Housekeeping

Discussion in 'Back to Basics' started by Motomom34, Jun 1, 2017.


  1. Motomom34

    Motomom34 Monkey+++

    Some may wonder why I am posting a homemakers day but I think there are some lessons to be learned. I read the list and noted how organization was key. The homemaker was organizing present day but also thinking of tomorrow. Exercise was a daily to-do. Cleanliness was a must. These things are all important in our lives today but also very important if there ever is a crisis/collapse. If medical services are ever stopped then germs will be the enemy and one must have habits, cleanliness and the know how to combat. I also think the evening meal is essential. In today’s world as with the past, it brings people together which is a time for the members of the household to discuss events, thoughts and plans, which will also be very important if SHTF.

    As one homemaker said-
    Housekeeping Schedule - Time-Warp Wife



    Daily Schedule for the 50's Housewife:
    1. Throw back the covers
    2. Open up the blinds and windows
    3. Freshen up
    4. Make and serve breakfast
    5. Clean up breakfast
    6. Complete a 10-minute exercise regime
    7. Shower, do hair and make-up, get dressed
    8. 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
    9. Straighten up the living and dining room, including picking up potential clutter, light dusting, fluffing / straightening pillows, and watering plants or flowers
    10. Make the beds
    11. Tidy the bedroom, including light dusting
    12. Hang up any clothes that may be about or ensure dirty ones are in the hamper
    13. 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
    14. 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
    15. Begin long-advance preparations for dinner (such as making dessert)
    16. Wipe down kitchen work surfaces and inside the fridge
    17. Dispose of garbage
    18. Rinse dish cloths and hang to dry
    19. Sweep or mop the kitchen floor
    20. 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
    21. If returning from the grocery store, wash vegetables, wrap them and put them away. Place rest of groceries or purchases in their proper place
    22. Have a quick lunch
    23. Start advance food conditioning like crisping vegetables or thawing frozen foods
    24. Handle weekly chore for the day (more on that below)
    25. Set the table for dinner
    26. Arrange the living room for evening enjoyment (such as “the Mister’s” newspaper, book, and cigarettes)
    27. Do a quick sweep of the floors and ensure entrance ways are clear
    28. Prepare a special dish for dinner
    29. Freshen up before the husband returns from work. Consider changing into something more festive if the day dress is plain
    30. Set out a tray with equipment for making cocktails, should “the Mister” want to serve drinks before dinner
    31. Greet husband “gayly”
    32. Serve dinner
    33. Clear table and wash dishes
    34. Pour boiling water down the sink to ensure pipes are flushed
    35. If necessary, pack the husband’s lunch for the next day. Set aside a lunch tray in the refrigerator for yourself if having leftovers
    36. Set table for breakfast
    37. Ensure breakfast foods are available and do any make-ahead preparations for it
    38. Enjoy an evening of relaxation
    [​IMG]


    Also, each day there is a once-a-week chore to tackle, such as:
    • 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. Stepford Sisters: Schedule for the 50's Housewife

    Some of the things listed, I consider distasteful but all in all it is a good glimpse at a time lost. It certainly gives me new respect for the old-fashion homemaker. My Grandmothers always looked so nicely dressed and ran very well maintained homes.


    With the increase of modern conveniences we lose some of the goodness and healthy old fashion ways-

    Here are just a few reasons that line-drying is good:
    We save money on hydro
    The sun kills germs and therefore the clothes smell so much better
    Dryers are more apt to shrink your clothing
    The sun doesn’t cause static cling
    Hanging clothes is good old-fashioned exercise


    I have to throw this in because some of the old fashion practices were not so good. Airing of the baby is one that needed to be done away with. Yes, children need fresh air but baby cages were a scary idea.
    London baby cages, 1930s (7). London baby cages, 1930s (3).
    vintage everyday: Incredible Pictures of Baby Cages Hanging Outside London Apartment Windows in the 1930s

    My Grandma had the house under control and now that I think back, my Grandpa was very clean and organized with his garage. I now can see that this was a result of the typical 1950's household.
     
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  2. sarawolf

    sarawolf Monkey+++

    Very good, this is a reminder or new to some folks now that didn't know how the older households were run to keep everything clean and going. I enjoyed reading and remembering some of these things as a child and my own household in the late 1960's.
    Oh some babies needed cages. Some of mine were escape artists extraordinaire but I didn't have a cage. Plus people were concerned about babies getting the sun they needed for Vit. D and you didn't want them crawling or walking off.
     
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  3. Merkun

    Merkun furious dreamer

    If my ex had been half as diligent and organized ---
     
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  4. 3M-TA3

    3M-TA3 Cold Wet Monkey

    upload_2017-6-1_11-36-46.
    Before I started telecommuting this was supposed to be my new office
     
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  5. 3M-TA3

    3M-TA3 Cold Wet Monkey

    We forget how hard everybody had to, and DID, work in those days. People had less and appreciated it more.
     
    Yard Dart, SB21, chelloveck and 4 others like this.
  6. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    Yea, Now they have the time to run around and Protest everything,under the Sun.... Kind of like Liberal Arts Majors in College...
     
  7. Seacowboys

    Seacowboys Senior Member Founding Member

    I was going to list today's house-wife schedule but on second thought, I am not gonna touch that one.
     
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  8. Dunerunner

    Dunerunner Brewery Monkey Moderator

    And the list is cut down to just a few items..

    Get up
    Leave the bed unmade
    Shower, do your hair
    Leave the dirty clothes on the floor until the pile is too big to walk around or you run out of things to wear
    Go to Starbucks for coffee
    Go shopping or stay at Starbucks and surf the internet for things you don't need but want to buy anyway
    Get home just before Significant Other arrives home
    Pick up the empty drink cups from Starbucks, Burger King and Jack in the Box along with the three day old Domino's box
    Start griping at them the minute they enter the door that you don't have enough time or money and that you need a bigger house
    Whine that you don't feel like cooking and need a night out
    Demand that you deserve to be taken to a nice place, not a burger joint or pizza parlor

    Repeat.....
     
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  9. Motomom34

    Motomom34 Monkey+++

    I see it as a glimpse of life if society breaks down. No electricity to run your microwave or washing machine. Many of the chores that it takes to keep a household running will have to revert back to the '50's if society collapses. #20 on the list was indulge in a hobby and in many cases the hobby was a small garden in the back. A small garden provided hobby, fresh air, exercise and fresh vegetables for the family.
     
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  10. Dunerunner

    Dunerunner Brewery Monkey Moderator

    Many would not survive. It would just be too much work....[LMAO]
     
  11. Legion489

    Legion489 Rev. 2:19 Banned

    That sounds exactly like what a friend puts up with. They had a two story house with basement, but his wife was getting more and more ...er...ah..."angry". Him, her, two sons, but the house was "two small", with three rooms per person. he finally told her he would build her the house she wanted. The one story house is ALL windows. Drive by and you can see front to back, side to side from any side or place in the street or sidewalk! Literally the ONLY place THEY can NOT see out from the inside is the front door! If you stand in front of the front door, with huge windows on each side, the three feet in front of the door is a blind spot and they can't see you! I guess she is happy, but that would drive me crazy! Like facebook I have no urge to have my entire life on display for all to see.
     
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  12. 3M-TA3

    3M-TA3 Cold Wet Monkey

    There is a flip side to that, too. It's not just the females that in general have gotten lazy.
    • Many men think they can just come home and sit in front of the tube until bed time.
    • We don't have to fall trees, split the wood, and haul it from the wood shed to the house anymore.
    • We (most of us) don't provide meat by hunting and fishing, we tear it out of plastic wrapped trays instead.
    • We don't grow crops then harvest and help put them up, we just go to WalMart.
    • Nope, most of us work 8 hours a day (a bit more than half of when most of us farmed) and we are beat when we come home and just wanna beer and Family Feud.
    • In my neighborhood I am one of three (less than 10%) that does his own yard work. Our lots are small - it takes me about a half hour once a week to mow and about one hour on Friday or Saturday to clip, trim or edge.
    • I can go on and on, but it's not too darned inspiring for the women folk when we slack our way through our lives as well.
    Most of the folks I know more than casually on this forum are a bit more old school than the above, but that seems to be the direction of urban life.

    WALL-E might be seen a thousand years from now as a documentary.
    upload_2017-6-1_16-7-35.
     
    Last edited: Jun 1, 2017
  13. Ura-Ki

    Ura-Ki Grampa Monkey

    When my Wife and I first were married, Motomom34's OP list was what My Wife thought was expected of her, and She would do this AND work her highly stressful job. I had to convince her that ours was an equal share home and that I didn't ever expect her do do the home chores her self, or that she was subservient to me! What an eye opener this was to her, and caused some head aches for her Father back home after they came for a visit! LOL
     
  14. Dunerunner

    Dunerunner Brewery Monkey Moderator

    Wife and I share the load here too... My former Brother-in-Law thought my wife's sister was his personal servant. SWMBO used to give me the talk, as in "Thou Shalt Not Say Anything" before we went to their house for a visit.
     
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  15. M118LR

    M118LR Caution: Does not play well with others.

    You neglected to mention that men had to perform all these tasks by themselves prior to taking a wife. So bedroom abilities might not have been the primary reason for marriage back in the 50's. But I don't remember Government assistance as being the primary income back in those years of yore? Along with all the other stigma's applied to single parenthood.
     
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  16. Yard Dart

    Yard Dart Vigilant Monkey Moderator

    I came home today with our master bathroom cleaned... my wife declared she had faced one of her worst fears...cleaning the bathroom.... :rolleyes:
     
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2017
  17. enloopious

    enloopious Rocket Surgeon

    I just printed that list out for my girlfriend. Thanks! That ought to do the trick.
     
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  18. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    @enloopious Be sure and duck, after you give it to her....
     
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  19. Dunerunner

    Dunerunner Brewery Monkey Moderator

    I hope, for your sake, she is not Irish.... Even 1/164th Irish....
     
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  20. Ganado

    Ganado Monkey+++

    I still have a schedule in my house I clean one room a day on a rotating schedule in addition to the daily kitchen cleaning.

    My mom drove me nuts doing all the cleaning on Saturdays so I decided it would all get cleaned but not all in one day.

    I notice alot of botching about other people but little sharing on what YOU actually do in your household. Setting an example is more effective than botching about what some 'other person' is or is not doing.

    @Motomom34 that was a great list. 'greet husband gayly' made me laugh.
     
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