Evening star., 1924-01-11
BETTER HOUSEKEEPING

I always too tired to make tho effort?
An experiment conducted recently
by means OF q pedometer showed that
in performing the ordinary duties
necessary in running an average pri-
vate home, including the care of
baby, a woman walks eleven miles a
day. 1t also was shown that this dis
tance could be greatly reduced by
means of such step-saving devices as
tea wagons. kitchen cabinets and
other devices.
AS everything in a house must be
cleaned, the more possessions you
have the more cleaning is to be done,
OF course. Much of the fatigue of
housework is caused by STOPPING and
J kneeling. BY using a. vacuum clean
er. long handled mops, and dustless
floor polishers, and by having shelves
and ovens at convenient height.
much labor and fatigue are saved.
Furniture should either come right
down to the floor or leave enough
space for the vacuum cleaner to work
under II. There should be plenty of
room in china and glass closets.
Crowded closets. where one thing has
waste time and cause the breaking Of
articles.
All surplus glass, china and
silverware should be put away un
til wanted. Crowded kitchens make
work. They should contain only the
necessary equipment Study the
movements you should make during
the course of a days work in order
to find the best positions for all
working apparatus The amount of
| time wasted in unnecessary pacing to
and fro, and the lifting and carrying
OF articles is almost unbelievable un-
I'll one comes to study the matter.
There is good deal to do in any
wellkept house, but by intelligence,
method, and correct planning the time
taken to do the work can be reduced
to half that which is generally spent,
and the work will be done better.
We often spend large sums of money
in order to live uncomfortably.
Labor-snving Baby Methods.
Too often mothers care for their
babies in difficult manner because
baby equipment" is so very ex-
pensive and is so quickly outgrown.
The mother of one heavy, lusty baby
has solved the problem by purchasing
a soft old blanket for a pad. baby is
placed on the wagon for his bath
and for dressing This is so much
easier than holding the baby on the
mothers knee. Towels and clothing
may be hung over the bar at the
end, while the lower tray holds the
powder box, pins, brushes and needed
extra articles.
The bath over, everything is re-
moved from the wagon and baby's
placed for his nap. Here he lies con-
tentedly when his nap is over, his
mother working about where she can
constantly see him. 1t is an easy
matter to push the wagon from one
room to another or to the cool porch
in warm weather
This tea wagon has saved a great
many steps and much carrying of
heavy baby, and when no longer
needed for this purpose, it may revert
tn re G 70 v-Yu
dishes and food back and forth from
the dining room to the kitchen.
Homework for Instruction.
In almost every community there
are ambitious young girls, members
Of families with limited incomes, who
are glad to do housework for a few
hours a day in exchange for tnstruc-
tion in typewriting. stenography,
music, drawing, embroidery, or in
competition and English. One young
mother made an exchange by which
she got her dishes washed, her sill
verware cleaned. the rooms kept in
order and many other tasks accom-
plished daily. She taught her little
helper stenography, for she had been
an expert stenographer before her
marriage, Soon she had more volun,
teers as kitchen aids than she could
use. She continued to exchange
teaching for housework for some
years.
The age of the girls she employed
was, on the average, sixteen years,
and she says that in every instance
the girl was far superior to the or
binary helper. In talking about the
experiment she emphasized the fact
that girl ambitious enough to do
housework in order to fit herself for
a position was pretty sure to be
good helper.
A definite understanding must be
had with the girl as TO the nature
of the duties she Is to perform. Her
work should be arranged by schedule,
and certain tasks performed at GER
tain stated times. If that plan is
followed. the results will be much
better than they could possibly be
with an elastic system OF doing the
work.
Such an exchange of work is more
satisfactory when il is a purely CO.
operative arrangem ent-that Is. when
the girl works with her instructor.
Principals of grammar and high
schools and busines colleges often
know of pupils who would be glad
to do such work in exchange for in
struction.