St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1894-11-03
WORK THAT GOES AwRy.


S0n0 ThlnG0 That Disturb eo0 HOuoen0o0
Happinesa.
Every housekeeper knows that Il b
not the steady routine work which
goes on day after day, with variations
of incidental company and incidental
extra work Of various kinds, that
breaks down the health and temper.
In the harmonious home, and there
are thousands of such happy homes
throughout the land, each member Of
the family'contributes . share Of work
to the complete whole.
The things that exhaust the patience
and leave = powerful impress finally.
like drops of water on the hard rock.
wearing out nervous strength and pa
tience, are the unexpected. There
stituted that they can not conform to
the routine ways of any home. They
invariably tangle up the work by 90
ing ON in an individual way Of
their own, regardless Of the con-
venience OF all other members Of the
household. The hour for breakfast
may be settled for all the rest, but not
for them. In all sorts Of unexpected
ways they manage to interfere with
the routine of things, and actually
make double work for everyone else.
There are some housekeepers who
have no idea Of system, who are hard.
drudging workers, forever cleaning
and grubbing over floors and pantries
that ought to be kept clean. Bustle
and noise arc not parts of . good house
keepers work. The wheels of motion
in q well-kept house move SO noislessly
that no one is aware that there is q
system in all that goes on, unless it be
by the sense Of quiet and peace pre-
vailing over everything. 1t is
just this quiet atmosphere which
the undisciplined person fails to
appreciate. Yet there can be NO
home without serious breaks in
comfort where there is no thorough
system, disguised though it may be;
and the ignorant person wonders why
everything seems to be in perfect order
without any display of extraordinary
work. The reason is that the work is
all done at an appointed time, and an
extra effort is made if there is to be
extra work.
The housekeeper who is systematic
does not attempt to do more than she
can. She refuses to do unnecessary
work which she is sure can not be nc
cOmplished without hurry and confu-
sion, and which will put back neces-
sary work. 1t requires cool judgment
to estimate this, and some independ-
ence to accomplish it. When every
other woman in the village has Joined
q new society, it seems churlish to re
fuse to do SO, yet the systematic house
keeper must sometimes refuse if it in
terferes with necessary work at home.
In general it will be found that she
does more for the church and for the
other objects in the village because
her time is SO arranged that she has
more to spare.
The family sewing-basket is not al
lowed to get beyond her needle. The
old maxim, "a stitch in time saves
nine." is carefully needed, and the
mending is lessened. The systematic
woman keeps an account-book and
knows to . penny what t he expendi-
lures are. and she does not go beyond
them. She is not subject to untoward
accidents, like the upsetting of lamps,
the overturning Of china, and those va
rious mishaps that try the patience. be-
cause she is careful. The whole secret of
her system lies in her care of little
things. And because of this very care
she is saved much of the labor Of more
negligent women.
Nothing is SO wearisome and so wear
ing to the nervous system as the irrita-
tion arising from want Of system and
general haphazard methods of house
keeping. 1t is truth, not fiction. that
indolent people always work the
hardest. They never find what they
are in search Of. They make all man.
ner of work which of necessity they
are compelled to take care ON. Y.
Tribune.