Household Tips from 1950s Housewives

1950s housewives can give us a lot of useful household tips that can make homemaking easier. We have forgotten so many of these tips and need to bring them back!

This was originally posted in September 2019. It has been updated on May 6, 2026 to make sure all the information is up-to-date and as useful as possible.

I’ve been reading magazines from the 1950s a lot lately. It’s such an interesting look into the lives of people back then. I especially love reading the tips and tricks that real housewives sent in. 

Women couldn’t blog or share these tips on social media back then so sending them into magazines was the next best thing. I’m sure it was fun to see your name in the magazine and show your friends. 

Many of the tips no longer are that helpful because we have more appliances to help us make tasks easier. But some of their tips are still very useful and don’t seem to be being used as much these days so let’s take a look at some of them.

Household Tips from the 1950s That Still Work Today

For a while now I’ve been keeping notes from tips I thought would be useful and I noticed I have a lot of them and should share them with you as well. I hope you enjoy these retro cleaning tips and find some that will help you as well.

How to Keep Coats Clean

You save a lot of elbow work if you pick up lint from your clothes with the drapery attachment on your vacuum. The crevice tool cleans pockets, cuffs, galoshes.

How to Keep Delicate Curtains Safe in the Wash

Net or lace curtain panels are less likely to tear in washing if you pack them loosely in a pillowcase or mesh bag. Tie the top, for better balance in some washers, try to include two bags in each load.

I like to use mesh bags to wash a lot of my delicate items. And a bonus, modern tip for me is to also use them for socks so it’s easier to find and match all of them at once.

Use More Trash Cans and Clothes Hampers

A wastebasket in every room, clothes hamper in the bedrooms and the bath- these will save you extra trips. And you won’t have to grumble at the family to keep paper and clothes picked up.

Use a Handy Basket

Keep a basket at the foot of the stairs, both in the basement and on the first floor. Then while you’re cleaning slip teddy and abandoned trucks – anything that belongs on the next floor in the basket. Then you can carry everything up in one step.

This is great even in a single story home. As someone with ADHD I need to stay in the room I’m working on or I will likely get distracted. Having a basket with me can help me stick to this.

Wear an Apron

An apron’s big pockets keep track of dust cloths, collect those odds and ends you pick up around the house. 

I love using vintage aprons. If you want to start collecting vintage aprons I have a vintage apron guide.

Keep Your Cleaning Supplies with You

Save time on cleaning day by keeping your equipment in one spot. Carry cleaner, waxes, and polishes with you in a basket.

You can also see some of my favorite cleaning supplies on my Benable page.

Clean Toaster Regularly

In some cases, crumbs may store up moisture and cause rusting. Many toasters have removable crumb tray to make the job easy. Otherwise, carefully tilt toaster on its side or turn it upside down. Be gentle.

Use a Paint Brush for Dusting

Use a new paintbrush 1 to 3 inches wide for dusting tops of books, figurines, carved furniture, radio, and between stair railings. 

Skip Seasonal Cleaning

Instead, deep clean one or two rooms a month. Pick a day when you’ve finished the weekly laundry and quickly slick up the rest of the house. Then you can do a good job on one of the rooms by 5:00.

There will still be some cleaning tasks at are seasonal but you will cut down on how much spring cleaning you need to do.

Do a little bit every day

Each morning spend about five minutes picking up each room. Then, with no signs of disorder, you can go on to other jobs. Or you can play hooky and know you won’t be caught with a messy house.

Reduce how much stuff you have

Go through your home, room by room. Consider honestly each article of furnishings and see if you can do better without it. You’ll be amazed at how much is unnecessary or troublesome in the average room, and you will find that a simplified room can be beautiful and comfortingly calm if well planned.

Remember, the fewer unused things you have, the less you have to care for. Don’t load your home with trimmings that give little return for care they need. 

How to Keep Your Coffee Pot Clean

Filmy coffee oils that impair good coffee flavor are quickly removed from glass coffeemakers with baking soda. Once a week, wash your coffeemaker in baking soda solution- 3 tablespoons baking soda to quart water for a few minutes.

Clean with Old Socks

Old socks make quick work of your polishing jobs. Pull a sock over each hand. Rub polish onto the furniture with one hand; buff it to a shine with the other. You can also use old socks to dust your blinds.

Save Time and Space While Line Drying

Dry clothes by hanging them cross-ways between two lines instead of side by side. You can get more clothes up before having to move down the link and you can get more on the line this way as well.

How to Keep Your Refrigerator Clean and Smelling Fresh

Wash inside of the refrigerator with sudsy water once a week. Follow with a baking soda-water rinse (3 teaspoons baking soda in a quart of warm water) to prevent odors.

You can also add a DIY citrus refrigerator deodorizer to help keep things smelling good between cleaning the fridge.

These household tips are a bit random but I bet at least a couple will work well for your home.

More 1950s Cleaning Advice

Want more cleaning advice from 1950s housewives? You will find a lot of it here on Retro Housewife Goes Green. These are some places to start.

• Vintage Cleaning Tips You Should Steal from Grandma
• 7 Cleaning Hacks from 1950’s Housewives Worth Stealing
• 1950s Cleaning Schedule