HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARMERS' MONTHLY 



HOME MAKING 



SAVE YOUR STRENGTH 



Clean Your Walls and Ceilings the 

 Easiest Way 



Housecleaning need not be the bugbear 

 it has long been regarded in many house- 

 holds. If the work is carefully planned, 

 if the kind of furnishings that are easy 

 to keep clean are chosen and handled in 

 the right way, and if provision is made 

 for keeping all the dirt possible out of 

 the house, there will be no need for the 

 upheavals that result in discomfort to the 

 entire household. Moreover, this system- 

 atic housecleaning saves labor in the end 

 and is economical of the materials used 

 in the furnishing and care of the house. 



Almost every housekeeper has a more 

 or less fixed routine of work, which might 

 be called her plan. Oftentimes, with this 

 plan as a basis, the housecleaning can be 

 so organized that the housekeeper can 

 save herself much time and many steps. 

 In these days, when competent household 

 labor is at a high premium, it is wiser 

 economy than ever to make "the head 

 save the heels." 



Frequent cleaning saves time and 

 strength in the long run and is also better 

 for the house and its furnishings because 

 the fabrics and finishes receive less rub- 

 bing and wear. If dust is allowed to re- 

 main it may be ground in or covered with 

 a grease film ; in either case it will be 

 harder to remove. Moreover, the fine 

 particles of dirt rub against the fabrics 

 and finishes and tend to wear them out. 

 Diflferent kinds of surfaces and furnish- 

 ings must be treated in different ways to 

 keep them clean and prolong their use- 

 fulness. 



This principle of housecleaning ap- 

 plies not alone to furniture and fabrics 

 but also to walls and ceilings. 



Care of Walls and Ceilings 



Ordinary plastered and papered walls 

 and ceilings .should be cleaned with a wall 

 brush or a broom covei'ed with soft cloth 

 such as cotton flannel. Light overlapp- 

 ing strokes should be used; heavy strokes 

 rub the dirt in. Cotton batting is good 

 for cleaning places that soil more quick- 

 ly than the rest, for example, the wall 

 over radiators, registers and stoves. The 

 wall should be rubbed lightly with the 

 cotton, which should be turned as it be- 

 comes soiled. 



There are commercial pastes and pow- 

 ders for cleaning wall papers, but, in 

 general, these should be applied only by 

 an expert. An amateur is likely to have 

 a streaked wall if she attempts to use 

 them. 



The so-called washable papers used in 

 kitchens and bathrooms may be cleaned 

 with a dampened cloth, but water must 

 be used sparingly ; if it seeps in, the paper 

 will be loosened. Varnishing the paper 

 in these rooms will make it more nearly 



impervious to moisture and steam and 

 will prevent it from peeling. 



Rough wall coverings, such as burlap, 

 are hard to clean. The dust .should be 

 removed from them by brushing or with 

 a vacuum cleaner. 



Some painted walls may be washed, 

 but as in the case of all painted surfaces 

 the success with which this may be done 

 depends largely on the kind and quality 

 of the paint. In the case of ordinary oil 

 paint, the wall should be rubbed with 

 even strokes, using first a cloth wrung 

 out of light suds, then one wrung out of 

 clear water, and lastly a dry, sof c cloth. 

 If the paint is badly soiled and stained, a 

 fine scourer, such as whiting, may be 

 used on the first cloth. 



Enamel paint (that is, paint mixed 

 with varnish, which gives a hard, smooth 

 surface and does not catch or hold dust 

 easily) is dulled by soap. Such paint 

 should be cleaned by rubbing first with a 

 woolen or cotton flannel cloth WTung out 

 of hot water, and then with a clean, dry 

 cloth. Spots, stains, and dirt that will 

 not yield to hot water alone may be re- 

 moved with a fine scourer, but it must be 

 applied lightly in order not to scratch the 

 surface. 



Calcimined walls can not be wa.shed 

 nor can they even be rubbed with a dry 

 cloth without streaking the fini.sh. Re- 

 coating is for this reason preferable to 

 cleaning. 



Tiling may be cleaned by washing with 

 warm, soappy water, rinsing, and drying 

 thoroughly; or, when necessary, a fine 

 scourer may be used. If water is al- 

 lowed to remain on tiling it is likely to 

 injure special cement in which the tiles 

 are set and thus loosen them. 



The wall finish known as metal tiling 

 may be cleaned in the same way as 

 painted surfaces. 



Cement walls and floors may be washed 

 by flushing with a hose, by scrubbing, or 

 by mopping. Moisture makes cement of 

 this kind slippery, but does not injure it. 

 Cement floors are usually equipped with 

 a drain, and if properly laid the floor 

 slants toward the di-ain, so that water 

 runs off'. 



If the housewife follows the sugges- 

 tions given above, she will be saving her 

 strength and energy and can store them 

 up for the emergencies which are always 

 having to be met in the houseliold. If 

 she does not plan for the unusual, the un- 

 ' usual is likely to be the "straw that 

 breaks the camel's back." Remember the 

 .lamaican couplet: 



' "Doan run too fas' wi' dat load o' 

 limes 



Ef you run too fas', you will run two 

 times." 



More Trouble for Parents: The first 

 essential in training a child is to have 

 more sense than the child. 



A HOUSE FROM WASHINGTON 



Ask 1 hese Questions About Your Home? 



Have you ever studied your house and 

 its furnishing room by room to see how 

 they measure up in terms of comfort and 

 convenience to the needs of your family? 

 The first step toward making a better 

 home is oftentimes finding out exactly 

 wherein the present one falls short, says 

 the Washington Bureau of Home Eco- 

 nomics. 



Take the living room, for example. 

 Many family living rooms have grown 

 more or less as Topsy did! This chair 

 was a wedding gift. That sofa was picked 

 up at a sale. Aunt Jane presented those 

 steel engiavings and hand-painted vases. 

 Gradually; from the four corners of the 

 compass and from as many branches of 

 the family have drifted in the furnish- 

 ings that now fill this room to overflow- 

 ing. Some may be lovely, and some may 

 be ugly, judged by the canons of art. 

 Some may be new» many are doubtless 

 shabby. The real test for each article 

 should be, however, whether it helps to 

 make the room a comfortable, healthful, 

 convenient, and attractive place in which 

 family life can center. Walls, woodwork, 

 floor, arrangements for heating, light- 

 ing, and ventilating, should also be scan- 

 ned critically from the same angle. Here 

 are some of the important questions for 

 you as a judge to put to your living 

 room : 



Interview Your Living Room 



Is the size of the living room ample for 

 the needs of the family and is it well pro- 

 portioned? Can it be enlarged by throw- 

 ing two rooms together or can the pro- 

 portions be improved by rearranging the 

 furnishings? 



Have walls and woodwork a suitable 

 finish, pleasing to the eye, easy to clean 

 and keep in condition, and of a color that 

 rightly influences the lighting of the 

 room ? 



Is the finish or covering of the floor 

 durable, attractive, in keeping with the 

 room as a whole, and convenient to clean? 



Are the heating and ventilation such 

 that the room is comfortably warm in 

 winter and cool in summer and filled with 

 plenty of fresh air? 



Are the windows screened against in- 

 sects injurious to the health and comfort 

 of the family? 



Is the lighting both by day and night 

 adequate, rightly placed, and so arranged 

 as to prevent glare? 



Do the furnishings of the living room 

 provide for the needs of all members of 

 the family? 



Do the color, design, and finish of the 

 various pieces of furniture suit the 

 character of the home and of the room? 



Does the grouping of the furnishings 

 suggest their use, conform to the stand- 

 Continued on page 5, column 2 



