Tip-Sharing Tuesday

Good morning, dear reader,

A pleasant day to you! We are enjoying another winter's day here, watching "snow snakes" slither across the highway in front of our home, and grateful for a warm home to be in. The other night we were covered in a blanket of fog, and awoke to a beautiful fairy-land. How can we begrudge Mother Nature her season of rest, when she paints so beautifully?

Feeding the Birds

To combat the cabin fever that sometimes comes hard upon us, the girls spent yesterday doing "Extreme Home Makeovers" with blocks; the only problem being that as soon as the wooden family entered their new home, it would collapse on top of them! Oh well, details, details, as they say.






Today we'd like to share from our wonderful copy of "Household Discoveries". It's a little treatise on dishwashing, which might come in handy, if ever there were no power for that dishwasher!

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"There is no single operation of housekeeping in which system will save so much time as in dishwashing. System is only force of habit and soon becomes second nature. The following suggestions are condensed from the practical experience of a large number of intelligent housewives.

(1) Wash the cooking utensils as soon as the food is emptied out of them and before it is placed on the table. Or, if this is not convenient, fill them with hot water and leave them to soak.

(2) After the meal is finished, and before clearing the table, prepare a place in the kitchen to receive the soiled dishes.

(3) Scrape off all bits of food into one dish, using preferably a good plate scraper of sheet rubber. This will remove all food and grease, and will not injure the most delicate china. If greasy dishes are not scraped, the dishwater will become too foul, and it will be difficult to wash and wipe the dishes clean. Greasy dishwater also makes the sink difficult to clean, and tends to stop up the spout. If a little lye is scattered over very greasy dishes, it will cleanse them readily by partially transforming the grease into soap. Be careful not to use lye strong enough to injure the skin. (ed note: Now that lye is hard to come by, we might have to have a lesson on rendering it from wood ashes!)

(4) Sort the dishes and stack them up in an orderly way, with the smallest articles on top; place the glass, small china articles, silver, and other delicate pieces together; next, cups and saucers, sauce dishes and the like, and finally plates, platters, and larger objects.

(5) Load these lots on a large tray in the above order, carry them to the kitchen, and keep them separate until they are washed, wiped, and put away. This method saves frequent steps to the kitchen as well as confusion in sorting them there. Lay a newspaper or piece of wrapping paper over a large pan, scrape all the garbage into that, and if possible burn it in the range. Or use a small garbage burner. Or obtain a good, odorless garbage can that can be thoroughly disinfected and cleaned. Keep at hand a grease kettle in which to preserve scraps of grease. Sprinkle a little lye on the most greasy cooking utensils, as skillets, iron kettles, and platters, and rinse them into the grease pot. The lye will keep the grease sweet and assist in the process of soap making. Save the tea leaves to be used for sweeping.

(6) Next prepare a suds with soap or any washing compound. Borax is good. Wash first in hot suds the silver, glass, and delicate china, using a swab with a long wooden handle. Wipe the silver as soon as it is washed. Put the glass and china in a wire basket, and pour hot water over them.

(7) Place the second lot of dishes-cups and saucers, vegetable and side dishes-in the dishwater, and allow them to soak while the first lot are being wiped.

(8) Add hot water if necessary, wash the second lot of dishes, set them in the drainer, and place the third lot in the suds, or make new suds if necessary.

(9) Next make fresh suds for milk pans, if any, and other tinware. Finally, wash the ironware-roaster, gridiron, pots, and kettles. Use for this purpose a little lye and scrape with a stiff fiber brush."
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May you enjoy your day, and be grateful for the day that the Lord has given you. Whatever life holds in store, know that He knew from before you were born. He knows the trials you must pass through, and He holds your life, as well as the life of your loved ones, in His very capable hands. He loves you more than you know, and you can trust Him in every situation.

Love,

Marqueta