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Homemaking {Lessons from Moms} & News!

by | May 9, 2014 | Family, Kitchens, Mother's Day

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Homemaking {Lessons from Moms} & News!

BHG – Kitchen

In honor of Mother’s Day this weekend, I was thinking back to where I got my love of beautiful houses. Definitely it must have come from my mom! She created lovely places for our family to grow up, through decorating, special tables for the holidays and remodeling many of our homes. She inspired me! I remember her teaching my sister and me to shine our bathroom sinks after every use, set a pretty table for sit down dinners, always hang lovely full curtains so windows fill large and luxurious, remodel with lots of windows to let in the most amount of light, and so many of the things I’ve thought about in my own homes. I’m blessed to have her still in my life and sharing that common love of homes! And, I’m now passing on that same love of the home on to my daughters!

Homemaking {Lessons from Moms} & News!

In fact, we are super excited about this news…my oldest daughter Kylee and her husband Lance just bought their very first home!

After years in a dark basement apartment they are thrilled to start a new chapter of their lives. We cannot wait to share that journey here (I’ll have some pictures and details next week, they just got the key!). We will be featuring many new creative small house ideas for you, too (it’s a small three level townhouse in Seattle!).

What are some things your mom taught you about homemaking? 

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mamas and daughters out there.

26 Comments

  1. Louise

    Specific, random memory–once on the morning of Christmas Eve while getting the cooking going in the kitchen, Mom corralled me to give the entrance hall a wash-down to freshen up for the relatives who would arrive that evening. The hallway was both paint and paper. Mom very clearly instructed me to wash from the bottom up, not top down, because if you start at the top, the dribbles run downward and end up drying lighter in color than the rest of the surface. I haven’t actually done a great amount of wall washing, but my mother’s advice has certainly stayed with me.

    Reply
  2. joanne

    Happy for your daughter and her husband what a exciting time in their lives. Have a wonderful mothers day.

    Reply
  3. Terrie M

    I am excited for this new series. I grew up in Seattle, now I live in the Midwest. It’s still my favorite place. What a wonderful post. My mom taught me how to cook, sew, can, grow a garden, clean a house and MANY more life skills! How to care for a family. How to work hard at that to make a wonderful home. How to love others through service. My mom now lives with us, as she has dementia. She can’t do these things anymore but I always tell her she is the one who taught me. You and your daughter are going to have so much fun!

    Happy Mothers Day to you! Will Jack stay out of trouble on Mother’s Day???

    Reply
    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      Thanks, we are excited too! I’m fully expecting Jack to get into some sort of trouble this weekend heheh! Happy Mother’s Day!

      Reply
  4. Alicia

    Open the windows as often as you can to let the fresh air in. Hang laundry outside so when you bring it in it smells sooooo good & your sheets are crisp & clean. Your home doesn’t have to be neat but it must be clean.

    Reply
  5. cindy

    Note: “She taught my sister and me…” When in doubt leave out the other person (sister) and see whether me or I sounds better.

    Reply
    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      You are right! Late night writing and no editor means I make all kinds of mistakes! Thanks for catching that!

      Reply
      • joanie

        Unless I missed something, I think Melissa is correct. We would not say, “She taught I,” so “my sister and me” in this case is correct.

        Love your blog, ideas and heart, Melissa!

        Reply
  6. Sandra at Thistle Cove Farm

    The correct way to clean and do laundry, how to put up food and, most importantly, how to be a Christian woman.

    Reply
  7. Ava

    I am blessed to still have my mom. She’ll turn 90 this year. Mom still loves making a home for her family to come back to. It doesn’t matter what time of year I go to visit, she always has a vase of flowers on her kitchen counter…..sometimes small and sometimes large and most always something from her garden. I find myself doing this and my two daughters tell me they do too and that it reminds them of their grandmother. I am truly blessed by the example she set for me.

    Reply
    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      Wow, that is wonderful you still have your mom and she still inspires you! What a great example to follow! Happy Mother’s Day!

      Reply
  8. karen on bainbridge

    My mother, who left us at the age of 90 almost 3 years ago, was a serial furniture re-arranger. I can recall many times when my father came home from work and had to wonder if he was in the right house! He would bang his shin on an ottoman that wasn’t there yesterday, and mutter under his breath how everything was fine the way it was.

    She was very adventurous in her decorating and not afraid to embrace new concepts in design. In the 50’s our home looked like the set from an early Mad Men episode…orange vinyl sofa, Danish inspired chairs, sleek wood pieces in light tones of wood. I wish I had some of those pieces today.

    And although she embraced the new, she appreciated the old, and always had room for antiques in her home, especially those passed down through the family. At least a dozen of those pieces still survive as functional furnishings and reminders of my history in my own home.

    Reply
  9. Donna@MoreThanHungry

    Of all the life lessons learned from my Mom (who lives right next door), one of the most significant is – Keep an Open Door. Let people in and let them talk. Even in the midst of a mess or busyness, let them in.
    My oldest daughter & husband just bought their first house too, only four miles from us. Loads of projects on that Honey-do list! Looking forward to seeing your creative small house ideas.

    Reply
  10. Barbara (WA)

    I am encouraged about your daughter & son-in-law’s house since my own son & daughter-in-law live in a dark basement apartment presently. My son keeps scoping out possible places to buy in expensive Seattle (we kinda want them to come over to our county, heh). What fun you & your daughters are going to have with a fresh new space to redo!! Looking forward to following the story.

    Housecleaning tips: do the dishes and make the bed every day and the whole house will feel ready for the day.

    Reply
  11. Michele

    My mom was the mom that canned, hung the clothes out to dry, decorated our birthday cakes and sewed our clothes. She had a budget and always seemed to make it work. Even to this day, my folks don’t use debit cards. It is amazing how when things are a little tight in my household, I revert back to those basic things and habits that my mom utilizes.

    Reply
  12. Marla

    My precious sweet mother taught me without a word – how to pray for your children (on your knees, in the wee morning hours, over the open Word of God) (I don’t think she never knew that I would get up too just to watch and listen, peeking from down the hallway). Of course, the laundry, cooking, cleaning, mending (she could mend anything so it looked totally new!), starching clothes, ironing (sorry Mom, I’m still the Queen of Beggar’s Pleats!) Miss her every-single-day. But oh, what wonderful memories, and what a reunion we shall have on the other side!
    So happy for Lance & Kylee! The Michael’s girls are gonna par-tay decorating that little haven! Lance is so lucky;)
    Thank you Melissa for sharing from your heart and family – you, & they, are such a blessing!

    Reply
    • Marla

      Oh, and my mom taught me, that while spreading love (aka cooking) in my kitchen, to always clean up as I go:)

      Reply
  13. Barbara

    My mom taught me to keep three sets of things like sheets,towels etc for my family so one could be used, one could be in the wash and one could be on reserve just in case. She also taught be her example to never yell, to explain to children in private what they had done wrong and to praise a child in public. She always asked for our help and never demanded it and so we would run to her aid. My mom always cooked homecooked yummy meals and everyone waswelcome at the table. Miss her every day

    Reply
  14. teresa

    So very happy for your daughter! Nothing like your first place.
    My Mother taught me to set a pretty table…Sundays were the best.
    Happy Mothers Day to you lovely lady.

    Reply
  15. Nicki

    My mother was the same! She loves decorating, and has a beautiful home. I remember obsessively pouring over her Ethan Allen catalogs when I was a girl, and we still bond through sharing interior design ideas.
    Congrats to your daughter! What a big step!

    Reply
  16. Karen

    Happy Mother’s Day to you Melissa! Yes I can totally relate to all the beautiful “Mom” stories. My mom who we are still blessed to have, certainly always did a beautiful job making our house a home. I have vivid memories of her spring house cleaning which entailed scrubbing the walls, washing the windows, curtains, bedding, hardwood floors etc. She would open the windows and everything sparkled and was so fresh and clean. She was also famous for rearranging the furniture to give a room a whole different appearance. We used to joke that my dad would come home & fall on the floor because his chair was no longer in the same spot! She would top it all off with a vase of fresh picked flowers on the dining room table. Life was very simple but beautiful all at the same time. God Bless.

    Reply
  17. Sheila

    I had a great Mom. I was sick as a child, mumps measels even Scarlet Fever. Whenever we ( sister and I got sick my Mom would get brown paper bags and fill them with Paper Dolls , Coloring Books and activity stuff. She would then tie them on twine and hang the garland on the wall. Each day I got to pick one to open and play with. It made the week or so I was sick so much easier. Those little things that show us how much we are loved stay with us. I am 65.

    Reply

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