Kate Singh - Make it, Bake it, Sew it, or Grow it.: The craft of homemaking with no money

Make It, Bake It, Sew It, or Grow It

The Craft of Homemaking with No Money

By Kate Singh

Coffee with Kate on YouTube

www.katesinghsite.com

Cover Design by James at www.goonwrite.com

Edited by Perla Thornwood

Copyright 2019 by Kate Singh
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof
may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoeve r without the express written permission of the publishe r except for the use of brief quotations in a book review .

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 A Day in the Life of a Homemaker

Chapter 2 Cleaning

Chapter 3 Grocery Shopping, Stocking the Pantry, Cooking

Chapter 4 Budgeting

Chapter 5 Kitchen Gardens

Chapter 6 Depression Era Living

Chapter 1

A Day in the Life of a Homemaker

Homemaking is a big job. It requires plenty of skills, and as children, pets, maybe a garden, perhaps budget cuts, or the purchase of a fixer upper are added, that set of required skills grows.

Being a housewife can be very easy and fun in some circumstances. It can also be hard work from dawn to dusk (usually beyond) in other circumstances. Everyone has a different situation. The wife without children living in a small apartment. The wife with five children living on a small farm with hens and goats. Their days will be very different from each other. Their experiences in managing a home will not be the same. Then there is how a homemaker chooses to manage her kitchen, home, and money. Is she (or he) old-fashioned and doing things like her grandmother? Or is she very modern and a Trader Joe's fan?

There are many ways to do the housewife life and I love to vacillate between them all. This way I rarely get bored or burned out. And that is a real thing. Housewife burnout! It is the mundanity of chores that are repeated every single day with no end in sight. The children and partner that pull on your attention with their needs and wants constantly. The never ending to-do lists.

There are times that I hit the wall and all the coffee and perky music shall not motivate me up from my recliner even as I look about at the mess and cringe. I have come very close to hiring a cleaning lady for a day now and then. I actually had one for a brief and glorious time (twice, I only had her twice and then she disappeared). But that was a time with more money in my purse. At this time, there have been budget cuts at my husbands job and a maid is not part of our needs no matter how I feel.

The big game, for me, has been finding ways to make house cleaning easy and fun while being challenged with a small budget, how to create a cozy and charming home, feed the family organics, and make that small paycheck stretch for 30 days.

I would love to have you come to my home and spend a few days with me. That won't happen in reality. However, I can paint for you a picture of my daily life and what I do with our money, how I clean my home, and tend to all the lives in my home, both human and furry.

You can take what you like and leave the rest. I have to admit that I have recently been reading We Had Everything But Money about the Depression Era and I've been greatly influenced while writing this book. I will discuss a few ways to run the home. One is the normal or average way, I suppose, and then there is the extreme budget way. I'm also fascinated with the 1950s housewife, but go back a bit earlier in time during war times to study the grandmothers and great-grandmothers for advice on how to save money and run my home. A few blogs and vlogs to inspire and enjoy:

Great Depression Cooking With Clara on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/user/DepressionCooking)

gDonnas Generation Before Us (http://gdonna.com/)

Down To Earth (https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/)

These are from three women who know how to keep a home and on a small budget. Rhonda Hetzel makes her own cleaners and soaps, does all her own baking, sewing and more. Grandma Donna loves the older periods of homemaking and shares her memories and research. Clara shares recipes and stories from the Depression Era with her family. I have learned from all of these women and many more.

It used to be that all women stayed home and would gather and help one another with baking, canning, and sewing. They would share advice and swap recipes. In this modern time you may be the only housewife on your street...or even the town. We have to search out our fellow sisters online and get support.

We are a family of four living on one income as well as small royalties that I make from my writings and work. We have had times where the breadwinner was out of work and times when his work earnings have been a little above minimum wage. We are low-income according to the governments standards. We have even been right on the poverty line, but I assure you that we live like the middle class and it is because we have chosen wisely with buying a cheap house and fixing it up ourselves, staying out of debt, and living way below our means. It isn't always easy and yes, I do get tired of being frugal. However, I remember being in debt and living way above my paycheck and I remember that stress, those sleepless nights, and heart palpitations as I shifted funds in my mind at three in the morning. I'm hoping to show you how we live to inspire and support you in living well on less.

Right now I'm learning to live with no extra money. So, when I say homemaking with no money, I mean that mortgage and bills are paid, but there is no extra money and the grocery budget is small. Any extra is to rebuild a depleted savings for the future. Having money saved and a stocked pantry makes me feel abundant and somewhat prepared for lean times and we do other things such as gardening to supplement the grocery budget.

Brew up some coffee and come along. I hope that you are well-inspired by the end of this small novella.

My Schedule

My days vary, of course, but not by much. I really live at home because that is the most affordable thing to do. I have found ways to create a home and yard that keeps me busy and entertained. My chores all depend on the season. During the school year it is a bit different from summer or holidays. For example, in the summer I have a big garden to tend to. During the holidays, I have decorating and baking of Christmas cookies, large meals for holiday dinners to cook, or a birthday to prepare for.

A typical day with my eldest in school and the husband at work would start early, around six in the morning. I love getting up early when it's still dark because I no longer have to commute or work outside the home. There is no rushing, no dreadful commute, no fluorescent office and desk awaiting me. I sometimes get up right after my husband leaves for work (that would be five in the morning) and light a candle, start brewing my coffee in my stovetop percolator, and turn on some Abraham Hicks on YouTube to hear a seminar on Law of Attraction. I'll sit with my coffee and listen while crocheting or working in an adult coloring book. Yes, it sounds silly but it sets up my day in a very calm and yummy way. To me, it is like meditating without the pillow and incense.

When seven oclock arrives, I wake my boys and lay out their clothes. There is teeth brushing and dressing in front of the Presto HeatDish and I make a simple breakfast if they like. My sons usually don't care to eat so early. For Arjan's lunch and snacks I'll pack him fruit and granola bars. I make homemade paninis on my George Foreman grill with homemade bread, cheese and turkey. Arjan loves these and he is more than well-fed throughout the day. The school offers breakfast and lunch but it's reheated fast food from far off and he is used to my scratch cooking.

I may take a shower or just wash my face and brush my teeth and dress in my stretch pants, a long shirt and warm sweater. Sammy gets dressed in his play clothes since he will enjoy a long day with mom.