Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-12-24
How Time and Energy May
Be Saved-Some Good
Working Plans Suggested
by Experienced House
keepers.

: The first chapter in a book on home
making might well be headed: How
to Save Time.' for time-saving is the
most important of all the housekeeping
| economies Upon it depends the saving Of
| expense, energy. health, patience and all
! the other indispensables. When the hours
! allotted to household tasks are misused
| or wasted. one of two things must in
evitably happen: Either the work will
! be botched or it will encroach on the
| time reserved for other duties and for
rest and recreation.
| Some ways In which the Homework
| time is wasted:
BY not having a regular program Of
| work.
| BY poor planning and lack of system.
| BY uncertainty about what is to be
accomplished, so that many minutes are
| lost in hesitating and debating.
By lack of forethought, which neces-
i states an extra number of steps and an
| unnecessary repetition of movements in
general.
| BY pottering and dillydallying. such
as stopping to look out of the window,
to talk. to read, or to play. instead of
concentrating once for all upon the work
in hand.
BY mistakes made throue careless
| ness. Every blunder means juAt 80 much
time spent in repairing da1AyeS.
| by doing superfiuous thigg3 and thus
| king the days work more complex
| than it need be.
BY neglecting to use labor-saving de-
vices that are easily obtainable.
Take, for example, the simple task
of setting the table. One woman takes
half an hour to do the work because
she stops to watch the cat climb a tree
or stops to carry on a conversation, not
having yet learned how to work and
! talk at the same time. Another woman
| lengthens the task to nearly three-Quar-
| tiers Of an hour by letting her mind
work laxily. She makes two trips to the
cupboard when one would have been
! enough, and returns repeatedly with one
hand empty, or else she stands before
the cupboard trying to remember what
she went for. Another woman uses sim
pie time-saving methods. and does the
work in ten minutes and with three
trips.
The most practical plan for saving
| time in Homework is to divide the work
| into units. more or less in accordance
with the following list:
Preparing a meal.
Clearing the table.
Washing and putting away the dishes
Sweeping and busting a room.
Doing the washing and ironing.
Making the beds.
Make a note with pencil and paper
the amount of time ordinarily ex-
pended on any one OF these tasks.
Then, applying to the same task the
principles Of time saving. find out
what is the very shortest time in
which il can be done without undue
haste or excitement. Compare the
two results By thus studying and
testing each unit you will soon find
a satisfactory standard of work.
Preparing the Meals.
The first unit in the list. that of
preparing a meal. offers a wide field
for the application of new methods.
The arrangement Of the kitchen
equipment is one important con-
sideration. The furniture should be
so placed and the utensils so hung as
to require a minimum of movement
on the part of the worker-no more
steps than are absolutely necessary
between sink and table, between table
and stove :; as little reaching as pos
sible for sitter or. for measuring cup.
Among other points to be studied are
how to employ the fewest utensils
for a given task. how to keep several
dishes cooking properly at the same
time. and how to avoid the accumula-
ton of waste material.
A close observer will find that the
work of dish washing can be short
dishes separately. and by soaking
such articles as eggcups and milky
glasses in cold water before putting
them in hot water; that II the china
is taken from the water turned down
to drain in a wire basket and then
scalded, 1t will dry with scarcely any
wiping. and that there are dozens
of other ways in which to save time
and work.
All through the schedule Of daily
Homework will be found ways to save
time. A little piece Of mismanagement