THE season of house-cleaning is greeted with different degrees of welcome, or horror, by the several members of the family. Some people appear to think there is no good reason for this annual thorough cleaning of the house; others, however, are really glad when the time comes round again, because it furnishes an opportunity to take account of stock, as it were, discarding the worthless, and renewing wherever it is necessary. When the cleaning is finished, pride and content come with the feeling that rest and comfort can be taken with a clear conscience in a house that one knows is in good condition from top to bottom.

System Absolutely Necessary.

Every house certainly should have a thorough cleaning every year, that there may be a check put upon the accumulation of dust or dirt which might breed disease, even if no other reason influenced the housekeeper. This yearly cleaning need not be a season of discomfort to the family. If possible, a little extra help should be engaged; but even if this be out of the question, the work can be done in such a way that every one shall not be worn out by the time the cleaning is finished. Too much should not be attempted at once. If one room be taken at a time, and be finished before work is begun in another, the whole house can be cleaned without any great difficulty. It is always wise, if possible, to wait until the necessity for furnace or stove fires is past. If the house be heated by stoves, and there be some rooms in which a fire is needed only in the coldest weather, such rooms may be cleaned first, the stoves in the other rooms being removed later. There should be a perfect system in doing this work. Housekeepers differ in regard to the part of the house where the cleaning should begin, some starting with the attic and others with the cellar. Since the furnace must be cleaned some time, and dust may escape through the pipes into the various rooms above, it seems to me that the proper place to begin is down-stairs.

Cleaning the Cellar.

In no part of the house is it so important that the cleaning be thoroughly done as in the cellar. Not a corner should be slighted. Begin with the furnace. Have the registers closed in every room. Remove all the cinders and ashes, and clean out all the flues and pipes. Many housekeepers have the pipes removed, but the smoke-pipe is really the only one that it is necessary to take down. This pipe is liable to rust, because of the moisture it gathers from the chimney; nevertheless, if there be no way of heating and drying the house during a cold, damp period in summer except by building a fire in the furnace, it would be cheaper to renew this smoke-pipe every few years than run the risk of having the family made ill from receiving a chill. While the men are in the house to clean the furnace, it would be economy to have them clean the flues in the range, and also the chimneys. Open the cellar windows to bring everything into the light. Have the coal bins cleaned. Brush everything free from dust. Now sweep the ceiling and walls as well as the floor. Brush the walls once more. Wash the windows and any closets, shelves, or tables there may be in the cellar.

Now have the walls whitewashed. Before the various articles stored in the cellar are put back in place, brush them again. Sweep the floor once more. Paint with black enamel varnish the iron parts of the furnace, and also any iron pipes that may be exposed to moisture. An excellent whitewash may be made by putting eight quarts of unslaked lime into a large tub, and pouring over it enough boiling water to make a paste. Stir well, and cover until cold, stirring occasionally, that the wash may be smooth. Dissolve one quart of salt in two quarts of hot water. Dissolve also half an ounce of indigo in about a pint of hot water. Add these substances to the slaked and cooled lime. Now beat well, and add enough cold water to make the mixture the consistency of thin cream. The wash will then be ready to use.

A tub of charcoal and another of lime are excellent things to keep in the cellar. They make it sweeter and dryer, and the charcoal is, of course, very convenient to have on hand for fuel. The unslaked lime should be put in a tub or barrel, with space for it to expand to twice its bulk. It slakes in the air and expands rapidly during the process.

From Cellar to Attic.

After the cellar is cleaned, the next move is to begin at the top of the house and work down. It is not safe in these days, when houses are kept almost as warm in winter as they become in summer, to take it for granted that anything is perfectly free from carpet-bugs, moths, and other insects. Every article in the storeroom should be examined, brushed, and shaken. All the boxes, drawers, and closets should be brushed, wiped, and lined with new paper. As a measure of safety all receptacles should be saturated with naphtha just before their contents are replaced. Woollen goods, furs, and feathers should be wet with naphtha and folded in old cotton or linen sheets. They will be perfectly safe for a year or more, provided they have been thoroughly shaken and brushed, so that no insects’ eggs remain in them. Pieces of carpets and other large articles should be hung out of doors, on lines, before being put away.

Having taken care of the closets, drawers, boxes, and stored goods, the next thing will be to clean the room. Brush the articles of furniture and set them outside the room. Brush the walls, ceiling, and windows. After sweeping the floor wash the windows and woodwork, and also the floor, wiping very dry. Let the room air for an hour or more; then return all the articles to their places.

Taking up and Cleaning Carpets.

Have two strong sheets made of unbleached cotton. Remove the carpet tacks with a tack-lifter, being careful to put every one of them in a box or bowl. It is not only extremely painful, but also dangerous, to step on a rusty tack, and the housekeeper should make it a matter of conscience to see to it that none are left lying about. When all the tacks have been removed fold the carpet carefully, lengthwise; then roll it up and put it in one of the sheets, tying this. Put the linings in the other sheet. Take both sheets into the yard or some field near by, and after spreading the linings, sweep them on both sides, pile them up, and cover with the sheet. Spread the carpet and beat with a rattan or long switch. Sweep it, and then turn it over and beat again. Let it lie on the grass, wrong side up, until the room is ready.

The small yards in city houses are not the proper places for cleaning carpets, as the dust rises and enters all the surrounding houses. There is in some cities a law against beating carpets in such narrow quarters.

When the carpet and linings have been removed from the room, sprinkle the floor with either moistened sawdust, fine sand, or bits of damp paper; then sweep up the dust. Go over the floor a second time. Brush the ceiling and walls of the room and closets, being careful to get every crack free from dust. Clean, with a small brush, the tops of the doors and windows, the window sashes, the ledges and blinds, and all the grooves in the woodwork. For the walls and ceiling use a broom covered with Canton flannel, or any old flannel. Let the strokes on the walls be straight downward. If there be a fireplace in the room spread thick papers on the hearth and clean both the grate and fireplace. Take the bedstead apart and lay each piece on the floor, grooved side up. Be careful that there is not a particle of dust left in it. Pour naphtha into every groove. Be generous, for it is not expensive and will hurt nothing. Have near by a bowl of naphtha, into which dip the ends of the slats. If there have been any indications of insect life in the bed or room, spray all the cracks in the floor, walls, and woodwork. Now sweep the floor for the third time and wash it with hot diluted lime water, which is made by pouring four quarts of boiling water upon one quart of quicklime, and letting the mixture stand covered for several hours; then pouring into another pail the clear water. Put one quart of this water to two gallons of hot. The boards will be made whiter and sweeter by the use of the lime water.

Washing Painted Surfaces.

Next wash the paint. If it be white do not use ordinary soap. Wring a flannel cloth out of hot water and dip it lightly in whiting. Rub with this, and then wash off all the whiting; next wipe with the cloth wrung out of hot water, and finally rub with a dry flannel until the surface is perfectly dry. Have a pointed stick for all the grooves and corners. If the woodwork be grooved a great deal, as is now the fashion, a small scrubbing brush, such as is sold for cleaning kitchen boards, will be found helpful, as a few strokes the length of a long grooved panel will clean it perfectly. If soap be preferred to whiting, use the white castile, as this will not turn the paint yellow, nor will it soften it, as is apt to be the case with soaps in which the alkali is strong. Now wash the blinds, then the window casings and ledges, and finally the glass of the windows.

When cleaning paint it is well not to have the cloth so wet that the water will run on the paint, as it will leave streaks. Wash only a small place at a time. Wash the blinds with clear water. When you come to the window ledges do not use so much water that it will run down on the outside of the house, marring the appearance of the walls. Always rub with the grain of the wood.

Take the covers from the furniture, and dust again, washing the mirror in the dressing-case. Clean and polish the furniture.

Laying the Carpet.

Lay the carpet linings on the floor, putting a small tack here and there to keep them in place. Put the carpet on the floor, unrolling it in the direction in which it is to be laid. Begin to tack it at the end of the room which is the most irregular. If there be a fireplace or bay-window in the room, fit the carpet around these places first. Use large tacks to hold the carpet temporarily in place; they can be withdrawn when the work is finished. When the carpet is fitted to a place, use small tacks to keep it down. Tack one end of the carpet, stretching it well; then a side, then the other end, and finally the other side. Be careful to keep the lines straight, and to have the carpet fit tightly; for if it be loose, it will not only look bad, but will not wear well.

When the carpet is laid, pour a little naphtha on any soiled places, and rub with a piece of flannel until the spots disappear. Always have a window open at such times, to allow the gas to escape. Put about six quarts of warm water in a pail and add four tablespoonfuls of household ammonia. Wring a woollen cloth out of this, and wipe the carpet.

Put the furniture and other articles in place. When all the chambers are finished, clean the hall and stairs. All the chambers and upper halls are to be cleaned in the same manner, one room at a time. If the stairs be carpeted, take up the carpets and have them cleaned and put away until all the front part of the house has been cleaned.

Rooms on the First Floor.

The rooms on this floor nowadays are generally shut off by portiÈres, over and under which the dust sifts into the adjoining rooms when one of the series is being cleaned, unless the housekeeper provide the proper screens. Have for this purpose sheets of strong, unbleached cotton, a yard longer and wider than the height and width of the openings. If you take down your portiÈres and tack these sheets on the top and at the bottom of the casings, the other rooms will be well protected. Now dust and remove the small ornaments. Beat and brush the upholstered furniture. Remove from the room as much of the furniture as possible. Take down the window draperies and shake the dust from them in the yard. Have the dining-room table made its full length, and lay an old sheet over it. Spread the draperies on this, one at a time, and wipe them with a clean piece of cheese-cloth; then fold them carefully, if they are not to be hung again until fall, and, pinning them in clean sheets, put them away in boxes or drawers. Next take down the shades, and after wiping them with a clean cloth roll them up and put them aside until the room is cleaned. Cover the large pieces of furniture, and if there be carpets to be taken up proceed in these rooms as directed for the bedrooms. If there be brasses, take them to the laundry or kitchen to be cleaned. Take down the shades of the chandeliers and wash them. If the carpets are to be taken up, they should be removed at once, and if they are not, brush the ceiling, walls, woodwork, windows, blinds, and ledges, and then sweep the carpet. When the dust settles sweep a second time; be careful to brush the corners and edges thoroughly with a small broom. After the carpet is thoroughly swept, saturate the edges and corners with naphtha, leaving the doors and windows open, of course. Now clean the paint and windows. When the room is clean put three tablespoonfuls of household ammonia in about six quarts of water, and, wringing a clean cloth out of this, wipe the carpet. Change the water as soon as it becomes dark. Replace the furnishings. Of course, if the floors be of polished hard wood, half the burden of house-cleaning is removed.

Kitchen, Pantry, and Closets.

Last, but not least, on the programme comes the back part of the house. Beginning with the china closet, remove and wipe all the dishes. Brush the walls, ceiling, and shelves. Take the drawers to the kitchen and wash and wipe them, afterward drying them in the sun or before the fire. Wash all the woodwork and the floors before replacing the dishes. Clean the kitchen closets and pantry in the same manner. Wash and scour all the wooden, tin, and iron utensils, getting them perfectly dry and sweet in the sunlight, if possible. Line the shelves and floor of the pot closet with thick brown paper, and put the utensils in place. Take down the kitchen shades and wipe them with a clean cloth. Brush the ceiling and walls. If the walls be painted, wash them in warm ammonia water,—four tablespoonfuls of ammonia to six quarts of water. Have ready a second pail of clear hot water and a clean cloth. Go over the washed space with the clean cloth and water; then wipe dry. If the woodwork be hard or grained, wash it in the same manner; using, however, only half as much ammonia. Wash the windows, scour the tables and sink, clean the pipes and faucets, black the stove, and wash the floor. When all this is done go over the woodwork with a flannel dampened with linseed oil and turpentine,—half of each; then rub with a dry flannel. The laundry and back halls should receive the same attention. Then the piazza and yard should be put in order.