The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1885-05-14
Prize Essay on HOME Cleaning.

The Philadelphia Press offered prize
| for the best essay on house cleaning, and
it was awarded for the following:
One of the difficulties of house clean
ing is in finding The ight pace to begin.
Start with the men OF the house. Let
them understand that women do not
clean house for their own amusement,
but that it is an important work which
must be performed, and which will be
finished with rs little delay and annoy
ance to others rs possible. by preserv
| ing an even temper we can spare the
1 tempers of those about us. Have per-
/ feet understanding that the work is not
! to be subject TO whims Or indigestion. or
made the occasion of selfish complain
ings, and then push ahead quietly, quick
| ly and thoroughly to the end.
Every spring and fall overhaul al old
clothing, empty the rag bags and dis
pose of the contents and all other rub
bish. In the spring pack away all heavy
clothing. Wrap each article separately
with camphor in old newspapers, to pro-
tect the clothing from moths. In the
|
and put away without starching, as
starch eats the clothes and turns white
goods yellow.
Beginning with the upper story take
each room separately, that the whole
house may not be in confusion at the
same time Then in case of sudden i'll
ness or any unforeseen interruption, some
of the rooms will be habitable. Re-
move all pictures and fancy articles,
carefully brush and wipe them free from
dust, and with soft, damp cloth, polish
each article that will not be injured by
the application of water. Then cover
and put them away until the room is
cleaned. This plan of cleaning as thor
| oughly as possible all articles before re-
moving them from the room avoids car
rying dust from one place to another
The next thing is to take the clothing
from the closets, bureaus and wardrobes,
cleaning each receptacle thoroughly
Remove all the furniture possible from
the room, wiping off the dust before
doing so. and carefully covering what
remains Brush the bedding with a
small whisk broom before taking it out
of the room.
Next take up the carpet. A good plan
is to have the tacks drawn from the car
| pet the day before, as it saves time, after
the cleaning is actually begun. If in the
! country, have the carpets taken out of
doors, we'll beaten, shaken and swept
upon both sides. If in the city, the car
| pet cleaning houses 10 the work very thor
oughly and with little expense. Slightly
| sprinkle the bare floor with water and
sweep twice. With large, clean, soft
cloth wipe the dust from the walls and
ceiling
! Have bucket of warm water slightly
! soapy, and with a clean. soft scrubbing-
/ brush go over the paint carefully. Do
not let any water touch the wall paper
Wipe the paint dry with soft cloth to
give it an even polish. Soap used di-
rectly on paint makes it yellow and takes
| it off. With clear water and a soft cloth
wash the window panes and polish dry
with chamois skin or clean, soft linen
cloth. Old newspapers are excellent for
this purpose.
Have the floor we'll scrubbed, and
when it is perfectly dry have the carpet
laid. and replace the things belonging to
the room. Close the doors and proceed
with the next room, and so On until al
the apartments on the upper story have
been cleaned. Next clean the entrys
and stairways of that floor 1t is better
to leave the entry and stairway carpets
until the whole house has been cleaned
when they can all be put down at once.
Take the rooms, entrvs and stairways OF
each floor successfully until the cellar is
reached.
If your house is heated by furnace
have all the registers through the house
closed while the cellar is being swept
and cleaned of rubbish, as the dust will
should be we'll whitewashed, and lime
be scattered near the walls.
When the dining room and kitchen are
be ne cleaned, the pautrics, dressers and
sileboards should be done first. All
the kitchen utensils must be cleaned and
polished, and the range blackened before
anything else is done If the work is
being done in the country, where stoves
arc used instead of furnace, clean out
the stoves, blacken, cover and set them
away in some dry place until the fall
cleaning is finished, or until fires are
again needed, when they will be ready
to put In their proper places The lat
ter part of May is the best time for the
ring cleaning. The fall cleaning
should be done in October. Charlotte
HM.
| Recipes.
F.! BAKED EGGs.-Break eggs on a but.
tered plate. keeping each one whole; put
a little salt, pepper and butter on each