1950s Spring Cleaning Schedule and Free Checklist

Get your home in shape like a retro housewife with this 1950s spring cleaning schedule. You’ll also get a free spring cleaning checklist to print off and help you get it all done.

Spring cleaning is an important part of keeping our homes clean and well-maintained. In general, if you are keeping up with a good cleaning schedule, spring cleaning isn’t too overwhelming.

And if you haven’t had a good cleaning routine, it can be a good reset for your home, that way you can start fresh and find a cleaning schedule that will work for you. You will find a lot of great cleaning schedules here on the site, so after you finish this post, don’t forget to check those out.

With all of my cleaning, I enjoy reading what homemakers in the past did to keep their homes clean. You can find some useful information that hasn’t been passed down very well over the last couple of generations.

In the past, I enjoyed doing a 1940s spring cleaning routine, but this year I thought it would be fun to try a new-to-me routine. I started searching through some 1950s cleaning books and found Housecraft Science by Holt J.m, published in 1953.

The book is full of everything you need to care for your home, including a chapter titled Care of Rooms. It goes over daily, weekly, and spring cleaning for every room. It’s perfect for creating a spring cleaning routine, and that’s what I did. Now I want to share it with you as well.

1950s Spring Cleaning Schedule

In the book, they just give spring cleaning lists for each room and don’t give you an actual routine. In my experience with other vintage spring cleaning routines, the norm was to do one room per week.

That’s how I decided to make this routine, but you can do it slower or faster depending on the time you can give to your spring cleaning.

Week One- Living Room, Dining Room, or Lounge

A note given that isn’t going to apply to as many people now is that chimneys should be swept the day before spring cleaning. This is a good idea if you do have a fireplace.

Remove and clean all curtains, cushions, covers, and blankets. Cover all upholstered furniture with clean sheets before doing other tasks to help keep it clean.
Remove books from bookcases and dust each.
Remove any small pieces of furniture, such as tables, footstools, etc.
Take down pictures, dust, and remove.
Use the vacuum cleaner on carpets. If you have rugs, vacuum and, if possible, clean them and let them line dry.
Brush down walls and ceilings, or use the vacuum with attachments.
Clean baseboards and trim.
If painting or decorating is to be done, these should now be done.
Wash the floor and allow it to dry (if not carpeted).
Replace rugs, books, pictures, furniture, and clean each before putting them back.
Clean the windows and any glass fittings.
Replace clean covers, blankets, curtains, etc.

I did leave off washing walls, as most modern paint doesn’t need to be washed. If you do want to wash your walls, please make sure to use as small an amount of water as possible and test on a spot before doing so to make sure it won’t harm your paint.

Week Two- Bedrooms

Clean out and reline drawers and cupboards.
Open the windows and remove the curtains, and clean them.
Remove bedding and wash if needed.
Clean the mattress and bed with a vacuum and a stiff brush.
Remove rugs and clean them, and place them on a clothesline.
Remove all covers, ornaments, books, etc.
Take down pictures, dust, and remove them from the room.
Brush down walls and ceilings, or use the vacuum with attachments.
Clean baseboards and trim.
Wash or scrub the floor, according to the surface. If the room has carpet, give it a good vacuum.
Clean the windows, mirrors, etc.
Replace rugs when the floor is dry.
Polish furniture, using furniture polish, or wash with vinegar and water (test first).
Re-make the bed.
Replace all small articles, pictures, books, etc., cleaning each before returning to the room.
Replace clean covers, blankets, curtains, etc.

Week Three- Kitchen

All portable equipment and food should be removed.
Curtains and covers should be removed and washed.
The walls should be brushed or vacuumed. This is one room that, in modern homes, may need to have the walls washed; always test an area first.
Clean doors and windows.
Clean baseboards and trim.
The floors should be cleaned and polished according to the flooring type.
Furniture should be washed or polished.
Stoves and large appliances should receive attention.
Wash light fittings.
All portable articles should be replaced, and curtains, covers, and mats returned after cleaning.

That’s all. In the book, they talk about bathroom chores just being daily and weekly. Since the way we live has changed, you may need a fourth week to do other spring cleaning tasks. With it all broken down like this, it’s not too overwhelming, and your house will look great once you have finished.

If you have limited time or a large house, you can also add more weeks to getting this done, and don’t forget to get the family involved. These are good skills to teach kids, and partners can also be asked to help with tasks. With some help, it will go much faster.

Useful Spring Cleaning Supplies

Before getting started, it’s a good idea to make sure you have all the supplies you will need on hand. Don’t rush out to buy new things, even if an influencer makes it look cool, if something you have will do the job, but you don’t want to be in the middle of a task without the supplies you need.

These are the supplies I like to make sure I have ready. If I need to replace anything, I order most items through Grove Collaborative.

Cleaning Rags (this is a great time to take old, holey t-shirts and turn them into rags)
Cleaning Bucket
Mop
Duster
All-Purpose Spray
Furniture Polish
Baking Soda
Vinegar
Castile Soap (or a mild dish soap)
Box for Donations

You can see from the routine that you don’t need fancy gadgets to get your home very clean. Cleaning influencers just share these products to earn money, and often they don’t use them in their cleaning after showing you. Keeping things basic will save you money and space.

Free 1950s Spring Cleaning Schedule Printable

If you want to do this spring cleaning routine in your home, I’ve made it into an easy-to-use printable that you can print off for free and get started on your routine. It also matches my cleaning planner if you want to use it along with the planner and stay on track all year long.

To use the free spring cleaning printable, simply enter your email in the box below, and you will be sent an email to confirm that you wanted the printable. Once you confirm, you will get the print as a PDF that you can easily print.

More Spring Cleaning Resources

Looking for more tips to make spring cleaning easier? These are some other resources here on the site that can help.

Pin the Post for Later

Don’t lose this post, be sure to pin it for later.