Dish towels should be cleansed after every dish washing; wash clean in hot soapy water, then rinse all the soap away in clean water. Cooking utensils should soak in cold water until time for dish washing, unless they can be washed as soon as used.
Use a tray for carrying dishes to the closet or pantry instead of travelling with a handful back and forth. Strain the dish water before pouring it down the sink. Be sure that no greasy water is put into the sink. Let the grease rise and cool; skim it off and dispose of it after the dishes are washed.
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Taking Care of Rooms
Keeping a house in order means having everything in its place in every room. It means sweet, fresh air in every room; it means removal of dust and litter. A good housekeeper "tidies" her rooms as she goes along, always picking up anything that is out of place and putting it where it belongs. But she also has a method in doing things. Perhaps she sweeps the entire house every day or every other day, or perhaps she puts one room in order on one day and another on another and so on. The important thing is to have a regular plan.
The Living Room
Taking care of a living room means cleaning the floor and the rugs; dusting the walls, the pictures; cleaning, dusting, and sometimes polishing the furniture. Open the windows top and bottom, dust and brush them inside and out; use a soft brush or a dust mop to take the dust from the floor. Use a carpet sweeper for the rugs unless you have electricity and can use a vacuum cleaner; collect the sweepings and burn them.
Dampen one quarter of your cheese-cloth duster and roll it inside the rest of the duster, then wring. This makes a dampish cloth for dusting the base-boards, window sills, and other woodwork as well as the furniture. Where the furniture is highly polished, or would be injured by water, use oil on the duster instead. Dust after the dust has settled, not when it has been stirred into the air. Shake and replace doilies or covers.
Be sure that the pictures hang straight after dusting and that every piece of furniture is put in its right place. See how long it takes to clean the room; then study to find out how the time can be shortened.