Homemaking blogs written by a childfree author?
February 18, 2016 1:28 PM   Subscribe

I like to read lifestyle blogs about homemaking, with a focus on homesteading, country life, simple living, and/or home decor and DIY renovation projects. But almost everything I can find is written by stay-at-home moms and contains lots of content about motherhood. I'm childfree and just can't seem to connect emotionally with that type of content. Are there any blogs about these topics that are parenthood-free?
posted by daisies to Computers & Internet (21 answers total) 91 users marked this as a favorite
 
What kinds of home style do you like our aspire to? I am really into Georgian style and have an Early Victorian (1840) house. I find Country Living (co.uk) is good. Let us know what styles you appreciate.
posted by parmanparman at 1:40 PM on February 18, 2016


I know what you mean. The magazine Real Simple used to be less parenthood-oriented (which I appreciated and can imagine might also have been a relief to some parents). It's been a while since I've perused the lifestyle-type blogs, but you might consider blogs by empty nesters, who occasionally rhapsodize about their cute grandchildren but focus on more of the content in which you're interested.

Hostess of the Humble Bungalow might provide a delightful starting point--if you follow her links, you'll find a lot of other likeminded lifestyle bloggers who may or may not have children but for whom parenthood is not a blogging focus for one reason or another (e.g., they're also childless, they're done with childrearing, or they want to keep their children out of their blog). I especially love HOTHB's lovely English cottage roses.
posted by tully_monster at 1:44 PM on February 18, 2016 [2 favorites]


The Countryside Magazine folks tend to have this annoying "electricity sucks" mentality, but if you can get past that their articles about farming, homemade canning, etc. are pretty good.
posted by Melismata at 1:45 PM on February 18, 2016


Also, speaking of bungalows, House in Progress, although now dead, is a fun read. A couple bought a classic Chicago bungalow and have been restoring it (mixture of DIY and professional contractors). The previous owners and their daughter left it packed to the gills with all kinds of weird stuff. Sadly, parenting probably overwhelmed the bloggers and there hasn't been an entry in six years, but it's still there and a highly entertaining read. Might also lead to other interesting DIY links.
posted by tully_monster at 1:49 PM on February 18, 2016 [2 favorites]


Kristen Nichols of Getting Stitched on the Farm is not childfree (she has one teen daughter), but the vast majority of her content has to do with the workings of her husband's sheep farm and her own home DIY crafts.
posted by muddgirl at 1:50 PM on February 18, 2016 [1 favorite]


Suzanne McMinn's Chickens in the Road might satisfy. She has three kids but they're all old enough to be out of the house.
posted by BlahLaLa at 1:55 PM on February 18, 2016


Check out Motherearthnews.com
posted by Sassyfras at 1:58 PM on February 18, 2016


Not sure if this is too far into homesteading for you, but these folks bought an olive farm in Uruguay and are turning it into a farm they live off of: http://lapiccolinauy.com/ No children.
posted by purple_bird at 2:00 PM on February 18, 2016 [1 favorite]


Root simple leans towards gardening and chicken raising, but other householdy kind of stuff too. I don't recall any mention of parenting.
posted by xris at 2:01 PM on February 18, 2016


DIYDiva bought an old farmhouse with farm 4 years ago and is single and childless. A little bit of gardening, donkeys/chickens/bees, gardening, and a to of DIY projects big and small.
posted by rhapsodie at 2:11 PM on February 18, 2016 [2 favorites]


www.theartofdoingstuff.com is fantastic.
posted by msamye at 2:23 PM on February 18, 2016 [1 favorite]


Seasonal Ontario Food is about cooking and gardening in small town Ontario, Canada. I think the author has children but they're grown.
posted by quaking fajita at 2:33 PM on February 18, 2016


A Way to Garden by Margaret Roach. She's got an amazing background. She worked for Martha Stewart, she's written a few books, and she has an excellent blog. It focuses on food preservation, gardening and nature.

Addicted to Decorating by Kristi Linauer. She's childfree and she has a disabled husband, so she has to tackle all of her projects herself. She's renovating an 1950s ranch home now. I'm pretty amazed at what she's able to do.

Gardenfork. I admit that I am partial to the videos because they have some really cute yellow labs that remind me of my own yellow lab. But there are all sorts of DIY, beekeeping, gardening, bread making, homesteading-type topics covered here. The audio podcast is also worthwhile.

I like Chickens in the Road, too!

Mother Earth News just keeps getting better. A lot of the projects are really ambitious, but it can be inspiring.
posted by Ostara at 3:06 PM on February 18, 2016


The Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking is a great blog (and facebook page) and not geared toward kidlings or parenting.
posted by patheral at 4:12 PM on February 18, 2016


Victoria Elizabeth Barnes has a very entertaining blog about renovating her 1890s house and buying Giant Fancy Things on Craigslist.
posted by alicat at 4:44 PM on February 18, 2016 [2 favorites]


Erica has 2 kids but her blog's primary focus isn't on them. http://www.nwedible.com and shes a professional chef! Love her blog.
posted by driedmango at 5:34 PM on February 18, 2016


Sarah at Ugly Duckling House covers her home renovations and diy projects. Plus she has a cute doggie.
posted by bluesapphires at 6:47 PM on February 18, 2016 [1 favorite]


Manhattan Nest is written by a younger gay guy (two cute dogs, no kids). He started off re-modeling an apartment in Brooklyn with lots of excellent DIY decorating ideas. More recently he bought a historic house in upstate NY that he has been slowly fixing up. Very funny, great tutorials, great ideas, no kids.
posted by forkisbetter at 4:23 AM on February 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Seconding Manhattan Nest!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:33 PM on February 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Aunt Peaches - colorful crafts, home decorating, upcycling. No kids that I've ever seen, but a cute cat makes rare appearances.
posted by Squeak Attack at 4:03 PM on March 4, 2016


I just went to go look at Aunt Peaches and I can report that HOLY SHIT YES you want to check out Aunt Peaches. If nothing else, read her bookmarked post about Mrs. Dalloway.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:03 PM on March 4, 2016


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