What do you read when...

Subject: What do you read when... Sun Apr 13, 2008 5:16 pm

What do you read when you want to be inspired to be more creative or more diligent and content in your homemaking?

Novels, self help or whatever I would love to hear about them all!

Subject: Re: What do you read when... Mon Apr 14, 2008 8:25 am

Well... Alison's website and this forum are ALWAYS a good start!!!!

I often read old novels with a lot of description of housekeeping to nudge me up to do stuff - Laura Ingalls Wilder's The Long Winter, Alison Uttley's A Country Child, all novels by O.Douglas, D.E.Stevenson's novels... all those kinds of things.

Or I might go through my vintage/ antique housekeeping manuals and give their routines a try (see postings recently), as although I wouldn't do it daily, it does help to have a set of instructions and it helps as a one-off!

One thing - if I really want to keep busy and get things done, I'll wear a skirt that swishes round me as I turn briskly and whisk about the place, and comfortable heels that make a noise so I can hear my busy little footsteps clicking away across the wooden kitchen floor - and a white pinny around my waist, just to make me feel most housekeeper-y!

laura

Subject: Re: What do you read when... Mon Apr 14, 2008 11:50 am

I love the swishy skirt sound and the click of the heels too

I sent the website , the fly lady to a friend of mine and she's loving it...she is so trying to be organized and work a full time job...she said her sister in law is just like the fly lady.

Subject: Re: What do you read when... Mon Apr 14, 2008 11:51 am

Yep - putting on an apron always makes me feel I mean business when it comes to attacking jobs around the house!

Other than this website, I actually treat myself to a few magazines to keep up with new trends, recipes and ideas for the home, mags like Country Homes and Interiors, Ideal Home, Country Living. I love the country mags as they indulge my dream of living in a big old farmhouse in the country with chickens, etc. I grow my own veg, and they often have good gardening articles and other info too. But it's the voyeur in me that loves the photo's of inside other people's homes, and 'how to create the look' ideas. I can but dream!!!!

I am good though - I either tear out recipes etc and re-cycle them, or save them to give to my cousin in France (especially if there are articles about chicken rearing etc, as she really does live the lifestyle!) or keep particularly lovely issues, like Xmas etc, for future reference and ideas.

Subject: Re: What do you read when... Mon Apr 14, 2008 4:37 pm

I found a wonderful floral smock at the thrift store this morning while searchign for jeans! It's perfect - sleeveless, with button up and two pockets. It will be great for cleaning day!

Sasha those are my favorite types of magazines too. Here in the US I subscribe to:

Country Home
Country Living
The English Home
Martha Stewart Living
And a couple of cooking magazines.

I used to get Real Simple, Victoria and Romantic Homes too but I have not been renewing any mags as they just create more clutter. LOL

I'm terrible about not throwing magazines out. I keep them, intending to tear out pages but never get around to it. Ugh!

Subject: Re: What do you read when... Wed Apr 16, 2008 10:47 am

I used to keep all the Delicious mags I subscribed to (cooking, food, recipes etc) but they were getting out of hand, so I HAD to go through them and ruthlessly decide which recipes I would realistically like to cook/eat, tore them out and laminated them in a binder. So now there is one binder, categorised (very OCD, I know!) instead of hundreds of mags weighing down my kitchen shelf. It was a task and a half though! A job for a rainy day maybe?! I also stopped the subscription, and now only buy an issue if I like the look of it.

Because my house isn't huge either, and I don't have much storage space, I have to be ruthless with the home mags as well - sadly! Although there is a little pile emerging inside the foot-stool......