Friday, June 28, 2013

XXI Century Housekeeping Trends

Housekeeping, just like everything else is influenced by the current fashions. There are some interesting trends in modern housekeeping which I'd like to write about.

Little House On The Prairie trend is all about living a simple, pioneer style life. Those who are trying to follow it will often tell you that cities are full of sin and iniquity and that living in the country is much better. If they can't right away move to some remote farm, they will try to recreate the farm life as far as possible, growing their own food, raising chickens etc.

The Back To Nature trend is close to the one mentioned above, with one difference: while the Little House On The Prairie lifestyle appeals more to conservative/ fundamentalist Christians, the Back To Nature style is more for the environmentally minded people (who may or may not be Christians). For the rest, they are chiefly interested in the same thing: local produce, thrift, making your own things, which will sometimes include such exotic hobbies as spinning and weaving.

Vintage/Victorian trend is similar in some ways to the two others, but there is more accent on refinement and old-fashioned values and often clothes. Women who follow it will often wear vintage styles, organise Victorian tea parties and study calligraphy in order to write letters. In their free time instead of spinning they will practice playing the piano.

Efficient Housewife style is for women who want to run their household as a little factory. Their day is usually planned till the last minute, and if you want to visit them, you must make an appointment a month before. The floor is so clean you can eat from it, and everything is always in its place. Children aren't allowed to bring their schoolfriends home, because they will make a mess.

Bohemian trend is in total opposition to the efficient one, as there is usually a creative mess everywhere in the house. The husband has to search for clean shirts, and the meals are never on time, but the wife is always busy with something creative, like working on the latest dress or her home business (which in that case seldom brings any profit, but just gives her "something to do").

Then there is posh housekeeping where the family are wealthy enough to hire help and where there are standards to keep. Think along the lines of "Keeping Up Appearances", and you will get a general idea of what it means. On the other hand, we have tightwad or extreme thrift trend which some people practise because they really have no spare money, and others do it because they are a modern version of Scrooge.

Well, I hope it was helpful. If you know any other trends which modern housewives follow, feel free to mention them in the comments section. In case someone didn't notice, all of the above was written tongue-in-cheek.

6 comments:

  1. Ha! I'm always mentally aiming for "Efficient Housewife" but ending up "Bohemian trend."

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  2. i think it is good to embrace the coveniences of the current times and live as well as you can. It is easy to romanticise the pioneer past but our pioneer parents, at least in my case, set out to improve their lives. They brought up buckets of water from the lake to do the wash, but they were always eager to embrace an easier way. One reason the Victorians were so inventive and made so many automated things was to cut down on the amount of labour and servants it took to run a household.

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  3. That is true, Lillibeth, and don't I know it !

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    1. I must admit that through the years I have more or less tried all of these trends, so I'm speaking from experience:) I, too, usually aim for efficient housewife (with posh elements!), but after several days of cleaning like mad will get a crash and live as bohemian for the next two weeks:)

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  4. Hah! This post gave me a good chuckle! No matter what trend a woman falls under, I have discovered that housekeeping is dog gone hard work AND a challenge to do well. I have many "oh, fudge" days, where I lament my unmet expectations for getting stuff done and done with grace and style. But I think I am learning to be easier on myself and just enjoy the process. Housekeeping is certainly not for the faint of heart!! Maybe that's why so many women where eager to run to an outside jobs thinking the grass was greener!

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    1. Exactly! So much to do, so little time...

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