Homemaking Inspirational Book Ideas Wanted

[seekingsimplicity]

Hi

I am a natural-born homemaker and love reading novels and self-help books that have to do with homemaking and would love to get your ideas for books to read, movies to watch, blogs to follow etc to motivate me and validate me in my career choice :).

So any homemaking books etc you can suggest would be greatly appreciated!

Ideas like Confessions of an Organized Homemaker or Mitten strings for God or Creating a beautiful home by alexandra stoddard are along the lines I am thinking.

Can be novels or self help! Thanks!

[herbgeek]

I like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Home-Sweeter-Creating-Simplicity-Spirit/dp/1885223331/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297724806&sr=8-1

[Gardenarian]

Here are a few:

"Gift from the Sea" by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

"Mrs. Greenthumbs plows ahead : five steps to the drop-dead gorgeous garden of your dreams" by Cassandra Danz (this is one of my favorite gardening books!)

"Apartment therapy : the eight step home cure" by Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan. This book has a lot of good advice on how to fix up your house and make it easier to maintain - not just for apartments.

"Radical homemakers : reclaiming domesticity from a consumer culture" by Shannon Hayes - which maybe you've read, but thought it was worth mentioning.

I'm trying to think of novels but coming up blank! They all seem to involve abducted children...

[seekingsimplicity]

ok cool I put these on hold at the library. any blogs you love about homemaking? I am not particularly religious and so am looking for a non-religious homemaking blog. But keep the ideas for books coming too please! thanks everyone!

[folkypoet]

Hiya, seekingsimplicity!

My favorite book on homemaking is Shelter for the Spirit (http://www.amazon.com/Shelter-Spirit-Create-Haven-Hectic/dp/0060929227/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297728536&sr=8-1) by Victoria Moran. From Amazon's product description: "Whether addressing how to get rid of clutter, decorate in a way that respects your personality, clean house as a spiritual exercise or celebrate special days (and ordinary ones too), Shelter for the Spirit shows how the quality of attention we give to everyday acts can transform our lives."

I also love Sweeping Changes: Discovering the Joy of Zen in Everyday Tasks (http://www.amazon.com/Sweeping-Changes-Discovering-Everyday-Tasks/dp/0767907736/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1297728684&sr=1-1) by Gary Thorp. From a Publisher's Weekly review: "This delightful, offbeat book is at once a pragmatic primer on housekeeping and an aesthetic treatise on the mindfulness of Zen practice. Thorp, a lay monk and laid-back Californian who has studied Zen for 40 years, emphasizes the intent surrounding each housekeeping activity, not the end result of cleanliness."

I also love to read SouleMama (http://www.soulemama.com/)'s blog. :o)

[rosarugosa]

I really like Home Comforts by Cheryl Mendelson. It isn't a novel though, it's a combination how-to and reference. I did find it quite readable though. I'm drawing a blank on novels in this realm.

[The Storyteller]

Radical Homemakers (http://radicalhomemakers.com/about/), by Shannon Hays.

[Miss Cellane]

For blogs, you might like Chez Larsson, http://chezlarsson.com/myblog/ .

For books, I second Home Comforts and the Alexandra Stoddard books (I don't know how many she's written at this point). And the Apartment Therapy book is just wonderful.

Parts are a bit dated, but I always enjoy The I Hate to Housekeep Book by Peg Bracken. It's funny, but there's a lot of useful info in there.

Beeton's Book of Household Management is an interesting look at what housekeeping was like in the 1860s. Most of it is recipes, which are an eye-opening read, but there's practical info on running a household with a staff. If you like historical stuff, Lydia Maria Child wrote The American Frugal Housewife and
The Mother's Book. Sad though it is, it always cheers me up a bit to realize that the poor women in the past had it much worse than we do when it comes to household chores.

Two how-to books I like: A Place for Everything: Organizing the Stuff of Life by Peri Wolfman (gorgeous pictures) and A Well-Kept Home by Laura Fronty.

One Pair of Hands is a true account of one woman's struggles as a cook-general servant in England in the 1930s. Helps to put a bit of perspective on our lives in general.

I've always loved the descriptions of the homes and household chores in the Laura Ingalls Wilder books (Little House on the Prairie series) and the L.M. Montgomery books (Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Moon, among others).

Also, check out some of the lesser known novels of Harriet Beecher Stowe, such as The Minister's Wooing (there is religion in that, but it is mixed up with housekeeping in an interesting way and it's really a romance novel) and Pink and White Tyranny. There are more, but I simply can't remember the titles right now. Stowe does have a religious bent, which I think was fairly typical for her time and sometimes she really hammers on the moral message, but there are some good descriptions of homes and how to make a house a home, as well as lessons on what happens when those duties are neglected.

[Gingerella72]

Well.....my blog! :)

It's gone through a few incarnations over the last couple of years but I'm focusing more on homemaking-related things now. Click on the link in my signature.

[Float On]

Anytime I want to feel very domestic I get my old ratty copy of Janet Lhurs "Simple Living Guide", put on an apron, brew a pot of tea, read and be inspired that I can conquer all. To me it it the ultimate housewife handbook/guide.

[libby]

I love down---to---earthblogspot.com.

[Kat]

I second "Gifts From the Sea." What a lovely book. I really liked "Keeping House: The Litany of Everyday Life" as well. It is very intelligently written, and it is more of a "why you do" than a "how you do" book.

[Mrs-M]

Originally posted by Float On.
Anytime I want to feel very domestic I get my old ratty copy of Janet Lhurs "Simple Living Guide", put on an apron, brew a pot of tea, read and be inspired that I can conquer all.Awesome! Simply awesome... I possess similar tendencies. :)

[Gardenarian]

Another came to mind:
"Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy" by Sarah Ban Breathnach.

I'm also a big fan of "tips" books - all those things from Heloise - don't know how much I use, but they're fun!

I also subscribe to Martha Stewart's Organizing tip of the Day, which is surprisingly sensible.

[seekingsimplicity]

I love all these posts! thank you all so much! what a wonderful thread!

[Selah]

"Living The Good Life" by Helen and Scott Nearing, if you don't mind a slant more towards homesteading and alternative economics.
"Five Acres and Independence" for self-sufficiency.
ALL the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder for inspiration and thanking God and humanity that we now have electricity, running water, and insulation!

Beware, sometimes the Alexandra Stoddard books advise you to buy all sorts of extra stuff you don't need...I remember in one of her books she recommended that your closet have multiple rugs covering the floor, so you could change them whenever you needed a delightful change of color! When I first read that tip as a teenager, I remember thinking "WTF?!" (or at least the late 1980's slang version of the same thought)!