Resources for Learning Homemaking Skills

Good homemaking skills are becoming rare in our society and have all but died out in the youngest generation of wives and mothers. There are a number of causes of this, ranging from lack of time or interest when it came to learning these skills and fear of appearing too "old-fashioned", to the baby boom and second-wave feminist generation rejecting these skills and ideals. Whatever the reason for the lack, these skills are valuable and can help families during hard financial times. Unfortunately, even those who would like to learn these skills lack the resources needed. Homemaking is largely a self-taught subject, and it can be difficult to know where to begin.

Here are some great sources for learning some of the most important topics for homemakers today.

Cooking

Food Network
It's not all fancy restaurant meals on the food network shows. They can be a great resource for new cooks. I think that Rachael Ray and Paula Dean in particular are great teachers for new cooks. Rachael Ray very often shows the basics of putting together sauces and soups without a lot of fuss, and Paula Dean has very approachable down to earth recipes. One word of caution though, Ray's 30 Minute Meals can be a bit complicated and take much longer than thirty minutes sometimes. Check recipe lists first.

The Betty Crocker Cookbook

Any edition of this cookbook is great. I own the bridal edition, which is a treat because it has lots of info on entertaining and such, but the recipes will generally be the same from one to the next. This is the place to go for go-to recipes for baking (cakes, cookies, pie crust, etc.), and is well-produced and easy to use.

Manuals

If you have a bread maker, a rice cooker, a mixer, etc, the best place to find recipes and info regarding these products are the manuals. They can be invaluable tools for a homemaker, bread makers especially, so knowing how to use them, and using them often is the best way to make owning them worthwhile.

Food Preservation

Canning

The Ball Blue Book is the best source for canning recipes and information. It's all been tested and checked for safety, and if the current edition is in use, it's a name and source I know I can trust. The local county extension is also a good resource for learning home canning. Check out my article on getting started with canning here.

Food Dehydrating

The you tube videos by dehydrate2store are excellent sources explaining how to dehydrate a large variety of food and how to re-hydrate them and actually prepare and serve them.

Organizational Skills

Cleaning
Flylady

Flylady is a popular and effective presence online with tons of great tips and strategies for home cleaning and maintenance. In my opinion, her best pieces of advice are to use a timer set for fifteen minutes to help tackle chores that are unsavory and to declutter. Knowing that there's a stopping point in sight makes it easy to begin, and usually chores take less time than that anyway. Decluttering is great, because the less you own, the less you have to organize and clean.

Heloise

Any of the old Heloise books have lots of really fun tips and will teach the new homemaker how to clean lots of different things.

Meal Planning

Most homemakers find that learning to plan meals and stick with the plan makes a very big difference in their homes and how they approach their shopping and chores. Here is my article on how to meal plan. Another fun resource to see lots of other people's meal plans is Organizing Junkie's Meal Plan Mondays.

Inspiration

It can be difficult for a homemaker to stay inspired, knowing that what she does is often seen as outdated by those around her. Women's magazines often only offer shortcuts and consumerism, which really lead to discontent spirits and unhappy homemakers. I find that the best inspiration often comes from the past. And my favorite homemaking inspiration comes from the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I read them as a girl, but find that I learn so much more, and gain a lot of enthusiasm when I re-read them now as an adult. I see that the character of Ma Ingalls represents the kind of homemaking that I find to be ideal, and I'm glad to be refreshed in my goals when I read them.

Learning New Skills

Blogs

When I get discouraged at the lack of real and relevant advice in popular media for homemakers who want to do things the old-fashioned (and more effective) way, I remind myself that there are tons of great homemaking blogs on the internet. My own blog, www.beppycat.blogspot.com might not be classified as one of the great ones, but it's a good place to start, since I link to quite a few there. Also, Pioneerwoman.com is perfect for learning lots of basic cooking and recipes. Not to mention, she's lots of fun! I also enjoy www.moneysavingmom.com for the great frugal tips. She also has lots of links to other homemaking and frugal sites.

One of the main benefits of the internet to the new homemaker is as a tool to combat the isolation we sometimes feel. It can be difficult because I have no community of other homemakers in my day to day life, but the internet provides that community, and gives me a sense of belonging and purpose.

Even though homemakers now have to learn important skills by trial and error or from outside resources, rather than from their mothers and grandmothers, it is still possible to achieve that goal and learn the skills needed to keep a lovely house and healthy family, as well as improve in ability and character.