Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-07-16
YOUNG HOUSEKEEPERs.
Plenty of Advice for Them-Hints This
Ought to Be Well Received.

Plenty of Advice for Them-Hints That
Ought to Be Well Received.
The young wife, on first starting
housekeeping, gets overwhelmed with
advice. ''She mast be very strict with
her servants; she must be mild with
them; she must be neither the one nor
the otheri must be both together she
is told. Economy is another matter on
which some advisers are eloquent.
myself began housekeeping with an
impression, derived from my numerous
female relatives, that leg of mutton
was the only economical joint in the
world. My ideas on legs of mutton
got mixed. very nearly ended in
having two a day, one hot and the
other cold, so as to be doubly economi-
cal.
Treat your servants as human beings,
and not as machines. Be regular and
punctual yourself, and above all study
your husbands wishes and comfort
This is quite sufficient advice for a
young lady to start with on her Jour
ney through life, if remembered and
acted upon. No fear of shipwreck or
mutiny among the crew then. She
may occasionally bump the ship against
rock or run aground, but it will get
safe off in time and into smooth waters
at last.
1 should advise every housekeeper to
keep strict accounts from the very first.
Learn how much you have to spend on
your house, ON your dress on your
amusements. and then keep each &C
count separately. 1t will be real help
in time, though it is tiresome to do at
first. 1t is better with small means to
pay your bills weekly. 1t is not only
check upon your tradesmen-you are
not likely to forget in week what you
have ordered. though in a month you
very probably will-but you also learn,
in this way how much things really
cost. and what quantity is required for
a house. 1t is no use asking a friend
how much your bills ought to be. Find
out for yourself how you can have
plenty without extravaganza, and be
generous without being wasteful. The
Der your family consists of. In some
houses the bakers bill is the largest in
proportion. in others the butchers, and
so on There can be no law about
these things.
Above all do not begin by spending
up to your full allowance; always leave
a margin. Necessaries have wonder
full knack of going up, but they do not
come down again so easily.
Another advantage in keeping ac-
counts is that it shows you how trifles
run away with money. 1t is often
said: What is the good of accounts?
The money is gone and there is an end
of it. But it need not be the, end.
The accounts help to give US the
moral. We can learn from the moral
the lesson where to be more careful.
One is very apt to see thing in a
shop that seems to be wonderfully
cheap. and may be very useful some
day, and. therefore, to buy it "Wom-
ems bargains" are passing into pro-
verb. A good thing to remember is
that thing is not really cheap for you
if it Is not required.
In housekeeping have everything of
the best-good meat, good bread. good
Goals. A word about the last. Don't
attempt cheap Goals; they are snare
and delusion-all dust and ashes. If
you want to make your coal last well,
invest in cinder sitter. They are to
be had at every ironmonger's Have
all the ashes sifted through it before
small, worthless stuff goes through and
the cinders remain and scan be used
again. They make a hot, clear fire,
but, of course, do not burn for so long
a time as coal. If your coal is bad, it
burns quickly to small slate ash, and is
not only wasteful but dirty, for the
small, white dust flies about and settles
on everything in the room.
For man or woman who has daily
work to do-and we must remember
that brain work takes more out of a
person than mere manual labor-good
fresh meat is absolutely necessary, as
it also is for children while growing.
1t is not good plan to send orders
to your butcher by the boy who "calls
for ORDERS Your ideas and the
butchers are not always the same as
to the size and choice of joints. If you
have a good. trustworthy cook she can
90 for you, but should advise young
housekeeper to go and choose what she
wants herself, certainly for the first
year it gives experience.
When YOU order dinner think care
fully about all that will be wanted.
Dinner is a serious subject in some
houses. If you are apt to forget little
things-and most young housekeepers
are at first-take pencil and paper
and write down everything that
is wanted. Give out what you
have in the house, for of course you
will have a store cupboard. Store
rooms are luxury not often found in
small town houses. Order all that
will be required in the morning. then
it will be of your mind; If left until
later someone or something will inter- |
rupt you. and the small orders will |
probably be forgotten.
When we sit down to dinner those |
little forgotten things return with ac-
cusing force. Sometimes there follows |
a grumble: sometimes kindly Never |
mind this time"
The last makes most impression. No |
wife likes to remember a grumble, but |
no true wife can forget the kindly |
word.
Many a young wife have 1 heard say.
'.He was so kind about it. will try |
and remember better in the future"
If any young husband designs to
read these few hints. he is to try to re-
member that the kindly word of en-
helps the young house.
keeper to persevere and to succeed in
and doing all the little
things that tend to make home happy.
The Lady.