Clean The Old Fashioned Way - Cleaning Tips From Yesteryear

Wash on Monday,

Iron on Tuesday,

Mend on Wednesday,

Cooking on Thursday,

Clean on Friday,

Bake on Saturday,

Rest on Sunday.

Years and years ago, and still today, there were poems about when to do chores around your home. They were also put on dish towels to remind new housewives of their duties. It was one of the early cleaning schedules. Today things have changed a little, but if you wanted to you could still adhere to this type of schedule you could, with a few simple changes.

Before we start there are some things you should have to get organized. For laundry you should have a basket or hamper for each type of laundry you have. I have one for whites, one for things to be washed in warm water, one for things washed in cold water and one for my husband’s work clothes. When we take our clothes off, they go into one of the baskets. That way, I have my clothes sorted for laundry day.

If you still iron your clothes – and with all the new fabrics and new dryers out there, this seems to be a dying art – have all of your supplies together in one place. A shelf or basket of some sort can hold your iron and whatever else you may use. Keep it close to your ironing board for easy access.

Does anyone really mend anymore? Most people I know just throw out or donate torn items of clothing. But for those of you that still do mending it’s best to be organized. Many sewing machine tables have drawers or cabinet space for supplies such as needles and thread and patches. If yours does not, you could always buy a separate dresser or cabinet to hold your supplies.

If you choose not to mend, you could use this day to shop for new clothes.

This originally said “Churn on Thursday” but I don’t think I have even heard of anyone who still churns! I replaced this with cooking because many busy families cook casseroles or other dishes to freeze so that they have quick meals when they get home from work and hauling the kids around to all of their activities. Make sure that you have all of the ingredients ready so that you don’t have to stop in the middle of what you are doing and run to the store.

My cleaning is usually left for Saturday, just because I don’t have time for it during the week. I have found that it is easier and quicker to clean if I have all my cleaning supplies together in a basket that I carry around with me. The basket contains dusting cloths, window cleaner, spray wax, floor cleaner and carpet cleaner, among other things. That way, I just carry the basket and don’t have to stop every five minutes to run to the laundry room and get supplies.

I don’t get to do much baking – this could be the day for grocery shopping instead. Make sure you have a list – that you will stick to – and any coupons or store ads that you might use. I try to map out the store in my mind and then make my list according to the aisles I will be shopping on. That way, I can go down one aisle at a time and not have to run back and forth across the store. I try to stick to my list as much as possible – but do allow for in store specials on items that I use all of the time – such as toilet paper or toothpaste.

My Sundays aren’t really for rest anymore. Although I don’t attend a church, I try to worship in my own way on Sunday. I usually have my grandson over for the day and we play and goof around. I also use Sunday to get errands done as much as I can.

Although this poem may be outdated to a small extent, it is still a good schedule to follow. By following it, we get our work done in smaller portions and don’t get as overwhelmed by it all.