# I am Housewife



## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

This article is awesome- or at least IMHO-
I love this
http://www.granny-miller.com/survivalist-prepper-or-housewife/



> So the next time you see a picture of my pantry, or read how I spin yarn or plant onions â remember Iâm doing what every traditional household economy has always done and it is not exceptional. Fact is a household that doesnât provide for its own needs is the historical exception.
> I work for myself and provide for my own household. I literally make a living by the sweat of my brow and by my own labor. You can do it too.
> Iâm not a survivalist or a prepper.
> Iâm a traditional housewife.


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## unregistered65598 (Oct 4, 2010)

Becka can't find the like button on my tablet, but that's OK because I love this!


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## roadless (Sep 9, 2006)

Great article. 
Thanks.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

Merks said:


> Becka can't find the like button on my tablet, but that's OK because I love this!



If using the app on your tablet. Touch the post you want to like, and then look at the top of the screen. Like should be there, and you can touch it and it will LIKE for you.


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## unregistered65598 (Oct 4, 2010)

Loll look I did it thanks


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

TN Hermit posted this on FB- So I can not take credit for finding it- but I think the article is amazing! it made so much sense when reading it- 
I thought everyone thinks I am some Zombie Apocalypse freak- I AM NOT! I am learning skills that I think are important- that are a lost art- that will keep me alive
simple at first- Hot water bathing salsa- then pressure canning chicken!
Hemming pants- then quilting and crocheting!

I am doing the norm of 100 yrs ago-

stock from a turkey- 
fermented pickles on the counter 
celery in the garden

wearing an apron at 8 pm with a headlamp on to hang laundry cause I know it won't rain the following day...

this is me


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

Becka - I've had to explain to many that survival is pretty much just being able to live as our grandparents or great grandparents did. Serves us well when a tornado knocks out power for 6 days. Or a flood makes the roads impassible, or an ice storm closes the outskirts of a town down for maybe two weeks.

The hard core tv style survival will be okay, if we are practiced for the above.

And besides that. In most cases it helps us have to spend less for all the convenience stuff.


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

Life is good-
I have stock cooking down- 
a son with a sleep over
and laundry on the line-
not much more I could ask for!


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## OnlyMe (Oct 10, 2010)

What a perfect article. I have always said, "I am a housewife" - nothing more.... and I wouldn't trade it for anything.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Yup, I saw a comerical this morning,kid takes his Mom to school. The mom is a teacher, dential hygentist ect.. I kept wating for the Mom,that is "just" a Mom, a housewife.
My Dh has to explain all the time what I do when asked he says I work at home. Then he takes home raised cooked lunch , which everyone wants to help him eat. Winter comes,they all buy my handspun lined hats I knit or the shawls I weave for the ladies "up frount" in the offices. Many people get my goods for Christmas gifts thur my hands. The people at his work even share canning recipes with me. And partys, someone always talks with me about fresh eggs or some kind of survival issue. My neighbors ask about a certian weed, and one is selling all his livestock but his favorite sheep is getting gifted to me,he just can't sell her. Yup, this is the life.


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## hurryiml8 (Apr 15, 2009)

Becka, I do these things also and it is money-saving and satisfying. This lifestyle has allowed us to live on one income so I could stay home with my special needs son. I love my life! I have learned so many skills. I am not even the same person I once was. It's a good thing!


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Thanks for the link site and story Becka, I do not read other homesteading sites/blogs very often, so I will check out some of the other links to blogs included here.


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## PrettyPaisley (May 18, 2007)

I read this today, too. I LOVE IT!


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

I've been reading Granny Miller for years, almost since I first got on the internet, love her! She has had a lot of great articles over the years and lots of great links to other articles and blogs as well. She also has great recipes!  A few years back, she had a bad spell with a sick family member and during the confusion did something wrong and lost her entire blog! It was heartbreaking for a lot of us. She gave up for a while, but thankfully she came back!

I would have loved to be able to stay home and be a housewife and mom, but my husband wouldn't hear of it. What a surprise, he only married me for a meal ticket. I had to go back to work when my son was only four weeks old (even before the doctor would release me, almost died in childbirth), and I ended up supporting all three of us the last three years of our marriage! But that's a whole 'nother story. Even though I did everything I could to spend quality time with my son and make sure he got plenty of love, I feel like we missed out on a lot, and he thinks so too, although he understands why I had to work so much. His plan has always been for his wife to stay home, and I fully support him in that.

I've always been very independent and very much for womens' rights, but I never understood all the "libbers" putting down women who choose to stay at home, taking care of their families and homesteads. Wasn't the whole movement about giving women equality and giving them the right to CHOOSE how they wanted to live their lives?? Then just because they didn't choose to become members of the high-pressure business rat race, they suddenly were "less than". It all went wrong somewhere, and instead of giving us equality and freedom it just seemed to pit women against men and against each other. Now the men have been generally emasculated, and the women are either power hungry back stabbers or hoochie mamas, lol, with "more important" things to do than mundane housewifery. Of course, there are exceptions (as this board so thankfully represents!). But overall, I now think the womens' movement was one of the worst things to happen to society, and I'm sorry I was ever in support of it. Sorry if that's too "political" for this forum and I'm not trying to stir anything up, just my own viewpoint.

I agree with what Angie said, it's not so much about hard-core "prepping" but more about living like our ancestors did and being prepared for the everyday events in life that can set you back if you don't plan ahead. It's about using your time and energy to the best advantage to make sure you and your family are well taken care of and can get through the minor and sometimes major upheavals that can happen to all of us due to weather, illness, loss of job, whatever. It's just plain good sense...and love, lots of love.  How could that ever be "less than"??


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## candyknitter (Apr 23, 2009)

You ladies are very lucky to be living in the US or Canada. Homesteading is so ingrained in your culture, and home schooling seems pretty common. To be a housewife there is a proud role to fulfil.
Living in the UK and saying you are a housewife means you get looked at like you have two heads. People think either you have no ambition, or you failed at school and can't get a job. It makes me mad!


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## hurryiml8 (Apr 15, 2009)

candyknitter said:


> You ladies are very lucky to be living in the US or Canada. Homesteading is so ingrained in your culture, and home schooling seems pretty common. To be a housewife there is a proud role to fulfil.
> Living in the UK and saying you are a housewife means you get looked at like you have two heads. People think either you have no ambition, or you failed at school and can't get a job. It makes me mad!


LOL, My own mother says I am wasting my college degree! I don't care what she says. It's my life!


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

Callie- I agree- I think it was the worst thing to ever happen- the working outside the home thing- 
had I found this site 10 yrs ago- I would never have gotten caught up in the I need need need shiny new furniture/jewelry/purses/clothes-:ashamed:~ most of which (minus the furniture)have been sold on ebay/craigslist and to second hand resale stores over the last 7 years!
I would have already be staying home- instead of trying to live below our means and busting my hump to work and pay off debts and homestead at the same time....

ahhhh- oh well- 'suppose the way I am now is cause of the road and walk I have been on thru my life- so when it comes right down to it- I am where I am supposed to be!:thumb:


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

atta women...all of ya !!!!!!


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## Win07_351 (Dec 7, 2008)

Wonderful blog too. Thanks for posting.


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## sdnapier (Aug 13, 2010)

candyknitter said:


> You ladies are very lucky to be living in the US or Canada. Homesteading is so ingrained in your culture, and home schooling seems pretty common. To be a housewife there is a proud role to fulfil.
> Living in the UK and saying you are a housewife means you get looked at like you have two heads. People think either you have no ambition, or you failed at school and can't get a job. It makes me mad!


So very sorry. Hang in there. You are doing the right thing.


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## unregistered358967 (Jul 17, 2013)

Wow. It's so refreshing to be along so many like-minded people. While I do work from home, my family has always 100% come first. I'd never have any other way and I now get to step back and marvel at the two people who I've helped shaped into something wonderful.


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## mamawojo (Aug 10, 2010)

Very timely as I was thinking about this very issue today while splitting and stacking wood. I can't begin to tell you how many times I've heard "I wish I could stay home" or "Must be nice" or "If I didn't have to work I'd have time to do that". As you can tell from the statement above I work my patooty off even if it doesn't bring in a traditional paycheck. I'm also very lucky that my husband sees the value in what I do. A lot of those people making those comments literally would not be able to do all that I do. 

Keep up the good work my fellow Housewives!


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## wally (Oct 9, 2007)

My hat and gratitude if off to the ladies who have made the choice to be a stay at home mom and care for and raise their family. There is no greater calling


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

I work cause I have to - because in my past life I was a spendin hussie- LOL- 
My current life- 
I am a frugal frannie in an apron- working to pay debts- 
BUT- I love being a "housewife" no matter how much I have to go to work!


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## Wendy (May 10, 2002)

I also get the comments, "oh, you don't work, it must be nice." Yeah, the goats milk themselves, the jars canned themselves, the rabbits butcher themselves, etc, etc. I don't even try to explain how much harder I work than they do. I just smile on move on!


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

you know this thought goes right to the core of how for 1000's of year we all lived agrarian lifestyle vs. modern/today industrial revolution/consumerism lifestyle.

the past is how we were designed to live and not how we live now...theres a reason so many are drawn to earth skills...and so many today feel unfulfilled in daily life ..my 2cents.


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

p.s. its hard to wrap our heads around it but i would say that 99.9% of all humans ever been on earth were simple peasant lifestyles.

the automobile has only been around approx 100 years...whoa.theres only been power here where i live since mid 50's.compare that to the last how many 1000's of years we been on earth.we are dumb now as a species we do things for profit yet destroy the very thing we need for life...earth....modern humans greed and stupidity are endless....whoa...sorry becka i am about to pile rocks and ramble...lol


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

I will NEVER knock a woman who loves being a career woman- good for her- that being said
I expect the SAME respect when I say I am working-BECAUSE I want to pay off debts to stay home even though I don't have small children at home...


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## AprilM (Jul 23, 2008)

Granny Miller's site is great and full of lots of info. It is so nice to be amongst other women that see that this agrarian, working at home lifestyle is the norm. People all the time act like I shouldn't work so hard in this day and age - that folks is not normal.


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## Guest (Sep 29, 2014)

As a kid, we quasi-homesteaded. 
As a young adult, i homesteaded and worked. 
As a divorcee and single Mom, I had to work only. 
As an old lady, I am back to trying to homestead in a suburban locale... 

We all do what we can, as we can do it. 

I am happiest when I can invest in my home. 

Although keeping a roof over our heads for 12 years was also very gratifying... I can say I did it myself, with the help of my Mother and sister, from afar. My kids turned out quite well with a good balance of self-sufficiency and societal coping skills. Kinda... LOL!


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## dizzy (Jun 25, 2013)

The sad thing for me is, the only one who ever gets on me because I don't "work", is my husband. He keeps telling me that I'm retired and he wishes he could be. And that he's going to stay home and do what I do and I can go and get a job. He could not do what I do. 

The sad thing is, I've known other women who would like to stay home, but don't think they can because they need that other paycheck. But, if they were to add up what it costs them to work-clothes, makeup, childcare, etc, they are probably making very little a week. Years ago, I figured out how much I could expect to make in a week vs wha tour additional expenses would be if I did. And I figured I'd end up about $40.00/week ahead. To me, it wasn't worth it.


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## ovsfarm (Jan 14, 2003)

And sometimes, things come full circle. I just got a call from a local "agro-tourism" farm, asking me to lead tours for them a few hours a day during the month of October, since I know so much about farming and homemaking and stuff! Makes me feel like a museum artifact! 

However, I have things fairly buttoned down here and could definitely use some extra money. So, if the money is good, I will probably do it!


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## rkintn (Dec 12, 2002)

I would dearly live to be a housewife/sahm again. Going from that to a single mom who must work full time was hard. I am constantly trying to find the balance that will allow me to keep the bills paid, still do the housewifey things and raise my kids. It's tough and I don't always succeed but I keep trying. So for those if you who are "just" housewives, know that there is at least one who wishes she was too


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## Guest (Sep 29, 2014)

dizzy said:


> The sad thing for me is, the only one who ever gets on me because I don't "work", is my husband. He keeps telling me that I'm retired and he wishes he could be. And that he's going to stay home and do what I do and I can go and get a job. He could not do what I do.
> 
> 
> 
> The sad thing is, I've known other women who would like to stay home, but don't think they can because they need that other paycheck. But, if they were to add up what it costs them to work-clothes, makeup, childcare, etc, they are probably making very little a week. Years ago, I figured out how much I could expect to make in a week vs what are additional expenses would be if I did. And I figured I'd end up about $40.00/week ahead. To me, it wasn't worth it.



That is exactly where I found myself... The month I stopped "working" my gasoline bill dropped from $200 a month to about $65 a month! The $10 lunches out on the days I couldn't get home for lunch, saved me another $80 a month. My laundry bill dropped (I wear the same grubby jeans until they start looking dirty) and I now have time to use the clothes line, so add in another few dollars in soap & dryer time. Better dinners followed, and cooking from scratch is much less expensive than things that are even slightly processed - think dry beans vs. a can of beans, even.

While we planned this time for me, I have found that Dear Hubby may not be quite feeling the things his mouth says about me staying home. I believe it was on Day Four that he began bringing home Help Wanted information for menial jobs around town. And, if I hear him say, even one more time, "since you don't do anything, I figured you could..." It is frustrating.


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

That is the problem with my job- I make too much LOL- I wouldn't really save anything by not working- I only work 2.5 miles from home...I pack and make our breakfasts and coffee- 
During the school yr I get DS on the bus and then head to work get here at 840 am and leave at 230 to get him off the bus and work from home until 530...


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

One for all the Housewifes.


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## richardsonway (Sep 24, 2014)

I love to be able to say I'm a stay at home mom/ homeschooler. It gives me pride in my family to know we want to live a more traditional lifestyle. I couldn't do it without my supportive husband though. He is currently working two jobs to provide for our family. We don't look down on other families for the way they choose to live. This is just what works for us.


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## gibbsgirl (May 1, 2013)

candyknitter said:


> You ladies are very lucky to be living in the US or Canada. Homesteading is so ingrained in your culture, and home schooling seems pretty common. To be a housewife there is a proud role to fulfil.
> Living in the UK and saying you are a housewife means you get looked at like you have two heads. People think either you have no ambition, or you failed at school and can't get a job. It makes me mad!


Fear not, it's not that common AT ALL in my experience and I've lived in 3 different states. Love it though and not doing it for other people's approval. Just do what's right for you--ignore the knuckleheads...and when you can't bite you're tongue anymore, flip the table on them and say something cheeky like...."anyway, so let's talk some about what I think you're doing wrong in your life for awhile...I feel like i'm being selfish as the star of our conversation."

keep calm and carry on


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## KentuckyDreamer (Jan 20, 2012)

What a wonderful article...thank you for sharing. This was the first I had heard of Granny Miller. She validated everything I have felt for years.


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