Bar M U: calling in sick

Do you ever feel like calling in sick with housework? Sometimes it's so tempting to push it off 'till the next day. When I feel like complaining I try remembering the old days when women could NOT get out of chores and wouldn't dream of pushing anything off until tomorrow because each day was so packed.

Imagine an era without microwaves, dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, vacuums, mixers, or TV aka free babysitters to keep 'em busy so you CAN get work done ... Suddenly our "to-do list" doesn't look too bad, eh?

My mom grew up in the 50's. Her family farmed in a rural area outside Boise. Their lifestyle was pretty common for families of that area, but it was a lot more down to earth than my dad's upbringing in the city during the same time. Sure, new inventions were making housework more convenient, but they were also a luxury that wasn't available for everyone yet. Routines varied with individual families, of course, but for most homes the housework routine was pretty set. A schedule might look something like this...

Monday - all day wash day. My mom remembers washing all the loads of laundry in the washer on their porch. They used the same soapy water for all the loads...eww. After agitating, the soapy clothing was moved to a new rinse bucket with attached wringer-roller (no spin cycle, see the photo above). During nice weather the clothes dried on the line outside, but during the winter they hung them up inside the porch.

Tuesday - Ironing day. If I had to devote a whole day to ironing I think I'd wear wrinkled clothes. During my current life stage, I avoid buying any high maintenance material that requires an iron, so the ladies of yesterday must have had a lot more class than me. Following laundry day, all the clothing would need to be ironed. Remember, no fancy steam irons, just pure hard work.

Wednesday - Mend and sew day. My grandmother laughed when I asked her what it meant to "darn a sock." Maybe that is where the saying "oh, darn," came from. Anyways, essentially darning means mending, reweaving the knit, etc. etc. Just ask someone who went through the depression about mending and you'll get their soap-box about how our generation has become so disposable and doesn't know how to make do with anything. True, we're sure lucky. I leave any mending for when my mom visits and con her into doing it for me.

Thursday - Clean house. I wonder if those skilled homemakers knew the trick to getting the house clean all at once, all on the same day. This is an impossible task for me to do with all my little blessings running around.

Friday - Baking day. Without a fancy mixer, I think I'd get carpo-tunnel from making enough bread to feed my family for the week! I always thought it was a joke, but my mom really did grow up eating bread and milk for dinner.

Saturday - Go to town day. I hear stories from my senior neighbors about how the whole town used to be packed on Saturdays. It was the day to visit with everyone while you walked up and down mainstreet doing your shopping. How'd they keep track of all the kids without one stop shopping?