Article from 1921 and Basic Housekeeping Adobe Connect on Monday

Basic housekeeping coming up!

Writing in 1921, Ellen Potter talked about the importance of community in raising children. It was written that the public school system played an enormous role in helping to secure positive outcomes "Courses in home economics will lay the future foundation for intelligent home making, which is the only basis on which child welfare can be made secure."

This is a PERFECT segue to Monday's Adobe Connect training. I chose this article because a number of you had indicated that you associate a clean home with basic health, welfare, and safety principles.

This training will focus on basic housekeeping. I have assembled a number of materials for you to use (PowerPoints, fact sheets, etc.) Indeed, basic housekeeping is not something that is inate. Instead, it is something that must be taught. I have also noticed that basic housekeeping skills may be forgotten over time.

Source: Potter, E. C. (1921). Community measures to conserve child life. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 98, Child Welfare, pp. 16-27.

See you Monday!

Adobe Connect
Date: July 1, 2013

Title: Basic housekeeping for low-income clients

Time: 10:00 – 11:00 am 
Please use the following link to connect: http://dasnr.adobeconnect.com/r2w98s1tbtm/. 

Lead in unlikely places

All:

Are you familiar with Restoration Hardware? It's a home goods store ($$$) that has a multitude of products, ranging from tableware to art. I needed a matching pair of lamps and hunted until I found two within my price point. Restoration Hardware had two that were DEEPLY discounted and fit my needs perfectly.

The lamps arrived. I was thrilled to see lightbulbs included in the package. The bulbs are compact fluorescent (CFLs) and feature the ENERGY STAR label. I was happy about this as CFLs manage energy better relative to incandescents with similar output.

I was not as thrilled to see the sticker label which reads:

WARNING:

This light bulb/lighting product has one ore more soldered electrical connection points on it's base that contain LEAD or lead compounds... 

Please take steps to minimize handling of the base of this product. 

Please do not place the base of the bulb in your mouth."

This is a fine example of the lead in consumer products ... You can find lead in the most unlikely places!

3 emergency tips

All:

I know that you are weather aware. Barbara Brown and I have been getting materials together (news releases, programs, tools) that you can use. I will be doing a program at OHCE this summer about building a kit on a budget. We wanted to have 250 homemade kits by the end of 2012. I have bumped the number up to 500. We can do this together!

If there is one message that you can get to your clients, consider these three emergency tips:

Identify a safe place

Wear sturdy, lace-up shoes

Have some bottled water ready

Be safe!

GP

Bright Ideas for Ladies

Dear educators,

You know that I really enjoy history. I was recently given a booklet titled:

Bright Ideas for Ladies

or

What to Teach Husbands About Electric Lighting

1960

Typically, I am good a putting text into a historical context. Times have changed and the language and sentiments towards gender role and norms have changed. The mores have shifted. However, this little booklet is utterly ridiculous as seen from today's lens.

It's the story of two women and their husbands [our narrator (no name provided) is married to Bill; Helen is married to Tod]. The narrator is visiting Helen and Tod at their suburban house that dates to the 1930s. Helen was going to turn a porch into a year-round room. Instead of extending the heating system (ductwork), Helen was going to use electric heaters to keep the space comfortable.

The story continues in a dramatic way, with Helen and our narrator worked on the issue, discussing the merits of planning ahead, calculating electrical needs, and safe wiring. This is indeed good information. However, the language was smug, condescending, and patronizing. It made me laugh out loud ... It was a good read :)

We'll talk about the dangers of old wiring in an upcoming post.

Thanks, all!

GP

Gentle Readers

Gentle readers,

I am borrowing a colleague's copy of the Emily Post "Etiquette" book, copyright 1937. The book is a delight to read. We know that etiquette has changed over the last 76 years. Interestingly, there are many entries devoted to the household and household decision-making behavior.

This one is of particular interest. From "The Well-Appointed House" (pg. 182)

"The personality of a house is indefinable,
but there never lived a lady of great cultivation and charm, whose home,
whether a palace, a farm cottage or a tiny apartment,
 did not reflect the charm of its owner."

Enjoy the photo of the "Every-Day Afternoon Tea Table" (pg. 224-225)

Launching the 2013 Spring Challenge!

Launching the 2013 Spring Challenge!
What are you doing to your home? 

Let's challenge each other to do one thing that makes us feel good about ourselves, our homes, and the environment. Everyone can make a difference, no matter how small. You have until next Friday (April 5 to respond).

Vermicomposting

My family is vermicomposting our kitchen waste into something the garden can utilize. My daughters and I went on a field trip to Dr. Doug Hamilton's vermicomposting epicenter to gather the red wigglers we needed. Doug and his wife Paloma were absolutely gracious! Check it out... 

This is where the worms live. Dr. Hamilton used a molasses solution to "call" the worms up to the surface.

Hampton Sloane (age 6) getting ready to harvest the red wigglers.

Jenkins (age 10) and Hampton getting a lesson on how to harvest. Note the expression on Hampton's face :)

Jenkins after a successful harvest.

Some of our new worms! They are living in my garage in a vermicomposter. It is SO easy to do and an interesting project, to say the least.

Where does this fit on the ISSUE TEAMS?

Environment, of course! EPA estimates that food scraps represent 14% of household waste. Worms also eat shredded paper, which 28.5% percent of household waste. Worms can eat this trash and add value to our home in the form of nutrient rich compost.

For information, please visit... http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/msw_2010_rev_factsheet.pdf.

Thanks!
GP

Falls at home

News you can use

On Saturday, January 26, I was painting the ceiling in my husband's study (aka the cozy bear's den). I was standing on a 2-step steps tool, admiring my work. I stepped back. I missed the step. I landed (all of my weight) on my posterior on a flagstone floor. My 6 year-old daughter was with me and said, "Mom, please stop screaming. Use your yoga breath."

I managed to make it through the rest of the day. The next morning, I woke up and my hand puffed up like a ballon. I went to the clinic, and the health care professional took x-rays. They determined that I sprained my wrist and ankle, and bruised my tailbone. Needless to say ... this has not been ideal!

I fell from a step stool just like this one.

Where does this fit on the issue teams?

Safety, of course! According to the University of North Carolina (UNC) Injury Prevention Research Center 2010 Annual report, most injuries occur in a home setting. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that each yea, 2 million adults aged 65+ are treated in emergency rooms for falls (http://www.cdc.gov/features/olderamericans/). 


Risk reduction is key. A relatively quick home safety check can help eliminate hazards. In my case, I should have been more careful. In the meantime ...  We are working on a falls risk reduction pilot project ... stay tuned for more info!