Wednesday, February 8, 2012

one more reason I will never be considered a"homemaker"

(she is making DIY gasoline for her car just with the ingredients she has in her kitchen!)

O.K. So lately I've been spending way too much time trolling around on Pinterest, dreaming of my new house. I have come across a rather upsetting trend. Make-your-own-every-single-little-thing. I get it. I'm a SAHM. I spend way too much time and energy on valentines and halloween costumes and seasonal wreaths for my front door. Two years ago for Christmas, my girlfriend and I made all of our friends homemade lavender vanilla body scrub, with custom made labels. It was ridiculous. And I loved doing it. Heavens, last year I made my sisters wedding dress. Sometimes it's lovely to have it be special and unique and handmade by me.  I give all sorts of handmade gifts and my house if full of my DIY efforts. Maybe you are super worried about chemicals so you make all your own organic cleaning supplies. If that's why do it, awesome. I clean my mirrors with vinegar. Or if someone at your house has a terrible and very inconvenient allergy, I have deepest sympathy for you and totally support your efforts. But now all these people seem to be making things like homemade automatic shower cleaner. It's dish soap and vinegar mixed together, but the real stuff isn't all that expensive, works way better, and the dish soap is still chemically based. And laundry detergent. We're doing that now? Because I have to admit, I'm super happy with the Seventh Generation All Natural stuff that Amazon helpfully delivers automatically to my house. And really. I am so busy. To be fair it's because I insist on gym and yoga time and playdates and swim lessons and piano and soccer and just regular laundry and housecleaning and yard care and doctors appointments and playing on the computer and church and reading and lunch dates. Plus all the stuff I make because it's fun and makes me feel creative or because I can't find exactly what I want. I don't have time for there to be all these extra steps, home-making all these extra things that don't even give me a creative high. Don't we have enough guilt already? I totally do. My kids ate instant oatmeal for breakfast today (and everyday this week). Instant oatmeal, not steel-cut or organic, and by no means homemade! Gasp. I guess if I spent a really lot of time making all my cleaning supplies and pressing my own olive oil and making organic ketchup and mayonnaise from scratch in my kitchen maybe I would save a little money. But I bet not a lot and really I'm not all that picky about ketchup or automatic shower cleaner. It's like I don't even care at all.

5 comments:

Ed said...

haha...love it!

LinnOrganized said...

Awesome post. I'm not that kind of homemaker. Not even close. I'm crazy about organization (because my brain craves it), but making my own everything my brain does not crave. And I don't feel a lick of guilt about it. Such is life. I'm trying my best and my time (in my opinion) is better spent on time with my handsome husband and crazy kids. The end.

Carrie said...

This post is hysterical!!!

Adri said...

Totally agreed, Angie! Only 'make' things that fulfill your need to create. That is why we were born in this era. I mean, have you ever read "Little House on the Prairie"? Poor Caroline had to make EVERYTHING! Hooray for only making stuff we want to make (there is Target for everything else!)

Miss you!

Andrea said...

I make my own gasoline. What? Is that weird?