The Cambria Daily Leader

What awful thoughts does H ,sprmg! cleaning generally bring to the ma e? members of our households! It is gener- I ally associated with great discomfort, but in these days of up-to-date cleaning contrivances, it should, to a great extent, mean only a little extra work. Of course, after the long and dark days of winter, the home naturally will want brightening up. When the spring sun appears it shows the biusy house- wife cobwebs and dust, which in the winter gloom she has been unable to see, but which a ray of sunshine will put to shame. Then tbera are the dark cur- tains and other draperies, which have been in use all the winter, which are to I be replaced with light and dainty hang- I ings. When to Start. I This general cleaning is best started! in April, or at least not later than the first weeks in May. If started about 1 then, the busy mother can look forward to a summer in which she can have some enjoyment without feeling that she i really ought to be at home turning out the dining-room or perhaps one of the bedrooms. Now a few words to those who are about to undertake the annual spring! cleaning. Don't have all the rooms started together. That used to be the oM-fashiohcd idea of a good cleaning. For about six weeks the poor husband would come home from work or business -and find a tired, untidy-looking and cross wife, and the house itself in a state of upheaval. Forget that way. Have one room epring-cleaned before I you attempt another; it will save a world of worry. System! I And before you start have some @y.s-j tem to work upon. Avoid as a plague the haphazard way of doing things. It is a very good plan to start at the top of the house, finishing at the kitchen and scullery; for of course anything to be cleaned is generaly brought to these regi-f^: Chimneys, if they are to be clea^i^ty should be done at first, as we all know what an awful thing soot is to clear away. It would be a great saving of time if all drawers and cupboards could be turned out the day before clean- ing actually takes rslace in the room. They should be scrub bed out with eome disinfectant, then left for a. little time to I air. When they are airirs you could be looking over their contents, arranging what you want kept, and burning the remainder. If your bedrooms should require paint- ing and re-papering, now would be the best time to have them done. Having arranged the day for the paiper-hanging. you should remove all furniture out of the room that is, of course, all that can be removed covering up what cannot be taken out with calico coverings or die-' used sheets. Paint and Woodwork. I It is a good plan-and also a most I sanitary one—to tear down as much as possible of the old paper. If the ceiling is to be whitened, a wash of water, a few hours before, is a distinct improve. ment. So many people now like to have the woodwork of the bedrooms enam- elled in white. The cost is somewhat prohibitive, but perhaps a little hint would be acceptable, especially to those who are fond of doing their own paint- ing, either from necessity or the love of being busy. third of its cost, and it will stand con- stant washing. After the walls have been attended to, you want to make the room habitable. The floor should be scrubbed and the covering laid down; if carpet, it should have been sent to be beaten, and when laid, a clean cloth—rung out of a paii of water to which a, handful of salt has I been added—lightly rubbed over the I carpet, will work wonders. Linoleum should never be washed; water only makes it rot. Still, it has to be cleaned! Pour some paraffin into a flat vessel, and with a flannel cloth slightly saturated, rub all over; then rub dry with another cloth. The 6pob and dirt disappear like magic; afterwards the linoleum should be polished with a good Boor polish. The Pictures. I The furniture, having now been cleaned and polished, should be put, back, if possible in slightly different positions. Next, the pictures should be attended to. It is not the custom of our age to disfigure our walis with ugly and crude pictures, and if there are any left in our homes, now would be the most opportune moment for changing. Lovely prints can now be bought 80 cheaply that we really should not have any excuse for anything that is not artistic. Fashions in regard to windows, like our clothes, keep changing. At one time, look where we would, nothing but lace would be seen for window draperies; but now individual tastes may be studied. At most drapers where they supply holism furnishings they keep a range of pretty crettonnes and casement cloths suitable for curtains which, at very little cost, could be made up at home. The la^t touches to the room would bo the arrangement of any china I ornaments and personal requirements. The Vacuum Cleaner. I Having done, say, all the rooms up- stairs, and the bathroom having been repainted if required, and the walls thoroughly scoured, I should say that the rooms on the ground floor should be attended to. The drawing-room in most houses faces the front, and it is here that the up-to-date vacuum cleaners are most useful. For a carpet which i& too heavy to raise, or a piece of furni- ture too cumbersome to be moved, a vacuum cleaner is a necessity. The dust is removed from every crevice, and with hardly any trouble on the part of the housewife. Curtains, draperies, etc., should be removed before the cleaner is started. I If unable to procure a cleaner, then the next best thing would be to go about the work in a methodical manner. First, remove all knicknacks and such like, with which most rooms of this kind axe crowded. See that they are washed and put carefully away. Cushions should be removed, and their covers, if soiled, should be cleaned or replaced. Then the lighter articles of furniture should be thoroughly overhauled. Any pieces which may want repairing or re- apholstering, should be sent to a reliable firm. Now, perhaps, this room may not want re-decorating; if not, proceed first to dust the window blinds down; then, after allowing a little time to elapse (which perhaps you could utilise in washing china), proceed to get rid of any dust which may appear upon the ceiling and around the cornice, graduaMy coming down the wall, dusting as you go along. Of course, it is imperative that your dusters should be constantly changed. Carpets should then be put I down, pictures hung, and furniture placed in position. Lastly, window draperies, which should be fresh and clean, are put up, and the little acces- sories which make the rooip cosy placed back. The same methods should be adopted for the dining-room and any other sitting-room. Perhaps, before attending to the kitchen and back premises, it would be wise to have the stair-case and hall  done. I The Kitohen. Ii l What is the hardest piece of spring J L cleaning? I should say it was the kitchen; at any rate, it is almost the 11 most important, for in it I include any pantries- or lard-ers. Start first with the pantries oil larders everything should be I removed, and the walls whitewashed (not papered, for I have even seen that done). This is a necessity. Then wash < all shelves, and af terwards line them I with clean papers. You should wash all china, and throw away anything which you think will not be of any use to you. Have all cupboards and drawers washed I out, and the contents sorted. Now you can start upon the walls, pre- suming, of course, that tho chimney I has been swept and the stove attended to. Everything that can be removed has been taken out. The ceiling should be whitened, and next the walls dis,- tempered. I say distempered Because I think, for a kitchen it is much nicer than paper: you can get such pretty tints, and with a paper border it looks so clean. I know that many people like a very bright paper in the kitchen, but there is no need to have a dull-looking room with distemper-if only a little taste is exercised. Having had the walls done, the floor scrubbed and any covering laid down, the chimney brasses, if any, should be placed back cleaned, and then the dresser attended to. Perhaps the fur- niture will want rastaining; with very little difficulty it can be done at home- only the stain used should be of good quality. Clean curtains should be placed on windows, and bright pictures hung upon the walls. -I And the Scullery, II The last to be cleaned is the scullery. It may not be thought of much import- « ance, but the careful- and clean house- wife sees that this place has its regular spring cleaning, as thoroughly as any other room. In many houses the walls are whitewashed,* and it is a most healthful way of doing them. Having seen to this, scrub down all shelves and tables with carbolic soap, cleansing all saucepans, tins, coppers and all cooking utensils; replacing all that have become worn out or unfit for use. As the gas stove is usually placed here, a word in regard to it would not I be out of place. To clean it, all fittings should be unscrewed and placed in a pan of hot water to which soda has been added then scrubbed and placed to dry. Next wash out the inside of stone, with hot water and soda, using a cane brush, which will be found most useful in reaching the corners. Any steel work, which may have got into bad condition, should be well nibbed with emery paper, then polished with any of the well-known makes of brass polish. Etc. II The niaterial-s for cleaning should be I of the best. This is so important. Get everything as up-to-date as possible; it will diminish your labour; and when 4 buying new household things, or taking things to be repaired, go only to the best firms. Repairs or alterations in your electric lights, gas fittings, or plumbing repairs, should only be entrusted to qualified men. And see that you get them! A few articles which you should not fail to procure before vou start I will enumerate: Washing soda, carbolic soap, blacklead, furniture polish, turpentine (for cleaning windows, and removing spots of paint), some sand soap, scrub- bing brushes, carpet sweeper, a long feather broom, and plenty of dusters and cloths. And now let me say, Success to your spring cleaning." If Cwyneth. j j

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