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The First Post - A Few Words on Home Economics


Welcome to my first post!

I've been wanting to start a blog for a while now, but I couldn't narrow down what I wanted to blog about. After much thought and endless list making, I realized that I didn't need to narrow down everything I wanted to write about because it all fits neatly under one umbrella - Home Economics. Now, before all of the feminists get up in arms (I'm one too - don't shoot!), let me explain.


Home Economics Classroom in 1911

At it's root, Home Economics was created to give everyone (not just the ladies) life skills to achieve "optimal and sustainable living for individuals, families and communities". It also offered women living in the late 1800's and early 1900's a path for a career in teaching or researching. To be fair to the objectors of HomEc, there have certainly been conservatives who wanted to turn this genre into the imposition of stereotypical models of sex roles and family life, which is why the women's movement of the 1960's and 70's felt that (rightly so) Home Economics was restricting the advancement of women working side by side with men. And while that certainly was the scope of many conservative groups, by demonizing Home Economics we unfortunately lost the good aspects of what it taught - home management, nutrition, cooking/preserving, and sewing just to mention a few of the broad range of subjects.

All of these subjects that fall under the umbrella of Home Economics have one very important thing in common - sustainability. In this ever growing and changing world we live in, I can't come up with much else that's more important than living sustainably to preserve our world for future generations. Yes, there are the "you must dust behind your pictures hanging on the wall" aspects of HomEc, but I'm not going to focus on those. This blog will be focused on the things that are applicable in today's modern world which will help foster sustainability in our daily lives.


Now, I'm not an expert in all of the subjects that Home Economics covers. In fact, I actually never had the opportunity to take Home Economics in school. So this blog will be about me learning the all the things that I missed out on. This will be a blog of trials and errors. And just like when Home Economics was first introduced, all are welcome to come along this journey and learn with me - no aprons are required.

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