I earned pocket money from my uncle (dad's brother who lived at home with my grandparents) by cleaning his shoes
- he was ex-RAF, so 'had standards' ;-). Also used to clean the spokes on his racing bicycles, using the chrome version of Duraglit followed by a soft cloth, which was usually a very old vest.
Little jobs for my nan included putting larger items through the mangle for her, when she couldn't manage them - cleaning the steps (including the one into the rear entry) - polishing anything brass, including the stair rods - ironing with flat irons, loved to spit on them to hear the 'sizzle' when they were hot enough ;-) - threading some needles for her and leaving them with different coloured cottons in them and stuck into the pin cushion which hung at the side of the coal fireplace.