1,001 Old-Time Household Hints: Timeless Bits of Household Wisdom for Today's Home and Garden

556 Pages·2011·14.15 MB·English

1,001 OLD-TIME HOUSEHOLD HINTS
1,001 OLD-TIME HOUSEHOLD HINTS
Timeless Bits of Household Wisdom
for TODAY’S HOME
and GARDEN
By the Editors of YANKEE MAGAZINE.
Skyhorse Publishing
Copyright © 2011 by Yankee Publishing, Inc.
Interior illustrations copyright © Carl Kirkpatrick
Published by arrangement with Rodale, Inc.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All
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CONTENTS
Introduction
PART ONE
YOUR OLD-TIME HOME HANDBOOK
CHAPTER 1
In the Kitchen: Man Does Not Live by Bread Alone
CHAPTER 2
Housecleaning: Cleanliness Is Next to Godliness
CHAPTER 3
Home Decorating: Our Home Is Our Castle
CHAPTER 4
Home Repair and Maintenance: For Want of a Nail
CHAPTER 5
Crafts, Hobbies, and Amusements: All Work and No Play
CHAPTER 6
Holiday Celebrations: Yes, There Is a Santa Claus
PART TWO
A PERSONAL AND PET CARE COMPENDIUM
CHAPTER 7
Staying Healthy: An Apple a Day
CHAPTER 8
Beauty and Body Care: A Thing of Beauty Is a Joy Forever
CHAPTER 9
Fashion and Etiquette: If the Shoe Fits, Wear It
CHAPTER 10
Pet Care: A Man’s Best Friend Is His Dog (or Cat)
PART THREE
AN OLD-TIME GARDENER’S GUIDE
CHAPTER 11
Kitchen Gardening: Reap What You Sow
CHAPTER 12
Flower Gardening: April Showers Bring May Flowers
CHAPTER 13
Houseplants: Cultivate the Garden Within
Resources
Recommended Reading
Index
INTRODUCTION
HUNTING FOR TREASURES FROM THE PAST
IN THE DAYS BEFORE TELEVISION, the Internet, and free how-to classes at Home Depot, most
people had few resources for learning how to cook, clean, take care of their
health and family, or maintain their homes and gardens. One essential item in
old-time households was a household help book, which had a place of honor on
the shelf next to the almanac and the family Bible. These books were
storehouses of practical advice and instructions, and their titles ranged from the
quaint to the surprisingly modern. For example, there’s Housewifery: A Manual
and Text Book of Practical Housekeeping, from 1919. Cookery and
Housekeeping: A Complete System of Household Management for All Who Wish
to Live Well at a Moderate Cost was first published in 1886, while Depression-
era families looked for money-saving ideas in the 1936 book called 1000 Helps
and Hints for the House and Home.
These household manuals from the past include a hodgepodge of
recommendations, many of them outdated or routine but a surprising number of
them highly effective and ingenious—hints and tips that have been lost in our
fast-paced, ultramodern society. The trick is in having the time and know-how to
find the gems among the thousands of pages of old books and other publications.
And that’s where our expertise as editors of Yankee magazine comes into play.
While researching 1,001 Old-Time Household Hints, we and our writers
scoured stacks of vintage books, magazines, journals, and memoirs, sifting out
the humdrum and outmoded to find the very best recipes, how-to instructions,
simple projects, and sage advice for everyday living: preparing meals, cleaning,
doing laundry, self-care, staying healthy, caring for pets, home repairs, even
fashion tips and old-time recommendations for recreation and holiday time.
Here at Yankee magazine, it’s second nature for us to seek out and appreciate
ingenious and useful ideas, because our country’s heritage of self-reliance was
formed and refined in New England, the home of Yankee magazine. For
example, we found old-time recommendations for more than a dozen ways to
use ordinary bar soap to achieve great cleaning results in the kitchen, bathroom,
and more. Plus, there are ingenious suggestions for substitutes for commercial
furniture polish to fix blemishes in wooden furniture, beauty secrets of Victorian
belles, homemade holiday decorations from the days before Hallmark, and
terrific recipes for favorite comfort foods such as baked ham, gingerbread, and
hot cocoa. And our team wasn’t content just to find great old-time ideas.
Throughout the book, we added adaptations and improvements to old-time
methods that use today’s technology and materials. We wanted readers of 1,001
Old-Time Household Hints to enjoy an unparalleled treasury of the best ideas
from both the past and the present.
1,001 Old-Time Household Hints is actually three reference books combined
in one. In part one, Your Old-Time Home Handbook, you’ll find hundreds of
great tips for home cooking and baking, cleaning, decorating, home repairs,
crafts, entertaining, and celebrating the holidays. Part two, A Personal and Pet
Care Compendium, focuses on remedies for common ailments, staying healthy,
beauty and grooming, fashion and etiquette, and pet care. Part three, An Old-
Time Gardener’s Guide, rounds out the book with advice on vegetable
gardening, flower gardening, and indoor gardening. As you browse through this
book, you’ll come across an eclectic variety of useful, ingenious ideas and
projects: how to use sand and ketchup as cleaning helpers; how to turn a plain
modern lampshade into a lovely Victorian-style beaded lampshade; how to make
real sourdough bread the way the pioneers did; how 19th-century women got
age spots to fade without fancy cosmetic products; and how to keep a single
houseplant thriving for up to 75 years.
Watch for special types of tips that are highlighted throughout the book. For
example, “Trash or Treasure” points out the ingenuity of old-timers who knew
how to find usefulness and value in the humblest items. You’ll discover how to
put items such as an old inner tube, a worn tennis ball, and an extra piece of
garden lattice to good use around your house and garage. “Old-Fashioned
Favorites” flags simple recipes and techniques from the past that will surely
become favorites today, such as an excellent recipe for authentic hot cocoa or
exquisite ingredients for the soothing bath of a Victorian lady.
1,001 Old-Time Household Hints offers plenty of solid practical advice on
every page. But to lighten the mix, we’ve sprinkled in some of the more amusing
and unusual finds that turned up during our research. “Pearls of Wisdom” offers
wise and sometimes pointed sayings that still apply to our 21st-century lives.
“Old-Time Oddities” describes strange gadgets and gizmos that past generations
employed for day-to-day tasks, from a toothbrush made with hog bristles to a
bicycle-powered washing machine. “Roughing It” includes descriptions of the
rigorous effort needed to complete everyday tasks in olden times—showing us
that we sure can’t complain that “life is rough.” And “Bizarre but True” recounts
some of the strange and amusing practices and habits of our forefathers and
foremothers, including applying crushed garlic to the feet to cure hoarseness and
an old Easter tradition that allowed strangers to (literally) pick one another up in
the street.
For those tips in which we wanted to add the extra touch of modern ingenuity
and expertise, we consulted a wide range of experts from across North America.
You’ll see the names of these doctors, researchers, veterinarians, business
owners, horticulturists, and consultants throughout the book. We’re grateful for
the generous and helpful advice from experts such as Norman Rosenthal, M.D.,
of Rockville, Maryland, an internationally known expert on seasonal affective
disorder (SAD). Nationally recognized image development trainer and
consultant Susan Fignar, president of Chicago-based Pur-sue Inc., dispensed
advice on keeping a modern wardrobe up to snuff as well as the art of shaking
hands. And longtime Master Gardeners Carl and Betty Walter, of Hamburg,
New York, offered some of their best advice for overwintering bulbs and raising
houseplants. The specialized knowledge of these experts and many others adds
an extra dimension and new information that builds on the wisdom of the past.
Every generation discovers breakthrough ideas and creates innovations that
make daily life easier, more convenient, and more enjoyable. 1,001 Old-Time
Household Hints has skimmed the cream from the ideas of dozens of generations
of inventive folks from all across North America and other countries to boot. So
put up the footrest on your recliner, grab a cup of coffee, and enjoy venturing
through this guide to the ingenuity of your foremothers and forefathers. After all,
good ideas never grow old.
The Editors of Yankee Magazine