New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-12-17
TO SYSTEMATIC HOUsEWoRK
a Few Hints Useful to the inexperienced
Woman-Tried Out Fats

a young wife writes asking how 10 systematic
| her homework so that she may easily cope with
! It day by day.
Household management is an art that cannot be
taught from books. and only be learned from
experience A housekeeper who was noted through
out her neighborhoOd expert in this art,
/ "hen asked the secret of her success replied:
! IT mas taken me years of earnest effort TO reach
/ this condition. Ii be learned in a day and
! only experience can teach it
a number Of suggestions. however can be given
! 10 an inexperienced housekeeper that will help
greatly toward this ideal
/ She must learn the art Of taking no unnecessary
! steps. She must not attempt too much at time,
! OF her work viii 90 awry and she herself viii be
worn out with nothing accomplished \ failure
! IN either of these points will make homework a
/ burden She should set aside special duties for
! each day in the week For instance Monday may
De. II she chooses washday; Tuesday ironing day;
/ w ednesday, the DAY for sweeping bedrooms and
busting parIor and dining room Friday, for cleaning
the kitchen and looking over the pantTies and
day. for special baking and cooking If she decides
/ on Mondsy for washday she must that the
! want does all the washing this day II this n
not be done the extra washing should left until
! the following week Special stains however. that
! must be taken out when fresh can be done any
time, but where the general washing is carried
! from one day TO the next the housewife has too
much her hands. and other equally important
work is neglected Tuesday. the ironing day. when
! OF necessity there is a good fire. is excellent
+ one for baking bread anything that requires
steady fire. II the housekeeper is and order
/ ~, there should be no need OF much cleaning Of
! the kitchen and pantries. These should be kept
/ constantly clean, but it is wise to set apart
morning for the kitchen floor to be scrubbed or
/ polished, the brasses and sink secured, and the
stove bIackened. On this day the papers on the
pantry shelves that have become a trihe soiled
| can be changed and the woodwork cleaned. Sat
/ urday morning is good time for baking pies and
cake, any dishes for Sunday that can be cooked
/ beforehand In a small household the housekeeper
| should be able to accomplish all her work early
in the day, and have the rest OF the time for
! other things
A housekeeper will be surprised to find how
/ quickly she do all her work II she times her
self by the clock She is then intent
comprising given task in a given time that she
! does not stop look at a book paper for
/ anything else She also acquires the habit Of
/ working quickly.
/ In the morning upon rising the first duty is the
building Of the kitchen fire If the range or stove
| is of the best modern make, this will be unneces-
/ sary. It Is much easier and more economical 10
; keep the fire going all night. After making and
| filing Il up with coal turn of the draughts, and
in the morning 1t win be only necessary TO rake the
/ fire little and the draughts. It may need
/ more coal but in many households such fire IS
carried on night after night for months, with no
! extra coal added until after the breakfast There
IS one thing necessary for an inexperienced woman
/ to remember. however, in keeping her fire over
night and that is that the doors leading from the
/ kitchen into the other rooms must be tightly shut
and If possible, the kitchen should be ventilated
/ IN some way as a deadened fire will sometimes
/ send out coal gas.
Some bousekeepers claim that fresh fire is
/ necessary for certain forms of baking They can
/ not make biscuit when the fire is old. When this
is the case it IS generally the fault Of the stove
good stove should keep the fire fresh for several
months without clinkers If the coal Is very poor
and slaty however. it may mean trouble. Good.