The Things You Read

The Things You Read

The Things You Read

Cold, wet evenings are perfect for getting out old-fashioned storybooks and reading aloud to children or to older family members. And if you read older children's books, it's amazing the little tips that you can pick up about house cleaning using old-fashioned methods. And that applies to stories about old-fashioned households that did have a maid to clean for them, etc. (e.g. Little Women and the rest of that series) and to stories about households that had to rough it a bit more (Little House on the Prairie).

So what can you learn from these books about keeping everything tidy and shipshape?

* A clean, dry attic is perfectly OK for storing vegetables such as pumpkins, red peppers, onions and marrows good news for those of us today who like to grow vegetables but don't have masses of space in the refrigerator. Make sure that the area you plan to store these veggies in is dry and free from mould. Any mould spores lingering on the skin of the plants should be killed by a quick wipe-down with neat white vinegar before thorough drying.

* You don't have to use mineral oil for greasing machinery animal fat (the sort you shouldn't eat for the good of your heart) will do. After all, Pa in Little House in the Big Woods used to use bear grease to lubricate his traps. Save clean fat from meat and use it for greasing bike chains and the like. It will go rancid and smell peculiar, so you have been warned. But those looking for a natural alternative to mineral oil should take note. If you want to clean off oil and fat from fabric, animal fats can be removed by a jolly good scrubbing with soap and a soak in water as hot as the fabric can handle, followed by washing as normal. Mineral oil can be removed in the same way, but if the oil stain is particularly tough, using eucalyptus oil or glycerine will help.

* Contrary to popular belief, you can save the job of washing the dishes for once a day in one big hit if you have to wash them by hand. Do this job when the children are home from school and all adults are home from work (if possible) so you have as many hands as possible to do the drying. Doing the dishes together can be a great opportunity for talking and "quality time" as a family.

* Children are never too young to learn the basics about domestic cleaning London. Even preschoolers can dry dishes and put them away, help to make beds and pick up dirty clothes for washing. The earlier they start, the better.

* Grate a carrot and steep it in water or milk to make a natural food colouring unlike the dubious artificial ones, this natural colouring has some additional nutrients.

* Unvarnished wood surfaces can be cleaned with ordinary soap and water and a whole lot of elbow grease! This was standard for kitchen tables and it is easy to do with wooden chopping boards. Use boiling water to sterilize chopping boards.

* Hair does not need a lot of "product" to get it shiny and glossy. For straight hair, brushing with a natural boar's bristle brush is all that's needed. To clean a bristle brush, pull as much hair and fluff out as possible. Then soak the bristles in a solution of warm water and baking soda before carefully drying it. If the brush has been used by someone with head lice, kill these by pouring boiling water over the bristles.

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