A-Tisket, A-Tasket

One of the guiding principles of housecleaning in the 1940s seems to be that you make as few trips back and forth from one room to another. You carry about your tools and equipment, dirty dishes, or bric-a-brac on trays or in baskets. Whatever it takes to save you an extra step. And so one of the first steps in cleaning bedrooms on Thursdays is to tote your vacuum cleaner and basket of supplies into the bedroom. "With a cleaning basket, there will be no need for hurried trips back to the source of supply for forgotten items." This certainly saves some time with one bedroom, but it'd be an extra big help if you had several bedrooms and maybe a nursery to clean!

The authors of the manual suggest using a "small inexpensive open market basket with a handle." To fit all your supplies comfortably, it should be at least 12 inches in length, 10 1/2 inches wide, and 8 inches deep. Here's a list of recommended tools and supplies:

Whisk broom or upholstery brush (for brushing draperies and upholstery)
Small soft brush (for dusting carving, etc.)
1 treated dustcloth (for daily dusting)
2 cheesecloth squares (for washing and drying woodwork)
Cotton waste (for applying polishes and cleansers)
1 flannel polishing cloth (for rubbing or polishing)
1 cellulose sponge (for washing woodwork, walls, etc.)
Art-gum eraser (for removing soiled spots from walls or from lampshades)
Wallpaper cleanser (dough-type or pad)
Furniture polish or lemon oil or wax
Mild scouring powder or whiting
Paint cleaner
Carbon tetrachloride (4-ounce bottle)
Oil of peppermint
Scissors

Are you stocked up? I'm not sure if I even have a basket to my name, but I'll rummage about a bit and see what I can find. As for supplies, I've got a sponge, some scouring powder (Comet), and a pair of scissors. That's it. I'm clearly underprepared for housekeeping. Hey, maybe that's why it's so painful to me... Interested in making some of your own treated dustcloths? Here's a recipe:

Treated Dusters

1 pint hot water
1/4 cup lemon oil

Combine hot water and lemon oil. Dip 4-5 cheesecloth squares (20" by 20") in solution. Press solution through cloth thoroughly. Squeeze out all excess moisture. Dry thoroughly.

Tray-ficiency

Clear breakfast dishes from table to tray or tea wagon.

Home economics in the 1940s was all about efficiency. The best kitchens were the kitchens where a woman took the least number of paces during the day as she stepped from sink to refrigerator to table to sink and back again - and again - and again - and again. The best kitchens were engineered so that women were standing at comfortable levels to work and so that light levels were easy on the eyes. And they had to be. Women were spending a good part of their days preparing meals and cleaning up after them... These days, our best kitchens are all about design and style. The trendiest colors and finishes, the latest in gadgets. People building or refurbishing a home today probably place far more importance on the look of their kitchens than the function. So it's quite an awakening to open up a housekeeping manual published in 1945 and see so much reduced to mathematical equation.

Including the clearing of the breakfast table. Every step counts. And the authors of the manual insist that you don't make more than one trip from dining room to kitchen. Just load everything up on your tray or tea wagon and run it all into the kitchen at once. Think of the minutes you've saved! (Ideally, you'd have a "pass-through" or window directly into the kitchen so that hot food could be served immediately and dirty dishes could be slid right on through to the drainboard.)

This is not the only time we'll see the housewife's handy dandy tray pop up. The authors recommend using a tray in tidying up the living room. Bowls of clear warm water are carried on a tray into each room when it's time for its weekly cleaning. Items which need polishing or repair are carried back to the kitchen on a tray.

Trays were hot when it came to entertaining, too. Decorative faux wood or metal trays were sold in dinner or luncheon sets so even a hostess without a dining room could entertain. I have a set of Hasko luncheon trays made in the early '40s that I've been using to clear my breakfast table. They're covered in a light brown woodgrain paper with a geese design at the center. Speaking of which, I haven't yet recovered from the hideous breakfast I choked down this morning. Don't worry, I've got plenty for leftovers. I think I'll save that trauma for another post...