Want to clean like a 1950s housewife? Try this 1950s cleaning schedule. Your home will be spotless but you may be a bit exhausted! Plus get some 1950s cleaning hacks to make it all easier.
Having a clean and well put together home was very important to housewives in the 1950s. And they generally spent a lot more time cleaning than we do now.
It was, in general, most women’s full-time jobs and they took it seriously. Of course, not all situations or women were the same but overall women were more likely to be full-time housewives and that meant a lot of cleaning.
“Cleanliness was a mark of respectability. Sitting down was only acceptable in the evening.” – Dr. Liz Yardley, a lecturer in sociology at Birmingham City University.
The time women spent cleaning is one of the reasons many think women were so much thinner in the 1950s. They spent a lot of hours on their feet every day, cleaning and doing other housework.
Trying out a 1950’s cleaning routine can help you get your house in amazing shape and burn a few extra calories. You may not want to do all of these things every day but try adding some of these to your daily cleaning schedule and see what you think.
It can be a really fun experiment to do for a week or so. If you track your steps you could track how much they increase while following this routine. If you do try this you should comment below with your results, I’d love to hear about it.
1950s Daily Cleaning Schedule
This list is adapted from a list shared by Jen but Never Jenn, be sure to check out her fun 1950’s housewife series. This is also just a fun list from the time. It was from a 1950s book so just like we don’t all follow the routines suggested in today’s books this wouldn’t have been what EVERY 1950s housewife did, it would be an ideal that was promoted to them.
- Throwback the covers and let your bed air out. (read why this is important)
- Open up the blinds and windows.
- After breakfast clean up the kitchen and eating area.
- Gather a basket for tidying. As you tidy the home, pick up items that don’t belong in that room and add them to your basket. When you enter a new room place the items from the basket that belong in that room where they go.
- Straighten up the living areas, pick up clutter, lightly dust, straighten pillows, and water plants.
- Make the beds.
- Tidy the bedroom, including a 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 (as needed), and cleaning the sink area including soap dishes.
- Wipe down kitchen work surfaces and inside the fridge and discard any old food.
- Dispose of garbage from around the home.
- Rinse dishcloths and hang them to dry.
- Sweep or mop the kitchen floor.
- Handle weekly chores that need to be done that day. (see examples below)
- Set the table for dinner.
- Arrange the living room for evening enjoyment with the family.
- Do a quick sweep of the floors and ensure entrance ways are clear.
- Clean up the eating areas after dinner and ensure all dishes are washed.
- Set the table for breakfast.
Don’t forget a lot of housewives didn’t have dishwashers, many didn’t have dryers, and overall there were so many fewer time-saving devices. Many were starting to gain popularity but still weren’t in the budget for a lot of households.
Want some free cleaning products to use while trying this routine out? Click here to get my favorite Mrs. Meyer’s cleaning set for free.
Once a Week Chores
- 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 (including bedding).
- Vacuuming and mopping.
There were many other chores that had to be taken care of monthly and seasonally. Just like now what chores needed to be done varied depending on the home and family situations.
Free Printable 1950s Cleaning Routine
Want to try this list out as well? Sign up below for access to a free printable 1950’s cleaning routine checklist and other great printables.
With this cleaning checklist, you can follow along with me and others in cleaning like a 1950’s housewife. You may find some chores you want to add to your normal cleaning routine.
Be the Best Homemaker You Can Be
Do you ever wish you could join one of the homemaking clubs of the past? Sip some tea and share some delicious treats while talking about homemaking?
Now you can do just that! The Retro Homemakers Club is a place to learn and connect with other homemakers with a fun retro flair.
It’s a great place to learn every more 1950s housewife tips and tricks to use in your home. Plus practical advice for the modern homemakers.
More 1950s Homemaking Tips
If you want more retro inspiration I have a lot of fun posts for you to check out. You can also join the FREE Retro Housewife Goes Green Community to connect with others that love retro homemaking.
Christine
I’m going to try tomorrow but I’m getting tired just looking at the lists no energy not working.
Lisa Sharp
I’d love to know how it goes!
Tiffany
I always lived spending a weekend in grandma’s clean house. I was injured in an accident and had to get a maid. She never saw my tears over not being able to clean my own bathroom or how thankful I am that she did. Now I rejoice in cleaning.
Dorianne
That’s why I’m exhausted most evenings because I’ll do the whole list most of the days…
Robert Higgins
I want to add to this from what I remember my mother doing to keep house and raise 5 children.
Washing clothes with a wringer washer. Hang the clothes outside on the clothes line. Iron the clothes. Bake bread, cookies, and pie. Darn socks in the evening. Take care of my grandparents. Have an amazing flower bed around the house. Raise puppies. Wash the dishes by hand (we all chipped in on this one). Can vegetables and fruits. Take care of sick kids. Play baseball with us. Break up fights. Cloth diapers took extra work. Help sick neighbors. Get us to church in our Sunday best every week. Prepare a feast for Sunday dinner (they were awesome) and yes she wore a house dress every day. I could go on and on. My mom is going to be 93 this week. She bore 7 children. She has had to bury 3 of them and my dad to whom she was married to for 60 years. When my oldest sister died in accidently at 16 it nearly destroyed her. I dont know how she and dad got through it all. I know her faith in God was never in doubt and gave her strength. She was 5 foot 2 and less than 100 lbs. Sometimes it wasnt pretty. Time has a way of bringing healing and peace. I know my God has a special place for her in His Kingdom someday. She will always have my love and respect.
Ann Joseph
What a beautiful tribute to your mom! Proverbs 31:28
Juanita Yorks
Wonderful tribute. We need to remember that in the majority of cases, women did not work outside the home. My mother didn’t. She did all the years before I was born. I didn’t need to when my children were small. I admire women, past and future. Sometimes we are our own enemies.
Kerry Frohling
Robert Higgins, what a beautiful tribute to your mother!
Elizabeth Welty
Back then, middle and high classes own houses. They could garden, hang clothes out on the line, and buy 7 basic food groups for every day. Even my lower classes parents’ families had a garden and some chickens , did not have a car, lived in town, smoked, and did not eat every basic food group daily from tight income.
Most people rent apartments, can not keep gardens at apartments, car insurance , gas , utilities, and rent bill is raising higher every few years. Because people keep asking for raises of minimum wages and prices on stuff goes up after this. Besides the high class, people have to choose between paying pills, eating, or having a car. Personally, I stopped driving due to chronic pain from Rheumatoid Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, Pundendal Neuralgia, and degenerative disc diseases. If could drive, I would not. Insurance goes up and people is driving careless these days. Point is. I like to have basic 7 food groups daily and non processed to. In my home we eat no fast food, but frozen processed foods.
Make in 1950’s , suburbs wives would drive every day, or other day for fresh groceries. Each store was divided. One store had food, another had clothes, another had men’s clothes only, etc. . People walked a lot and lived never town more. More walked every where with out a car, but suburban wives would drive everywhere. Generations whom did not grow up in 1950’s romance it. This was a time where abuse got unreported, women and children was seen not heard, people with birth defects and unknown health problems git shut away in Asylums, doctors said smoking and drinking during pregnancy was good for us, etc…
We can take the 1950’s life style and use it in ourselves, but not do everything they did.
Women wore high heels all the time back then. This caused my grandma ‘s legs to get spider veins , but her smoking caused a lot of her health problems.
People also drinked and this helped with weight. It’s not good habit.
Lisa Sharp
Nothing is perfect and I often say I like to take the good parts of the past and leave the rest.
Kenzie
Maybe this is a sign that I am overdoing it! I have a 9 month old and this cleaning list looks like a normal day for me ? I guess this isn’t the norm for 2019!
Lisa Sharp
This is more than the average person cleans now. One study found housewives in the 1950s burned almost twice as many calories a day than we do now. Of course, we also have more appliances to help us but we still do less. You can likely cut back some and give yourself a break. <3
DJ
Yeah, I do all of this and more now. I guess the biggest difference for me vs. a 1950’s house maker is that they likely did it in nicer clothes. Pajamas all day for the win!
Lisa Sharp
I clean in dresses but not this whole list every day. 🙂
Kalyn
I was going to say, do I have to do it in heels? Maybe I should try hahahah
Lisa Sharp
I mean you can, I’m going to pass since I already had to use a walking boot once this year. ha!
Luanne
Yep, that’s me too! So many of the chores can be done in just a few minutes, and then add a weekly chore in per day. Adding kids definitely makes it take longer….and a lot of repetition!
I’m definitely not in dresses tho! My mom wore dresses until about 1970 when we moved to California. It’s kind of funny…I used to be amazed because I never saw her cleaning up, yet the entire house was always clean…except for the chores she assigned me, that is.
Shandra Brown
Wow that is a lot. I know I will not be able to do half of that due to I am a working mom. I salute all the stay at home mother who does this.
Lisa Sharp
Not many do this no matter if they are at home or not. It’s a lot, don’t feel bad.
MaryP
Umm. This is pretty normal housework. Growing up my mom worked part time at night. She cooked and baked from scratch. Never any dirty dishes. The house always spotless. We had a big Italian family and had everyone in and out all day. There were 4 of us kids plus all the cousins and friends that stopped by. I thought this was normal. My friends mom’s did the same and of course all my aunts. They would have been ashamed to have it any other way. I’m 67 and as I go about my house I think of how they all worked so hard.
Lisa Sharp
It’s not normal these days, at least not for one day. 🙂
Jessica Taylor
Very helpful! Gives me some inspiration. Thank you!
Lisa Sharp
I’m so glad it was helpful!
Nina
In the fifities ladies had hard surfaces to wipe and limited carpeting. Loads of linoleum mopped with vinegar water. They washed walls every two years. Curtains every spring. They had limited clothing. They had house dresses.
Imagine a wardrobe that stopped with five shirts, three pair of pants, eight underwear, five undershirts. Eight pairs of socks. A suit and hat. Typical men’s wardrobe. Oh and hankies. All ironed. Except the suit and hat.
Mirley Guerra Graf
I love this blog! It’s so original and refreshing to read. I just have a hard time cleaning the bathrooms. I really dislike it.
Lisa Sharp
Thank you! I don’t mind bathrooms other than the tub. That’s always a pain.
Paul
A tip to help in cleaning the bathtub – get a new broom with soft bristles (Dollar Tree is fine). Wet the tub walls and floor. Drizzle Dawn disk detergent all around. Use the broom to brush the detergent to dissolve the ring and other dirty spots. Then rinse. Easy peasy!
Jan
I love to notice how things have changed. There are certainly things to strive to continue and some to let fall by the wayside. Most important is to be teachable and willing to learn from those that came before us.
Lisa Sharp
Very true!
Susan Newbigging
Most of these are just normal daily chores any one should be able to do. They are easier to do now with the dish washers and cleaning tools available. With kids it would be much harder, so I understand the mommy thing. Kids always come first before the house.
If you do quick wipe downs, quick pick ups and stay on top of laundry………then it is not so hard.
You do not have to follow the list exactly on busy days choose what is bothering you most about the house work…focus on that.
Michelle
I’m a working mom of 3 & single I might add. I have always done things on my own. My kids have their chores, but there are things a mom wants done her way. Most of these things are a daily must & some of these things can be split up. I sweep my kitchen once I’m done cleaning up from supper. I throw away leftovers on Friday & that’s when I wipe the fridge down then mop the floor. My boys have picked their own day to have their laundry done. They bring it to the laundry room in the morning & it’s in their room in the afternoon. They clean, vacuum, change their bedding & take out their trash all in this day. Most of my bigger things get done on a Saturday. But, this has worked for us & I don’t feel worn out or exhausted either.
Dorothy
Couldn’t it be argued that moms in the 50’s were more likely to be SAH? Also did moms in the 50’s interact with their children as often as moms now? Also it was more likely that other moms in your neighborhood would be at home with their kids. Kids had friends to play with without moms having to be involved driving them and supervising. When kids were schooled aged a lot of women still were still SAH and with kids in school full time they would have had plenty of time to clean. I also find it unlikely that they didn’t sit down for lunch daily or coffee with the ladies a few times a week. I feel like this is one of those articles that perpetuates women and parents feeling bad for not doing enough. At this point comparing a Mother’s role in the 1950’s and a mother’s role in the 2000’s is comparing apples and oranges. Families can’t and shouldn’t be expected to be living the same way and with the same standards of families of the 1950’s.
Lisa Sharp
I’m sorry you were upset by this. This was just for fun. My long-time readers will know that I talk all the time about self-care and not being too hard on yourself. I run a full-time business and don’t have kids and I don’t do all these things every day. We all just do our best and this is just a fun post, nothing too serious.
Jane
It’s all in fun my mom worked and was a single mom .
I was expected to get myself off to school and get myself home .
Leaving the kitchen tidy before she got home from work .I had just started school 6 years old
We lived in a one bedroom basement suite the lady upstairs was usually home .When I walked back from school I reported to her .
My mom and I took the bus everywhere or walked . We walked a lot .
You know it wasn’t a bad life at all .I am a responsible adult.Two adult kids of my own .
My house is tidy my life is good ,that was 57 years ago .
My mom is still walking .
A lot to be said for learning responsibly young .
Don’t sweat it no one gets out of here alive .
Natasha
This article was cute. Though i will never mop my floor every day. And i dont see laundry on the list. Does that mean i dont have to wash it or fold it? If so ill start tomorrow Lol.
Lisa Sharp
ha! Laundry was usually a weekly chore so it would have been added in.
Julie
The list is a nice motivator. I’m one of twelve kids and grew up on a farm. We all had chores in and out of the house. My Mom cooked and baked.
I’m currently a working 56 hours plus Mom with two boys, one teen and one pre-teen. They both help but I’m always overtired and behind mostly on laundry which I do almost every day! I wish they had less clothes, Ha! Ha!
What I’ve learned is lists are good and if you do a little every day it’s better. I work 24 hour shifts so I don’t think there’s a good answer unless I kill myself with chores. Sometimes you just have to be okay doing whatever you can and enjoy your family while you have the chance! Our time together is precious and short. Laundry will always be there, you’re kids won’t!
Take time for yourself, spend some alone time with your spouse and go camping with your family!
Jill
My mother cleaned like this (I was born in 1977). My family….. does not (I say family as I work and my husband stays home). Yet when my mom now visits she says she feels like she wasted a lot of time cleaning that she wishes she spent with my brother and me. She admires the parents my husband and I are and the attention we give our kids. She says “all these years later, was the fact that I had a spotless house important?
I’m glad she told us this. I feel no shame. My house is clean-not spotless though, but my kids have the gift of memories made-much more important to me.
Michelle
This doesn’t seem hard to me, to be honest. This would most definitely NOT take all day. I do these things pretty much daily. I don’t set the table for meals ahead of time, but I do all these other things, plus I work outside my home. And if you keep things up…. if you’re doing this daily, your house isn’t getting very messy, so it’s not hard to keep it clean. This doesn’t take long when things are kept up. This isn’t why they were thinner either…. fast food and Netflix weren’t around. THAT’S why they were thinner. ? True story…. (sorry, not trying to be negative. But this truly isn’t a tough or rigorous cleaning routine. Now, if they were cleaning ovens and doing windows on a daily basis, then yes…. that would be tiring!! Lol)
Suzanne
You’re right Michelle.
I was a ’50’s kid and my mother was NOT a clean freak. She spent time with us and taught me to sew when I was barely 7. She helped my brother, sister and me with homework, made every meal and made sure we had clean clothes, but was not obsessive about cleaning. She used to say: “keep the kitchen and bathrooms clean, and you’re fine”. When we were old enough she had us dust, sweep or vacuum once a week and put away our toys and/or clothes. We made our beds and tidied our rooms. That was about it. I DO remember her cleaning out the ‘fridge periodically and defrosting the freezer – an awful job, but those were the days before self defrosting freezers. I don’t ever remember seeing her clean the over, but it’s possible she did that kind of cleaning while we were in school (no interruptions).
And you’re right about why most people were thinner then Michelle. Mom rarely ate between meals, unless it was fruit or something else healthy. There was no fast food (Mickey D’s was in it’s infancy), she didn’t allow much in the way of cookies or other sweets – the budget was limited so they were an occasional treat. We didn’t eat meat every night of the week; again, the budget, Dad didn’t bring home a huge salary but we were always clothed and well-fed. Mom’s meals could be a bit bland sometimes because she didn’t like salt, but she made sure they were well-balanced and healthy. There weren’t NEARLY the same amount of “quick-prep” and food choices in the grocery store. Mom made most meals from scratch. We were very active and played outside with our friends whenever the weather allowed. Television broadcasting stopped by midnight but were weren’t permitted to stay up late anyway unless for a special occasion. We only wanted to watch the after-school cartoons and the Saturday morning kid shows anyway – Sky King, Fury, and the like. But we had to finish our chores first!
Nowadays, when it comes to meals, it’s too easy to pick up something quick that’s full of salt, fat and preservatives. Take-out foods are a big problem too and portion sizes are much bigger than we used to eat. I changed my eating habits roughly three years ago and took off 40lbs. I added extra walking to my routine twice a week and kept my in-between meal snacks to some fruit and or a few nuts. It didn’t happen overnight, but I lost an average of 2lb. per month and my doctor was thrilled. Yes, it was slow but I went down 3 sizes and feel better all around. We can be healthier and more slender if we simplify our diet, avoid salty, fat-filled processed foods and do just a little extra exercise. Daily dusting, sweeping and vacuuming are not that difficult and would certainly make a difference in our activity level. And this goes for the guys too! My sweet hubby will vacuum when I ask him.
Heather
This is probably easier to do if you are a SAHM. I work 40 hrs a week and have a 2 hour commute to and from work. There is no way I feel like doing all this!!
Catnip
Uhhh..these are good ideas but it wasnt like this in thev50’s and 60’s. I can only think of one woman whi came anywhwhere near this..and it ruined her children. The way it really worked is, kids picked up their rooms. They did laundry. They cooked. They did dishes. They had3 chores. You kept your room clean and made your own bed. The mothers would often work. It’s just not true. They didn’t stay home. The ones who did, were often bored. Lots and lots of soap operas.
Most of us got ourselves off to school, and then we walked. Walked home. Nobody waiting with a car to pick us up. The ones who lived further away rode the bus.
There were lots of so bad and depictions of stay-at-home moms behaving this way, but most of them didn’t. They smoked! Almost everybody did. They like to visit with their neighbors. It wasn’t unpleasant. It just wasn’t as you think it was. You’re going by old advertisements in magazines. What the ideal was supposed to look like, but nobody did.
One thing you do have right is, we almost never ate out. It was rare. Anyting like hamburgers or french fries or hot dogs or a lot of the stuff they call food now, was considered junk food. You didn’t see a lot of that in homes. It was special. A treat. That part is right. The rest? No. Kids did housework, homework then played outside if there was time.
Lisa Sharp
This came from a book from the 1950s. Just like we don’t all do all the things advised now of course not all or even most women did this. 🙂 It’s just for fun.
I have another post on the blog all about the myth of the 1950s housewife. This is just something fun to try and that was recommended by some at the time.
Jenn Hill
It looks pretty normal to me. Our house was always spotless. One Summer day, when I was around 8, (early 1960s), I made the mistake of saying I was bored. Needless to say, I helped wash walls. It was an every Summer thing. Mom often cleaned house before I woke up for school, as Dad left early for work, approx 4:30 or 5 am. I’d often get up to a freshly mopped & waxed kitchen. Our house was always very clean, esp so to keep me from having asthma attacks. Curtains were washed frequently, carpets vacuumed daily. No house pets.
I had no carpet in my first houses & loved it. Easier to keep clean. As for bathtubs, referenced above, they’re very hard on the back.
I never wear heels, nor did my Mom. My Aunt, in San Francisco, may have, but we lived in rural NV.
Jenn E
Lol I do this every day and work
Judy Soden
I used to have a book Amy Vanderbilt’s Book of Etiquette published in 1950 with illustrations by Andrew Warhol. One chapter dealt with cleaning house with sections if you had domestic help or didnt. I had always cleaned house from “insideout”. I cleaned bedrooms, bath, cleaning my way to the back door. I had no idea this was a Vanderbilt NoNo, an Amy faux pas. According to Amy clean your living room first. That way if you have unexpected company you will not be embarrassed by a disheveled living room. The doors to any uncleaned rooms are closed before you answer the door.
Lisa Sharp
Interesting, this is how I clean. I clean the rooms unexpected guests would see first.
Kathy
Fake/boxed/processed foods did not start until the 50″s. That’s why they are not over weight! They prepared fresh, REAL food!
Lisa Sharp
There are many things that played a role. But if you look at the recipes on this blog will we see that I promote eating real food, made from scratch when possible. 🙂
Momma9
I’m not the cook in the family I get anxiety really bad & can’t handle it,especially in a super tiny kitchen since we rent. I do cook sometimes. When we get a house I’d love to have a coffee bar,make my own pasta noodles and things. I can at least do breadsticks now since it doesn’t take up much space I just use my hands I don’t have or want a bread machine or mixer,& I sometimes make snacks. I only have one child,+ his dad & 3 pets to clean up after. I’ve been wanting to do more DIY for home & health,and use less devices. I work midnights 4 days a week,plus I’m supposed to pick up and extra 4-5 hour shift at some point when I get my house back on track clean,& I work another job 1-2 days a week. I have depression and a whole bunch of stuff wrong with me from childhood and being in a very mentally abusive situation the past 10 years so I’m always exhausted but I’m working on it and hopefully will reconnect with God stronger,I have trouble since He’s let me live this life in pain no matter how many times I’d begged for help. I’m trying to understand why and begin a life to make Him proud,and me happier,& less stressed. I bought dresses I need to try on again now that I’ve lost at least some weight. ? still working on losing 30 or so more get down to at least 110. I’m 4’11” so 110 is still a size 6 on me. It’s all a work in progress but I’m trying & going to try to go back to college too for a better job than retail. ?
Elaine Fitzpatrick
I have loved this! I’m a 59 year old woman and a traditionalist. If a woman is happy stayingbhome and keeping a happy home then I think it’s fabulous. I’m retired now and I now love nothing beter than keeping the home I worked hard to buy looking slick and span
Danielle
This is a great way to keep up on your home but I had to laugh because I have two kids and that list of chores would take me an hour…. that might have been my pre-child chores list but there’s a lot more to it these days lol
Lisa Sharp
Are they old enough to take some of the tasks? Also, most of these daily things wouldn’t really need to be daily. I doubt all housewives followed this, just like we don’t follow all the schedules in homemaking books now. 🙂
Renee
I got to reading this,and Hubby says i do all this now, I said except wear 6 inch heels 😉 LOL
Vikki
Interesting. I have done this for years. I was a 70s housewife not a 50s. Part of the problem is that my mother didn’t clean and it was embarrassing to me. If you keep up with it though you actually have more time since you never get behind.
Malin Klarström
I can’t seem to get the email with the freebie? I tried to subscribe several times, over several days. Still no Email. is this not availiable anymore?
Lisa Sharp
I see you in the system but you haven’t confirmed your email address. Be sure to check your spam folder.
Linda
On the page with the 1950s cleaning schedule, you have an area to enter your email, but it doesn’t work. You might want to fix the web page.
Lisa Sharp
It is working for me and I see others have used it recently. If you have any more information or need help signing up feel free to email me- https://retrohousewifegoesgreen.com/contact/
Alicia Hursley
I mean cleaning in those heels would already be torture enough let alone the long list of things to get done! Haha I definitely value my dishwasher and dryer and I’m very grateful to have those things. I’m also grateful for professional cleaning services to take out even more of the heavy lifting. I use one to clean my upholstery for Pete’s sake! So needless to say, I probably couldn’t do this list. But it’s certainly a fun read and I’m glad I found it.
Liam Randall
I’m gonna try this out, I haven’t had anything better to do for almost a year now. I don’t know how well it’s going to go though, as I have no one to clean up after but myself. Maybe I just need to make bigger messes haha.