KinSource - Tale of the Week

KinSource

Minnesota Tales

The St. Paul Daily Globe, April 4, 1880, p. 7

To Housewives.

Take your spring cleaning leisurely, ladies, and do not drive the gude-man from his accustomed corner with clouds of dust. Commence at the top of the house; take one room at a time; rest after each room is completed; and you will escape much of the discomfort due to such a time. We have a fancy for taking this particular industry of house cleaning leisurely, says a house-keeper, and managing it in a peaceful sort of a way so that there may be distributed along with the inevitable disorder and upside-downedness a good many hours of solid comfort and genuine self-complacence. When closets and drawers are thoroughly overhauled, all the old shoes and rags, dilapidated hats and old fashioned bonnets are gotten out of the way, and everything is in its apparopriate place, in these test places of housewifely order and neatness, then we take a long breath and rest awhile, read a new book, or make a fresh frock for the baby by way of diversion, and comtemplate the next raid upon the enemy. It will be the attic and then the guest chamber. The walls shall by carefully wiped down, the carpet shaken, the bedding left outdoors in the sun and air all day, the bedstead to be dusted and carefully cleansed in every part, the curtains washed, and all things put back in place and given the last touch of nicety. There is one room done and we breathe again. Somewhat fatigued we rest on oars, and next day take another room, and so on to the end, going from the top down, from the front back, and every day during the process having a little time to sit quietly and rest, or read or sew.