What I Learned Following a 1930's Cleaning Routine
Curiosity (and maybe a touch of nostalgia) recently led me to try something a little different: I followed a 1930's housewife’s daily cleaning routine for a week.
Armed with a checklist pulled from a delightful little vintage book called 'The Book of Hints and Wrinkles'and with more than a little modern skepticism I stepped into a rhythm that would have been completely ordinary nearly a century ago. Spoiler alert: it was a lot. Here’s a breakdown of what my days looked like:
The 1930's Routine I Followed:
Morning:
Mornings carry the weight of this entire routine. Most of the cleaning happens early, and getting a head start isn’t just helpful, it’s essential. Rising early seems to be a recurring theme in nearly every cleaning schedule I’ve come across - and there’s clearly a reason for it.
6:45 am: Up and dressed (in the 1930's, this was often when mothers would care for children — I walked the dog instead).
7:30 am: Breakfast (and coffee for me).
8:00–9:00 am: Morning baby care. (for me feeding the animals and getting ready)
9:00 to 10.30 am
Dishes
Sweep and dust the whole house
Make beds
Clean living rooms, open windows, clean grates and lay fires, shake rugs, sweep floors, dust.
Clean bathrooms: rinse bath, polish taps, rinse basin, clean floor.
Clean kitchen: sweep, mop, clean sink, hob.
Halls, stairs, and landings: vacuum, dust, shake rugs.
Mid-morning tasks varied by day (aka “Fortnightly Turnout”)
The rest of the morning was dedicated to the "fortnightly turnout" which is a rotating two-week cycle of deeper cleaning tasks that looked something like this:
Monday: Washing again
Tuesday: More ironing
Wednesday: Turn out the dining room
Thursday: Turn out the halls, stairs, and landing
Friday: Baking
Saturday: Turn out the kitchen
Afternoons:
Afternoons are where the pace seems to slow, but only slightly. The heavy cleaning stops, but the day is far from quiet. After lunch, you're off to do the daily shopping - a routine that feels almost foreign now in the age of weekly big shops and doorstep deliveries. Then it’s on to cooking, family care, and winding everyone down for the evening. Restful? Not exactly. Just a different kind of busy.
Lunch at midday
Shopping or outdoor leisure time
4:30pm: Tea
5:00pm: Baby care
7:00pm: Supper
7:30pm: Dishes
What I Learned
So that brings us to the end of this little adventure into a 1930's daily routine and honestly, it’s given me a lot to think about.
First off, let’s give credit where it’s due: homemakers in the 1930's worked incredibly hard. The amount of cleaning, organising, and hands-on work packed into a single day is kind of staggering, especially considering they were often doing it without the modern conveniences we take for granted. No washing machines, no dishwashers, no robot vacuums… and in many cases, no fridge.
They were managing homes that required constant, physical effort. For many women, this was expected as their full-time role. And when you really look at it, they were doing far more on a daily basis than I do in my own home. That’s not a judgment. It's just a reminder of how much our lives and expectations have changed.
It also made me consider why they did so much more. Some of it was necessity, sure. But some of it was about social expectations, class, pride in appearance, and a different kind of structure to daily life.
One of the biggest takeaways for me is the emphasis on starting the day early and getting the big tasks done first. This isn’t the first routine I’ve looked at that prioritises mornings but it’s definitely one of the more intense ones. Their mornings were packed. And compared to my usual routine, there’s a lot more intention and structure built into those first few hours.
It’s something I’m definitely going to reflect on. I’m not about to start laying fires or polishing brass taps every morning, but I do like the idea of getting more done early so the rest of the day can feel a little freer.
As always, I’m not trying to say we should all live like it’s 1930. But there’s value in looking back and in seeing what we can borrow, adapt, and learn from. Sometimes it’s the smallest shifts that make the biggest difference in how we feel in our homes.
What a Modernised Version of the 1930s Routine Might Look Like
If we were to take the spirit of the 1930s routine and adapt it to 2025 life — with all its tech, time constraints, and flexibility it might look something like this:
Morning (7:00–9:00am)
Wake up, get dressed, open windows for fresh air
15–20 minute tidy-up of living areas (e.g., put dishes away, fluff cushions, a quick vacuum or sweep if needed)
Make beds, quick bedroom reset
Set a daily intention or to-do list
If you have kids, morning care/school run or like me a walk with the dog.
When it comes to the deeper cleaning, this is where things get trickier to fit into modern life. Most of us simply don’t have the luxury of devoting an entire morning to housework every day, we have jobs, school runs, appointments, and everything in between. So instead of daily deep cleans, a more realistic modern approach might be setting aside one morning or afternoon each week - perhaps on a day off to tackle the bigger tasks all at once.
Weekly Reset
Laundry
Deep clean of one room (Rotate which room very week)
Grocery shopping
Dust the main living areas
Vacuum and mop floors
Final Thoughts
But maybe that’s the modern lesson from the past: You don’t need to do everything, but a little structure and intention can go a long way.
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