When I was a little girl, I used to love to spend the night at my Grandma's house. She was quite old fashioned to this "young whippersnapper" as she used to call the younger generation. While she lived in town, in brick home, with electricity, and running water, it was unnecessary to have a water heater or to use the electric lights at night when one could see just fine with the reflections from the nearby street lights.

The items shown in the above picture could be found downstairs in the basement, hidden behind a curtain out of plain sight of her daughter, My Mother. Grandma got very annoyed at hearing about how things had changed and there were a lot of new things out there to make her life easier. Grandma would just smile, bite her tongue and do it her way after my Mom left.

Often, in the evenings she would light an oil lamp and we would glean through the 1902 Sears and Roebuck catalog. The above items were listed with the following descriptions and cost.

Galvanized Wash Tub: No.23R6836. Is the highest grade made, non-destructible and by far the cheaper in the end than tin or any lower priced ware. All tubs are galvanized after being mede and will not leak. No hoops to fall off. Strong and durable. Cost: $0.54 each.

Washboard: No.23R8092 Our washboard is made for us by a manufacturer who has the reputation of making the best washboards on the market. They are of the strongest construction and finishsed in the best possible manner. We have selected our washboards to give the customer the best possible value for their money. Cost: $0.24 each.

Wooden Water Pail: No. Made by a contract in Virginia by the best maker in America and is the highest grade materials on the market. It is impervious to water. Very light and strong and superior to any pail ever made. Cost: $0.20 each.

Total Costs:  $0.54 + $0.24+ $0.40=$1.18!!

Using lavender throughout the house, brings a tantilizing aroma and freshness indoors. The following serves only as a small sampling of household uses.

LAVENDER HANGER SACS: Supplies: newspaper, dried lavender, netting, ribbon, hooks. Procedure: spread a newspaper on flat working surface. Cut netting to desired size squares. place proportional amount of dried lavender in center of netting, secure with rubber band and cover band with ribbon tying ends to make a bow. Additional length of ribbon can be looped around the closet rod and secured with a twistie tie or smaller sacs can be made for individual hangers. Adds a touch of whimsey and pleasant aroma to closets. Sacs can also be placed inside drawers or shoes to freshen them.

LAVENDER HOUSEHOLD RINSE: a few drops of lavender oil can be added to the final rinse water when cleaning kitchen or bathroom floors or washing walls. Not to be used on wood surfaces.

LAVENDER ROOM SPRAY: Supplies: 4 0z mist spray bottle. lavender oil, distilled water. Procedure: Use this proportion: 40 drops lavender oil to 4 oz distilled water. Shake to mix well. Spray throughout room avoiding wood surfaces.

LAUNDRY AID:  Add 5-10 drops of oil to final rinse water when doing special loads of laundry.

INSECT BITES: Dab a few drops of lavender oil onto a kleenex or guaze square and apply to insect bites to relieve itching and swelling.

LICE: Add 10 drops of lavender to 1 tablespoon baby shampoo. Mix well. Wet hair. Shampoo, allowing to remain on hair and scalp for 5 min. Rinse. Repeat. In protected area, comb hair from scalp out to ends, rinsing comb after each pull through. Rinse hair again. Dry and style. Use manifying glass and toothpicks to inspect scalp and hairroots for continued signs of lice. If treatments not effective after 3 days, seek medical help.

LIGHT BULBS. On a cool light bulb rub 1-2 drops of lavender oil over surface. Allow to dry. When turn on bulb, aroma will diffuse into the room. Repeat q 1-2 wk depending on light use.

INSECT REPELLENT: Place bunches on lavender on your patio at night to repell insects.

GRILL AID: Keep a small mist bottle of lavender water to use on burns received while grilling outdoors. Proportion: 40 drops oil to 2 oz distilled water.