I recently stumbled upon this blogger, Jen But Never Jenn, who attempted a 50s Housewife experiment, although she was neither living in the 50s nor just got married for money and/or security.
Part of Jen’s experiment was cleaning house, 50s Housewife style. In her post, The Keeping of the House, 1950s Style, she listed all the daily chores that needed to be completed.
While in theory, the list of tasks seem like great things to do, it seems like as a working woman, I would never be able to complete these things, even on a weekly basis. The 50s standards for a productive wife whose primary job was “homemaker” are quite vigorous, and while she only “exercised” 10 minutes daily, she certainly was doing a lot running around!
I imagine that having a clean home is important, and making sure your man never has to cook or wipe down a counter may create domestic bliss, but I don’t think I was made to be the stay home cooking and cleaning type. I do love to cook and having a clean house makes me happy like any other woman, but the compromises I make to have a dirty house, but financial independence and a social life seem to outweigh the benefits of being a 50s housewife. I wonder i it makes a difference that I am not married yet living with my boyfriend. But I can’t imagine my priorities of cleanliness changing, whether or not I had a ring on my finger.
One of the tips I would like to implement in daily activities. Since I don’t frequently end up doing the dishes, (thanks honey!) I might have to delegate this to the drain cleaner boyfriend: Pour boiling water down the sink to ensure pipes are flushed.
To read the rest of the checklist visit the blog at Jen But Never Jenn.
