Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House by Mendelson Cheryl

Author:Mendelson, Cheryl [Mendelson, Cheryl]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scribner
Published: 1999-11-03T23:00:00+00:00

Aprons, Rags, and Mops

Dressing for the occasion, clothes for cleaning … Rags, cloth rags vs. paper towels … The art of rag making, ragbags … Tools for cleaning … Cleaning liquids and powders, polishes and waxes

Every home can use a cleaning closet, a place that can be closed up and rendered childproof, in which to keep cleaning paraphernalia: detergents, scouring powders, bathroom cleansers, polishes, and waxes; rags, mops, brushes, and brooms; a plunger; cleaning clothes; and other tools, cleaning substances, and conveniences used for regular or emergency cleaning. When you open a well-stocked, tidy closet containing exactly what you need, house-cleaning feels doable and it is easier to get started. It is also easier to stay well stocked when everything you have is kept in one place; you can scan the shelves and readily see what is in short supply or lacking. You can tape a list of basic supplies inside the door and check it against the closet’s contents. If you cannot keep all such things in one closet, you might have two separate storage spots—one for tools and one for cleaning substances.

Materials for washing dishes and cleaning the food-preparation areas of the kitchen are dealt with separately in chapter 9.

Dressing for the Occasion: Cleaning Garb

When you clean the house, remove rings, bracelets, and any watches but the most utilitarian. Wear comfortable shoes, with support and cushioning and nonslip soles. If you have a special pair devoted to this purpose, you can keep them in your cleaning closet.

Although many of us wear aprons when we cook, I know hardly anyone who puts one on to do housework, even though this is a useful, clothes-friendly, and laundry-reducing habit. Instead we wear old clothes to perform potentially dirty chores. A friend keeps an assortment of oversized T-shirts in her cleaning closet, and uses them as smocks over her clothes when she cleans. But nothing beats a real apron or smock with several pockets for carrying coins, paper clips, pins, screws, and other small objects back and forth, for wiping your hands on without remorse, for keeping your midriff free of oily stains and grime, for sticking pins in, and the like. When you take it off, you can sit down to lunch or tea in a clean shirt without changing.

Pictures of 1950s housewives vacuuming in pearls, high heels, and an apron seem funny now, but probably only because we have forgotten the context. My grandmothers always insisted on doing housework nicely dressed (although not in pearls and high heels). Whatever their differences, they each donned and doffed the same kinds of aprons according to the same housekeeping and social patterns. They wore plain white muslin ones for everyday. The apron went on first thing in the morning and came off when they ate and when the day’s housework was done. These work aprons, however, were for the eyes of the family only. They were removed before the door was opened to admit anyone else. Fancy, frilled, and embroidered aprons came out

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