(I borrowed this from the blog http://www.jenbutneverjenn.com/2010/05/keeping-of-house-1950s-style.html)
I’ve compiled the advice, and here’s the daily housekeeping schedule I’ll attempt to follow for the 50s Housewife Experiment:
- Throw back the covers
- Open up the blinds and windows
- Freshen up
- Make and serve breakfast
- Clean up breakfast
- Complete a 10-minute exercise regime
- Shower, do hair and make-up, get dressed
- Gather a basket for tidying. As the rooms of the home are tackled, pick up items that aren’t where they belong and place them in a basket. Redistribute them where they should be as you enter a new room
- Straighten up the living and dining room, including picking up potential clutter, light dusting, fluffing / straightening pillows, and watering plants or flowers
- Make the beds
- Tidy the bedroom, including light dusting
- Hang up any clothes that may be about or ensure dirty ones are in the hamper
- Do a light tidy of the bathroom including removing and replacing used towels, refilling toilet paper and soap (if needed) and cleaning the sink and basin area including soap dishes
- Review the menu for the current day and the next and compare it to what’s currently available in the home. Make note of anything that needs to be prepared ahead of time or marketing (shopping) that needs to get done
- Begin long-advance preparations for dinner (such as making dessert)
- Wipe down kitchen work surfaces and inside the fridge
- Dispose of garbage
- Rinse dish cloths and hang to dry
- Sweep or mop the kitchen floor
- Handle errands that might take you out of the home (such as marketing, volunteering, going to the post office, getting an item fixed, etc), bookkeeping, correspondence, or indulge in a hobby
- If returning from the grocery store, wash vegetables, wrap them and put them away. Place rest of groceries or purchases in their proper place
- Have a quick lunch <- Yoinks?
- Start advance food conditioning like crisping vegetables or thawing frozen foods
- Handle weekly chore for the day (more on that below!)
- Set the table for dinner
- Arrange the living room for evening enjoyment (such as “the Mister’s” newspaper, book, and cigarettes)
- Do a quick sweep of the floors and ensure entrance ways are clear
- Prepare a special dish for dinner
- Freshen up before the husband returns from work. Consider changing into something more festive if the day dress is plain
- Set out a tray with equipment for making cocktails, should “the Mister” want to serve drinks before dinner
- Greet husband “gayly”
- Serve dinner
- Clear table and wash dishes
- Pour boiling water down the sink to ensure pipes are flushed
- If necessary, pack the husband’s lunch for the next day. Set aside a lunch tray in the refrigerator for yourself if having leftovers
- Set table for breakfast
- Ensure breakfast foods are available and do any make-ahead preparations for it
- Shoot yourself in the head Enjoy an evening of relaxation
If that isn’t enough, each day there is a once-a-week chore to tackle, which is basically a deep clean of a particular room. It’s not your typical “wipe the tub” cleaning. Nope. It’s stuff like:
- Use metal polish on bathroom fixtures
- Clean and disinfect all kitchen appliances
- Scald and disinfect bread boxes and garbage pails and bins
- Replace flowers with fresh bouquets
In addition, laundry should be done at least twice a week (including bedding) and floors should be mopped / vacuumed on a similar schedule.
There is also a recommendation in there to try to squeeze a 10 – 30 minute nap in the afternoon (if not because you’re actually tired but to “look more refreshed” for he-who-wants-to-be-greeted-with-prettiness when he gets home).
While there were certainly brand name cleaning products available to her, the 50s housewife used a lot of simple household products as well – such as baking soda, vinegar, lemon, castile soap and borax – not to mention a good deal of elbow grease. She used things like cheese cloth, rags and old newspapers instead of paper towels. This actually all suits me fine as I figure these are all environmentally friendly options – and who knows – they might even work better than the contemporary products.
I’d also like to note - and will bold this so that a certain someone sees it - that all the guides indicate that a husband shouldn’t expect to be waited on hand and foot. He is fully capable of putting away his coat when he arrives home, fetching and putting away the objects he uses and properly hanging and / or putting his clothes away after undressing. Extras like helping with the dishes after dinner are also "courteous contributions."
There is also a recommendation in there to try to squeeze a 10 – 30 minute nap in the afternoon (if not because you’re actually tired but to “look more refreshed” for he-who-wants-to-be-greeted-with-prettiness when he gets home).
While there were certainly brand name cleaning products available to her, the 50s housewife used a lot of simple household products as well – such as baking soda, vinegar, lemon, castile soap and borax – not to mention a good deal of elbow grease. She used things like cheese cloth, rags and old newspapers instead of paper towels. This actually all suits me fine as I figure these are all environmentally friendly options – and who knows – they might even work better than the contemporary products.
I’d also like to note - and will bold this so that a certain someone sees it - that all the guides indicate that a husband shouldn’t expect to be waited on hand and foot. He is fully capable of putting away his coat when he arrives home, fetching and putting away the objects he uses and properly hanging and / or putting his clothes away after undressing. Extras like helping with the dishes after dinner are also "courteous contributions."
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