New Britain herald., 1930-09-16
Budgeted Time Will Guarantee a Nine-E Jour
 Working Day For Mrs. Average Housewife

fore anybody thought of sitting in a tree for the summer, or tuning his life to dance melody, house. wives were staging a marathon. l Somebody remarked that man worked from the time the alarm went off in the morning until the | factory whistles blew at night, but that woman never asked for time out.
 1 But the marathon is ended now. Women aren't trying to see how long they can work. They've found a better scheme.
 - Now they are budgeting their time, exactly as they budget their household allowances. And if the hours won't stretch, they cross task from the list.
 Mrs. Marguerite B. Benson. ex- ecutive of the Home-Making Center in New York city, of the New York State Federation of Women's Clubs, has discovered that nine hours a day will complete any woman's work in the home-if she budgets her time.
 Sixty-three hours is the weekly | amount of time that American wo- men are giving to their homes. And they are accomplishing much more than the women of other countries | where the time count goes on and on and on.
 Foreign Housewives Work Longer Hours "The statistics of the Information al Home Economies Association show that the women of Belgium | are using from 10S to 119 hours to do the same work which American women accomplish in 63," Mrs. Benson explains. Tn France, the time required is from 92 to 115 hours; Italy, Ss to 11o hours; Po- land, 79 to 91; Roumania, 102; Czechoslovakia, 105 to 119; Sweden, s2 to 119; Switzerland, 112 to 11S; and Spain, 75 to 10S.
 Time. is the only commodity in which we all hold equal invest ments," Mrs. Benson says. "Of course, the more demands there arc on that time the heavier mortgaged it is, we might say. But as rule. there are a few simple budget rules that should save every home maker at least one hour out of every day.
 'In preparing a time budget, time must be left for a seasonal budget and weekly budget. For in- stance in the summer there is prob ably canning to do, and in the spring special house cleaning. Free periods are needed to work on this. Every week has its special tasks for each day. such as laundry work or Monday, and cleaning on Wednes- day. Periods for such tasks must be allowed in the routine schedule.'
 Mrs. Benson has selected a moth CT with two or three small chill dren as the basis of the time budget which she has devised. The oldest child is II years, the next years, and the baby IA months old. The actual budgeting has been worked out from the laboratory experience of young mothers who have experi- mented in their own families. The nine-hour schedule is flexi- ble enough to permit special duties. By doubling up little on her daily tasks, and enough time is permitted to allow her to do so, the housewife can do her seasonal work, and also her weekly tasks. For instance, the budget allows one hour for prepar- ing egetables-nore time than actually is needed.
 Urges Labor saving Devices
 Mrs Benson believes firmly that every time and labor-saving device which a woman can possibly afford should be placed in her home. Dish washers, manglers, electric sweep CTS ,. all of these cut down the budget and give greater time for relaxation.
 "A woman is the forewoman ot her own particular home factory Mrs. Benson argues. Perfect coop eration with her staff of children, means less work and more leisure all around.'
 Some of the important facts for the homemaker to keep in mind in budgeting her time are given brief ly by Mrs. Benson:
 Allow one-hour divisions of time for fleXibility.
 Dishes may be washed once day instead of three times a day if ad- visable in the individual household.
 Study motions necessary for each task and eliminate waste motions and steps.
 Menus should be planned for the week or several weeks.
 Keep simple books and accounts so that others may understand them.
 Eliminate tasks that tradition and habit, rather than common sense, dictate should be done on certain day.
 And the hours in which you are free to do what you please will transfer you from the uninteresting person known as housekeeper to the fascinating one who carries the title of home-maker.