Spring Cleaning: Back in the 19th Century...

Spring cleaning 150 years ago involved - well - a lot more cleaning than it does today. That's according to historian Susan Strasser, the author of Never Done: The History of American Housework.

Strasser said the use of kerosene and whale oil lamps during the winter months resulted in a layer of soot by spring that made spring cleaning a mandatory and taxing task in every American household.

"The accumulated grime on every surface was staggering. I mean it would certainly be staggering to us, and it was staggering to them," said Strasser.

Removing the soot was not easy. The house would need to be emptied out of its contents. And all furniture, draperies, and carpeting would be taken outside to be beaten and cleaned.

Strasser says the two week process, led by the women of the household, left men with cold meals and inattentive wives. The disdain men had for spring cleaning was satarized in many 19th century newspaper comics. Strasser described one comic:

"The spring house cleaning days have come, the saddest of the year, and there's a picture of a man with a top hat and he's running from mops and brooms and buckets."

While today spring cleaning is still a chore, at least we have the vacuum cleaner to help us out.