The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-01-28
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Everybody says housekeeping Is
healthy. / know doctors who are
recommending housework as a cure
for various nervous ills. though where
their patients work | do not know,
as I have never yet run across a
maid who Is working for her health.
On the other hand. / have read Stats
ties that show that large percen-
tage of the insane come from the
ranks of houseworkers. These state
ments do not seem to gee somehow.
So ! am wondering ts housekeeping
healthy or not healthy
Looking at housework from the
viewpoint OF its healthfulness as COM
pared with other occupations, what
have We? We can do 1t with win
dows open. which means plenty OF
fresh air. We can take our time to
do II. that IL nobody is pushing us
but ourselves. We can vary the work
80 as not to use the same set OF mus
eles all day long. And II very much
exhausted, we can rest.
Now surely, this isn't bad out
look. And those who recomme end
housework for its healthfulness seem
to be able 10 deliver the goods
But then, why do so many house
workers go to insane asylums? Don't
answer all at once. please. know
there is the servant question, and
the high cost of living. and enough
to do every day for a hundred pairs
OF hands. But after all, isn't II be-
cause We do not do our work in the
right way, that is In the healthful
way
j have been watching the windows
of my neighbors' houses these past
months. Scarcely one window has
been opened once a week this winter
That means the air of those houses
Is redolent of cooking and the many
other results OF bad ventilation The
housekeeper works around in this
stale air ell day. and as conseuu ence
is tired and languid. She would feel
like a different person II she would
throw the windows up and work, IL
only for few hours, In fresh air.
she won't freeze as many shiveringly
remark when ! suggest IL The
activity and the oxygen viii keep her
blood warm.
Then a good many OF us work hur-
riedly and anxiousiy. And the wo-
man who does this. even though she
Is doing ordinarily healthful work.
will gradually wreck her health. /,
isn't the work. but the worry, that
saps her strength. As has been said,
there Is no one to push us In this
work but ourselves. We are masters
OF the situation. and we can work
as expeditiously as need be, but We
do not need to feyerishly hurry. We
can take few minutes each day
to rest II necessary unt:t our strength
Is built up to equal our work. So II
seems to me, health can be put down
TO the credit side OF housekeepfnS
II we go about It rightly. And 30
there Is no need to put our name
on the waiting list for rooms at the
asylum.
When we were in college, certain
gymnastic exercises were named after
certain familiar househol tasks. such
as sweeping. washing and the like.
They stimulated tho motions reouir-
ed In the doing OF the work. But
We didn't consider them work. we
walked with q quick. springy step,
we held our head up. our chest out.
our body erect. The exercises went
with swing and q vfm that was ex-
hilarating and delightful. But the
real work doesn't 60 this way, Isn.t
II perhaps because we are worryrns
a. to whether the clothes will ia
clean, the rooms spotiess? II we
could go about our work in the gym
spirit with head up and heart liEht.
II we saw to II that we had fresh
air and the yarie0 work ana the
necessary rest. We woiild undou btedly
set Just ~ much done, our health
would really be benefited by house,
work. and we could send word to the
asyium that the rooms engaged were
not wanted.
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