The Washington times., 1914-01-30

ny AA4AO. NAAAAAOAAANL TnENGIN4S-AI
Author of "The New Housekeeping,
Founder of the ApplecrOft Efdc-
ency Kitchen.
THE Twentieth Century Limited
leaves New York at o'clock in
the afternoon and reaches Chi
cago the following morning at
o'clock. 1t takes just eighteen hours
10 make the trip. This is probably the
highest efficiency known in train dis
patching.
To tell women that their housework
can also be dispatched and moved from
point to point much after the manner
OF hrSt-class train, is quite revolu-
uonary. Nevertheless the routine of
daily housework can be well iikened to
the dispatching of a train in which
every station and stop, every taking on
Of coal. every shift ot workmen and the
Rd5uSdng Of the signals, is planned in
b6Ranca.
An Analysis.
T4ere may be unusual tasks to do on
bnms days, but on close analysis the
1urE oe any household, large or small,
FGn Be boiled down into something like
Ehs faIlowing routine:
Preparing breakfast.
Washing breakfast dishes.
Making beds
Sweeping and busting rooms.
Preparing lunch.
washing lunch dishes.
Special window and other cleaning
bAxka
Laundry work Of done at hozne).
More or less sewing.
Preparing the evening meal
washing its attendant dishes
These are the stations at which the
train Of housework stops daily. Think
for a moment how Unsatisfactory il
would be for railroad train to change
It's schedule every day, so that the pas
ssnser who expected to get of at
Eougnkeepie at O'Clock would md
mat the train had decided to make a
detour and take m some other station
nrst and would not reach Poughkeepsie
until IL 1t is equally disturbing to
Fs. nave housework, proceed in a hit-or-miss
oclock Thursday morning and cheerful
~ LETT until II o'clock on Friday. Prem
"ratlon may be made for dinner early
IN the forenoon OF one morning and
,eLt until the last moment on the fol-
i1Nlng evening. A careful stocktaking
81 the pantry may be done TODAY di-
,ectly after breakfast, whereas it NAV
be omitted tomorrow in the hurry Cf
ASA sumo OulSlQE interest.
Reason for Schedule.
Now train does not hold to a care
iui schedule for the sake OF tie sched-
ule itself, but for the sake of covering
us route in the least time. with the
least effort and the greatest satisfac-
ton not only to the employ IS, but to
he passengers. Just so. 4 schedule for
ne houseWork train Is valuable. not be-
Galse schedule is in itself anything to
SIFlNe Tor, but beca Use a carefully
planned schedule makes for order
saves nerves and gives comfort in the
home.
should say that 50 per, cent of the
neSVes' OF American hcusekeepeEs
IS due TO poorly planned AMI unsyste-
mauzed work There are glorious and
Suinulating exceptions, bu- rom an OBJ
SerVatlon among large number of
6Omemakers l have found that we'll
planned schedule, based On tie actual
lime certain tasks require, was prac-
ucally unknown.
II is very easy to estimate on the
gme a certain task requires Let us
say breakfast is. finished by o'clock.
How long does it take to wash the
dishes? This depends on the number
Used, the arrangement of the kitchen
and the skill of the houseworker. Let
Us say II taxes forty-five minutes.
what shall she proceed to do next +?
snail she prepare toward lunch, shall
she make up the oeds or shall she sweep
nd dust the living room while the beds
are being aired?
These questions have to be decided
" the individual conditions surrounding
his particular home maker. THE
schedule depends upon the size and
-umber of the rooms, the hours at
which meals are held. whether there
re small children in the home babies
N be bathed, or whether there is more
nan one worker in the family. and so
ON. But that the order can be deter
mined, and must be determined. if we
are to work with less effort and less
"A ast Of energy.
Suppose in the one case that n
H oman works without a schedule.
When she has finished the breakfast
fishes che aimlessly or spasmOdically
does the thing that at that moment
Sary following task. She sees that
The bread box is oVercrowded. and
she decides to clean out the entire
pantry; or looking for a piece of old
Eauze draws her attention to the need
II Strengthening the linen shelves be
ore she goes on further with the
daily routine. This half hour or
rUrty minutes spent on an outside
TASK viii so throw her of her work
plans that she finds herself at a few
minutes before IL. with nothing thor
Oughly and carefully prepared for
lunch. The chances are that she will
open up a can or two and prepare a
IAN almost wager that this woman
III be all day catching up the threads
Of her work. and that the end of the
day will find her all tagged OUT
On the other hand, take the woman
Who has definite schedule. After she