This was a cartoon known as ‘Family Man’ which appeared in the Queensland Times Newspaper on the 22 July, 1947 – Image courtesy of Trove Digitised Newspapers
On the 1st of September we celebrated the coming of Spring. It is the time of year for fantastic weather, beautiful blooming flowers and a great opportunity to get your hands dirty with cleaning around the house. To celebrate the changing of the seasons we have decided to provide you with an interesting and sometimes bizarre insight into how the Ipswich people of old Spring cleaned their houses and other interesting cleaning habits of the time.
We will start by first introducing you to an article which was published in the Queensland Time on the 22nd of September, 1947. The article details how readers can effectively and efficiently Spring clean their bedrooms, urging them to thoroughly ‘comb-out’ their wardrobes and keep items that can be repaired or remodelled for the new season. It also instructs readers to dust out their furs and winter woollies so that they may be stored in airtight packaging to prevent clothing moths. After cleaning out your clothing, wash all the drawers and cupboards with soapy water and vacuum and air the curtains and carpets. This will ensure your bedroom is bright and airy for that lovely Springtime weather!
The second article which was also published in the Queensland Times newspaper (13/08/1945), is of quite a bizarre nature and step-by-step procedure regarding how women can ‘Spring Clean your hair’! According to the weekly column, ‘Patricia Pat’s’ it was recommended that before the coming Spring months womenfolk should complete a weekly treatment to prepare their ‘locks’ for the summer season. The procedure involved the following steps:
Monday – Massage the scalp with an oily tonic by dividing the hair into 20 parts. This is a way to remove dandruff and is excellent for normal and dry hair types.
Tuesday – Wash out the oily tonic by shampooing your hair twice and then set in your usual style before bed. If your hair is oily, wash in rainwater.
Wednesday – Take a piece of hair between your fingers and gently pull upwards. This was supposed to stimulate the scalp and ‘wake up lazy colour glands’.
Thursday – Brush your hair thoroughly.
Friday – Attend the hairdresser for a trim.
Saturday – Try out a new hairstyle on your improved hair. Gather the magazine cuttings ‘you’ve been hoarding’ and prepare your hair for Saturday night.
Another article entitled “Spring-cleaning your wardrobe: Need for being ruthless” published in the Queensland Times newspaper (04/09/1939) also proclaims the importance of cleaning out your wardrobe to make way for the clothes of Spring. This involves repairing all items necessary, removing each item and considering if you have worn it and if not deciding who to give the item away to. Handbags, gloves and hats that are out of fashion should also be given away to a charity or the like. The articles states that :
“If you are a hoarder by nature all this will be hard, but it is worth it to achieve a wardrobe on which every team earns its keep instead of lying and useless, acting as a decoy for moths”
A poem about Spring by Betty Isler which appeared in the Queensland Times Newspaper on the 24th July, 1951 – Image courtesy of Trove Digitised Newspapers.
One of the most important Spring Cleaning tips given in the Queensland Times newspaper in 1939 was in regard to the cleaning of women’s fur coats and how important this process would be in preserving the life of the fur. The methods used to air and clean the furs in this case are quite….different. The processes included beating the furs with a carpet stick or cane to remove old dust and heating bran in a hot oven and rubbing this onto the fur through a cloth. The fur is then left to rest for several hours and then the bran is beaten form the furs. An interesting yet effective process for that time period, I’m sure!
The last is a most astounding article found relates to the Spring Clean of arms and legs! The process was suggested to be carried out in one week to prepare a woman’s skin for the coming summer season and to remove dry skin caused by the harsh weather of the Autumn and Winter. The steps involved are quite complicated and involved a number of dangerous acts with chemicals. The following steps appeared in the Queensland Times newspaper on the 20th of August, 1945:
Monday – Melt lanolin cream with water until it is almost a thick liquid and then scrub it onto the backs of arms and legs with a soft brush. Then scrub lanolin areas with a pumice soap and warm water before patting dry lightly.
Tuesday – Remove the hair on arms and legs with a hair removal disc and follow up with the treatment carried out on Monday. If arm hairs are dark it was recommended to bleach these with peroxide and ammonia.
Wednesday – Patch up the scorch marks left by the peroxide…! and cover the legs in calamine lotion then wash this off 12 hours later and apply cream. Repeat this process until scorch marks have vanished.
Thursday – massage hand lotion into arms and put peroxide onto elbows and allow to dry then reapply hand lotion once more.
Friday – ‘Squeeze, pinch and punch’ the fattier parts of the legs and arms with talcum powder until they are ‘good and red and finish with a hearty slap’.
Saturday – Soak feet in warm water containing salt and vinegar or iodine and scrub with a soft brush and then with pumice. Dry and cover with cream, before messaging in thoroughly. Soak feet with methylated spirits and powder with talc.
So, as you can see some of the processes involved in Spring Cleaning were quite drastic, and in some ways many concepts for de-cluttering the home still apply today. But I guess that we should all be grateful that we live in modern times we’re the only time we would be using bran in our households would be in our morning breakfast cereal!
Information taken from the Queensland Times newspaper 20/08/1945; Queensland Times newspaper 04/09/1939; Queensland Times newspaper.