11 Daily Chores From The ’50s That Remind Us How Amazing Housewives Have Always Been

Percolators took a good 10-15 minutes to brew, and commercials from the era notoriously took a pretty sexist stance on how important it was for the wife to brew the best pot possible for her man or else risk losing her reputation.

While her husband is still getting ready, she's likely packing up sandwiches, juice, and probably a sweet snack before getting to their breakfasts.

While most of us think every day back then started with a hearty meal of things like pancakes and home fries, that was mostly only done on the weekends. Weekday breakfasts, according to the Modern Day 50's Housewife, were usually something like oatmeal, toast, orange juice, eggs, or cold cereal for the kids.

Her husband might have his before the kids and often left for work before they even woke up.

Despite ads from the era attempting to coax families into purchasing a second vehicle, most relied on only the one car, which was obviously reserved for the man of the house who probably drove into a bigger city for his job.

So, moms would get in some exercise by walking the blocks (or miles) back and forth from their children's school (probably in heels).

If she didn't do this before taking the kids to school, she will take the time now to wash all the dishes and put back any leftover food while listening to one of the several housewife-focused daytime radio shows on the air.

The bathroom, probably just one shared by the whole family, was cleaned on a daily basis so this only meant giving everything a quick wipe down and making sure things were put back where they belong.

Then it was on to the rest of the house: Dusting, vacuuming, sweeping, and shining everything. The whole routine, again according to The Modern Day 50s Housewife, would usually take about three hours.

This is the decade when washing and drying machines finally became a staple in most houses, replacing the arduous task of hand washing everything and spending full days scrubbing at them with a washpan, but the task still felt as never-ending as it does today.

Instead of going to one grocery store for all she needs in one place, the housewife had to make separate stops for perishable items from the butcher, baker, and vegetable market. If they didn't have their milk delivered, she would also have to stop by the local dairy.

Once she was back home and everything was put away in its proper spot, the wife might entertain herself with things like mending family member's clothes, baking fresh bread, or gardening fresh veggies until it was time to retrieve the kids from school.

Meals would be planned well in advance with the husband's opinion in mind, so these would be hearty meals of pot roast, meat loaf, casseroles, pork chops, and mashed potatoes, corn, peas, and other veggies on the side. She would also make sure everyone else was served before digging into her own plate, often stopping to supply them with seconds while hers went cold.

After cleaning up from dinner and eventually joining the family to listen to an evening radio show, it came time to coerce the little ones to sleep, which again was solely on the shoulders of the mom in order to keep dad's post-work stress at bay.

Younger ones would be rinsed off, placed into their PJs, and tucked in before mom finally made her way back to her own bed.

Did we miss anything you remember about your own mom from back in the 1950s? Let us know below and be sure to SHARE with your friends!