Women in WW2 demonstrated great strength and resilience. We can learn so much from them on budgeting, reducing waste, staying healthy, and more that can still help us today.
Women in WW2 played many roles both in the military and at home. They not only sent the men in their life off to war but they also took on jobs the men left behind, joined the military, and worked to take care of things at home while still helping the war effort.
In 1944, Eleanor Roosevelt wrote in Readers’ Digest, that women “running their houses quietly and efficiently are contributing more to the war effort than they themselves realize.”
This is a topic that has always been of interest to me. I’ve long been amazed by the strength of women in WW2 both here in the US and especially those in Europe.
Current events have me thinking about them even more. While our world is so much different now we can still learn from their strength and the ways they supported the war efforts.
I recently came across a pamphlet that was given out to homemakers by the U.S. Bureau of Home Economics called Be a Victory Planner in Your Home.
It was a short pamphlet but it gave actionable steps for “doing your part at home.” And many of these steps can help us today as well. And instead of letting this information get buried in history I wanted to share it and also share ways we can use this advice today to help fight against the injustice happening again.
Women in WW2: Be a Victory Planner for Your Home
While not all advice from the 1940s is likely to apply today, it can be interesting and helpful the look to the past and see what worked during that time. Let’s take a look at what the US government was encouraging homemakers to do and discuss how we can use that information to help today.
Spend Less and Save More
“Spend less for living this year than last. Decide what peacetime purchases you can do without in wartime. Our Nation at war needs all the materials, machinery, and manpower it can get. Our Government will order many economies. We most volunteer still more. Let’s decide now how we will get what we need to keep our families well and strong and yet spend less. Make a family spending plan; hit-or-miss spending wastes money. You’ll have more taxes to pay. Lay aside money each month to meet them. Pay off your debts; do not run up new bills. Buy more war bonds and stamps than you did last year.”
Tips for Today: While our efforts to spend less and save more are no longer to help our government it can still be helpful as we deal with high tariffs and inflation.
Sit down as a family and consider what can be cut from the budget this year and how you can pay off debts. You can use my budget planner to help you stay on track.
Buying more stamps is still a great idea as the US Postal Service is struggling and we don’t want to lose them. I’m using my stamps to send handmade cards to friends and family to bring some joy to hard time. I’m also sending letters to congress using my stamps.
Make Things and Have More
“Skillful hands make better living. Factories that work for war cannot work to make many goods we bought in peacetime. Some things we can make ourselves. Some we can make with neighbors. Use the talents you and your family have for cooking, preserving foods, making clothes, toys, and things to brighten your home. Learn how to use left-over materials. If there’s repairing to do, do the job yourself. Lend your neighbors help. Learn new skills. The family that knows how to use its hands can live better for the same money. Share what you know. Learn from your neighbors.”
Tips for Today: Honestly, very little needs changed about this advice for it to apply today. Factories may not be shifting their focus but goods are becoming more expensive and may become harder to find. This is a great time to start learning more skills and working together with your community.
Cut Waste and Make Things Last
“Wasting won’t win. Everything we now have must be made to give maximum service. Check your stove and furnace to see no power or fuel is wasted. Don’t waste light. Use your sewing machine, washing machine, and other equipment carefully so they will not wear out. Keep them clean and oiled. Make repairs as soon as they are needed. Mend and make over clothes. Take good care of your woolens. Organize a neighborhood automobile-sharing plan to save tires and gasoline. Share other things, too. Take as good care of your neighbors’ things as you do your own.”
Tips for Today: Again this advice is as good today as it was in the 1940s. These tips are great for the environment as well as our budgets. And again there is the encouragement for community, something we have largely lost.
Buy Carefully and Stretch Pennies
“It’s patriotic to be thrifty. Good wartime buyers make every penny count. Make sure each thing you buy is needed. Choose what is plentiful. Don’t hoard. Shop around. Compare prices and values. Know what you are getting. Watch scales. Buy by grade, if possible. Read labels; ask the salesman for facts if labels don’t give them. Substitutes make it more important than ever to know about durability, use, and care. Don’t ask for useless wrapping. Reduce the number of deliveries. Find new ways to be thrifty. Explore possibilities for cooperative buying with your neighbors.”
Tips for Today: Again solid modern advice. Just think where we would all be if we had continued to follow this advice instead of the post-war boom of consumerism and individualism?
Budget Your Hours and Make Each Count
“Saving money takes time. Days are short and work will not get done unless we plan to make each hour count. Simplify your housekeeping. Time-saving short cuts can be worked out for most homemaking jobs. Make your time management plan a family venture. It will be more fun. Help the children to understand that their work is worth while. They will want to share in the working for Victory. Allow time for the companionship of your family and friends, as well as for work. Plan to share in community wartime activities. Choose those in which you can be of most service.”
Tips for Today: We often think that homemakers in the mid-century had it altogether and were never overwhelmed but that is far from the truth. The advice of making time for housework, fun, and volunteer is still very relevant. You can use my cleaning planner to help organize your housework to help make more time for other important things.
Safeguard Your Family and Help Guard Your Country
“We must keep our families fit. Our Nation needs them strong. Plan meals for health. Do all you can to get rid of strain. Have plenty of rest and sleep. Plan for good times, too. Keep a sane outlook through the trying months ahead. Your family needs your affection and good cheer, steadily, day after day. Safeguard family life by safeguarding your school and local health and welfare services. All of us, whatever our nationality, race, or creed, must work together to make each community a demonstration of the democracy we believe in and are determined to defend.”
Tips for Today: Wow, this hits home right now. I have thought often lately about how the women found joy and were able to do the day-to-day tasks while the war was happening around them. I have struggled with this with everything happening now but it is important.
We also must do more to stay healthy and protect the health of those around us as public health is being undermined. Eating well, exercise, staying on-top of vaccines, masking in high risk situations, and being mindful of those that could be at higher risk of illness around us are all important things to do right now. As is stress management and sleep. I also recommend if possible, go to therapy. A place to process is more important than ever.
Overall, we can gain a lot from this advice that was meant to help the war effort. We may not be in a war like they were in the 1940s but we have our own battles and there is so much injustice around us that we can use similar skills to combat.
More WW2 Homemaking Resources
Want to learn more from the women in WW2? I have more articles for you to check out here on Retro Housewife Goes Green. Be sure to also follow me on Substack where I go deeper on many of these issues and how they apply to our world today.
Deanna Piercy says
Great post! It really is interesting how much of this advice is relevant in our current times.