The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-05-15
ideas for dunrnen,

Though the wintry winds stiu b,ou,
gustily down the streets, and the blue
ana gray are yet fighting in the sky,
the sun win not set many times surely
before the housewife will go about with
care on her face, and broom and buster
in her hand.
Ihe time has come for carpets to be
removed. draperies put away, table
covers handsome curtains. velvet centre
pieces, ETC.. to be laid away from moths
and dust.
Not only that. but moving day comes
10 many In May. There is the packing
that odious. endless job which is enough
10 give a housewife nervous prostration
instead of rest for the summer. And. if
not moving from one neighborhood to
another, then the moving to the seaside
or country cottage.
mere is no reasoning the work away
py saying it is not hard, but there are
some short cuts through the labor which
pring a good result and in the end save
time.
l say lin the end" because, as every
mistress of an establishment knows.
the burden of the work comes in the
cnpacking, the finding and placing at
the other end of the road, for, it is there
that confusion reigns supreme, as a rule.
1t Is there that the mass of heterogene-
Gus articles are dumped together without
form or reason. AS the distracted head
OF one home said pathetically:-"I don't
mind so much sleeping in the bathtub.
II they would Just take the parrot and
the puppy out of the bath ROOM
49,
The advice of a woman who knows
all about packing is to do it with system.
Order enough barrels and boxes. Put a
supply in each room. Work on one room
at a time, or let each responsible mem
Der of the family and servants take a
room apiece.
Pack the trunks with everything wear
able. and all toilet articles, soap, ETC..
IN ~valises, just as for travelling. Into
the usual packing trunks put away all
the winter clothing, wraps, furs, ETC., as
you would do ordinarily.
Then commence with the small things.
Put these in a barrel-keeping to one
rooms Notwithstanding the c~revices
with excelsior or the cork which comes
about grapes in kegs Goth of which
your grocer and dry goods man will
give you)- Follow this rule.-Everything
lot needed in everyday life goes at the
bottom! This refers to trunks as well as
boxes.
There must be a ledger-an index book
Into which goes the name of every
article entered under the number of the
room from which it was taken.
For Observation-Disclosures bedroom. Con-
tents in barrels /, 2, 8, A." Then follow
with the list of articles, in each barrel
And every barrel and box bears it num-
Der in large painted letters.
You see the excellence of this system?
When the barrels arrive at the other
house they are carried to their respective
rooms. and when the carpets are down
and the furniture up, all you need do is
consult your index book to know where
to put your hands on any object.
When packing fraiL objects, put cotton,
excelsior or several thicknesses of news
paper around them.
Pictures and engravings should be care
fully wrapped, first in soft paper, then in
newspaper tied securely with Irvine and
placed on end in boxes with the glass
side next the side of the box.
Boxes should be packed as closely as
possible as there is safety in numbers,
not space enough for Earring. Books and
magazines may be used as filling.
Large dishes should be filed with little
ones and fill up all crevfces.
Kitchen utensils can be put into large
! dry goods boxes with pieces of stout I'M
%.bleached muslin tackled over the top.
e But the secret of the convenience in
moving is obeying the rule to keep the
things of each room together; to put
wearable things into your own trunk;
to index every article that is packed.
If you are taking up your carpets for
the summer, after their beating and air
ing, sprinkle gum camphor in them, sew
them up in bales and mark them.
Draperies, cushions and hangings
should go through a similar treatment.
u camphor given to. them generous
~, shaking, a good summing, first wrap
ped and pinned in newspapers, then
sewed up in cotton bales, marked n
indexed.
1t may take a few hours now, but it
will save time at the other end of the
line.
Young hostesses are often p%erplexed as
to the best way of decorating their rooms
for festive occasions, whether it be a
dinner party, a dance or a simple Sat
home There are two things to be con-
sidered which give the keynote to the
whole-namely, flowers and light. How
ever plain the room, however simple the
menu and general appointments. If a
table is prettily decorated 1t makes every
thing appear bright and beautiful.
One of the newest ideas is to have a
large plateau in the centre, low and fiat.
either of china or of basket work, and
this should be filed with ferns and a few
tall flowers. For al inexpensive method
of doing this, 1 should advise a large,
oval basket of wicker work, very low,
with a tin inside, to hold water or damp
moss. Inside there should be three lit
tie tripods, made of ironwork, enamelled
white, and each one should have a circle
at the top in which to place a small
fairy lamp with a pink shade. These
glowing lights will show up well amid the
delicate greenery of the ferns, and a few
pink flowers, such as tulips, azaeleas,
eeraniums or roses will give the requisite
color. -Four small baskets, containing
similar flowers, can be placed at the cor
rers of the table, and two tall figures
of white china, holding baskets of fruit
on their heads, will form receptacles foI
the dessert.
A single basket with a tasteful arrange