The National tribune., 1909-07-29
Bv sENoRA SARA.

No woman who is '.slave" to anything
can be truly happy. but there are great
many women in the world who style
method" slavery, and it isn't. If the hui
man family, at least that portlen of 1t
which is called civilized was only a
slave to method. the wheels of the worlds
machinery would move much smoother
and it wouldn't take so much grease" to
make it-go.y Half tie world is awry all
the time because the other half does not
recognize the value of time or of method
in doing the worlds work.
The housekeeper who works in a hap
hazard way does her work twice, nay,
thrice, in many instances. Now. do not
mean by method" a tight and fast nailed
down way and hour for doing every partic-
ular thing about house. Even metho1
may be a movable feast when you get
YOUR work systematizcd. Phere should
always be periodical sweeping, baking.
washing, and ironing days, The why OF
this is self-evident 4 house may be mod
erately presentable with a once-a-week
sweeping, and general cleanup, and that
is usually Saturdays work, so that the
house may be sweet and clean for Sunday
without further effort. If you establish
Friday. for instance, as the day to shake
rugs. sweep and do general cleaning. then
Sunday comes to find things not quite 50
nice as you would like them to be when
the family is all at home to enjoy It.
That is why Saturday seems to logically
become sweeping day. Monday is just as
naturally "washday'' of the big family
Sunday finds clean linen on the beds.
everybody has clean clothes from stock
ings out, and the soiled clothes are stuffed
into the clothes bag. Monday is the best
day to cleanse them because it is not san
itary to keep soiled clothes in a bag or
lying round for very long at time. Soil
ed clothes go yellow in few days. IL the
weather is at all warm and the body
clothing removed hold any dampness from
perspiration. the things will mildew, ano
every housewife knows what that means,
you can scarcely get a badly milde73ed
garment white again.
Clothes are always more easily washed
if put to soak for few hours. Some peo-
pie object to putting things to soak on
Sunday. but it is so very easy to pick the
clothing up in the proper piles for the two
tubs, one of fine white clothes and the
other for the coarser things. The soap
Jelly for the soak should be made on
Saturday and be in bowl ready to put in
the water, which may also be pumped on
Saturday evening and left standing all
Sunday to warm, if in Summer. and 1t Is
small matter to get few buckets of water
on Sunday. Pour the soap jelly in the
water and let it dissolve till the sujs 's
pretty slick Then throw the clothing in
and shove down so that water covers
H..
whole thing
Monday morning, the first thing after
rising, and before commencing breakfast.
stir the clothes vigorously around. and
beat them up. Then get breakfast over.
Beat the clothes around in the suds again
then wash your dishes and clean up the
house Run the soaking clothes thru the
wringer and proceed with your wash as
YOU have been taught. Most people have
their own way of washing. and there are
as many ways as there are people to do
it. but it is not half as hard work as some
people make of it. not half.
Ironing logically follows wash day, and
quite naturally comes on Tuesday. 1t is
the logical day because clean washed
clothes gather dust if left rounJ waiting
for the iron, and look smeary when You
finally get at them. Then. too, clothes
that are left 20 dry for two days or more
never take the same smooth appearance
that freshly dried clothes do. You may
sprinkle them ever so well. they do noi
iron as well as when attacked the day
heresy that many model housewives Will
take exception to, but life is short and its
business complex, SO it Is our duty 70
shorten up the methods OF work whenever
possible ] know many most excellent
housewives who do not iron their sheets.
towels. knit underwear. stockings, plain
night dresses or any white night or under
garments that are not starched. They go
to the line and take the clothing down and
smooth and fold it carefully and lay away
in cupboanis and drawers at once. 1t is
a very excellent thing for the woman TO
do who has big house and most of the
work TO do herself. Ii does not add one
whit 10 the cleanliness of the clothing to
have it ironed. BY letting these unin-
portant things 90 unironed. more time can
be given TO the outside clothing which is
starched and must be nicely smoothed by
the irons.
Baking day logically comes on ironing
day when you have a big fire and are
heated up anyhow. All the baking that
was done on Saturday has given out, and
pantry yawns for bread, pies, cake and
other knick-knacks that please the family
palate. You can make your sponge ready
the night before in Winter. and early in
the morning Ia Summer having set the
yeast sponge previously. You can man
age to get your finer baking done at a
time when YOU are waiting for the irons
10 heat. which Is always the best time to
bake, for a too hot oven s a nuisance Ii
makes a pretty full day, but it is such
JOY when il is over to know that it is all
done, and you have the remainder of the
week to devote TO the thousand and one
little things that go to fill the measure of
the busy housekeepers' life. If you lei
the washing and ironing run over into
Wednesday and often to Thursday, your
whole week is ruined by the bugbear Of
undone things.
The tidy housekeeper finds the many
lids of pots, pans and kettles needed in
the kitchen a problem to arrange With
any degree of order and neatness.
They cannot be hung up, many Of
them, owing TO the shape will not lie
iD a pile, and they are woefully unhandy
In the dresser drawers.
s bright woman to whom the lids were
as the hosts of the enemy has now solved
the question in a way both easy and in
expensive
She got length of strong wire, stretch
ed il across the pots and pans shelf by
means of a couple of nails, and on this the
lids accompanying all the cooking utensils
are neatly arranged. The wire supports
them perfectly, and the even row of shiny
tin things is by no means unornamental in
addition to its hanjiness
Every one knows the inconvenience of
gettings corks from glue or cement bot
ties, even after they have been opened.
After many tribulations with broken bot
ties one woman invented the plan of rub
bing the cork with yaselne before insert
ing il.
The corks were easily removed and the
glue remained liquid. Later she applied
the greasing plan TO glass shoppers that
fitted too tightly. 1t seemed To prevent the
swelling that makes bottle opening such
q trial al times.