IOWA HISTORY PROJECT |
MODERN CONVENIENCES FOR THE FARM HOME
DISPOSAL OF ASHES, GARBAGE, AND MISCELLANEOUS REFUSE
It is the regular taking care of the little things that advances housekeeping to a fine art. The more promptly and regularly all refuse of the household is harmlessly disposed of the better for the healthfulness and comfort of the home. If the ashes are kept free from organic wastes they can be used to advantage on the garden walks or to fill up low places. When taken from the stove or furnace they should never be stored in wooden boxes or barrels or in a fixed ash pit, but in a galvanized can, not too large to be easily emptied, that is fitted with a tight lid. Many serious fires have been started from inexcusable carelessness of using a wooden receptacle for ashes.
The kitchen refuse from the from the preparation of the food can be saved for the pigs and chickens. It should be collected in galvanized-iron pails furnished with tightly closing covers to prevent exposure to the sun and to avoid flies. These pails should be washed and scalded each time they are emptied, and once a week, especially in summer, they should be rinsed with carbolic acid-a teaspoonful to a pint of water. Whatever can not be used in this way should be dried and burned.
Things that the junk peddler will take (old tin, iron, leather, rubber, etc.) should be cleaned and stored in sacks in a dry outhouse to await his next visit. No damp or decaying rubbish should be left in dark or out-of-the-way places.