Evening star., 1901-06-01
ANNUAL SPRING CLEANING
GOOD HOUSEWIVES SEE THAT ALL is
CLEAN AND SWEET.
Soap, Water and God Will the Best
Cleansing COmbina-
ton.
Written for The Evening Star.

Written for The Evening Star
The good word for housecleaning is-make
haste slowly. Better one cleaned room a
day and comfort Herewith than an cpl
demic Of brooms, buckets, scrubbing brush
es, step-ladders and everybody's temper on
edge. But never begin before the begin
ming, and always take plenty of time. Dirt
has dssuises as many and as insi1ious as
the evil one and must be variously fought
and overcome.
A woman needs distinctive costume for
house cleaning even more than for presen-
tation at court. Wear union undersar-
ments, with a short flannel petticoat, sewed
to a loose, low-necked waist with straps
across the shoulders, and over that sweat
er and overalls. Thus garmented one can
do a third more house-cleaning work than
in skirts, without feeling half SO tagged
out.
A house can be cleaned with nothing more
than soap, water and good will. But the
cleaning will be easier if these are supple
mented with boraX, washing soda, am
monia, securing soap, securing sand, pow
dered whiting, powdered pumice stone, al
cohol, turpentine, benzine and kerosene
There should likewise be dust brushes.
scrubbing brushes, floor brushes, Whisk
broom, two big brooms Zone stiff, one soft,
a self-wringing mop, wash cloths, wash
feathers. swabs, rubbing f1annels, rubbing
pad, and two light fiber pals.
Steel WOOL otherwise fine steel ShaV1ngs,
which may be bought at paint shops has
many uses where there is hardwood to look
after For the rubbing pad, get a block of
hardwood six inches wide, nine inches
long, and at least five inches deep. Have
each side followed out at the top until 1t
be readily grasped Midway the hol-
lowed place fasten a strip Of soft, tough
leather so as to go across the back Of
the hand. Next cover the face and sides
nj hn n q leo 70 mt
at the grip, with alternate thicknesses Of
stout flannel and wash leather. There
should be at least five layers-the first and
last of them leather. Fit each one snugly
and sew it firmly before putting on the
next Such pad will last lifetime grow
ing better all the time. 1t is for polishing
waxed vanished surfaces-hence, it is
needless to add. must be kept secure from
dust and dirt, when not in use.
Washing of Curtains.
Thin curtans-madras, bobbinet, muslin
or Nottingham lace-should be shaken free
of dust, washed in warm suds. squeezing
and laying up and down in place Of rub
bing, boiled, rinsed, blued or yelIowed,
lisialy starched while still wet and dried
as quickly and as straight as possible. In
stead of ironing baste broad hens at top
and bottom and run into each a stout,
smooth curtain pole, as long as the curtain
is broad. Stretch the curtain upon the
pole at each end then hang up, sprinkle
we'll and let dry. The weight of the lower
pole will straighten and smooth 1t. Re-
peat until all the curtains are dry, then rip
out the hens and press lightly with
warm, not a hot. iron. If there are wrinkles
cat faces after hanging the curtains,
wet those spots and pull down hard on
them. Usually they will dry out smooth
need be. Ruffled curtains can have the
ruffies futed after coming off the poles.
Take care that the poles are very smooth
and stout enough not to spring.
Real lace curtains after washing can
be pinned upon a sheet spread upon the
fioor-tedious work, but worth while. Pin
the corners first, drawing them very square,
the corners and pin it fast. After all are
pinned go over the whole curtain with
soft, damp cloth, patting it hard enough to
remove the least trace of starch. This
makes the curtains look quite new and does
not wear them in the least. But with sew
eral pairs 1t is apt to be impractical-then
the recourse is frame drying. No sort
of lace should ever be ironed.
For the frames get clean, stout deals
one by two-inch holes four inches apart
for two feet from each end. Have also
some half-inch wooden pegs long enough
to go through two of the deals at once. Let
the curtains half dry upon the line hang
ing them az straight as possible. Take
down pair, pin scallop to scallop from top
to bottom, and hang the pinned part over
one Of the long deals Now pin the low
edges as accurately together. slip inside
them another long deal, stretch the two the
breadth of the curtain apart, lay on q
short end piece, bringing the holes in it
the holes in the side pieces and fasten
with pegs. Likewise stretch the other end,
and with a needle and coarse thread fasten
the ends of the curtains to the cross bars.
Stand on edge in airy place to dry. Six
frames, three pairs of curtains, will
thus take up less space than one curtain
spread out full size.