The Washington herald., 1908-06-28

though they lived in a cool climate. when,
in reality. their country is tropical land
from June to September
The statement is a trife exaggerated,
but II is fact that not until within a
comparatively short time have our men
conformed to the climate to degree per-
hitting them 10 wear neglige shirts and
an easy style Of dress. Our women have
Fesorted to diaphanous waists and short
sleeves when they take their walks abroad,
but neither men nor women seem to have
learned to consider themselves during the
heated term TO the extent Of making their
work light
Happily, the mems part of this does not
concern me at the moment. Into man S
work and methods Of conducting il the
fates forbid that I should attempt 10 in
trude. But I can speak advisedly about
women and their pursuits and I do not
believe l shall be contradicted when I say
that not one woman out OF ten has any
idea of how to tighten her work in the
summer
Oh, yes. OF course I know there are GER
tain things which must be done and can
not be evaded. The house must be kept
clean. cooking must be done, jellies and
jams and preserves and pickles must be
put up. beds must be made. and clothing
mended. It's ali there. and it's all true.
But have you ever given serious
/ thought to reducing the amount Of work
that must be done?
Take your parlOr. for instance. There are
those curtains and those table covers and
those draperies and rugs. Have / any idea
how much time It takes every day just 70
dust those ornaments on the mantel and
TO keep the place looking any way decent?
And the dining-room is just as bad, with
the silver 20 clean and the brasses 10 pol
ish. How can one make such work as
that less?
I don't know that one can make il
less" exactly. but there are some parts
OF il that can be abolished altogether.
and that would certainly serve 10 tighten
that summer work Of which we have been
talking
In the first place, then, II were you
would take down those curtains and por-
there's. They are very pretty. as a matter
OF course and help 10 make the room at
tractive. but have you any idea how much
cooler the place would look without them?
II would be cooler. too. for draperies shut
of air and breeze as well as gather dust
II YOU must have something at the win
dow besides shadcs-and I own IL looks a
little bare with no hangings az all-get
some wash curtains.
Does this seem like advising fresh ex-
pense2 DO you suspect how little such
] If.rr- sN-,a
which VIII serve you well for the summer
at $50 A pair. and il YOU choose TO buy
the material by the yard and run "A hem
across the top and bottom Of the curtains
yourself they viii be cheaper vet And
YOU viii save your heavy curtains the
fading and soiling they will get IN the
/ time when the windows must be up and
the dust blowing I'm. You will save too
the brushing and beating you feel obliged
20 give them once In so often II you mean
90 keep clean at all.
What else can be eliminated? Well II IL
We're my house, 1 would pack away those
woo!en table covers and put pretty wash
covers on the tables In their place They
viii look cooler and make you feel more
comfortable Next. / would Danish nearly
all that bric-a-brac and do away with one
big piece OF busting which has 10 be ac-
complished daily IN all weathers. no mat
ter where the mercury may be standing
I Your room need not look bare. Keep out
ore or two or three articles worth resting
the eyes upon and seek repOSe in empty
| spaces where the other ornaments used
10 be. A well-arranged vase Of flowers
does more 10 beautfy the room in these
summer days than all the pieces Of china
and brass you can Pile up.
Your room Will look better stlll and
I A.
up heavy wooden rugs. which catch the
dust and require time and strength 10
keep clean IN the dusty season. II your
floors are good enough 20 show bare, or
10 protect in the most trodden places with
the mats Of woven grasses. which come
IN cheap and attractive designs try these
for the warm period. Better still. II YOU
could afford q, because easier 10 take care
Of would be a mating over the entire
floor. This is more readily kept clean
than a bare floor with rugs. and has a
cool effect which is very restfuL
So much for your parlor or sitting-room.
In the dining-room there are other
changes which will make life easier. I
have spoken Of the silver and brasses. II
you have large pieces Of these, put them
away until it turns cooler. l know they
are very ornamental and the pride OF
your heart. but, granting this, you will
have 10 own that they add very much 10
your work They must be bright and shin
ing or they are a TeprOach 10 the house
keeper You fee! that, and many a hot
day, when you ought 70 be resting or out
Of doors getting some good OF the air. YOU
are doubling yourself up polishing those
blessed brasses or that cherished silver
So put IT away until cooler weather. Give
the silver a good rubbing. wrap il in It's
sue paper, and put a bit of camphor with
1t and send it to the bank or some other
place where it viii be off your mind and
your hands. If some of the pieces are
dishes or pitchers or other articles you
use constantly, discard them none the less
and buy the cheap pressed glass to take
their place, If you have nothing in the
house that you can use. Such glass comes
in good shapes, and YOU need not mind
having II on your table. especially when
you recoilect that il Is making your work
lighter Small silver, OF course, you have
to use, but the large pieces are only a lux
ury, after all and no more real use than
those brasses which give you so much
pride and so much work They, too, would
better be tucked away until you feel more
energy to expend upon polishing than
You do in the summer.
Theabedrooms may be swept clear Of un-
necessary articles which catch the dust
and add 10 your work. The fine frilled
covers you adorn your bu-eau with or dis
guise your bed in are better in the closet
than anywhere else. Put on your bed
and your bureau such covers as can go
into the tub when they are dirty. Take
down those punches Of photographs, be-
hind which the moths are finding pleas
ant nesting places: dust them off and
pack them away, Follow a like course
with any other germ-hostelry with which
your sleeping rooms may be numbered.
When you put these things away. put
them well away BY this l mean that Il
IS little good TO stick them IN on another