We are forgetting a lot of great vintage cleaning tips and we need to bring them back. Our grandmas had a lot of wise advice and it’s time to use it.
We now have machines to do a lot of our cleaning and don’t get me wrong I’m happy about that but we are forgetting some important skills.
Knowing how to clean without all the machines and how to keep a nice house is still important. I feel like we aren’t passing these things down as much as we used to.
I decided to ask my fellow bloggers what their top vintage cleaning tip from their grandmas was. I got some great tips and they all still apply today.
Vintage Cleaning Tips From Grandma
Keep Up With Housework
“Keeping up is easier than catching up. Grandma had a daily routine of housework that kept her house neat and tidy all the time. Each day beds were made, dishes washed and items put back where they belonged.” – Life With Dee
Use Vinegar
“When in doubt: vinegar! There are few things that vinegar will not clean in a pinch!” – MOON and spoon and yum
Have a Laundry Day
“My Granny raised six children on a farm and her best cleaning advice to me was, “Do all your laundry in one day….start to finish. Then instead of having to think about it all week, you only have to think about it one day a week.” She had a wringer washer and a line clothes drier and managed to do all their laundry in one day.” – SchneiderPeeps
Clean With What You Have
“My grandmother didn’t waste money. She made her own cleaning solutions from products she had on hand (lemons, vinegar, salt, etc.) and instead of using paper towels, she used old rags instead.” – Montana Happy
Wash the Dishes After Every Meal
“Wash the dishes after every meal.” This isn’t something she ever told me, it was just something she always did. Her kitchen was always spotless and it’s because she (and her husband who dried the dishes) did a little bit at a time instead of saving it all for the end of the day when they were exhausted. One day maybe I will follow in her footsteps but I am not there yet.” – Just is a Four Letter Word
Clean While You Cook
“My Nani Dorothy taught me how to clean while I cooked. Whenever we would cook together, which was often, she showed me how to use every moment of downtime to clean and tidy, so there wasn’t a huge mess to clean up after supper. I cook this way to this day. It’s so nice sitting down to a meal, knowing that there isn’t a mountain of dishes waiting for us afterward!” – Glue & Glitter
Use the Sun
“Sunlight kills bacteria! Use it to sterilize and freshen bed linens. I still to this day, spritz my unwashable-at-home items (large down comforters and fiber-filled pillows) with a vinegar/water solution and hang them in the sun for several hours. This will freshen items and help sterilize them so that they are sun fresh. It allows me to put off professional dry cleaning for twice as long.” – Queen Bee of Honey Dos
Don’t Forget to Have Fun
What was one of the biggest lessons I learned from my grandma? Life is short and you need to have fun. She isn’t one to get too worked up about a mess.
Playing was always fun at her house because she let you be a kid and make as much of a mess as you wanted. It may not be a cleaning tip but it is a good reminder that a clean house is nice but memories are also important so don’t stress too much.
Do you have any good vintage cleaning tips from your grandma’s that you want to share? Let me know in the comments below.
Sandy says
I use”soap nuts” these are grown in India by women’s Co operatives. They are wonderful, no damage to the environment and leave the washing with very natural smell
They last a lot longer that a box of detergent. When ( spent for the washer) collect them and dry out. When you have a tin full add boiling water and soak for a day them drain…. hand washing soap. .I also put a1/2 a cup of white vinegar in the conditioner drawer …this leaves the washing wonderfully soft( even if line dried)
My Grandmother was a great one for using white vinegar/ water for cleaning windows using a cloth to put it on and newspaper to shine it off. Her windows sparkled.
Jane says
Thankyou for the tip about white vinegar in the conditioner draw, I’m going to try it when I wash my towels this week x
lynne says
“Follow through!” For every task, do it completely. After a meal, wash the dishes and tidy the kitchen and table. After sitting on the couch watching TV all evening, fluff up the pillows, fold the blanket, and clear the coffee table of dishes, etc. Consider each chore a whole entity and do all parts of it before leaving it. I can hear that in my head every time I want to just let something go.
Snow says
I love this blog! So good and fun to read! <3
Deborah says
My grandmother taught me to sweep or dust mop the floors barefoot. That way you can feel that the floor is clean.
Carolyn says
Great
Barbara says
My mother taught me: Be completely finished with each day’s chores so you can start fresh tomorrow. There’s nothing more depressing than having to wake up to leftover dishes still to be washed or clutter to be picked up from yesterday. Keep encouraged by keeping up!