The Modern but Old Style Homemakers Club

medsdemon

Another good thing about being a homemaker...you have time to fit in exercise and keep fit without doing it at 9pm and then not being able to wind down for bed. I was able to meet my friend yesterday for a lunchtime swim in a quiet pool, cycling there because I have no reason to rush, and fitted in a half an hour on the cross trainer and fit in all the "jobs" that needed doing and cook a home cooked healthy meal for everyone.

Today, I am going to be doing some baking, getting some listing done on Ebay, sort out all the rubbish in my loft ready for a carboot on sunday, have a long scenic walk by the lochside to town to get my banking done and visit the butchers to get some lovely sausages and see if he sells pigs cheeks for a HFW recipe I want to try. I will also visit the local charity shop and drop a bag of bits off and see if I can discover any gems for my newly planned and sorted wardrobe for Autumn...Oh and sort out OH's wardrobe too.

red_devil

i worked out the admin panel of the forum finally and have changed it hope its better. Love to see some more posts.

salome

Hi

I've been a SAHM for 34yrs now. Trained as a hairdresser, but had to leave when expecting my first due to the smell of the salon having a diverse affect on my tummy, and making me having to dash, very quickly to the loo, which was three stories up at the top of the building lol. We went on to have a big family, 10 children in all, so work in the outside world was not to be. I also homeschool. Now on my last 'pupil' who is my youngest and is 14. I homeschooled 7 out of the 10.
My eldest is 33, and as mentioned, youngest 14. Sadly our 3rd eldest, who was our edlest son, died 8 yrs ago as a result of a car accident. I still have 5 children at home. Ages 23, 20, 18, 16, 14.
I'm not organised. The children tell me I'd be dangerous if I was lol, and although I wake up with a day plan , it very rarely pans out as originally thought lol. I do try to stick to my meal plans though :-)
I love knitting, enjoy cross stitch and other crafts. Love baking, reading and walking, and I'm a keen family tree lady :-) Have done lot's of family research. I also belong to a fantastic church and love being part of an extended loving family :-)
So that's it really :-) I've enjoyed reading the posts on here, and looking forward to reading more about everyone and your home making experiences:-)
Take care.

x

juliapenguin

Hi salome - what an amazing family! How wonderful to have ten kids - but so sorry to hear that you lost a son.

It's so great to hear what you all do all day. I'm very envious of those who live in scenic places - I grew up by the sea and although I'm really happy in Manchester in many ways (because I love art galleries/museums/films/big libraries) I really miss walking on the beach. I want to go for a walk along the side of a loch, medsdemon!!!

I'm having a much worse day today, in terms of feeling chaotic and irritated by the housework which needs doing, and I wonder if it's because I didn't get bathed and dressed until 10am? I'm trying to do my exam paper marking (this is my coffee break!) and my mind keeps wandering to all the things I wanted to get done today. If I'd got up a bit earlier I could have done the homestyling before I started on the marking....

Maybe it's a mental health thing - I know some of you love the fact that you're not working to a timetable, and I'm sure I'll be the same some days, but I think having a fairly detailed plan for the day might be a good thing, starting with being up and dressed around the same time as DH or not too long after if I've had a bad night.

The next three days are my last three days working outside the home, and it feels weird to have nothing scheduled for next week, after working so hard for so long... I'm definitely going to make a plan for the week rather than just waiting and seeing - I can always throw the plan out of the window if I don't need it.

the_cat

Another for the gang if I may?:D

Having read this thread from start to finish, I find myself nodding along to so many of the points made. I have been at home now for about 4 years despite my kids being mostly off my hands now at 18 and 15. Before that I juggled a busy job with child/house care. It got to the stage where I was dreading my children’s birthdays because it felt like one more impossible demand on my time that I just didn’t have. That wasn’t the way we wanted to live so I quit. The money was handy but we were luckily able to do without it. The feeling of ‘belonging’, independence and doing something useful have been harder to give up if I’m honest but there have been so many advantages it still feels like the best option for us atm. Its not perfect but I don’t think perfect really exists – everything involves some degree of sacrifice or compromise


I find my biggest problem is procrastination. When you run your own schedule, everything can be put off until another occasion. Lists and self imposed targets help for me. I have set up a master ‘to do’ list and given myself a set time to accomplish it. It covers everything from ‘wipe sticky marks off paintwork’ to ‘find 3 new friends’ (relevant as being at home can be quite isolating) Anything and everything that will improve my life and /or give me a sense of accomplishment


Right that is enough waffle for an introduction…….. off to tackle ‘clean tops of wardrobes’ from list!:T:eek:

mesh

well today the plan was to go cycling and blackberry picking on the way to Mr S but as its lagging it down here I got the bathroom cleaned instead and will finish off the ironing. If it brightens up, then off out I go. This was the start of my daily/weekly/monthly plan and my OH thought I was going a bit loopy doing my plan, which is in its infancy, lots more to do on here.

No cooking today as off out with a friend for a cheap curry and beer and OH can have a treat and eat at works canteen (3 course lunch £2.50).

Need to get some of tomorrow chores done today as off into town tomorrow to buy some new walking boots been saving up for these for a few months now and will enjoy the experience.

Hope the weathers better for you....

mummyroysof3

:wave:have really enjoyed reading this thread, its nice to meet you all

im a SAHM of three aged 6, 4 and 2 and also study with the OU. I have suffered with depression and although i worked evenings after having the first two i didnt return after having the 3rd so we rely on hubbys income and CB and tax credits to keep us going.

I meal plan but with pets and still buying nappies etc its hard to keep the spending down, it helps that me and hibby are happy at home so we dont go out much really.

juliapenguin

frugaliciousness wrote: »

I guess I'm not totally happy being a full-time homemaker and need that something else to work on but I do think I am very lucky (if that is the right word to use) to be in the position where I can be at home. My life is far less stressful and what ever low feelings I have about it at times I'll cope with because it's a damn sight better than coping with other people induced stress, hurt and b*tchiness that being in the workplace can sometimes cause

I think you're summing up what I feel - I want to be at home nearly full-time but with something 'outside' as well. For me that something needs to be to do with teaching, so I'm going to start on my list of refugee groups next week to find some voluntary teaching.

juliapenguin

mummyroysof3 wrote: »

:wave:have really enjoyed reading this thread, its nice to meet you all

im a SAHM of three aged 6, 4 and 2 and also study with the OU. I have suffered with depression and although i worked evenings after having the first two i didnt return after having the 3rd so we rely on hubbys income and CB and tax credits to keep us going.

I meal plan but with pets and still buying nappies etc its hard to keep the spending down, it helps that me and hibby are happy at home so we dont go out much really.

Hello! There's so many of us who have had or still have depression or anxiety.

I'm sure being happy at home with the family is the key to managing financially - we are happy to stay in together too, and if we've got library books and cups of tea we can be very contented.

juliapenguin

the_cat wrote: »

Another for the gang if I may?:D

Having read this thread from start to finish, I find myself nodding along to so many of the points made. I have been at home now for about 4 years despite my kids being mostly off my hands now at 18 and 15. Before that I juggled a busy job with child/house care. It got to the stage where I was dreading my children’s birthdays because it felt like one more impossible demand on my time that I just didn’t have. That wasn’t the way we wanted to live so I quit. The money was handy but we were luckily able to do without it. The feeling of ‘belonging’, independence and doing something useful have been harder to give up if I’m honest but there have been so many advantages it still feels like the best option for us atm. Its not perfect but I don’t think perfect really exists – everything involves some degree of sacrifice or compromise


I find my biggest problem is procrastination. When you run your own schedule, everything can be put off until another occasion. Lists and self imposed targets help for me. I have set up a master ‘to do’ list and given myself a set time to accomplish it. It covers everything from ‘wipe sticky marks off paintwork’ to ‘find 3 new friends’ (relevant as being at home can be quite isolating) Anything and everything that will improve my life and /or give me a sense of accomplishment


Right that is enough waffle for an introduction…….. off to tackle ‘clean tops of wardrobes’ from list!:T:eek:

Nice to 'meet' you!

I'm a big procrastinator too... If I'm busy at home, I'm happy. When I find myself watching Jeremy Kyle I know I'm in trouble - not because watching JK is necessarily a bad thing, but I know that it's a sign of me being lethargic, which is only one step away from depression.