The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1894-06-22
BAD MANAGEMENT.
Useless Tasks That Some Housekeepers
Impose Upon themselves

Useless Tasks That Some Housekeepers
Impose Upon Themselves.
There is a great deal of homely truth
in the remark once made by famous
clergyman, that some peoples CHM
neys always smoked and their roofs
always leaked. Now, as every one
knows, there is no reason for Il smoky
chimney or a leaky roof except bad
management
1t is a trifling matter to put few
shingles on leaking roof. 1t takes no
more time to build Il chimney properly,
as it should be built, than to build it
improperly, and it is an easy matter to
keep it clean. Yet, every day we see
individuals enduring actual hardships,
from just such trifling causes as these.
1t requires only little maelagement,
little calm, quiet thought and judg-
ment, to remedy a majority of house
hold troubles Don QuiXote was not
the only person that fought windmills.
Housekeepers are continually engaging
in such useless tasks. One housekeeper
has stove, the oven of which will not
bake rapidly except when the fire is
first kindled. During the rest of the
day it remains at slow heat Now
there are great many puddings and
some cakes that may be cooked by
slow heat, just the heat which poor
stove oven gives. Instead of content
ing herself with custards and old-fash-
ioned fruit cakes and such confections
as require this slow heat, she is forever
attempting to ignore the peculiarities
of her oven and insists on baking
sponge cake and pastry to the vain
wasting of flour and eggs In nine
cases out of ten the housekeeper in
stead of considering herself bad man
ager, looks upon herself as much
abused person.
There is hardly any household trou-
bles of this kind which, if taken in
time and treated with Judgment, may
not be at least partly overcome. The
great fault usually consists in laying
out given line of action and expect
ing all circumstances to mold them
selves to it, instead of molding our ac-
tions to the circumstances. Most of
the household disorder and a great
deal of discomfort may be traced to
just this thing. Not only in the kitch-
en-, but in the parlor does the house
keeper attempt to carry out elaborate
theories which she has no practical
means to fulfill She dresses her par
lor in the miniature of grand salon,
and poses herself in it to wait for the
society that never comes, because, for
sooth, there is no society in the place
that has time to linger in grand salons,
or has any taste for them. So all the
genuine visiting is done in the kitchen
and sitting room, and the parlor is
closed for all but two or three days in
the year, and left for moth and mold
to corrupt. All this is theoretical, not
practical, living, and is the worst of
management
The space occupied by the shut-up
parlor should be turned into the sit
ting-room, which is generally cramped
to give space to the parlor, and the
whole room should be made as light
and cheerful as possible, as a general
meeting-room of the entire family.
The money spent on the mock show of
the shut-up parlor will furnish great
many comforts to the general sitting
room, where nothing should be too fine
and good for daily use, and everything
should be as handsome and substan-
tial as our means will allow. This is
the general reception room for all the
family guests.
We have little sympathy with that
Jealous spirit which members of some
families exhibit in receiving their
special friends by themselves. The
rule which governs the best society in
sists that social call should include
all the feminine members of the fam
lily, and it is altogether the wisest one.
Daughters should have no friends
whom they cannot receive in the pres
ence of their mothers and sisters-cer-
tainly no male friends-and the exist
ence of the shut-up parlor has no ex-
cuse except the custom of allowing
young ladies to receive their friends by
themselves. Occasionally a wedding
or funeral calls for the opening of the
shutters, and the sun is allowed to pen
citrate into this otherwise super1uous
room, to which so much family comfort
is so often sacrificed. IN. Y. Tribune