In Eliza Leslie’s The House Book (1843), she writes that it
is “the usual custom in America” to thoroughly clean one’s
house, “top to bottom,” in late spring and early autumn. Yes,
just twice each year!
In addition, she offers this advice:
It is a good rule not to commence
house-cleaning in the spring until
the trees are all in full leaf.
Oh good, guess I can wait a little while longer!
She later adds:
…at no season should house-cleaning
be commenced when there is a prospect
of bad weather.
Wait, if it’s nice out, who wants to be inside cleaning? Seems
to me that a cloudy day is just perfect for the chore! Although,
I guess rooms would’ve been fairly dark on days of inclement
weather during centuries past. So this tip makes sense, as light
was needed to see. No one would’ve wanted to waste candles
and such. Of course, the size of the house would be a factor.
A one or two room cabin will certainly be clean in less time
than a multi-storied house. Either way, it was a necessary
task of every household!
