Back to the Basics: The Weekly Edition - cont.

Even steven on the scales this morning. I weighed in at 143 --- same as last Sunday. That's very okay with me this time 'round. I had a small mass removed from the inside of my leg about ten days ago and - during the first half of this last week - I wasn't able to take my daily walk. It was a tiny incision and it's healing nicely, so I was able to start walking again after taking just a week off. Anyway, that's why I'm pleased as can be just to break even today!

How are your holiday preparations coming? Come to think of it, some of you may be celebrating the holidays already. Hanukkah is already in full swing... At Mass yesterday evening, the priest urged us during this third week of Advent to "set anxiety aside" and rejoice in the season. So I'm taking a break from that never-ending Christmas list this morning to bake some Christmas cookies with Kitten and Poppet. I think we'll try some simple recipes. Cookies they'll be able to help cutting, rolling into balls, and decorating. Maybe some gingerbread men and sugar cookies shaped like stars.

The holidays are the one time when the only recipe that will do is an old family recipe. Isn't it funny how something as simple as a little card with a list of ingredients and instructions - something as easy as the way a cookie tastes - can bridge the decades and take us back to our own childhood? People spend thousands of dollars trying to "make memories" for their children by taking them to places like Disneyworld and planning fantastic birthday parties complete with catering, jumping castles, and paid entertainment --- and yet the things children carry forward with them and look back on with fondness are often some of the simplest things of all. Like working in the kitchen or the yard with a parent. Or the cherished ornaments brought carefully out of their wrappings every year and hung on the tree. How easily the taste of a beloved recipe reminds us of helping a parent or grandparent make that recipe and sharing it with them at the kitchen table! I wonder if my Nana could ever have known she was creating such memories as we watched her take a warm, gooey pan of sticky buns from the oven or cut a piece of idiot's delight for her granddaughters.

I've been working hard these days on getting back to the basics when to comes to my weekly chores. This past week, I was able to get each of my weekly chores done on time on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings. This week, I'm going to strive to get everything done on time through Friday evening. Here's a list of my weekly tasks for each of the weeknights. Wish me luck!

Monday: Washing. Fold and put away wash. Prep ironing.

Tuesday: Ironing. Put away ironing.

Wednesday: Light marketing. Put out fresh linen in the bathroom.

Thursday: Weekly cleaning of my bedroom.

Friday: Weekly cleaning of my kitchen.

Iron Dry

It's Tuesday --- which means it's time to do my weekly ironing here at Casa Jitterbug. I've set up my ironing station in the kitchen and retrieved an armful of hangers from the bedroom closet. While the iron heats up to the "nylon" setting, I thought it'd be a nice time to pay a call on my readers...

The authors of The Manual advise their own readers to begin the week's ironing by about 10:00 on Tuesday morning - after giving each of the rooms in the house a "light cleaning." After lunch, it was back to the ironing board. By 2:00 p.m., the efficient and skillful housewife should have all her ironing put away. That seems awfully quick. A whole week's ironing for a family in just a few hours? Especially for a woman working with a clunkier iron than we have today. And with all the different kinds of linens and things that were considered "must-irons" back in the day! Well, I guess if you didn't have any interruptions - and with several years' experience - you could probably get the job done in a few hours.

I shudder to remember how I used to iron everything on-demand. I had to drag that board out several mornings a week as I never ironed anything in advance. I was convinced they'd just wrinkle up again while hanging in the closet --- boy, was I wrong. (It helps when you don't have your closet jammed full of clothes that you don't wear any longer or don't fit you any more. Ironed clothes need a little elbow room.) Those of you who've been following me for awhile will probably remember what an adjustment this was for me. Now I love dispatching a whole week's ironing in a single evening. Last winter, when I was just getting started with the weekly ironing, I posted some general tips on ironing from The Manual. America's Housekeeping Book (1945) also gives detailed instructions on how to iron various kinds of wearing apparel or linens. Maybe it's time for me to check in with this vintage advice. How does my technique stand up? How 'bout yours?

Flatwork

1. Table Cloths: Fold selvedge to selvedge, right side out. Iron first on one side, then on the other. Fold again, lengthwise. Iron again on both sides. Fold to put away.

I have to admit I've never ironed any tablecloths. Of course, I only own two - an antique formal cloth that's never seen the light of day in my household and a floral one that dates to the early '40s and which I'm terrified even to launder. It only gets spot cleaned and shaken clean of crumbs once a week. One of these days I'll brave up...

2. Sheets: If you wish to be especially careful, iron as for tablecloths. Or iron 4 thicknesses at once: fold hem to hem, then fold in half, bringing hem side to fold. Iron first on plain side, then on hem side.

Check! Though I'm not always sure that I iron my sheets "right side out." I'll double-check them tonight.

3. Embroidered Pieces: Place heavy padding such as a folded bath towel on board or roll. Place the right side of the embroidery on the padding. Iron flat and perfectly dry.

Haven't had the occasion to iron any embroidered pieces lately. Do I even own any embroidered pieces?

4. Round Doilies: Iron from center toward outside edge. Keep turning the doily. Iron in the direction of the warp and filling yarns, not diagonally across them, or the doily will lose its shape.

Now this tip would have come in very handy when women kept as many doilies around the house as we do remote controls. I don't own any doilies, but I'd love to crochet a chair set one of these days for my club chair in the living room. I'll have to keep this tip in mind.

Curtains

1. Straight: Iron selvedge edges first. 2. Ruffled: Iron ruffles first... Iron a few inches at a time; finish edge first, then nose iron into gathers... After ruffles are finished, iron the body of the curtain, starting at the top hem and ironing downward. Avoid stretching, and iron in the direction of the yarns.

My only window coverings are blinds. I'm planning to amend this as I do some redecorating over the next several months, but in the meantime... My apartment sounds pathetic, doesn't it? Not a linen in sight!

Wearing Apparel

1. Dresses and Blouses: Iron in this order: trimmings, sleeves, back, front, collar. Double thicknesses such as hems, collars and cuffs should be ironed first on the wrong side, then on the right. A sleeve board is helpful auxiliary equipment. If material is dark in color, use a pressing cloth when ironing on the right side.

I'm definitely catching sleeves first these days, but I haven't saved collars for last - and haven't paid any attention to which side of the collar gets ironed first. I always iron dark-colored things wrong side out.

2. Men's Soft Shirts: (a) Collar: Iron on wrong side, then right side until perfectly dry, pulling taut and working from points in. Iron neckband completely dry. Shape collar by hand, iron edge of crease. (b) Yoke: Fold flat and iron dry. Iron armhole seams dry. (c) Cuffs and Sleeves: Iron cuffs same as collar. Nose iron up into gathers. Straighten sleeves from underarm seam; iron on both sides. Iron underarm seam dry. (d) Back and Front: Iron back first, then buttonhole side of front, then button side of front. Iron both sides of front pleat, holding it taut to prevent wrinkles.

There aren't any men in residence here, so I don't have any men's shirts to lavish this kind of attention on. I'm a little offended, though, that women's blouses just got junked in with the very brief instructions for ironing dresses! The authors of The Manual certainly had men's shirts down to a science.

3. Men's Washable Suits: (a) Iron linen suits while very damp; seersucker suits when slightly damp, gently stretching to original measurements. (b) Iron trouser pockets and waistband. (c) Place waistband of trousers over end of ironing board. Starting at fly, iron top of trousers. Remove from board. Place one trouser leg on board, straightening it from the "in-seam." (d) Press crease sharply for the entire length. Repeat, ironing second trouser leg. (e) Hang up to dry thoroughly. (f) Iron body of coat first, keeping lower edge in a straight line, and working from front to back and then to front again. (g) Iron sleeves, collar and lapels. (h) Iron shoulders on extra padding placed over the narrow end of the ironing board.

I guess the women who wore trousers would have to refer to these instructions, too. And I just finished ironing a pair myself! I'll have to check back in with these next week... All of this "iron dry" language reminds you how women used to dampen clothes before ironing them in these pre-steam iron days.

4. Pajamas: Iron like washable suits, above.

Shoot! We're supposed to be ironing our pajamas?

Trimmings, etc.

1. Smocking: Dry smocked sections with iron. Fluff up smocking with finger tips.

2. Pleats: (a) Iron hem of skirt first. (b) Pin pleats to pad or ironing board from under side of hem, using rust-proof pins. Be careful not to catch fabric where pinpricks will show. (c) Iron from bottom to top.

3. Tatting: Press tatting, never iron across it. Fingerpress while still damp, then press dry.

4. Tucks: (a) Vertical: Pull taut and hold taut while ironing lengthwise. (b) Horizontal: Iron downward from top tuck toward bottom tuck. Iron each section dry before going on to the next, or puckering may result.

5. Slide Fasteners: Close before ironing or pressing.

6. Laces: (a) Place face down on soft pad. (b) Iron from center to outside edge. (c) Lace used as trimming should be ironed from the attached edge outward if it is sewed on flat. If ruffled, iron from outside edge inward. (d) Fragile or rare old lace must be given special care by experts. Museums can advise you where special treatment is given.

7. Fringe: (a) Do not iron. (b) Comb gently when wet.

Velvet and Pile Fabrics

1. Do not iron.

2. Steam small pieces as follows: Tie several thickness of cheesecloth over teakettle spout. When steam emerges, pass the velvet rapidly back and forth through steam, so the steam passes through the velvet from the wrong side to the right side.

3. Send velvet garment or large pieces of velvet or other pile fabrics to a good dry-cleaning establishment for cleaning and steaming.

I can safely say I don't currently own any velvet or any clothes or linens trimmed with smocking, tatting, or fringe. Lace - I don't think so. Slide fasteners - Are these the same as zippers? I do own some pleated skirts, so will have to have these instructions at the ready next time they show up in my ironing pile. I usually avoid the pleated areas completely, but if you're treating your clothes with an eye toward long-term wear, you can't avoid those pleats forever!

Back to the Basics: The Weekly Edition

On a cheerier note than yesterday, I've been paying special attention to my evening housekeeping routine for the past week - and it's paying off! Evening in and evening out, I've been carefully straightening up the living room, making sure there's space in my dishwasher for the next day's breakfast dishes, washing whatever pots and pans have been soaking in the sink --- and remembering how great it feels to go to bed knowing I don't have to face a scrummy apartment when I wake up in the morning. It's amazing how quickly these basic morning and evening housekeeping tasks have felt natural again to me.

I think it's time now to get back to the basics when it comes to some of my weekly chores. Last week, I was able to get each of my weekly chores done on time on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings. This week, I'm going to strive to get everything done on time through Thursday evening. There was a bit of a hiccup last night. I started prepping my Monday wash and realized I didn't have enough quarters on hand to do my laundry! That's the kind of frustrating screw-up I used to deal with all the time before beginning The Experiment. I was constantly forgetting things that needed stocking up on - like laundry quarters - until it was too late. I hate having that kind of chaos in my home. (There's enough out there in the world that I don't have any control over!) I'll replenish my supply of quarters today and get the wash done this evening. Here's a list of my weekly tasks for the early part of the week.

Monday: Washing. Fold and put away wash. Prep ironing.

Tuesday: Ironing. Put away ironing.

Wednesday: Light marketing. Wash and trim fresh vegetables and put them in the refrigerator ready for use. Put out fresh linen in the bathroom.

Thursday: Weekly cleaning of my bedroom.

Back to the Basics: The Evening Edition

For the past week, I've been paying special attention to my morning housekeeping routine. No excuses, no corner cutting. Running right through my list of tasks and checking them off one by one. And I've been successful --- except for the juice glass I forgot to rinse and pop in the dishwasher before I left the house yesterday. It feels great to get my mornings back in proper order.

I think it's time now to get back to the basics when it comes to my evening housekeeping routine. It's not a lengthy routine, by any means, but these two items make such a difference. It's fantastic to wake up to a tidy house every day!

Make sure there is room in dishwasher for tomorrow's breakfast dishes. Wash any pots or pans that have been soaking in sink.

Put living room in order.

So let's try this again. For the next seven days, I'm going to be absolutely rigid when it comes to my evening chores - as well as my morning chores. No ifs, ands, or buts.

Back to the Basics

I've been off caffeine for four days now. You know what? It hasn't been half bad. A long nap on Sunday morning, lots of yawning on Tuesday morning, a fever/chills thing goin' on today - but no headache, no jitters. I'm surviving. Without that kick, decaf isn't even very interesting to me these days. So I spent some time looking at herbal teas at the grocery store this evening and finally settled on a box of vanilla honey chamomile. I do like nursing a hot cup of something in the a.m., so maybe I'll try out a few of these herbal teas...

This has been a tough fall. Ever since my boss went on vacation in September, I've been floundering a bit when it comes to The Experiment. And I can't seem to get my legs back under me. My crush really isn't doing me any favors either. Curly and I are definitely becoming what I'd call "work buds" --- which has been great, don't get me wrong. He's a wicked neat person and I'm enjoying getting to know him, but I'm also wildly attracted to him and I can't tell for the life of me whether it's mutual or not. As heady as it feels on the days I see or talk to him, I feel just as crushed as can be on the days I don't. It's got me in a tailspin. I thought a crush would be kinda nice in the beginning, but it's been a mixed bag lately and I hate that it's having a negative impact on my housework, etc.

What I'd like to do is to revisit some of my most basic missions and see if I can't pick myself up and carry forward with this thing. (I've still got so far to go!) Beginning tomorrow morning, I'm going to continue doing all that I've been doing, but there'll be no "hit or miss" when it comes to the specific tasks listed below. No excuses. I'm going to focus for the next seven days and make sure I've got my morning housekeeping routine back in place from beginning to end. This time without the caffeine.

Open window in bedroom on arising, for free circulation of air.

Throw back bed covers, including top sheet.

Carry soiled clothing to the hamper. Hang up other clothing. Put away any personal possessions out of place in the bedroom.

Prepare and serve breakfast.

Clear away dishes and misplaced articles from dining room, after breakfast.

Operate ventilating range hood while scraping, rinsing, and stacking dishes in the dishwasher. Leave pots and pans to soak in sink.

Put away food.

Make bed.

Close bedroom window if air conditioning will be used during day.

Week Forty-seven: The Mission

My sister is headed home to New England tomorrow with Kitten and Poppet. They're off to spend two weeks visiting family and friends - and enjoying some of that crisp autumn weather I'd love a taste of myself! (My babies will be so far away!!!) I've resolved to keep myself busy while they're gone with a whole new mission. It's time to take it back to basics and finally add that living room to my weekly housekeeping routine. The only real housework I've been doing in my living room since starting The Experiment has been to give that room a little daily tidying. It was ten months ago that I began giving the following treatment to my living room every evening before bed:

Put living room in order.

• Open windows top and bottom for free circulation of air.
  
• Pick up and replace small articles belonging in the room, such as books, magazines, music, games, victrola records, cards, etc.
  
• Gather up on tray to be taken out: used ash trays, articles belonging in other rooms, plants or flowers to be tended. Collect trash in waste basket.
  
• Carry out tray.

Remember those chores? They're super easy when you live in a small apartment and you're only home two days a week! It only takes me about five minutes each night and makes the living room a much nicer place to wake up to in the morning... Well, it's time to expand that routine a bit. Once each weekend - probably on Sunday afternoons - I'm going to give the living room some weekly attention.

Now, the authors of America's Housekeeping Book (1945) suggest that the housewife give each room in the house a daily cleaning shortly after breakfast. Once a week, she should return to each room and clean it more thoroughly. (The day of the week doesn't matter very much, but they do recommend once in passing that living rooms be cleaned on Fridays.) Since I work outside the home full time, I can't clean each room every day. Instead, I aim to give each room a weekly cleaning (with the chores recommended to the '40s housewife on a daily basis) and then - once a month - do the chores recommended to the '40s housewife on a weekly basis, rotating between the four rooms in my apartment so that each room gets the white glove treatment once a month. Without further ado, here's my new barebones once-a-week housekeeping routine for the living room:

1. Bring in cleaning equipment: hearthbroom (if not kept at fireplace), carpet sweeper or vacuum cleaner (according to need), dust mop, cleaning basket.

2. In season, clean out fireplace, lay fire, sweep hearth.

3. Dust high objects if necessary: mantels, high shelves, window frames and sills, tops of bookcases, secretary, highboys, etc.

4. Dust radiator covers if necessary.

5. Brush upholstery if necessary. Straighten covers. Plump up pillows.

6. Dust furniture and low objects if necessary. Treat stains or blemishes as they occur.

7. Dust exposed wood flooring with dust mop if necessary. Use carpet sweeper or vacuum cleaner on rugs or carpets.

8. Final touches: Straighten draperies, shades, curtains, etc. Take out cleaning equipment and waste basket. Return clean ash trays, accessories, flowers and waste basket. Close windows if desired.

New Week, New Strategy

Just stopping in quickly with a brief post about lunchmaking...

I ran into some trouble with this mission last Friday morning. I baked a batch of Rolled Oat Muffins to include with my breakfast --- and I guess that was all the work in the kitchen I could handle in one morning. With five minutes to go, I realized I hadn't even started cooking the egg that was on my lunch menu. So threw up a white flag and grabbed one of my leftover pre-mission lunches.

New week, new strategy. I'm going to try packing as much of my lunch as possible the night before. It'll be part of my evening chores in the kitchen. Usually I just empty the sink of any pots or pans that have been soaking and make sure there's room in the dishwasher for the next morning's breakfast dishes. Now I'll add making my lunch for work the next day to that list. Of course, there will always been an item or two that needs to be assembled in the morning, but I ought to be able to get the bulk of the work out of the way the night before. That's the plan anyway! Here's the original 1945 lunch menu in the works for tomorrow:

Peanut Butter, Bacon and Lettuce Sandwiches
Cauliflowerets
Carrot Sticks
Hard-Cooked Egg
Gingerbread
Grapes
Milk

And here's the menu adapted for vegetarians and/or reducers:

Open-faced Peanut Butter and Lettuce Sandwich
on Whole Grain Bread
Cauliflowerets
Carrot Sticks
Hard-cooked Free Range Egg
Grapes

Peanut butter and lettuce? I'm not so sure about this one, but I'm up for an adventure!

Soap Opera

What on earth did people do when there were shortages of soap during the war?

If there's one thing that's become absolutely clear to me with these nightly baths, it's that I'm going thru a lot more soap than I was in the shower. One bar lasts me about ten baths before it breaks into pieces and has to be recycled to the soap dish beside my sink. Now imagine if I had a family of six (considered average in the '40s). My household would probably be going thru a bar of soap every other day. Unless I had a passel of little boys, that is! I know there are tricks to making a bar stretch. Like turning the little bits and pieces into a jellied soap. But even a few tricks like that won't keep your family squeaky clean. The only thing I can figure is that folks just got used to being a little less clean than they'd like to be...

Another thing I've noticed about my baths is the bathtub gets grimier and in need of a cleaning much more quickly than it used to. It no longer surprises me that the authors of America's Housekeeping Book (1945) recommended that the tub be thoroughly cleaned each and every day. Here in a single-person household, mine could probably use a good scrubbing twice a week.

Though the vintage articles on bathing I quoted from last week were split on whether a woman should soak in the hot water before - or after - doing her washing and exfoliating, I've fallen firmly into the before camp. The water is at its hottest and most likely to take the knots out of your shoulders. And it's not all cloudy with soap scum and, well, probably dead skin cells. If I waited to lie back and relax until after I got myself all cleaned up, I'd be soaking in my own grime! Definitely, definitely a before kinda girl.

All told, my nightly baths take me about 40 minutes. That's counting from the time I begin drawing the water until I'm drying off after my brief post-bath shower (for shaving and for washing my hair). It's more time consuming than a single shower in the morning, but I love the feeling of being super clean when I climb under the covers. Even better, it's a ritual that's actually getting me to bed earlier at night. It used to be I could easily stay up until 10:30 or 11:00 puttering about, surfing the net. These days, I'm into the tub by 8:30 or 9:00 and ready to turn out the lights and go to sleep by 9:30 or 10:00. I'm all mellowed out, I guess, by the time I get out of the tub. Don't feel like watching TV or even reading. I just want to call it a day. And you can't beat a little extra beauty sleep!

One of my vintage beauty missions this week is to be very mindful of giving myself a vigorous dry with the towel after my bath. It's also made me more mindful of my towels! So I'm going to go thru them in the next few days --- thinning out the linen closet, so to speak. If it's threadbare in spots - if it's not something I'd put out for a guest - then it's time to hit the rag bag. (The ratty towels will make great cleaning rags once they're cut up.) If I spy any loose threads, I'll trim 'em off with my sewing scissors. This will clear up some room for a few new towels in vintage colors.

Curly Top

It's like Christmas every day here at Casa Jitterbug!

Putting my hair up in curlers totally makes me feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. I'm still very new at this, so I'm never quite sure how the curls are going to come out. It's kind of exciting --- waiting with anticipation while the hair dries. I have to remind myself to be patient. Though the hair on the top of my head dries pretty quickly, the hair on the bottom takes a bit longer. When it's finally time to take the curlers out, it feels like I'm unwrapping a present I didn't even have a chance to shake beforehand.

When I began taking nightly baths the week before last, I was psyched to have the chance to work a "wet set" into my schedule. So after looking about to see what's out there, I picked out a set of self-holding rollers by Scunci. They're wrapped in a material kind of like the prickly side of a piece of Velcro. My hair is very fine, so the last thing I need is to lose any strands unnecessarily in clips or pins.



What I'd forgotten is that you can't sleep on curlers like these! Sponge curlers, maybe. Maybe even rag curls or pin curls. I gave it a good try the first night I took a bath, but it definitely wasn't going to work. Back to the bathroom. Took out all the curlers and resolved to re-wet my hair in the morning and try it again. And that's how I've worked it into my schedule ever since. When I get up in the morning, I duck my head under the shower to get my hair good and wet again. Then up in the curlers so it can dry while I go about my morning chores. Just about the time I finish my breakfast, the hair is dry and ready to unroll and style. A little hairspray, and my style holds for the better part of the day. It's usually a bit looser late afternoon/early evening, but still pretty curly. Hey, if I brushed it a bit more and pinned up the sides, I might even be able to pull off that pageboy I was picturing about a month ago.

I haven't tried using any setting lotion or other product before curling the hair, but suspect the style would hold even longer if I did so. Any recommendations for product that'll make curls a little more glossy, but still natural-looking? I suppose the right setting lotion would've been super important was I truly a '40s gal and washed and set my hair only once a week...

Also - I'm a complete dolt when it comes to rolling my hair. My bangs definitely need the smallest curlers, but what about the rest of the hair? I'm not really shooting for a tightly curled look, so is it best to use the biggest curlers on the top of my head with medium curlers at ear level and small curlers at the bottom? Or am I going about this backwards? I don't want to end up with triangle head. And should the curlers be rolled into place horizontally or vertically?

The Fine Art of Bathing

When I stepped into the bathtub last week for my first nightly bath, I found myself a little at ends. What to do with myself? For most of my life, a bathtub has strictly been about relaxation. Soaking in hot water on a cold winter's night, filling the tub with bubbles, setting the stage with candles and soft music. Now, I suddenly have to make the bathtub a functional place. I've got work to do in there! Washing, exfoliating --- where to begin?

The next day, I found myself reaching into the past for some vintage advice on bathing. Here are two descriptions of the ideal bath from 1940s beauty experts. They're strikingly similar.

...The next clue to relaxation is a tepid bath with a dash of your favorite bath oil, salts, or bubbling bath added. Swab your face with cold cream and into the tub with you. Rest your head back, close your eyes, apply eye pads of cotton dipped in alcohol and witch hazel, and rest for at least 10 minutes - before you even think of scrubbing…

Now remove the eyepads, take your bath-brush and work up a grand lather with pure, mild soap. Let the water out of the tub and refill again with clean, cool water for your refreshing rinse.

“Be Lovely If He Comes On Furlough" by Antoinette Donnelly
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 31, 1944

A bath should be a nerve tonic and a beautifying treatment as well as a matter of cleanliness. A morning bath is to invigorate and awaken, while a bedtime bath is to induce sleep…

BEDTIME BATH - Hot, of course, and add bath salts - pine essence will help draw out that achy feeling. (2) Pat Three-Purpose Cream into your face to let it do its good work while the steam opens the pores. (3) Into the water. Lie back, with eyes closed. (4) Wash leisurely - avoid hurried movements. Have a lazy soak afterwards, with eyes closed and cotton-wool soaked in witch hazel resting on them. (5) Dry with gentle massage movements. (6) Cleanse face, rinse with cold water, then re-apply cream if you wish it to remain on overnight.

“Make the Most of Your Bath!” by Barbara Lynn
The Coaticook Observer And Stanstead, June 14, 1940

Isn't it interesting how they both mention treating the face with cold cream during the bath? Both writers also recommend spending a little time just soaking with cotton pads treated with witch hazel on the eyes. (And what's the witch hazel thing about anyway?) The idea of applying cold cream at the beginning of the bath and rinsing it off afterward is actually right in keeping, too, with the brief description of bathing in the 1946 grooming routine I've been adopting:

Coat yourself thoroughly with a susdy lather, and don't spare the elbow grease. Rinse well, doing face separately with water from the faucet.

So it's cold cream twice a day now for me... once in the a.m. (which is helpful in feeling wide awake - without a shower) and once in the p.m. during my bath. I am cutting myself a little bit of slack at this point when it comes to shampooing and conditioning my hair and shaving my legs and underarms. After I've finished washing up, I drain the tub and take a brief cool-ish shower in order to give myself a little time to do the kinds of things not attended to on a daily basis in the '40s routine. I may very well get to a place someday when I'm happily washing my hair once a week, but that's certainly not going to happen overnight!

And I'm not sure whether I'll do the nightly baths on Friday and Saturday nights. With those super sweaty morning walks on Saturdays and Sundays, it's really tough not to be able to jump in the shower when I get home. Could I do both? Sure, but that seems a little wasteful on the water/soap/shampoo/conditioner front.

One thing I am loving is the sensation of being squeaky clean when I crawl into bed. (I'm also grateful to have lost enough weight to fit a bit more comfortably in my bathtub!) And you know how you can kind of get into a rut when it comes to the things you hit in the shower --- well, I've probably given my legs and feet a better scrubbing in the last few days than they've had in a long time! My skin feels softer and better exfoliated than it usually does.

Just a few more chores and it'll be time to draw this evening's bath. Sweet dreams!

Track and Field

My routine descended into pure chaos last night.

I was late getting out of work. Rushed to Trader Joe's to do my light marketing. Raced home to wolf down my supper and change. Hurried over to the rec center - which closes at 8:00 - and found myself nauseous before I had walked for even 10 minutes. A quick supper and a workout do not mix. I powered though 30 minutes, then gave up the game. (I'll make up the missing 30 minutes during my lunch hour tomorrow.) I was still feeling so crummy when I got home that I just curled up and went to sleep. Hey, I had a great night's sleep --- nine hours for a change --- but when I finally crawled out of bed, my apartment was in disarray and there was extra tidying to do. Believing that the envelope I needed to drop at a mailbox was my Father's Day card, I rushed out to work without even having finished my morning routine. It turns out just to have been a student loan payment with plenty of time before the due date. My Father's Day card was mailed a few days ago! One misstep after another this week. There must be a full moon approaching.

Actually, it's only when I make mistakes like this that I have a chance to really learn what's working - and what's not - with my routine. Like perhaps it isn't a good idea to try and do my light marketing as well as my workout on the same night. I think I'll move my light marketing forward to Thursdays. There'll still be plenty of time for cleaning the bedroom if I get home 15-20 minutes later than normal on Thursday evenings. Wednesdays will be a workout-only kind of night.

Something else that's not working is trying to add errands to my morning commute. "I'll just stop at Walgreen's on the way in" or "I'll just drop this off on my way past the post office" or "There's plenty of time to run by the library book drop." With all the extra haircare and lipstick and stretching-and-limbering exercises in the morning, there simply isn't time to do anything extra. And I usually end up with these errands in the morning, because I've been to lazy to stop and do them on the way home from work. The evening commute is a much better time for errands --- unless it's workout night, that is!

And it turns out that I'm not very good at styling my hair. I've attempted a 1940s pageboy twice this week. The first one was semi-successful. The second was a flop. Hairstyling is definitely a craft that requires patience, and that's never been a forte of mine. I know so little about my hair. Would it take a wet set or will it need heat to hold a curl? What do you even use to make pin curls? I've been using a curling iron, but I'd much rather use a method which would take less product to stay in place. It sounds like the pin curls create the longest lasting curl. What kind of curlers were women using in the '40s? Or are pin curls literally made using pins?

I'm going to need another inch or two in length before I'm able to do a good pageboy, so in the meantime I'm going to try and assemble the tools I'll need and get plenty of practice. My mission doesn't really dictate that my hair be styled in vintage fashion, but I think there's something to be said for having a vintage quality to my hair - even if it's styled with a more modern look sometimes. Our grandmothers wouldn't have dreamed of leaving the house with the frizzy bedhead that's so popular today. (Imagine the looks they would've gotten!) Hairstyles were glossy, sleek, controlled - and curls were king. It probably looked a lot healthier, though I'm not sure they were using any less product than some women use today even if only to achieve to perfectly tousled look. I think I'll strive for something in the middle here. Can I achieve a shiny head of curls with minimum product?

Oh, how I wish I was having an easier time with reducing my calories... Truth be told, I should probably have held off on this step for just a little while. I did great last week in changing my snacks to fruits and vegetables --- during the early and middle part of the week, at least. At the end of the week, I was strafed with cravings late at night. Pushed through them the first time, but gave in to them the next two nights in a row. When my scale showed a loss on Monday morning, I figured I'd go ahead and jump into the next mission. But thus far I've cheated two out of three nights. The same experience. I don't have any real powerful cravings until late at night. Bedtime. Sure, I could try doing the small, healthy snack thing, but I know me. One bite and I'd go bananas and eat much more than I'd planned on. I'm an all or nothing kinda gal, I guess. The only reason last night went okay is probably because I was already asleep!

I'm not proud of any of this, but I wanted to put it down here and lay out what this experience has been like. Those late-night cravings feel like a hurdle - and if I could just jump over it once, I'd be able to do it again and again. I must have really done a lot of snacking late at night in order for this to be such a problem now. They're phantom cravings in a way. Like the phantom pain somebody who's lost a limb feels in the place where that limb used to be. It's going to take some time for those cravings to subside.

It's strange what an emotional experience reducing calories - really getting to the nitty-gritty of dieting - is turning out to be. For years after an illness I suffered in my mid-twenties, I ate everything and anything I wanted. I was so frustrated with the side effects of medication and the complications from surgery that I figured the least I deserved was to eat whatever I wanted. In the beginning, I needed to. I was dangerously underweight and needed to put some weight on my bones. (That stage didn't last too long!) Eating was an easy fix when the process of physical recovery in other ways was prolonged and painful. During the two years after my next-to-last surgery, I gained about 80 lbs. And so when I feel those cravings late at night, all those old anxieties come right on back with 'em.

I guess I can only take this one night at a time. Just focus on the one in front of me and no further. If I can fill the rest of this evening with good, honest work - the bedroom is calling! - maybe I can jump the hurdle tonight. Tomorrow night can take care of itself.

From the Top Down

When I began giving my bedroom a weekly cleaning last February, my round of chores was pretty bare bones. I've been fleshing it out ever since and have finally come up against the last of the bunch - the one I was avoiding. This chore was recommended by The Manual on a weekly basis. For me, it's going to be a monthly chore:

Brush ceilings and walls when necessary.

I've been puzzling over this one for awhile now. Standing in the brooms-and-mops aisle of every store I've been into - gazing at all the tools and trying to decide which would do the job. Luckily, The Manual devoted a chapter to "Walls, Ceilings and Woodwork" - so back to the book I went. Time to study...

It is extremely important that walls be dusted regularly and often if more difficult cleaning tasks are to be avoided. Walls that are neglected in this respect soon acquire a film of greasy dust that attracts and holds still more dust and which inevitably becomes embedded and difficult to remove.

The only exception to this rule occurs in the case of papered walls. In soft coal regions or industrial sections dusting papered walls is not advised, because soot will be grimed into the paper no matter what method of dusting is used. An annual cleaning with a dough-type cleaner is recommended.

In other regions where dust and cobwebs are the only problem, papered walls may be dusted with the suction attachment of the vacuum cleaner.

There are three tools for dusting walls:

1. A soft wall brush of hair, nylon, lamb's wool, yarn or sponge rubber, with a long handle.
2. A fiber or corn broom covered with an "apron" of soft clean cloth, such as cotton flannel.
3. The dusting attachment of the vacuum cleaner. If you have this attachment use it, by all means, because it eliminates any scattering of dust.

Work from the top down, giving special attention to high mouldings. There is one exception to this rule: if cobwebs are present, whether they are spider webs or dust cobwebs, remove them with an upward lifting stroke to avoid streaking the walls. Cobwebs of any sort are sticky, and if they are pulled down against the wall they will leave a trail of dirt that is hard to remove.

The hose on my little bag-less vacuum works just fine when I'm using attachments to clean something near or along the floor, but I certainly can't stretch it high enough to reach the upper parts of my walls. There were some lovely extension dusting tools in the stores - complete with pictures of happy people dusting their ceiling fans on the packaging - but I hate bringing home another one of those tools with plastic handles. And that's practically all you can find these days. I didn't mind purchasing a new mop or broom back when they all had wooden handles. You know that's going to break down someday at a dump somewhere and return to the earth. But all those plastic handles... Eek! They'll be here long after the human race has run its course. Alien scientists will spend their summers doing digs on the third planet from the sun and have to presume that Swiffer was the name of some ancient god - and that ancient peoples were performing some sort of religious ritual in waving these brightly colored sticks about.

I've kind of settled on option #2, laying a flannel dusting cloth over the top of my broom and using that to dust the walls. It's not terribly efficient, though, as I keep having to readjust the cloth. (And how to dust "from the top down" when you get down to about the height of your waist? I find myself having to dust from side to side at that point.) What kinds of tools and methods do y'all use when dusting your walls? Should I be using a larger piece of flannel - something big enough that I can literally tie it up around the top of my broom? Maybe that's what the authors of The Manual meant in calling that an "apron." I see this chore popping up on the list for my bathroom as well as my living room, so I want to get it right.

Any ideas for brushing the ceiling? My ceiling has a pebbly kind of finish, so my improvised tool doesn't work at all on this part of the job... And is the tool in the foreground of the photo below the one this Illinois housewife was using in 1941 to dust the ceiling and walls of her living room?



Well, it's time to fly. One more push in cleaning the bathroom and I can have all my drudgiest chores out of the way in time for the Sabbath. (My Saturday hasn't been all work! I spent the afternoon having a lovely picnic in the mountains with my sister and nieces.) Here's my newly revised weekly housekeeping routine for the bathroom:

Open windows top and bottom for free circulation of air.

Pick up and replace small articles belonging in bathroom.

Gather up to take out soiled linen (to hamper, if dry), and articles belonging in other rooms. Collect trash in waste basket. Roll up bath mat or rug.

Wipe mirror.

Wipe tile behind washbowl and tub.

Clean bathtub and metal fixtures (be sure to wipe shower fixtures and clean soap holder).

Clean toilet bowl with brush. Wipe outside of bowl and closet with cloth used for that purpose only.

Clean washbowl (be sure to wipe base as well as top; also clean soap holder).

Straighten towels and wash cloths. Put out fresh linen.

Sweep floor. Gather up dust in pan.

Floor should be washed.

Replace bath mat or rug. Close windows in cold or damp weather.

Sunday, Monday, or Always

"Oh, yeah," I thought to myself this morning when I heard on the radio that today was the big day. The transition from analog to digital television was made today here in the United States. At least, I think it was. I felt the tiniest bit tempted to turn my TV on to see if it was picking up the new signal, but decided against it. This was big doings in the Jitterbug household last winter when they were planning to make "the switch" in February. I'd purchased my converter box, fussed about trying to pick up stations, figured out - finally - that my set would need a digital antenna, set that up and fussed about some more. Everything was in order when I parted ways with my television three weeks ago, so I'm sure it's fine now.

One of the things I'm certainly not missing about TV - analog or digital - is the constant grumbling about weather. Oh, those local newscasts... They'd moan and groan if it was in the 60s ("Too cold!"), they'd moan and groan if it was in the 90s ("It's a sizzler out there!"), they'd gripe about the slightest breeze ("Gusts of up to 40 mph!"), and rain? Forget about it. The softest shower was built up to be some massive rain system moving through the city. As if the griping and groaning and going over it again and again is going to make the slightest difference. It is what it is outdoors. All you have to do is open a window and you can see and feel what's going on out there. If your allergies are acting up - yep, there's pollen on the move. I can see how important forecasts would be if you were a farmer or if you lived in a Northern climate during the winter. I know firsthand how great Doppler radar is when a snowstorm is moving in. I used to get really frustrated hearing all that grumbling from the anchorpeople several times a day. (Not frustrated enough to just turn off the TV, mind you!) But it's an irritant that's gone now. Completely absent. I don't think I've heard a weather report of any kind in three weeks and I'm surviving quite nicely.

Another subtle shift for me is that I think I'm becoming more attentive to things like song lyrics. Music that was once more background for me than foreground is now the main attraction. If I'm sitting here tapping away at the keyboard and listening to big band, I'm really paying attention to the song. And this is probably going to sound goofy, but it's as if the lyrics of ballads and things are beginning to seem more passionate - and sexy at times - than they used to. Frank Sinatra singing "Sunday, Monday, or Always" is all crazy sexy to me now, and I probably would have written it off as a nice tune several weeks ago. It's kinda funny. Today's singers think they need to practically have intercourse on stage in order to elicit the same reaction that Sinatra got just from the way he paced his lyrics. And the catch in his voice. The bobby soxers were swooning in the aisles, but I'll bet there was many a housewife who stopped - iron in mid-air - to close her eyes and listen with a smile...

I'm getting ready to spend a few hours catching up with my kitchen. Because of the changes I've made to my housekeeping routine this week, I just wanted to post the revised list of chores I'll be doing on a weekly basis in the kitchen. These would have been daily tasks for the '40s housewife - and probably still are for many of you!

Open windows top and bottom for free circulation of air, or open kitchen ventilator.

Rinse and stack dishes, pots and pans.

Check and reorganize foods; put away.

Collect all refuse and put in garbage can.

Wipe off top of refrigerator and all work surfaces in need of cleaning.

Wash dishes. Dry and put away, if not room to rinse with hot water and leave to dry.

Wipe off surface of range. Clean spilled food from drip pan or oven.

Dry damp work surfaces.

Dust radiator or register.

Take out garbage; put clean lining in garbage can.

Clean sink. Rinse dishcloth or mop; hang outdoors if possible.

Collect soiled towels; wash. Hang fresh towels.

New Routines

Did you ever notice that as soon as people find out you're regularly walking, they come out of the woodwork to try and make you their walking buddy?

First, a co-worker asks me if she can match me up with a friend of hers who needs a walking buddy. Then another person I know through work tries to get me to commit to a walking relationship. I hope I don't come off as impolite, but I'd really rather walk by myself. Let's face it. Sometimes walking with another person can speed you up --- sometimes it can slow you down. The people I pass when I'm walking are almost always in pairs. And the last thing I want to do is to have to rush to the park to sit around and wait for somebody who might be late showing up - and then might show up toting a kid or two. Complete with strollers. I've got business to take care of!

I gathered up all my courage Monday evening and went into the rec center to purchase a membership and take my first indoor walk on the walking track. The rec center may be located just a few steps away from the park where I've been walking on the weekends --- but it's a whole new world in there! It's louder for starts. The walking track is built around a basketball court with racquetball courts nearby. There's lots of testosterone in the air as most of the people using the basketball court are young men in the 15-25 age range. I've only been there twice, but I'd say there's a more competitive feeling indoors than there is with the folks using the outdoor track. (It's actually the first time I've wanted to check my rear view in the mirror to see whether those new exercise pants are flattering or not!) The track is pretty small, so I can easily do 30 laps in a 60-minute walk. Thank goodness for that iPod. I'd perish without it! I'll still have a chance to walk outdoors one day a week. The rec center is closed on Sundays.

As for snacks, I'm doing remarkably better at the only-fruits-or-vegetables thing than I thought I would. Of course, it helps that nectarines are in season here. I picked up some beautiful, small nectarines last weekend at one of the natural foods stores. They've got a great selection of produce and I was in quest of some parsnips for my vintage dinner - but the nectarines caught my eye. Have you seen how big the fruits are in some of the supermarkets these days? They must be breeding super-sized fruits for super-sized customers. And bigger isn't always better. I'm a nectarine nut, so imagine my excitement when I saw these massive nectarines at the supermarket last summer. Ack! They were mealy and bland and never got to that lovely soft stage where the fruit just melts in your mouth. Anyway, I've been having one nectarine every day at about 3:00 in the afternoon. That's it for snacks. This weekend will probably be more challenging than my weekdays have been, but I'm feeling ready to face the enemy.

Here's the menu for my vintage dinner last Sunday:

Parsley Buttered Potatoes
Pan-fried Parsnips
Molded Salad of Cranberry Sauce (canned), Celery and Apples
Butterscotch Pudding with Nuts

I haven't had Parsnips in years. In fact, I remember being slightly traumatized the last time I ate them. It's been a long time, though, so I figured I ought to give them another shot. They have a spicy, celery-type scent as you're working with them, but once cooked they were pretty bland. Didn't taste like much of anything. What I've heard since then is that Parsnips are tastiest in the fall when they're fresh from the soil. Alas, my first attempt at a non-gelatin Molded Salad was a dismal failure. I tried just heating up a can of the jellied cranberry sauce, adding the celery and apples, and putting the concoction in the fridge to chill - but it never quite set. I'm going to track down some of the agar a couple of my readers mentioned and try that next time.

It's Thursday evening, which means that it's time to clean my bedroom. The first order of business will be the daily chores recommended by America's Housekeeping Book (1945). This will be my new weekly routine for the bedroom:

Open windows top and bottom for free circulation of air.

Remove all bed covers; stretch over end of bed, or over chairs, off the floor. Remove soiled bed linen; place near door to be taken out. Place mattress pad over chair near window to air.

Bring in cleaning equipment: carpet sweeper or vacuum cleaner (according to need), dust mop, dust cloth, damp cloth. Bring in fresh bed linens.

Turn mattress top to bottom one week, and end to end the next week. Make bed.

Dust high objects if necessary (mantels, high shelves, window frames and sills, tops of bookcases, etc.).

Dust radiators covers if necessary.

Brush upholstery if necessary. Straighten covers. Plump up pillows.

Dust furniture and low objects if necessary.

Dust exposed wood flooring with dust mop if necessary. Use carpet sweeper or vacuum cleaner on rugs or carpets.

Polish or wash accessories and return to place with other objects removed during cleaning.

Final touches: Straighten draperies, shades, curtains, etc. Take out cleaning equipment and waste basket. Bring back clean ash trays, accessories, flowers and waste basket. Close windows if desired.

I'm kicking off my new monthly chores (recommended in 1945 as weekly chores) by making my bedroom the featured room this week. So here are the extra chores I'll also be doing in there tonight. Brushing walls is a whole new thing for me this week. More on that in another post...

Collect lamp bases, bric-a-brac and dressing table fittings that need polishing or washing, and dresser scarves to be laundered.

Brush walls when necessary. Dust high mouldings, door frames, window shades and Venetian blinds when necessary. Brush draperies (or use brush attachment of vacuum cleaner). Dust mirrors, pictures, lighting fixtures, lamps, woodwork; wash any of these articles if necessary.

Dust radiators (covers and coils) or registers; clean thoroughly when necessary. Brush baseboard or use brush attachment of vacuum cleaner. Dust book shelves and books as necessary. Wash windows when necessary.

Remove cushions from upholstered furniture. Use brush attachment of vacuum cleaner on furniture (getting into all crevices) and cushions. Replace cushions.

Rub wood surfaces of furniture to polish; apply wax or polish when necessary. Polish metal hardware if necessary. Wash glass table tops.

Use vacuum cleaner for cleaning of rugs and carpets.

The evening is short and I've got a bed to strip. Time to shed my dress and get to work!

"Rest, Relaxation, Correspondence..."

When I embarked on this experiment, I knew there was no way - with a full-time job outside the home - that I could keep house to the standards of a 1940s housewife. Without hesitation, I moved most of the jobs that were done on a daily basis in the '40s household to my "weekly" column. Yet, all these months, I've stuck to the goal of being able to get all of the jobs my '40s counterpart did on a weekly basis done right on schedule.

Well, maybe this would've been possible if I didn't have any friends or family. Or unexpected errands to be run or workouts to be done. But I do, and so it's not. Adding a weekly cleaning of the bathroom to my list of chores has tipped the scales, so to speak. Even a 1940s housewife built time to rest into her day. I see it right there at 2:00 p.m. on weekday afternoons: "Rest, Relaxation, Correspondence, Reading, Personal care, etc." Sundays don't even show up on The Manual's skeleton housekeeping schedule. They were set aside in most American households for a well-deserved and much-needed rest, for worship, visiting with family, going for a drive... maybe even just sitting a spell on the porch.

So my housekeeping routine's about to undergo a little renovation. What I'm planning is to move most of my weekly chores to a monthly basis. Not all of 'em. Things like laundry, ironing, and changing the bed linens do indeed need to be done on a weekly basis. Each of the rooms in my home will still be getting some pretty dedicated attention once a week, but I'll rotate between the rooms each week when it comes to the more thorough chores done on a weekly basis in the '40s. The bedroom one week, the kitchen the next, then the bathroom, then the living room. If I master things at this pace and feel like I could step it up a notch at some point, so be it. For now, I think these chores will be more than enough to make a lovely home. And me a lovelier person than the grump I became last weekend!

It's funny. Being an aunt has given me the ability to see the world anew as my nieces discover it for themselves. Being a housekeeper has given me the ability to protect and cherish my free time. I used to squander all my free time on neither work nor rest. I value it now in a way I never did several months ago. More than ever before, I want to be really enjoying myself in my occasional hours of rest --- to be with people, to see the sights, and - most of all - to be outdoors.

Spreading Out

America's Housekeeping Book (1945) recommends that after cleaning up breakfast, the housewife straighten up the living room, give each of the bedrooms its daily cleaning, then head to the bathroom. The family had finished washing up and it was time for Mother to put the bathroom back to rights for the day.

There is a kind of rationale emerging behind the "skeleton housekeeping schedule" promoted by the authors of The Manual. They seem to feel that while a quick tidying of the first floor is useful in case of unexpected callers, the housewife ought to repair to the second floor as soon as possible and put those rooms in order. It was only then that she was advised to return to the first floor and give some attention to the living room, dining room, and - lastly - the kitchen. Did the bedrooms and bathroom get such early attention in case Dad or one of the children came home sick? (A comfy, clean bed and bath are awful nice when you feel like garbage!) Or were second-floor rooms hit early so that they'd be taken care of before the house really warmed up in hot weather?

Whatever the reason, here are the first few orders of business for daily care of the bathroom:

Open windows top and bottom for free circulation of air.

I don't have any windows in my bathroom. This has never actually been an asset until now. (One less thing to clean!) My only tool for air circulation in the bathroom is a ventilating fan set on the ceiling. Fresh air has got to come in especially handy in the bathroom and kitchen for all the water that's used in cleaning.

Pick up and replace small articles belonging in bathroom.

Our modern bathroom sink cabinetry lends itself to holding all kinds of the odds and ends we reach for most often. Here's a list of the items I picked up off the countertop that surrounds my own bathroom sink two days ago: blow dryer, roll of toilet paper, nail polish, cold cream, toothbrush, toothpaste, three elastics, nail clippers. A far cry from the washbowls of days gone by! If you tried to balance something on the edge of the sink in those days, you'd probably have lost it down the drain. I'm making a conscious effort this week to put things away where they belong. To get used to retrieving and returning even the items I use everyday. It makes a world of difference just to see all that counter space cleared off...

Medicine cabinets have never provided much in the way of storage space - they were even smaller then! - and the sinks of the 1940s had none of the storage space underneath 'em as do our modern bathrooms. While folks in the '40s may have had to have been more careful about stowing things in the vanity or linen closet, there were still a few items that were truly indispensable at the washbowl. This was the era when a wire soap dish was often affixed to the wall above the sink, when toothbrushes and a glass found a home in their own wall-mounted holder, when a tube of Dixie cups was screwed right into the side of the nearest wooden surface, and the most up-to-date sinks could be purchased with chrome-finished towel bars on either side of the basin. If the size of a vintage medicine cabinet ever has you scratching your head and wondering how on earth a family got by, just picture it surrounded by little holders for this or that.

Week Twenty-eight: The Mission

It's time to face the music. Or, rather, the bathroom.

There are two areas in my home that I absolutely dread(ed) cleaning: the kitchen and the bathroom. I have to add that little (ed) in there because my kitchen and I are slowly mending fences. The bathroom and I are still on the outs. In fact, I can't honestly remember when I did anything more in there than to clean the toilet. So, while my scale appears to be headed in the right direction again, I'm going to squeeze in a new housekeeping mission.

The Manual lays out both a set of daily chores and a set of weekly chores for the bathroom. Knowing the trouble I had with the kitchen, I'm going to approach this new room the same way. I'll plan on covering all of the daily chores once a week (probably on Saturdays --- moving the kitchen back to Friday nights now that it's a bit more manageable) and splitting the list of weekly bathroom chores between alternating weeks.

Weekly Chores (These were recommended for housewives on a daily basis in 1945!)

1. Open windows top and bottom for free circulation of air.

2. Pick up and replace small articles belonging in bathroom.

3. Gather up to take out soiled linen (to hamper, if dry), and articles belonging in other rooms. Collect trash in waste basket. Roll up bath mat or rug.

4. Wipe mirror.

5. Wipe tile behind washbowl and tub.

6. Clean bathtub and metal fixtures (be sure to wipe shower fixtures and clean soap holder).

7. Clean toilet bowl with brush. Wipe outside of bowl and closet with cloth used for that purpose only.

8. Clean washbowl (be sure to wipe base as well as top; also clean soap holder).

9. Straighten towels and wash cloths. Put out clean linen when needed (fresh linen for all on Wednesdays and Saturdays).

10. Sweep floor. Gather up dust in pan. Floor should be washed.

11. Replace bath mat or rug. Close windows in cold or damp weather.

Week A

1. Rug should be cleaned and bathmat changed.

2. Duck shower curtain should be hung out in the sun if weather permits. (Clean curtain should be put up when needed.)

3. Walls should be wiped down with clean cloth or wall brush, washed when necessary.

4. Light fixtures, bulbs and globes should be dusted every week, washed when necessary.

5. Medicine cabinet should be dusted and straightened, washed when necessary.

Week B

1. Mirror should be dusted, washed when necessary.

2. Windows should be dusted inside, washed on both sides when necessary.

3. Curtains should be laundered when necessary.

4. Use special cleanser on toilet bowl.

5. Clothes hamper should be emptied, dried and aired each week, scrubbed and sunned occasionally when weather permits.

Streamlining Housework

If you haven't noticed me grumbling about cleaning my kitchen lately, it's because I haven't been. (Grumbling, that is!) When I decided a few weeks ago to split up the big jobs into alternate weeks, it made all the difference in the world. Cleaning the kitchen still means a good solid two hours of work once a week, but the work just seems a lot more manageable than it did before.

And there isn't anything I really enjoy about this particular chore. When the job is done, though, my kitchen looks so nice. I catch myself doing a double take or two just to see how lovely it looks with a shiny sink, clean countertops, and a stovetop that positively gleams! If I can find something interesting on the radio, it always makes the work go faster, and I take a few breaks to drink some water and to put on some hand lotion. The good stuff. If I going to baby my hands at some point during the week, this is definitely the time to do so. Working with all that soap and water can be super drying to the skin.

Speaking of cleansers, soap and water aren't the only things at work in my kitchen these days. I use baking soda when cleaning the interior of the refrigerator/freezer and Comet to scour the sink. Cellulose sponges and dishtowels are my tools of choice, with an occasional Brillo Pad on a stubborn drip pan and - once in a great while - a paper towel. It's funny. On the rare occasions that I'd do any kind of cleaning in my kitchen in the past, I would never have set foot in there without a roll of paper towels and a canister of disinfectant wipes. I guess I was just afraid of having to put any kind of elbow grease to work. I thought chemicals could do the work for me. These days, I can go a month before having to change the roll of paper towels in my kitchen. And that's one of the small rolls! Paper towels get used now only for spot cleaning.

As I get accustomed to the mechanics of cleaning the kitchen, I catch myself finding little ways to make the work go faster. Here's my latest discovery: If I remove the drip pans before scrubbing the stovetop down (Is that what those metal trays under the burners are called?), then pop the lid and clean out underneath the stovetop, then wash the drip pans in the sink --- the stovetop and the area underneath it will be practically air-dried by the time I'm ready to reassemble the whole affair. That means my dishtowel will get less wet on that particular job and I can use it longer before having to replace it with another. I love finding little techniques like this to streamline the work!

Sadly, I don't think there's a soul among the women I talk with on a regular basis who could understand my excitement over something like this. Shoes? They could understand. A decorating idea for a dinner party? They'd get it. We just don't talk about housework in this day and age. It's that hidden thing that must be done, but isn't very fashionable to discuss. How are girls supposed to learn how to maintain a home if it's no longer cool even to mention the process? If our mothers hardly have enough time to keep house themselves - never mind teaching their daughters how to do it - and it isn't fashionable to discuss it with your girlfriends, how are we supposed to learn or better our craft? Housework's become the great unmentionable among women, and yet it's getting done is indispensible.

One of the other things that gives this little housekeeper a thrill these days are the ads for Parkay Margarine and Kraft Dinner that have been preserved along with episodes of The Great Gildersleeve from 1941 and 1942. The ads reference a rhythm to housework that must have been completely familiar to listeners of the era... Kraft Dinner - which we now call plain ol' macaroni and cheese - was billed as a fabulous option for dinner on Monday nights. A night when Mother must have been worn to the bone by the wash... As the announcer describes all the perks of using a product like Parkay Margarine, he mentions the baking that would have been done in a Christian household on Saturdays. (The program was aired lived on Sunday evenings):

I wonder how many of you housewives baked a cake or some cookies yesterday for your Sunday dinner today. A lot of you did, I’m sure, because there’s nothing like that real home-baked flavor. Well, here’s a hint for the next time you bake. For luscious, extra flavor in cookies, cakes, and pastries, use delicious Parkay margarine for the shortening...

My own 1945 menu for dinner this evening features a wartime meatless dish:

Peanut Roast
Pennsylvania Cabbage Salad with Sour Cream Dressing

The dessert, Apricot Whip, is made with raw egg whites, so - rather than play around with salmonella - I may substitute a Dried Apricot Cake. Is there any Parkay in the house?

Transitions

One more pound bites the dust! I weighed in yesterday morning at 192, so that's two pounds gone (for keeps) in two weeks...

And though I wasn't aware of it, I must have been snacking every night after 8:00 - because that mission has kept me every.single.night from nibbling one thing or another. One night last week I was tossing and turning at 2:00 in the morning. I finally got out of bed and found something to do with my insomnia and, sure enough, no sooner was I out of bed then the cravings hit. All I could think about was the leftover pizza in the fridge. I went so far even as to open the fridge and hold the pizza --- and then I caught myself and put it back! I'm very proud that I haven't broken that 8:00 rule even once this week.

We're experiencing full-blown summer here in the Southwest, so I'm making the transition to the summer version of my vintage breakfast menus. The American Woman's Cook Book (1945) contains little footnotes just below each menu with seasonal options. I should start seeing some fresh fruits filling in for the dried fruits and cold cereals occasionally taking the place of the hot cereals. So instead of Stewed Apricots and Oatmeal this morning, it was Fresh Berries (whatever kind might be in season - strawberries, here) and Corn flakes. This should be a nice change of pace!

50s gal mentioned a series of photos on Flickr that I've been poring through during the last couple of weeks - and what a treat! It's a series called Mom's World and the pictures were taken by a Michigan woman, almost all of them during her first marriage (late 1940s and early '50s). She had a full-time job in a doctor's office and continued working even after the birth of their first child several years into the marriage. (It's the child, all grown up, whose been posting the photos. His mom narrates the introductions and actively responds to comments left by viewers.)

As you can probably guess, what intrigued me most was her description of housework. Every other Saturday afternoon (she worked on Saturday mornings), she'd give her kitchen a thorough cleaning. Anything done in between was just regular maintenance. This kept her kitchen quite clean and left her plenty of time to spend rambling through the woods, boating, visiting amusement parks, etc. Genius, I thought! Especially as I realized the other day that I could see my reflection in the inside wall of my refrigerator. Does my fridge really need to be quite that clean? And it would be awfully nice to have some time left over on the weekend for something other than housework. Ever since I added the kitchen to my routine, that's become a real problem.

I've been giving this some serious thought and what I'd like to do is try and break my kitchen routine up a bit. The chores described in the manual as daily chores must be done every week:

Every Saturday...
1. Open windows top and bottom for free circulation of air, or open kitchen ventilator.

2. Rinse and stack dishes, pots and pans.

3. Check and reorganize foods; put away.

4. Collect all refuse and put in garbage can.

5. Wipe off top of refrigerator and all work surfaces in need of cleaning.

6. Wash dishes. Dry and put away, if not room to rinse with hot water and leave to dry.

7. Wipe off surface of range. Clean spilled food from drip pan or oven.

8. Dry damp work surfaces.

9. Dust radiator or register.

10. Take out garbage; put clean lining in garbage can.

11. Clean sink. Rinse dishcloth or mop; hang outdoors if possible.

12. Collect soiled towels; wash. Hang fresh towels.

The heavier jobs, the ones described by the manual as weekly chores, are going to be done on alternate weeks:

Week A...
1. Put away all foods except those belonging in refrigerator. Remove all foods from refrigerator. Wash interior of refrigerator. Return food to refrigerator.

2. Wash exterior of refrigerator.

3. Clean range thoroughly.

4. Clean, scald and sun vegetable bins, bread and cake boxes.

Week B...
1. Clean out and wash 1 cupboard or several drawers in rotation weekly.

2. Dust lighting fixtures. Dust window shades or Venetian blinds. Wash wall behind sink, stove and work surfaces, if washable. Wash work surfaces. Wash exterior of cabinet work and shelving to remove fingermarks.

3. Clean garbage container thoroughly.

4. Clean metal fixtures, soap dish, sink strainer, and dish drainer. Wash, rinse and scald dishcloth or mop or send to laundry; hang outdoors if possible.

The kitchen routine is definitely a work in progress, but I must find a way to keep it clean and still have some time left over for, well, even the basics. I've been pushing so hard with this stuff, I haven't had time for things like getting the oil changed in my car, going to the library, etc. Maybe this change will make a difference... And speaking of kitchens, it's time to get started on mine. Off to work!

Beauty and the Bath

Have you ever noticed that food becomes much more interesting the minute you've barred yourself from snacking?

From the minute the clock struck 8:00 last night, I could think of nothing but the snacks I'd like to be eating. (Even though there are probably many nights when I'm not snacking at that hour!) And with a kitchen full of new groceries, there was plenty to tempt the palate. I ended up turning in early just to banish those awful cravings. Well, wouldn't you know, I managed to survive the night. For years, I've indulged every whim when it comes to eating, so to put even the slightest of boundaries on food feels harsh and twisting --- but I'm sure that feeling won't last forever.

I survived my walks as well. 35 minutes - that's three laps 'round the track at the park - on both Saturday and Sunday. I'm glad I broke out the baseball cap, because it was already a sunny 89 degrees by the time I got to the park this morning. I may give some thought to walking on the weekend before I eat my breakfast and do my morning chores. Maybe even before I shower for the day...

This evening's 1945 dinner menu:

Browned Potatoes
Asparagus Salad
Enriched Bread
Fresh Fruit Cup, Three

My first decision as I prepared to begin washing my face in the mornings? Whether to do it in the shower or in the sink. This would have been a moot point for most women in the 1940s as showers were just beginning to gain in popularity. The grooming routine does recommend that the face be washed in the evening after taking a bath. With that in mind - and in order to give my face the attention it deserves - I decided to wash my face in the sink after my morning shower. Besides, the skin's already been steamed. The pores are open. It should be an ideal time for cleansing. Next, I had to decide on a soap. I've been using a bar of Ivory soap scented with lavender in the shower. But my face has always been sensitive to fragranced things, so it was off to the drugstore to hunt up something mild and fragrance free. What a disappointment not to see almost any of the brands I'd been admiring in vintage magazines! No Lux, no Woodbury's, no Palmolive (at least not in the face soap aisle!) --- I ended up taking home some unscented Ivory.

The soap and water does make my face feel clean, but it also feels a little taut. I can't tell yet whether that's the soap itself or the toning effect of the cold water splashed on at the end. Judging from the articles in magazines and newspapers of the period, women in the '40s were also concerned then about the drying effect of soap. Beauty experts seem to have universally advised the daily use of cold cream to re-moisten the skin, but soap was still deemed the best cleanser available: "Nothing can cleanse the skin so satisfactorily as soap and water, leaving the face fresh and glowing." A warm water rinse was essential, though, as cold water wasn't thought to thoroughly remove soap residue. Check out this darling article I found in the women's column of the April 18, 1943 edition of the St. Petersburg Times:

Beauty and the Bath
by Betty Clarke

Dear Housewives:

There's no excuse girls for looking fagged out and weary when papa comes home from work! It's just as much your duty to give his eyes something to feast on as it is to have his dinner on the table.

Even though time seems to be on your rationed list now that you're cook, cleaning woman, laundress, and gardener yourself, you still must sandwich in a few minutes for nothing but beauty...

[The author goes on to extol all the merits of a late afternoon bath.]

While you're running the tub, you can do so much. First be sure to tuck your curls high on your head or they will get wet and stringy. Then take care of your complexion by lathering your face with a deep pore-cleansing soap delicately scented with lavender. The next step is skin lubrication - smooth on a night cream generously and let it soak in as you soak in the tub...

And now back to your face. Remove every speck of cream that hasn't been absorbed and dash on a refreshing skin lotion. Then, your make-up.

Do you remember last winter when I realized that I really ought to start wearing a bathrobe and slippers around my apartment in the morning? That streaking about in my nightclothes probably wasn't very vintage-minded? That's been a hard habit to break. Until yesterday. As I stepped out of the shower, dried myself off, ran a brush through my hair --- I found myself reaching for a bathrobe. I didn't want to stand there over the sink washing my hair and trying to keep a towel wrapped around me at the same time. I guess when you spend even a few extra minutes tending to yourself in the morning, that robe or housecoat really comes in handy.