The Washington times., 1920-04-17

~ then. This Is necessary ad-
monition' for the woman who
docs her own work. ] do not mean
she should do things In a sioyeply
mAn2er. nor should she neglect
them, but there are times when
every ihoysekteper must choose be-
tween, her hslf-hour nap, relsxs-
tion, or perhaps her chance to read
a bit In order to keep In touch with
the Jdoings. of the world and the
thorough accomplishment OF some
Insignificant task which from habit
seems big to her. %,
Personally would not hesitate a
momentum advising the relaxation,
1 nap, or reading in preference to the
less Important task. It. Will not
reoder II any more difficult Of &C
complishnent to postponc'it "A while,
but the failure to indulge In. recrca-
tlOn Of some sort may well prove q
source OF neryousneSs. irritability
and fatigue, System in carrying on
the household has many good fcs-
lures along these lines, but it has
one great weakness in that 1t is too
, often upset by tho things beyond
the control of the, user of the sys-
tenn. -
All Plans Upset.
Work for the day Is planned in
advance and planned wisely. yet the
plan is upset at unexpected points,
and the upsetting Is quito beyond
control The woman who does her
own work gets breakfast and then
hurries to wash up, the breakfast
dishes. She has planned to do her
marketing neSt, so she will be- able
TO make her selection while the gro-
r., A l. -
to select from. The sweeping and
busting Was scheduled to follow tho
marketing. apd then the cooking of
I, the dinner .w,s to be started, 80 that
other minor tasks could be gotten.
out of the way while the dinner
was cooking. The schedule laid out
Z left a free, period In the afternoon
to be spent in relaxation, a nap or
reading, or even call on a few
friends. 'k'..
Fight in the midst OF the washing
of the breakfast dishes, usually,
comes the first interruption. In
comes a peighbor whe Is without q
telephone and has to be assisted in
getting some urgent word to a son
or daughter, or the telephone rings
and the bousekeeper is implcred TO
csu a neighbor to the telephone,
usually d uStSnpOT VINO lives come
distance away. BY the time either
such interruption. and usually they
come ia pairs, has been terminated
and the dishwashing resumed, a half
hour has been wasted and the sched-
ulc is, TO use the veynaculsr,
knocked out Of joint" ..
Finally the dishes arc washed and
the housekeeper Is ready.te start for
the grocery. Just as she starts to
go out, another neighbor drops in
Tor chat, or friend calls UP on
the telephone to pass tho time of
day and there is more delay. Some
OF the mornings work must be put
over to the afternoon, when, by
much haste, she is able to set aside.
half hour for. tho ma D the doctor
ordered to tone up her nerves. But
docs she. set it?, Just as she begins
to doze. the doorbclI rings aud an
insistent agent wants to argue. size
tries to sleep again The telephone
rings. IL Is wrong number. On
third and final trial she Is Just
dropping off into peaceful slumber
When knock ut the back door re-
calls her from the arms of NIorph-
euS ~ lot in the meter reader. And
the half hour set aside has passed!
StrnpEJe the BeIIs.
Some OF these things cannot wclI
DC avoided. but careful planning
VIII get around parts OF tho djfri-
Guilty. \ doctors wife, who hes
raised four children, suggested this
plan to me: Get through all the
work you can in tho morning, while
the children arc in school. and ar
range to take your nap between
tho hours OF and p. M. when
interruptions arc least likely. Draw
down the shades in the front part
OF the house. stuff n piecc of paper
under the telephone and door bells
and lock the front and back doors,
Then so up TO a cot or lounge and
lie down for good, refreshing nap.
The doctors wife who told me of
this did the greater part Of her own
work for many years. in addition to
raising her family. Being the wife
of medical man, she had even more
than the usual number OF interrup-
tions. ..t s,''.' -
Sho learned the value of cconopIz-
Ing In usinc her own strength, as
she realized full we'll that the limit.
less calls that were made .urop it
would otherwise have caused many
breakdowns, Any woman who does
her own work can profit by her cx-
ample. 80 o.