1950s Housewife: Balancing Traditional Roles and Modern Challenges

1950s Housewife: Balancing Traditional Roles and Modern Challenges

The Ideal 1950’s Housewife

In the 1950s, women typically stayed home and managed the household. The ideal of the perfect housewife was epitomized by June Cleaver from “Leave it to Beaver.” June could clean, do laundry, cook full-course meals, and take care of two growing boys and a husband, all while looking immaculate in a dress with not a hair out of place. This image also reflects how I remember my grandmother. She always wore a dress or a nice pair of pants, along with her apron, and I never saw her in jeans. Her home was impeccably clean, and there was always something cooking in the kitchen.

Changing Roles and Responsibilities

Overall, the 1950s woman balanced numerous roles and responsibilities, navigating the expectations of a society that was simultaneously experiencing post-war optimism and the early stages of significant social change. While many conformed to traditional roles, others began to challenge and expand these roles, laying the groundwork for the feminist movements of the 1960s and beyond.

Modern Homemaking Challenges

Today’s housewife is a rarity. Most homemakers now share responsibilities with their significant other while also pursuing their own careers. This dual role can make maintaining a household more challenging than in the past. However, with some training and effective prioritization, it is still achievable.

I try to find easier ways to save a step like scouring Pinterest (wouldn’t June Cleaver have loved this site!) all while Balancing Homemaking and Careers in Modern Times.

Kitchen Tips

Dishes– I have a very small kitchen so no full size dishwasher for us. The majority of the dishes are done by hand. However, I found this Faberware portable table top dishwasher on Amazon for doing plastic containers, canning jars and small loads. Works wonderfully we have had it for three years now. This saves us time and energy when we only have a few items or if we need to stirelize our canning jars before canning (saving money by canning your food is the best way to stay ahead).

Floor– Every morning, while waiting for my coffee to brew, I vacuum and lightly mop the floor. Using the Shark Vacmop from Amazon, which effectively picks up all the food crumbs and dirt, unlike other products I’ve tried before. I love it so much that I even bought one for our camper. By adding a couple of teaspoons (or a drizzle) of vinegar or a natural cleaner like Mrs. Meyers all purpose cleaner from Grove with water to the mop dispensor I save money on buying a bunch of cleaners.

Counters: I wipe down the counter tops after putting my coffee cup in the dishwasher. Cleaning as I go means that when I get home I will feel better knowing everything looks good.

Dining Room Tips

During the day, my husband runs the ION vacuum (one of the best gifts my son has given me) to clean the dining and living rooms. With two cats, dust and hair are constant issues. Once a month, I move the furniture to thoroughly clean the corners and baseboards. If June Cleaver wants to inspect my corners daily, she can clean them herself!😁

Bedroom Tips

We make our bed every day, and it’s amazing how much neater the room looks from that simple task. I vacuum this room every other week. Our queen-sized bed takes up most of the space, and the ION vacuum often gets stuck on the boxes we store under the bed. However, the Shark Vacmop handles the job wonderfully.

Final Thoughts

Balancing homemaking and careers can be difficult. Some days, things don’t get done, just as the 1950s housewife likely experienced. We are only human, after all. However, I find great comfort in maintaining a well-kept home while having a career. There’s nothing like having homemade rolls fresh out of the oven or a scrumptious cherry tart.

I will get into more tips and tricks as time goes by so check back often. I will have them all put under my “cleaning Tips” section.