By Emily Malloy
As I recently shared in The Catholic Home Economy, the decreasing presence of the phrase "home economy" from the modern lexicon does not reflect the diminished need for the family's focus on the work of the home. In reality, it highlights the increasing need for the discussion of this important work in the public square.
Fortunately, there is a simple and practical foundation upon which the important work of the family can be built by establishing a home economy and culture. The home economy flourishes when engaging human virtue.
Prudence, the Bedrock Virtue
The virtue upon which a healthy home economy rests is prudence. This cardinal virtue facilitates proper discernment in minor daily decisions and major ones. Many call prudence a “forward-looking” virtue. Often, there is a misunderstanding about prudence as it is sometimes framed as something only folks who are “square” would do. It is the governing practice of common sense in decision-making while also helping to avoid that which hinders a relationship with God.
A prudent home requires reclaiming its work. We have become imprudently idle and distracted by the glow of screens, not taking part in either work or leisure. A healthy home economy is unique as its purpose is to preoccupy our otherwise distracted attention by directly helping the people with whom we share our lives. This purposeful work gives a sense of belonging to the worker while also bestowing affection upon the recipient. This work establishes a culture of love -- and eventually a love that is easily reciprocated -- through acts of service. Conversely, the convenience found in shirking responsibility has not made us any happier. A life with few responsibilities has led to a discontented idleness. A phenomenon once associated with the aristocracy has spread through the masses. As we are reminded in Proverbs, “idle hands are the devil’s workshop.”
Currency is essential in any economy whether on a national scale or on a dead-end road in rural Mississippi. If one were to identify the currencies of the home economy, they would be time and money. It is not just how money is spent that is a determination of prudence, but also time. There are many questions we need to ask ourselves, examining the answers through the lens of prudence: How is time spent in the home? How much of it is spent fostering a home culture filled with practical learning and growth in virtue?
In terms of the financial health, we wring our hands often about the national debt, but often overlook our own personal debts. The greatest example of a prudent household economy is striving to live within our means. What are the sources of our debt and are we working to mitigate them? Of course, there are struggles and many who live in poverty, but I am speaking to something entirely different. What ails us primarily, in terms of finances, is our panache for self-deception. We are easily stressed by our possessions simply because we can never have enough of what we don't need. Through simplicity and pairing down, our responsibilities become manageable.
A valuable economy is one that produces more than it consumes. As for the home economy, production does not necessarily mean creating a product to take to market, but making use of current resources to minimize consumption, wastefulness, and dependence upon outside labor. It is when we take these metrics into account that we come to realize the wealth of knowledge in those old home economics courses. A productive home is showcased by the decision to make a home-cooked meal instead of dining out. Or utilizing a grassy portion of the property to make a vegetable garden while using sweat equity to ease the burdens of the rising cost of groceries. It is taking the time to mend what otherwise would be thrown out and replaced, costing additional money. Prudence requires that the hard questions be asked.
Stewardship and Reclaiming Ownership
For the last few generations, the culture has promoted the habit of outsourcing responsibility for the sake of “leisure” which requires, ironically, to work more away from home to afford the outsourcing. The world works in overdrive to convince us that we have made ourselves happier by lessening responsibility at home. We have, in turn, lost a sense of purpose.
The creation of an undue burden in seeking additional income to pay for more expenses spins in a never-ending cycle. Without a sense of purpose, we are rudderless and floating helplessly in the tide of a culture that claims that greater purchasing power and less responsibility equals happiness. What is lost is a pride of place. Without it, we find ourselves willing to move anywhere. And thus creating a continual trajectory of rootlessness and restlessness. It’s difficult to feel at home, to care for a home, when we aren’t at home. To feel rooted in a place requires first, to be present, and second, to be attentive and disciplined.
To be a good steward is to live in a posture of humility in recognition that all that we have comes from God. Why is it that parents become frustrated with their children when they don’t take proper care of their things? Because we desire them to be caretakers of what they have been given, to take care of and exercise prudence. A sense of accomplishment is felt when caring for something. If you establish yourself at home as caretaker, you enjoy home in an entirely new way. By caring and fretting and toiling over one’s place, deep roots establish.
The Culture of the Home
When we were finally able to afford to hire someone to clean the house, I felt like I had arrived, because, honestly, who likes scrubbing toilets? I had an epiphany, however, after our helper took ill and had to retire. As I reclaimed my place, I quickly saw that I had atrophied in virtue in the time spent cleaning and doing humbler tasks. I had lost the opportunity to impart life lessons to my children by removing their responsibilities, as well. It was a bitter pill to swallow. Every minute of my day became accounted for, with very little to spare, but it is undoubtedly time well spent. My shortcomings required that I ask for help -– not from outside the home, but within -– changing the course of our home life for the better.
Cultivating a home culture is the most important work because it outlives us and is carried on through generations. As tempting as it is to place this as the primary point, as it is the most convincing reason to foster a healthy home economy, the first two arguments establish a necessary foundation for this point. A vibrant home culture is the product of prudent stewardship. We desire a beautiful home life. It is more than just mere personalities that fill the space of the home and give it life. The work of the home economy built upon faith and virtue establishes a family culture, and herein lies the true value of the home, which is something beyond measure.
A family unit is bonded together by the shared work of the home. It is only within our homes that children see the work and life of the family as an inheritance. It is the parents’ duty to help their children recognize the dignity of work through example. When the home economy is a priority, the children notice, as they are perceptive of the world around them. It is a special partnership between the members of the household from aged to young through division of labor. Each member becomes yoked to take on the unique work of the household.
From a young age, teach children how to wash and fold their own laundry and aid in dinner preparations. Children need to be taught to care for their own rooms and spaces and manage their toys (and how to pair down excesses of them through donation). Seek the help of kids in the garden who are usually eager to get dirty anyway. As the little children grow, permit them to gain more responsibility by taking on challenging tasks. An overlooked outcome of paying to outsource all of this is that children can grow to be adults anxious over whether they can achieve a similar lifestyle as their parents and, ultimately, underestimate the value of what the world perceives as undignified work.
Lastly, it is helpful to include children in the work of the family without a monetary allowance. Several things are communicated in the exchange of chores and allowances: (1) all work needs to be done for pay, and (2) the work of the home isn’t a natural part of the home culture. Necessary chores ought to be done for the sake of the home and out of love for those who live in it. “We are a family and we do certain things to help out the family.” The coupling of work to pay is unhelpful in the pursuit of doing work for the sake of love. It is a fantastic incentive but it has no place in the home. There can be other forms of encouragement to complete the task at hand (a fun family activity like swimming or having a football catch, we have found, is a great incentive). Each member of the household comes to recognize the value in this relationship: the interdependence between members of the household built upon contribution or, if the members are too little to help, the contribution of their presence during the work of the home.
A Sense of Place
The final outcome of establishing a home economy -– and culture -– is the cultivation of a sense of place. Just as when we pour love, affection, and attention into a relationship, it flourishes, the same will happen with our homes as we begin to relate to the space gifted to us by God. The work of the family within the home economy forces us to come to terms with how we are living our lives. We face the reality of ourselves at home unlike any other place. A fuller life is not one outsourced and full of material things, but it is a richer family culture centered upon God.
So be at home and care for it. Intimately learn of your home’s shadows and its light. Know the finicky plumbing and delayed painting maintenance. The creaking floorboards that need to be tacked or oven accumulating dust. Organize the life of the home to set things to rights as a family. Most importantly, make the dining table a regular haunt again and fill the spaces with lived memory and shared culture. These are the workings of the economy and culture of the home at work. Child and parent, husband and wife, with the occasional passing by animal working side by side to keep it all going for the greater glory of God.