Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1919-04-21

Thoughtful housewives in these days
of thrift and economy are asking them
selves pertinent questions as to the use
J they are making of their time: Iseit
wasted, or does each minute count for
something worth while? Mere specu-
llation over the subject will not help.
but constructive thinking, backed by
Experimentation, will. Remember that
each housekeeper can plan better for
herself than can anyone else, BY
watching herself, becoming acquainted
with her own efforts and habits and by
using some Of the efficiency.engineer-
strength may he saved in the perform
ance of household tasks.
| No woman is fond enough of dish
washing to spend any more time over
lit than is necessary, and yet from Lack
of planning many hours are squandered
over the dishpan.. II you accuse a
lhousekeeper of wasting time over that
task, the retort is likely to be, Waste
time washing dishes? should say
not. for l don't like to wash dishes
that well. hustle through them as
fast as 1 possibly can, but even then
| it does seems to take hours Would it,
| if she had used her brains as well as
her hands?
| working Like A Whirlwind."
There are women who start clean
ing room as though they We're going
| to be through within the next ten min
utes, but instead, the work hangs on
| for the next two hours. Why? Be-
| cause all the hurrying was creating
more work every minute They sweep
as whirlwind does-lnd with much
the same result. They are the type
who think hQusewOrk is drudgery, and
they do not see that it can he bettered.
Everyone has been in homes where
the housekeeper, overtired from work
caused by lack of planning, was too
tired to be pleasant. For this kind of
Il hOusekeeper salvation lies in study
! ing her methods. observing where time
and effort has been wasted and then
standard izing her tasks.
"One Of the best ways to observe
yourself says the Office OF home eco
Monies of the United States depart
rnent of agriculture, sis to make a
| time, method and motion study Of
the different duties about the house.
1t will add zest to the housework, help
to make you see measures necessary
for your own reform, and make yon
ready to assist an inefficient neighbor-'
How To Find Best Way.
A time, method, and motion study
sounds much more formidable than it
is. Take the task of dislwashing, for
instance. You haye done it in many
different ways and probably have Won
dered which method was really best.
To find out, try one method each day,
keeping accurate count of the motions
necessary and the time taken mp.
| Looking at carefully kept sam
pie record shows that on Thursday,
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday the
methods. saved more time than those
of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
On the days when time was saved you
washed the pots and pans while you
were preparing dinner. You will also
note that time was saved by stacking
the dishes before washing them and
by drying in a drainer instead OF wip-
ing them. Having found these time
saving ways, why not continue to fol-
low them. practicing your methods and
improving still further by repetition!
Watch for waste motions. fourth
column can be made for the number OF
motions. counting as one motion each
step made necessary by the placing OF
the dishes ard each complete motion
of the hands. rs placing the dish IN
the fraipcr and back again. This does
not mean that you should do your WORK
like an automaton. but thinking about
| it in this way will show you that you
are in the habit of making needless
motions.
Would il not be worth while to cease
guessing as to your efficiency and know
the hest way for You to do the work:
In some eases it will be more efficient
Ii TO do the work one way than another
because Of some special arrangement
of your time or Kitchen conreniences,
hut YOU are the one to find that best
method and benefit by the discovery.
Scorch Stains Removable.
If YOU haze the misfortune to scorch
garment while ironing, Y. $. DEPART
ment of agriculture extension special
lists suggest the following:
Scorch upon cotton and linen some
times can he removed if the fibers are
not actually burned. Wool and SILK
are disintegratcd ut lower tenpera-
t,,., than cottou and linen and can no!