The role of a traditional wife, often referred to as a tradwife is making a resurgence.
People are running, not walking, back to the way our great-grandparents used to live. After the chaos of 2020, I think a lot of people realized the system we have built upon the feminist movement IS NOT IT.
The feminist movement, in a nutshell, coerced women out of the home with grand aspirations and hopes that a work environment would be more fulfilling than serving in a home environment. That accomplished nothing besides adding another person from the household to the tax role and deteriorating families.
People are starting to wake up to this and return to our trad wife roots. But what does it really mean to be a perfect trad wife?
Being a perfect trad wife involves embracing traditional values and skills that prioritize the well-being and happiness of your family. Embracing these roles doesn’t mean you give up your freedoms or that these roles infringe upon your individual freedom. In my opinion, they allow you more freedom than an office job could ever give you.
I began flocking back to traditional roles and honing in on different skills when I finally understood their value. Living a homesteading lifestyle has helped me embrace these roles as I feel a connection back to my great-grandparents.
I know my great-grandma was home rearing the children and tending to the home and not slaving away in some office job. With years of homesteading under my belt, I know that you can homestead and be the perfect tradwife from anywhere—you don’t need land to do it.
If you want to learn how to homestead, check out my homesteading guide to get started!
From cooking and baking from scratch to caring for children, animals, and maintaining a clean home, every aspect of the traditional wife lifestyle contributes to creating a loving and nurturing environment for your loved ones.
Cooking and Baking from Scratch
As a trad wife, one of the essential skills is the ability to cook and bake from scratch. Over the years, this inherent knowledge of how to curate meals in the kitchen has been lost.
Instead of creating in the kitchen, we are tapping on our phones to order processed garbage from some slop restaurant. That isn’t very trad wife! To be a perfect trad wife, you need to know how to bake and cook from scratch so there can be meals on the table ready for your family.
Homemade meals bring the family together. If your husband is out all day working, it is disgraceful to have him come home to a TV dinner or some packaged store-bought gunk. This is where you have the opportunity to show respect and care, through your thoughtful cooking.
The kitchen is the heart of the home, and as a trad wife, you take pride in preparing meals that bring joy to your family's table. Dinner tables are where family connections can be created, and you will be in charge of heading that. If there is no hearty meal or tasty dessert to divulge into then there is no reason to gather around.
Start by learning basic cooking techniques and gradually experiment with different recipes. Invest in quality ingredients and take the time to savor the process of cooking and baking. You absolutely need a sourdough starter as this is what our great-grandparents would use to leaven bread and not store-bought yeast.
Whether it's a cast iron vegetable pot pie or a freshly baked batch of cookies, the love and care you put into your homemade creations will nourish both body, soul, and the entirety of your family’s connections.
Nourishing Your Family
Being a perfect trad wife involves prioritizing your family's health by promoting healthy eating habits. You won’t allow your family to eat garbage, plain and simple.
Just because the rest of the world is passive in consuming processed junk food doesn’t mean that you will allow your family to be. You understand the role that food plays in building strong bodies and minds and you won’t allow your family to deteriorate themselves. Of course, they can make their own choices but you are responsible for setting that foundation.
Focus on incorporating nutrient-dense foods like organ meats, animal fats, in-season fruits and vegetables, and a variety of meat into your dinner table meals. Meal planning and preparation are key aspects of ensuring that your family receives balanced nutrition.
Plan your meals ahead of time to avoid last-minute stress and ensure that each meal is well-balanced and nutritious. Educate your children on why your family eats foods that are different than their friends. Involve your family in meal planning and preparation to instill healthy eating habits from a young age. Encourage your children to help out in the kitchen, teaching them valuable skills that will serve them well throughout their lives.
By having children help you in the kitchen, this will help them feel a part of the food preparation process and take an interest into what is being served.
Nourishing your family can start together in the family garden. As a trad wife, tending to the garden is primarily your responsibility and you can incorporate your family into growing foods that they enjoy and want to eat. Having a garden can help establish roots and create learning opportunities of how to nourish your bodies. I have a garden bundle that can help you get started on planning your dream garden.
Using Natural Products
Trad wives don’t poison their families with store-bought conventional garbage. Prioritize using natural products over synthetic ones to promote a healthier lifestyle for their families.
Natural products are free from harmful chemicals and are gentle on the skin and in tune with the environment. You understand that modern day skincare and makeup products are loaded with a plethora of toxic goop chemicals.
You understand that Big Pharma owns these brands and profits off of you and your family being sick, and you won’t allow that! I was tricked into believing that I needed to use face washes and lotions from the store to have better skin.
That couldn’t be further from the truth. Now, I realize that the only skincare moisturizer I needed was tallow, rendered beef fat. This is what our ancestors used and what my great-grandma would have used. Skincare has become so polluted full of chemicals and toxins.
As a trad wife, you would never allow your family to use these harmful mainstream items on their skin! You know that tallow can heal eczema, rosacea, and acne, so you keep tallow in your pantry ready to use!
Explore homemade alternatives for everyday products like lotions and fragrances. Experiment with natural ingredients such as coconut oil, shea butter, and essential oils to create personalized skincare and home care products.
You understand the risk you run every time you use a store-bought chemically scented lotion or burn a cancer-causing candle, so you don’t do it and seek better alternatives!
Instead of having plug-in fragrances, you can use an essential oil diffuser and use different essential oils to set the mood and tone of your home. Not only are these homemade alternatives better for your family's health, but they also allow you to express your creativity and individuality.
Caring for Children and Animals
Trad wives understand the importance of nurturing strong relationships with both their children and animals. Spend quality time with your children, listen to their needs, and create lasting memories together.
Family is everything. Building strong bonds with your children lays the foundation for a loving and supportive family dynamic. Not only that, it builds a strong foundation for your children for when they go out into the world. When they are met with challenges and excruciating circumstances, they can reflect on what they had learned in your home and the example that you had set for them.
Extend your nurturing instincts to include the family pets and farm animals as well. Take the time to care for and bond with your animals, providing them with love, attention, and proper care.
Whether it's a playful game of fetch with the dog, giving the chickens snacks, or going on a walk with the goats, cultivate relationships with the special spirits in your life that you have the gift of raising. Keeping chickens is easy and great way to start homesteading, learn how to keep chickens here.
Keeping a Clean Home
A clean and tidy home is essential for creating a peaceful and harmonious living environment. Trad wives take pride in maintaining a clean home that reflects their dedication to their family's well-being.
We live in a consumerism-centered society, so it is easy for “things” to creep into our surroundings. There is a gadget for everything and children are bombarded with a million toys. I would suggest to keep your space clean and simple. A clean space will lead to a clean mind, and a cluttered space will lead to a cluttered mind.
I recommend the book The life-changing magic of tidying up by Mari Kondo. This book will have you inspired to clean your surroundings in a thoughtful and meaningful way that will leave you filling satisfied!
Establish a cleaning routine that works for you and your family. Delegate tasks as needed and involve everyone in keeping the home clean and organized. If you task children with different chores to build the home, they will come to realize the value of their home and how it should not be taken for granted.
Invest in quality cleaning products and tools to make the job easier and more efficient. From dusting and vacuuming to laundry and dishes, each task plays a vital role in creating a clean and inviting home environment for your family to enjoy.
On top of having a cleaning routine that involves your children, you understand that modern day cleaning products are marketing gimmicks filled with harsh chemicals that damage your skin, eyes, lungs, and other parts of your body. Because of this, you refuse to clean your sacred home with any of these products. Instead, you make your own all-purpose cleaning solutions.
You will find joy in creating a clean and welcoming environment for friends and family alike to enjoy. It is your home to keep, so take pride in what you curate.
In conclusion, being a perfect trad wife is about embracing traditional values and skills that prioritize the well-being and happiness of your family. Our great-grandmas were the pinnacle of being a trad wife before the feminist movement swept in and buried their values in a trench.
Whether it's cooking and baking from scratch, nourishing your family with healthy meals, using natural products, caring for children and animals, or keeping a clean home, every aspect of the trad wife lifestyle contributes to creating a loving and nurturing environment for your loved ones. To be clear, none of these skills infringe upon your freedom.
FAQs
1. Do I have to be a perfect cook to be a trad wife?
No, perfection is not the goal. Focus on learning and improving your cooking skills over time, and most importantly, enjoy the process of nourishing your family with love and care. Take into account what your family enjoys and curate to their needs and wants.
2. Can I still use some synthetic products occasionally?
Focus on making gradual changes towards a more natural lifestyle that aligns with your family's values and preferences. It is up to you how you want to treat your body, but educate yourself first.
3. How can I involve my children in caring for our home?
Start by assigning age-appropriate tasks and making chores fun and engaging for your children. Teach them the importance of responsibility and teamwork in maintaining a clean and tidy home. It is vital they understand that the home they live in is to be valued.
4. What if I struggle with keeping my home clean and organized?
Don't be too hard on yourself. Start small, set realistic goals, and seek support from your family members. Start by decluttering and throwing away items that don’t bring you joy anymore. Fill your space with only things that bring you joy!
5. Is being a trad wife restrictive in terms of personal freedom and career aspirations?
Not at all. Being a trad wife is about embracing traditional values and roles that bring fulfillment and joy to your life. It is about the shift back to how it was because we know the current system is not working while the system our great-grandparents had worked for thousands of years.
