Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-01-05


Of the general money question as applied
to domestic economy. The average man
would rather submit to extra strain and
to added anxiety than to disturb the
peace and pleasure Of his wife and daugh-
tiers, even though he may know that they
are living in a fools paradise. and it is
human nature for the feminine mind to
avoid assuming responsibilities that have
been monopolized by her husband as long
as the man of the family maintains the
usual American attitude of careless gen.
crosby.
Facts, however, will spur any consci-
entious woman to daring adventures in
economy, and now is the time to race
the facts. At Teachers College. Column
bia University, hundreds of girls are
studying facts for future use, but 1T Is
not necessary for the woman who has
not taken a degree to remain In fgno-
rance of what domestic economy has
found out The college is generous ABOUT
sharing the knowledge it has attained,
and SO the housekeeper who is willing to
easily dos SO.
1t is wise to begin on economies that
the family will not notice disdainfuliy'
Therefore the first adventure should be
in graphing with the cost of being clean.
That seems an odd way to start doesn't
It? But 1t means beginning at the foun-
dalton, for cleanliness includes santa
ton and comfort. beauty and order. Then
is 1t not dangerous to try to reduce the
expense? The answer is that the effort
to apply scientific intelligence should In
sure greater advantages, while the outlay
is diminished.
X
And now for the. facts. Dirt accumu-
lates in the home in three ways: First,
through the faulty construction of houses;
second, through careless habits OF occu-
pants. and third. through municipal neg
lect. The family Of average means which
lives in a city pays from ID to ~ per
cent of it's income for rent. and, If there
is anything like good housekeeping, from
10 tn 70 per cent for the care of the home.
At first thought this Is astonishing.
Surely 1t seems improbable that out of an
annual income of 81 800 it costs from $loo
to 800 to keep passably clean, ana out
of an income Of 5000 twice as much'
but a little computation of what serv-
ant receives In wages or what Is paid to
the charwoman and the laundry Will be
convincing. Moreover. 1T costs the aver
age business man or business woman
from 500 to $3.50 for personal cleanliness.
And these computations are not made
from observation Of the unusually fas.
tidious, but just ordinarily neat. well
groomed persons who go out every day
to earn a living.
If these figures are doubted. let the
housekeeper remember that it requires
eighteen hours Of work every week. or
500 hours every year to remove the dust
from an ordinary eight-room house. Six
hours day are passed in cleansing
dishes and silver What does that mean
p,,t
family expenses in keeping clean mount
I'D to hundreds Of dollars. the item con-
corning personal cleanliness may seem
exaggerated. Let the business woman
recall how many hours it requires for her
to keep her wardrobe and herself pre-
sentable The scientific estimate Is ten
hours week, and at ~ cents an hour
does not that represent 500 a year?
Certainly the facts justify beginning
the economy adventure without delay.
But the question is where to start. how TO
plan the first heroic move. glance about
the rooms in which we live will show any
of us that they are filled with useless
objects which catch the dust and require
care.
A clever woman once said that when
one moves the family gods become familf
devils All of us have family devils-tht
hric-a-brac, the photographs. the count
less worthless treasures that are unneces-
sary. Some of the devils appear In the
the rooms and are kept merely because
they are supposed to add touch of lux
ury or beauty. Then there are other
devils in the form of tables and chairs
we really need, but tables and chairs so
carved and upholstered that they demand
sanity patience when they are busted.
OF course it would not be wise to re-
place the furniture which is too much
ornamented at the time when one is set
ting out on an economy adventure. Elimi-
nation is the first act. Now, If the elimi-
nation is too sweeping there will be
sense of loss: 1t will cause a conscious
ness of the effort to reduce the cost of
living. and that must be avoided The
really adept housewife contrives to give
the impression of plenty and comfort.
She never lets any sordid or unpleasant
detail become SO apparent that 1t Is rec
ognized as discomfort. 1t is imperative.
them that the adventure in economy
should be made agreeable to all the mem
bers of the family. For that reason the
elimination of furniture should be at
tended by radical changes in the ar
rangement OF each room. Why not an
ticipate the spring repairs? Now is an
ideal time to procure Workmen and a
change of color scheme will be welcomed
AS one of the fundamentals in reducing
the cost of being clean Is the employment
of preventive methods. the housekeeping
should be made the most of as a time to
use putty on the windows to keep out
dust. to apply paint that is light and
therefore cannot be neglected in the
weekly ministrations of the charwoman.
How strange to replace dark paint. which
does not show dust, for pale grays and
cream whites! That will be the first
thought, but economy in being clean
means that there shall be a constant
thought of cleanliness. and therefore the
watchfulness which prevents neglect.
That leads to education for reform. the
last step. for when the rooms are all SO
bright and so dainty, SO spacious and so
attractive that each member will rejoice
in them. lessons in avoiding careless
habits will be the last step in the cam
paign to reduce the cost Of being clean.
But to go back to the first step-elim-
ination. When all the superfluous OBJ
jects have been removed, all dust-collect-
ing carpets have been replaced by rugs