Table of Contents
- Daily 1950’s Housewife Schedule
- Once A Week 1950s Cleaning Schedule
- Check Out More From Our Cleaning Hacks Series
I’m going to be honest, a black man writing about a 1950’s Cleaning Schedule seems…
well…
Different. Yeah, let’s go with different. Because I work from home, I try to stay on my feet as much as my feet and legs allow because for the past 15 years I’ve done a great job of just sitting at a desk. Also, because I’m tracking my health a lot more closely, I was shocked to see the impact that standing has on your health.
If you didn’t know, standing is so much healthier than sitting around!
With two kids (both boys), my wife does a lot of cleaning because:
- She loves a clean home
- Boys/Men are messy. At least that’s the excuse I give myself which is a terrible excuse.
Because she’s on her feet a lot doing stuff around the house, by the end of the night she talks about how exhausted she is. Now, I’ll be the first to admit when she began doing this my thinking was “Why? You’re just walking around the house doing small things?”
I know.
No, I know.
Scold me now. Let’s get this over with.
Anyways, when I started to use a standing desk I was amazed that I could barely last 10-15 minutes standing in a small space. Now I’m thinking about all of the standing and bending my wife does almost daily and dammmmnnnn, she could probably lift the house if she needed to.
Then I came across an interesting article that talked about how people were so much skinnier back in the days because they were more active and there wasn’t as much trash food around.
This led me to do some research on how many calories one burns by standing or doing chores around the house and what I found is that in the 1950’s, women had some wild cleaning schedules.
I’m not going to pretend to understand any of the history, stereotypes, and other nuances of that time period, so I won’t fake the funk with you. All I want to show you is the typical cleaning schedule of a housewife in the 1950’s.
Daily 1950’s Housewife Schedule
- Wake up and stretch your arms while thinking what a glorious morning it is (sorry, had to be sarcastic ha!)
- Open up the curtains and blinds
- Make the bed
- Brush your teeth and freshen up a bit
- Make everyone else’s bed
- Make and serve the family breakfast
- Clean up breakfast (meaning clean up after everyone since they don’t!)
- Exercise for 10 minutes
- Shower, do hair, make-up, and get dressed
- Gather a basket for tidying. Pick up items that aren’t where they belong and place them in a basket so you can put it all back as you enter each room.
- Tidy up the living and dining room which includes picking up clutter, dusting, fluffing pillows, vacuuming, and watering house plants or flowers
- Tidy the bedroom which includes dusting and vacuuming
- Hang up any clothes that may be about or ensure dirty ones are in the hamper
- Clean the bathroom which would include removing and replacing used hand towels, refilling toilet paper and soap, dusting and cleaning the sink
- Look over the menu for the next two days and compare it to what’s currently available in the home. Make note of anything that needs to be prepared ahead of time or 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
Cry yourself to sleepEnjoy an evening of relaxation
It’s important to note that this is just the DAILY schedule.
I didn’t even think of 75% of these things. Now I’m concerned about how many tasks my wife has in her head! I think she’s due for a day at the spa.
But we would be remiss if we also forgot the once-a-week chore list.
Once A Week 1950s Cleaning Schedule
- 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
Laundry should be done twice a week (I’m pretty sure my wife does it daily with these kids) and floors are to be mopped and carpets are to be vacuumed on the same schedule.
If I’m being honest, I’m not even sure where to begin here. It makes me not want a house. No wonder people are starting to live in vans.
But of those that don’t have the “luxury” of living in a van, then you’ll probably want to keep a clean house. You can give this outrageous schedule a shot or you can focus on decluttering your home so that there is less stuff to clean.
Also, since this list was made for the 1950’s woman in mind, there are going to be some things that you possibly forget to clean. Don’t worry, we have your back.
Here are 37 things you might forget to clean.