Iron women, indeed they were. Cleaning was not as easy as it is nowadays. I used to hear a lot of tales from the elderly in my family and in the neighborhood about how much time and effort they put into their daily routines to get their jobs done.

At that time, cleaning was an essential chore and a priority for all ladies. Your household kept intact and organized was a duty. Any woman not taking care of that was not doing her job right. They would start from attic to cellar, natural soap shavings was added to the boiling water, and with a wooden brush the cleaning would start from the ceiling to the marble floors. My lovely relative, who was in her late eighties, was once reminiscing about her mother in law who used to give her one bar of soap for each room, forbidding her to leave any one of them before she is done. Surprisingly, she used to tell me that story with a smile on her face. A smile of self satisfaction and accomplishment. I love the kindness and simplicity that they shared. We are losing that kind of bond; “the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others” Ghandi

It was a strenuous and demanding life. As one person once said, man may work from sun to sun but a woman’s work is never done. The only thing those ladies were extravagant with was their time and they gave plenty of that. House work in the mornings, tending to their children along with plenty of needle work in the afternoons, and many family obligations in the evenings. Contrary to what you might think nowadays, they lived in a world of unhurried placidity and simple ease.

Below are some traditional methods and skills people used to engage in to complete certain jobs:

The “مبيض” “polisher” that used to pass by my grandmother’s home to polish her copper pots, and they were many! once a year. I still carry on this tradition for the healthiest way to cook is to use copper pots.

The quilts, I remember as a child how all the wool quilts and pillows were collected on our balconies to be cleaned by that skillful man with his interesting instrument, a piece of wood attached to a string, looked like a bow and arrow, and would start flicking the wool, giving it a nudge, to fluff it up. The wool was exposed to the sun for a couple of hours and then returned to the mattress, quilts, pillows, etc…

The washing ritual, a lady used to help the families around the neighborhood with their hand washing before washing machines existed. Washing day was very special and usually done on a Saturday because Sundays needed to be fresh and smelling good.

The carpets, it is a common practice that we carry out from old times till today because carpets are passed from generation to generation. Carpets used to be cleaned with soap and water, put in the sun to dry after long and humid winters, and rolled with the leaves of a certain tree, “chinaberry” “زنزلخت” which was known to purify the air, most of the gardens had one planted for several reasons, one which was that it provides the perfect amount of shade to sit under. These leaves are a natural moth repellent.

All these methods from the past stayed with me up until now, and I was very lucky to have had the chance to own a home made of stone with a heritage character, where I have the chance to happily practice similar traditions every year. Once my windows are open and the  scrubbing starts, the smell of soap is an official announcement that the house is ready to welcome the summer season.

“A secret to happiness is letting every situation be what it is, instead of what you think it should be, and then making the best of it.”

With love, Jahna