learning homemaking via old books

In the winter months I tend to cocoon inside the home and focus my energies toward handcrafts and homemaking. Lately I've been having a great deal of fun perusing the old books available as free Kindle downloads. I don't have a Kindle, but you can download Kindle books for the PC, the MAC, ipad, iphone, and all sorts of other platforms.

I've been busy adding to our home library and am thrilled that I haven't needed to spend a dime and I haven't needed any additional shelf space to house the books!

I have plans to share lots of titles with you, but today I'm going to share with you some of my favorite homemaking books that are available as free Kindle downloads.

1. Every Step in Canning by Grace Viall Gray, 1920 - This amazing book dates back to the 1920s and was written by a Home Economics Professor. It's a fun look back at the scientific approach to cold-pack method canning.



2. The American Frugal Housewife by Mrs. Child, 1832 - I love the subtitle of this book, "Dedicated to those who are not ashamed of economy." The book is a fantastic look back at 19th century housekeeping and cooking practices.



3. The Book of Household Management by Mrs. Beeton, 1861 - this book is very comprehensive and covers all household needs as well as nursing, sanitary considerations, and legal information. It was originally published in 24 monthly parts (like a magazine) and then later published in a bound edition.



4. The Complete Home edited by Clara E. Laughlin, 1906 - This book covers choosing a home, furnishing, housekeeping, and hiring help. It's a very comprehensive coverage of everything a new housewife would need to know in order to run her household.



5. The Easiest Way in Housekeeping and Cooking Adapted to Domestic Use or Study in Classes by Helen Campbell, 1893 - This book is a comprehensive course covering all the areas of cookery and housekeeping that a young girl would need to learn. What I love is not only that the topics are covered, but lessons are outlined. There are so many great techniques covered that a modern housewife isn't likely to know.




There are many, many more books I could discuss, but in the interests of keeping this blog post short I'll refer you out to the Pinterest board I put together that has links out to all of the cookery and housekeeping books I found interesting.

ETA - I just wanted to add the link to download the Kindle reader. While I opted to download the Kindle for Windows PC, they have options to read Kindle ebooks on MAC, iPhone, BlackBerry, iPad, Android, and Windows Phone 7 as well. Also, if you don't want to download the books you can also use your web browser to read the Kindle books using the Kindle Cloud Reader.