Woodville Republican. (Woodville, Miss.) 185?-current, 1894-11-03
HOUSEHOLD SLAVES.
Womsn Who Arc W tlie HALT 81 Getting
nehlnh IN Their work.

"onfh VINO Arc " tie HALT 81 Gettipg
fiehlnd ~ Their work.
While II n very desirable 10 do every
thing IN tine WAY u housekeeping de-
Gently and inDraer. one should be very
careful not VI lei herself become a
slave TO order, nor destroy the peace
and freedom Of her family because
they do not always live and work in
perfect accord with her plans One
does not live solely 10 keep house In
good running order, as many we'll
meaning and conscientious house-lSeep-
ers seem ~ think. The house IS kept
for the comfort and pleasure and con-
ycnience Of the family; when II does
not fulfill this purpose we may know
at onse that something Is wrong: and
itisF ,ty Of every housewife to inn
mcda tabout to right the wrong
hg the home comfort
IA that the real skill in
H. may be exercised. Al
most ;. with ordinary common
sense can lay down fixed rules, and say
that such work must be done at such
time; and If Il Is possible 10 carry the
plan out exactly 10 the hour, or day,
she may seem 10 be, and will probably
think herself, an excellent housekeep
en- But an attempt at such house.
keeping is likely to result in one of two
things: IL the mistress is strong willcd,
she is sure TO make her family ex-
tremcly uncomfortable: If she is weak
willed, she will suffer much discomfort
herself, and probably become peevish
and fretful In either case, she Is
slave to her housekeeping and can not
expect to develop any Sweetness and
light" in her household.
A good houselSeeper is one who
not only knows how to make plans for
her work, which is indeed, very i'm.
portant, but knows, also, how to make
the order Of work sufficiently flexible
to meet all the exigcncics of daily life,
without any serious disasters. She
must know how TO change her plans
easily that is, without friction: or even
to do away with them altogether, for
time, If any circumstances should arise
which would mike ii more desirable tc
do So No housewife can hope to have
pleasant home for her family, or have
herself anything but careworn wom-
an, who does not always provide for
the unexpected; and one of the import
ant provisions is to always keep her
temper II the unexpected happens,
and 1t is continually happening in all
active and hospitable households,
meet it without any fretfulness, and il
will not be half so difficult to deal
with.
One of the secrets of being able to
have ones plans frustrated without
serious inconvenience is in being fore
handed. Never allow work to accumu-
late If 1t is possible to do it, Keep
everything in such order that little
neglect will not show. Occupy spare
moments Of the days that are not very
busy ones, in doing work little ahead
of the time when 1t is actually needed
Then one will be the mistress, and not
the slave of her homework, and the
true work of the homemaker will be
accomplished
But one may even be slave to the
idea of being forehanded; and many a
housekeeper frets herself nearly to
death in order to keep everything done
ahead of time, 50 that there will be no
accumulation OF work. 1t becomes al |
most mania: and though each seasons |
work is done SO long ahead of time that
she could give herself weeks of com
plete rest, sheseems only to get 1t done
in order TO begin the next, and thus
keeps herself as much a slave to her |
household work as If it were always |
behindhand.
The only advantage in doing work
ahead Of time Is that one may do Is
easily and at such convenient times |
that it will hardly seem TO be work. II |
the habit becomes so fixed that it
seems necessity the work has become |
the master and the mistress of the |
house is the slave. Josephine f. Mar
tin, in Demorest's Magazine.