The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1894-11-01
HOUSEHOLD SLAVES.
Women Who Are in the Habit of Getting
Behind in Their Work.

Behind IN Their WORK
While it is very desirable to do every
thing in the way of housekeeping de-
Gently and in order, one should be very
careful not to let herself become
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 to keep house in
good running order, as many we'll
meaning and conscientious house-keep-
ers seem to think. The house is kept
for the comfort and pleasure and con-
venience of the family; when it does
not fulfill this purpose we may know
at once that something is wrong; and
it is the duty of every housewife to i'm
mediately set about to right the wrong
If it is possible.
1t is in making the home comfort
and pleasure that the real skill in
housekeeping may be exercised. AL
most any one with ordinary common
sense can lay down fixed rules, and say
that such work must be done at such a
time; and if it is possible to carry the
plan out exactly to the hour, or day,
she may seem to be, and will probably
think herself, an excellent housekeep-
err. But an attempt at such house
keeping is likely to result in one of two
| things: if the mistress is strong willed,
| she is sure to make her family eX-
| tremely uncomfortab 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 housekeeper 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 eXigencies 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 a
time, if any circumstances should arise
which would make it more desirable to
do so. No housewife can hope to have
a pleasant home Tor her family, or have
herself anything but a careworn wom-
an, who does not always provide for
the unexpected; and one of the import
ant provisions is to always keep her
temper. If the unexpected happens,
and it is continually happening in all
active and hospitable households,
meet it without any fretfulness, and it
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 it 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 it is actually needed
Then one will be the mistress, and not
the slave of her houseworl1, 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, so 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, she seems only to get it done
in order to begin the next, and thus
keeps herself as much 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 it
easily and at such convenient times
that it will hardly seem to be work. If
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 E. Mar
tin, in Demofest's Magazine.