Welcome to Domestic Mortal

"I wish I knew how to do things like that!"

I hear this all the time from people who marvel at a pretty dessert I've brought to an event or a handmade dress I've worn somewhere, and it always makes me feel a little bad that people aren't learning how to do things on their own anymore. Baking or sewing, to them, might as well be powers of flight or invisibility. These are just skills, though, and somewhere along the line they got lost. In wealthier societies, large-scale manufacturing of cheap goods, increasing affluence, changes in cultural attitudes, and other factors have produced several generations of people who largely have no idea how to do things themselves.

Traditionally, children would have learned a lot of these things from their parents, but many of us grew up in households where these skills were not known or taught. At one time, "Home Economics" or "Domestic Science" was an important field, and students could take those classes to learn real, practical skills. My grandmother used to talk about how much she loved Home Economics class, because she could go home and recreate for her family the supper she'd learned to cook in class that day. By the time I took "Home Ec" in school, however, the level of knowledge was assumed to be so low that my class spent several weeks just learning how to use measuring cups and spoons. I was bored out of my mind, because I was already cooking whole meals at home, knitting, sewing, etc. My class's big projects were making a batch of horrible muffins and sewing two seams to make a bag. Life skills were not exactly being instilled in us.

These days, the DIY movement is starting to change things. Whether it's the economy, a desire for self-sufficiency, dissatisfaction with commercially available goods, or something else altogether is hard to say. What is clear, however, is that there are a lot of people who lack the fundamental skills to cook, repair things, and otherwise manage their household affairs. Without fundamental skills, many people get frustrated and quit, thinking that doing these things is either beyond their abilities or flat-out impossible. This outlook is reinforced by terms like "Domestic Goddess," a label I hate because it discourages people from trying by implying that "mere mortals" cannot cook healthy dinners or make useful items. Because I am good at things like sewing, cooking, and so on, I want to help by sharing my knowledge, and so I am starting this "Domestic Mortal" project.

The Internet provides almost limitless access to information on every subject, and the domestic arts are no different. However, Domestic Science has gone largely dormant. This is good for me, since the copyright of every useful text has expired, but is difficult for someone who just wants to know how to get the most out of each dollar and how to slice an onion without taking off a finger. I want to revive this field, and in doing so provide a great online resource. I'm just getting started, so please follow along with me as I attempt to accomplish my goals!