V.HOUSE-CLEANING.
“LASTyear I thoughthouse-cleaningwould be ‘real fun.’ I had never before taken the entire charge of such extensive operations, and thought, in my simplicity, that I would show the old ladies how a smart young housekeeper would walk through the fiery furnace, with not even the smell of fire upon her garments. But I little dreamed what I had undertaken. I found out, however, before the ‘fun’ was ended, to my entire satisfaction, and now, in this my second year of housekeeping, look forward to the spring cleaning with the greatest repugnance; gladly enduring all the cold, the winds, and storms of early spring, because they postpone the evil day. But now milder weather and warmer suns are upon us, and this great nuisance may be no longer deferred. How I dread it! No regularity, all rules abolished, servants rebellious, husband—to put it mildly—uncomfortable; baby cross, and I—the crossest of all? O dear! What shall I do?”
What shall you do? Take it easy.Patience, my child, the oldest panacea, is still the sovereign cure for such trials. But why “borrow trouble”? For weeks you have, in imagination, been carrying this burden which you so much dread. Wait till the proper time comes to take it up. Give each hour its own work; do not permit yourself to groan over that which belongs to the next; and you will find the heaviest and most disagreeable labor, if arranged and performed systematically, glide smoothly through your hands. When it is finished, you will look back in amused surprise at the “bugbear” you had conjured up for your own torment.
True, what is generally understood as regular “spring house-cleaning” is not a pleasant operation; but is it absolutely necessary that this important part of household duties should be made a terror to all in the house? We think not. When furnace, grates, and stoves, have been in constant use for six or seven months, and gas or lamps are burning many hours each night, a very thorough house-cleaning is indispensable. No care can prevent smoke, ashes, and gas defacing walls and ceiling, and finding a lodgment in carpets and furniture, all over the house. And it is necessary that the warm spring days should be devoted to cleaning and renovating; but certainly not to the exclusion of real home comforts and pleasures, while this work is in progress. It is folly to commence by putting the whole house into disorder; displacing everything, leaving no room in habitable condition, that by and by you may, from this utter desolation, bring order out of confusion.
It is best to commence with the cellar, and the first thing to be done, after seeing that the coal-bins are in order, is to have your coal for the year put in. It is usually as cheap, and often cheaper, in the spring than in the fall. The coal safely housed, have the furnace emptied and put in thorough repair. Remove all the ashes. If you have an ash-vault, or bin containing the ashes of the whole winter, you will require a man to do it; but if—which is much wiser—the ashes have been sifted and removed every day, it is no burden, and but a few minutes’ work. Then all bits of waste boards, boxes, and barrels, no longer usable, should be chopped fine and stored with the kindling wood. If dust and cobwebs have been overlooked, brush them down very carefully; sweep the cellar bottom, and, if it is of stone or cemented, scrub it clean. If all this has been done every week, as it should be,—save the putting in coal and repairing the furnace,—it will be only a piece of regular work; but itmust be done before any other cleaning is attempted, else the coal dust and ashes will penetrate every part of the house, and render all your labor useless. No door or window can be shut so closely that they will not force an entrance. Be careful to shut the “registers” from the furnace in every room, before moving ashes or coal.
The cellar being in order, the next step is to the attic. If it has been properly attended to through the winter, it is no hard task to make it fresh and clean, unless you allow it to be made the “catch-all” for every kind of useless trash. If not “hard finished,” the walls should be nicely whitewashed or calcimined, after the attic has been swept and dusted. This done, scrub the floor faithfully; polish the windows, and arrange neatly all that properly belongs to the attic. If you have pieces of carpeting stored there, they should be taken into the back yard, well brushed, and spread on the grass or hung on the line, the first thing, before the cleaning is begun.
The cellar and attic in order, you are ready for the upper chambers. If you can afford it, it is well to secure four good house-cleaners, and by putting two in one chamber and two in another, keeping up a quiet, but vigilant superintendence of both parties, you will find, if the work is well contrived, and each part arranged in regular succession, it will be done more quickly, more effectually, and with more economy, than to endeavor to drag through with little help.
Ingrain and three-ply carpets must be lifted every year, and that is the first thing to be done. Brussels and velvet do not need to be taken up oftener than every two years; while heavy Wiltons, Axminster, and Moquettes should not be removed oftener than every three years. The texture is so firm, no dust works through to the carpet lining beneath, and faithful sweeping and thorough use of the “carpet-sweeper” will remove the dust and moth’s eggs. Extra carewill be required to clean and brush in corners, and wherever the carpets are turned in and nailed; and they must also be protected, while the walls, ceiling, and wood-work are being cleaned, by a heavy drugget spread over them, and moved from place to place as the cleaning progresses.
When washing painted walls and ceilings, take care in drying them that they are wiped in straight lines, from top to bottom, and not unevenly, or in circles; for however clean you may wash the paint, careless wiping will give it a streaked and untidy appearance.
Brush wall-paper carefully with a feather duster, and then pin a large towel tightly to a clean soft broom, and placing it up to the ceiling, bring it, with an even pressure, in a straight line down to the mop-board or casing. Proceed in this way until you have gone over the entire paper. It will be necessary to change the towel when it looks soiled. If this work is well done, the paper will look almost as fresh as new.
In cleaning door-knobs, bell-pulls, or speaking-trumpets, cut a hole in a piece of oil-silk or soft oil-cloth, and put it round the knob or bell-pull, etc., to protect the paper or paint from being soiled.
We have no room to carry these suggestions further at present, and leave your good, earnest, common-sense to practice and improve upon them.