Home Cleaning and Arrangement
Senior 3 · Home Science
Home Cleaning and Arrangement
Lesson 3 of 4
22 min
Let's begin
In most Rwandan boarding schools the day starts with an inspection: the matron or patron walks down the dormitory and checks every bed. A tight sheet with neat corners, a folded blanket and a mosquito net knotted up out of the way pass. A heap of bedding fails. The check is not about looks alone. A bed that is aired and made each morning stays drier, cleaner and freer of bed bugs, and a tidy dormitory is quicker to sweep.
Beds, linen, curtains, cushions and mats are the soft surfaces of a home. This lesson shows how to arrange each one so that it looks orderly, lasts longer and stays hygienic.
Definition
Soft furnishings: the fabric items in a home, such as bedding, curtains, cushions, rugs, mats and furniture covers.
Bed linen: the washable fabric items used on a bed: sheets, pillowcases and duvet or blanket covers.
Airing: exposing bedding, mattresses or clothes to moving air (and often sunlight) so that moisture and smells escape.
Mitred (hospital) corner: a way of tucking a sheet at the corner of a mattress so that it forms a neat 45° fold and stays tight.
Linen rotation: putting freshly washed linen at the bottom of the pile and taking linen for use from the top, so all sets are used and wear out evenly.
Rwanda's Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization recommend that everyone at risk of malaria sleeps under an insecticide-treated net every night. Treat the net as a soft furnishing that needs care: mend holes at once with a few stitches, wash it gently with mild soap only when it is dirty, and dry it in the shade, because strong sunlight weakens the insecticide.
| Item | How to arrange it | Care | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|
| Curtains | hang with evenly spaced folds; open fully in the day and hold back with tie-backs for light and air | shake or vacuum often; wash or air periodically | keep well clear of cooking stoves and candles: curtains catch fire easily |
| Cushions | plump them; place larger ones at the back and smaller in front; balance the two ends of a sofa | wash covers regularly; turn cushions to spread wear | keep away from heaters |
| Rugs and mats | place a mat at each outside door to trap dirt; centre a rug under a coffee table or beside a bed | shake or beat outside; turn rugs round so they wear evenly | lay flat with no turned-up edges; no loose rugs at the top of steps, where they cause falls |
| Throws and furniture covers | fold neatly over the back or arm of a chair | wash as the label allows | do not let them trail on the floor |
Mattress Clarity: a follow-along demonstration of hospital (mitred) corners. Watch how the side of the sheet is lifted to make a triangle before the hanging part is tucked in, then pause and try it on your own bed.
Worked example
Worked example 1: enough linen for a family. A family has 4 beds. They want enough sheet sets for one set on each bed and one set in the wash. They own 5 sets. How many more do they need? In the rainy season, washing takes two days to dry, so they want a third set per bed. How many then?
Worked example
Worked example 2: putting a sitting room right. Byiringiro's sitting room has curtains drawn all day, a rug with a curled-up edge by the door, and six cushions piled at one end of the sofa. Advise him.
Warning
Common mistakes. Making a bed straight after waking, which traps the night's moisture inside; storing linen that is not fully dry; drying a treated mosquito net in hot sun; and leaving loose rugs where people walk often or on steps. A curtain blowing over a charcoal stove or candle is one of the quickest ways for a house fire to start.
Tip
Memory hook: "Air it, square it, tuck it." Air the bed first, square the sheets so the overhang is equal, tuck with mitred corners.
Practice
Sources and credits
