Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1913-04-22
Laundry Day helps.


"Well, you don't look bit as II you be-
lieved in blue Monday or blue Tuesday
or any other blue work day."
The remark was directed to Mrs. Ford
by her nearest neighbor who had "drop'
ned i'm to have few minutes chat on
her way home from the post office. Mrs,
Ford was standing In her bright, sunny
kitchen before the ironing board, skim
ming the surface of all sizes and styles
of garmeuts-showing that hers was the
task of caring for very slzable family
The capacity of the clothes basket indi.
Gated, no less, that ironing day was
busy season.
"Why should the work of Monday and
Tuesday be regarded as hopeless drudg.
eryP" she .queried brightly. To my way
of thinking, the woman who adopts q
washing aud ironing day philosophy may
lessen Ler burden"
"a washing and ironing day phi'os-
ophy?" the other echoed.
III mean just this" responded Mrs
Ford. "Iu no other kind of labor do
women resort to 80 many makeshifts as
In this. o, yes, / know all about 1t.
I've done those things myself. Put up
with sagging or sOiled clothes
lines, split pins, rusty irons, dirty ironing
board covers and all the rest Of 1t, and
then, when clothes were stained or soiled
and had to be done over, blamed the
hard necessity that made me do washing
and ironing 10 the first place. One day
[ woke up and resolved that in SO far as
attention to small details would make
nv work easier and more effective and
save my temper, 1 was going to turn
over a new leaf" =.
won't you give me pointer or twoP'
asked the neighbor neekly.
"Surely. First, after you finished
your wash yesterday did you loosen
your wriDger rolls"
A negative shake of the head.
"Did you wipe the rolls dry or cover
the wringer?"
A similar silent answer.
"How, then can you expect that the
two rubber rolls, screwed tightly to.
gether, will retain their perfectly round
shape OF be kept cleau?" Each time
use my wringer, before covering 1t W
until the following week, dry it thor
oughly aud wipe it lightly with a cloth
moistened with kerosene. The latter il
a splendid stain and dirt remover"
"What kind of clo'hes-pins do you
use?"
"Lately, I've taken to experimenting
with the spring type-'hose that clasp
the clothes firmly and withstand the
seyerest wind. They are guaranteed not
to rust and seem durable and practical.
The very best obtainablo are none too
good to use. If you throw the ordinary
wooden pins into boiling water before
used at all, they are far less likely to
"yellow" than If not treated in this way.
Ny clothes pin apron has become .
necessity to me and l wonder ever used
a clumsy bag in place Of it. The apron
is made of strong ticking turned up at
the bottom to form two wide but not
very deep pockets.
"Did you ever sec my clothes-line
Lolder?"
"No."
swell, IL ever a dime was spent to
good advantage, 1t was when l invested
in this little device. One tenet of this
philosophy / speak of is that the line
must never be left out of doors when
not in use. We have all offended more
or less, in this regard, due to the trouble
of constantly tying and untying knots,
especially in cold weather. This little
invention does away with all that bother;
it both holds aud tightens the line at the
same time. You see it is in two parts,
rlveted together. To one of them. the
line is fastened permanently; through
the other, the free end Of the rope is
slipped and pulled tight. 1t stays 30
under ordinary circumstances, for the
appliance Is 80 constructed as to counter
act any tendency to slip back. Should
the liue, however, stretch or slacken
from too heavy a weight, or some other
cause, 1t can again be made taut oy a
pull" -,
"And nextly, teacher?" Mrs. Heath
asked mischievously.
20, want to speak about my clothes
basket in passing" was the answer.
"You notice have it cleated on the bot
tom to withstand hard knocks. This
has doubtless heightened its term of
service two-fold."
"Hays YOU any more sensible ideas in
the back of that fertile brain of yours?'
~ wonder If you have discovered the
value of brush for sprinkling clothes"
replied Mrs. Ford. ut is far from being
a novel idea, but few women Of my &C
quaintauce appear TO put it into practice.
For this purpose, always buy whisk
broom or brush so constructed that in
stead of coming to a head, it is elong-
ated much like dust-pan brush. Irons
must be kept perfectly clean to give the
best service. This means that they must
be scraped clean of starch frequently,
even perhaps rubbed over fine salt Or
washed in soap and water and dried. A
plentiful use of wax is another iInpor.
tant requirement, though care must be
taken that this is wiped off with cloth or
paper before it touches the clothes"
"What is this sort of arrangement you
have for keeping your ironing cover oD?"
the caller next inquired.
"Nothing but a set Of strong steel
hooks and piece OF cord. bought the
whole equipment for ten cents! This
constant lacking on of board covers aud
removal of tacks tried my patience COM
so looked about for better
means of accomplishing this task. l
found It, as you see. One end of each Of
these hooks is bent 30 that 1t is secured
strongly to the cover after being insert
ed. When all are in place along the four
sides of the cloth, lace them up crisis
cross as would shoe and the cover is
as perfectly as one could wish. !"
"But don't you use old sheets for GOV.
ering your board?" said Mrs. Heath.
"By no MEANS" answered the other
"To Withstand wear,
tear, and heat, the strongest aud newest
Of cotton cloth is none too good. Do
you realize that the best covering of this
sort is most mex pensive item? pur-
chase the material double width (seventy-
two inches) and then use the width for
the length of the board. Even making
allowance for deep hens on four sides
where the hooks are inserted, only three
quarters Of yard is required"
"Do you find you have to wash the
,loth frequently?"
mo, because made smooth fitting
,over of denim which serves al an excel
ent protection. It's never of the board
except when the latter Is in use
Another thing. My ironing stand, you
notice, is clamped firmly to the board.
No danger OF its clipping or the irons
alling to the floor. Aud, by the way,
ny sleeve board il fitted with clamp,
900, so that when am doing fiue work
ike the baby's clothes, am not annoy
ID by having it shift about"
"There can't be anything left, can
here?" Mrs. Heath ventured.
~ have reached my lastlYn Laughed