Being a good housewife is a full-time job and has a lot of duties – from taking care of the children, to cooking and cleaning. While I will not talk about how to bring up your offspring, I would like to give you some cleaning advices that have been proven effective over the years. In a series of posts I will talk about cleaning techniques from the past, witty tricks and innovations in the field of hygiene. I hope I can help you reduce the usage of chemical-based cleaning products that are potentially harmful for you and your family. Also, my goal will be to save you time off cleaning by guiding you through the path of being a good, but not exhausted housewife. Last, but not least, my advices will save you a lot of money from expensive, yet not so efficient cleaning products. Hopefully you will start feeling more confident about your skills as a housewife and you will start looking and the cleaning duties as more of an excitement, rather than a burden.

In this part of the good housewife cleaning tips I will talk about cleaning furniture.

Furniture of bright wood is cleaned in the following way. First, dust them good. Then, use warm water and soap to clean them.

Carved furniture is dusted with a special brush, wool or silk cloth or leather. This is the most effective cleaning method.

Varnished furniture also is dusted using a soft brush or leather. Any scratches or cracks can be covered by using varnish of the same colour. This furniture cannot be washed with water.

Mat furniture can only be cleaned using a dry rag, leather or a soft brush.

Polished furniture has to be cleaned every day with a soft cloth. Every now and then you can freshen them up by spreading them with polish and wiped off with a dry cloth. Polished furniture should also not be washed with soap and water. This type of furniture should be kept away from hot items, alcohol, vinegar and wine as these can permanently damage the polish.

Wooden furniture can be preserved not only by using polish. If you do not like the smell of it or you just do not have any, you can use olive oil instead. Pour a little bit of it on a dry cotton cloth and polish the piece of furniture with it. When it dries off the colour might get a little bit darker but it will look more natural and you will have a shiny new-looking table or whatever it is you polished.

I sincerely hope these advices were helpful. Keep looking for more cleaning advices.