FINDING THE MEANS FOR MOTHERCRAFT
“Efficient housekeeping is the beginning of good citizenship.”
—PROFESSOR MARTHA VAN RENSSELAER.
=The Budget.= Many young people hesitate to marry on a modest
income, either through confessed inability to manage a small budget,
or an unwillingness to begin humbly and live simply. Many mothers
are sorely perplexed over the problem of finding time and energy
from their household work for the education of and play with their
children. Parents are perplexed over how to provide for and educate
more than one or two children in what they consider a fitting manner.
=Efficiency Methods.= The whole complexity may be reduced to
definite problems of philosophy, scientific efficiency, physics,
and mathematics. The first step is to appreciate the relative value
of life and of things, of genuine simplicity and vulgar show; of
educating the children to share, to carry responsibility, to be
self-reliant, or to be selfish, dependent, luxury-loving.
Second, all the labor-saving machinery in the world will but slightly
reduce the output of time and energy in the household work unless the
worker will apply her mind to the problem, adapt herself to new ways
of performing a piece of work, and be willing to think.
Third, the individual problem must be studied. Have a regular
monthly session to analyze seriously, with pencil and paper, the
household situation, and to question every process of work and
every expenditure. Can the household régime be made simpler yet
socially efficient? Where is there waste of energy, time, materials,
income? How can the accumulation of dirt and dust be reduced? How
can dishwashing and laundry work be reduced? How can time spent in
cooking be decreased? How could any work be done in a less tiring
position? Where could there be a reduction in the number of steps,
trips, arm movements, duplications of work, arranging which requires
later disarrangement? Where could pipes, drains, hose lines, faucets,
pulleys, speaking tubes, signals, or other simple mechanical devices
reduce time and labor? What work could be done by a part-time helper
at an hourly or daily rate? What is the difference in cost between
food cooked at home or purchased already cooked? What has been the
loss from food wasted, spoiled, thrown away, improperly cooked? Could
any foods be purchased directly from the producer, with a saving of
cost? Are the dealers sending honest measures and correct bills? How
could a reduction be made in the cost of fuel or of lighting?
Domestic engineers, housekeeping experiment stations, household
efficiency laboratories already exist, but they are so new that the
terms are not yet quite familiar. It may prove a great saving of
time and energy to consult one of the new domestic engineers, whose
business it is to analyze a kitchen or a house or a family budget,
plan its rearrangement for economy of time, energy, and money,
recommend labor-saving machinery, or organize a system of routine.
Fourth, begin at once to put efficiency principles into practice
in the household work. Do not dawdle or potter over work. Analyze
the work of the household into units, for example, preparation of
breakfast, laying and clearing the dining table, care of a bedroom,
washing the dishes. Specify the maximum amount of time each unit
_is worth_, then see how this can be reduced, using the fewest arm
motions and least walking.
=Saving Time and Energy.= Learn to plan and organize work. Have
a monthly, weekly, and daily schedule of work. It will often be
necessary to vary this, but a well-planned schedule will nevertheless
reduce the time otherwise wasted in unnecessary duplication and
without definite purpose. “A stitch in time saves nine.” This applies
to sanitation, plumbing, cleaning, gardening, colds, and sore
throats, as well as to socks and frocks.
Study how to eliminate useless motions. Make exact studies, using a
watch and a record pad. Observe how many trips were made in laying
the table, and the length of time required. Discover ways of reducing
this by half, through use of a tray, more convenient arrangement of
supplies, fewer dishes, simpler service. Make similar studies with
other processes, such as cleaning a room, or preparing a meal.
In an ordinary household, preparation of breakfast for a family of
five persons should not require more than half an hour; lunch from
twenty minutes to an hour; dinner from half an hour to two hours. The
daily care of a bedroom should be completed in ten to twenty minutes.
Washing of dishes, clearing of dining room and kitchen, should be
finished in from twenty to sixty minutes after a meal. The weekly
washing for such a family should be completed in four to six hours,
and likewise the ironing. Five hours a week is enough to spend in
baking, and only two should be necessary if bread is not made.
Make out the menus for a whole week, revising daily as necessary.
This will assure better-balanced menus, more variety, economy of time
and money in marketing, and will prevent the worry of unpreparedness.
In marketing, purchase a two or four months’ supply of such staples
as can be bought and stored advantageously. Have a regular day
weekly to inspect supplies and order staples. Have two or three
regular days a week for purchasing fresh vegetables, fruits, meats.
The general architectural plan of a house, finish of walls and
floors, construction of windows, doors, wainscoting, corners,
mopboards, can make hours of difference in the week’s labor. Even
when the general architecture cannot be altered, the floors may be
improved. Carpeted or waxed floors are the most difficult to care
for, while those painted or oiled are easiest. Useless bric-a-brac,
carved and ornate furniture, all are dust and germ holders, and
consume an extravagant amount of time for their care. For every
unnecessary and useless piece of furniture, drapery, or utensil, the
housekeeper must pay a tax of time and strength in handling. The
Japanese have learned the beauty of simplicity in house furnishing.
Rearrange the plan of the kitchen until supplies, utensils, stove,
water, sink are so placed that there are fewest steps and motions,
and it is as convenient as an apartment house kitchenette. Tables,
sinks, and ironing boards adjusted to the height of the worker will
economize energy. A low stool to stand upon will reduce the height of
work tables; a detached wooden frame or block on top of a low kitchen
table or sink will often give the desired height without stooping. A
cushioned stool or chair to sit upon while doing stationary work, or
a soft rug under feet while standing, all add to comfort.
Electricity is the housekeeper’s man-of-all-work. It can heat, light,
cook, supply the energy for the vacuum cleaner, washing machine,
wringer, dishwasher. In some communities it is now furnished at a
sufficiently low rate for such general use, and other communities can
have the same low rates whenever the housekeepers organize and demand
it.
Simple cooking is more digestible, nourishing, economical of labor,
and, to a natural appetite, more appetizing. The most valuable
part of potatoes and apples is next the skin, the removal of which
before cooking is wasteful of time and materials. A coal stove is an
enormous consumer of time and energy. An alcohol stove furnishes the
cleanest method of cooking, quite practicable, with a fireless cooker
and steam cooker, for a small family. Next in convenience, and more
economical, are the gas or oil vapor stoves. A good fireless cooker
vastly reduces the time required in the kitchen, and cuts the fuel
bill in half.
In serving meals, labor is saved by using a tray, or better still a
wheeled tray with several shelves, which may be drawn up to the table
to hold the additional courses and the soiled dishes as removed. A
special tray that will fit the cupboard shelf, to hold the constant
accessories, will save handling.
Dishwashing is an ever-recurring, three-times-a-day problem. There
are several fairly good dishwashing machines now on the market,
both electric and hand-power. If dishes must be washed in the
old-fashioned way, engineering efficiency can be put into it. After
washing, scald the china in a wire basket such as business offices
use for holding letters, and leave to dry without wiping, then place
directly on trays to take to the table instead of placing on shelves
only to take down again. In times of stress or of picnic spirit,
papier-mâché or wooden dishes will save time.
For cleaning have a vacuum cleaner, carpet sweeper, hair floor brush,
dustless mop, dustless dusters or cheesecloth dampened with kerosene,
wax oil or furniture polish. It takes an hour or two after sweeping
for dust to settle; this interval should be allowed before dusting
furniture.
If good laundries, guiltless of injurious chemicals and extravagant
rates, are not available in the locality, a coöperative laundry
providing these features may be organized and conducted by the women
of the community, as in many places in Wisconsin. If laundry work
must be done at home, an equipment of a good washing machine or even
a hand vacuum washer, a wringer, stationary tubs, hose lines, running
hot and cold water, with sewer connection for waste, greatly reduce
the time and energy cost. A cold mangle or one heated by gas or
charcoal costs but a few dollars and reduces by about seventy-five
per cent. the labor of ironing flat work. Gas or electric irons
are inexpensive and energy saving. Necessary laundry work may be
greatly minimized by providing silk or cotton crepon for underwear
and dresses, seersucker for children’s rompers, dresses, and aprons,
with doilies or paper napkins in place of tablecloth, at least for
breakfast and lunch, and paper towels for kitchen and bathroom.
The physical and mental condition of the worker is a very
considerable factor in time and energy cost. Work attempted when one
is fatigued, nervous, or tense consumes vastly more energy and time.
Learn to relax at intervals; especially lie down for a few minutes
about midday. “Never stand when you can sit; never sit when you
can lie down.” If becoming nervous or tense, relax completely, and
take long, slow, deep breaths of fresh air. Stand with the weight
on the balls of the feet, head erect and chest expanded. Keep the
house air in winter at efficiency point: between 65° F. and 68° F.
in temperature, and sufficiently humid by well-filled water pans in
furnace pipe or by large open dishes of water in room, and with a
constant intake of fresh outside air.
=Making the Most of the Family Income.= Analyze the family income and
spend it on paper many times before spending it over the counter.
Train the family to spend less than is planned, rather than more
Ordinarily, for incomes up to three thousand dollars, the following
is considered by economists a wise distribution, in a family with
three children:
=================================================================
Rent 20%
Food 25%
Operating expenses (heat, light, repairs, labor, supplies) 15%
Clothing 20%
Education, recreation, health, saving 15-20%
==================================================================
Personal ordering and selection of supplies, paying cash and keeping
accounts, will furnish the greatest values for expenditures. Accurate
scales and measures in the kitchen, with occasional tests of
supplies sent, will check errors or dishonesty of marketmen. Cost of
supplies may be reduced by keeping posted on market prices; buying
in wholesale quantities where possible, in coöperation with other
housekeepers; buying directly from the producer wherever possible;
knowing the reliable grades and brands of package goods. A knowledge
of the values of common foods and their comparative cost for
equivalent food value is indispensable for efficiency. A reasonable
allowance is two dollars to two dollars and a half a week for food
supplies for each person. An ample quantity (eighteen hundred to two
thousand calories a day) of nourishing food of limited variety can
be purchased for one dollar a week. Luxuries should be had on a four
dollar weekly allowance per person
The following table can be expanded by any housekeeper. For other
food stuffs: Note calories per pound. (Given in Government Bulletin
Number 28 or Rose’s Laboratory Manual in Dietetics) To find the
number of calories for one cent, divide calories per pound by cost
per pound. Fruits and green vegetables, although furnishing few
calories for one cent, are needed each day, for their vitamines,
acids, and minerals.
Comparative Caloric Food Values and Cost
=========================+==========+==========+==========
| CALORIES | | CALORIES
FOOD | PER | COST PER | FOR
| POUND | POUND | ONE CENT
—————————————————————————+——————————+——————————+——————————
Oatmeal | 1803 | 4 cents | 451
Corn meal | 1613 | 4 ” | 400
Dried peas | 1612 | 8 ” | 201
White bread | 1174 | 6 ” | 196
Potatoes | 378 | 2 ” | 189
Milk, per qt | 675 | 9 ” | 75
Rice | 660 | 10 ” | 66
Flank steak | 1084 | 18 ” | 60
Shredded wheat | 1600 | 33 ” | 48
Salmon | 922 | 20 ” | 46
Sirloin | 957 | 28 ” | 34
Eggs (28 cents a doz ) | 672 | 21 ” | 32
Flounder | 128 | 7 ” | 20
Chicken | 289 | 25 ” | 12
=========================+==========+==========+==========
=Locating the Home.= Life in the open country, town, or suburb
reduces the cost of living, as compared with the city, (a) by
reducing the stimulation and excitement of daily life, and their
energy cost; (b) reducing the temptations to extravagant and
frivolous expenditure of money; (c) furnishing better air and
more outdoor living, thus increasing the quality of life besides
decreasing expenditures for illness; (d) providing a porch and
yard where children may play in sight of mother at work, and where
the family may find social life; (e) providing space for garden
and poultry, whose care is healthful exercise, and whose products
may reduce the expenditure for food. By purchasing staples at
wholesale and organizing a coöperative marketing group for fruits and
vegetables, as wide a variety and as low a cost of food is possible
as under most favorable city conditions. The provision of rural
traveling libraries, art exhibits, educational picture films, the use
of the schoolhouse as a social center, the improvement of education
in the rural and suburban school with its ideal natural environment,
all are part of that larger home-making for which every mother and
father should feel a responsibility.
=The Value of Life and of Things.= “The things that are seen are
temporal; the things that are not seen are eternal.” Do not mistake
the means for the end in housekeeping. Orderliness, immaculate linen,
garnished rooms are means. Good cheer, patience, kindliness, reserve
force, poise are of vastly greater value. Often it is necessary to
choose between the two. Cherish simplicity, beauty, courtesy, rather
than conventionality, aping of passing modes, vulgar show, and
ostentation in the house, equipment, household service, the clothing
of the family. Train every member of the family to be responsible for
the care of his own belongings and to wait upon himself as his share
in social coöperation.
Let the children from toddling time help in the household duties and
chores. It will be for their guardians a good training in patience,
adaptability, and sympathy. What if their work is crude, with many
mistakes and mishaps? They are learning motor coördinations, manual
dexterity, a knowledge of homely routine, the meaning of labor and
service, the joy of workmanship and creation, the satisfaction of
self-reliance, the happiness of intimate comradeship with mother
and father. Their character development is the great consideration,
not the materials they are handling or the petty work they are
accomplishing.