Household Essentials

Usually the first sunny and mild days of the year are used to thoroughly clean the house and household - a tradition that originated when people still cooked over the stove fire, let the laundry dry outside and aired clothes more often than they washed them. For this meant at the same time that over the cold, damp winter period - when windows and doors remained closed to keep the heat in the rooms - soot had accumulated in the kitchen, the smell in the clothes and the dirt in blankets and carpets.