Days of Housekeeping

Library of Congress:  Howard family moving into their Alabama home, 1937.

I remember the early years of my marriage.  We had moved into our first home. It was completely empty.  We had limited furniture and not many possessions. The boxes were few.  We had packages of brand new items from our wedding.  Soon we had to find curtains and bedding and a kitchen table.  My parents had given us a couch, a bureau, and a few other pieces of furniture. We had to set up housekeeping with limited means.  Because we did not have much, it was easier to keep things neat and clean.

These days, many of us are fighting clutter and an abundance of items.  The common teaching out there is to "purge" and "declutter."  This is because, over the years, we tend to accumulate more things than we seem to know what to do with.  But we do not have to throw out things that are useful. We do not have to give away, or trash items, that we can neatly pack away for the future.

We often read of grandmother's attic and the old trunk full of treasures.  This is where grandchildren come along and find wonderful things from the family's history.  Often an old shawl, toy truck, or precious book finds a new home with one of the decedents.  Sometimes, baby clothes are carefully stored away because we should always expect a baby will, someday, enter our home again.  I don't think any of these possessions should be purged.  But we do have to get rid of junk and trash in order to have a neat home.

It can be quite an ordeal to keep a nice home when there is too much clutter around.  Often it is almost impossible to find enough energy to do the daily work, and take care of the family, while organizing our possessions at the same time.   This is where having set days for specific housekeeping is helpful.

If we simplify the work into a weekday schedule it may help keep us peaceful and happier.  This work is over- and- above the normal tasks of preparing meals, making beds, taking care of the family, etc.

Expect to spend between 2 and 4 hours on each of these days. You might want to do a few hours in the morning and then work again in the early afternoon. Take lots of breaks so that you are well rested.  Get help from the family if you still have children at home. Small children love to help with the work.  Older children are often willing to help if we are cheerful and offer to play board games, etc. during breaks. This makes the work a social event and is more enjoyable.

Here is an example:

Monday -
Organize and Declutter.  This work will always be necessary.  It would be nice if it was part of our weekly routine.  We may want to file papers, sort photographs, handle the bills and finances, pack up seasonal clothing, put away books, organize the closets, etc.

Tuesday-
Laundry, sewing, mending clothes, ironing, tidy drawers and closets, wash bedding.

Wednesday-
Do all the deep cleaning (bathrooms, wash floors, dust, vacuum, etc.)  In my teenage years, working as a maid, it took us 2 hours to do the basics of deep cleaning for an entire house.

Thursday-
Grocery shopping and errands.  I always get extra tired on days I have to go out.  This is a good day to serve easy meals to keep things simple.  Buying the groceries, using a carefully prepared shopping list, setting up the week's menus, and bringing it all home takes a great deal of frugal effort. (You might want to use this day to post next week's menu in the kitchen so you have your plans all ready in place.)  Sometimes on these errands we may also have to stop at the bank, go to the library, or visit a relative.

Friday-
Heavy Baking and Cooking.  This is a good day to bake a cake for the weekend. We might want to make easy food for next week's lunches to put in the freezer (like homemade pizza and lasagna).

I believe one of the biggest obstacles of keeping a nice house is being overwhelmed by clutter and messes. Sometimes we end up throwing out things we really wanted to keep. We might do this because it is hard to keep home neat and we often feel guilty for having so much stuff.  It doesn't have to be this way. I believe that a good schedule of keeping set days to do certain work, including a day just for organizing, will make our homes more pleasant and easier to manage.

Blessings
Mrs. White

From the Archives -

Is This True? - Only Rich People Have Clean Houses.

A Treasure - Homeschooling with Grandbaby.

It is how we make it -  The Cultured Society of Home.


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Mrs. White's special book for homemakers:"Introduction to Home Economics:  Gentle Instruction to Find Joy in Christian Homemaking." Paperback, 200 pages.