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Making our home a haven... with Housekeeping Hints Two weeks ago, Crystal's Making Your Home a Haven challenge was tackling a pile somewhere in the house. This was my pile. I took a picture of it that day. And finally, today, I got it taken care of... completely!! This is such a relief, since this box of papers, scrawled recipes, empty teabags (don't ask!), and website-related notes/lists was taking up precious counter space in my kitchen... and I rarely even touched the papers inside. Having clutter on the counters bothers me (a LOT!), and so I've been on a mission to reduce what gets kept on our kitchen counters. Too many recent days have found my kitchen counters COMPLETELY filled with stuff.  Now, here's where the Housekeeping Hints part comes in. In that pile of papers were these two books -- Heloise's Housekeeping Hints. They have different covers, but are the same book, and I got them both at rummage sales some time back. As in... over a year ago. My plan all along was to write a review of the book (with some tips for you!) and then give away the two copies. So, here we go! :) If anyone is interested in having one of the Housekeeping Hints books, let me know in a comment below. I'll draw two names from anyone who is interested. The books are fairly old, and one of them has some loose pages. If no one wants them, that's fine; I'll donate them to a thrift store or something. :) First, this book was written/compiled in 1962. Some of the tips seem ridiculously out-dated to me, but, I'll let you be the judge of that. ;) I did find some really good ideas inside, and the book is organized fairly well, making it easy to find things. There's even an index in the back! (The bold type is quotes from the book.) Never worry about the necessities. Everybody must pay rent, taxes, and buy necessary foods. Accept the fact that you cannot escape these costs. Save your "worry time" for the things you buy and don't need! It's always good to relax about things we can't change. And how many times have I groaned over an expense or bill that can't be lowered, while wasting precious time or money by simply not planning ahead well enough in some other area? :P Did you know that you could take any boxed cake and add one-quarter cup of cooking oil and it would be just like the one grandmother used to make? Do not use any more as the cake will be so tender that it will fall apart. I think I actually did know this bit of advice, but who needs to make a cake that greasy?! :) Now... another time saver: when you are baking meat loaves, always place baking potatoes in the oven at the same time and utilize this heat. Open a can of biscuits, pop in the oven, and dinner is ready! My mom does this sometimes, and I heartily agree -- meatloaf goes well with baked potatoes, and it makes such an easy meal!! We use vegetables for our side dish rather than biscuits, though. :) You might say, "But I don't have servants. If I did, my house wouldn't be so disorderly." That is not so. A servant cannot throw things away and clean your closets. No one but the head of a household can do this. And that is you. System is what is needed in housekeeping. If we can't find a system, then the thing to do is get rid of excess things. The less we have, the easier it is to clean. So true! Unfortunately, as family size increases, so does the "stuff". How do big families do it?! And aren't we SO blessed to live with such wealth, that we need to think about trying to have less? Anyway, I am constantly de-cluttering and finding better homes for things that I really don't need! Thankfully, the house usually does reflect this to some degree... Never walk down a long hall more often than necessary. Place objects which belong in another room at the door. Next time you go to that room, take the objects with you. If you live in a two-story house, never go down the stairs just to put something away. Leave it at the top stair and wait until you have to go down. Then take it with you. The same applies for things that go upstairs. Leave them near the bottom step. Next time you go upstairs, pick them up. This doesn't make your house disorderly. Another great tip that we always do. Although sometimes I have to make two trips upstairs with all the stuff that accumulated at the bottom all day... :) Carpets? Absolutely! This may sound odd, but you will save yourself the time and energy required to wax floors (to say nothing of the cost of the wax), daily sweeping, and washing bathmats. Look for a cotton run on sale. Once in a while you can get a real bargain. Any woman can carpet her own floor. One nine-by-twelve rug will usually cover two bathrooms and a dressing room. If you only have one bathroom, either buy a small rug or get one of your friends to split one with you. If you have wooden moldings on floors, buy colored carpet tacks to match and tack the rug to the bottom of the baseboard or directly into the floor itself. Save the scraps! Cut into little pieces to use as small bathmats. Instead of waxing and mopping, use your carpet sweeper to clean your bathroom floor. You will find it won't need sweeping as often as you thought it would. Gives you a feeling of luxury, too. Okay, this sounded totally disgusting to me! I would never, ever, EVER desire to put carpet in my bathroom! I have a potty-training two-year-old boy, and I'm thankful for my bathroom linoleum. ;) Actually, I'm thankful for the linoleum anyway. Is our house the only one with a toilet that overflows on occasion? Carpet wouldn't give me a feeling of luxury... it'd give me a feeling of "ick"! Now, about washing the tub. Use your broom to do this. Wet the tub and sprinkle cleanser in it. Let the water faucet drip slowly and your old kitchen broom will do the rest for you without your having to stoop over. ...By using the broom you have accomplished two things with one stroke. You have also washed your broom! Okay. Haven't tried this tip yet. I think I'd need to wash my broom before I used it in our tub, though. :) Chapter 4 was about laundry, and has lots of information about starching, ironing, clotheslines, getting out various stains, and other stuff I never do. Well, besides the clothesline part. :) There's one tip about hosing down your laundry after you hang it on the clothesline, because the water will weigh down the fabric and the fabric will be less wrinkled when it's dry. I'm sure it works, but I'd rather my laundry didn't take all day to dry... and it'd never get dry on a cloudy/cold day if it were drenched like that! :) Most of us wear white gloves, and a friend would like to pass on a good cleaning method... I laughed at that part! Maybe I just don't get out enough, but I haven't seen any white gloves since the last wedding we went to... ...don't save you good things for "tomorrow" -- use them now. Life is so short -- enjoy every day of it. Get your good silver out and put it in your kitchen drawer and use it every day. Use your good dishes at least once a week, if not daily. There is no one who will ever come into your home who is more important and loved any more than your own family. They are the greatest! If you could only read some of the letters that come to me saying such things as: "Heloise, I never knew how much I loved my husband until he was gone. I ate off old dishes, saved my good silver for company (and none was as good as he) and covered my beautiful satin comforter (the one he gave me) when I should have used it so that the beautiful satin would show and he could see it! If I had it to do over... Tell the young ones to enjoy their families and use their good things." So go get that pretty sugar bowl out and so what if you put a soap pad in it? At least you are enjoying it daily! Such good thoughts. So, this week (and beyond!) I'm going to be mindfully making our home more of a haven by letting everyone (including myself!) enjoy things. I'm all for taking good care of our stuff (after all, if you don't have too much stuff, you need to take good care of what you have!) but sometimes I get a little uptight. There are certainly things that I have kept aside as "too nice" to even have an opportunity to be used, lest they show signs of wear. My goal is to work on changing that! :)  I would definately be interested ~ I have just started collecting old housekeeping/housewife books. I love to read through them slowly, thinking about the wives & mothers of long ago... Thanks~ *Michigan Momma* Dear Tammy, Please enter me in the contest! I'd love to know those ideas from Heloise. That is so so so so so disgusting! There is a reason we wash bathmats Heloise! My husband's aunt actually has carpet in her KITCHEN! Can you imagine trying to keep that clean!!?!?!? I would LOVE to have one of those books. It would be cool to have an old housekeeping book. My aunt has an OLD cookbook and it is so neat to look through it and see how times have changed. Sarah I bought a Heloise book for my sister in law with the intention of borrowing it back to read, but I never have. :>) I've lived in a few places with carpet in the kitchen and bathroom. It's not bad at all when it was just me but now with the husband and baby, I think someting easier to clean is the way to go. Carpet int he bathroom, one word, YUCK! Throw rugs gets gross enough! We had carpet in the kitchen in an apartment we rented when we first married...never again! I am interested. It sounds like a really neat book. I'm getting married in 54 days (!!!) and need all the help I can get in being a good home maker! -Mary Jo I enjoyed reading this post. Being that I have enough Heloises books myself...dont add me to the give away :) I had to laugh at the comment about scrubbing your bathtub out with your broom....my thoughts exactly knowing where my broom has been!!!! As for carpets...Ive had them in kitchens and baths...all gross! I now live in a 175 year old home with original hardwood floors, you definitely have to sweep (remember the broom comment?) more often, but they feel so much cleaner knowing that "things"" are not lurking under the surface. Thanks for all the interseting topics...I really enjoy them! I totally agree with using 'good' things and not saving them. You should treat your family as good or better than company! Crystal in Indy I hope you'll enter me! I love vintage housekeeping stuff . . . useful and funny! Thanks for sharing some tidbits! http://be-it-ever-so-humble.blogspot.com  I agree about using special stuff now. We use our wedding dishes every day. :-) Sometimes I think the best way you can show someone you appreciate their thoughtful gift is to use it until you wear it out. (And how often do things wear out anyway?) It's so true--there's no one more special than your family. What a great reminder. :-D I would love to read that book. It sounds like it has a lot of good advice. Kristina I can't wait to be rid of the carpet in my house... no way I would ever choose to put it in the bathroom! Great review. Thanks for your wonderful blog and I would love to be added to your drawing. Hi Tammy, I would love to have a copy of one of these books, I find that this type of material can give us a glimpse of another era. Saryn Perrone Great post Tammy. I would love to have a copy of the book. I just love old housekeeping tips. Dolores Please put my name in! Sounds like some great reading!....looking around at my carpet, I'll have to think on that idea mentioned above!(Mine is a few days past worn-out! lol) How fun and exciting! -Donna- (Thanks Tammy! ...for all the fun here!) Hi Tammy, I would love to have a book. Correct me if I"m wrong, but I think Heloise had a 1 minute TV show that was aired during commercials. It was just a tip or two, but as a child, I would watch them and learned some pretty handy hints :) I love old fashioned things, so even if its outdated, I don't mind because I'm pretty old fashioned at heart :) Tina I was looking on Amazon and do you realize there is one going for $79? And some going for .01!! How Crazy.. :) Im gonna try the broom thing. :)I hate scrubbing bathroom tubs..... I had to smile when I read about overflowing toilets. I can sympathize. Please add me to the contest. a lily in the valley  Sure, count me in!! If I got one, I would read through it and then pass it on. :) Some of those were fuuny to read... I would never want carpet in our bathroom or kitchen! Hoseing down the laundry on the line sounded funny to me, that would bring my clothes line down, I think! :) Good food for thought too. Thanks for sharing, Tammy. :) ~Tanya Tammy, Here I am counting down the days until I can get rid of the carpet in the main spaces and in days past they were looking for ways to carpet them. How funny! Those sound like some fun tips. Long ago no respectable young lady would walk out the door without her hat and gloves... :) --  I would absolutely love to be entered into this contest; I adore books with housekeeping tips. I can't get enough advice! This is a fantastic post. I enjoyed reading it tremendously. ;) Yes I would be interested in putting my name in for the drawing. Great idea by the way!! I've been trying to accomplish my paper mass for a long time. Thanks Tammy! Brittany Kirton About overflowing toilets. . . You may not be able to avoid this with small children (though you could teach fairly young ones step one I'm going to write), but adults can avoid this. First, try lifting the toilet handle up. Usually that will stop the water. You may have to hold it awhile for the water to lower enough to grab a plunger, since the water will rise again sometimes if you release the handle. If there is no plunger nearby, try holding the handle until the water goes down anyhow. Then flush the toilet once the water level returns to normal. If the clog doesn't leave, push the handle back up. Wait for the water to fall. Repeat process as many times as necessary. And if pushing the handle up fails to stop the water, carefully lift the back ceramic piece off the toilet. Reach inside the tank and grab the bulbous plastic(?) thing that looks like an ear dropper attached to a metal horizontal stick. Raise it so that the tank quits filling, then grab the plunger with your free hand. About overflowing toilets. . . You may not be able to avoid this with small children (though you could teach fairly young ones step one I'm going to write), but adults can avoid this. First, try lifting the toilet handle up. Usually that will stop the water. You may have to hold it awhile for the water to lower enough to grab a plunger, since the water will rise again sometimes if you release the handle. If there is no plunger nearby, try holding the handle until the water goes down anyhow. Then flush the toilet once the water level returns to normal. If the clog doesn't leave, push the handle back up. Wait for the water to fall. Repeat process as many times as necessary. And if pushing the handle up fails to stop the water, carefully lift the back ceramic piece off the toilet. Reach inside the tank and grab the bulbous plastic(?) thing that looks like an ear dropper attached to a metal horizontal stick. Raise it so that the tank quits filling, then grab the plunger with your free hand. I am definitely going to remember this tip... though I do still always keep the plunger within easy reach of our toilet!! (We live in a rental house that has always had a finicky toilet even though we do everything "right" and don't flush anything besides toilet paper!) Post new comment |
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I learned a lot from that. Thanks for sharing.
I'd take a book! :)
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