Gilpin observer., 1908-07-23
ON BUSINESS BASIS
WISDOM OF KEEPING KITCHEN
ACCOUNT BOOK.
With Absolute knowledge Of Running
Expenses Economy Is Made Easy
Hired Help Always Promo
to Extravaganza.

The head Of the household some
times concludes that it costs too much
to live, and when he makes this deci-
sion nothing commands his respect
like an account book wherein bal
ances are made without accommodating
"sundries." In fact going to market
and keeping household accounts are
the housekeepers weapons of self-de-
Tense against the charge Of extrava-
gance, writes Alice E. Whitaker.
1t is comparatively easy to account
for rent, fuel, light and wages. and
even the larger bills for clothing can
be fairly well itemiZed from receipted
bills and memory. Therefore the
most common point of attack is the
food supply The mistress of the
household may insist that nothing is
wasted and that the family would not
be satisfied with cheaper food, but un-
less she can keep an account book she
has nothing to prove that she could
not have spent less for food material.
A housekeeper frequently says to
herself: 1T seems to me that we are
buying butter every other day." or
I'm sure that we are using dozen
eggs a day" II she has an account
book she can prove the truth of her
surmises or otherwise. One house
keeper annoyed at the recurring calls
for coffee and butter Tor her family
or three sat down to her account book
and in five minutes found that six
pounds of coffee and ten pounds of
butter had been used during the pre-
vious month. She Immediately cut
two pounds from the future coffee sup
ply and cautioned against extrava-
gance in butter.
Another way of saving is buying in
small amounts. Our grandmothers
extolled the plan of buying in a whole
sale way because wholesale prices are
less than retail, but our grandmothers
had a constant oversight over the use
Of both groceries and provisions, and
this is now frequently impossible. In
most kitchens to-day everything that
is brought in will be cooked by the
servants at one time and the surplus
thrown away. Therefore il pound
Of 30-cent steak is enough it is waste
full to buy 1h pound, or a quart of
oysters when pint will be sufficient,
under the delusion that the left overs
will be used to advantage.
1t is wise to dispense with the order
clerk at the door, and especially with
liberty given to servants to order as
they please. Often from ignorance,
and as often from mere lack Of in
terest, they order needless things. Go
to the grocery stores and markets,
see what you can buy, and how much
1t costs. This means a little effort.
but 1t soon becomes a habit and a
pleasure. Many housekeepers will
testify that 1t Is not SO hard to think
what to buy when in the presence of
the various good things, some OF which
on that particular morning can be
bought at an advantage.
1t is not unlikely that there will be
a premeditated block to this system
Of looking closely after the table sup.
plies. and in the middle of the after,
noon the cook may announce that she
has no baking powder or that she
must have some more eggs. Then Is
the time to be firm and to change the
menu, or, II anything be imperative,
to go for 1t yourself After time II
will be understood that there is to be
no more reckless and indiscriminate
ordering.