Daily Cleaning Schedule - 1950s Housewife

So I found a traditional schedule of a 1950s housewife. I already do quite a bit of it, but I don't bother making myself presentable unless I need to leave the house. Even then, I settle for clean clothes and brushing my teeth and hair. Nope. I will be a good vintage housewife and don a dress/skirt and heels/flats when leaving the house and will make sure I change into something pleasing before my husband gets home.

1. Throw back the covers
2. Open up the blinds and windows
3. Freshen up
4. Make and serve breakfast
5. Clean up breakfast
6. Complete a 10-minute exercise regime
7. Shower, do hair and make-up, get dressed
8. Gather a basket for tidying. As the rooms of the home are tackled, pick up items that aren’t where they belong and place them in a basket. Redistribute them where they should be as you enter a new room
9. Straighten up the living and dining room, including picking up potential clutter, light dusting, fluffing / straightening pillows, and watering plants or flowers
10. Make the beds
11. Tidy the bedroom, including light dusting
12. Hang up any clothes that may be about or ensure dirty ones are in the hamper
13. Do a light tidy of the bathroom including removing and replacing used towels, refilling toilet paper and soap (if needed) and cleaning the sink and basin area including soap dishes
14. Review the menu for the current day and the next and compare it to what’s currently available in the home. Make note of anything that needs to be prepared ahead of time or marketing (shopping) that needs to get done
15. Begin long-advance preparations for dinner (such as making dessert)
16. Wipe down kitchen work surfaces and inside the fridge
17. Dispose of garbage
18. Rinse dish cloths and hang to dry
19. Sweep or mop the kitchen floor
20. Handle errands that might take you out of the home (such as marketing, volunteering, going to the post office, getting an item fixed, etc), bookkeeping, correspondence, or indulge in a hobby
21. If returning from the grocery store, wash vegetables, wrap them and put them away. Place rest of groceries or purchases in their proper place
22. Have a quick lunch
23. Start advance food conditioning like crisping vegetables or thawing frozen foods
24. Handle weekly chore for the day (Saved that for a separate post)
25. Set the table for dinner
26. Arrange the living room for evening enjoyment (such as “the Mister’s” newspaper, book, and cigarettes, or in our case, the husband's change of clothes and glass of ice water.)
27. Do a quick sweep of the floors and ensure entrance ways are clear
28. Prepare a special dish for dinner
29. Freshen up before the husband returns from work. Consider changing into something more festive if the day dress is plain
30. Set out a tray with equipment for making cocktails, should “the Mister” want to serve drinks before dinner
31. Greet husband “gayly” (*snort* We should seriously bring this word back)
32. Serve dinner
33. Clear table and wash dishes
34. Pour boiling water down the sink to ensure pipes are flushed (I prefer to clean my sink after dishes with vinegar and baking soda. Heads up, it bubbles when mixed)
35. If necessary, pack the husband’s lunch for the next day. Set aside a lunch tray in the refrigerator for yourself if having leftovers (Already do this daily)
36. Set table for breakfast
37. Ensure breakfast foods are available and do any make-ahead preparations for it

I seriously got tired just reading then typing this list up. How in the world am I supposed to finish all of this is a day? *sheesh* Oh, and that's not all. Check out the other half of the list; these are to be done at least once a week:

• 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

I don't know about the whole bouquet thing. I mean, I'll do my best, but we tend to only use wild flowers in the area and there's nothing really growing in November. Maybe I'll just make sure there's a pretty centerpiece on the dining table. Oh, and I don't have a bread box, so I'll have to just put something in its place.

So about the cleaning thing. I know there were things such as comet available, but the women used a lot of natural things, as do I. Most of my cleaning products are pretty much the same as they used in the 50s - baking soda, vinegar, Castille soap (I don't have access in my small town, so I use Fels Naptha and Ivory for natural detergents), lemon juice, and Borax and washing soda. Own and use all of these (I make my own laundry and dish soap). Guess I'm living a lot more like a 1950s housewife than I thought. Now, if I can just break the Internet and background television habit (I don't watch much TV. Just like the background noise when everyone is gone).

Finally getting into a routine!

Today is Monday, and I'm finally getting into a good routine now that the kids are back in school. Thursday and Friday I made sure to put on makeup, styled my hair, and wore decent clothes. I refuse to wear junkie clothes into public ever again. A shopping trip yesterday confirmed my feeling of that. Everyone seemed to be wearing sweats, pajamas, or really low cut and saggy pants. It was almost as if they had given up. I, on the other hand, felt like I was walking a little taller. I didn't have anything more than mascara and lipstick, and my hair was twisted into a bun, but I looked pulled together. I had planned on posting pics of my look this weekend but I just acquired a new phone and haven't had all of my pics transferred over yet.

On to another part of my new routine. I've always made my bed when the family left in the morning (husband is still stirring in bed when I climb out), but I've added more to my ritual. Every morning, once I've made my bed, applied my makeup, and done my hair I collect the laundry throughout the house and get a load going. This has kept me from being swamped by the ever breeding dirty clothes. I also make sure to do all the dinner dishes and shine my sink per the Flying Lady's method before I go to bed. When I wake up there is no mess to get in my way while I make my morning coffee. If I didn't fix husband's lunch while making dinner I make it while the kids are getting ready for school. I'm getting ready to add to my routine, and I'm really feeling confidant and motivated!

On a side note, I went shopping today. I bought a couple of vintage items to add to my collection and can't wait to wear them! There's only a couple of dresses, a handbag, some scarves, etc, but they make me feel like such a lady.

Okay, that's it for today. Have a great day!!!

Almost There!

The kids go back to school tomorrow and I'm ready to start my old and new routines! Originally, I would get up at 6am, wrap my robe around my cold body, then go about waking the kids up and making coffee. I would stay in my robe and/or pajamas for half the day, usually only getting dressed before I had to run errands, or just before the family got home. After the kids were gone I would make myself some oatmeal for breakfast (I have fructose malapsorption and lactose intolerance, so I'm limited on what I can eat), and wash dishes while the water was boiling. Eventually, my bed would get made and some cleaning would get done in between writing and/or researching.

No more. No more will I hang out looking like Mrs. Frumpalot for the whole day. That does absolutely nothing for my self worth, nor my self-esteem. Starting tomorrow, I will brush my hair and teeth before waking up the kids, and will "get dressed to laces" including my hair and makeup.

Along with my physical appearance, I've been compiling my daily routine list and forming a control journal to keep myself on track. Have I mentioned how much I love the Flylady website? FLY stands for "finally loving yourself". In her way of thinking taking care of yourself and your home is something we all deserve, not something to strive for perfection. We are right where we're supposed to be. I love that way of thinking. Instead of giving up before I even start because of feeling overwhelmed I can jump right in where I am at the moment. Yay for not feeling like I don't measure up to someone else's expectations!

Time to Make the List!!!

Going with my new theme of getting things done, and sticking to it, I've decided to make a list of major to-do's around the home. These are not major remodels, or even major repairs, but little projects I've neglected or put off out of sheer laziness. Of course, at the time I didn't call it laziness; I always had an excuse for something getting put off - laundry needs to be folded (even if I never got to it), my book needs to be finished (instead I'd play on the Internet)...you get the point.

So, without further adieu, here's the list. (pics of before and after to come later):

1. Living room needs to be painted. Already painted two walls, but it would be nice to finally finish.
2. Started "antiquing" my dining room chairs. Now, I have six chairs with four different colors.
3. Ceiling tiles in the basement really need to be rehung, and some more need to be bought for the rest of the spaces.
4. Chimney REALLY needs to be cleaned before I start a fire!
5. Tupperware and kitchen appliance cabinet needs to be organized.
6. Plastic needs to be hung over the rest of the windows.
7. Bathroom closet needs to be cleaned and organized.
8. Curtain in hall bath need to be hung.
9. New toilet seat for hall bath.
10. I have three patterns and fabric of dresses and aprons I bought and never finished.
11. Do you realize how much outdated makeup I have?
12. Garage needs to be cleaned. I had intended to have a garage sale over the summer and it flopped. I still have BAGS of clothing to take to the Goodwill. Plus, my poor husband can never find any of his tools due to my bad habit of just tossing the tools on the closest shelf.
13. Front porch needs to be cleaned off. (This is actually on this week's Flylady schedule.)
14. My coupon stash is out of control and desperately needs to be filed properly!

That's all I can think of at the moment. It's hard to think clearly when kids are constantly talking to you! I'm sure you can all sympathize.

Happy New Year!!!!!!