"A Ph.D. in Homemaking"

[FundiesInMyFamily]

I taught myself how to drive because no one else would (took boyfriend's car while he was at work). Being the single parent of a disabled boy I recently taught myself how to shave a young man and wax/groom a heinous unibrow.

I learned how to look Drs and other big ego'd medical professionals in the eye and make them speak to me like a person and listen to my concerns and ideas. I learned how to be assertive!

I learned how to be independent and not be afraid - how to throw my son in the car and drive 1200 miles to Michigan to visit family because I wanted to. I walked around London and used the tube completely on my own because my boyfriend was being an ass and I didn't want to waste the time I had there.

I can also cook, clean, do laundry, change diapers, administer medication, catheterize, bathe my son, take care of my dog, coordinate and organize many dr. and medical appointments, organize my life, do my own taxes, shop with coupons, get designer stuff really cheap (a hobby), roll a joint, and make awesome peanut butter cookies. :mrgreen:

[holierthanyou]

In fairness to the "PhD in Homemaking" Fundy side of things, one skill that I still maintain, which I absolutely would not ever have possessed were it not taught to me through sotdrt, is the Godly and womanly art of folding cloth napkins into various shapes.

Fleur de lis, water lily, sparrow, crown, candlestick.... you name it, I can make it.

Take that, you heathen fundy wannabe!

[The Archivist]

Things I learned while being a dirty heathen - some of it with no help from my parents, even:

-How to cook (pretty damn well, thank you)

-How to clean a house

-How to do laundry

-How to live on very little money

-How to care for babies and young children (including cloth diapering)

-Lots of other things like writing, critical thinking, exposure to wonderful literature and art, and

-How to have pretty awesome sex (without getting pregnant)

[snapasaurus_rex]

-How to get wax out of clothes (helpful when the Christmas Eve candles drip on your fancy dress).

Oh... O Latin, do enlighten me on this point, as this is something my mother foolishly glossed over when she provided my helpmeet training ;) and I recently had an incident while I while taming some rather, um, unruly eyebrows ... er, I mean working on my countenance!! :lol: :dance:

[valsa]

I will admit that I know nothing about reparing/hemming/whatever clothes, though I do know how to sew. One of the most awesome things about living "on the outside"? That I know how to Goggle "how to repair/hem/whatever clothes".

Fundies may drill certain skills into their daughters, but they suppress their ability to learn. I don't need to know everything about the domestic arts, because I have the capability to quickly learn them if I should need to. What is a fundie daughter, whose ability to learn has been crushed since childhood, going to do if she's one day left a widow with 5 small children? She has neither the skills she needs to support a family, nor does she have the ability to learn them.

[samurai_sarah]

PS...the joke in our house is that PhD means Piled Higher and deeper

As in, this? http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php :)

Hmm, let's see what the ebil world has taught me.

- Cooking and baking everything from scratch

- Buying fresh produce on a limited budget, and knowing what's in season.

- Doing DIY around the house/ancient car

- Building fires from wood/charcoal/coal

- Using said fires in an oven to cook/bake from scratch

- Doing laundry, if needs be with an old-fashioned board and press.

- Gardening and how to care for chickens/turkeys and geese.

- Pruning trees

- Basic sewing

- Caring for basic illnesses

- Finding my way around, either with or without a map

- Finding my way around foreign countries without offending everyone/making an arse of myself (I'm looking at you, JimBoob!)

Basically, it seems to me that pretty much everyone here has, or quickly could get a "PhD in homemaking", in spite of the oh-so-ebil world. Or because of it?

Now, what I do want to know is how to get wax out of clothes. :pray:

[Wolfie]

Thanks to my usually very mechanically inclined headship, I just learned a new homemaking skill: how to get motor oil out of said headship's hair. Someone had a bit of a mishap changing the oil in the truck. I am so blessed to have these skill enhancing moments :D

FWIW: cornstarch and Dr. bronners liquid soap worked miracles

After having cats manage to get into motor oil, Dawn dishwashing liquid works well too.

I think that the thing about all their talk about housekeeping, we all learn it, even if we haven't studied it all our lives.

[CanadianHippie]

Lets see...

- How to cook without burning down the house or poisoning anyone

- How to do laundry

- How to knit, sew, and do needle point

- How to clean, including but not limited to vacuuming, sweeping, moping, dusting

- How to budget and stay on the budget

- How to live off of very little money

- How to acquire impressive savings (i.e. $200/night hotel room for $68/night)

- Care for children new born to age 13 (after that they can care for themselves right?)

- How to not skip out on something I have agreed to do but really, really don't feel like doing but I'm not sick, or double booked and the only reason for not doing it is selfishness

- Bake (I do way better with this than I do with cooking, mostly because I'm more sure of my skills)

- Gardening (take that Duggar brood)

- How to break down an enormous task into smaller, less overwhelming tasks (all thanks to my inability to keep my room clean growing up)

- How to write a formal letter

- How to care for minor wounds, including a few home remedies that actually work

- Paint a room

- Lay a floor

- Install a door, including door handle and dead bolt lock

- How to build the room in first place

- Layering, a skill most Canadians and those who live in cold climates learn

- Change a car tire (my parents insisted that my sister and I both learn)

- Change a car battery (my dad was going to change my mom's car battery and I decided to tag along and help just in case I ever needed to do it myself)

- How to jump start a car without blowing anything up (another thing my parents insisted my sister and I know how to do)

- Start a fire, find north without a compass, acquire food and shelter, read a map, and navigate an unfamiliar location without a map

I've probably missed a few. I went to public school and all that, but my parents were always big on trying to tackle things yourself first. So instead of calling someone in to build the room, do a little research, see if it makes sense and give it a shot yourself. It comes from not always having money to call in a plumber/contractor/locksmith/etc. A lot of the above I also learned because either my parents or I decided that it was something worth knowing in case you needed to do it.

[Lillian]

I can cook, bake, wash, sew, clean and budget with the best of the fundies- and write a research essay in 1 day or less!

Pretty much figured all the domestic stuff out myself as a teenager. I fail to see how these mundane chores provide enough education for a lifetime. I'll stick to my books and ebil Liberal uni.

[AnnieC 305]

After having cats manage to get into motor oil, Dawn dishwashing liquid works well too.

I think that the thing about all their talk about housekeeping, we all learn it, even if we haven't studied it all our lives.

For the record getting wax out of cat fur requires hair clippers. Just so you all know. :whistle:

[julie paradox]

Hot dry iron and kitchen towel, folded. The wax melts and soaks upwards. I believe that greaseproof paper used to be recommended, but I could be confusing that with something else so don't rely on it.

I was sceptical, but it worked (candlelight carol services, don't you just love them).

Both garments were dark and fairly heavy though (husband's jeans, son's school uniform trousers). When I looked really closely I could see where it had been (mind you I didn't check after the wash) so I don't know how well it would work on a lighter piece.

eta: no, I wasn't talking about cat fur!

[EmmieJ]

Great lists and mine will echo most of yours:

1. How to get and keep a job. I learned this probably around age 14-15, when I went to my school's job center and found a job house cleaning for an elderly lady. My mom drove me there, then picked me up, once a week. I made mistakes, but did better each week. When I turned 16, I got my first "real" job working at the local TG&Y (pre-Target days). I have been employed ever since. (I know this isn't technically homemaking, but often homemakers do have to get a job outside the home. It's good to know how.)

2. How to shop for groceries on a budget and still make healthy meals.

3. How to grow my own tomatoes, zucchini and strawberries. Next I'll try blueberries and lemons.

4. How to raise chickens for fresh eggs. One of the best things in life, if you ask me.

5. How to balance my checkbook.

6. How to fix a flat tire. (I prefer not to do this. But if stranded on a deserted road, I could do so.)

7. How to potty train with patience.

8. Learned the importance of being flexible once you have a child/children. They are individuals too, and deserve a voice in the household.

9. Learned not to sweat the small stuff. All too soon, my child will be grown and I will probably wish I could do it all over again, and this time not freak out over a broken plate, a late bedtime, or a sassy word here and there. Life is short, childhood is even shorter.

10. Small household repairs, like clearing a clogged sink; replacing window screens; painting; refinishing furniture, etc.

11. Managing my time so that I do a little bit of cleaning every day, while splurging and having someone come in and do heavy cleaning every once in awhile. Yeah, I'm worth it.

[SunnyAndrsn]

My husband just returned from an internship interview--I posted this link to his facebook wall. We'd never seen this site before. Thank you!

As in, this? http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php :)

Hmm, let's s

ee what the ebil world has taught me.

- Cooking and baking everything from scratch

- Buying fresh produce on a limited budget, and knowing what's in season.

- Doing DIY around the house/ancient car

- Building fires from wood/charcoal/coal

- Using said fires in an oven to cook/bake from scratch

- Doing laundry, if needs be with an old-fashioned board and press.

- Gardening and how to care for chickens/turkeys and geese.

- Pruning trees

- Basic sewing

- Caring for basic illnesses

- Finding my way around, either with or without a map

- Finding my way around foreign countries without offending everyone/making an arse of myself (I'm looking at you, JimBoob!)

Basically, it seems to me that pretty much everyone here has, or quickly could get a "PhD in homemaking", in spite of the oh-so-ebil world. Or because of it?

Now, what I do want to know is how to get wax out of clothes. :pray:

[samurai_sarah]

My husband just returned from an internship interview--I posted this link to his facebook wall. We'd never seen this site before. Thank you!

You're welcome. ;)

[zoestercoaster]

I'll admit, they've got me beat when it comes to sewing. I fucking hate sewing. But otherwise, the ~world~ has taught me to:

- bake professionally

- cook huge, massive amounts of HEALTHY food

- Cook once a week - again, HEALTHILY

- Do basic mending/ sewing projects

- Clean stuff naturally

- Debate a point logically and concisely

- Write an academic paper with real, fact-checked and reputable research

- Organize (but I hate doing it, I admit)

- Handle most people I come across with a smile and an open heart

- Emergency/Wilderness first aid.

- Deal with kids, even though I may not have my own

- Balance a near full-time job, full-time school, and still manage to work out and schedule time for myself

- Curse like a sailor. Fundies may consider this a negative, but I consider it an asset! ;)

[Ms A E]

Things I learned during my fundy-medium childhood:

* How to be quiet and invisible.

* How to care for infants and young children with little to no help from adults.

* How to do laundry.

* How to say the "Christian" thing.

* How to embroider.

* How to pray the sinner's prayer.

Things I learned when I escaped to the real world:

* How to move to and navigate a strange city.

* How to rotate chores and keep a house clean.

* How to decorate your space to be attractive and welcoming, without spending too much money.

* How to be safe.

* How to grocery shop and cook for myself.

* How to throw a party and be a good hostess.

* How to have friends.

* How to make and stay on a budget (still working on this one!)

* How to pay bills.

* How to pay taxes.

* How to parallel park.

* How to catch mice.

* How to advocate for appropriate health care.

* How to make adult decisions.

* How to make cocktails!

* How to register and maintain my vehicle.

* How to pay parking tickets (or not).

* How to have fun.

* How to build a life worth living.

It's not a complete list, but I think the 'world' has definitely been a better teacher!

[So Many Lies]

Look at all these great things people can do...and very few of them require constant stewardship.

Do they really believe people in the world can't do this helpmeet stuff?

I'm probably not as patient as a SAHD but then I wasn't brought up with constant drudgery.