: Repurposed Armoire
Grateful Living: Class Up the Mobile Home Fireplace
Grateful Living: Front Porches
Grateful Living: The !#*! M.H. Walls
Grateful Living: M.H. Spa Retreat
Grateful Living: My Collection of Reflections of Home

Grateful Living Series: Dress Up M.H. Windows

So long as there are homes to which men turn At close of the day:

So long as there are homes where children are, Where women stay--

If love and loyalty and faith be found Across those sills--

A stricken nation can recover from Its gravest ills.
~Grace Noll Crowell

My window sills are the most annoying thing to me about living in a mobile home.  Apparently they put something that looks like storm windows on the INSIDE of the window.  They are so ugly!  They are such an eyesore!  About six years ago, my solution was to sew curtains that would basically hide the window frame.  I put plantation blinds up first.  I needed blinds because mobile homes are not very well insulated and in extremely hot weather, plantation blinds block a lot of heat.  They also hide the top of my ugly storm windows.  The sides are hid by my simple curtains which also double as more sun-blockage (or cold-blockage in the winter).  Here are the instructions for the curtains from Crafting Vintage Style, by Christina Strutt (ISBN 1588162419).

Materials

For the curtain:  panel of fabric measuring the width of the window plus 6 inches by the required length plus 4 inches

For the facing strip:  strip of fabric the width of fabric the width of the window by 3 inches

For the tabs:  strips of fabric measuring 12 x 6 inches

Tape measure

Scissors

Pins

Needle and matching thread

1. Fold over a 1-inch double hem along both sides of the curtain fabric and stitch.  Hem the top and bottom edges in this way.

2. Next, make the tabs.  Fold each strip of fabric in half lengthwise, right sides together, and stitch along the raw long side.  Turn right side out and press, centering the seam on the back.

3. Zigzag-stitch one long edge of the facing strip.  Place the facing strip on top of the curtain right sides together.  Fold each tab in half widthwise with the seam sides together.  Pin one tab flush with the right and left edges.  Pin the rest of the tabs at 6-inch intervals between the curtain and the facing strip, right sides together and edges aligned.

4. Stitch along the top edge of the curtain, catching in both ends of each tab as you go, and along the short ends of the facing strip.  Turn right sides out so that the facing is on the wrong side of the curtain and press.

Living Small
Homemaking Journals
Homemaking: The Homebuilders of the World
Grateful Living: Scaling Down to A Mobile Home:
Grateful Living: Repurposed Trunk
Grateful Living: Repurposed Armoire
Grateful Living: Class Up the Mobile Home Fireplace
Grateful Living: Front Porches
Grateful Living: The !#*! M.H. Walls
Grateful Living: M.H. Spa Retreat
Grateful Living: My Collection of Reflections of Home

Grateful Living: Scaling Down to a Mobile Home

Jacqueline Kennedy once said, "Every thing in the White House must have a reason for being there."  This is even more true for a small house!  Want to know one of my decorating inspirations?  Old episodes of The Rockford Files!  (Gotta love Jim Rockford!)  One thing I noticed about his crummy little mobile home (NOT trailer!) on the beach was that as soon as Rockford went inside and shut the door, the place was quite charming.  For a tough guy, there were a lot of homey (yet masculine) touches.  I thought, "I could do that!  I don't have to stick with this generic factory-built decor."  Decorating a mobile home can be a lot of fun--especially if you have ever had a doll house for your Barbies like I did.  It takes so much less money and time than bigger houses.

When you have limited floor space you have to think small.  Most of my larger furniture has been exchanged (literally I swapped furniture with various people), for smaller pieces.  My furniture has to be practical and comfortable.  Furnishings are kept to a minimum.  I've even decided to swap out a full-sized piano for a keyboard style they use in music schools (update: daughters have prohibited this!).  The big screen T.V. has been exchanged for a flat screen that fits on the wall above the fireplace.  The workout equipment has been swapped for a family gym membership near my son's school that's $55/month.  Father and son go together each morning on their way to work and school and their bathroom at home stays much, much cleaner.  Plus, working out no longer interferes with family time.

I have a comfortable love seat that sits off the ground, which helps to expose more floor area.  Matching the couch color with the wall color so that it's not such a contrast really helps to make the room seem larger.  It's a smaller piece of furniture with narrower arm-rests.  I also have two comfortable dark leather chairs that are really too big and dark for the space and I would like to replace them with light leather recliners that are smaller (I've seen these at Macy's but they are expensive!!!)  I have to keep the furniture against walls in order to have as much floor area exposed so the place stays light and airy and not so crampt and I like to do yoga and Leslie Sansome workouts on the area carpet in the middle of the room.

As I've mentioned, mobile homes look best if the furniture is small-scale and the home and furnishings have small-print textures and patterns in wallpapers, fabrics, tiles, etc.  We used honey-colored wood-look linoleum flooring throughout.  I can't tell you how many times folks thought it was real wood flooring.  We had wood flooring throughout the 2,200 square-foot house we built and then sold, (bathrooms and hall were tile), and I was always so exhausted from having to take care of the floors.

Our walls are the same throughout the mobile home which is good for small homes.  I chose butter cream for the paint color.  Just take a stick of butter to the store and match it to a paint sample and voila!  That's the color of my walls.  They are cheerful, yet warm and comforting.  I've gotten pretty depressed from moving from my house to a mobile home and having to scale down so much -- yet wall color really can help create a peaceful, happy feeling and keep me grounded.  (And listening to Dave Ramsey).  But light, cool colors are generally good for small spaces.

I don't use a lot of tables, coffee tables, etc.  I was given a small and charming matching buffet and china cabinet and I use the buffet in the living room to house the electronic stuff for the t.v. and also extra dishes, etc. that don't fit well in the kitchen/dining area.  The china cabinet is pretty and functional and all of my dishes are housed there.  (See my post about scaling down http://homemakers-journal.blogspot.com/2011/04/i-really-like-this-blog.html)  The only other table in the living room is a side table that has a glass top.  (Not a fan of glass tops, especially around children, but if you have to have tables, glass tops are better for small spaces).

Pages from my Idea Book

I have an Idea Book for Recipes and one for decorating and gardening.  Idea Books are a great way to keep track of what you like so that when you're ready to decorate (inside and out) you can just have at it and know that you'll probably love it.  Time to time, I will weed the Decorating Idea Book of ideas I'm no longer interested in, but I'll usually keep the pics that inspired something I have done.
(Some of the tips are inspired from the following source:  Sep/Oct '96 Country Woman, p. 45)

Living Small
Homemaking Journals
Grateful Living Series: Dress Up M. H. Windows
Grateful Living: Repurposed Trunk
Grateful Living: Repurposed Armoire
Grateful Living: Class Up the Mobile Home Fireplace
Grateful Living: Front Porches
Grateful Living: The !#*! M.H. Walls
Grateful Living: M.H. Spa Retreat

What do Homemakers Really Do?

Florida House, Home School

What Did You Do Today  One afternoon a man came home from work to find total mayhem in his house.  His three children were outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard.  The door of his wife’s car was open, as was the front door to the house.

Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess.  A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall.  In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing.  In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.

He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife.  He was worried she may be ill, or that something serious had happened.  He found her lounging in the bedroom, still curled in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel.  She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went. 

He looked at her bewildered, and asked, “What happened here today?” 

She again smiled and answered, “You know every day when you come home from work and ask me what in the world I did today?” 

“Yes was his incredulous reply."  She answered, "Well, today I didn't do it."   http://www.christysclipart.com/inspirational_stories.htm#What%20Did%20You%20Do

Yes, homemakers are rarely appreciated for all we do.  Just try leaving the little tykes at home to themselves for 15 minutes and see what they can get into!   One time, I had to run an errand that literally only took fifteen minutes.  As I returned and entered the kitchen door, there was three-year-old Bryce helping five-year-old Elise with a “cooking project” complete with very sharp knives!  Even with a houseful of teenagers and adults, I rarely leave my home to these rascals (spouse included) for fear of what I might return to. 

Frankly, if the “working class” were as efficient at their jobs as I am at my homemaking career, most folk’s work day would be done in a few hours!  (P.S. Just heard Dave Ramsey quote Lee Iacocca who basically said the exact same thing!!!!)  Doctrine and Covenants 88:119 instructed that Saints in Kirtland establish “a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.”  These instructions pertained to the Lord’s temple, but the Bible Dictionary in the LDS edition of the scriptures points out that “only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness.”

Homemakers do much more than keep the household organized. “‘It is in the home that true gospel principles are learned and taught.’  …Children must be taught to recognize and seek spiritual enlightenment.  Parents must be consistent and persistent teaching, both by example and in formal instruction.  That way, the Spirit of the Lord will be able to bear witness of the truths parents teach, and it will touch the hearts of children who might be temporarily resistant.”  (“News of the Church,” Ensign, Mar. 1986, 83)

Teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in the home adds another layer of insulation to protect our children from worldly influences.  ("Mothers Teaching Children in the Home," Elder L. Tom Perry, Ensign 5/10)

Barbara B. Smith, past general Relief Society president, explained that God clearly placed importance “on the work he has given to women to bear and rear children.  He has not ranked the role of provider ahead of the role of bearing and nurturing, but has wisely divided these highest, most essential duties equally between men and women.  There may be exceptions but the pattern is clear:  an ideal home has both a mother-homemaker and a father-provider.” (Barbara B. Smith, “Makers of Homes,” Ensign, Mar. 1979, 24), (See also, The Family:  Proclamation to the World).

While circumstances do vary and the ideal isn't always possible, I believe it is by divine design that the role of motherhood emphasizes the nurturing and teaching of the next generation.  ~Elder L. Tom Perry

My Glamorous New Career

I used to be so tall!

What "homemaker" hasn't been in the position of trying to decide what to put down next to occupation on official forms?  I think I found this hilarious story on christysclipart.com a long time ago.  I've kept it as a reminder of who I am.  Most recently, I've tried to decide what to put down under employer on the information portion of Facebook.  Now I can't wait to describe just what I do.  
Anyone have suggestions for who to put down as the "employer."  Can anyone think of a savvy way to say Heavenly Father?  I like Laura Schlessinger's description of herself as "My Kid's Mom," first and foremost.  Whether we work outside the home or not, being our kid's parent and spouse's wife or husband should always be our number one occupation--not to mention, "a child of God."
I'm Just a Mother?
A few months ago, when I was picking up the children at school, another mother I knew well rushed up to me.  Emily was fuming with indignation.  "Do you know what you and I are?" she demanded.  Before I could answer - and I didn't really have one handy - she blurted out the reason for her question.
It seemed she had just returned from renewing her driver's license at the County Clerk's office.  Asked by the woman recorder to state her "occupation," Emily had hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.  "What I mean is," explained the recorder, "Do you have a job, or are you just a .....?"
"Of course I have a job," snapped Emily.  "I'm a mother."
"We don't list 'mother' as an occupation...'housewife' covers it," said the recorder emphatically.
I forgot all about her story until one day I found myself in the same situation, this time at our own Town Hall.  The Clerk was obviously a career woman, poised, efficient, and possessed of a high-sounding title, like "Official Interrogator" or "Town Registrar."
"And what is your occupation?" she probed. What made me say it, I do not know.  The words simply popped out.  "I'm...a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations."
The clerk paused, ball-point pen frozen in mid-air, and looked up as though she had not heard right.  I repeated the title slowly, emphasizing the most significant words.  Then I stared with wonder as my pompous pronouncement was written in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.
"Might I ask," said the clerk with new interest, "just what you do in your field?"
Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my voice, I heard myself reply, "I have a continuing program of research (what mother doesn't) in the laboratory and in the field (normally I would have said indoors and out).
I'm working for my Masters (the whole darned family) and already have four credits (all daughters).  Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities (any mother care to disagree?) and I often work 14 hours a day (24 is more like it).  But the job is more challenging than most run-of-the-mill careers and the rewards are in satisfaction rather than just money.
There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's voice as she completed the form, stood up, and personally ushered me to the door.
As I drove into our driveway buoyed up by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants--age 13, 7, and 3.  And upstairs, I could hear our new experimental model (six months) in the child-development program, testing out a new vocal pattern.
I felt triumphant.  I had scored a beat on bureaucracy.  And I had gone down on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable to mankind than "just another..."  Home...what a glorious career.  Especially when there's a title on the door.  

Learning Homemaking Skills

Sister Barbara Winder, General Relief Society President in 1986 said:  “It is important for all of us to learn homemaking skills; whether she is married or single, every woman is a homemaker.

"I know a single woman, a widow, who prepares meals on Saturday to last her through the week because she must work long hours each day. At mealtimes, she always has a tablecloth or a place mat, a napkin, and a flower in a bud vase. Her home is artistically decorated and full of wonderful books and beautiful music.

"There is an art to being a homemaker. For ourselves and for our families, it is important that we have a sanctuary—a place of refuge away from the world where we feel comfortable and where, if others come, they, too, can feel comfortable.

"In Proverbs 31:10–31 [Prov. 31:10–31], we read, 'Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.' In those verses we are told that a virtuous woman weaves fabric, sells linen—her hands are not idle: 'She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.' (Prov. 31:27.) I think that is one of the keys. We should not be idle. We should be constantly using our gifts and talents to build up our families, the kingdom of God, and the community about us.”  (Barbara W. Winder, Ensign, March 1986, p. 20)

Being a homemaker requires developing organizational skills first and foremost.  We are required to set priorities for those homemaking skills we need to develop.  I remember the first time I went to the grocery store as a newly married young woman.  I had $25 for the week's groceries (1988).  I had no list, no menu, no clue what grocery items cost, nor did I have anything at home in the cupboards.  After about 30 minutes, I walked out of the store crying in frustration.  The first thing I needed to learn was how to stock my pantry and prepare meals on a very strict budget—this was a priority. 

Other homemaking skills included washing clothes properly.  I remember receiving so many towel sets as wedding gifts that I need not replace my towels for a good ten years!  However, right off the bat, my towels started showing signs of mildew.  This had to be addressed immediately.  I also learned that I couldn’t spend all day cleaning out a closet.  I had to learn to place a time-limit on tasks—maybe break a large task into smaller ones.

Gooseberry Patch Xmas Bk. 5, p. 99

I had received a couple of recipe books as wedding gifts and began to read them.  I found a list of essential pantry items and budgeted each week to buy these.  I asked more experienced homemakers about the mildew and learned to wash towels with vinegar.  Also, I learned to make sure no wet items were placed in the hamper!  I read articles and books on organizing closets and cabinets and donated many boxes of unnecessary items so that my cleaning didn’t take all day.

My favorite section of the library became home improvement, decorating, cooking, and cleaning.  (I look forward to Gooseberry Patch Christmas Books each year for more homemaking inspiration!)  Educating myself in my spare time was job #1.  Once essentials of homemaking were taken care of, then I was able to concentrate on more advanced skills such as cooking in large batches or giving a dinner party, as well as purchasing furniture, painting, and decorating a room.

Throughout the more than two decades of marriage, I have relied heavily on the homemaking training I have received from issues of the Ensign (old and new).  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ website lds.org, has a Gospel Library where you will find church magazines.  There you can choose the Ensign (also called the Liahona) and look up topics found in past issues by using the search engine.  I have used this for the last ten years since the Church first made past issues available in this way.  I am always recommending this site to other sisters at church who have concerns over marriage issues or questions about raising children, cooking, organizing, cleaning—you name it, it’s there!


Did You Know...
Some of the skills required for a homemaking career include:
1.  Managing time, energy, and resources (including money)
2.  Communicating effectively
3.  Housekeeping
4.  Cooking skills and nutrition
5.  Sewing, mending, and handicrafts
6.  Making wise decisions
7.  Keeping abreast of the times
8.  Applying first aid and sound health principles
9.  Making a home a place of beauty
10. Providing an atmosphere of learning, cultural refinement, recreation, service, and spirituality
11. Mothering, child care and guidance and
12. Becoming a responsive, supportive, and loving companion and wife. (I believe I got this a long time ago from one of my favorite websites www.christysclipart.com --you can also find Christy's Clipart on Facebook).


Hopefully this Homemaker's Journal will incorporate all of these.

For more on the subject: Resurgence of Homemaking in the Church