What Grandma’s (Or Great Grandma’s) Kitchen Was Like in 1949

Yes Virginia, there's is a Santa Claus. No Virginia, Grandma didn't have a microwave in the kitchen... or anywhere else. But Grandma wasn't dumb, either. In fact, a lot of what she had in her kitchen could be put to good efficient use today!

OK, close your eyes... oh wait, no, don't close your eyes, you need to read this. Well, just use your imagination. You remember your imagination, right? It's 1949 and you're stepping into your Grandma's kitchen.  Maybe your Great Grandma. What's it like? Is she sweating over an old wood stove, cooking what Gramps just shot out in the great wide-open? Is it a dirt floor? Holes in the wall for windows?

Hey, c'mon, I said 1949, not 1849!

And it turns out the old folks were a lot smarter than maybe we gave them credit for. I was looking at the Dusty Old Thing website and it turns out in '49 the U.S.D.A. put out a short film on what they called 'household efficiency'. And a bunch of what they recommended (and what our Grandma's utilized) should still be used today.

Things like different heights for different work surfaces, depending on what they were used for. No 'one size fits all' for these ladies (and I'm not being sexist when I say 'ladies', back in the day the hubby wasn't in the kitchen much!).

Also, a sit down area by the phone (which wasn't carried around) and radio (TV? Who had a TV?), pull-out work space by the fridge, and Lazy Susan's everywhere!

Flour and sugar bins right above the counter-top, bins for potatoes and onions and drawers, drawers, drawers for just about anything and everything!

I know, it sounds kind of, uh...clustered. But check out the photos here and you'll see Grandma knew exactly what she was doing. And what she wasn't doing was saving a whole lot of steps!

And not a microwave in sight, or even thought of!

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