September, 19 13 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



335 



X^OOOOC^JOOOO^J £5] K^OOOO^XXXX)^X 



HELPS TO THE 

 HOUSEWIFE 



TABLE AND HOUSEHOLD SUGGESTIONS OF INTER- 

 EST TO EVERY HOUSEKEEPER AND HOUSEWIFE 



SEPTEMBER'S CALLS TO THE HOUSEKEEPER 



By Elizabeth Atwood 



HIS is the time of year when the housekeeper 

 begins to think about Winter, its needs and 

 how to prepare for them. We do not have 

 as much to do as our grandmothers did, for 

 modern inventions have made work so much 

 easier, so much more complete in its results, 

 that dirt does not accumulate as it once did. 



It does not seem so very long ago that no housekeeper felt 

 that her parlor was furnished properly unless it had a fine 

 body — Brussels carpet or, if possible, a velvet. These dust 

 collectors were tacked right up close to the mop-boards. Of 

 course, they had to be taken up either in the Spring or the 

 Fall for a thorough cleaning. The stairs, too, were heavily 

 padded and covered with the same kind of carpet. What a 

 change there is in the present manner of furnishing! 



Of course, in those days there were no carpet-sweepers 

 even, and the most careful sweeping left much actual dust 

 and dirt behind. It became necessary to get all floor cover- 

 ings out into the open air at least once a year. Heavy 

 draperies were taken down in the Spring, carefully cleaned 

 and put away for the Summer. When September came these 

 were brought forth and aired before putting into place. 

 Housework, especially in the Spring and Fall, was no easy 

 task in the long ago. 



What a care the old "what-not" was of the past, with its 

 accumulations of curios handed down from generations gone 

 before. We never see now the fantastic chunks of coral 

 arranged on a shelf with a fan of that material as a back- 

 ground. It was a great joy and an honor when I became old 

 enough to wash these specimens for my grandmother. What 

 has become of all these collections which were so loved by 

 our grandmothers? Gone, with the tormenting "tidies," 

 which were the most untidy things possible. 



One would suppose that, with the modern simple style of 

 furnishing, there would be no Fall house-cleaning really 

 necessary. We have hardwood floors now in place of the 

 dust-gathering carpets. We have fewer draperies, and those 

 are of a kind easily brushed and cleaned. No massive cor- 

 nices holding weighty lambrequins over double and triple 

 layers of curtains, for now we do not exclude the air and 

 light. But there are things to do, for dust does still accu- 

 mulate in and upon the things which are yet considered 

 needful. 



Vacuum cleaners are becoming possible to every one. 

 Their construction is becoming more and more simple, 

 which means that their price is less, and they are less heavy 

 and bulky. It is possible for a woman to manipulate one so 

 that the vacuum cleaner comes into play once a week usually. 

 This surely helps the housekeeper very materially, but there 

 is still left a lot for her to do. 



Vacuum cleaners suck, and take out much dirt and dust 

 which used to remain with us, but there is still the paint or 

 woodwork to clean, the corners of one's work, so to speak, 

 which must be cared for before closing the windows for the 

 Winter. When one comes back from the Summer's outing 

 there is dirt enough to demand a real house-cleaning, and one 

 wonders where it comes from and how it is possible for it to 

 get in through closed windows and doors. But it does, and 

 we have to get after it. 



Now is the time to open up and thoroughly clean closets; 

 to shake each garment, wipe out each drawer, carry out and 

 air clothes which have not been in use through the Summer. 

 No matter how careful one may be, moths sometimes creep 

 in, to say nothing of the deadly buffalo-bug, and this search 

 is really necessary. My grandmother used to hang strips of 

 red flannel in the closets with her clothes, to coax the moths 

 and keep them from damaging good clothes. I do not seem 

 to remember just what the results were in this matter. 



Anyway, out of doors, the clothes should go from closet or 

 attic, as the case may be. Then, brushed and with creases 

 opened to the sun and light, they should be left for a time. 

 By the way, have you ever noticed how personal character- 

 istics show up in outside garments which are hanging on a 

 line? I have stood and conjectured over such a line of 

 clothes many times, now with a smile and again with sadness. 



This airing of the clothes all takes time and is a very 

 important duty which seems to belong to the housekeeper 

 herself. She may hire her woodwork cleaned, her muslin 

 draperies laundered, her floors oiled, her paint washed and 

 brass work polished, but she must attend to this looking over 

 of the clothing, for she must decide whether they are to be 

 kept for future wear or given away. 



September, to me, means much in the way of food prepa- 

 ration, and this goes on into October. Belonging to the old- 

 time class of housekeepers, I always have a stock of fruits 

 and pickles. Modern experiments have made it possible for 

 firms to make jams and pickles of a very fine quality, and 

 their canneries turn out a good substitute for home products. 

 But when all is said and done, they are substitutes, and substi- 

 tutes only. You can no more expect from them, for their 

 quantity is limitless, the rich flavor of the fruits that you find 

 in home products than you can hope to have some hotel 

 cooking taste as good as home cooking. 



We will take the good old-fashioned sweet-pickle, for 

 instance. No one has made anything that is more delicious 

 in that line than sweet-pickle made from ripe cucumbers or 

 watermelon rind. Sweet pickled gherkins are a good substi- 

 tute, I grant you, but there is a quality to all the home-made 

 cucumber pickle which has never been reproduced. It truly 

 belongs to the long ago, when nothing of that kind was ever 

 bought ready for the table. We are in danger of growing 

 away from the homely arts by these very excellent substitutes 

 of the present day. We are growing somewhat indifferent, 



