Hang Your Laundry

Do you hang dry your laundry or are you a dryer addict? Maybe you do both, depending on the weather, season, type of clothes, etc. In 1955, only 10% of American homes had dryers. They were expensive appliances and like I've covered before, families bought the things they needed and not on credit, but with cash money. Therefore, American wives were drying their clothes the old-fashioned way -- on clothes lines. Those clothes lines didn't have to be outside, though. Typically, indoor clothes lines were in the basements and if it wasn't sunny or was too cold, raining, etc., the clothes were hung inside to dry. Now, for today's "give me it now" generation, the patience required to dry clothes, especially indoors, is excruciating. However, if you plan and stay on top of your laundry each day, it shouldn't be a problem. Obviously if you need something quickly, put it in the dryer. If you have the room, though, definitely hang dry your laundry. You won't be using your gas or electric, exposing your clothes to high heat and honestly, nothing smells better than laundry hung out in the sun.

A Really Cool (Retro looking) Floor

I found this link and must share it with you. It's a penny floor. Yes, made of pennies. And you can make one yourself with any coins you want, really. It reminds me of the retro tile floors you used to see in bathrooms or older NYC style apartment buildings, with those tiny white tiles. If anyone does try it, please leave a comment and let us know (or see) how it comes out!



How To Make A Penny Floor

Take Pride In Your Home and Yourself

The housewives of the 50's were often seen with pretty dresses and heels on during the day, with perfectly manicured nails and hair, light makeup on their faces and all of this was done before the husband and children were ready for breakfast. Should you walk around in a dress? Well, this is 2013 (Happy New Year, everyone!) and you might feel silly, but there are many women who choose not to wear pants for either religious reasons or simply their desire to feel feminine. Do you need to have your hair and makeup done to stay home all day? Of course not. But how would you feel having it done? Don't you think it might make you feel nice? It probably would. It does feel nicer to have your face on and your hair done nicely than to be plain, rolled out of bed with your hair all frumpy. Try it out and see if it makes a difference to either your productivity or your psyche. If not, then heck, do whatever feels good for you.

Now, about that house. A 50's housewife paid attention to detail. Obviously, homes were far less cluttered because the constant desire for every little object in the stores wasn't fulfilled. Credit cards weren't abused as they are now and therefore, children had far fewer games, gadgets and toys. It was that much easier to clean up. Nevertheless, the old saying of "a place for everything and everything in its place" certainly held up. And while the clutter was nonexistent, the home was clean. The clean being as meticulous as pulling out the contents of the cabinets and cleaning the insides once a week. Pulling down the curtains weekly and cleaning them and the entire window and sills. Taking detailed pride in the home was only natural and made a woman feel proud. When people walked into her home, it was a reflection on her. The size of the home and the contents within were a reflection of her husband (the money maker) but the care and cleanliness of the home were on her, and she was a very proud woman.

Healthier Snacks

How many episodes of 50's TV do you watch before you realize the kids are always snacking on fruit? Or cut up vegetables? I'm not going to pretend that potato chips weren't around in the 50's. Or ice cream. But they were treats. Special treats. They were not kept in the home. Kids certainly didn't bring them to school for their lunch either (Beaver Cleaver's snack for lunch was often a tomato). If you were lucky, Mom had pies, ice cream or cakes for dessert, which was eaten together as a family after dinner... but those were not grab and go after school snacks. You didn't walk inside from playing on a Saturday and have a slice of pie. If you were hungry, you got a banana or an apple. Maybe you grabbed a carrot or some celery. Sometimes Mom had cookies made for snacking, but they were definitely homemade and you only had one or two in passing. At least that's how I see it on TV!

So, if we want to be more 50's, lay out healthier snacks for your kids. Spend the money on fruit rather than Doritos (which weren't even invented until the late 60's). Give your kids milk or water rather than soda (another treat back in the 50's that wasn't kept at home). You'll be doing your wallet, their health and your conscience a lot of good!

Rely On Less

There is so much out there to make our lives "convenient" and so many companies that make you think you need this or that product to save you time. They're usually wrong. Life was simpler in the 50's! I'm going to help you go through your home and retro-fit it to make it not only more 50's, but less cumbersome and more healthy!

You DO NOT NEED a separate cleaner for every item in your home. If you look where you keep your cleaning supplies and you've got separate ones for tile, stainless steel, wood, toilets, sinks, counters, glass, concrete, grout, marble, bathtubs, rust, soap scum and appliances, you've been duped by the marketing that major companies hope to get you with.

Let me fill you in on something. Those chemicals you're spraying everywhere in your home that you think are cleaning, disinfecting and killing germs? They're toxic. Many of them are carcinogens and you don't need them. If you have white vinegar, olive oil, baking soda and lemon, you can make a cleaner for just about everything in your home.

Throw out your glass cleaner (probably made with ammonia) and replace it with white vinegar & water in a spray bottle. Your windows will be spotless. That same bottle of white vinegar & water can clean just about every non-porous surface in your home.

You can make your own wood polish with lemons, vinegar and/or olive oil.

To wash your floors, you really only need water, but if you wanted to disinfect in the process, you can put some lemon juice or vinegar in that too.

I've read that baking soda mixed with 3% Peroxide (just enough to form a paste) is an excellent grout cleaner. It's said to leave it on for 30 minutes and then come and wipe it off.

I'm a big fan of Brillo (or any steel wool cleaner). It's probably just as easy to get steel wool pads and put a more holistic soap on them, but the point is: they clean everything! As long as you're not working on something delicate (like china), steel wool does the job. I personally use it on my bathtub and the tiles around the tub. Nothing has ever gotten the soap scum and dirt off with less effort. The tub and tiles are left so smooth, it's unreal. I've used it on the sink, toilet, windows (not the glass). Be careful on painted wood, though -- test a spot first.

Oh, and that computer screen you think is clean? Do this. Go get a paper towel (right now - I'll wait) and wet it (fully wet). Then wring it out. Come back to the monitor and just wipe the screen. Keep wiping until the paper towel is clean. Then, sit back and be amazed at your computer screen's brightness. You're welcome. Now, go throw out whatever screen cleaner you bought. Or at least, don't buy it again.

So, try all that out for a change and see what works. When we see shows from the 50's, we see a very bare cleaning cabinet. When Mom is cleaning, she always has a reusable rag (no need to waste paper) and a glass bottle of something with no label. Mom always knew best :)

Defer To Dad

Yeah, this one will take a lot of flack from a lot of you. But hear me out. I'm certainly not suggesting that women become support figures that nod their heads and go along with anything their husbands want. Let's get that straight. No, sir. However, this is a blog about 50's living and in the 1950's, men were the patriarchs of their families. They were the breadwinners, the authority figures and the guys who got things done and took care of their families. Most moms were at home and while they definitely ruled while Dad was out, once Dad was home, Mom seemed to defer a lot to him. (How many old shows do we watch where we hear "wait until your father gets home"? All of them!)

There are three reasons this worked and still can work today. Number one, most of the American families in this time period were Christians and were simply following the Bible's words. [Ephesians 5:22 "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord."] Likewise, men were directed by the Bible to treat their women right. [Ephesians 5:23 "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;" and Ephesians 5:28-29 "So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church."]. So, these Christian families were a bit more devout at the time and lived Biblical principles a little more fully. Women were of course free to speak their minds and couples of course argued about anything that couples still argue about today. However, in the end, women allowed the men in their lives to have the final say. It isn't something that their husbands demand (or if they did, probably didn't get). It's something a woman has to be able to do and agrees to do and it's not easy, I can promise you.

The second reason is that by allowing one partner to ultimately have the final say in matters, a lot of arguing and fighting is alleviated. I'm sure this has happened to you. You and your spouse disagree about something and you're both adamant that your way is the right way and needs to be followed. So you both plead your case and discuss it. Over. And over. And over. And nothing gets done. Nothing gets resolved and you're both angrier and more annoyed than when you started. You're so mad at the other one that the fight continues, grows and evolves and becomes unhealthy and hurtful. By the end of it, someone usually caves, but it's because they're exhausted or so upset that they just can't fight anymore... and they resent you now. This doesn't happen when you allow one partner (and I say men simply because we're talking about the 50's. This could be the wife in today's culture.) have the final say. As long as the relationship is respectful and each person is considerate to the other's feelings and desires, this relationship can work beautifully.

The third reason is just superficial. Men with authority and confidence are sexy. End of story.

Of course, you don't have to do this, may not want to do this or have tried and don't like doing this. It's 2012 (as of this post) and it's certainly not the norm or the standard in many homes. It's may not be for you and that's totally okay.

I write about it only because it was a part of life in the 50's. :)

Buy an apron (or three)

So, yes, I want you to buy an apron. Actually, three is good. Why? Well, number one, if you're going to live the way women did in the 50's, you're going to be in the kitchen a lot, both cooking and cleaning up. You don't want to do either without the protection of an apron. Number two, they make you (me, at least) feel more domestic and productive. Plus, they come in some really cute designs and designate you as the boss of your kitchen!

Every TV mom we ever see in the 50's sitcoms is donning an apron every time she's in the kitchen. This could go back to the fact that we were far more frugal in our living and with our clothing. Like I said before, women knew how to sew and mend anything they wore that was damaged and while washing machines were around, why try to ruin your clothes to get out stains that wouldn't be there with an apron? The apron just makes good sense, like so many things of that generation.

I have one. I need to get at least two more, though. Once it gets used during the day, I have to make sure it's in the wash and dried before tomorrow. The extra two would be most helpful. It's so handy, though. Your hands are wet, you don't need to use your paper towels or dish towel. You just dry them on the apron. And do get one with a pocket or two. You'll be amazed how often you use that!