Managing Livingtime

I got this Managing Livingtime book from a thrift store for $2. First of all, the word “Livingtime” immediately makes me wonder, is there a “Dyingtime”? I get what they’re trying to get across, but it’s awkward sounding.

So this is a home economics book from 1966. Here are a couple of examples that make me smirk because the captions.

Heaven forbid she be a doctor, lawyer, scientist or basketball coach. The “Can you see additional talents she may have?” question makes me raise an eyebrow. Stacking fruit on the ground? Standing?

First, I’m not going to lie—I think the dress this woman is wearing is adorable. However, the caption makes me sigh in disappointment. Really? “Popularity among friends will be increased if you choose your wardrobe wisely.” Those are some “friends” you have that judge you so shallowly—it sounds like you should be choosing your friends more wisely instead. I’m not saying that appearance isn’t important, because it is in that people will inevitably judge you; I’m not saying it’s fair, but it is true. But I would hope that your friends would be friends because they liked you as a person not because of your outfit.

Food is important since we all have to eat. Here are some food related charts.

I thought the “Food Pie” was interesting—all the slices are equal.

Here’s what they thought people should be eating on a weekly basis.

Money. We all want it. And we all use it. Here’s a consumer debt chart.

I thought who decides about how money is used was very interesting.

The book has a lot about budgeting and spending. Here’s an example of Susan’s expenditures.

And the number of clothing pieces thought needed for a summer and winter wardrobe.

Here’s an example of how much a wedding costs.

The book also explains about cleaning—I just love the design of all of these cleaning supplies.

And how to iron a blouse.

And how to make a bed.

The name “home economics” sounds rather archaic to me, and brings to mind a housewife in the 1950s wearing a dress and vacuuming in high heels. Home economics needs a rebranding, but I think a lot of the basic knowledge is important to know (and of course should be information that all people learn, not just women).

I found this book fascinating because I was never required to take this class in school, or even classes like personal finance (which would have been way more useful than say the pottery class I took instead). I realize that the education requirements in the U.S. are different according to which state you live in, but looking over this book, there’s some useful information that I think everyone needs to be taught.

I think life skills should be taught in school, and at the very least how to deal with money in personal finance, budgeting, taxes and investing. How to cook and clean is essential in everyday life as well. Higher-level life skills that would be nice to know (but not quite as essential) would be how to maintain a car, or fix things around the house (whether plumbing, electrical or woodworking), and how to mend a garment. And as a personal suggestion from the 21st century, make sure people know how to write an email properly—you know, with a subject that means something (like not calling it “file” or “here”) and being able to create complete coherent sentences that don’t make you have to “play” 20 questions.

Basically, I think it’s important for people to learn these everyday useful (home economic) skills. Quickly forgotten are most classes and facts taught in school. (How do I find the cosine of an angle? Hell if I know—I haven’t done that since high school. I guess that’s what Google is for.) But it makes people’s lives better if they understand and can perform these home economic tasks that might not help you get into college, but will help you on a daily basis for the rest of your life.