The charts present significant changes in the ownership of electrical appliances and the amount of time spent doing housework in households in a specific country from 1920 to 2019.
Overall, it is clear that year by year, people increasingly prefer to use electrical appliances such as refrigerators and vacuum cleaners, which save much more time than doing housework by hand.
In 1920, individuals were less interested in using refrigerators compared to other devices like washing machines and vacuum cleaners. However, the ownership of refrigerators increased significantly from 0% to almost 55% over two decades, reaching this level by 1960. The ownership of refrigerators has distinctly set itself apart from other devices. In 1960, the figures for vacuum cleaners and washing machines were symmetrical, with each appliance securing an equal share of households. There was a marginal decline in the ownership rates of washing machines over the three decades. The ownership of refrigerators and vacuum cleaners consistently increased and eventually stabilized at the same level. Meanwhile, the proportion of households with washing machines remained high, nearly 70%.
This widespread use of appliances has significantly reduced the amount of time spent on housework. From 1920 to 1940, the average number of housework hours per week decreased from 50 to 35 hours. Over the subsequent decades, this figure continued to drop, reaching just 10 hours per week by 2019.