Spring cleaning

“ The spring is the usual period set apart for house-cleaning, and removing all the dust and dirt, which will necessarily, with the best of housewives, accumulate during the winter months, from the smoke of the coal, oil, gas, &c. This season is also well adapted for washing and bleaching linen, &c., as, the weather, not being then too hot for the exertions necessary in washing counterpanes, blankets, and heavy things in general, the work is better and more easily done than in the intense heats of July, which month some recommend for these purposes. ”

“ Dirt teams should not start for at least one hour after the sweeper begins. Gangs should have allotted to them enough work to keep them busy until quitting time so that they do not have to kill time. Laxity in any part of the system eats up the department appropriation.
Spring Cleaning The spring cleaning system usually calls for the piling up and removal of the heavy dirt which is washed from the center of the street and which accumulates in the gutters during the winter season. ”

“ Perhaps one of the most disappointing experiences of the novice in housekeeping is the rapidity with which everything assumes a shabby aspect. Bright paint grows dull, dull paint wears away, curtains and fabrics fade, and very soon mistress and maids alike feel that the house no longer repays the trouble incurred in the spring-cleaning that it must still undergo. This spring-cleaning, the primary object of which is the preservation of the beauty and substance of the 111 house and its appointments, is in the result the cause of much of their deterioration. ”

“ It cannot be helped; through all this windy, unmanageable season, frequent usings of dusters and brushes are inevitable, and, if thoroughly applied, aside from the economy of it, will greatly lighten the labor of the spring house-cleaning. ”

“ GREAT MISTAKES. WHEN the weather becomes so warm that furnaces and large fires can be dispensed with, the regular “spring cleaning” is usually commenced in earnest. Until then, the most perfect housekeeper cannot prevent the accumulation of ashes or fine dust, which, ascending from the furnace or stove below with each morning’s renewal, will find a lodgment in carpets and furniture, and can be fully removed only by a longer process than can be given weekly. ”

“ There is nothing can beat the Spring cleaning of home;
There’s a fuss and confusion then reigns in the air,
That, search where you will, is not met with elsewhere.
When Spring cleaning times come,
There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home.
Exiled from my room, I must grumble in vain,
For they’re cleaning my lowly thatched cottage again;
Those sweetbirds, the charwomen, chatter and bawl,
’Till I give them a “piece of mind” louder than all.
When Spring cleaning time’s come, &c. ”

“ It is the spring house-cleaning time of the year, when nature is sweeping and picking up, preparatory to laying new carpets and getting new furnishings throughout, and if any of the old furniture of the woodland is not able to stand the strain it has to go to the woodpile. ”

“ The old-fashioned yearly house cleaning seems hardly necessary if cleaning is well done through the year, but in both fall and spring some extra freshening may be necessary in the way of thorough cleansing of textiles and furniture. All closets should have everything removed from them and the whole closet cleansed. Drawers should come out, be emptied, washed and aired, and fresh white or brown paper put in all. ”

“ It is well to bleach clothes while washing, all through the pleasant weeks of spring, summer, and fall, as it can be so much better done than in winter. One hour on the clean grass before rinsing is long enough. It is not well to leave clothes out overnight when it can be helped, as they are liable to be trampled over by cats and dogs during the night, or be spotted by the drip of the dew or fogs from the trees or vines. ”

“ Keep your house clean and cool and well aired night and day. Your cellars cleared of all rubbish and white-washed every spring, your drains cleaned with strong solution of copperas or chloride of lime, poured down them once a week. Keep your gutters and yards clean and insist upon your neighbors doing the same. ”

“ In the summer it is not so bad for the women often sweep out the houses and courts and throw the trash out in front of the cave where the hot sun drys out the waste materials. In the winter there is less of this cleaning and the trash and filth accumulate. The dampness in the air causes mould and mustiness and when the warm wet days of late winter come the air is foul with the odor of decaying matter. ”

“ The idea of some persons that cleaning in the dry season is of little consequence, must be given up, as it is principally at that very time that it is extremely profitable to remove and clear the ground round the trees in their growth. ”

“ With the return of life and the awakening of nature in spring—especially with the approach of higher temperatures and the formation of moisture—micro-organic activity once more makes itself felt all round. During the summer months it is exposed to some injurious influences such as the heating and drying up of the upper layers of the soil, but, still gradually increasing, micro-organisms reach the climax of their activity during the autumnal rains, to remain in this state until with the advent of the cold season their activity gradually declines again. ”

“ It is customary to wash trees late in spring or early in summer, and again in the fall, with the idea that such washing destroys the eggs and the young of borers. It no doubt will destroy borers if they are just getting a start, but it will not keep away the insects that lay the eggs, and will not destroy the borers that have found their way beneath the bark. It is perhaps quite as well to wash the trees very early in the spring, when they are starting into growth. ”

“ During the winter, if the frosts are very severe, the young plants ought at times to be protected from the severity of the weather. In the next spring, and during the months of May and June, the young plants will be much assisted by frequent waterings, and in the autumn the ground must be again cleaned. ”

“ In the country, where clean grass plots are accessible, it is a good way to take all the white clothes of the week's wash, from the first rinsing water, or from the boiling suds, and lay them on the grass. After two or three nights take them up before they are dry in the morning, rinse them well, and put them on the line. Their improved appearance will pay for the trouble. In August, clothes should never be more than one day and night upon the grass, lest they become mildewed. In the winter, they will whiten fast, in sunny weather, upon clean snow ”

“ We promote exercise by having the small yards at the back of the houses repeatedly dug up during the spring and summer. In the autumn the dry, falling leaves are collected, and used on the floors of the houses during bad weather. Fresh, cold water is kept constantly before them in stone vessels in summer, and in a padded-box arrangement in winter.
Boxes of clean, dry soil are placed in sunny spots in the house, to encourage the birds to take the dust baths in which they delight. ”

“ Owing to the non-existence of home facilities for cleanliness among the working class, the accumulations of soil and exudation during the long fall, winter, and spring months are so great that their bodies become too rank and malodorous for the nostrils of the refined. ”

“ This is usually a winter job, because, we are told, summer is too busy a time in the garden to allow of its being done except when the ice has to be broken in the cistern and no other work is possible. But why should the pots be washed out of doors and in cold vater? If you have a girl-gardener, why should you not give her the freedom of the scullery sink where the hot water is laid on? There is no hardship in washing a couple of hundred pots in hot water and in a warm scullery on the most inclement day in January. ”

“ But whether in city or country, those who attempt to do their fall cleaning in September will have short-lived satisfaction compared with the comfort derived from the same work in October. Flies, spiders, and wasps, if not harmless then, are at least so far disabled as to be easily conquered, and until that is accomplished, house-cleaning on a large scale is wasted labor.
The first thing to be done, preparatory to house-cleaning, is to have all the chimneys thoroughly swept, and the furnace, range, and grate flues, not only perfectly cleaned from soot, but examined by a competent workman ”

“ Protecting material for all the needs of the season must be in readiness, in view of the fact that a few nights of hard frost may destroy Lettuces, Endives, Celery, and Cauliflowers worth many pounds, which a few shillings’-worth of labour and litter would have saved. Earthwork can generally be pushed on, and it is good practice to get all road-mending and the breaking up of new ground completed before the year runs out, because of the hindrance that may result from frost, and the inevitable pressure of other work at the turn of the spring. ”

“ These are the little everyday pleasures of gardening in a greenhouse—snipping back a wandering branch, chiding a creeper and pulling it back from crawling over a neighbor, picking off a faded flower, supporting a branch heavily laden with flowers or fruit. It is real fun, and makes the difference between an overgrown mass and a carefully tended garden in which each plant appears at its best and in harmony with the others. Cleanliness—the removal of all organic matter before it rots, the rinsing away of dust and dirt—is the best protective measure against infiltration of insects and disease. ”

“ The details of the plant should be such as to permit cleanliness at all times and hosing and washing so as not to permit garbage dust or dirt to accumulate, flies to breed and material to decompose. All material, so far as possible, should be enclosed during the process of disposal, and the odors eliminated or confined or deodorized. The handling of material in the plants, so far as possible, should be eliminated, where mechanical means can economically be adopted. Special attention should be paid to ventilation and the elimination of dust where men are required to work. ”

“ All clothing for the season should be put away in perfect order to be ready for any sudden emergency which may arise. No clothing of any kind should be stored for the season without thorough cleaning and repairing where necessary. Garments that are outgrown should be disposed of, instead of packing them away. Wool garments should be carefully brushed and hung in the sun to remove and destroy any eggs of moths which may be present. They may be hung in tight cotton bags or packed in tight boxes with all openings posted over as a protection against moths. ”

“ When dry, hot weather comes, and you think artificial watering necessary, soak the bed well and then let it alone for some time, although, in the evening, after a hot sunny day accompanied by a strong, drying wind, if the foliage looks wilted somewhat, a showering overhead is beneficial. The day after a good soaking it is well to go lightly over the bed with a hoe or rake and stir up the soil, breaking the crust produced by the watering. This makes a mulch that will conserve the moisture and protect the roots from the hot sun. ”

“ If the woodwork and pictures be wiped with a damp cloth, the windows washed, the floor dusted, and the rug beaten out of doors, now and then, no such terrible upheaval as house-cleaning usually implies, is necessary. ”

“ In fact, the reckless way in which house and street cleaning are handled is really appalling. Dusting should always be done with a damp cloth, and carpets cleaned by a closed sweeper well filled with wet tea leaves. The street-cleaning problem is simply a question of water supply. ”

“ No good housekeeper will allow the glorious October days to beguile her into forgetfulness so far as to neglect house-cleaning until the raw and chilly November weather is upon her, and winter is close at hand. October is by far the best month for fall house-cleaning, not only because the flies are disposed of, or so far under your control that they can be kept out of the house, but also because the weather is usually not so warm that such work is exhausting and severe, nor so cold that the necessary exposure chills ”

“ To preserve the neatness of a house, there must be regular attention on the part of the mistress. I am a great enemy to the system of periodical scrubbings and general house-cleanings, which prevails to so great an extent, and especially in the country, where, when the appointed day comes round, carpets are taken up, and floors, even though they be delicately clean, are washed, whether the weather be suitable or otherwise, the health of the family being left to take its chance. The day of general house-cleaning is no other than a day of commotion and discomfort. ”

“ A good cistern, spring or well of wholesome water is a positive necessity on every farm. A bath-tub and its frequent use are quite as essential to the welfare of the farmer.
In the cities, where soot and dense coal smoke soil linen and mulch the lungs and air passages, there is necessarily a greater regard for cleanliness on the part of the inhabitants than may be observed in the country, where the agencies which oppose cleanliness are of an entirely different composition and productive of different results. ”

“ And, then, the pipes do not freeze; while in even the tiniest three-roomed house there is usually a bath and a shower—though sometimes only in the scullery or back kitchen—with water laid on. And, after all, in a hot country cleanliness is not that affair of infinite toil that it is in a cold one; there is usually a day or so each week, even in the wettest weather, when there is enough sunshine to dry the clothes out of doors, so that one is saved the necessity of slinging them in lines across the kitchen, to drip on to the children’s heads, and lie in sullen grey pools on the floor. ”