Day 5: Do I Have to Talk About It?

After a grocery shopping trip this morning, it was back to attempting to get through the kitchen. Today was going to be the day that I finish getting through it and actually manage to straighten the other rooms of the house. Or it wouldn't be. But I got through all the cabinets. All that is left is the fridge and pantry (as well as a good scrub down of the microwave and dish washer). Even though my modern appliances were not something found in the typical 50's household, I still want to care for them as they would have been cared for had they been invented that early. Perhaps tomorrow will be my day of success.

After a long afternoon of cleaning, dinner was kept simple. I am now spending my evening indulging in some reading of a book my hubby picked up from the library for me, The American Dream: The 50s by the Editors of Time-Life Books. I haven't been able to put it down. It has been so interesting to read of the ups and downs of the time trying to understand what the culture would have been like. I am hoping to eventually get my hands on a women's magazine from the time to see more of how they were advertised to, and what sort of articles were being presented to them.

On the plus side, our dining room is being used more than it ever has been before. After dinner we clean the table and it seems like everyone congregates to be together, especially since we are trying to limit our TV viewing to only an hour or two before bed. Tonight I found myself reading with my youngest on my lap at one end of the table while the hubby and oldest were working away on a puzzle on the other side. It was a very peaceful way to end our day.

Things I learned today: the experiment is actually providing some good insight for all of us. As I have been cleaning through and simplifying what I keep . . . we had enough tumblers and glasses to host a banquet . . . I have noticed the rest of the family taking second looks at things that have been tucked away in closets. Today my oldest came to me with a pile of items for the donation pile. He informed me that he had duplicates of the items and asked me, "mommy, why would I need more than 1. I can keep one and someone else can have the other". Perhaps we will all take away a few lessons from the experiment!