Dear Readers: Recently, I asked you for your stories about how spring cleaning has been done in your family through the generations, and wow, did you respond! Here are just a few of them:
Dear Heloise: Your remarks in the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News about spring cleaning bring back memories. My favorite chore was using wallpaper cleaner to clean the soot off the walls. With a coal furnace, by spring there was always a fine layer of soot, and it was fun to see the clean area after using the cleaner and know that you really made a difference in removing the dirt.-Carolyn N., Huber Heights, Ohio
Dear Heloise: In the rural area where I grew up, we used wood, coal and corn cobs in a stove for heat, which left the room covered with a sooty film. So spring cleaning consisted of washing all the walls, ceilings and windows, along with washing and starching the curtains. Oh, the smell of the freshly laundered curtains hung out on the line in the fresh air to dry, and the newly washed walls!-Connie S., Wahoo, Neb.
Dear Heloise: A warm, sunny day (or three) is a must!
1. Wash all my curtains and bedding. Hang on my clothesline for that wonderful fresh scent.
2. Wash the blinds. Hang outside.
3. Clean baseboards and windowsills.
4. Shampoo area rugs by hand, and air-dry outside.
5. Switch winter and summer clothes.
6. Wash windows inside and outside.-Evelyn C., Conway, Ark.
Dear Heloise: Getting older and being unable to do spring cleaning like I used to, I now spring-clean one room per month. That is, I wash the woodwork, windows, curtains, touch up the paint, clean out shelves, closets, etc. This way, every room gets a deep cleaning twice a year, and I am not overwhelmed.-Carol V. in Ohio
Everyone's hints are wonderful! Way to get the job done! Do you need some assistance with low-cost but effective and environmentally friendly cleaners, sanitizers and deodorizers to combat stinks and stains? I've compiled a collection of my BEST cleaning solutions in a handy pamphlet.
If you'd like to receive one to help you along the way, send a long, self-addressed, stamped (68 cents) envelope, along with $5, to: Heloise/ Cleaners, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. You also can visit my website, www.Heloise.com, and place your order there. As my mother, the original Heloise, said: "Do what you can. But enjoy it."-Heloise
P.S.: Here's one more spring cleaning hint, but with a twist:
Dear Heloise: My husband was an Air Force officer, and we moved often with our three children: one son and two daughters. When the first daughter was grown and married, she came to me one day and asked, "Mom, what is spring cleaning?"
I explained, as you did, that it meant to deep-clean the house. She replied, "You never did that!" My answer was, "No, we just moved!"-Patricia S., via email
THE EYES HAVE IT
Dear Heloise: Since eyebrow pencils wear down in no time, I have a solution for how to use them down to an inch.
Take one or two tops and add them to the end of the pencil, and you have a long pencil again. Works great!-C.B., Hershey, Pa.
Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to 1-210-HELOISE or email it to [email protected]. I can't answer your letter personally but will use the best hints received in my column.
King Features Syndicate