Spring Cleaning Tips from the 1800s Still Ring True Today

I have a love/hate relationship with spring cleaning. I love the idea of cleaning my house from top to bottom, but hate the guilt that comes with failing to live up to the ideals of the latest housecleaning books.

So this year, for my cleaning routine I’m relying on a classic: The American Woman’s Home: Or, Principles Of Domestic Science, a 500-page bestseller written in 1869 packed with practical advice on cleaning and keeping house. Written by Catharine Beecher and her famous abolitionist/author sister, Harriet Beecher Stowe, this book takes a common-sense approach to tackling the drudgery of spring cleaning.

Dedicated to the “women of America,” the book offers advice on many tasks, including how to clean a fireplace hearth and the importance of opening windows for fresh air and ventilation. Its value lies less in its instructions on cleaning (it was written before vacuums were invented) than in its wisdom on making a house a home. Specifically, it warns against becoming perfectionists — which was apparently a thing in the 19th century, long before HGTV and Instagram made us uptight about our imperfect homes.

The authors recognized that the seductive appeal of perfection comes with a price. A housekeeper striving for perfection at all costs tends to “awaken a slight apprehension in every mind around,” they wrote, which can make family and friends feel uneasy.

“System, economy and neatness are valuable, only so far as they tend to promote the comfort and well-being of those affected.”

The book recommends devising a schedule for cleaning by assigning duties to certain days and making a to-do list every morning. “At least aim at accomplishing it,” the authors advise. And pace yourself.

“Begin a little at a time,” they caution, or readers risk becoming “baffled, discouraged and disheartened, and finally relapse into their former desultory ways.”

“System, economy and neatness are valuable, only so far as they tend to promote the comfort and well-being of those affected.”

– The American Woman’s Home: Or, Principles Of Domestic Science