Old Fashioned Homemaking Essentials

Homemaking Essentials to inspire old fashioned living in your everyday!

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If you are here, then you must be an old fashioned gal like me who loves to do all her homemaking things with an old fashioned twist. From cooking to cleaning to reading and decorating; an old fashioned lifestyle is such a lovely simple way to live!

You will find here recommendations of things that I own and also things that I dream to add to my old fashioned home. None of these individual things are necessary for you to be an old fashioned homemaker. It all depends on your personal tastes and how old fashioned you want to be.

There is definitely room to include modern convenience in your own old fashioned life. Old fashioned homemaking is about creating a place that you can flourish in by utilizing the wisdom of life from past generations as well as gleaning from the present. Some day, our children and their children will look at what is modern to us and call it old fashioned.

Some of the old fashioned things that make my life better are listed here as well as the essentials to make them possible. I tried to keep most of them old fashioned, but you might find a few that feel modern to you.

From Scratch Cooking Essentials

There has always been something so appealing about food from scratch! I did grow up making most of our food from scratch and this probably has a lot to do with why I am so drawn to it. It’s also a lot healthier to eat food that was made with limited processed ingredients.

This is probably one of the biggest attractions of old fashioned homemaking for me. It checks all the boxes of health and it is a lot of fun learning how to make new things.

Some old fashioned things that I can’t believe I tried to live without are…

Cast Iron Skillet – This makes a huge difference if you love cooking from scratch. It helps any dish have the best texture and flavor and it is very versatile. You can use it for frying, soups, and baking. No wonder it has stood the test of time!
Wooden Utensils – I have this set from the Pioneer Woman that is so pretty and makes me happy every time!
Strainer – Even if you are not committed to cooking from scratch, a strainer is so handy to have in your kitchen. It’s great for straining pasta, rinsing produce, straining cheese and other dairy products like kefir, and Lots of other cooking from scratch adventures.
Grater – I have tried several different graders that were a little more modern, but they either broke easily or we’re hard to clean. This is why I like this old-fashioned style of grater. It comes in handy if you buy blocks of cheese or even grating vegetables.
Wide Mouth Mason Jars – Even if you have not ventured out into canning or preserving food, there’s very little that is more old fashioned than good old Mason jars. They can be used as glasses, storage containers, flower vases, and much more.

Related Page: Recipes

Dishwashing Essentials

I love hand washing my dishes! It is so relaxing to dip my hands in warm water. Even though I have a dishwasher, I love using my old China on a daily basis and it’s better if that those are hand washed.

Here is a list of things I love for washing dishes.

Wooden Brushes – It isn’t necessary to have wooden brushes but I recently got these and love the old fashion air it gives to this old-fashioned skill! One of them is even firm enough to use on cast iron!
Dishcloths – Homemade crocheted dish cloths definitely remind me of old fashion homemaking. Other garments turn also be repurposed dish cloths and rags.
Clean Soap – Although Castile soap is the go to for most old-fashioned soap products, it does not do well as dish soap. The alternative that I have found that works the best is bar soap.
Dish Drainer or Drying Mat

Healthy Cleaning Essentials

Old-fashioned homemaking goes hand-in-hand with natural living because back then generations ago they’re just wasn’t all the chemical products that we are so used to today.

Choosing to be old-fashioned with my cleaning has helped minimize the amount of products I have to store as well as the chemicals that I have to use. You’d be surprised how much you can clean with water, vinegar, and a few essential oils.

Rags – A great tip is to re-purpose garments or other cloths as rags.
Essential Oils – Although these are great for scenting your homemade cleaning solutions, oils such as lemon and lavender do you wonders for cutting grease and keeping bugs away.
Vinegar – Simple white vinegar will do. Apple cider vinegar works well but does not have the most pleasant scent.
Spray Bottles – These spray bottles remind me of my grandparents house because they always had dark glass bottles. It must be an old fashioned thing.
Parlor Broom – Not a necessity, but it adds another old fashioned touch.

Enriching Homemaking Books

Books are definitely a homemaking essential for me! They help me grow as a person teaching me how to think and relate with the world around me, but also gives me a peek into how life may have been in generations past.

Personal Development

Bible – A daily dose of scripture will do wonders for your homemaking. It will be your true friend and encourage you when you are down and show you how you can improve in all areas of your life. I know, it goes without saying for most of you probably read it already, but this part of religion was foundational for homemakers generations ago. It may have been one the most influential things that shaped them into the women that we so admire and long to be, today. I don’t know how one could be a good homemaker without it!
Journal – This is still a book. It is just one that you get to write. You get to share your heart, your struggles, and your dreams. It doesn’t have to be for anyone else’s eyes but yours and God’s, but journaling can help you tremendously as a person.
Planner – I just want to say that whatever you choose to write done your to-do-list and other plans in, let it be pretty! Let it be a book that you enjoy going to and writing in. I love to use sketch books because they have high quality paper and can be cheaper than actual planners. While you are at it, choose your pen wisely. Calligraphy pens and cursive writing are a great old fashioned touch to add to your journaling.
The Disciplined Life: The Mark of Christian Maturity by Richard S. Taylor- This book deserves a post all of its own. It has been so influential in teaching me to be more disciplined which has affected my homemaking. It’s a small book broken down into very small sections which makes it perfect as a devotional.
After We Believe by N. T. Wright – I have yet to finish this book, but it is so good. It is a harder read in that you can’t read little sections at a time. You need to get good chunks in order to follow the author’s intent so it’s a little harder to read with little children around. It is so worth it though! Very life changing and helps you understand what Christians are supposed to be after they have believed in Christ.

Related Post: What is Virtue?

Adventure

I need adventure! As a homemaker things can easily get mundane and although I love Youtube channels, audio books are more satisfying. Most of these can be found for free in Libby, but I add some links in case you would rather have an actual copy.

These are some books that I absolutely love to read/ listen to. Some are classical pieces and some are simple prairie romances, but they are so motivating and inspiring! They are so good that I do a rerun every once and awhile and they are so good every time!

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Measure of a Heart as well as the When Calls the Heart series by Janette Oak – There are nothing like the movies in case you are wondering.
North and South by Ellizabeth Gaskill
Robin Hood by – My absolute favorite tale growing up! Although very little is said about Marian in some versions of the story, the legend portrays her as the perfect balance between the Lady who manages her castle and estates and the tomboy who is ready for any adventure out in the woods!
The Count of Monte Christo by Alexander Dumas – You have not heard a masterfully crafted story until you have heard this one. It is full of the most unexpected turns and is so beautifully told.
Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton – These are mysteries that a English priest solves. They are witty and insightful!

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Cookbooks

I love sitting down and looking through cookbooks like a child with a new picture book! I am not one who follows recipes well. There is always some idea or experiment that distracts me and before I know it, I have made something completely different from the recipe.

Because of this and because we have the internet, I only own two cookbooks, but I do love to look through cookbooks for ideas and inspirations.

Wycliffe Cookbook – This is one of the very few cookbooks that I have found that does not call for a can of this or can of that. It was written for missionaries on the mission field who had to cook from scratch to survive.
Ratio: The Simple Codes behind Everyday Cooking – This is a cookbook, and it is not a cookbook at the same time. It teaches you the proportions that all bread, pastries, cookies, etc.. recipes are based of off. It is perfect for people like me who want to know how the recipes work so they can go off, experimental, and make their own recipes.
Amish Cookbooks – These are so much fun to look through since the Amish make everything from scratch!

Final Thoughts!

Thank you for letting me share my love for an old fashioned life through these homemaking essentials! Old fashioned living has been a joy for me since I grew up on a remote island where we had to do many old fashioned things to survive. This definitely guided me towards creating an old fashioned home, but so did some health concerns.

Living old fashioned is better in many ways, yet having experienced washing laundry by hand and not ever owning a dryer growing up, I am so grateful for our “servants” as my husband calls them that do the hard work.

There is nothing wrong with mixing a little modern in with your old fashioned life. Living old fashioned is for your benefit to inspire and add romance to life, but not to be a slave master that demands that you must do things the hard way because it is old fashioned.

That is the beauty of living in freedom. To some degree, we get to choose how we live and how we want to live someday.

If you were inspired in any way, please, share this with all your old fashioned friends. I hope it truly was a help to you!