The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1890-09-19
polNrs on nousg crsANINa.
Timely Suggestions Regarding Renova-
tions and Spring Cleaning.

Timely Suggestions Regarding Renova-
tions and Spring Cleaning.
A dear old housekeeper confided TO me
some tricks TO which she had resorted
with good effect IN the renovation Of her
domicile during ker forty years expert
ence i'm town and country Mt the head Of
q household OF large number. This vet
eran IN her vocation never covers the en-
tire surface of her bedroom floors, By
which plan she can have the corners kept
scrnpulously free from dust, and she
says one can make the margin look well
and last a long time by first cleaning it
nicely and then putting on q heavy coat
Of linseed oil, which she follows, after
the oil has thoroughly dried with two
coats OF brown sheliac varnish. Reno
waiting the bedsteads bureaus and chairs,
my authority insists, is one of the acces-
sories of cleaning house, and a great ad-
vantage to NIL housewives who desire 70.
combine economy and perfection.
San my hardwood furniture" purs
gned the old lady, II thoroughly wash
free OF all dust, grease and finger marks
with. soap and water, and dry as thor
oughly with clean cloths. Then. as !
wish 10 keep the appearances the same 40
when It was new, pour some hnseed
oil into dish and, dipping u bit of fam
mel into 1t, rub it over every bit Of the
wood, which was originally finished In
oil, using q good deal of energy and con-
tinuing the rubbing until can pass my
hand over the entire surface without soil
ing il. II there are any portions that
were vanished, buy pint or so Of or
dinary furniture varnish and spread Il
ssPicture frames usually need little
renovating now and again, and such as /
have of black walnut or other hard wood
generally rub over with the flannel rag
and hnseed oil Sometimes they can be
made to look better than new by using
shellac varnish on them, which does not
dry so glossy as furniture varnish. For
q brush ! prefer fat paint brush, such
as is called 'chiseled' that is, ground Of
ON each side 10 form thin edge-and
after 1t has been used in shellac varnish
8 painter told me TO wash it in strong al
cohol, and never in turpentine or soap
and water. If person desires to touch
up a pianoforte, they can procure from
the manufacturers some varnish which
Is known as piano polishing for the case,
and piano flowing which is another
preparation, for the legs.
I'm apartments where it Is practicable
/ always like TO lay a mating for the
summer months: it looks so clean, cool
and comfortable during the hot weather.
But it often surprises me that so many
people follow the custom of tacking each
breadth TO the floor with either the sim
gle or the double pointed tacks that have
recently been devised to lessen the num-
Der to be driven. Tacking down each
breadth in this manner is not only de-
sfructive to the mating, but it spoils the
floor as well. Every tack put in or with
drawn breaks at least one Of the strawa.
/ have found it far better plan to sew the
breadths together and then tack it to the
floor in the same manner one would treat
q carpet Previous to laying the mat
ting, however, always sew the two laid
pieces where they are joined, across and
across, which keeps the joints from open.
ing. | think housekeepers TO whom
economy is an object viii find that mat
ting made and laid as suggest win lasi
fully twice as long as when it Is tackled
down breadth by breadth
aWhen there is q marble washstand
bureau top, mantel or buffet that need:
especial cleaning, some washing soda
crushed fine and mixed with pulverized
quicklime, worked into a paste with
some water, should be laid on and left Il
dry, after which it may be scraped of
and washed clean with soap and water
"The oilcloth in my kitchen has beer
| down for years. never allow soap, o.
only the least bit. to be used on it, as i
removes the coloring, but always keel
some varnish on hand to have it treatet
with occasionally Grace Conroy il
New York Star.