Good Old Fashioned Homemaking Advice

I suppose it is no surprise that I love the art of homemaking.  I would even say it is a passion of mine.  I have read many books old and new on the subject.  Over my 32  years as a homemaker, I have gleaned from the knowledge of women who have gone before me. I am excited to share with you some Good Old Fashioned Homemaking Advice!

Homemaking is an overflow of the heart.  We need God to give us vision and provision, we need Him to give us creative ways to solve problems and create beauty!  It is a task that needs our full attention, it is an honor to be a homemaker and should cause us to educate ourselves and learn from women from older generations.  We need their wisdom!

Good Old Fashioned Homemaking Advice

1. The first business of a housekeeper in America is that of a teacher. She can have a good table only by having practical knowledge, and tact in imparting it.  – Harriet Beecher Stowe
2. The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention. – Mrs. Dunwoody
3. A cup of cooled brewed black tea will clean the woodwork. 
4. Never be late, it is rude, your time is not more important than others. 
5. Slugs and snails and cabbage moths hate wood ash, make sure to spread it around your outdoor plants. 
6. Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without. 
7. The kitchen is the engine room of the house, it should be well planned with plenty of work and storage space. 
8. Apply white vinegar to glass, to remove a cloudy appearance.
9. As a guest, do not walk around the room, examining pictures, or pick up items in the home, while waiting for the hostess.
10. Freeze candles, it makes them burn slower. 
11. Get rid of ants in your home by using mint tea to clean the floor, counters, and cabinets. 
12. Have regular hours for work and play; make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well. – Louisa May Alcott
13. Use a bar of soap to loosen wood doors and drawers.
14. Every home should be aired out for at least 15 minutes every day, no matter what the weather. 
15. Sticks of chalk absorb moisture, put them in a damp closet or even in your sterling silverware box to prevent tarnish. 
16. Keep a large safety pin near your sink so that when you have to wash dishes you can remove your wedding ring and pin it to your clothes. 
17. Zippers can be unstuck by rubbing a bar of soap on them. 
18. Place a cup of vinegar in any room to absorb bad odors. 
19. A true home is one of the most sacred of places. It is a sanctuary into which men flee from the world’s perils and alarms. It is a resting-place to which at close of day the weary retire to gather new strength for the battle and toils of tomorrow. It is the place where love learns its lessons, where life is schooled into discipline and strength, where character is molded. Few things we can do in this world are so well worth doing as the making of a beautiful and happy home. He who does this builds a sanctuary for God and opens a fountain of blessing for men. Far more than we know, do the strength and beauty of our lives depend upon the home in which we dwell. He who goes forth in the morning from a happy, loving, prayerful home, into the world’s strife, temptation, struggle, and duty, is strong–inspired for noble and victorious living. – J.R. Miller 
20. A man’s manners are a mirror in which he shows his portrait – Goethe
21. Daily cleaning chores include meal prep and clean up, making beds, tidy rooms and return items to the proper place, cleaning floors, put out fresh towels in the bathroom and kitchen, take out the trash, complete the day of the week chore. 
22. Our family members will carry the atmosphere we create in our homes for the rest of their lives. 
23. Red Raspberry leaf tea works wonders on women’s ailments and diarrhea.
24. “A place for everything, and everything in its place.”― Isabella Beeton
25. Save your hands when hanging laundry outside, rub in vinegar which will prevent your hands from getting chapped. 
26. Boil white clothing and household linens with lemon juice to get them whiter.
27. Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. – Theodore Roosevelt
28. Keep your sewing needles in a bar of soap to keep them sharp. You can do the same with pins. 
29. Use a knife dipped in boiling water when slicing a cake, loaf of bread, or spreading icing. 
30. Always stand at the door and waving goodbye until your departing friends or family is out of sight. 
31. Use kitchen scissors to chop stew meat, herbs, and bacon.
32. As with the commander of an army, or the leader of any enterprise, so is it with the mistress of a house. Her spirit will be seen through the whole establishment. – Isabella Beeton
33. Never place a clock in a dining room, enjoying a meal has no time limit. 
34. If you have been afraid that your love of beautiful flowers and the flickering flame of the candle is somehow less spiritual than living in starkness and ugliness, remember that He who created you to be creative gave you the things with which to make beauty and the sensitivity to appreciate and respond to His creation.― Edith Schaeffer
35. Don’t sit until the host does.
36. Place a towel in the sink before handwashing your good china and crystal to prevent breakage. 
37. Do not if a lady, call upon a gentleman, except officially or professionally, unless he is a confirmed invalid.
38. Always write a thank you letter.  Acknowledging acts of kindness is a must. 
39. Never forget your mother’s birthday!
40. Let the refining and improving your own life keep you so busy that you have little time to criticize others. 
41. Cut flowers will keep longer when you add either a bit of salt or a bit of sugar to the water. 
42. I am sure that there is no place in the world where your message would not be enhanced by your making the place (whether tiny or large, a hut or a palace) orderly, artistic, and beautiful with some form of creativity, some form of ‘art. – Edith Schaeffer
43. Use vanilla extract in your wood polish, it makes everything smell delicious. 
44. Use onion juice to remove rust!
45. Prayer should be the key of the morning and the lock of the night – Owen Felltham 
46. Never correct parents or those older than yourself in public. 
47. Take great care of the sick.  Keep the home quiet, keep calm and sit where the patient has a comforting view of you. 
48. The humblest tasks get beautified if loving hands do them. – Louisa May Alcott
49. Get your work done up in the forenoon.
50. Air the bed linen in the bedroom daily before making the bed.
51. Waste not, want not. – Maria Edgeworth
52. Make sure to put a fresh apron on at the beginning of every day. 
53. You save a great deal of money by purchasing in bulk. 
54. Whenever the laws of body and mind are properly understood, it will be allowed that every person needs some kind of recreation and that, by seeking it, the body is strengthened, the mind is invigorated and all our duties are more cheerfully and successfully performed. – Catherine E. Beecher
55. Many hands make light work.

Happy Homemaking! 

The following books were used as references:

Hill’s Manual of Social and Business Forms – T. E. Hill 

Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management – Isabella Beeton 

The Hidden Art of Homemaking – Edith Schaeffer 

The American Woman’s Home – Catherine E. Beecher & Harriet Beecher Stowe 

Your Turn…

What are your favorite old-fashioned homemaking tips? 

Blessings,

*This post may contain affiliate links.  Thank you for supporting The Peaceful Haven!