Attachments

So I'm putting the finishing touches on my lips in the bathroom this morning, when suddenly - out of nowhere - comes this terrific explosion and sound of shattering glass. From the kitchen.

I jumped, then cringed inwardly, ticking off the things I'd last done in my kitchen. Had I left the glass I'd just washed on top of a burner that hadn't been turned off --- as happened in The Casserole Dish Disaster of 2007? Had some of the leftovers in my fridge imploded? I reluctantly tiptoed out towards the kitchen and what should I see but my ceiling fan with a bare bulb and the glass globe in fragments. Everywhere.

Scratch what I said a few weeks ago about cleaning those lighting fixtures. Maybe that's not such a good idea after all!

It's Thursday evening. The glass has been cleaned up - at least all the glass that's visible to the human eye (I'm sure my feet will find some more) --- and it's time to get cracking on my weekly cleaning of the bedroom. I think I'd also like to start using some of the tools on my vacuum cleaner to really get into the edges of the room where the carpeting meets the wall. As nice as it is just to vacuum those wide, open spaces, it's the edges of my bedroom that seem to accumulate the most dust and little bits of paper and things. The Manual has lots of advice to offer on operating and caring for vacuum cleaners. Here are some of the gems:

Operate the cleaner slowly in a straight line, lengthwise of the rug.

Go over each section twice to remove embedded dirt and grit.

Familiarize yourself with the attachments and their uses. Once you discover how easy it is to attach them and how many tasks they make easy, there will be no danger of their becoming a poor investment through lack of use.

Pick up pins, hairpins, tacks and any small sharp objects before using the vacuum cleaner.

Empty the dust bag after each use (suction action is lessened by dirt in the bag. Shake the dirt into a deep waste basket lines with a paper bag, to avoid scattering dust.

Lighting Up

Have you cleaned your lighting fixtures lately?

One of the tasks at hand every week when I clean my bedroom - every other week when cleaning my kitchen - is dusting the lighting fixtures and washing them when necessary. In the bedroom, this is limited to just the single incandescent lighting fixture on my wall. I have two lighting fixtures in the kitchen --- a rectangular flourescent fixture near the sink and an incandescent globe in the ceiling fan. None of the fixtures is very hard to clean (though I could definitely use a sturdy step stool), but I haven't checked my manual yet to review the instructions on this task. Let's take a look...

A coating of dust on light bulbs and globes reduces the amount of light to a considerable degree. It is economical therefore, to keep bulbs and globes clean so that you get the amount of light you are paying for.

Before the fixtures themselves are cleaned, turn off the current and remove shades, bulbs, etc. Then use the dusting tool of the vacuum cleaner or a duster to clean the fixture.

Wipe the bulbs with a damp cloth, being careful not to get the metal section wet. Dry thoroughly. If the bulbs are extremely dirty, hold each one by the metal end and dip the glass in warm soapsuds. Rinse in clear water in the same fashion. Dry carefully with a clean soft cloth. Always be certain that the bulbs are perfectly dry before replacing them.

If the bulbs still look very dark after they have been cleaned, they should be replaced with new ones.

Did the authors of the manual intend that this advice should apply to cleaning flourescent bulbs as well? I leafed through the chapter on lighting in the home and the word "flourescent" is never referenced. They do mention "recessed tubular lighting" being especially handy above the kitchen sink. Flourescents were just becoming available to American consumers, but the manual seems to ignore them - only advising its readers on how to deal with bulbs with a single metal end.

If I could add one bit of advice to the manual, it would be this: be sure the light bulb is thoroughly cooled before you even attempt to remove it from the fixture! I haven't yet cleaned any of my light bulbs, but I touched one by accident while dusting the fixture. Ouch. The light fixture in my bedroom gets dusted with a rag and washed with soap and water once a week. The bulb in this case is not enclosed, so it could probably use a washing itself once a month. I've been dusting the globe in my kitchen ceiling fan, but keep forgetting about the flourescent fixture. The bulbs inside both these fixtures should be virtually free of dust as they're both enclosed. One of these weeks, I would like to clean the blades of the ceiling fan when I'm dusting the globe. They're very dirty. I'm not sure how often that'll have to be done, but I'm sure the maintenance won't be too tough after I clean them the first time.

Turning a Bedroom into a Guest Room

This week is all about plugging along… After two weeks of illness, I’ve got to push and prod myself every step of the way to get these chores done. That said, I’m starting to feel a bit of the ol’ rhythm when it comes to my morning and evening routines. My ironing got done yesterday - all except for a blouse I forgot about that had been drying in the bathroom - and I did a little marketing this evening. My aunt is in town for a conference, and my sister and I will be making dinner for her tomorrow night. At my sister’s house, thank goodness! I may have made some progress in housekeeping since November, but my home is still far from ready to do any entertaining. At any rate, that means I’ll need to push my weekly bedroom cleaning forward to Friday evening and my new mission to Saturday morning.

It’s been a while now since I cleaned my bedroom, and I’m actually looking forward to putting it back to rights. Since I don’t have all that much in the way of news this evening, I thought I’d share this wonderful description of how the ideal guest room should be furnished from Lily Haxworth Wallace’s New American Etiquette (1941). I think we all deserve to feel as good as we’d try to make a guest feel in our homes. How do your bedrooms measure up to the ideal guest room?

Bedrooms should be liberally equipped with lights. The central bulb should operate from a switch that can easily be reached on entering the room. There should be a bed light, two, if the room has twin beds. A lamp should be above the sofa or chaise longue for reading. The bed and sofa lights should operate on individual switches.

The room should have shutters and shades so that every bit of the early morning sun can be kept out of the room if one likes to sleep late in complete darkness.

The bed or beds should be comfortable and should be well equipped with sheets, blankets (plenty of them), and a quilt. There should be two pillows, one hard and the other soft. There should be a bed light over each bed to satisfy those who like to read themselves to sleep.

Any bells for calling servants should be placed so that they can be sounded without getting out of bed.

There should always be a bedside table on top of which there should be an accurate alarm clock. The table should also hold a small tray with a glass and spoon, a thermos bottle of cold water, and a hot-water bottle or electric pad. A flashlight or candle should be beside the bed for service in the event of a breakdown in the house lighting supply.

The closet should not be the storage space for miscellaneous articles. It should have sufficient shelves and hangers for all the clothes it will hold. There should be hat stands for the women and trouser hangers for the men. Shoe trees should be amply supplied. If riding is a practice, there should be a bootjack.

There should be at least one lounging chair in the room and a sofa with comfortable cushions. They should be so placed that the light from the window is right for reading. A lamp should be near by for night reading.

A dressing table should be so placed that it receives satisfactory light from the window during the day and should have lights properly arranged for use after dark.

In the days of midsummer an electric fan is a welcome addition to the equipment of a hot room.

Mirrors should be in as many places as possible. There should be at least one of full length and the others should be placed so that they are at the proper height and receive good light.

A writing desk should be equipped with note paper, envelopes, ink, pens, pencils, stamps, blotters, and a calendar. Beside it there should be a waste basket.