Certainly some of the appeal of this week’s Simple Abundance Online feature “Mrs. Brown’s Uncommon Sense” is how revolutionary the very idea of simplifying your life in 1916 was – and still is – for many women. If you’ve dusted a vase or pair of candlesticks for ten years, ‘why would you ever want to change’ is a mentality that’s hard to break unless moving house or moving on in life forces you. Periodicals such as “New Idea Woman’s Magazine” and “New Thought Journal” became the rallying cry for women’s suffragettes at the turn of the century and up until after World War II and this extended into the home with literary domestics such as Eleanor Gibson Tait extending progressive housekeeping ideas through fictional women like “Mrs. Brown.” I hope you enjoyed Mrs. Brown’s simply abundant epiphany as much as I did.
It’s remarkable how difficult it really is to try new ideas and methods of ordering our days in pleasant ways.Take for example, eating outside. With the warmer weather and longer daylight, the patio, terrace and backyard beckons each of us to try something different, but excuses are easier to come by than the energy carting the kitchen outdoors requires, which is why this vintage bliss blast “Picnics Made Easy” from the June 1934 issue of The American Home has done all the hard work—or thinking for us. It may not be a new idea but outfitting a garden shed as a picnic headquarters is a radical new thought for me—and it might be for you as well!
“When we leave a modern kitchen, were every effort has been expended towards achieving painless cooking, to bend down over a primitive wood fire, most of the joy of eating al fresco is lost in the preparation. But getting the outdoors meal can really be made a part of the pleasure of partaking.
What we need primarily for cooking food is heat, water, and utensils. Here is a transplanted bit of kitchen cabinetwork—simple, practical, and appropriate rustic—which provides all three directly and abundantly. The dimensions are approximately four feet wide by two feet deep with doors seven feet high. Into the full-depth middle counter is let an enamel sink with waste water flowing into a French drain under ground. Water is brought to the tap via the garden hose. On this same counter, or on the table, coffee percolates, waffles bake, “hot dogs” grill, bread toasts and eggs boil…via electricity from the house to multiple, moisture proof convenience outlets.
Above is shelf room for china and glassware. In the lower compartments are shelves for trays of “five and ten” china pots, pans and containers. For large parties, gaily painted trays make a cafeteria of the outdoor dining room.
The really picnic-wise know that it is not so much lunch, dinner or supper, but breakfast in the freshly crisp morning air which is the deluxe outside meal. Enough supplies can be kept in the air-tight canisters and portable refrigerator to make this very pleasant beginning of the day a regular habit.”
New ideas, anyone?
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No, I would never have thought of that but it looks like a wonderful idea. I think I'd put disposable china and utensils as well as paper napkins, or the real thing for really special. You could install a square trash can, the ideas are endless. Thanks a lot. Hope you're well.
Posted by: Diane | June 10, 2009 at 09:07 AM
It certainly is a new thought for me and a brilliant one for whoever came up with it. My goodness, the possibilities!
Posted by: Vee | July 10, 2009 at 11:56 AM