Life-Changing Homemaking Secrets from LITTLE WOMEN
My homemaking series continues as I share 15 Life-Changing Homemaking Secrets from Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. This is part one, which will share tips 1 - 7. I hope you enjoy today's video.
Here are today's seven tips. Please watch the video to hear me expand on all these thoughts.
1. Peace provides a pleasant home atmosphere The March family knows that a peaceful home is paramount for a happy home life. (p.11)
2. Replace your “leave me alone look” with a “Can I help you?" look (p. 14)Now don't get me wrong... I'm not telling us to mask our emotions and serve our family all day long. But most of us can adjust our attitudes and replace some of the negative looks on our faces with more positive ones. (I'm writing this mainly for myself, ha!)
3. Homemakers need true “breaks”. Marmee admits she never enjoyed housekeeping (p.108!) and is looking forward to her day off. We need true breaks where we don't do any housework or homemaking at all. This is critical to refresh our spirit.
4. Sometimes homemaking needs fresh eyes. Laurie had a fleet of maids but his parlor was still unsuitable. Jo was able to come in with a new eye and quickly refresh the room before company came over. (p. 49) We can benefit from asking someone to help us refresh our home as they can approach it from a fresh perspective.
5. A humble home can feel rich with love. (p. 50) Laurie doesn’t have a mother and even though he is wealthier than Jo, he envies her home life because she does have a mother. This parallels The Secret Garden, where the affluent Mary Lenox envies Martha's (the maid’s) home life with their wonderful mother. A wonderful mother can make a home feel rich. (p. 57) Laurie took comfort in that “humble” home of theirs.
6. Homemakers need their own space in the home that is truly theirs On page 105 we are introduced to Marmee’s corner. Marmee had a corner that she went to every day and sometimes it was the only neat space in the house. All homemakers should have their own corner. Marmee’s corner was always neat and pleasant.
7. Perpetual idleness is detrimental to home life “All play and no work is as bad as all work and no play” In chapter 11, Experiments, the girls do an experiment of only having fun and no work while they are on vacation. They find that idleness is actually bad for them. “Lounging and larking doesn’t pay” p. 112
Stay tuned for Part 2 on Thursday where we will explore tips 8 - 15...
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Aussie Connoisseur writes, "I loved your tip about getting inspiration from old films. I think one reason some people don't wear nice pyjamas is due to their budget. Particularly for women, that clothing budget has to stretch a long way due to the cost of quality undergarments. My solution is to have lovely things but have less of them, and take very good care of them."
That's the best solution! Thank you for sharing your observations.
I hope you enjoyed today's video. Be sure to stay tuned for part 2, where I share the rest of the homemaking wisdom from Little Women.
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Hello Jennifer, Since you’ve been mentioning books lately (“Women Who Run with the Wolves” and “Little Women”) I want to tell you that a book you talked about several years ago has finally made a profound change in my life. When you talked about “The Untethered Soul” by a Michael Singer, it was a bit over my head, and I didn’t get much out of it, but I did remember it. More recently, I went back to it, and now the time is right for me to fully understand and open to the teachings in the book as well the author’s other resources. I want to thank you so much for sharing this important book so many years ago. Warm best wishes for the season and the New Year! Alexandra
I own two DVDs of Little Women. I think this one from Masterpiece Theater with Emily Watson as Marmee and Angela Lansbury as Aunt March is the most beautifully done. The details in each scene are so pretty. It has the scene where Marmee admits to Jo that she is angry nearly every day, but has learned to control it. I love to watch it every winter for some reason (maybe because of the winter scenes and cozy home life).
Hello Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteSince you’ve been mentioning books lately (“Women Who Run with the Wolves” and “Little Women”) I want to tell you that a book you talked about several years ago has finally made a profound change in my life. When you talked about “The Untethered Soul” by a Michael Singer, it was a bit over my head, and I didn’t get much out of it, but I did remember it. More recently, I went back to it, and now the time is right for me to fully understand and open to the teachings in the book as well the author’s other resources. I want to thank you so much for sharing this important book so many years ago.
Warm best wishes for the season and the New Year!
Alexandra
I own two DVDs of Little Women. I think this one from Masterpiece Theater with Emily Watson as Marmee and Angela Lansbury as Aunt March is the most beautifully done. The details in each scene are so pretty. It has the scene where Marmee admits to Jo that she is angry nearly every day, but has learned to control it. I love to watch it every winter for some reason (maybe because of the winter scenes and cozy home life).
ReplyDeleteThank you for watching and for your comments, ladies! Merry Christmas!
ReplyDelete~ Jennifer