From The Ladies’ Home Journal, February, 1905
By Gabrielle E. Jackson

Editor’s Note: These are 105 years old, but amazingly still apply today! I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I did. If you are a mother, there is so much wisdom here for you. Read more »

Maria Parloa gives homemakers in the early 1900s advice on keeping dust at a minimum.  This is adapted from The Ladies Home Journal, February, 1905.

Dust is the cause of much trouble to the housekeeper.  The air is never free from it.  Dust contains bacteria, yeast, and mold spores.  This article gives tips on sweeping, dusting, and furniture choice to keep the house clean and sweet. Read more »

A Luncheon for St. Valentine’s Day

Everyone ought to celebrate St. Valentine’s Day, for after all it is one of the loveliest days in all of the year. Even if there is only a guest or two extra for luncheon, try to bring the Valentine’s atmosphere into it. Some little valentines for place cards and a big heart-shaped valentine cake for dessert will do wonders for the party spirit.

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A Valentine Table Decorated with Pink Roses
(Table 1)

The centerpiece of this table is arranged to imitate the first valentine made in America.  The lace square is over pink silk.  The old-style basket of green braid is filled with pink roses.  A large rose is laid at each corner of the lace.  The candle-shades are made of pink roses with a wreath of foliage at the top.  The design of a full-blown rose in the center of the plates is quaint and entirely appropriate.

Table Decorated with Pink Roses

Scarlet Hearts
(Table 2)

A tall candelabra is placed in the center of a large scarf.  Each red candle is placed in a large red rose, which has hanging from it a fringe made of narrow red ribbon and small hearts cut from red cardboard.  An oblong mass of roses is at the base of the candelabra.  At each corner of the table is a bon-bon basket made of scarlet tulle, the handles being decorated with roses.  The valentines are heart-shaped booklets.  The covers are scarlet and decorated with Cupids.  The leaves may be of writing paper with appropriate sentiments written in ink.  Bouillon cups are on the plates.

Table with Scarlet Hearts

Cupid and Roses
(Table 3)

A plaster-cast Cupid is standing in the midst of a bed of red roses.  Around the roses is a waving line of red ribbon to which are fastened valentines, which serve as favors.  These valentines are red hearts pierced with gilt arrows.  Over the tablecloth are scattered gilt arrows and hearts.  The hearts are cut from red cardboard.  The red candles are capped with shades made of red tulle, finished with a fringe of red hearts.  The plates are decorated with wreaths of roses.

Cupid and Roses

Roses and Smilax
(Table 4)

In the center of the table are two heart-shaped baskets made of tulle.  The white basket is filled with white roses, and the pink basket with pink roses.  The two hearts are pierced by one long arrow.  The hearts are outlined, and the candlesticks are wreathed with smilax.  The candle shades are pink silk decorated with faces that appear in heart-shaped frames.  The favors are long-stemmed roses tied with ribbon.  At the end of each streamer is a gilt Cupid.  The plates are rose-patterned.

Roses and Smilax

Adapted from The Ladies Home Journal, February, 1905

Adapted from Household Discoveries, 1908 – 1909

In the regular routine of weekly work it is a good plan to set aside a day in which all garments may be mended, altered, or made over.  The day following ironing day is usually most convenient.  Then the piles of stockings that are to be darned, and any other articles from the weekly wash that may require a “stitch in time,” can be added to the other mending that has accumulated during the week, and the whole disposed of. Read more »

A rag rug can be made on a hand loom at home.  It makes a thick and serviceable covering for the floor.  To make a rag rug, use a warp of strong cotton thread, and weave in any kind of rags twisted into small rolls.

First use a strong cotton yarn reeled into skeins of five knots.  About one skein to the yard of carpet will be required, with about three knots additional for binding at the end of each breadth. Read more »

Home wallpaper has several advantages.  First, it is suitable for walls that are rough or uneven, and assists in keeping the rooms tight and warm.  Also, there are many patterns and colors of wallpaper to match the decor of any room.  A room can be repapered whenever needed or desired. Read more »