Jennifer McKnight-Trontz - This Modern House : Vintage Advice and Practical Science for Happy Home Management

If you came of age after the 1980s, you likely did not have home economics class in school. By then, the subject had lost public support, as well as educational funding; educators and policymakers wanted to emphasize marketable job skills, and home economicskeeping a family fed, clothed, housed, healthy, and happy on a budgetwas largely unpaid and unappreciated work (mostly because of the assumption that it naturally fell to women). But people didnt stop having to manage households just because they werent learning how to anymore. And maybe if we had all been given home economics trainingwhich was not just sewing and cooking but also design, agriculture, and even some aspects of nursingwe would have an easier time with these necessary tasks.

The purpose of home economics class was not simply to pass on these skills, but to improve upon the tasks of homemaking: to make cleaning less backbreaking and more efficient, child-rearing less confusing, and dinners more nutritious and economical. Prior to indoor plumbing, modern appliances, and effective birth control, homemaking was grueling work.

Its not surprising that from the beginning, home ec courses and texts were aimed almost entirely at women, largely because thats who we collectively decided was to do this work. But decades before second-wave feminism, some of these educators did recognize that a well-run home was indeed a team effort. The Boy and His Daily Living, published in 1935, included chapters on clothing, nutrition, budgeting, and maintaining the home.

In the early 1900s, home economics was even promoted as a way to counter the breakdown in society, an enduring complaint through various times and perceived causes. There could be no better case for home management as a universal pursuit, not restricted to a particular gender or a particular era. Dont we all want the home to be a sanctuary from what has always been, to some degree, a threatening outside world?

These days, we have more time-saving devices than ever, but even less time. Fortunately, its not too late to learn the principles of home management. This Modern House collects real lessons from texts as varied as 1919s Getting the Greatest Food Value out of Your Garden, the 1938 government pamphlet Infant Care, and 1951s Homemaking for Teenagers, highlighting material that is as relevant today as it was in times long past. The tips are directly from early- and mid-twentieth-century textbooks, though there have been some minor edits; in particular I have made adjustments to the canning section, as methods have indeed changed since the 1930s. I have also altered texts that assume homemakers are women, as today that role is held by whoever is at home.

Overall, these vintage texts offer more substance than styleprecisely why most are still relevant. The lessons waste no time, make no pretenses, and dont call for hard-to-find ingredients. The pioneers of home economics were not brands or celebritiesthey were educators, scientists, and social workers trying to help homemakers and families flourish. This book is not necessarily a call for a return to the past, but a reminder that the fundamental goals and desires of home life have not changed.

The laboratory for the home-making studies.

The true economy of housekeeping is simply the art of gathering up all the fragments so that nothing is lost. This applies to fragments of both materials and time. (After all, time is money.) Nothing should be thrown away so long as it is possible to make any use of it, however trifling that use may be. And whatever be the size of the family, every member should be employed either in earning or saving money. The care of the home and the management of all household duties are in the homemakers hands. A house becomes a home when it is made a happy, healthful, restful, and attractive place in which to live. Isnt that what we all wish for?

Home economics teaches how to manage a house in such a way that money and income are wisely spent. It means learning to do the household work systematically and well. It means learning to entertain ones friends in a simple yet hospitable way, and to make home the happiest kind of place. Because, after all, the home is really the center of things.

Housekeeping of today takes its place among the professions. The modern homemaker plans, directs, and guides the work of the home. You must grasp the responsibilities of your position, putting forth all your energy and ability in directing the home life as a business. Housekeeping is becoming more and more a matter of science, and the laurels are bound to fall to the person who conducts the household in a business-like way.

Good home management includes the selection and care of all materials used in the home and the keeping of accurate household accounts. If one is ignorant of the right kind of food to eat, of the proper clothing to wear, of the best kind of sanitary conditions of ones house, of the laws of health, of simple pleasures and the ways of right living, how can one spend wisely the necessary money for these things in order to make the home a happy, healthful place? One of the most important features of good home management is a system. Another is a budget.

SETTING UP A SYSTEM, OR ROUTINE. A good habit to form is regularity of living. Do you not feel better when you get up at the right time, start work promptly, and do your other duties on time? People like structure, and having a system helps. With a system, each day and week has its special duties to be performed, and each member of the household knows what he or she is responsible for. Here is a sample routine for a productive week of housework: