SAVE OUR SKILLS! Domestic tasks worth knowing
Ever asked a millennial to darn a sock? Set up a Skype call, no problem, but bleed a radiator? Forget it. Good Housekeeping investigates the disappearance of the traditional household skill...
Once upon a time, we learnt home economics at school. But four years ago it was announced that the subject was to be scrapped as a GCSE, and the skills now fall within other subjects, such as design and technology. Does it matter? After all, there was a time we would have all known how to churn butter, but it’s hardly a necessary skill today. Will young people get by without knowing a darning needle from a drainpipe cleaner?
In an exclusive GH survey, we asked more than 2,000 adults of all ages across the UK: what household skills do you possess? From our list of 18 once-typical domestic tasks, which included sewing on a button and unblocking a drain, most millennials (aged 18-34) admitted they only knew how to do 11 of them – but a surprising number of their parents (aged 45-64) struggled, too!
THE CHORES MOST LIKELY TO FACE EXTINCTION
➤DARNING Many young people didn’t even know what this was. Only 24% of the millennials would pick up a needle and thread to repair a hole. But it’s on the decline with their parents, too, with just 62% still darning jumpers and socks.
WHY? Cheap clothing imports, disposable fashions, short season trends.
VERDICT: RIP to darning
➤HOSPITAL CORNERS
Just 59% of parents and 34% of millennials are able to tuck in a perfect sheet.
WHY? Two words: fitted sheets.
VERDICT: Long live the duvet!
SKILLS WE NEED TO SAVE
➤MAKING A WHITE
SAUCE 66% of the younger generation don’t have this skill.
WHY? ‘Millennials grew up as the convenience food market really took off, so buying cheat ingredients has become the norm,’ says
GH cookery director goodhousekeeping.co.uk Lucy Jessop. ‘Perhaps it’s also because they cook a wider variety of dishes now. They are more likely to knock up a stir-fry or a curry than a fish pie.’
VERDICT: Save our skill!
White sauce is the basis for so many dishes, from pies to pastas and cheesy bakes.
➤BASIC DIY SKILLS
Just 51% of millennials know how to bleed a radiator or fix a blown fuse. Only 33% can descale an iron, while 73% of their parents can.
WHY? More than a quarter of 20-34 year olds still live with Mum and Dad, so it’s less likely they’ll do chores.
VERDICT: Save our skills!
Teach them now, or they’ll be calling you every five minutes when they have a home of their own.
➤WALLPAPERING Only 51% of millennials and 68% of their parents can do this.
WHY? ‘Wallpaper is becoming increasingly popular, but it’s seen as a skilled job, so fewer people are doing it themselves,’ says GH homes editor Carolyn Bailey.
VERDICT: Use it or lose it!
Wallpapering is making a comeback, so it’s time to learn how to do it.
SKILLS THAT HAVE SURVIVED
➤EMPTYING A VACUUM BAG An impressive 93% of people can do this job.
➤IRONING A SHIRT
95% of parents and 86% of millennials can do this. Tick, job done!
➤BUILDING FLAT-PACK
FURNITURE Ikea landed in the UK in 1987, at the earlier end of the millennial generation. Young people have grown up learning how to build flat-pack furniture – 77% of them are confident to do so, although 82% of their parents are, too.
➤SEWING ON A BUTTON Fashion may be more disposable but nobody likes to waste money. Unsurprisingly, 93% of the