Do you tackle a major house cleaning when spring rolls around? I don’t but probably should (especially considering how accomplished I felt after wiping down the shelves and drawers in the fridge on Monday).
If you need some spring cleaning inspiration, perhaps you’ll enjoy these vintage ads. (All are taken from adflip.com, “the world’s largest searchable database of classic print ads.”)
Now, if you’d care to share any house cleaning tips (vintage or otherwise), don’t be shy! 🙂
I don’t have any tips, but I recently read an article that said that said we spend less than half the time on housework that women did in the 1960s. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/9721147/Women-spend-half-as-much-time-on-housework-today-compared-to-1960s.html)
I’m curious to hear what your perspective on this is, as a historian and a housewife!
I speculate that not having wood heat (soot on walls and ceilings) has something to do with it, as do our awesome appliances (dishwasher, extra large washing machine).
Thanks for sharing the article, Dinah. I haven’t researched this specifically, but I agree that appliances must make a big difference. I also think that with so many women working full time outside the home, more women probably hire cleaning services and eat out instead of cooking. Just a few thoughts from the top of my head.
As a housewife, I should add that my standards are probably lower than many people’s. :s
The more children I have, the lower my standards become. So, while you may think you have low standards now, the best is yet to come …
Oh dear…