ECONOMY IN HOUSEHOLDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XX, Issue 6667, 31 March 1883, Page 3 (Supplement)

ECONOMY IN HOUSEHOLDS.

A house wife in the Queen, discoursing 0:1 the above subject, says : —First Kt me ;;peak on the saving of labour ic. a house—one of the moat substantial r-ources of thrifuncss, and enabling you perhaps to dispense altogether with one servant, thus saving at one Itap £40 to €00 a year, is polished floors all over the house, 'rhis mukes an astonishing difference iu the work 01" the servants, also saves much expense in buying carpets. 1 have tried manv ways of (staining and polishing the doors, and 11.1 ee found by far the most durable and easy to accomplish is the following : Dissolve sufiicient permanganate of potash ill hailing water to give the required depth 01 colour. It looks red when lirtt put on, but soon becomes a beautiful brown. About two quirts of water will be sufficient to a tain ail ordinary-si/-ed bed-room, allowing it to dry. See *.hr»t the lean's are pc fectiy clean and dry. and then with a large painter s brush stain the room :d! o .'er, painting on the the permanganate ana water iu the same iiimucr vou would put paint on wcod\voik. When boards are thoroughly dry, give them a second coat if ncct::-sar *, which must also arv. Wash and >-iry the brusn, and then give the whoh- l'n 111 a thorough coating of liuseea-oil. When the oil has w. 11 rociked into the ho.rds, begin rubbing in with a cloth be-.s-wax nelu<: 111 a stone jar over the tire with a little turpentine till it is the Cv'n-sisteu-'V 01 very thick cream, rite tloor mu-fc have several eoatm_s ui bees-wax and turp. 11tine before it is brushed with the "Leaded Floor Polisher," a large brush sold for this purpose. After several applications of '"ecswax and brushing tiie floor will lie in r ood condition, and will only then require polishing occasionally, a id ruhting with bees-w ix when necessary. It will only need no-v to make a bed-room look most comf rtable and cheerful two or thr e rug?—one tor each sale of the bed, another ior tiie fireplace. 1 prefer a piece of oilcloth or Ind'an matting in front of tiie washstan.!, b;it that is a matt- r of taste. U'ood rugs foiJMie bed-iooms can be made of a piece of Brussels carpet, with a worst-'d fringe sewn on tac'i end or all round it. The best parts of tiie old drawing-room carpet can be used up in this way. A piece of Dutch carpet of the required h ngth, with the ends mraveil d to make a fr nge, looks very ufa;. A piece of carpet with a border or fringe, and a rug for the hcaith, will, with 3 vvell-poli-hed fhor, make any drawing-room looi handsome a - td eh'er'ul. If the diniDgroom is kept thoroughly waxed and polished, a in; for the fireplace is all that ia really aect-SSi-y. Tile noise -he chairs d3ke by be : ng moved about can be greatly zniciga-tetl t>y on the bottom of the leg pieces c f thick felt (old felt carpet will do), and uailih? it down as well with fim turc Jaiks. The felt serves for two purposes— prevents noise and also scratching the boards. Another source of saving labour is to paint all the fireplaces in tiie bed-rooms over with Brunswick black ; rho se a bright, sun.-hiny morning for the work, then the stove will dry quickly, and the smell of the paint will go oti before night. The fir'pluee will now only require dusting with tiie mop._ and all the trouble o; bringing up hiacklead brushes to polish the grates is avoided. Volishing the 'loots new and then can De do.ie by any member oi the family who wants exercise on •a wet day.