So You Wanna Be a Stay at home 50's Housewife ... Making it Happen

    I was thinking about the Vintage Housewife revival and wondering what made them the women we think that they are. Can we actually reproduce that? It is more than loving the styles and making our houses look retro, although it is cozy. It is more than loving our family, wanting to be with our children and give them the best childhood ever, although you wouldn't have the 50's mentality without that being a priority. All the things that are done to reflect those times...baking cookies, cooking from scratch, loving housework, wearing aprons etc. is not going to really do it. I realized to be an authentic, 50's housewife you had to be a 1930's Child. You had to grow up during the Great Depression where money was scarce and making ends meet...real ends like rent and food, was the highest priority. Kids made a lot of their own toys and games, the clothes that were made were a lot of time out of feed sacks. I know that sounds so wonderful now and we look for those things in antique shops and on Ebay, but if you were a child growing up endlessly in that place of concern for the basic necessities feed sacks would be "making do". These were things that I never worried about and I can tell you the kids today don't give a thought to them either. Things like, if their shoes got too tight and knew there was no money for new ones...or while playing you accidentally ripped your clothes knowing it was not a disposable item like we view clothing today.
   To be a typical 50's Housewife you would have had teen and early adult years with a World War and Rationing. You would be seeing brothers, Sweethearts and perhaps fathers going off to war. You would be finding out some of your childhood friends would never be coming back. Mom, who was always there in the kitchen doing the best she could for you was now working at the Factory. Rosie the Riveter

seems like a great Iconic figure in the fight for equality (I personally have always felt equal) But what did it do to Home life? Mom worked all day, dragged herself home to do laundry, cook meals and keep the Home Fires burning and you saw the struggle and the worry. So all your formative years would have been seeing a fight to survive. And then...the war is over, the guys come home and you get married. There is a prosperity that you have never known, a security and a sense of pride in being an American that helped put an end to a war "over there". You stay home and have children in a peaceful environment. You are happy. You are content....Aahhh...Contentment. Is that even a thing anymore?  So, to be a 50's housewife you have to learn to be content with what you have and yes, purchasing new things became a manic obsession in the 50's...Like a starving man set before a banquet table, they went crazy with the prosperity and all the new inventions. We had what everyone else had. A Car, a vacation once every few years not anything lavish, washer, new shoes every year before school and then again at Easter. Our entertainment was getting together with neighbors, BBQs, going to the zoo, the movies and...that is about it and they were happy, thankful and CONTENT.

SO...

How can you make that happen? It seems impossible?  We can at least try...first things first so go grab a cup of tea and let's see if I can help

So, if you are serious what would be the first things to consider...besides changing your modern mind and learning to be content with little?

So...If you can do it...do it! You will never regret it! If you are almost there or need to really work it to get there...push forward, don't settle for living a life that you aren't satisfied with, always dreaming of someday but never putting in the effort to get there. There is no reset in life, kids don't have a pause button. If you are a happy Rosie the Riveter and part time 50's homemaker then keep up the good work. You get to be happy with your choices without having to defend your position just as those who choose to stay home shouldn't feel the need to defend theirs either.
Oh...and the now what? I can get to that sometime this week or next. So much to learn and do!