This photograph of the parlour in the R.J. Hutcheson house in Huntsville was taken in 1898.

Photographs provide a  clear window into the past. This one displays the social tastes and mores of new Canadians on the Muskoka frontier in the Victorian age – not just yer regular bumpkin’s rough cabin, eh?

As the days lengthen, many Canadians will turn to the ages-old traditional pastime of spring cleaning – turning out – our musty, dusty parlours. As history turns full circle, “green” advocates suggest simple preparations found in old-fashioned remedies and formulations.

Whether your décor tends to the fustiest of Victorian, the woodsiest of rustic, or the simplest of minimalist genres, we hope you will clean your parlour with one of the “new” simple and safe formulas marketed in a store near you as a “green” alternative. How old is elbow grease?

And please do hang paper bells when you’re done – it makes the parlour game of figuring out the photo in 110 years from now so much more fun!