The Eden of Home

Country Cottage, by Joshua Fisher

An interesting  way to make anything worthwhile and beautiful, is to think back to the beginning of time; to the Creation. There are several lessons that can be taught about the Garden of Eden, and taking care of the home is one of them.

The first two chapters of the book of Genesis record the creation of the very first home and family. The description of the beautiful garden, and the couple who lived there, can be an example in creating our own homes, for a number of reasons: It had everything the man and woman needed for living, and to make a living. We assume by its description of the rivers, the precious gems and the flora, that it was also a lovely, pleasant place.

Stephen Darbishire

If God saw fit to create such a lovely place for Adam and Eve, we can, in our limited way, provide a place of beauty and happiness for our own families.  The work of the house can be approached as though it were a special Eden, a reflection of that first home.

Log Cabin Covered Porch, by Sung Kim

 Like the Garden of Eden, the home will  have to be cared for and maintained. Not all of the work will be completely pleasant, and that is why homemakers enjoy the little extras in the home. That is why homemakers are interested in the special touches, from fresh foods and special napkins for the table, to bright cushions and scenic pictures for the living areas. Not all housekeeping will be easy. That is why women are interested in choosing good working tools and cleaning products. Straw brooms, polishes, detergents and storage containers of a certain quality and appearance, become very important in making housekeeping meaningful and uplifting. These little touches create a nice atmosphere in which to work.

Making work worthwhile means that you have to have some kind of vision beyond the current job. You will not just be cleaning up the kitchen or doing the laundry. You will be making life more pleasant for yourself by having this work done. In the short-term scheme of things, you are making life easier for yourself by being able to find things, but in the long term, you will be building a life for yourself that your own generations will one day refer to when they talk about the things you did to make the home more comfortable. If you have children, your attitude will influence them one way or another. These are among the future results of homemaking with thoughtfulness.

On the first day of the Creation, God made the lights. Light is an important factor in homemaking. Choosing curtains that let in soft light, or having a flickering candle on a mantelpiece, is better than working in a gloomy, unlit room. When photographs are made for house magazines, light is the first thing that is prepared, so that the home will be shown at its best.  Small lamps, chosen for their style or sentimental value, positioned in corners and on furniture side pieces can make housekeeping enjoyable.

The second day of creation, the heavens and the waters were separated. Some things belong in one place, and others in another place.  If the earth were all jumbled up in a big mess, we could not function as human beings. Consider the home as a type of creation in the making. You may have to separate things and  create places for them,  to make order.  In a huge mess, begin by placing things that are alike, together in piles and finding a place for them. Books, clothes, toys, and papers, all need to have their own places. This is part of creating order, and making home living enjoyable. 

Arranging Flowers, by Leonard Zorn

 The third day, the dry land, called the earth, appeared, and was separated from all the great bodies of water. On top of that ground, God added green grass and herbs and fruit-bearing trees. The concept of interior home design must have come  from the Creation, because designers  usually take care of the big things first, like the floors, the walls, and the drapery. Then, like the plants added to the earth,  they add the furniture, and lastly, the accessory items of pictures, lamps and other useful or decorative items.

The fourth day, all the different kinds of lights were placed in the heavens--some for day time and some for night time. There are such nice choices for your private Eden of the home: humble curtains that let in light as the morning appears, and pretty lamps with special shades for extra evening light. Soothing, scented candles light the home with memories of simpler times. My favorite scented votive is called birthday cake, which makes a wonderful aroma for the house when stored in decorative containers and left unlit.

Sunshine in the Country, by George Turner

The fifth day, all the living things that could fly or swim, were created. A friend of mine has an old painting of a farm home. In the scene, are animals, with a little creek flowing through the land. Children are playing outside on a home made swing. There are clouds in a blue sky, and daffodils in a flower garden. Although she does not live in the country, this lady's  picture is a reminder of the relationship of the home to the creation. I think it is very good for home makers to remind their families of where life began, by having pictures on their walls, with scenes of the birds of the air and other living things. A small plant or container of flowers brings in fresh scent and gives you a close-up view of nature. If you have things growing outside, try a handful of spearmint stalks, mixed with the humble forget-me-not, which brightens the center of a table and scents the home.

Summer Evening, by Daniel Ridgeway Knight

The sixth day, after creating animals, God created man and woman.  The home was prepared, and now, it was time to put someone in it to care for it. These two people were told to have dominion over the creation. In a similar way, we must have control over the house, so that it can provide the place we need in order to think, to pray and to work. Most people do not have the luxury of outside help from maids and gardeners. That is why it is so important to develop the habit of caring for the home and keeping it orderly. It takes daily attention. There will be interruptions and sick days, but if you have the idea of Eden in your mind, you can always get back on track. 

If you keep in your mind a vision of the reputation you are building for yourself in the future, and the many reasons you want to be a good homemaker, the work does not seem like mere housekeeping. It becomes fulfillment. If you work carefully and enjoy it, rather than rushing around doing it in a hectic manner, it becomes less of a race and more of a gentle walk through your own Eden.

Grandmother's Doorway, by Abbot Fuller Graves

On the seventh day, God rested. Keeping house and doing it enthusiastically can give the homemaker more free time and more opportunities to put her feet up and rest. When everything is in order, there is more time to  seek special creative interests. I often put simple crafts, art projects and sewing on this weblog to show how just a few minutes of creating something special with your hands can lift the mood and result in something beautiful. This same concept can be used in keeping house. You can treat it as a creative work art. These are some of the perks of homemaking. They do not detract from our work, and they enhance the job at  home.

A homemaker wants to make the daily housekeeping a little more interesting.  That is why some of them use motivational things like interesting aprons to protect their clothing, with pockets for lists and found items, special table cloths and table settings, pictures of nature on the walls, floral prints on fabrics used for pillows or blankets, and all the lovely extras that make life at home so enjoyable. Most people are familiar with the film, "The Quiet Man," in which the young woman tells her prospective husband that she must have her things around her, in her house: the household furnishings that belonged to her mother and her grandmother: her table cloths, candlesticks, pictures for the walls, and her dishes.  This is what we still need, today, to make housekeeping enjoyable. If it is just a matter of sweeping the floor and cleaning the bathroom, it cannot be as appealing. When we are surrounded by the small comforts of a hand made blanket and a favorite cup, housekeeping has a different meaning: we are taking care of our own things.

The Family Album, 1869, by Charles Edouard Frere, French (1837-1894)

 We are the caretakers of the family history. We are the ones who keep the photograph albums and make the scrapbooks to record family events. We are the ones who create the special moments for the family. Keeping house so that these things can occur, makes good sense.  Women of the past used to say something like, "Let us get our work done early, and then we can go somewhere," or "Let's get the housework finished and then we can work on our favorite things."

To make housekeeping more enjoyable, try the following things:

Preparing for the next day, by leaving the kitchen clean at night before you retire. It might be possible to try this at least one night a week.

Dressing like a lady the first thing in the morning, and wearing an apron.

Putting a centerpiece on the table, after you have cleared it.

Putting away the dishes after they are washed, and making the kitchen streamlined and clean, as bare of clutter as possible.

Using a matching canister set to store often-used ingredients such as baking supplies or dried soup supplies.

Putting a tea set on display, ready to serve  impromptu visitors.

Folding things to fit the spaces they have to go in.

Laying a special folded towel across the edge of the tub, with a fresh bar of a special hand made soap on it.

Adding a pretty quilt to the top of your couch.

Buy scented candles and place them around the house, especially the laundry room, bathroom and kitchen. Without being lit, they make a wonderful scent for the home when placed in a decorative container and set on a shelf.  

Giving your home and yourself rewards: making a new garment to wear at home, having friends over for a fancy tea, ordering something special for the home, starting a new knitting project you have been wanting to do for years, or working on your photograph album or family memento scrapbook.

Not just cleaning house, but beautifying your living spaces, and thinking about, not just the near future, but the further future of your family.

While these things do take a little extra time, that is one of the purposes of a woman staying home. She has time for things that make her house feel homey and cared for. These are those extra things that calm the spirit and make life at home satisfying and fulfilling.

Paintings on this post can be viewed here.

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For further reading on other homemaking subjects, you might find this site helpful.