8 ways families did housework before modern conveniences

When I was younger, I remember my mum line-drying my clothes in the garden and scrubbing the floor by hand every Sunday - and I never gave it a second thought. But today, my home is very different, with modern conveniences designed to make life easier and more efficient — no more waiting 12 hours for dresses and shirts to dry.

As technology has advanced, these modern tools have come to feel essential. Yet many of the time and energy-saving features we rely on have only appeared within the last 30 years.

To better understand what daily life looked like before these upgrades, we spoke with interior designers and estate agents about how ordinary families managed their homes. Their answers were very interesting...

Wood-burning ovens were used for cooking

Wood-fired ovens are still in use today in some commercial kitchens and restaurants, but they began to disappear from ordinary homes around the mid-20th century. “Daily chores would have involved maintaining coal or wood-burning stoves and ovens for cooking,” says Matt Brown, estate agent.

Root cellars were used to keep food cold

Since many families did not have or own refrigerators, they used root cellars (also known as cool chambers or potato houses) to store root vegetables; smoked meats for long-term storage, and dried fruits, according to Brown. Root cellars use natural insulation to keep food cool.

Cisterns were used to access water in the kitchen

An old metal water pump at the countryside in summer

In the late 19th century, many wealthier families installed a cistern, which was located beneath kitchen floors and provided the house with a private water supply for cooking, washing, and cleaning before widespread plumbing. This spared families a daily trek to the public pump.

Clothes were cleaned on washboards with homemade lye soap

Before washing machines and dryers, in the 19th century, washboards and lye soap were the cornerstones of doing the laundry. Clothes were washed on washboards by hand using lye soap, which was irritating to skin. Lye soap was made from animal fat, water and lye and cooked in a cast iron pan and left to harden for future use by those in the home, especially by women who did the vast majority of the housework.

Irons were heated on hobs

An antique iron next to a modern day version.

Before electric irons, people heated cast irons on hobs until they reached the right temperature. Because the irons did not produce their own heat, they cooled as they were used, which meant they had to be swapped out for another hot iron. This process continued until the ironing was finished, making it both time-consuming... and potentially dangerous.

Outhouses were built outside the home

Since many homes before the early 19th century didn’t have indoor plumbing, outhouses were built to house toilets. This was done for obvious reasons - unflushed waste would cause a host of issues inside the home.

Dumbwaiters were used to transport goods throughout the home

Dumbwaiters are small service lifts used to transport food and goods from various floors in the home, operated by a pulley system. These were often found in homes of wealthy individuals as servants would prepare food and deliver it to them without having to enter the room.

Metal 'warming pans' were used to heat the mattress and sheets before bed

Before electric blankets, hot metal pans with wooden handles were used to warm the beds. To achieve this, hot coals were placed into the warming pan, which was placed over the bed by servants. This was then moved between sheets and blankets to avoid burning them.