To the aged survivors of that epoch the phrase “housecleaning-time” is still enough to provoke a shudder. I have heard the assertion made that it lasted at least six weeks, although all seem to be agreed that the spring visitation was more severe than that of the autumn. Even in this day and generation there are found certain authorities to declare that a house cannot be kept so clean that it does not once in so often require a thorough going-over. In a way there is an element of truth in their claim. In every home there are nooks and corners not in constant use, and therefore not regularly cleaned; store-closets, trunk-rooms, cupboards or drawers reserved for extra bedding, clothing, furnishings, into whose closed confines dust mysteriously seeps, wherein moth and other vermin make their breeding-places. At least once a year--and better, twice in a twelvemonth--these “glory-holes” should be emptied, the contents looked over, beaten or dusted, the floors, walls, shelves, etc., wiped off carefully. This is the time to give away or throw away treasured possessions no longer of use to their owners and which may be of service elsewhere; to rearrange such articles as escape banishment; to put aside for the next season the summer or winter clothing, hangings, and the like which are not needed at the moment. So long as dirt and dust continue to exist and to work themselves into the most jealously guarded precincts, so long must the housekeeper bestow at least a semi-annual inspection on her reserves and their quarters. She fails signally to understand her business, however, if she permits an accumulation of dirt with the comforting conviction that it will all be removed in the spring and fall clearance. More and more we understand the importance of purity to health, and with this comprehension we have grown to perceive that the best method of retaining high cleanliness is by never allowing the dirt to get the better of us. A little brushing and sweeping and cleaning here and there as it is needed, a more attentive treatment once a week, will keep the house clean without making the labor a burden. The system which should be the housekeeper’s most valued ally in the effort after efficiency comes into play here. By the time she is fairly settled in her new home she should have evolved a routine which, so far from being an irksome groove, will be rather a track on which the domestic wheels revolve without undue friction and the consequent wear and tear. Take into consideration first the round of the day as it has to do with keeping the house in order. When the maid or the housekeeper herself comes down in the morning to start the breakfast, either by making a fire with wood or coal, or by lighting the oil or gas flame, or turning the key that sets the electric current to work, she should open the windows to let in fresh air and the light which reveals the dusty or the untidy corners.