11 rules from Ukrainian grandmothers

Keep Your Home From Smelling Old

My grandmother's house never smelled old, not one day. She always said a house gets an old smell when the air and the cloth stop moving, so we move them: into the frost, into the sun, into the water. Here are her eleven rules. Keep this list on your refrigerator.

with love, Maria

Your free printable list

  • Pillows on the snow
  • Open wide, then close
  • Let the bed breathe
  • A cold entry for outdoor things
  • Rinse wool in clean water
  • A soaking day for linens
  • Summer cooking outside
  • Wash the walls twice a year
  • Wormwood in the chest
  • Fresh herbs, not a plug-in
  • One clean day a week

I will write to you when my book of my grandmother's ways is ready. Nothing else, and you can leave any time.

Thank you! Here is your list.

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Print it and keep it where you will see it.