101: The TradWife Trifecta

When our listeners think about us, I’m certain that “tradwife” is precisely what comes to mind. After all, both of your intrepid hosts live gender roles in absolutist terms. I mean, sure, neither of us are married to our long-time partners. And ok, yeah, we aren’t having children and both are always trying to be active accomplices in the fight for racial, class, and gender parity. And like, yes, Andrew does the lion’s share of the cleaning despite being A HUMAN MALE and Hanna earns the “Explicit” rating on iTunes each episode despite being A WOMAN, but still! We’re very traditional! Like a Norman Rockwell painting of a Bible verse wrapped in a 4Chan meme about femininity!

Obviously, I kid. The entire idea of “tradwife” is steeped in racism, oppression, and the idea that the past was somehow better than the present when uhhhhhhhhhh it wasn’t.

However, there are some homesteading notes that I have been taking recently. Between gardening, trying to reduce my plastic use, and actually mending textiles, there are days when I do feel downright domestic. But I like to think of it less as trad-y and more as crunchy, i.e., a return to my Oregonian roots.

Like how I’m making my own apple scrap/apple cider vinegar right now in my basement with apples I picked from the tree in my yard.

It’s literally just apple scraps, water, and a little sugar so the bacteria have a nice treat. They’re in the laundry room and spend most of their time in the dark. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Listen to how this became my life here:

Other topics of the week include:

• Proper treatment of sticky Poang chairs, which may include using the Bindle Child Wood Soap.

• How to clean a hairbrush

• German cleaning products (and one very cool shower curtain)

And much more! Don’t forget to tell us that you love us on iTunes or wherever! We love you and we love to hear from you.