Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1891-01-09
VERMONT FRIDAY JANUARY o. 1891
THE HOUSEHOLD.



What shall we do with it DO we not all
know the dreary array of pin-cushions
which have passed their first youth hair
receivers which never were pretty. and
now are not even fresh scrap baskets in
all stages Of dilapidation passe table scarfs
and other relics of the days when the great
high art fever had Just begun to work III
our blood What eau be more depressing
than the discarded adornments of our bed
room wals-the framed wreaths of autumn
leaves or hair flow ers the certificates and
testimonials that prove us to have been
ornaments Of the community at some period
of our existence and perforated board
texts and notices In more or less diabohcaI
combinations of color Is there one of ue
who can lay her hand on her heart and as
severate that she has not at this very mo.
ment, somewhere IN her house a ''God
Bless our Home e. Why, ] have closet
full Of such things That is my skeleton.
and many times have ] wished 1t were
buried and forgotten But lit seems such
pity 10 throw them away" So say we
timid, economical souls Some women have
the moral courage to make an annual holo-
caust, and thereby secure 70 themselves
peace of mind unhaunted 10y the ghosts of
departed fnery
When we first went to housekeeping We
had about such an assortment Of trash as
most people have Thanks to my want of
skill IN fancy work we did not accumulate
very fast, but we found after while that
we must thin out" somehow The sur
gestion Of my better half ITO put them IN
the spare room was considered at first a
practical solution Of the problem hut IN
course Of time that spare room became IA
nightmare to me. By all means. do not put
them IN the spare room Rather. consign
them gently TO the ash barrel make bon
hre Of them, hire a boy to take them so far
away that YOU will never see them again
DO not attempt 20 give them away Ii is
bad enough to be poor but to be the recipi-
ent of other peoples broken-down bric-a
brac and to feel obliged % be grateful for
lt-that is poverty indeed
Let ms nave the courage to throw away
every uubeautiful thing 10 our homes an
less 1t happens to be useful in which case
1t has proved ats right 10 exist Don't let
US be afraid Of bare walls Better a thou
sand times a bare wall than an ugly picture
that We dislike every time We look at 1t
Better an empty mHntlepiece than one dis
figured by a pair of badly colored vases
Better eschew scarfs altogether than have
an uninteresting rag tied on every chair
Thanks TO the color craze white Tides what
a misnomer b are no longer "the thing
though occasionally one Is stranded in ii
hotel parlor whose every chair and sofa Is
decked out IN little white squares But If
these specimens of rudlmeutary AIT are
I horrible when they are new. what ADJECTIVE
eau describe them when they have fallen
into shabby decrepItude or half-worn dull
ness To every one but very new house
keepers, contemplating with PRIDE their
fresh prettlnesses say. use the uruuu-
knife freely.
One word more and tn, the result of
sad experience Never buy cheap looking
brio ursc or things that vii, do Yer,
well They will not DO very wei Even
when first set 10 their places. one will f-,
misgiviugs, AMI before long will detest them
sincerely
Better initiate the example of the japan
ese who. iu spite of their grute,gIe rou
cepuons have the true artistic instinct and
nave one really beautiful thin. to satisfy
the eve, rather than a hOusefuI lf Ahortlt,