Media and Your Homemaking – Times Have Changed!

Do you remember when women used to have to butcher and pluck their own chickens?  Me neither!!!

All my life chicken has come in a plastic wrapped package – ready for seasoning and the oven!  Or even better – I can buy rotisserie chickens cooked and ready to serve!  It’s wonderful!  But our great grandmothers did it a bit differently!

My grandmother explained to me,  a chicken in a box used to be delivered by a local farmer to her mother.  Her mother would put the chicken between her legs (and for anyone who is squeemish skip this next phrase), twist it’s head off.  Then she would drain the blood.  After draining the blood, she fired up a pot of boiling water and soaked the chicken until the feathers could easily be plucked.  She would place the chicken into the sink – pluck it – and take all of the inside stuff out.   Then after all of the above – she could begin the process where we begin our process today – seasoning it and cooking it.

Then there was the laundry.  I find it a challenge to get all my laundry washed, dried, folded and into the drawers in a timely manner.  But not too long ago, women washed their clothes – by hand – in sudsy water, put it through a ringer, rinsed the clothes – by hand, put it through another ringer and then hung them outside or in the basement to dry.  THEN – this is the KICKER to me –  every single item had to been ironed!!!  Ugh!  Did I mention, I hate ironing and avoid buying clothes that need ironed?   There was no such thing as permanent press so everything including underwear was wrinkley and in need of being ironed.   It would be one long day if I ironed every item I wash! 

Since our great grandmothers sewed much of their clothes, sewing and mending was a large part of a woman’s day.  My grandmother says how excited she was when the invention of iron on patches were created!   I am SO thankful for stores like Target where I can get matching sets of clothes for five bucks a pop! 

Oh – the time our generation has been given by convenience stores and products is  a gift!  But we have managed to fill up all the extra time with all sorts of things. I feel it.  There are days where I look around and can’t figure out where the day has gone and why the house looks like a tornado hit.

Where has all the free time that convenience stores and products have given us?  Can I suggest where one large portion of that time has gone…

MEDIA!

I am not saying this is the only time zapper we are experiencing – but it’s one large one so let me be transparent for a moment.

1.  I am guilty of being on my computer while laundry piles up.

2.  I am guilty of letting my children out of chores so I can have more time answering email in the morning – rather than overseeing them with their chores.  As a result – the upstairs is messy for the day.  But the kids love it! lol!

3.  I am guilty of staying up too late following a twitter stream rather than doing something more productive around the house like cleaning out a closet or baking a batch of cookies for the family. 

4.  I am guilty of admiring someone else’s decorating or garden on-line rather than decorating my own home or tending to my own garden…yes, weeds grow while I read about gardening!    My home school room goes undecorated, while I admire all the amazing homeschool rooms on-line!  It’s so ironic!  I have a plethora of ideas – but in the rush of life, I’m not slowing down to do them.

I am sharing this in hopes that you can relate to the struggle I have.  I have learned SO much off of other ladies on-line as far as tips and tricks and recipes for homemaking but at times it has taken me away from homemaking and caused a bit of chaos in my home.  One of the best ways I’ve managed on-line time is through logging my hours or setting a timer to keep me from neglecting other more important duties.

Let’s strive together to be Proverbs 31:27 women : “She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.”  Together let’s pursue making our homes havens for our families by being organized, consistent and self-disciplined.  Let’s aim to not be distracted and distant, but always there with a hug, a smile, a warm meal, a clean set of sheets and some lines in the rugs from our vaccuum.  It is one way we can show, without words, our love to our families.  This is how our great grandmothers did it.

Share with me your thoughts:

1. If you are a blogger and you have decided to join this series by blogging each week, please place the Media Mondays button somewhere on your blog so your readers can find us here and then link-up below. (if for some reason the code is not working for you – please – right click – save as – the Media Mondays button and link it to this post)

2.If you are not a blogger, join the discussion in the comment section! I look foward to hearing your thoughts.

3. If you use Facebook or Twitter, I want to encourage you to copy and paste this link from the browser on your status update and ask your friends to join the discussion.

Walk with the King!

36 Comments

  1. I love it! As I sit here my laundry is sitting in a basket needing to be folded and more is in another basket needing to be washed…my floors need washed, and my house could stand to be decluttered! However i justify this time since i was not online all day yesterday taking care of my sick baby) Seriously though all these media mondays hit home for sure!!! However i do appreciate the organizing and decorating sites/blogs because they do really help me be abetter homemaker!

  2. So challenging! I am trying to be really vigilant, at the very START of my homemaking, about how much time media snatches away. It can be really hard! Last week I made a daily/weekly schedule with specific time windows for blog writing/browsing/emails/etc so the media world doesn’t become so consuming. 🙂 Thanks for these important reminders. Have a great week!

  3. Of course, I’m reading this as I hear the dryer stop but decide to finish reading and leave a comment and get the clothes later…even though it’s also time to start cooking the chicken for dinner. (Thank goodness all I have to do is pull it out of the freezer!)

    That verse you shared has been bouncing around my head lately. Because I look around and realize that I have been extremely lazy lately. This last week, I did nothing but play catch up on projects I’ve let sit. I even found a pair of my husband’s work pants that needed a button sewn on! He hasn’t had them to wear for months because I was too lazy to put a simple button back on. That’s just messed up.

    So, I’ll close out my comment with this: you speak truth in this post. But you are encouraging as well, and I appreciate that. Have a great (and productive) week! I sure hope I do!

  4. So true! It’s amazing what our grandmothers accomplished withOUT the internet! 🙂 Thanks, as always, for your insightful post!

  5. I enjoyed this post. And I must say that I would be a vegetarian if I had to butcher my own animals lol

  6. Here I sit reading about your life, my laundry is unfolded and I admit I am still in my PJ’s ( in Sydney, Australia) so it’s 9.50am here.

    Loved reading this post!

  7. It is so true Courtney!!! I am guilty of all the same 🙂 But, one thing also has seemed to change….and that is how protective we have become over our children because of media…As grandma did all of these chores, the kids played about in the neighborhood until the bell rang for the next meal. I would love to do this..but knowing what I know and what media has given me an image of-I am fearful! I am ALWAYS with my children and as a result, chores don’t always get done when I would like them to…even if they are in the backyard, I am on the deck watching. Oh how I wish I could be inside cleaning up! Any suggestions?

    1. I totally agree with you, Janelle! My kids are never sent out to play like ‘the old days’! Even if we lived in a nice neighborhood (we don’t, but God is God everywhere!), they still wouldn’t play outside alone. So, in order for them to get their much needed exercise and sunshine, I have to sit out with them. I often try to be ‘productive’ while they play though by reading an encouraging book or my Bible.

  8. I agree – I am so guilty of sometimes spending too much time online and letting my daily work get away from me! Thinking about media use for this series as I blog each week has been really helpful for me to get this under control, but it’s far from perfect. Thanks for the great ideas!

    Amy
    makingajoyfulhome.blogspot.com

  9. I recently told my husband that I was born when I was for a reason. I never would have survived back in the olden days! How on earth did women ever get anything done when they had so many daily chores??? And what were the kids doing while they were plucking the chicken, ironing the clothes etc. I’m with you, Courtney. I don’t buy anything that has to be ironed and I don’t even own an iron anymore! Hmm, I’m thinking it’s about time I track how much time I spend online. Though, honestly, I’m afraid to see what the end number of hours will be!

  10. Your Proverbs 31 reference hit the nail on the head- I have been trying soooo hard to be that woman, but the computer truly does me in. Like you, and like many women out there, I’m sometimes embarrassed at how much I get sucked into e-mailing and FB…but I AM trying. I try to do my blog networking only in the morning when the kids are sleeping, or during naptime. It’s hard, but it’s so worth being with my kids and being “present” to them.
    Thank you for being so honest!
    C:)

  11. Boy can I relate! I have wondered at the end of the day, “where did all the time go?” I agree that social media does take up a lot of my time. Thanks for your honesty!

  12. This really hit home with me today as it confirms what I feel God is showing me in regards to some areas that He wants to refine in my own life and personal walk with Him.

    Throughout the month of August I feel led to “Unplug … and Plug In”! I feel God challenging me to unplug from media on Sundays and plug into spending more time with Him and intentional time making good memories with my family. 🙂

    May He be praised!!

  13. Such great thoughts! I’m loving this focus on the media & how it affects our families. I’m finding myself getting off the computer more because I remember something I read in one of your posts. Thanks, Courtney!

  14. Hi Courtney – another wonderful post (and I will start the translation sooner as I planned to, as I love that series so much!!!). You are SO right! Where did all our precious time go that we are saving because of all the household helpers we have??? I think one thing is that we are much more thinking of ourselves as our grandmothers used to do – we “have to have a rest” after lunch as the morning was sooo stressful (well, we folded a basked of laundry and cooked lunch after we were at the gym…) and we have to meet our friends in the afternoon (of course ONLY because the children are playing so well togehter)… it’s even more than media that makes us “waste” our time – but media is such a big thing and becoming more and more and more… Thanks for doing that series!!! Greetings from Germany! Katja

  15. Wonderful post, Courtney! Thank you so much for sharing your insight and encouragement to all of us who strive to be a Proverbs 31 woman. God bless you!

  16. You mean you don’t pluck your own chicken? That was quite a picture with which to start your post 🙂

    Seriously, thank you for your transparency. It was a good way to help me think through my own time and how I spend it.

  17. This is a great series! I am guilty of all those things, same as you. You are definitely not alone. I have found a way however that has helped me greatly with the housekeeping part. I have become a Flylady.

    I did a whole series on my blog about my flylady journey. Basically, just helps you to learn how to “spring clean” year ’round in small manageable doses. I didn’t think I should link up though since I’m not blogging on the subject each week.

    Thank you for this series, and the time that you put in it. This blog has truly blessed my life.

    God bless you!
    Jennifer

  18. I was just sitting in church yesterday thinking about the very same thing. I feel like I use my facebook as a ministry…. helping others be smart with their money, being an encouragement to them with quotes and thoughts, and being able to be there as a prayer warrior when they need it….. However, it can be such a drain on my household duties. I know there have been times when I am doing something online and have felt like I was being “disturbed” by my children…. and that should never be the case! I can let the laundry pile up a little if it means being there for a friend when she needs it, but never should my media outlets be more important than my husband and children and above all, my relationship with God! Thanks for this post. It was very encouraging!! Now to go get the dishes put away! 🙂

  19. I am guilty! (although I really do kill and pluck and clean my own chickens) LOL.

    I sit here online while my green beans from my garden are waiting to be canned. My laundry needs folding. The roast chicken (that I processed earlier this summer) for tonight’s dinner needs to get in the crock pot.

    I’m like Jennifer. I’m a Flylady fan, too, so a lot of the major jobs are kept up, just not the minor details but that’s my own fault.

    Thank you, Courtney! I needed to read this today.

  20. Well, that hit a nerve, didn’t it? I think the biggest thing media robs us of is time with our family….I’ve been in restaurants when a family at the next table had children texting on their phones. I think Family time should be Family time. I’m concerned about all this and how it affects our children.

    I remember Mother killing a chicken for our dinner. We only had meat once a week. We had our own chickens so she just went out back and caught one. I’ve not ever done that but I have bought whole chickens and cut them up. I think I’m going to start doing that again…its cheaper….
    So, I’m off to do my morning chores.
    Mama Bear

  21. Courtney,
    My family is in the process of moving back to the states and I have found that since my computer time is very limited I have accomplished so much more. A timely post indeed for me as I have been pondering my computer time too.
    Sarah L.

  22. My parents still grow their own chickens and butcher them! They actually axe off their heads and take off all their skin and then gut them. Its not so way-back-then – people still do it!

    1. Yes, I know that people around the world are still doing this – but the majority of my readers have a choice. Our great grandma’s did not have Super Walmarts and convenience stores on every corner like we have now. I think I take for granted how blessed I am to buy my chicken in plastic wrap ready to go! And how easy it is to buy my children play clothes at Walmart for $3 bucks a pop! What huge time savers! I just wanted to make the point that the majority of us have been given a gift of time that has come with modern day convenience…now what are we doing with it?

  23. Hi Courtney,

    I discovered and have been following your blog off and on for the past couple months and have never commented (I don’t think), although on more than one occasion your posts have offered me encouragement and conviction.

    I just wanted to share with you that just a few minutes ago I wrapped up quiet time with the Lord that HE led (my own reading plan was different that what God led me to as I sought Him in prayer). I was feeling frazzled and overwhelmed with the amount of things I have to do. So, I quieted myself and opened up to the Lord. He brought me first to 1 Corinthians 12-14 and revealed some major truths and convictions there, and then He rounded out the time with leading me over to Proverbs 31, where I did some underlining and then put a circle around the very same verse that you brought up at the end of your post: “She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.”

    It was an awesome moment, knowing this is truly what the Lord has for me today. I had just sat down to eat my lunch and figured, “I guess I’ll just check out Courtney’s blog really quick while I eat…it won’t really keep me longer than it takes to eat.” And here I am, sharing with you how you have encouraged, speaking the truth in love, with gentleness and respect.

    Thank you so much! You’re obviously walking with our King!!! 🙂 Now it’s time to look well to the ways of my household!

    -Meghan

  24. Boy, did that convict me! I spend a lot of time on the computer and FB. I spend time with God in the morning in Bible study and prayer, but I’m also thinking of getting downstairs to see what my friends are up to on FB. AND I TELL GOD I’M IN A HURRY?! I think we (me, too)need to evaluate priorities. I’m a 46 year old college student and I took the summer off this year. So many things I wanted to do with my summer, and a lot of them I’ve gotten done, but some not, because I took up more time than I thought on the computer. It’s a nasty trap. And we don’t realize it until the day is almost gone and we see the wake of our unfinished day and what we’ve been doing instead of what we should have done. I like the kitchen timer idea. I think I’ll implement that and when my time is up on the computer–no matter what, it’s time to get on the chores for the day. That said, it’s time to go upstairs and take a shower and put away that clean laundry. God bless ya’all, and thanks, everyone, for being so honest. I’m glad to see I’m not alone in this.

  25. Managing media is such a challenge these days. I don’t want my children to grow up and remember me connected to the computer or an Ipod, and not fully invested in their lives. It takes discipline and boundaries. I try to do most of my writing and online things during naptime or evenings. It’s takes balance but it’s worth it. What a great discussion!

  26. Wow, thanks for the memories. I remember growing up and we ironed everything. We would sprinkle all of the ironing and roll it up and put it in a basket and then start ironing. My mother came to visit us and was concerned that I wasn’t ironing the pillow cases. It was way funny!
    Thanks for your thoughts on media. I find that somedays I spend way too much time blogging or reading blogs; so I think the timer is a great idea.
    Blessings to you!

  27. I hear ya! How ironic that as I sit on my computer reading about gardening, the weeds grow and the peas need picking. Or, as I spend hours researching decorating ideas for our daughter’s room, I haven’t done a thing to it in 2 years – not even paint! My biggest problem is I spend too much time learning ABOUT these things but never actually getting around to DOING them. Information overload is my problem!

  28. thank you so much for this post…I have been following Media Monday and I have to say that I have been keeping a log on how long I am on the computer. I have already stopped getting on the laptop on Sundays and that has been working out. I have taken the time that I would be on the laptop and put time into my landscaping. As I was weeding out my garden and planting new flowers it reminded me when God has to prune us and dig out all of our weeds and at times it hurts. I want to study more of God’s word and know Him better and better and so I need to invest in studying His word and take care of my family that God has blessed me with and I use to love to scrapbook and I just spend SO much time checking facebook, and really just wasting time and that time can be invested in scrapbooking and making memories for my children etc…

    Once again thank you for sharing and I too am guilty of not spending time with my children or overseeing their chores because I am on my laptop..thanks for the encouragement!!!!!!

  29. I had a FB account a little over 2 years ago which almost contributied to a failed marriage so I closed it. About 3 months ago my husband and I both decided to open up a new FB account. I closed mine 2 weeks ago. The Holy Spirit convicted my heart. To be busy at home, I can not be busy reading about what others are doing at home :). Really, other than keeping in touch with family and long distance friends, that is what FB is all about. I also vowed to only read blog posts that will make me a better mother, wife, and most importantly a better Christ follower. Thank you that you post things like this to remind me of what it used to be like. Our time is a gift from God and we need to choose it, and use it very, very wisely! In the mighty name of Christ, nicki

  30. I loved, loved this post. I liked the idea of setting a timer so one does not spend too much time with blogging and etc. I find that I need to be more self- disciplined. I love following your posts they are the best! I liked your honest evaluation of your time on the internet. We all need this kind of reminder.
    Blessings to you and keep on enjoying the moments.

  31. These more expensive lightbulbs are better for the environment in the
    long run, and in the short run are certainly very good
    for GE’s quarterly revenue. Of course, a donor list means very
    little until someone that actually knows
    a person on the list calls them. When you run an insurance
    company you are dealing with premiums and claims and investments.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I accept the Privacy Policy

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.