HOUSE-CLEANING. 
I oral fSojiuiet oliuI Pictorial 
iome 
lonijraaion. 
House-cleaning is one of those domestic episodes 
to which one looks forward with dread, and backward 
upon with a sigh of complacent relief. I have heard 
of housekeepers oi very methodical turn of mind, who, 
by a regular daily supervision of every part of their 
domain, and a certain moral force exerted upon their 
domestics, by which they contrive to secure a faithful 
performance of all duties, know nothing of this much- 
dreaded infliction; but such paragon housekeepers are, 
it must be confessed, seldom seen. 
It has been the custom from time immemorial to 
overturn, scrub, scour, and reconstruct, when spring, 
with balmy breezes, comes ; which, by the way, could 
never have been intended to apply to our variable cli¬ 
mate, in which, as Gail Hamilton beautifully remarks, 
“ Winter lasts until the Fourth of July and breaks out 
in spots all summer.” 
Do not let the first mild day beguile you into taking 
dfnvn your stoves and commencing operations, or a 
raw nor’easter on the following one may fill you with 
regret, to say nothing of colds and neuralgic remind¬ 
ers. Wait until you can open your windows without 
a shiver, and the sun is powerful enough to dry your 
floors quickly and thoroughly. 
By a little system and forethought this dreaded sea¬ 
son may be robbed of half its terrors. It is an absurd 
custom to clean every room at once, and thus make 
the whole house a scene of discomfort. House-clean¬ 
ing, like large payments, should be done by instal¬ 
ments, so as not to drain the treasury and exhaust the 
strength. 
Decide before you commence just what it is neces¬ 
sary to do, and if there is an easy and a hard way to 
do things, choose the easy one, even though the result 
may not be quite the same. Life is too short to be 
spent in everlasting cleaning, and an immaculate 
house is not the end and aim of life. It is not to be 
denied that daintily clean surroundings are a desirable 
thing; but if this cannot be had without perpetual 
work and worry, let it go ; content yourself with do¬ 
ing the best you can. 
In some households there is such a mania for cleau- 
liness, that everything else is subservient to it. .Com¬ 
fort is entirely disregarded. A speck on the wall, or a 
scrap of paper or thread on the floor is sufficient to 
disturb the whole family, and an overturned inkstand 
or spotted carpet makes more commotion than the 
direst national calamity. This effectually prevents 
home from being what it should he, a place where 
peace and comfort reign supreme. Our space is too 
limited, however, for further moralizing, so we will re¬ 
turn to more practical matters. 
It makes no dilierence whether you begin at the 
cellar and go up, or at the garret and come down, 
though the latter is. for some reasons, to be preferred. 
If your attic is like that of most people, filled with 
superannuated furniture, things that are “ too had to 
use, and too good to give away,” it will not he neces¬ 
sary to do more than remove the articles from one 
part of the room to another until all is cleaned; 
brushing down the cobwebs and cleaning the win¬ 
dows will he all else that is needed. 
Secure every convenience that modern inventive 
genius has supplied to lighten and facilitate your 
labor. Among these a good step-ladder is indispen¬ 
sable ; by having one with castors upon three legs, 
you can by lifting the remaining one push it anywhere ' 
about the room with ease. Beside the necessary 
brushes for cleaning, scrubbing, etc., have a small 
soft brush, a paint brush will answer, for cleaning the 
corners of window-sashes, and edges of mouldings. 
A small pair of bellows, which can he procured at al¬ 
most any furnishing store, will be useful to blow the 
dust from carved frames and from bronze or other or¬ 
naments. 
Gilt frames may be improved by applying with a 
soft brush a mixture made of two parts white of egg 
to one of potash or soda. If your Parian or alabaster 
ornaments are discolored, lay them in a washtub filled 
with clear water in the sun for several hours, then 
dry in the suu. This will make them like new. 
Ivory ornaments can he whitened by carefully brush¬ 
ing with soap and water, rinsing in plain water and 
bleaching in the sun. 
Before you rehang your pictures, examine the cords 
unless they are hung with wire, which is much better, 
to see that they are not moth-eaten. Sometimes it is 
desirable to insert screws or hooks in plaster; to do 
so, make a hole about twice the size you need ; till it 
with plaster of Paris, such as is used for fastening the 
tops of lamps and put the screw in the centre ; when 
dry, it will be firmly fixed, it will be impossible to 
move it. 
Instead of using soap for cleaning paint, rub with 
flannel dipped first in warm water, then in whiting. 
Clean silver-plated door-knobs and binges with a 
soft cloth slightly moistened with oil, then dipped in 
whiting. Ink stains on wood can he removed by 
covering the spots with hits of oxalic acid, pour on a 
spoonful of water, and lay a heated flat-iron on it. 
Spots can he taken out of marble with finely powdered 
pumice stone mixed with verjuice; let it remain on 
for several hours, then wash off and wipe dry ; or you 
may rub the whole slab with a fiat piece of pumice 
stone, kept wet while using. Gray marble hearths, 
if spotted, can be cleaned by rubbing with linseed 
oil. White stains can be taken from dark wood by 
rubbing with a mixture in equal parts of vinegar, 
sweet oil, and turpentine. Grease spots can be taken 
from carpets by spreading on them a thick paste of 
potter’s clay. Over this tack brown paper and let it 
remain for several days, and if one application is not 
sufficient, repeat as before. A freshly made spot may 
sometimes he removed by scrubbing with boiling wa¬ 
ter and soap. Grease can be extracted from floor 
by applying a paste of wood ashes ; leave on if possi¬ 
ble two or three days, then wash off. 
If your wall has been whitewashed, and is to he 
papered, it must he first washed with vinegar to neu¬ 
tralize the alkali in the lime. If the wall has been 
papered before, by all means remove the old paper 
before applying the new. Many layers of paper with 
their accumulated masses of paste, make a room un¬ 
healthy. Dampen the wall with a cloth saturated in 
saleratus water, and it will come off with ease. If 
you are troubled with roaches, sprinkle their haunts 
with powdered borax ; some use Paris green, but it is 
a dangerous article, being poisonous. Anls may be 
exterminated by red pepper sprinkled upon shelves of 
closets, etc., first scrubbing them with carbolic soap. 
Powdered quick-lime will answer the same purpose. 
If you do not take up your carpets, loosen them at 
the edges, sweep up what dust you can, then moisten 
the carpet and floor with turpentine before replacing. 
Some sprinkle with benzine from a small watering 
pot, others apply a hot iron to destroy what eggs may 
be concealed. 
If you take up your carpets, after shaking spread 
them on clean grass in the sun, sprinkle thickly with 
salt, and sweep ; this will brighten the colors aston¬ 
ishingly. Matting can be cleaned with a damp cloth 
dipped in salt and water; it should not be made very 
wet or it will be apt to rot it. 
To clean furniture, mix one-half pint olive oil with 
one pound soft soap, boil and apply with woolen cloth, 
afterward polish with dry cloth. Another excellent 
preparation for cleaning furniture, walnut, and rose¬ 
wood particularly, is made by mixing white wax and 
oil of turpentine in about equal quantities, together 
with one-quarter as much rosin, all melted together. 
After standing for twenty-four hours, it will he about 
the consistency of butter, when it is ready to use. The 
furniture should of course he perfectly clean and dry 
first. 
If you have lace curtains to wash soak them two 
or three days previous iu warm water, changing it 
every day. The greater part of the dirt and yellow 
will be removed in this way, therefore much rubbing 
at the final washing will he avoided. Boil and blue 
as usual, and they will be beautifully clean and white. 
Wring with a wringer, which will not break- or stain 
the lace as with the Lands. Spread sheets upon the 
floor of an unused room, spread the curtains on evenly 
and smoothly, pinning down the edges, and let them 
remain until dry. They should be starched with thin 
starch and not ironed. 
If pieces of furniture or any other articles want 
glueing, attend to it now. The best way of making 
glue is to crack it in small pieces, put it in a bottle ; 
add common whiskey, shake up, cork tight, and in a 
few days it will he ready for use. Made in this way, 
it will keep any length of time, and is at all times 
ready for use, no heating being required except per¬ 
haps iu the very coldest weather when it might he the 
better for warming. 
Hot Cross Buns. —Three cups of sweet milk, one 
cup of yeast, flour to make a stiff hatter. Set the 
sponge over night ; iu the morning add one cup of 
sugar, half a cup of melted butter, half of a giated nut¬ 
meg, a little salt and flour to roll out like biscuit. 
Knead well and set to rise five hours. Roll out half 
an inch thick, cut in round cakes and lay on a but¬ 
tered pan ; let them stand half an hour, then hake a 
light brown; brush over with the white of an egg, 
beaten up with a little sugar. I always scald the 
milk I use for raising bread or cakes, unless I do, it 
very often sours in the sponge. 
Delicate Cake. —Beat to a thick cream one cup of 
butter, and two of white sugar, mix one cup of Dur- 
yeas’ Improved Corn Starch with one of sweet milk, 
add it to the butter and sugar ; then add two cups of 
flour, and the whites of four eggs beaten to a stiff 
froth. Before adding the Hour sift and mix thoroughly 
into it two teaspoont'uls of cream tartar, and dissolve 
one teaspoonful of soda in the milk before mixing it 
with the corn starch. Flavor the icing with lemon. 
Mrs. Webb’s Salad. —Take equal parts of nice 
firm white cabbage and celery stalks, with a few of the 
blanched leaves; chop them fiue, and pour over a 
dressing made as follows: One well beaten eeg, a 
tablespoonful of butter, a level teaspoonful of salt, a 
little pepper, one tablespoonful of white sugar, aud 
one cup of good vinegar. Mix all together and set 
on the stove; stir it constantly until it is the thick¬ 
ness of cream, but do not let it boil. When cold pour 
over the salad. This dressing is very nice for chicken 
or any other salad, and will keep good several days 
in a cool place. 
