Peeved. And I'm pretty good at the "homemaking" stuff... but if I can't live frugally, work full-time and raise kids.. what good is it?

What's the point of your life if the majority of your time is spent making clothes and food? I think some people are suffering from "westerners guilt."

I think the writer is a materialistic whiner. Doesn't sound like she gave it a chance at all.

She lives in southern California and complains while making money using the wrong pronoun. She should consider herself lucky.

What you call radical homemaking is what I call trying to make ends meet. I make my own bread. I cook almost everything from scratch. I sew clothes for my husband and I when I can, from deals I get on fabric. If I had access to a south facing window, I'd do container gardening in my living room to get fresh produce.

It's the only way I can have the kinds of foods I want. I got sick, and despite going into remission, still can't work yet. If I didn't do the radical homemaker thing, we would be eating mac'n'cheese and top ramen. I keep our grocery bills dirt cheap by making as much as I can by scratch.

If I didn't do these things, we'd have to do without. Folks are shocked on how little we live on. It's not a choice. I have been called a radical homemaker, but it makes me cringe every time.

It's not radical homemaking...it's what people used to DO! lol Make ends meet, greener living, whatever! Pick what works for you and do it. Sometimes you'll be in fashion, sometimes you'll be out. Doesn't matter at all as long as you like it!

Of course, I bake my bread, grow veggies and compost...so maybe I'm biased! But I've done that for decades, and had my fair share of "you do what" weirdo looks!

The writer was not particularly convincing, nor does she garner any sympathy for her "efforts". But, to each their own.

Being this kind of "radical" is a diservice to our species and progress. It is entirely the wrong approach to take steps back and the world really ought to learn more how to embrace technology and progress to improve the way we live. Sure, smart decisions will always be appropriate but line drying your clothes, not showering on a regular basis, growing all your own food, etc are steps back, not forward. the fact is that there are better decisions to be made. Make smart decisions and things will be just fine. Devolving to prehistoric times is backwards no matter how you spin it. It is possible to have the best of both worlds if you just use your head and that should not be considered "radical".

I would not consider myself a radical homemaker in anyway. In our home, growing our own vegetables, baking bread, composting, line drying clothes and sharing with our neighbors is just apart of life. That's how I was raised and that's how I'm raising my son. There's nothing wrong with helping out your neighbors, especially in their greatest times of need.
Besides, if people realized how much money they would save doing these things, they too would switch over to the "radical" side.

I'm with jkpiccolo on this. Been doing all that stuff all my life. The "movement" of "radical homemakers" is just branding by younger people (my money's on Gen Xers) of the stuff their grandmas did, repackaged and resold to their compatriots as something hip and new, conveniently skipping over the fact that these things have never died out. But it allows people to write Salon pieces about how they don't live up to it, and at the same time pushing the radical homemaker brand... it's all marketing. Doesn't mean anything in the long run.

Interesting subject - I wouldn't call it radical, but there has been a definite trend toward a more self-sufficient and environmentally conscious lifestyle. I would love to read about more peoples' experiences adjusting to that. The writer of this article does come off as spoiled, though.

@xsimpletunx: it IS a good thing! I don't think that by hanging my laundry, cloth diapering my children, growing veggies or baking bread I am doing any sort of disservice to humanity, and I don't think that anyone is shunning or discouraging the development of technology! In fact, the effect may be the opposite - companies will have to step it up and develop new technology that will address our increasing concern about the environment (and our pocketbooks): G.E., make me a clothes drying machine that comes close to the efficiency, economy and safety of the sun and the breeze and I'll buy two! Pampers: How's it goin' on developing a compostable disposable diaper? I'll gladly relegate my cloth ones to dust rags for some of those!

I am a "Gen Xer" so to speak. I don't see "radical homemaking" as hip or new or radical for that matter. I'm degreed, and recently left a much higher paying corporate position to work for a local organization that I believed in. I feel that the whole growing/cooking my own food and mending/thirfting/making my own clothes is a way of life that allows me a little freedom from the money-spending cycle and lessens my carbon footprint in the process. I was raised similarly by non-degreed but hard-working parents and grandparents, and if the time comes for me I'd like to do the same for my family.

xsimpletunx: What? Your comment makes no sense. Tmoore is right that by doing everyday things in a more economical and "green" way big corporations will be forced to win back these customers by changing their products to fit the demand for eco-friendly and healthier products. If everyone cloth-diapered their children I'm sure Pampers would come up with a biodegradable diaper within a year. Besides, what was so awful about the "old ways" anyway?

I guess by todays standards I would be called a "radical homemaker", but I'm not trying to be anything other than someone who is capable of putting food on her table between paychecks. If that means I have to make our own cereal each week, barter for our furniture, and scratch and pull hairs to get to the blow out sale at Ross- then so be it.

I'm earning a BFA, I'm newly married, I work full time, and damn-it I knead my own bread. Thats okay by me.

I gotta say, I really hate posts like this. It's not that I don't want to see the ways people are turning to a more environmentally conscious ways of living. I see posts like this as a way for people to flaunt their moral superiority. Yes, I suppose the writer does sound a little materialistic/spoiled, but who cares.

I suppose I'm a gen Y (though I really wonder when the lettering of generations are going to stop). I live in an apartment so I can't grow my own damn veggies or milk my cow. I do line dry my laundry & cook my meals because any little bit to put away for my retirement in 50 or so years (b/c won't be supported/supplemented by the dwindling social security) helps. I'm just sick of all this "green" crap. Live with an understanding of your impact to the socially/econcomically/enviromentally, but do me a favor keep the "hip/cool" BS out of it.

Wow. Maybe it's me, but I think the author comes across as a total whiner. So she doesn't have the latest cute outfit from Banana Republic or a coffee table from C&B. But she DOES have a husband that loves her, two children, food on her belly, and a working car. She is not stricken with a life-threatening illness, infertility, widowed, or left for a younger, non-complaining hottie.

Although if I were a dude and married to her, I might just do the latter. I think she needs to thank her lucky stars!

And at the same time...

I'm in my late 30's, educated, work FT, about to stay home with two children, make my own bread and garden vegetables. I also use a Blackberry, a laptop, a dishwasher, and a straightening iron. Why believe you have to fit perfectly into a definition others lay out? Why not just be free to make your own life decisions based on what works for your family and do your best? The author seems to feel she has to be all or nothing. I don't get that.

xsimpletunx - You consider line drying clothes radical? It costs less money than running a dryer. It works just as well. It also smells good. And its not something that everyone ever stopped doing, except in places that made it illegal to have an 'eye-sore' of a clothesline. Give me a break.

I wouldn't call us radical, but we do take more steps towards green living than many of our friends. Recycling paper, bottles, tin, etc. is easy, as is composting, so I don't really understand why they don't do it. We line dry our laundry and wash our clothes with cold water. We also take our own shopping bags whenever possible. We would grow more produce, but our summers are very short, making that nearly impossible. We prefer to use a rain barrel than a hose, and we don't water our lawn. There are so many small things that can be done, but I know so many people who don't do them. So in our crowd, I guess we're a little out there.

@tmoore I agree with you so much. I do not shun technology in anyway, I love modern technology. It is just that I think we should be able to use technology in a way that is not as harmful to the people around us or the world we live in. Until that happens, I will happily grow as much of my own food as possible, reuse and recycle everything I can, and attempt to use human power/public transit instead of the car.

AMEN! "Radical homemaking" does get me a little peeved, not because of the activities, but because they're all so self-righteous about it.

Bake your own bread? Awesome. Line dry your clothes? Great. But for the love of god, it really pisses me off when some hipster lectures me for not home-brewing my beer from fermented organic hemp. Your beer tastes like sand. Get over yourselves.

Granted, the same attitude persists on AT about "downsizing" and the hip, cool, awesomeness that is being a middle aged, wealthy "creative" and living in a 300 square foot apartment. I live in a 300 square foot apartment because I'm a grad student and it's all I can afford.

takife: you are reading a post on re-nest. I think that it is perfectly appropriate for people to share what they are doing to lessen their impact on the environment. I don't think any of the posters here are "touting their moral superiority" by doing so or trying desperately to rub your nose in how cool they are:)

twitteringbirdie: does that really happen to you? The beer lecture?

On a related note, I think we should stop using "hipster" as an insult. I don't like pretentious folk either, but there are more specific and descriptive words for the many different varieties of snob.

I guess I don't understand the issue here. The thrifty living ideas in the article are what my mom did when I was little and what my husband and I do as adults. We've never had a lot to spare, but if we did, I don't think I'd have an issue buying a nice piece of furniture at Crate and Barrel. It seems to me like this movement could be more appropriately called "Martyrmaking." Good for wealthy women who are able to stay home with the kids. If I could, I would too.

I would do more if I had a supportive spouse. Living alone I just don't have time to do all this on top of my 1hr commute. I keep as many potted plants I can, shop farmers markets & thrift stores, but I'm still reliant on buying many things. Luckily my partner loves doing this too, so when/if he can move back in with me, we will be picking up more. It sucks knowing there are so many joint projects we would love to talk, but we're states apart!

I don't think of it (urban homesteading) is an "all or nothing" lifestyle, which I guess it how it reads to a lot of people and why it turns so many off. It is a gradual process - one that I am in the midst of - fitting these practices into your lifestyle as you are able. Try to go in whole-hog right off the bat and you run the risk of falling fall flat on your face and resenting the "inconveniences" rather than relishing the little successes as they come and enjoying the journey. Find out what you'd LIKE to learn how to do yourself and tackle that first. Just for fun. See where it leads you.

It's a rather ridiculous "movement".

Previous commenters have it right. Most people do this stuff because they HAVE to, some do a lesser amount of this because they enjoy it (or want to master baking from scratch, etc.).

But the "radical" part of the homemaking concept, skirts the fact that these folks are making a choice, mainly to rack up some perceived cool points amongst their peers. And I think it's a loaded choice. A French author recently wrote that this cultural pressure to return to the labor intensive ways results in women being held back. Because, let's face it, you can't to all this homesteading AND hold down a job.

So one message of this type of movement is that you're less of a parent/spouse/human if you choose to have a job rather than commit yourself whole hog (no pun intended) to the type of work that modern innovations have largely freed us from. That's a message I don't support.

So I'll continue to do what I do, which is choose the things I'm passionate about commiting my time and energy to (baking, sewing, etc.), and forget the rest without an ounce of guilt.

Line-drying my clothes would require cutting down two trees. Please advise.

The author of the article comes across as a spoiled brat, even though I am far from an urban homesteader or radical homemaker. She lost me at "boo-hoo craigslist coffee table" and "boo-hoo target and old navy."

@Kh�¼rt What is the point of our lives if we spend them creating things and caring for our families? What is so deeply meaningful about a life of consumerism and food policy that is bad for our environment and economy?

I really don't consider it radical, I guess. Homemaking never went away, but just adapted to people's willingness to spend money to make life easier. Some people never had that option, like me, and continued to make their own bread, mend their clothes, etc. Both my husband and I are still in our 20s, work full time while raising our kid. We live in a semi-rural area in a home my husband built himself and a yard big enough for our vegetable garden. However, I think about how just four years ago, we were living in the thick of city life, and I'm not sure how we could have managed to do some of the 'green' things we do now. Our apartment faced north - no yard, tiny balcony not big enough for many plants, we had to drive 25 minutes one-way to work since bus routes were impossible with daycare arrangements. I'm thankful we are where we are today, but many cannot do what we did. Instead of throwing around judgements on others, we need to look at what we are capable of changing in our own lives. What impact do we have on our Earth? How can we help? Can we help our neighbors, too? Ask yourself the hard questions, make some hard choices, and soon it will be easier to incorporate these into your life and won't feel like such a sacrifice or radical idea.

Me, radical? Trendy? Never!

Sure, I make my own pillows and curtains, but it's not like I hand wove the cloth and dyed it in the bathtub.

Sure, I grow my own vegitables, but it's not like that ALL I eat. My little strawberry plant can't keep up with me, so yes, I go to the supermarket and purchase mine just like everyone else.

And sure, I cook my own meals with herbs I grew in my garden and knead my own bread when the mood strikes me. But then there are times when I pull out the bread machine or even, gasp, Pillsbury refrigerated dough.

Well, actually, it'd probably be Great Value refrigerated dough.

But I do this things because I want to, and not because of any sense of guilt I feel. Because it makes me happier and healthier.

Then again, I don't rub it in anyones face either. If you saw me at work, you would have no idea I made my own blouse and baked banana bread over the weekend.

The first paragraph is sarcasm and I can't spell "vegetables", lol.

Sorry.

I think it's a question of balance and paying attention to what you're doing, why, and what impact it will have now and later. Getting caught up in the right/wrong death spiral is pretty pointless.

My mom grew up in rural western Kansas during the Great Depression. Here's how they made toast: break the sod, plant the wheat, hope it grows, harvest it, thresh it, mill it, mix the dough, let it rise, punch it down, let it rise again, form a loaf, bake it, let it cool a bit, slice it. Meanwhile, gather kindling and cow dung (not too much wood out on the plains), start a fire, hold bread over fire. To serve with optional butter: raise a cow from a calf, graze it, milk it, churn the butter by hand.

She's 89 now and the loaves of sliced bread and tubs of margarine at the supermarket still seem like miracles to her.

And, by the way, all those immigrant farmers who broke the sod out west on their homesteads--the local, organic farmers of their day--collectively caused the Dustbowl, the largest man-made natural disaster ever. So while you're spreading manure on your vegetable garden, don't forget that runoff from your local organic garden might be contaminating local water.

We all leave footprints.

The thing that I don't like about any "movement" is the judging that occurs against the people not interested in participating. I happen to feel strongly about buying locally grown food and organic whenever I can. I like to bake my own bread, shop thrift stores and Craigslist for furniture. But that's just what I like to do. My best friend couldn't care less. And yet, I don't give her a lecture or judge (because who does that?). It's her choice. Much like it's the author's choice to stay home with her kids and complain about not having any money. I don't like whiners. If she doesn't like being forced into a homemaking lifestyle because of monetary concerns, she should get a job that will better afford her the lifestyle she so obviously misses.
As for everyone else living a "radical homemaking" life - why do we care that they're doing something different? Why does it annoy us or make us judge unfairly?

At the risk of being attacked, I didn't find the author of the original article at all whiny or spoiled. Having been on both side of the argument - choosing to live frugally versus having to live frugally - I can say that there are somethings I don't miss having to do (wash my clothes in the bath tub, for instance). To me, I found the author presenting a realistic point of view from the opposite from which (I think) a lot of us view "radical homemaking" or whatever you'd call it.

I can afford to raise my own chickens because I can afford to buy the neccessary equipment. Cash wise, it is cheaper up-front to buy the 48 egg/$5 special at Vons, but, I no longer have to.

Everything comes down to personal choices and i felt the author was simply stating that she would prefer to not have to scramble everytime she wants to buy some milk, or be forced to choose between toilet paper or granola bars.

@sdblondie - the author hardly seems to be complaining about scrambling to buy milk. Instead she complains about not having a Viking stove, having to buy *new* clothes at Target or Old Navy, the babysitter driving a nicer car.
There is nothing wrong with living frugally. There is nothing wrong with not wanting to live frugally. But don't make choices and then complain about their consequences and try to pass it off as how you're not willing to participate in a homemaker movement. If she would rather have a newer car or be able to shop one step up at GAP instead of Old Navy then stay home with her children, she should get a job that would afford her the choice to do so.
I simply don't like that she's complaining about choices she is making and trying to blame it on a cultural movement when so many people live that way because they don't have the choice.

I think that the real point here is whether you believe in a cradle-to-cradle full investment in being green, or incremental steps toward change. It does come off a bit whiney, but I think the author is trying to say that some steps are worth it to her and others are not. I can relate. With 100% certainty I can tell you that I will never make my own preserves, and I'm not losing any sleep over it.

I totally get what twitteringbirdie is trying to say, too. I think commenters on ReNest tend toward having a positive and inclusive attitude about going greener, but some people out there do have a militaristic, demeaning attitude about it.

I've met people who look at me like there's an arm growing out of my head when I tell them that I don't own a bike (and it's not like I drive a Suburban, I take public transit or walk almost everywhere). I've also been lectured by an acquaintance about how I should be using organic deodorant crystals or I'm irresponsible. There will always be people who are a little overzealous about whatever they're into -- shrug -- what can you do?

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

-Robert A. Heinlein

I've always loved that quote, and I think that it explains pretty well my other motivation (the one that has little to do with being green) for working toward the sort of self-sufficiency you might call homesteading. Plus it is fun!

Why is everyone so defensive? I don't think anybody here was being overzealous or judgmental...or are we just referring to people in general, not necessarily here in this thread?

Hmm. I don't see any of this as radical at all- gardening, canning, makeshifting, and secondhand shopping was how I was raised and continue to live. (Maybe it's harder to make the transition for those who grew up with more? I don't really know.)

And P.S. FYI to the author of the original article, you can find some bomb higher end and even designer clothes at Goodwill if you look hard enough, and they are less expensive (and less disposable) than Target or Old Navy. Just saying.

I don't understand the author's problem with cooking from scratch. I do every day, not from necessity, admittedly, but simply because the food TASTES so much better

I do what I can, when I want to, because I want to. I buy what I like and never for a brand name, unless there is some huge qualitative reason why I need brand X over any other item. If it works, I'm happy, and I try not to judge others' "greenness" or lack thereof.

My whole mentality boils down to a "haters gonna hate" type thing. Hey, whatever! :)

We're not ALL so self-righteous. I do what I want & I expect others to do the same. Different things work for different households.

Congratulations to everyone for making lifestyle choices that are right for them.

Comparing yourself to other people (or measuring yourself by them) is always going to leave you just as unhappy as the author of this article seems to be. The author's criticism of the "radical homemaking" movement seems to stem more from her dissatisfaction with her own life than from some external oppression. If luxuries are so important to her, then maybe a career change is in order. It's hard to be content, and I'm sure if the author had a conversation with some of those SUV-driving moms, she'd find that they are deeply discontented too.

I actually enjoy the movement in that it allows people to make connections they wouldn't have otherwise.
Yes, I'm doing the same things my mom and grandma did - cook from scratch, line-dry clothes, garden. (And I don't enjoy kneading bread, which is why I bought a $10 bread machine at Goodwill. My favorite appliance.)

Since discovering the "radical homemaking" and "urban homesteading" labels, I've connected with people in my town, books, and websites that taught me to do things my mom didn't teach me. I never knew how to make a rain barrel or sprout garlic on my windowsill. Even if the labels are just new names for things people already did, having a "movement" can make it easier to find the information.

OK, I took a second to read the article. She sounds like a really tired mother of two, who's doing some freelance work when she can, is really thankful her husband has a job but a little freaked out about an insecure financial future. In short, if it was voluntary, it would be one thing - but the need to cut back isn't for her and she's not sure when it'll end. The new "real" can be a lot to swallow.

Would have been better delivered without the whine.

And I'm continually reminded that we're all just doing the best we can to find our bearings in a world that got turned upside down. Sometimes the new is better - yes, but I know lots of us get through the day choking down anxiety, and clinging to "live in the moment" stuff - that, or kneading bread because it's meditative and tastes good.

Her husband was getting paid $36,000 a year? That's what my husband makes too-- it ain't poverty, hun! I think I live very well (and I do make my own bread, because I like to!)... We don't have a car, a TV, or a Blackberry, and I think we're better off for it!

I am a full-fledged housewife (don't get me started on the word "homemaker"!), and I don't see how that's a radical concept in any sense of the word. Since when has making things cheaper, healthier, tastier, and more fulfilling a radical concept?

"But the work. Oh, the work! Not spending money is an incredible amount of work. " -- this is maybe the whiniest thing I've ever read. Not spending money is easy, just don't take out your wallet!

But really, if you don't want to be a "radical homemaker", just don't be. It's that simple. At this point, you'll probably be judged by more people for being a housewife than a working mom.

Thanks author. I never would have realized I was anything as cool as a radical anything without you. Here I am just thinking I was normal. I guess I'll take my "radical" self - and the ability to sleep at night knowing that yes, sometimes one does not get the most expensive everything - and garden and cook happily, instead of eating myself up over the human right to shop at The Gap.

Also, holding back technology? Please. Explain to me what is held back by an insistence on small footprints and keeping costs within the reach of the working class.

Hmph. I agree with a lot of comments here. Yes, I knit and sew and cook and bake and make, all for my single self. My family also raised me right to be nice and help anyone that needs it. And I feel a lot safer knowing my neighbors rather than then being total strangers.
I don't do any of it to subscribe to some movement or what have you though. I do it purely because I enjoy doing it, and the food tastes better and I feel better with the money I've saved. That being said, I still love my laptop, iPhone, cable TV, and even my corporate job. So maybe I'm the most evil - just a poseur radical. ;)

What if its just the way your taste runs? I kind of bore to tears at the idea of spending the rest of my life buying Crate and Barrel coffee tables because its just too heartbreakingly painful to take myself out to fleamarkets (and someone might see me in, *gasp* a Nissan) and crying that its horrible I don't have a massive SUV to drop my kids off to school in.

Its not that she's so whiny. It's that she's banal, boring, dumb, short-sighted, and lazy.

"..banal, boring, dumb, short-sighted, and lazy." All of these, and sad if her aspiration is to drive an SUV

I am a total techie, love the ways it can save me time, same the planet from using so much paper (notes, lists, calendars on iTouch, no phone books, etc.)...But I make everything I eat from scratch (yogurt, vinegars, baked goods, ketchup, jellies), grow my own vegetables and herbs, never use a dryer, keep driving to a minimum, make my own clothes, don't use paper towels, use a sawdust toilet, make my own compost, built an outdoor shower..hand water all my plants from rain barrels, work full time (50 hrs a week). I have done these things all my life...I love that all the green choices I have been making for 45 years all cool now. We are all responsible for being good stewards of our planets. Yes, it takes more work, but is enormously satisfying.

http://optimumnutrition.wordpress.com/my-present-level-of-living-green/
Chef Millie Barnes

My mother was a young bride during WWII. The way to consume less because of the war effort was to "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."

She also taught me to buy the best and buy one less.

I find it to be a nice middle-of-the-road way to approach being a consumer. I don't grow veggies, but I head to the local organic farmer's market, another middle-of-the-road approach.

Okay, I'm hearing a lot of "what's so radical about homemaking, we've been doing this all along, etc.". Here's the radical part in my opinion:
There is VALUE in homemaking. It's not just something you do to keep your family from starving or keep them in clothes and other necessities. You develop a closer connection with your environment, your food, and your family. It's radical because in the past homemaking was seen as merely a set of survival skills, and then a burden of work that we needed to be liberated from. Radical homemakers are taking back these processes and embracing them, seeing what we can learn from them, and rejoicing in the fact that we can say that we know where our stuff comes from and that it's made for us, by us. It isn't a rejection of technology, it's a rejection of detached consumerism that takes some of the value out of life. If you have kids, it's asserting that being with your kids and taking an active part in their lives every day and teaching them to do and make things is more important than having another job so you can buy them more stuff. In the long run, having had the time to sit down with my mom and learn how to sew and make some of my clothes together was worth so much more than if she had been out working so she could buy me the latest trendy GAP clothes (despite the fact that yes, I got picked on for wearing homemade things instead of the latest trends. I wouldn't trade it for anything.).

I think it's interesting that a lot of the green/frugal living tends to fall on the shoulders of the woman in many partnerships- at least in the US. I guess that's because a lot of the chores that become much more labor intensive (laundry, food, etc) are, statistically, still done by women.

Funny enough, thanks to being raised on a farm, I kick ass on"radical" type homemaking (gardening, doing your own plumbing, fixing old clothing and furniture, etc...) but I am an absolute failure at more traditional homemaking like remembering to vacuum. Or dishes. Ugh, dishes.

So to all the homemakers out there who are good at keeping up their apartment, feel great about yourself! You've got a skill many of us handyman-farmer's daughters do not have.

PhoebeArt, very well put. I'd upvote your comment if that were possible here! I hope it gets many reads.

PhoebeArt wrote, "It's radical because in the past homemaking was seen as merely a set of survival skills, and then a burden of work that we needed to be liberated from."

Which past? By whom? For poor women, homemaking has always been about survival, but when they embraced washing machines and electric ovens, it wasn't because they all wanted to not be homemakers, but because they wanted to eliminate the grunt work that they had had to perform (and the rich had employed servants to do).

Prior to the welfare state, the home was the center of security for everyone. The woman who made the clan home welcoming had a very important job; everyone, male or female, rich or poor, would have agreed. This idea that homemaking per se (as opposed to just the grunt aspect of it) is "burden of work that we needed to be liberated from" is a creation of the industrial era and corporate public relations, and some third wave radical feminism. It's a recent (less than 100 years old) idea.

If some people, like Julia Wise above, find that the label of a movement is useful in finding new friends and information, great. But my earlier point still stands that the label is marketing of an old product to new customers.

The whiny tone aside, I completely understand where this author is coming from. When I was just finishing college and newly married, I made our own bread and every meal, tried to grow veggies in buckets on our stoop, and line-dried all our clothes (after hauling the heavy baskets on foot to and from the laundromat) while working part-time and going to school. It was exhausting.

I also agree that a lot of the burden for doing those green homemaking chores, and especially child-related chores, falls unduly on women. It was always me packing the lunches, and hanging the clothes, and planning the garden, in addition to the regular cleaning and cooking! And it's not that my husband is sexist. He just wasn't raised with any regular chores, much less additional ones that stem from lifestyle choices, and I got tired of constantly "asking for help" with things that should have been shared responsibilities.

So, I now use the dryer more often than a drying rack, I gave away my sewing machine, I buy my bread, and I limit my growing/fermenting/building projects. I had to manage my own energy resources as well as the planet's. A zero-downtime life was not a healthy one.

There's also something about the nature of radical homemaking that seems to cause stress-outs like the author of the article is having. Rather than say, "Great! I did one green project this month!" we say, "Oh God, I failed. I used the dryer." Celebrating successes is far more likely to engender future successes.

Well said PhoebeArt. SoRad, its all more marketing, but isn't it better to have it going in this direction than the opposite?

As for me, I'm almost 25 and living with my boyfriend on a combined salary of a little less than 40,000. Soon I'll be going back to school so there goes 25,000. I find myself walking a new and interesting line. How the heck do we survive on 15,000? I think that I'm fairly well equipped for going without and I love to bake. But at times the cost of ingredients are more than buying the items!

I grew up in a era where materialism was at a feverish pitch and "I want that, I need that, give to me NOW" was a familiar refrain. I like to think that I'm on the less materialistic side of the spectrum for my generation. I didn't grow up with parents that were able to throw me whatever I wanted. I learned to be patient and look for items that were going to last me more than the season. But I still find myself vulnerable to the pull of having things immediately (clothes are a very good example and I'm a sucker for a good pair of shoes).

So now, I find myself wobbling between radical homemaker and materialistic queen. How far can or should I go at this point in my life with more than limited means. My boyfriend and I are currently working on finding a good whole wheat bread dough recipe. We already don't have cable, hang dry our clothes, have one car we only use for errands (I take the bus for now, until I go back to school at which point I'll switch to biking) and make or scrounge up a lot of our furniture. For us, Craigslist is a part of daily life.

Peeved. Very, very peeved.

I have to say I haven't read the article yet but from the snippet here, I agree with her. I occasionally make pickles and bake bread but frankly, I don't have to and don't always want to so I don't.

I make enough to NOT HAVE TO DO THESE THINGS. For me, doing these things would be a choice and they sound an awful lot like martyrdom to me. If I had any interest in keeping animals and growing things I might have become a farmer but I don't so I didn't. I do not WANT to be any kind of homemaker. I'm a professional because I wanted a career outside the home and technology like dryers, dishwashers and Claussen dills allow me to do that.

I can be single and still have a functional home where I can entertain and be comfortable. It is in no way required for me to have a "wife" (by which I mean a person who fulfulls the traditional role of housekeeper, cook, canner, preserver, baker, cheesemaker, gardner and nanny among a myriad of other vastly underrated duties) to keep my life running. Going "radical homemaker" sounds to me like a step back towards "a woman's place is in the kitchen!" especially since I've noticed a decided lack of men volunteering to stay home and do all this stuff. We aren't talking things that take a mere half hour after work, after all.

If living a "real" green life means someone has to be a slave to the kitchen again, to heck with that crap, I'm buying me some BP stock and a Humvee.

Wow. This is turning out to be quite a thread! I think everyone has added some great comments to the discussion, and nobody seems to be getting bent out of shape!

Yes, SoRad, this is definitely a case of marketing an "old product to a new customers". I do take issue, however, with your previous comment that it "these things have never died out". Well, not completely, no. But any megasuperduperstore will provide plenty of evidence that this sort of thing (urban homesteading, radical homemaking, or whatever other label you'd like to put on it) is no longer even close to mainstream.

I've yet to decide if this sudden resurgence of popularity will mean anything in the long run. Since largely it isn't borne out of necessity, I do worry that it will become another passing fad. On the other hand, I don't see the harm in reminding folks that it is possible to live (and live well) without microwaveable dinners and a pantry full of disposable goods. I'm hoping the message of mindfulness about what we consume will stick, long after those backyard chicken coops fall to ruin.

Actually, maybe I am luckier than I realized - I suppose its easier for me be "radical" because my husband does (and line-dries!) laundry and cooks and so on. I would agree its unfair if it is all one person all the time, I would not ask him to do it all either.

I don't associate it with womens' work - what's especially womanly about it? Is it the "homemaker" label, which is skewed towards an image of a weary woman doing laundry with a washboard, the way that old label, "off-grid survivalist," is skewed toward an image of a man in camo gear hunkered down in an Idaho basement?

My brother and I like the same things - the idea of building our own homes, growing trees, giving kids natural foods, emaciated energy bills. Why is everyone in a hurry to say I am being hustled back to the kitchen? I'm outside playing in the dirt, or shopping at a flea-market, or dreaming of watching my electric meter run backward. It tastes like freedom and fresh raspberries to me.

I'm with Shanti and SamanthaWS- it's all about choice (including the decision to accept that you are not an heiress and the man you married is not a sugar daddy - a lecture I give myself sometimes when I compare myself to others).

I am not a "radical homemaker" because I don't have the time. I do have a trendy little fantasy of being a stay at home (homeschooling!) mom with backyard chickens, but when I dwell on the reality of it, it sounds exhausting, boring and rather lonely - and I am GRATEFUL that it can remain a fantasy. I regularly appreciate how physically easy my job is and that doing things "the hard way" is a choice for me, not an economic necessity. I think maybe that's what the writer's real problem was, that she was forced (however gently) by her husband's job change into a lifestyle that she may have embraced in other circumstances. Surely she knows that being a stay-at-home mom is a luxury, but perhaps it doesn't feel that way when it's not by choice because jobs are scarce. (It's not clear whether she wants a job or not.)

It's so personal. Some people see rearing the next generation as the most important job in the world - some don't. I'm sure it has a lot to do with where your talents lie - not everyone is crafty, not everyone is a good teacher; some people can do far more with their lives helping small businesses find financing while letting someone else change diapers at home.

Me, I opt for whole foods, making things from scratch, a vegetable garden, cleaning with vinegar - that whole scene - mainly as defensive measures because I do not TRUST big business (including big agriculture) not to ruin my health and happiness. I SEE my fellow citizens getting fatter and sicker and diseased and allergic and hating one another as much as ever, I SEE the land and sky and water around me getting uglier and more toxic, I SEE fields and forests I used to play in turned into acres of enormous houses, and I see that a lot can be traced to the activities of corporations (and politicians, frankly) who have no purpose other than to maximize profits for themselves. Corporations aren't moral beings, under our laws (a topic for another time) it's just what they do. However, contrary to xsimpletunx's point, I do not believe that these outcomes represent progress - for our planet or our species.

On judging: I also make my choices out of a moral sense that waste is simply wrong. Compost instead of trashing, re-use what has life in it, repair what can be fixed, take no more than you need and share what you can't finish. Not because it's hip or even because it's "green," but because it's how mature people live. To pick on xsimpletunx's theme of "progress" again, if there's something about adult humans that distinguishes us from the other animals, it may be that we can think through the consequences of our actions. I don't judge children for being selfish and short-sighted, they are still learning. And I don't think of most wasteful, selfish people as immoral (though I might find their actions to be), I think that they haven't thought things through - or that maybe they have a whole calculus that I know nothing about that makes their choice sensible for them.

Or this is what I try to think. Even if I use the term mature/immature instead of good/evil, I drive by a McMansion and I still judge. *sigh*

Wow I would definitely call this a "radical" blog post!

I think that people complain so much about how things are today, compared to how things used to be in say the 50s and 60s. Even then, most wives could afford to stay home and do all of this Radical Homemaker stuff... Clean the house all day, grow and make food, sew clothes... But come on let's be for real... Who has time for this if you have to work 40 hours a week and raise kids? It's just not realistic. I mean seriously, I'm 22 years old and people complain constantly about MY generation... but even my mom wasn't able to raise me that way, she was too busy working 2 jobs and keeping up with us. It's getting harder and harder as things get more expensive. And the harder and harder things get, the harder and harder it is to learn these things that seemed so simple before. I don't know anything about house plants, but I sure am trying!

I think the effort is worth all the while though. You may not be able to grow and make everything you eat or wear, but it's all about reducing as much as you can. I don't think very many people are realistically able to perfect all of that until much later in life. It's all about trial and error.

By the way! SWaddel, I totally agree with you. I would say it is very discouraging that I look at a healthy home made recipe, and it is intimidating how much money it would cost to make. I also live with my boyfriend and we don't make a lot of money, but we're not always at home. Most of these healthy and whole foods go bad quickly, I might make this amazing loaf of bread that costed me at least double to make but more than likely we'll throw half of it out. You can tell me, "Turn the bread crums into...!" But really, I don't have the space in my tiny kitchen to save and recycle everything I make. Some day I hope to have a bigger kitchen and a nicer home, then I'll try! For now I'll save on cheaper things.

I think the 'radical homemaker' label is a red herring. Most people who cook from scratch, line-dry clothes or walk/cycle do so because it gives them pleasure and satisfaction, not because they are slavishly following a movement. Foraged/caught food or homegrown livestock is delicious (wild mushrooms, line-caught sea-bass, organic poultry), and in many countries are not the preserve of the wealthy because 'radical' living is not an issue, just a way of life

Do what you love. It's not that complicated. My husband and I cook from scratch together every night, because we love it. We look forward to an hour in the kitchen together, chopping, sauteeing, unwinding and reconnecting. I have friends who would rather order take-out and then cuddle up with novels on the couch. Cool. That's what they should do, and they shouldn't feel guilty for one second that they don't cook.

I compost, but I don't line dry. I grow my own vegetables, but I hate baking bread. I can my produce, but I don't make cheese. I forage, but I don't hunt. I suppose I could judge the people who don't compost, garden, or forage, but that just leaves me open to criticism from the people who bake and hunt. Life is short; we're all doing the best we can with what we have and taking pleasure from the things we love.

"What's the point of your life if the majority of your time is spent making clothes and food? I think some people are suffering from 'westerners guilt.'"

@Kh�¼rt is being ironic, right? Since that what half the world does everyday so that Kh�¼rt doesn't have to.

Perhaps Sharon Astyk's response to the original article is worth a read? http://scienceblogs.com/casaubonsbook/2010/07/myths_of_incompetence.php

And I agree - perhaps some bloggers make their part of the radical homemaking movement out to be faddish and hip, but most of the folks I know just do it with no fanfare.

Thanks for the link artmeetsearth!

..."We carry a cloth bag and crank up the a/c at the same time. These are, after all, just statements of who we are - we're both environmentally conscious and terribly heat sensitive."

That one made me chuckle out loud. And then go adjust the thermostat;)

Personally, I garden because it gives me satisfaction and the food tastes so much better. You cannot compare a home grown tomato to a store bough tomato. They're not the same.

But as for being radical or revolutionary - I do what I am comfortable with. I am certainly not going to be milking a cow out in my NJ backyard (it isn't zoned for livestock), not that I would do it even with proper zoning.

The point is do what makes you feel good and what you can conscionably stand. But make sure you have a conscience!

For the record, the beer story is real. The same kid told me that high heels are tools of the oppressors, and I should abandon them for something vegan and earth friendly.

Being more than half way through the book, I think a lot of people aren't getting what is "radical". In the book it is making a conscious choice not to accept consumerism or soul-sucking jobs, it is about making the choice to live life without things and the pursuit of money being the primary driving forces. Yes, many of us do these things because we have to or even because we *want* to, and we don't think it needs a label. But the woman in the article was whiny and didn't get it. She wasn't radical because she didn't want what she was doing; clearly she wanted to the new clothes and furniture, meals out, and big SUV.

Right now, with a strong body and lots of time, and exceptionally little cash, I prefer to do as much as I can myself. My parents...with tons of church commitments, lots of work travel for Dad...they have much more money than time. I'm grateful for the skills I have, but you have to recognize that this world has an economy that can't be sustained on DIY'ers. I'm better at doing, Dad's better at buying- we should perhaps focus on our strengths?

I understand the author's point of view. It's exasperating when people with a CHOICE have a holier-than-thou attitude. It's one thing if you choose to live radically, but if you have no choice in the matter, there's nothing anyone can do to convince you that going without is awesome. Voluntary simplicity is great, but being broke is not. I very clearly remember the years when I was poor and couldn't have ANYthing I wanted or, often times, the things that I needed. Trying to make ends meet--constantly trying to make something out of nothing--was exhausting. I am financially stable today and, as a result, I want less. Though I wouldn't call myself radical, other people might. It feels good to live with less, now that I have the choice. Give the author a break.

Like MonkeyMama and tmoore and Allisen pointed out, I don't see why living more responsibly has to be an all-or-nothing concept. I feel sorry for people who feel intense pressure to keep up with their consumerist neighbors and/or their snotty eco-chic companions. It's all the same kind of jealousy and social pressure to fit a mold that isn't personally fulfilling.

I enjoy luxuries, but I also feel proud and satisfied when I learn and refine a new life skill that makes me healthier and more self-sufficient. There are many ways to live in a more ecologically responsible manner. People in small apartments can't grow extensive gardens or milk cows, but they also have smaller carbon footprints simply by living in a shared building. Everything is a tradeoff.

I think some of the problem is that people are caught up in the fashion or style of being green vs. not. Some people revel in how trendy it is, or conversely, hate how crunchy and uncivilized it feels to do old-fashioned chores.

It doesn't need to be one way or the other. I have artist friends who live very "green" and healthy. But you would never think of them as hippies or hipsters or "country" or whatever. They have life skills that allow them to live a high-fashion lifestyle without lots of cash.

Their home is sleek, modern, and tasteful--because Husband is a professional builder/remodeler and both of them create their own pro-level sculptures and paintings.

Wife grows a few of her own vegetables and herbs in containers, but you would never guess it looking at her (formaldehyde-free) manicure and sharp hairstyle--which she can afford to maintain because she cuts corners elsewhere.

Wife wears nothing but designer clothing and accessories, mixed ingeniously with cheap designer knockoffs and exact copies of garments and handbags out of Vogue magazine--that she makes herself. She purchases all her other high-fashion goods from eBay and thrift stores (really!). She NEVER whines about having to go to a flea market or second-hand shop--on the contrary, it's a fun way to spend an afternoon with friends, and afterward, she's always strutting around in some Diane von Furstenberg or Fendi vintage piece. RECYCLED high fashion--now she's earned points with snobs across the spectrum!

My artist friends live a high-class lifestyle for the most part. They don't drive a cool car, however. They walk and bike whenever they can. But you know what? They're in better shape and look hotter in Prada than anyone we know who stuffs their fat ass into an SUV every day.

There is joy to be found, and freedom to create ways to do what you like to do, at most income levels and life situations. Who has time and energy for whining?

I wonder if anyone considers that it's the modern 'homemaking' that's radical, not the traditional homemaking.

Seriously, don't forget that you are sheltered if you've surrounded yourself with "radical homemakers". If you don't like it, go make other friends, these people are still the minority and feeling oppressed by them is ridiculous.

I've read through most of the comments and think there's one point that's been missed. This point is made clearly in the book "Your Money or Your Life": where you spend your energy should be where you derive the most value. For some, that's working a conventional job and reaping the benefits of a solid income. For others, it's staying home with kids or aging parents or starting a business or pursuing something creative.

There are two ways of achieving financial success: reducing your overhead to fit your salary or growing your salary to fit the life you want. The only wrong answer is not being honest with yourself about how you want to get there or letting other people do your thinking for you. And for what it's worth, I love my laptop AND my wooden clothes rack!

I'm a little late to the game here, and I haven't read most of the comments. I HATED this article, which I read a few days ago, because the author so clearly misses the major points of Hayes' book and focuses on the wrong things entirely. Really irritating.

Frankly, radicalism is the luxury of the married. Ten hour days at work and renting a room rather than an apartment in order to keep expenses low precludes the option of raising plants and sewing my own clothes. There's simply not enough time in the day. But I am grateful for the modern conveniences of washing machines and electric ovens. Even if I had the time, it would almost be slighting the efforts of my ancestors to digress to a lifestyle that prevents writing, sharing new ideas, and moving toward a future that can only be made possible by making the next technological move.