The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-10-10
HOUSEKEEPING WORK.
It MAY BE Rendered Easy by Proper Pro-
visions.

Whether or not housekeeping is hard
work depends a great deal on how it
ie done. 1t certainly is not play; indeed,
there is nothing in the world in the way
of duties that most of the intelligent
people who live in it are willing TO cali
other than hard work if they are obliged
TO busy themselves at it day after day,
week after week and year after year.
1t is not always that housekeeping
is such hard work, even under unfavor-
able circumstances; it is monotonous.
Up-to-date housekeeping need not be
very hard work if one is we'll and ar
ranges matters with any system. In
The first place, the house must be prop
erly built. The dining-room and
kitchen must not be far removed from
each other, and pantries, closets and
store rooms are to be as near al hand
as possible. There must be a laundry,
with hot and cold water and arrange
ments for boiling clothes and heating
irons. If this is provided. the kitchen
floor should be covered with n mating.
If carpets are considered necessary
to the comfort of the household, they
may be arranged rug fashion. with a
border of inlafd wood, or if the floors
are not good, of fine mating. This
makes sweeping comparatively easy,
as a brush clears the margins. and the
carpet-sweeper puts the middle of the
room in proper condition. The stairs
should have plates in the corners, so
hat there is no tedious and Troublesome
digging out of acute angles. There
should be screens to keep out flies in the
sumper. and memberships to keep out
the dust all the year around. furnace
with the most improved dust-tlues is
Il necessity, and the kitchen range must
have n good draft, and be of an up-to-
date pattern. The rooms should not be
overloaded with bric1a-brac and furni-
ture. but may be tastefully and daintily
furnished without %entailing upon the
housewife the never-ending care of a
lot of cumbersome FILINGS that are bet
ter out of sight than in.
y liberal supply of kitchen utensils
should be provided. and there should be
q sufficient closet space, so that when
one is required. n dozen need not be
displaced in order to get at it.
Closets and pantries should have
sn~ugly-fttted doors, with memberships
10 keep out the dust. The housckceper
who has never tried Memberships on
her pantry doors has little idea of their
advantage. As for the daily food. if
people are content to live simply. and
this is very much better than elaborate
ness and too much attention to what
n eats,the meals may be prepared
without great labor. In the morning,
vegetables may he made ready for the
dinner. and much of the details of the
meals of the day attended TO. Some
tousekeepers think it next door to a
disgrace TO put away the dishes from
one days meal and wash with those
of the next morning. but this method
has points of grace, as can be attested
by some who have tried it.
The food should be put away, and h
dishes gathered and carefully placed,
in snug shape, in n large dishpan. Over
these place n thick cloth. to keep them
from getting too dry. The table may
remain spread from meal to meal, if
the diring-room is used for no other
purpose.
Ey looking ahead a little, and work
ing with brains as well as hands. the
duties of the household are. to a great
extent. simplified. systematized and re-
duced to Il and manageable proper
tions.-N. y. Ledger.