Early American Life, April, 2010
This article, written under my pseudonym Amy Poole, lays out just how critical this annual cleaning ritual was for many families in early America. Winters were long, dark, and dirty for most families, with overflowing chamberpots, no bathing or cleaning, overflowing ashes from the hearth, and even livestock brought into the house to protect the animals from starving or freezing to death. When winter passed, families undertook this monumental ritual to return their homes to livable conditions.