Home Helps

Each week I will be posting some Edwardian hints and tips for different areas of the house.

In The Dining Room

Knife and fork

There are many people who are careful of their table manners, who are often puzzled about certain little points of etiquette. When using both knife and fork the knife is held in the right hand and the fork in the left. When not using the knife it should be laid along the side of the plate with the blade pointing in; the fork is then held in the right hand. In case the plate is passed for a second helping the knife and the fork are laid side by side along the right side of the plate, with the knife on the outside. Never hold the knife and fork grasped in the hand when passing the plate.

When one has finished eating the knife and fork are placed side by side at the right side of the plate and never one on each side of the plat, meeting in the centre to for a “V”.

The butter spreader is placed resting on the plate if it is a bread and butter plate, but when the small butter patties are used it is placed with the tip resting on the plate.

In The Laundry

How to hang bed linen

A great deal of time and labour may be saved in the ironing if the bed linen is hung on the line properly. If poles are to be used the sheets should be hung out full, but when no poles are used the sheets must be folded in half over the line.

Pillowcases should be hung by the seam opposite the hems. If opened to the wind they are liable to be torn as there is no opening opposite to let the wind out.

When taking the sheets and pillowcases from the line fold them carefully and place in the basket. This plan will save much time and labour when it comes to ironing as they w will not require as much pressing as when they are rumpled and put in the basket any way.

In The Sewing Room

How to clean ostrich plumes

Lay tips on clean cloth, make a suds of warm water and a white soap, then with a tooth brush rub the fibres wells. Rinse in clean water. Then tie a string to quill end and hang near stove; while wet comb with small end of comb. Now take a knife or scissors and take a few feathers at a time; with a quick, curling motion they will dry and curl easily. The feathers will look like new.

In The Kitchen

Broom Rack

Here is a suggestion for making a simple rack for brooms which will be appreciated by housekeepers who are limited for space and who like a place for everything. A piece of narrow board is selected and is cut as long as desired. Bore as many holes in the rack as are needed, about an inch and a quarter in diameter and far enough apart so that the brooms will not touch each other.

They are to be put in upside down, sticking the handles through the holes and letting the brooms rest on the straw part. This is economy in itself, for the brooms will last twice as long if placed upside down instead of letting them stand on the bristles. Supports for the rack can be made from triangular pieces of wood screwed into the wall about four feet from the grounds. Hooks on which to hand the dust pans, brushes and whisk broom may be placed on the other side of the rack between the holes for the brooms.

In the Boudoir

For unruly hair

Mix together a teaspoonful of glycerine and five teaspoonfuls of water; shake the lotion well and just before you go out apply it to the hair with a very soft brush. When the hair has been dressed as usual every lock will lie snugly in position, although there will be none of that sticky,, oily look that is so often the result of stay in place mixtures. A few drops of one’s favourite perfume may be added to the glycerine and water.

In The Nursery

About showing off

The child who “shows off” and is forward may almost be called a “public nuisance.” The friends of the forward child’s parents dislike to go to visit them and they dread seeing the child. The forward child generally has been made too much of by the parents and relatives. A child that is a great deal with adults, seldom playing with other children, is apt to be forward. If you notice that your child monopolizes the conversation, interrupts other people when they are talking and “shows off” in other ways you had best go about breaking up the habit before it becomes too deep seated. Teaching a child to respect the rights of others and to be thoughtful and kind will fo a great deal toward directing the attention and thoughts away from himself to other people.

Send the child outside to play with other children. There is no place like the playground for a child to learn self confidence and respect for the rights of other people.

In The Garden

To grow cucumbers

For successful cucumber growing simply sink a gallon bucket with several air holes through it and fill with rich soil into the ground; plant the seeds in this bucket and as soon as they have considerable growth water them regularly. It will surprise you how rapidly they grow and how many more cucumbers can be raised from a few vines in this way.