The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-03-31
THE HOUSEMAID'S DUTIES.
And How They Can To Executed to the
hest Advantage.

And How They Can To Executed to The
Hest Advantage.
In explaining hor duties TO a now house
maid, great stress should be laid on a systc-
matte care OF all The closets In tho house,
and particularly the bath rooms, slop
closets, etc. The bath rooms should he put
In order a. loon a. the rooms are finished;
Che tub should DO washod out daily with
soap and water. and dried with a soft cloth.
The porcelain-lined tubs which are taking
the place of the old-fashioned timed ones
arc a great Improvements; bat with careful
washing the latter may be made to look
always very bright and fresh. Everything
In tho bath room should be rubbed. washed,
or dustod daily. The soAp dish and every
thing that 10 on the wash stand must be
washed and dried. Tho soap should be
left in neat condition, and the soiled towels
removed and replaced by fresh ones. All
the plumbing must be kept perfectly clean
elusive whisk brooms and cloths carefully
marked. 1t Is almost always necessary TO
caution a new servant about lowin
matches or hair to be emptied into the
sinks, as negligence In this particniar often
causes the greatest amount Of troubls and
expense, and people are very apt to throw
small things OF the kind into their Glop
Jars in their rooms. Hot water should DO
poured down tho sinks every day, ana they
should be carefully rub with sapolio
and water, and once n week copperaS water
should DO poured down. The honsemaid
should hRye a broom-closet III which to
keep ali the articles used in chamber work;
conyenisnt hooks should be provided FOR
every article. md each one should have its
own particular place. Do not keep coal
and kindlines in this closet; II there ia no
regular place for them have q box made on
hinges about the length and height. of a
trunk-this will hold kindlinRs and two
s~outtles of coal. and it neatly upholstered
makes q good hall seat. Tho bedroom
closets should have all the clothes removed
and be we'll washed ont once a week.
The linen closet should be most system
a~tlcally kept. The shelves should be COW
cred with white paper, and everything OF II
kind should be kept in piles. Pillowcases
markings to correspond. When the things
come up from the laundry. the maid should
put the fresh linen underneath what Is al
ready in the closet; this insures everything
being equally used. The napkins should
be kept in sets and frequently counted.
with tho others, but everything that requires
mending kept in q pile by itself. The coat
closet requires daily care; the coats should
te brushed, the floor swept from tho street
dust that is constantly brought into it. and
india rubbers should always be wiped of
before putting them In the closet. The
medicine closet ought never 10 be touched
by q maid except to aoour 1t out occasion
ally under her mistress supervision. This
closet should he kept under every lady's
own especial care. Everything should be
labeled; it should invariably DO kept
locked, and Its contents should be ar
ranged with extreme neatness. 1t is very
important in cases of accident or sudden
sickness thas everything should be sys-
tematically arranged. as tim is often OF the
utmost Importance. In every medicine
closet there should be a roll of old linen, of
strong white calico, of flame and Of lint.
and some sticking plaster. -The calico
should be in strips to serve as bandaRes.
and each roll should be fastened with a pin.
A pair of scissors. some tape and q few
large needles already threaded, should be
kept In u small box aud never used for my
thing else than accidents. Emergency med
ioines are castor oil, syrup Of ipecac, para
goric, turpentine. SIENNA leaves, EPSON
salts. carbonate of soda, d small bottle Of
laudanum, marked poison" and a pint
bottle of linseed oil and lime water; this
last is for burns. Mustard, which Is inval
liable, Is always presumed to be in the
house. The above list was given by a ply
stefan, but there arc, Of course, other medi-
cines that might be added with advantage;
but as this article only deals with the care
of closets in general. more specific enumer-
alton is not necessary here.
For bedroom and bathroom cleaning
housemaids' cloths of cotton diaper are de-
sirable. These leave no lint on marble.
glass or porcelain. New York Tribune.