Almanac for Homemakers

Spring Cleaning? It's "For the Birds" "If you shudder to think of spring and fall because they are housecleaning seasons, relax. It isn't necessary today to go through the trauma of tearing the house apart twice a year, or even once." Trauma. This is the perfect word for housecleaning. Our Almanac suggests that Spring Cleaning just ain't what it used to be. Let's take a look at history to find out what started our fixation on the ritualistic cleaning of spring. Nowruz Nowruz is the the Iranian New Year. Also known as the Persian New Year which falls on the first day of Spring. The practice of " khooneh tekouni" which translates to "shaking of the house" is practiced just before the New Year celebrations. Everything is the house is cleaned! Passover Before the celebration of Passover, Jewish people would rid their homes of every remnant of "chametz". Chametz is any food that was ...

Think About Noise if You Must Move "Because of job transfers and other reasons, Americans move frequently to new homes. If you must do so , consider the problem of noise pollution in choosing your new house or apartment." I have been very fortunate to have lived in small communities for the past few years. Every town we moved to or from has been less than 20,000 people. There isn't a lot of noise pollution where I am. In fact, if I go in my back yard right now, I can clearly hear the Pacific Ocean. It is truly wonderful. There is some scientific evidence that noise levels can effect us physically and psychologically. Physical Effects can include higher blood pressure, hypertension, and in sever cases hearing loss. Psychological Effects include elevated stress levels, depression, and anxiety. The Clean Air Act was passed in 1972. Amendments to this act were added in 1990 to include noise pollution. The Environmental Protection A...

Uses for Ammonia Water "Ammonia water will accomplish many jobs. It's a 'must' among your housecleaning supplies."   You can purchase household cleaning ammonia or basic clear ammonia at any store that carries cleaning supplies. You can use this on anything basically. Follow the directions for diluting with water! Home girl in the picture here is using ammonia water to clean her oven. Set the pan in the oven and close the door. LET SIT OVERNIGHT. Don't bake it! Then the next day use a steel wool pad and some soap to clean the oven out, rinsing with ammonia water. You can use your ammonia water to clean just about any surface in your kitchen, bathroom, and floors. It is also an odor eliminator. If your pet has an accident on the floor, clean the area with this solution, and then rinse with water. With all the uses for ammonia water, you can see why in MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING the dad uses Windex for everything! Don...