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.
CHAPTER XXV.
ODD BITS OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE.
Points of Difference in Various Brands of Flour.
MUCH trouble in cooking arises from the difference in various brands of flour. There are often, indeed, variations in the same brand. All are caused by the different modes of making the flour, and changes in the kind of wheat used.
When flour is made by the roller process, two cupfuls will make a much stiffer batter than flour made by the old process of grinding between stones, or produced by first crushing by rollers and then grinding between stones. Millers all over the country are always looking for, and frequently making, improvements in the processes which they are accustomed to follow. This necessarily results in changes in the texture and quality of their products. Then, too, it makes a difference whether the wheat used is spring or winter wheat. In the Eastern States, where mills are few, the flour comes largely from Minnesota and other Western States. This flour has in the last fifteen or twenty years been made almost wholly by the roller process, and chiefly of spring wheat. The distinguishing quality of this flour is this: if rubbed between the fingers it feels rough and granular, and if pressed in the hand it will not hold its shape, but fall apart as granulated sugar would. When using this flour by measure, allow one eighth more wetting than for flour made by grinding between stones.