Doing the Chores

Before there were machines to help do the work, most work had to be done by hand.  In communities that were far away from large cities, it was hard to buy ready-made goods.  This meant that many things for family use had to be made at home.  The lack of machinery to do the work and the need to make things by hand both added to the burden of work that had to be done around the house.

Read the list of household chores below.  List the chore under "Long Ago" if you think it would have been done around the house one hundred years ago.  List it under "Today" if it is something that would be done around your house today.  If it would have been done then and now, list it in the "Both" column.

Chores

• Cook
• Cut wood
• Sew
• Unload dishwasher
• Spin
• Can food
• Feed animals
• Take out garbage
• Pump water
• Fill lamps with oil
• Make cheese
• Carry water
• Weave
• Vacuum
• Churn butter
• Shear sheep

LONG AGO

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TODAY

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BOTH

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Courtesy of the Warren County Historical Society