Holy Housewifery ~ Chapter 6

Chapter 6 ~ The Romance of Thrift

(I'll come back to Chapter 5 later!)

• In reference to an essay GK Chesterton wrote, Chesterton "poopoos the idea of extravagance having a sort of chivalrous and poetical air about it, 'thrift,' he says, 'is the really romantic thing.
  
• When we are thrifty we are more creative in the way we do things.  This creativity is poetic because of the thought and effort put into it, thus it is romantic.
• Instead of filling your home with material items and brand names, work on filling your home with love.  "The more [a wife] spreads love around, the more prolifically it re-seeds itself, springing up in the least likely of places."
• "The important thing, in romancing thrift, is that we create rather than imitate, save rather than waste out talents, our time, and our particular opportunities to grow perfect."

I read this chapter a few weeks ago, and I think it did influence me.  For example, tonight I made some matzo ball soup.  By the end of the meal, we had eaten all the matzo balls but there was still a fair amount of broth left over.  I saved the broth with the idea of using it as stock for a soup later on during this next week.  This kind of thrift was mentioned in this chapter.  

In striving to be a "holy housewife," I should always try to save and use the little things in life.  I italicize the word "use" because I struggle with actually using what I save, sometimes things I save sit unused in the fridge for so long that I end up throwing it out.  It is only good to save something if you are really going to use it; otherwise it will just add to the clutter.  The last thing I need is more clutter! =)