WOMEN'S WORLD Suddenly — It's Spring

Te Ao Hou, September 1955, Page 60

WOMEN'S WORLD Suddenly — It's Spring Remember the old-fashioned Spring-cleaning? Walls, ceilings, cupboards, drawers — all yielded up their dust and dirt and cob-webs in a few frantic days. Nowadays, women seem to be able to spread that kind of house-cleaning over the whole year, but some things about the old Spring-cleaning are worth remembering. Spring comes gently in New Zealand, but it comes clearly enough with young green shoots, daffodils and unreliable weather. The outdoors is suddenly so fresh and clean that the house seems stale and dingy after the long winter. Old-fashioned or not, it is time to open the windows and doors wide, and let fresh air and sunshine right through the house. Before you know it the curtains are down, the mattresses in the sun, the drawers and cupboards are swept out and you are busy removing a fine crop of cobwebs from dark corners. When all this upheaval is over and the house is as fresh as the outdoors you will eye your efforts critically, and cheerfully take on new chores. Washing the kitchen curtains has revealed how faded and worn they really are, and the enamel on the kitchen chairs suddenly seems to be coming off in layers. If you are thinking of making new curtains, remember that unless you can be sure of satisfactory dry-cleaning, all the curtains should be washable, especially in a house were there are children. Cotton outlasts and outshines the most glossy-looking plastic ever made, and besides it lets in the maximum amount of sunlight and air. What is the use of having windows if we shroud them over in heavy dark materials? Make your new curtains gay and light. Try seersucker, gingham, even denim, and unless you want to redecorate your whole house, stick to plain colours, stripes, checks and polka dots that will fit in with what you have in the room already.—B. Ashton.