The most important homemaking skills are starting to become lost arts. Skills that have been brought up through generations are being overlooked by younger generations.
The truth is, people would rather pay someone else to do it for them than learn it themselves. In reality, learning these skills and sharing them for generations to come not only to help you become more self-sufficient, but they also can save you a lot of money.
Below are the most vital homemaking skills for you and your family to learn.
Fold a Napkin for a Special Occasion
This is a lost art in more ways than one. It used to be a sign of respect to fold your napkins a certain way for special occasions, but now nobody knows how to, only expensive restaurants.
This one should be brought back to preserve a certain amount of respect in regards to your guests.
Sew a Button
Many clothing companies still attach extra buttons to their pants and their shirts. But, how many people just toss them in the trash with the tags? Not many people know how to fix a button anymore.
Hem Your Pants
Walk into a pants store today, and you’ll have your choice of sizes–petite, long, extra long, etc. Back in the day, you got–wait for it–pants. If they were too long, your mom took them home and hemmed them. Today, hemming is something that tailors do.
Planting a Garden
In a time of organic and non-GMO eating, the art of gardening should top the list of homemaking skills. But, many people today do not tend their own gardens. Instead, they head to Whole Foods or to the organic aisle and pay more money for food. A few lessons in how to grow some food in pots, or a small garden plot can not only save you a lot of money, it can also bring a sense of peace into your life.
Carve a Chicken
The only time anyone ever carves a bird, the correct way is during Thanksgiving dinner with turkey. Carving a chicken the correct way allows for the entire bird to be used during a meal, and it makes the meat more tender.
Mend socks
You have most definitely gotten a hole in your sock before. These holes can be super annoying and look unprofessional. Most of the time, you would throw away this sock. But, being able to darn your socks when there are holes in them can allow for you to keep and repair it.
Darning socks make them look almost brand new, and this way, you don’t have to buy a new pair of socks every time you get a hole in one.
Clean a Scorched Pot
Months and months of using the same pans can cause grease and grime can get burned on the container. This grease and dirt can be tough to remove if you don’t know what you’re doing. Many people struggle with removing this scorched grease, but there is a trick to removing it.
Without using this old trick, you could be scrubbing the same pan for hours, getting almost nowhere.
The Heimlich Maneuver
The Heimlich maneuver is a literal lifesaver. If you have ever been choking on a small piece of food and somebody came up behind you and started to push on your chest, that is the Heimlich.
The Heimlich forces whatever it is that you are choking on out of your throat using the air in your lungs. This homemaking skill could be the difference between life and death.
Cleaning Appliances
This is a necessity in every household. It’s important to invest in something to protect your appliances. But, everyone should know how to clean their appliances as well. Yet, it’s something that goes overlooked.
Starch Your Clothes
For a while, wrinkled pants and shirts were a fashion statement, but that’s a thing of the past. While tossing your shirt and pants into the dryer with a damp towel will knock some of the wrinkles out of them, nothing says I am ready to tackle the workday like a freshly pressed and starched shirt. Sadly, the iron and the ironing board are becoming a thing of the past.
Take some time to learn how to press and starch your clothes. It will show the world you mean business.
Conclusion
Not everything is going to be given to you, and that’s why these skills should be brought back into the home. Homemaking skills are a way to show your children how to take pride in something that they have done by themselves. There is no satisfaction or lesson involved when someone else does something for you. These skills are a blessing that is slowly fading, and the only thing that can save them is you.
