====================+======+============_Foods and Household Management: A Textbook of the Household Arts

| | DISTRIBUTION OF CALORIES

| |

FOOD MATERIAL |WEIGHT|-------+-----+------------

| |PROTEIN| FAT |CARBOHYDRATE

--------------------+------+-------+-----+------------

|Ounces| | |

| | | |

Almonds, shelled | 0.5 | 13 | 77 | 10

| | | |

Apples, fresh | 7.5 | 2 | 6 | 92

| | | |

Bacon | 0.5 | 6 | 94 | ——

| | | |

Bananas | 5.5 | 5 | 6 | 89

| | | |

Beans, dried | 1.0 | 26 | 5 | 69

| | | |

Beef, lean round | 2.5 | 54 | 46 | ——

| | | |

Bread | 1.4 | 14 | 4 | 82

| | | |

Butter | 0.5 | 1 | 99 | ——

| | | |

Cabbage | 13.3 | 21 | 7 | 72

| | | |

Carrots | 10.1 | 10 | 5 | 85

| | | |

Cheese, American | 0.8 | 27 | 73 | ——

| | | |

Cod, salt (boneless)| 3.1 | 98 | 2 | ——

| | | |

Cornmeal | 1.0 | 10 | 5 | 85

| | | |

Eggs, whole | 2.7 | 36 | 64 | ——

| | | |

Flour, white | 1.0 | 12 | 3 | 85

| | | |

Lamb chops | 1.3 | 23 | 77 | ——

| | | |

Lentils | 1.0 | 29 | 4 | 67

| | | |

Macaroni | 1.0 | 15 | 2 | 83

| | | |

Milk, whole | 5.1 | 19 | 52 | 29

| | | |

Milk, skimmed | 9.6 | 37 | 7 | 56

| | | |

Oats, rolled | 0.9 | 17 | 16 | 67

| | | |

Peanuts, shelled | 0.6 | 19 | 63 | 18

| | | |

Peas, canned | 6.4 | 26 | 3 | 71

| | | |

Peas, dried | 1.0 | 27 | 3 | 70

| | | |

Salmon, canned | 2.4 | 54 | 46 | ——

| | | |

Veal | 3.2 | 70 | 30 | ——

| | | |

Walnuts, shelled | 0.5 | 10 | 82 | 8

Notice that some foods, like bread, have about the right proportion of

protein calories; others, like beef, beans, and peas are very high in

protein calories. By combining some foods high in protein with others

containing little or none, we can get the right proportion. Thus, 100

Calories of beef combined with 400 each of bread and butter will give 900

Calories of which 114, or 12.7 per cent, are from protein.

=========================================================

| PROTEIN | TOTAL

| CALORIES | CALORIES

----------------------------------+-----------+----------

Beef | 54 | 100

Bread | 56 | 400

Butter | 4 | 400

----------------------------------+-----------+----------

Totals | 114 | 900

=========================================================

(114 ÷ 900 = 0.127 or 12.7%)

It is interesting to work out other combinations which give these good

proportions.

=Ash requirement.=——We are also assured of ash in any ordinary diet, but

some attention should be paid to kind and amount, especially as many

common foods have lost the parts richest in ash. Patent flour, for

instance, made from the inner part of the grain, is not so rich in ash as

whole or cracked wheat. Valuable salts are also lost in cooking vegetables

when the water in which they were cooked is thrown away. If not desired

with the vegetable, this should be saved for gravy or soup. It is not

necessary to calculate a definite amount of ash for the diet, if

ash-bearing foods are freely used. By reference to the table on page 384

you can see what foods are valuable for supplying the important kinds of

ash. Milk is particularly rich in calcium and hence is required when the

bones are growing. Eggs have iron and phosphorus in forms well suited to

growth. But if eggs are too expensive, the vegetables and fruits

generally will supply these same substances.

=Diet for growth.=——Diets made in the chemical laboratory from mixtures of

pure (isolated) protein, fat, carbohydrate, and ash to satisfy all the

requirements which we have so far mentioned, do not behave alike when fed

to animals. The kind of protein is important as well as the amount. This

is shown by experiments in which only one protein is fed at a time. On

some, the animals will not thrive. On others, adult animals do very well,

but the young ones become stunted like the one shown on page 295. Milk has

been found to contain proteins on which young animals can thrive. But even

in diets containing the protein from milk, young animals do not develop

normally unless the salts of milk are added too. No perfect substitute for

milk has ever been found. During the first year of life, a child lives on

it almost exclusively; for the first five years it should be considered

the most important article in the diet; and throughout the period of

growth it should be freely used if children are to become vigorous men and

women. If not liked as a beverage, it can be used in cocoa, or cereal

coffee, in soups, puddings, and other dishes. Considering what milk may

save in the way of more expensive protein foods, such as eggs and meat,

and of ash-supplying foods like fruits and vegetables, it is to be

regarded as a cheap food. It is possible to get the proper amounts of fuel

and protein from white bread and meat, but such a diet is poorly balanced

as to ash constituents and especially lacks calcium. It would need to be

balanced by adding some fruit or vegetable and even then would not contain

as much calcium as is best for growing people. A diet of bread and milk,

on the other hand, is so nearly perfectly balanced (supplying fuel,

protein, and ash constituents in suitable amounts) that it can be taken

exclusively for a long time. Whole wheat bread and milk would be even

better, because the whole wheat would supply more iron, in which white

bread and milk are not rich. The addition of fruits and vegetables to the

bread and milk diet would also be an advantage——partly for the same

reason.

Other foods especially valuable for growth are eggs and cereals from whole

grains. Children should acquire the habit of eating fruits and green

vegetables of all kinds, for when they are older and likely to take less

milk and cereals, the fruits and vegetables supply important ash

constituents and also help to prevent constipation.

The foods good for children are also good for adults, but the latter can

keep their bodies in good repair with less protein and ash in proportion

to body weight than are required during growth, and many kinds of protein

serve for repair. If there are not enough milk and eggs to go around,

adults can take meat, nuts, peas, beans and bread for protein, and trust

to these and fruit and vegetables for ash. When the body has been wasted

by sickness, however, a return to the foods of growth, especially a diet

of milk and eggs, is best for building it up again.

=The number of meals in a day.=——Knowing how much and what kinds of food

are best for each member of the family, we must next find out how to

divide the total food for the day into meals. Few of us could take our

required fuel in one meal, and if we could, we should probably be hungry

before the time for the next meal. Some persons get along very well with

two meals a day, but usually their fuel requirement is not high. Most

people are more comfortable and more likely to eat a suitable amount in a

deliberate fashion if they have three meals a day. When large amounts of

fuel have to be taken, four or five meals may be better than three; babies

who have to eat in proportion to their size, often 2-1/2 times as much as

their mothers, take 2-1/2 times as many meals, _i.e._ 7 or 8 in a day.

=The amount of food for each meal.=——While the number of meals depends

largely on the amount to be eaten in the whole day, and the appetite of

the subject, the amount at each meal is most influenced by the nature of

the daily occupation. The baby with nothing to do but eat and sleep has

meals uniform in kind and amount. The business man who works very hard

through the middle of the day, and has not time to take an elaborate meal,

nor time to rest after it so that it may digest easily, takes a light

luncheon and makes up for it at breakfast and dinner. The outdoor worker

who has a long hard day and expends much energy, takes an hour at noon for

a substantial dinner, in addition to a hearty breakfast and supper and

sometimes a mid-forenoon or mid-afternoon lunch.

=Regularity of meals.=——More important than the number of meals is

regularity as to time of eating and amount of food. Training for the

digestive tract is just as important as training the eye or the hand or

the brain. We cannot expect good digestions if we have a hearty luncheon

to-day, none at all to-morrow, and perhaps a scanty and hasty late one the

next day. To take food into the stomach between meals is to demoralize the

digestive system. Foods that are excellent as part of a meal provoke

headaches and bad complexions, and many symptoms of a protesting stomach,

when taken between meals. The younger the person, the more important is

regularity. Little children soon suffer if their meals are not “on the

minute.” Adults have more difficulty in controlling their time, but if

they have to be late to meals, they should be more careful than usual to

eat slowly and to choose plain simple food that will digest easily.

=Mental attitude toward meals.=——Good food may be provided at the proper

time and yet the members of a family may fail to keep well and happy

unless they come to meals in the right condition. Haste, chill,

exhaustion, anxiety, excitement, fretfulness, or anger may interfere with

the digestion of the most digestible of meals. Orderly table service, good

manners, and cheerful conversation are very important factors in the

success of a meal. Peace and joy as well as “calories” are watchwords of

good nutrition.

=Balanced meals.=——Having determined how many meals to serve in the day

and what their hours shall be, the next question is how to choose and

distribute the constituents of the day’s ration so as to promote

digestibility and satisfaction. A meal of pure protein, or fat, or

carbohydrate would not be relished, and would have some physiological

disadvantages. Digestion is likely to be more complete on a mixed diet. A

meal of carbohydrate alone leaves the stomach more quickly than any other

kind, and one would feel hungry before the next meal, though one might

have had plenty of fuel; a meal of fat alone would leave the stomach very

slowly, and one would not have so good an appetite for the next meal; a

meal of pure protein would stimulate heat production without any

particular advantages, except possibly in very cold weather: it would be

decidedly undesirable in hot weather. For these and other reasons it is

best to have the different foodstuffs represented in each meal, and to see

that no one contains an excess of fat, which tends to retard all

digestion. This is what is usually meant by a balanced meal, but it may

also include care that about the same proportion of fuel is served at the

same meal each day. A meal does not need to be “balanced” in quite the

same sense as a day’s ration. The latter must have a definite amount of

fuel, a suitable proportion of protein, ash well represented, some food

for bulk, the whole selected with regard for the physical condition,

tastes, habits, and pocketbooks of those to be fed.

=Menus.=——Food taken at a stated time constitutes a meal. It may consist

of a single food material, as bread, or a single dish, as soup; or it may

contain many kinds of food and many dishes. When the day’s ration consists

of a single food, there is no trouble in arranging the bill of fare, for

all meals are alike. But as soon as we have two foods, we may consider

whether they will digest better if eaten together or separately, and which

way they will please the palate better. Balanced diets do not necessarily

afford attractive menus. Macaroni and oatmeal would make a fairly well

balanced meal except as regards ash constituents, but no one would call

such a combination pleasing. By the substitution of a little cheese and an

orange for the oatmeal, a meal containing about the same fuel value and

proportion of protein could be arranged, and it would certainly appeal

more to the appetite, and furnish better proportions of ash constituents.

In the construction of the menu for the day or meal, we must consider not

only food values and time of day and combinations which shall be

digestible, but flavor, color, texture, and temperature of our foods. The

study of digestible combinations belongs to the science of nutrition. The

harmonious blending of tastes, odors, colors, and the like is an art. Just

as there are pleasing combinations of sound, so there are harmonies of

flavor; certain dishes seem naturally to “go together.” Habit has a great

deal to do with food combinations. A Chinaman would not eat sugar on rice;

a Japanese would not cook beans with molasses as the Bostonian does. It is

interesting to experiment with new combinations, and study to find out why

old ones are pleasing. Why do we like crackers with soup? Butter on bread?

Toast with eggs? Peas with lamb chops?

=Digestible menus.=——Some of our eating habits are worth preserving and

cultivating. Fresh fruit for breakfast stimulates the appetite and helps

to prevent or overcome constipation. A mild-flavored food like cereal is

better relished before we have had meats or other highly flavored food.

Soup at the beginning of a meal puts the stomach in better condition to

digest the food that follows. Ice cream at the end of a meal is less

likely to chill the stomach than at the beginning. Bread and butter afford

a good combination of fat and carbohydrate. Crackers help in the breaking

up of cheese into particles easy to digest.

Not all of our eating habits are good, however. Griddlecakes, melted

butter, and maple sirup taste good, but the cakes make a pasty mass

difficult for digestive juices to penetrate. The sirup is likely to

ferment, and the butter coating the whole delays digestion greatly.

Chicken salad is popular, but combinations of protein with much fat (as in

the mayonnaise dressing) always digest very slowly. Simple dishes, without

rich sauces or gravies, and not excessively high in fat, are easiest of

digestion. Pastries, fried foods, meats with much fat, like pork and

sausage, are always more or less difficult and should be attempted only by

the strong, or when the body is free from physical or nervous weariness,

and not about to undertake mental work.

Attention to the art of menu making not only helps to make the diet easier

to digest, but also better balanced. Foods which are similar in color,

flavor, and texture, like potatoes and rice, are not artistic in

combination, and it is better to substitute for one of them a green

vegetable, or meat or butter, in which case we get a better balance, as

more ash, protein, or fat would then be included with the starch of the

rice or potato.

In making the bill of fare it is a great mistake to consider each meal by

itself alone. If we do so, some days are likely to be very high in fuel,

while others may be very low. Then, too, the impression left from one

meal carries over to the next. We do not care to see on the dinner table

the same foods that we saw at luncheon. Our love of variety is one of

nature’s ways of seeing to it that we get different kinds of foodstuffs in

our diet. Variety stimulates appetite, but this does not mean a great

variety at one meal. The truest variety is obtained by a few well-selected

dishes at each meal. If we do not exhaust our resources on one meal, we

shall be able to have a greater range of foods in the course of a week. A

hotel may have fifty or sixty items on its bill of fare, but after a few

days one feels as if there were a great sameness, because all of them are

impressed on the mind at each meal and every day.

=Dietaries.=——A dietary, as we shall use the term here,[19] is a statement

of the food requirements of a person or group of persons for a day or some

other definite length of time, with a selection of foods to satisfy this

requirement.

The first part of a family dietary will have to be calculated according to

the age, weight, and occupation, as stated on pages 299-303. When

complete, it will stand somewhat like this:

FOOD REQUIREMENTS

------------------+------------+-----------+-------------+-------------

MEMBERS OF FAMILY | AGE | WEIGHT | TOTAL | PROTEIN

| | POUNDS | CALORIES | CALORIES

------------------+------------+-----------+-------------+-------------

Man | 40 | 154 | 2680 | 268-402

Woman | 38 | 120 | 2160 | 216-324

Girl | 16 | 110 | 2200 | 220-330

Boy | 12 | 75 | 2250 | 225-338

Boy | 6 | 40 | 1600 | 160-240

------------------+------------+-----------+-------------+-------------

Total requirements | 10,890 | 1089-1634

------------------+------------+-----------+-------------+-------------

In selecting food to satisfy these requirements it is a good plan to make

first a list of those foods that need to be included in the day’s dietary,

no matter what the particular menu may be. This will include foods for

growth where there are children, special dishes needed if any one is sick,

and those common foods which we are accustomed to include in every day’s

menu, such as bread and butter.

For the family which we are considering, this list will stand somewhat as

follows:

FOOD 100-CALORIE PORTIONS

Milk 20[20] (6 for each child, the rest for the

Cereal 5 adults)

Eggs (for children) 2 (counting 2/3 portion per egg)

Fruit 5

Green vegetable 2

Meat or meat substitute 5

Bread 15

Butter 15

This list is to be kept in planning the menu, whose character is further

determined by certain dishes which we wish particularly to have included.

For instance, we may desire roast beef for dinner. This is a highly

flavored meat, and a protein food which will go a long way towards

satisfying the adult’s protein needs. Special protein food for breakfast

may well be omitted, or take the form of eggs, which are a contrast to the

meat in flavor, form, etc. Protein food for luncheon might be fish or some

other meat substitute.

Vegetables for dinner should not only harmonize with the meat, but

contrast pleasingly with each other. This result is insured by choosing

one vegetable from the starchy type, as potatoes or sweet potatoes, and

the other vegetable of the green or succulent group, as spinach or

asparagus.

Below are two menus, in which have been kept in mind the foods which

ought to be included (see page 311) and the artistic arrangement of the

day’s meals, with roast beef as the keynote.

Menu No. I. Menu No. II.

_Breakfast_ _Breakfast_

Oranges Grapes

Flaked wheat Oatmeal

Twice baked rolls and Toast with butter

butter

Cereal café au lait for

Milk for children children

Coffee for adults Coffee for adults

_Luncheon_ _Luncheon_

Creamed salmon on toast Eggs au gratin

Peas Stewed tomatoes

Graham bread and butter Bread and butter

Stewed pears Raspberry tapioca

Milk to drink Cocoa

_Dinner_ _Dinner_

Clear tomato soup Julienne soup

Roast beef Roast beef

Mashed potatoes, string Creamed macaroni,

beans spinach

Cabbage salad Celery and nut salad

Lemon jelly, whipped cream Pineapple ice, lady fingers

Milk for children to drink Milk for children to drink

By a little calculation from tables giving the 100-Calorie portions of

food materials[21] we can find out whether or not we have well-balanced

dietaries. Let us take, for example, Menu I, and make a list of the foods

required to prepare it for a family of this size.

=============================================================

FOOD MATERIAL |100-CALORIE | TOTAL | PROTEIN

| PORTIONS | CALORIES| CALORIES

---------------------------|---------------------------------

Oranges | 2.5 250 15

Flaked wheat | 5.0 500 74

Rolls | 5.0 500 61

Milk for children | 6.0 600 114

Thin cream for cereal | 5.0 500 26

Butter for rolls | 5.0 500 5

Sugar for coffee | 1.0 100 ——

Creamed salmon |

Salmon | 3.0 300 160

Milk | 2.0 200 38

Flour | 0.3 33 4

Butter | 2.0 200 2

Toast | 3.0 300 43

Peas | 2.5 250 70

Butter for peas | 1.0 100 1

Graham bread | 5.0 500 68

Butter for bread | 5.0 500 5

Pears | 2.5 250 8

Sugar for pears | 2.0 200 ——

Milk to drink | 6.0 600 114

Tomato soup |

Tomatoes | 0.5 50 10

Butter | 2.0 200 2

Flour | 0.3 33 4

Roast beef | 5.0 500 138

Mashed Potatoes | 5.0 500 52

Milk | 1.0 100 19

Butter | 1.0 100 1

String beans | 0.5 50 11

Butter for beans | 1.0 100 1

Bread | 5.0 500 72

Butter | 5.0 500 5

Cabbage salad |

Cabbage | 0.5 50 10

Lettuce | 0.1 10 ——

Heavy cream for dressing | 2.0 200 4

Lemon jelly |

Gelatin | 0.5 50 50

Lemon juice | 0.1 10 ——

Sugar | 4.0 400 ——

Whipped cream |

Heavy cream | 3.0 300 7

Milk to drink | 6.0 600 114

| ------------------

Totals | 10,636 1308

===========================================================

It is evident that we have enough protein, and as a good share of it is

from milk, we know that it will satisfy the children’s requirements in the

best possible way. The adults will get theirs largely from the salmon and

meat. Comparing this list with our first tentative one, we find that we

have used in building up our dietary 21 portions of milk, 5 of cereal, 5

of fruit (not including lemon juice), 4.1 of green vegetable, 8 of meat

(including salmon), 18 of bread, and 22 of butter, but no eggs. We have a

good representation of the different kinds of foodstuffs, with this

exception, and as the boys would need the eggs most, we could put them in

for their breakfast, thus adding about 140 total Calories and 50 protein

Calories. With this addition we are still slightly deficient in total

energy, but to add one or two hundred Calories is a very simple matter. A

second serving of potatoes, an extra roll for those whose fuel requirement

is highest, or a slightly more liberal use of butter, might well solve the

problem. This dietary calculation shows how the menu may help in getting a

balanced diet, and how knowledge of food values can be applied as a check

on the menu. If we had had fewer dishes in each meal, we should have had

to plan to serve larger portions of some or all of them, or to use more

freely such staples as bread, butter, and milk.

Each family must find out the kind of menu best suited to its resources.

Some typical meal plans suitable for everyday use are given below.

TYPICAL BREAKFAST PLANS

Fruit

Toast

Beverage

Fruit

Cereal

Toast

Beverage

III

Fruit

Meat

Toast

Beverage

Fruit

Cereal

Meat

Toast

Beverage

Fruit

Cereal

Meat

1 other hot dish

Toast

Beverage

TYPICAL LUNCHEON PLANS

Hot dish

Bread and butter

Beverage

Hot dish

Bread and butter

Simple dessert

Beverage

III

Soup

Another hot dish

Bread and butter

Dessert

Beverage

Soup

2 other hot dishes

Salad

Dessert

Beverage

TYPICAL DINNER PLANS

2 hot dishes (as meat and vegetable)

Bread and butter

Dessert

Soup

2 or 3 other hot dishes (as meat and one or two vegetables)

Bread and butter

Dessert

Beverage

III

Soup

2 or 3 hot dishes

A relish (as jelly or pickle)

Bread and butter

Salad

Dessert

Beverage

More elaborate plans than these should usually be reserved for state

occasions.

=The cost of the dietary.=——The types of menu used will depend very

largely upon the income of the family. It is comparatively easy to plan

attractive bills of fare if one does not have to consider the amount of

work involved in preparing them, or the cost of the materials to be used.

With knowledge of food values an expensive dietary may be wholesome, but

there is great temptation to overeating and waste of food, and it is wise

to keep meals simple for the sake of good digestion. Most families have to

consider carefully the cost of food if any money is to be saved for books

or travel or emergencies. A dietary such as planned on page 313 will

probably cost from $1.50 to $2.00 for the day, or from 1-1/2 to 2 cents

per 100 Calories, depending on the locality. Nothing is allowed for waste,

which may, if the cook and those who eat the food are not careful, amount

to from 10 to 15 per cent of the total cost. It is often estimated that

the “average” man will consume about 3000 Calories per day, and the cost

may be expressed on this basis as from 45 to 60 cents per man per day; or

the dietary spoken of as a 45-cent or 60-cent dietary or whatever the

exact cost per 3000 Calories may be. The cost of food for such a family

for a year would at this rate be from $550 to $750.

If the allowance for food be placed at 25 per cent of the total

income,[22] this dietary would be appropriate for a family with an income

of $2200 to $3000 per year. The majority of families have to get along

with a lower expenditure for food, yet they want to be well nourished and

to enjoy their fare. Fortunately there is no real connection between cost

and nutritive value, some of the most nutritious foods being among the

cheapest. At the same time, we cannot get wholesome food for nothing.

There are very few foods which to-day cost less than 1/3 of a cent per 100

Calories, and these are mostly cereal products, such as cornmeal, rolled

oats, and flour, or sugars and molasses. These alone will not make a

well-balanced, palatable dietary, though they will supply all the fuel

needed for an “average” man for a day for ten cents. In many parts of the

country to-day it is hardly possible to make a dietary satisfactory week

in and week out with an average allowance of less than 3/4 of a cent per

100 Calories, and even this sum will prove satisfactory only provided

there be skill in food preparation as well as food selection. With an

allowance of 1 cent per 100 Calories it is possible almost anywhere to

make a balanced dietary with some attractiveness in appearance and flavor.

In choosing foods with regard to cost a table that shows which are cheap

fuel and which dear, is a great help. Prices vary so much with place and

season that it is difficult to make one which is very exact, and some

rearrangement to suit any particular region may be necessary. The table on

page 318 will, however, serve as a guide.

TABLE OF FOOD MATERIALS

_Arranged according to cost per 100 Calories_

========================================================================

GROUP I | GROUP II | GROUP III | GROUP IV

Less than 1¢ per | 1-2¢ per 100 | 2-1/2-5¢ per 100 | Over 5¢ per 100

100 Calories | Calories | Calories | Calories

------------------+-----------------+------------------+----------------

Apples, dried | Almonds | Beans, canned | Asparagus

Bacon (all fat | Apricots, dried | Limas | Beans, canned,

eaten) | Bananas | Beans, string, | string

Beans, dried | Butter, over | fresh | Celery

Bread | 32¢ per pound | Beets, fresh | Chicken

Butter under | Cabbage | Cauliflower | Cod, fresh

32¢ per pound | Carrots, old | Codfish, salt | Cucumbers

Corned beef | Cheese | Corn, canned | Lettuce

Cornmeal | Chestnuts | Eggs, 25-36¢ | Olives

Cornflakes | Chocolate | per doz. | Oysters

Cornstarch | Cocoa | Haddock | Peaches,

Cottonseed oil | Cream | Halibut | canned

Crackers, soda | Eggs under 25¢ | Ham | Pears, canned

Dates | per doz. | Lamb chops | Salmon,

Farina | Figs | Onions (city | canned

Flour | Grapes | prices) | Sardines,

Grapenuts | Milk, 7 to 13¢ | Oranges | canned

Lard | per qt. | Round steak | Scallops

Lentils | Olive oil | Rump of beef | Steak, choice

Macaroni | Peaches, dried | Tomatoes | cuts

Milk at 6¢ or | Peanuts | Veal, leg | Spinach

less per qt. | Peanut butter | | Veal, loin

Molasses | Pork sausage | |

Oatmeal | Puffed cereals | |

Oleomargarine | Sweet potatoes | |

Rolled oats | Turnips | |

Peas, dried | Walnuts | |

Potatoes | | |

Raisins | | |

Pork, salt fat | | |

Prunes | | |

Rice | | |

Suet | | |

Sugar | | |

Tapioca | | |

========================================================================

Inspection of this table shows that if we can afford only one cent per 100

Calories for food, we must get a large share from Group I, and a few from

Group II; if we wish to use foods in Group III, we shall have to do so

sparingly, or offset them with some of the very cheapest in Group I, to

keep the average as we wish it.

When we plan an attractive menu and find it is too expensive for us, we

may often carry out our plan by substituting cheaper foods of the same

sort. Thus in the dietary on page 313 we may substitute as follows:

Bananas for oranges.

Top milk for cream.

Oleomargarine for a part of the butter.

Bean loaf with tomato sauce for creamed salmon and peas.

Stewed apricots for pears.

Rump roast instead of rib roast.

Doing this, omitting the soup and crackers and the salad for dinner, and

increasing bread and potatoes, flaked wheat, and other cheaper foods to

prevent any deficiency in fuel, we can still prepare palatable and

digestible meals with the right food values, and save perhaps 25 per cent

on the total cost for the day.

=Feeding the sick.=——When illness is serious enough for a physician to be

consulted, he will give directions concerning the diet, and these should

be scrupulously followed. If the case is so severe as to demand a trained

nurse, she will have charge of the feeding, under the physician’s

guidance. Many times, however, a member of the family is temporarily

indisposed and needs food different from the ordinary family bill of fare.

It is well to remember that in the first day or two of illness, fasting or

taking of very little food does no harm, and may be an excellent help

toward recovery, as it gives the digestive tract a chance to rest, if it

has been disturbed.

Nevertheless, the internal work of the body goes on, 0.4 Calorie per pound

per hour being expended during sleep, and about 0.6 Calorie per pound per

hour during waking hours in bed. A person in bed for twenty-four hours

will require about 0.5 Calorie per pound per hour to prevent use of body

material for fuel. A man of average weight, lying in bed, will thus need

about 1850 calories per day. Hence we must see to it, that after a person

has been sick for more than a few days (during which he can afford to burn

body fat) enough fuel is given to satisfy his energy requirements if he

can possibly digest it.

Food for an invalid must always be given in its most digestible forms.

Milk is one of the most valuable foods in sickness, not only because it

supplies so many body needs, but because it can be used in so many

ways,——hot, or cold, flavored or plain, made into junkets or sherbets,

combined with eggs in eggnogs and custards, fermented as in kumyss or

soured as in buttermilk or zoolak. In some form or other milk can almost

always be made digestible. Eggs are also of great value, not only poached

or dropped and served on toast, but as dainty omelets, or in beverages, as

eggnog, egg lemonade, and orangeade. Mild fruit juices, as orange, grape,

or pineapple, are not only refreshing but of considerable fuel value. If

there is no fever, chicken, lamb chops, tender broiled steak or roast beef

may serve to add variety to the menu. Broths stimulate the appetite and

help digestion, though they are of little or no food value themselves.

Cereals, eggs, and milk may be added to increase their food value. Cereals

in the form of gruels or delicate puddings, as cornstarch blancmange and

tapioca cream, are easily digested. Vegetables are best given rather

sparingly, and only delicate, mild-flavored ones, such as spinach or

asparagus, if digestion is much disturbed. In getting an invalid to take

sufficient food, much depends upon the attractiveness of the service.

Remember that very little things, like a fingermark on a glass, or coffee

spilled into the saucer, may take away appetite and prevent enough food

being eaten. Food in small quantities and taken at more frequent intervals

than in health helps towards the best results. Knowledge of what

particular diet is best in different diseases comes only through careful

study of the science of nutrition after much study of chemistry and

physiology.

EXERCISES

1. Calculate your own energy requirement.

2. Calculate the energy requirement of your family group.

3. Find the cost for your locality of the dietary arranged from Menu No.

4. Make a dietary yielding 10,000 Calories, from ten to fifteen per cent

of which shall be protein calories, from Menu No. II, and calculate its

cost.

5. Find out the lowest sum for which a balanced dietary could be obtained

in your locality.

6. Revise the dietary from Menu No. I, so that it shall not cost over one

cent per hundred Calories.

7. Plan an ideal day’s dietary for yourself.

8. Plan a day’s dietary for an invalid which shall yield 2000 Calories,

300 of which shall be protein Calories.

CHAPTER XIX

THE HOUSEHOLD BUDGET

The divisions of the income for which we should provide are food, shelter,

including taxes and operating expenses, clothing, and the “higher life,”

including recreation, education, and savings. The size of the income

determines largely the proportion of money allotted to each division. We

must be nourished and protected from the elements by shelter and clothing,

and an income must at least provide for these necessities to be a living

wage. Yet we justly claim something more from our income than mere

existence.

In most families there is a fairly definite income. When the amount is not

known it is wise to estimate upon the minimum income and have a surplus,

rather than to expend too much. Seventy-five years ago things cost less

and incomes were less, to-day the incomes have increased and cost of

living is growing higher. The question is one to be studied relatively,

and the cost of living will depend on the ratio between income and one’s

methods of living.

Just what other satisfactions than the merely physical are to be gratified

is the great question for the woman who divides the income. The problem is

naturally hardest with the smallest income, where the “must be” crowds out

the “may be.” But there is room for choice even with the small wage.

This work of dividing the income and deciding on the ideals should be

shared by the family. When the home is first started the husband and wife

should discuss frankly the problems of division and should agree on the

methods of expenditure. This common understanding between members of a

family forms a bond of union, and each feels a greater pleasure and pride

in doing his part. The fact that there is a budget and a system brings

orderliness in methods of work and freedom from worry and anxiety as well

as a saving of money. And this saving of money and strength is the same as

an increase in income. This budget or division of expenses acts as a

sailing chart and can be referred to from month to month. It should not,

however, become a burden, and one should not worry if every penny is not

accounted for.

Statisticians tell us that about 75 per cent of the male adults of our

country earn somewhat less than $600 a year. That in large cities $900 to

$1000 a year is necessary to bring up a family to live decently and enjoy

human happiness. Much depends upon how this income is divided as to

whether results will tend to develop efficiency in the members of such a

family. As the income increases from $1000 to $5000 it is possible to

apportion the income and indicate certain percentages which represent wise

family expenditures so as to include the higher intellectual and emotional

life as well as the physical welfare of the family.

From comparison of many budgets statisticians have worked out certain

percentages that are helpful in making our decisions, although they are

not to be taken as fixed rules.

=Expenditure for food.=——On examining the budgets of families having

incomes from $500 to $5000, it is found that the percentage spent for food

increases as the income decreases, amounting sometimes to at least 50 per

cent of the income. This means that there is a limit to the money spent

per capita per day for food, below which we cannot go and maintain life

with even sufficient efficiency for unskilled labor. Figure 77 shows that

a $900 income gives about 45 per cent to food. An expenditure of thirty

cents per capita per day for food in a family of five with an income of

$1500, is 36.5 per cent; _i.e._ more than one third of the total income.

Suggestions as to allowance for food in families of different incomes are

contained in the tables of budgets given farther on in this chapter.

[Illustration: FIG. 77.——Typical division of a small income. _Courtesy of

Ladies’ Home Journal, Oct., 1912._]

Thrift in buying and using is necessary with the small income, and highly

important with the larger where we are prone to yield to a foolish impulse

to please a whim of the palate.

=Expenditure for shelter.=——The increased cost of building and the general

advance in rentals make the expenditure for shelter a large one.

The question whether homes should be owned or rented is a vital one.

Ownership is possible for comparatively few, but there is probably nothing

that contributes more to the upbuilding of a community and the development

of good citizenship than the permanent residence of families in

localities. The pride of the members is enlisted in the home, its

surroundings and general community welfare. This sense of ownership makes

a house _more_ a home although real home spirit is not confined to

ownership of buildings. There are of course advantages and disadvantages

of ownership, and these should be carefully weighed. Preference for fresh

air, more space, less crowded conditions even if they necessitate daily

travel, have driven people of limited incomes and certain ideals from the

crowded cities to the suburbs in search of homes. When it is possible it

is certainly much more advantageous to own than to rent a home, when

living means the attainment of certain ideals in the lives of the members

of the family.

In deciding upon the proper expenditure, we must take into account the

location, whether convenient to business, school, and church, sanitary

conditions in surroundings and in the house or apartment, the appearance

of the house and the attractiveness of the neighborhood as well as its

convenience and healthfulness. The house should be adapted to the needs of

the family and selected with this thought in mind. See the companion

volume, “Shelter and Clothing,” Chapters II and III.

It has been estimated that 20 per cent of incomes ranging from $500 to

$5000 will secure a home, not including operating expenses, with the

proper sanitary conditions and one which will contribute to a right

standard of living. If necessary to secure healthful surroundings more

than 20 per cent may need to be spent, but 25 per cent of the income is

the limit of the amount to be spent upon rent unless this also includes

heat (as in many apartments) when as much as 28 per cent may be so spent.

If more than this is paid, it is practically impossible to avoid debt when

any unforeseen contingency arises. One thrifty German woman used 30 per

cent of the small family income for rent, in order to have more bedrooms

than most tenement-house dwellers can afford. She did make ends meet by

working until midnight at the family sewing, and tailoring; but though she

was the very soul of thrift in regard to food, and had never called in a

doctor, she could not save money until the children began to earn.

=Operating expenses.=——The question of operating expense is closely

associated with the selection of shelter and should be carefully

considered with it in the division of the income. They are the expenses

necessary to keep the house clean, warm, lighted, insured, and in constant

repair. To these must be added in a suburban community water tax, property

tax, perhaps even a fire tax.

In city apartments, heat and hot water are often furnished, and this must

be taken into account in deciding between apartment and house, and between

renting and ownership.

Labor is an important item in the running of the house. The close

connection of selecting and operating a home will be seen. Should the

administrator divide the family income in such a way that little is left

for operating, the little things of everyday life become a constant source

of worry.

The questions of the number of rooms, and their care, relative expense of

heating by furnace, steam, or hot water, the cost of regular service in

wages per week in order to attain one’s ideals, the cost of extra service,

the lighting by gas, oil, or electricity are all problems of operating.

Knowledge of sanitary science will make the homemaker demand cleanliness

in her surroundings, quick disposal of waste, and the prompt removal of

dust. Much care in planning is necessary here in order that there may be

no leakage and that there may be the full share of comfort for each

member.

For the income of from $500 to $5000 it has been estimated that a

proportion of from 10 to 20 per cent must usually be spent for operating

in order to secure comfort. Much must necessarily depend upon the amount

of hired service required, which, in turn, depends largely upon whether

the homemaker is to give her time chiefly to the care of her children or

chiefly to the conduct of the housework.

=Clothing.=——A large proportion of the family income is spent on clothing.

A knowledge of textiles and of purchasing is necessary in order to do this

wisely and economically. Clothing is as necessary an expense as food, for

it conserves the heat which the food furnishes and thus maintains body

temperature. Health is the main factor in efficiency, and health is

preserved by clothing which protects the body from sudden changes in

temperatures, and conserves the energy for other purposes. Money should be

spent on clothing to secure health, but too often more than the right

percentage of income is expended because of love of display. The instinct

for show, color, ornamentation is a primitive one, and the æsthetic “want”

is, in one sense, as real as the physical and should be considered in

expenditures for this purpose. It is a duty to look well, but it is not

necessary, nor does it show good sense, to sacrifice the health,

happiness, and higher life of the family by economizing on food and other

essentials in order to secure hats, shoes, gowns, and accessories that

cater to a mania for show. If the income be limited so that the essentials

of clothing only can be purchased, the margin of income which can be spent

for pleasure may, if taste so dictates, be spent on clothing instead of

pictures, books, or some recreation. That is a matter for the individual

or family to decide. In the typical budgets cited below it will be seen

that the expenditure for clothing was usually between 10 and 18 per cent.

=The higher life.=——There are other needs of family life for which money

must be spent besides the material ones of food, shelter, and clothing. In

the division of some family incomes little thought is given to this phase

of living. After the income reaches a certain amount, it is possible so to

plan that education, recreation, philanthropy, and savings all figure in

the division of expenditures. Some writers say that 25 per cent of the

income of $1000 to $5000 should be spent in this way. If thought is given

to this, it would mean opportunities for books, periodicals, lectures, and

membership in societies; some travel and vacation, social clubs, theaters

and concerts; charity and church expenditures; life insurance and other

savings. It is the idea of ownership of property, of homes, of possessions

of all kinds that has led from primitive living to advanced civilization.

And with advanced civilization comes the need for the higher life which

should be satisfied and can be through wise division of funds. The choice

of things to satisfy this higher life rests with the individual; it may be

music, it may be the cultivation of altruistic feeling in the help given

to neighbors; it may be a bank account for some future good, or money

spent on excursions, lectures, or theater. Whatever it is, it satisfies

the emotional, spiritual, and intellectual life of man and distinguishes

him as one of advanced civilization.

=Savings.=——Something should be saved yearly even if at first it is but

little. Small amounts put away regularly in a savings bank mount up to a

considerable sum at compound interest, for regular saving is the only kind

that counts. Life and sickness insurance are other forms of saving.

=Allowances.=——Each member of the family should have a personal allowance,

even though it is small. One mother gave each of her children five cents a

week, beginning at five years of age, and increasing a cent a week each

year, until they were old enough to be trusted with more. Even at this age

opposite characteristics showed themselves. One boy saved his allowance

until he had a quarter to spend at one time; another was in debt before

the end of the week. Each had a bank, and kept accounts, as well. It is

sometimes better for a child if he “earns” his allowances by performance

of such household duties as seem best adapted to promote his development.

=Suggested and typical budgets.=——In preparation for the division of one’s

income it is helpful to study the budgets of other families or

individuals. Mrs. Richards in her book on “The Cost of Living” gives a

theoretical division of incomes, which is shown in the accompanying table

headed Suggested Budgets. It is interesting to study this account and then

those of families who have worked out their problems (either with or

without the preparation of definite budgets in advance) as shown in the

table of Typical Budgets.

In New York City it has been estimated by those studying the problems of

the cost of living of to-day that it is impossible for the average family

of mother, father, and three children under 14 years to get food enough to

keep the body in good condition with clothing and shelter to meet the most

urgent demands of decency for less than $900. This amount in other

localities would probably buy more. This means that in New York City for

$900 a family of five can have a very bare existence, and that with $1000

this family can begin to maintain a decent standard of living unless there

is long sickness or other catastrophe. At $1200 a normal family standard

can be maintained so as to preserve health, and so that the family will

have opportunities to develop in a self-respecting manner. When one

considers that many families subsist on $500 or $600 a year, it is

necessarily under conditions of shelter and with limitations of food and

clothing, not conducive to the best development.

SUGGESTED BUDGETS[23]

Key:

F Food

R Rent

O Operating expenses, Wages, Fuel, Light, ETC.

C Clothes

H Higher Life, Books, Travel, Church, Charity, Savings, Insurance

| PERCENTAGE FOR |

FAMILY INCOME | F | R | O | C | H |

-----------------------+----+-----+-----+----+----+

Ideal division | 25 | 20± | 15± | 15 | 25 |

$2000 to $4000 | 25 | 20± | 15± | 20 | 20 |

$800 to $1000 | 30 | 20 | 10 | 15 | 25 |

$500 to $800 | 45 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 20 |

Under $500 | 60 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 10 |

---------------------------------------------------+

TYPICAL BUDGETS[24]

=======================================================================

| PERCENTAGE FOR |

|----------------------------------------------|

| | Work | etc. | | etc. |

------------------------|------|----------|----------|-------|---------|

children | 27.5 | 21.1 | 16.8 | 10 | 24.6 |

| | | | | |

adults, no children | 25 | 25 | 13 | 12 | 25 |

| | | | | |

much company | 32 | 18 | 18 | 10 | 22 |

| | | | | |

adults, two children | 36.3 | 24.2 | 20.9 | 18.60 | |

| | | | | |

adults, three children| 20 | 19 | 16 | 15 | 30 |

| | | | {26.1 |

$600 (Boston), two | | | | {Travel, |

adults, two children | 23 | 26 | 4 | 5 {sickness, |

| | | | {and |

| | | | {sundries: |

| | | | {15.9 |

| | | | | |

three children | 55.2 | 22.4 | 5.3 | 9.4 | 7.7 |

| | | | | |

three children | 55.2 | 15.5 | 8.9 | 13.1 | 7.3 |

| | | | | |

$300, Dr. Engel’s | 62 | 12 | 5 | 16 | 5.0 |

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

TYPICAL BUDGETS[25]

======================================================================

| AVERAGE | AVERAGE | AVERAGE

|INCOME $650|INCOME $748|INCOME $846

----------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------

Rent | $154 | $161 | $168

Carfare | 11 | 10 | 16

Fuel and light | 38 | 37 | 41

Furniture | 6 | 8 | 7

Insurance | 13 | 18 | 18

Food | 279 | 314 | 341

Meals eaten away from home | 11 | 22 | 17

Clothing | 83 | 99 | 114

Health | 14 | 14 | 22

Taxes, dues and contributions | 8 | 9 | 11

Recreation and amusement | 3 | 6 | 7

Education | 5 | 5 | 7

Miscellaneous | 25 | 32 | 41

----------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------

Total | $650 | $735 | $811

======================================================================

EXERCISES

1. What definite aims should the wise homemaker have in mind in dividing

the income?

2. What ideals should affect the amount spent for food?

3. What should determine selection of the house whether owned or rented?

4. What is meant by the operating expenses of a house?

5. What ideals should determine the amount spent for clothing?

6. In what ways should the “higher life” of the family or individual be

considered in the division of the income?

7. Plan to keep account of every penny of spending money for one year.

Look over and criticize at the end of the year.

8. Plan a budget for a family of five in your community having $1000.

Suppose they have $2000, how would you change your budget?

9. Work out with your parents a budget or schedule of probable household

expenditures for your home for the next month; the next year.

CHAPTER XX

SYSTEM IN MANAGEMENT

The housekeeper should learn to use the labor-saving devices for her

records that are now employed so largely in the world of business. This

equipment should include a desk with fittings for systematized and rapid

work. A roll-top desk, with pigeonholes and drawers is convenient, but a

flat-topped desk with drawers below gives a larger space for writing,

although it has to be supplemented by boxes to take the place of

pigeonholes. Such desks may be purchased for twenty dollars and upward, in

woods to match other furniture. It is a pleasure to have artistic desk

furnishings, but a large amount may be spent on these, and the desk still

be unequipped for practical purposes.

=Files and loose-leaf books.=——A card file is as advantageous to the

housekeeper as to the business man. Some desks contain a place for the

card file in the upper right-hand drawer.

Guide cards are furnished in several colors to indicate divisions of the

file, and these are plain, or with printed numbers and letters. The record

cards also are made of several colors, to indicate different uses. The

suggestions here cover only a few of the possibilities. Visit some office

furnishing department or shop to see what an array of conveniences has

been devised for the dispatch of business. If you once form the habit, you

will find new uses for the card file almost daily, and will keep on the

cards, addresses, engagements, cash accounts, shopping lists, inventories

of clothing and furnishings, menus and recipes. A loose-leaf book is

preferred by some people for inventories and accounts.

A letter file shaped like a pocketbook can be purchased for only

twenty-five cents, and will serve the purpose for a small correspondence.

Large files with guide cards are made for a larger correspondence.

The small file will answer for filing bills and is useful also for

clippings. Some desks have bill files in the pigeonholes, and a letter

file in one of the large drawers.

Have regular hours daily for attending to work at the desk, stated times

for planning menus, making shopping lists, looking over the inventories,

recording expenditures, and balancing accounts.

Order in time and place are studied further in the chapter on Housewifery.

=Keeping of accounts.=——This has been called by many, drudgery and tedious

routine. Many business men go through much such drudgery to attain their

goals, why should not the housewife be willing to make a similar sacrifice

in her home for the sake of the service she is rendering the members of

her household? The aim in keeping the accounts is to register the amounts

spent for various purposes so that all phases of life will be considered

and so that the manager will be able to profit the second year because of

the experience of the first year. This makes housekeeping interesting and

businesslike. The expenditure is made to produce the maximum of value

received and is accompanied by the greatest possible pleasure.

In keeping accounts there should be some method of showing the receipts

and expenses, the income and the outgo, so that a balance can be made at

any time. The items should be so listed, too, that it is possible to tell

what expenditure has been made for any one item, as rent, or food, or

other necessities. It is only in this way that the accounts become of

value for future use.

There are many ways of keeping such accounts. The simplest one for the

housewife is the best if it shows the points mentioned above. The envelope

system is used by some when the income is small, and a certain amount of

money according to budget plan is put in labeled envelopes for various

purposes, as rent, food, operating expenses, etc. As sums are drawn from

the various envelopes, a slip of paper put in the particular envelope

registers the amount drawn. It is easy at the end of the month to balance

the accounts. This system necessitates the presence of a good deal of

money on hand, and sometimes of confusion of accounts, if money is

borrowed from one envelope for use in another.

+-----------+-------+------+-----+----+---+-----+-------+-------

+-----------+-------+------+-----+----+---+-----+-------+ACCORDING TO

| | | | | | | | |

| Jan. 1 | | | | | | | |

| Jan. 5 | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | |

+-----------+-------+------+-----+----+---+-----+-------+-------

+-----------+-------+------+-----+----+---+-----+-------+-------

Various systems of card catalogues, journals, and ledgers are in use, and

all have more or less value. The simplest form for the average young woman

or housewife can be kept in an ordinary blank book and the spaces ruled

according to one’s need. The account book can be started in somewhat the

following manner, with the dates of expenditures in the first column and

the respective amounts opposite under their proper heads. In this way it

is possible by using double pages of the blank book to keep all the items

for each month in horizontal series. The columns for items of expenses

should be ruled as needed, but it is desirable to keep them under as few

heads as will suffice to give the information which may be desired. The

use of the double page is advisable, for then the outer edge of the

left-hand page can be used for the dates of purchase and plenty of room

for columns of expense left across the two pages. The total in the various

columns can be easily calculated at the end of the first month and a new

set of pages ruled for the second. The expenditures should be entered

daily so as not to be forgotten. A slip of paper kept in one’s purse is of

help if amounts are jotted down while one is shopping. The totals for each

month should be entered in another part of the blank book. Rule spaces for

the year with columns for the months across the page and items of expense

corresponding to those in the daily entry at the left-hand side. In this

way at the end of twelve months the totals for each item of expense can be

easily found. If one desires to know from day to day of a month how the

balance stands, it is possible to add to Form I two columns for this

purpose. One column should show the income or amounts received with

dates, and the second the total sum expended each day. This sum is found

by adding the expense of each item across the page for the day and

entering in the expense column.

Form II

+-------------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+---

| | JAN. | FEB. |MARCH | APRIL| MAY | JUNE |

+-------------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+---

| Ice | | | | | | |

+-------------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+---

+-------------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+---

+------+------+------+------+------+------+--------+

| JULY | AUG. | SEP. | OCT. | NOV. | DEC. | TOTALS |

+------+------+------+------+------+------+--------+

| | | | | | | |

+------+------+------+------+------+------+--------+

| | | | | | | |

+------+------+------+------+------+------+--------+

Somewhere in the book there should be kept an account of the receipts from

all sources. The balance of the yearly expense account with the sheet of

receipt can be easily made.

Some plan must be made for showing which purchases are paid for in cash,

and which are charged. A simple method is to record the articles charged,

with the place, date, and price on a card in the card file in a division

kept for this purpose, and labeled “Purchases charged.” When the bill is

rendered, it can be checked up from these cards, and the purchases entered

in the permanent account book. The record in the account book gives thus

the date of payment, but not the date of purchase, unless this is added

too. The date of purchase can be recorded in the inventory of household

goods (see Chapter XXII).

This simple method of keeping accounts enables one to look over the

monthly and yearly expenses and to see if the expenditure is apportioned

to the different divisions as it should be. If some of the needs of the

physical or intellectual life are being neglected, it should be possible

to cut down or readjust the next year to the satisfaction both of the

housewife and of her family.

It is wise for all girls before they have homes of their own to keep

account of their own small incomes. In many families daughters are given

money for clothing and daily expenses. Some such system of keeping

accounts as the above can be used. It is astonishing in examining

accounts for clothing, to see how few maintain a correct balance. One

girl found, by keeping accounts, that she spent entirely too much for hats

and gloves and did not have the proper underwear to protect her body and

maintain the correct temperature for health. Accounts help us to determine

whether our methods of living measure up to the ideals or standards of

life which we have established in order to live rightly.

=Methods of payment.=——Payment is either immediate, known as “spot cash,”

or deferred. If deferred, the articles purchased are charged by the

dealer, and a bill rendered the first of each month. When a charge account

is opened, a good business reference must be given. According to another

system, articles may be paid for in installments,——that is, so much each

month, according to some agreement. Of this method it may be said that it

is unsafe, or at least unwise, always. Remember that more is always paid

in the end.

In either case the payment may be made in bills, specie, or by checks;

although in ordinary shopping immediate payment is usually made in bills

and specie.

The advantage of immediate payment is that the buyer spends only what she

has, and does not count on future money. This method of payment enables

one to keep the balance well in hand. It necessitates, however, keeping

bills and specie in the house, and in one’s pocketbook, with the

possibility of theft or loss; and cash payment takes more time in the

shop, with the long wait for change. Sending “collect on delivery”

(C.O.D.) is a way of making cash payment and saving time at the shop. Be

sure that in this case there is the exact change at home, and some one

ready to receive the goods.

Charging goods makes for economy of time. If you can remember that an

article charged means money spent, this is a safe plan. One careful buyer

says that she is too optimistic to have a charge account; too sure that

while she has not cash enough to-day for something that she wants, she

will surely have it by the first of next month.

There is another method of payment introduced by a few large department

stores. The firm requires a monthly deposit at the first of each month and

charges up purchases against this. This is good in so far that the

customer is spending money that he really has, but it restricts purchases

to that one shop, and this is inadvisable in the case of a small income.

=The bank account and check book.=——Whether payment is immediate or

deferred, payment by check is a great convenience. It saves time and is

also a record of money paid.

Select a bank, conveniently located, and recommended by a conservative

business man. Take to the bank a letter of introduction, with the sum for

deposit. The bank will record your signature, and give you a bank book in

which is recorded the amount deposited. A check book will be given you

that contains blank checks, and provides for keeping account of deposits

and checks drawn. Each check has to be filled in, and signed with your

name exactly as recorded at the bank, when you make a payment. This must

be recorded in the proper place when the check is made out, stating date,

amount, and payee. The sums paid out are added, usually for every three

checks, and this sum deducted from the deposit, and the balance carried

forward. In this way you may always know your balance in the bank,

provided you are accurate. Great care must be taken to fill in the blank

spaces correctly so that the check cannot be easily altered by any one.

If a check is made out to you, and you wish to cash it, or deposit it,

you “indorse” it by writing your name on the back across the left-hand end

of the check. The name must be written exactly as it appears on the face

of the check. If by chance the name is misspelled, write it in with the

correct spelling below.

The checks that you make out are indorsed by the payee in the same way,

and cannot be cashed until so indorsed. Therefore, if a check is lost in

the mail, you do not lose the money. The bank should be notified to “stop

payment” on the lost check, and you can then send another check in place

of the first one.

When you wish bills or specie, you go to the bank and present to the

paying teller a check made out to “Cash” and signed by yourself. It is

wise not to make out or sign such a check until you reach the bank,

because if such a check is lost on the way, there is danger of its being

cashed by the finder.

Once a month you should leave the book with the teller to be balanced. In

a few days you may call for it, and will receive with it the checks that

you have drawn, and that have been returned to the bank by the date to

which the book is balanced. These checks are called vouchers. With these

there is also a list of the amounts showing the total paid out on them by

the bank. Check up the vouchers with the list, then check up the vouchers

with your check book to see if all in your check book had been returned to

the bank by the date of balancing. If there are some still out, add that

sum to your check book balance, and then compare the bank book balance

with your check book.

Deposits may be sent by mail, either with or without the check book. If

the book is sent, it should go by registered mail. If you do not send the

book, the bank will send a receipt, which you return with the book the

next time the balance is made. In either case, write “For deposit” above

your signature on the back.

EXERCISES

1. Of what value is business equipment in household management?

2. Suggest ways in which a card file might be used in the household.

3. Suggest a system for filing household letters; bills.

4. What should be one’s aim in keeping household accounts?

5. Estimate the cost of your clothing for the last year.

6. Name different methods of payment of bills. Which do you consider the

best for the family with $1200 income?

7. Describe fully payment by check.

8. How should a check be indorsed?

9. How can one deposit checks by mail?

CHAPTER XXI

HOW TO BUY

The first rule in good buying is to know standard quality in your intended

purchase, for then you need not be dependent upon the salesman. The second

is to know your own needs, that you may not be beguiled by the clever

advertisement in the daily paper, or the well-displayed bargain, and will

not need to ask the salesman’s advice about quantity. Keep lists of

articles needed in the card file, and make your shopping lists from these.

The third rule is to apportion your purchases to your income and the

divisions of your budget.

=Where to buy.=——Patronize reliable firms. There are in any community

shops of different grades, and you will not find the best return for your

money always at those houses where there is the greatest parade of cut

prices and bargains. In the end the reliable places are the cheapest.

Sometimes a firm trades on its reputation and a degree of fashion it has

attained, but on the whole it is true that if one house has goods

uniformly cheaper than another, it is because the quality is inferior.

One fact that a good shopper learns is this——that certain articles may be

purchased to greater advantage at one place than another. One firm excels

in silks, another in household linen, another in coffee, and so on.

Almost every community now has a “white list” and a branch of the

Consumers’ League, the significance of which was explained in “Shelter and

Clothing,” p. 202.

=How to shop.=——Know the shops you patronize, first by personal

inspection, unless, of course, you are ordering from a distance.

Mail orders and the telephone are helps to the buyer. These should not

entirely take the place of personal visits to the shops, but, if well

used, save many weary hours. The parcel post makes possible buying by mail

even perishable articles direct from the producer. Many country dwellers

do a large part of their shopping even for clothing and furniture by mail,

and there are reputable firms who cater largely to this trade, and send

out well-illustrated price lists as guides. However, this method should be

used very cautiously, and it may be unsatisfactory for articles where the

æsthetic element is important, as well as the quality.

_Bargains, sales, and advertisements._——Here the buyer matches her wit

against the wiles of the seller. Bargain sales may be made up of sweat

shop goods. Many women ignorant of textile production, flock to the sales

of materials and garments, helping the storekeeper to dispose of silk

which is rotting on his shelves, or garments which have been poorly or

cheaply constructed and which go to pieces the first time laundered.

Remnants are often cut from materials on the regular shelves, and

sometimes are offered at an advance in price at the so-called bargain

sales. In reliable shops one can sometimes find bargains during clearance

sales. It pays to wait and buy out of season, as much can be saved in this

way. A “best” hat in January, or a white dress in August, may often be

purchased to advantage. In order to do this, one must plan the wardrobe

systematically.

_Trading stamps and prizes._——Remember that nothing is given away, and

that you pay for everything that you receive. It is well to deal with a

firm that sells standard goods at standard prices. A discount is sometimes

allowed for cash.

_Buying on installments._——Methods of payment are discussed in Chapter XX.

The installment plan is important to consider, since it is so common for

people of small means. How tempting for a young couple, who have no

savings, to furnish the new home in this way? It is a “gambling on

futures,” however, as much as are some methods in the Stock Exchange. If

the income stops, because the position is lost, or if sickness comes, and

the installments cannot be paid, the whole outfit may be lost. There have

been real household tragedies of this kind. The better way is to save

until a small amount of simple furniture can be purchased outright. The

installment method is also used by established firms of sound reputation

to tempt one to buy the latest encyclopædia, or the new musical

instrument, or some other much-desired possession. This is safe if one is

absolutely sure of a fixed future income; but here again it is better to

save first and buy outright. You may say that the installment plan gives

the use of the encyclopædia at once, and this is true. But if you have the

saving habit, there will already be a fund on which to draw.

=The ethics of shopping.=——There is no greater test of good breeding and

kindness than the tour of a crowded shop; and sometimes the silken thread

is strained to the snapping point. Remember that tired human beings are at

the counter.

Time your shopping that you may not help to crowd business at the closing

hour. If the shop closes at five, leave several minutes before the hour.

As a matter of fact it is only to the shopper that the shop closes at the

stated hour; some of the hardest work of the day comes after hours. Avoid

shopping at the luncheon hour, and on Saturday afternoon at the time of

the week when the salespeople are most tired. This is also a hard time for

delivery men and boys. Consult here the pamphlets of the Consumers’

League.

In times of stress, the shopkeeper asks you to carry small bundles home

with you, and this you should cheerfully do. Some women carry the C.O.D.

privilege to an extreme, ordering in this way with the intention of

sending certain articles back, thus creating much unnecessary labor.

=Purchasing of clothing and household textiles.=——Experience is a good

teacher, but knowledge so gained is often paid for at high price. It seems

an easier way, with much saving of time, money, and energy, for girls to

learn beforehand what to guard against in purchasing their household

textiles for both clothing and furnishings. Our great-grandmothers were

sure their household textiles would wear, for they followed every step of

their manufacture and knew they were durable and honest. Conditions

changed with the factory system of manufacture, and to-day women know very

little about textile fabrics or the making of garments. This ignorance of

manufacturing processes results in the increased cost of living by the

wasteful expenditures made for household textiles. Women rely on the

information given by clerks in stores, often to their sad disadvantage. As

we have learned, about 15 to 20 per cent of the family income is usually

spent on clothing and household furnishings for a family of four. Is it

not necessary then that girls should learn to make the dollars earned buy

just as much as possible?

There is need of a pure textile law in order that the adulterations of

textiles may be defined. Some of us cannot afford to buy pure linen or all

wool, but we do wish to know the percentage of adulterant in order that we

may judge whether the materials will meet our needs. It is beyond the

power of women now to control the making of fabrics, and the government,

therefore, must help to maintain standards and proper supervision of

textile labeling. Women can, however, study this problem, and with a

knowledge of the manufacture and composition of textiles will come the

power to choose wisely, for manufacturers have been able to perpetuate

these frauds chiefly because of ignorance. (See the companion volume,

“Shelter and Clothing.”)

_Some things to remember in purchasing household linens._

1. Design is important. French designs are the most beautiful in damasks,

Scotch and Irish are good, and German patterns perhaps the least

attractive. Weave often affects the wearing quality of linen as well as

the appearance. The satin stripes and long threads on surface are apt to

wear off quickly and they are sometimes introduced to cover defects

beneath. They cannot stand heavy ironing as the closer, more even, weaves.

2. Linen is sometimes adulterated with cotton; if bought as union goods

one may expect it. If bought for pure linen, ravel the material and

untwist warp and woof threads. Do the threads appear long and lustrous?

The round threads are best. If cotton has been used, the ends will fly

apart and fuzz, if linen they will appear more parallel and pointed at the

ends when separated. The cheaper “all linens” are sometimes made from the

tow or short refuse. If the fiber is short, it will not last as well as

the long. Moistening with the finger was an old-fashioned test. A better

one is to use a drop of olive oil. This test must be made at home. Water

spreads more rapidly on linen than on cotton. The oil makes the linen

fibers more translucent than cotton.

3. Cost is a guide. Linen is expensive. Is the price that which should

insure a good article? If cheap, beware.

4. Feel the cloth. Is it cold and does it feel rather heavy when crushed

in the hand? Many buyers in department stores judge by weight. In

purchasing table linen less than 4-1/2 oz. to the square yard is not worth

buying. Above that it improves. Reliable firms will tell the weight.

Custom house inspectors judge by the picks or throws of woof to the inch.

5. Notice the finish. Is it full of starch and sizing which can be picked

off? If so, in washing that will all disappear, leaving a loosely woven

instead of a smooth satiny surface. Calendering and beetling make the

material smooth and lustrous and reduce the thickness. Do not be deceived.

It is better to buy a soft linen than one stiff with starch which will

crack.

6. In buying table linen the goods received in December and January are

apt to be the bleach of the previous summer. Remember that poor bleaching

affects the wearing quality. One can sometimes tell by tearing a sample.

For quality, beauty, and variety of patterns, Scotch, French, and Irish

linens are the best. German damask is excellent. The unbleached will wear

much longer, is less expensive, and is bought by many housewives and

bleached as used.

Damask by the yard for tablecloths is slightly cheaper. Tablecloths from

2-1/2 to 3 yards are good size for a medium family of five or six. One

dollar a yard is a fair price for everyday linen. The cloth should about

equal 1 dozen napkins in cost, and a cloth will usually wear as long as

1-1/2 to 2 dozen napkins. Napkins come in three sizes, 5/8, 17-22 inches;

3/4, 23-27 inches; 7/8, 29-31 inches.

7. For family towels, huckaback is the most serviceable, although damask

is used a great deal (see Fig. 78). Linen towels vary in price from three

dollars a dozen up, according to size and quality. Dish towels of linen

crash are very serviceable.

[Illustration: FIG. 78.——Huckaback towels. _Courtesy of J. McCutcheon

Co._]

8. Bedding. Sheets can be purchased ready made in linen or cotton in

various sizes. If they are to be made at home, buy sheeting that can be

obtained for single, two thirds, or full-sized bed. If cotton, buy in

bleached or unbleached condition. Purchase sheets which are long enough to

fold over at the top and protect the blankets. There are several good

brands of cotton sheeting. “Fruit of the Loom” is one of the best known.

Tubing for pillow cases may also be bought. It has no seams, and comes in

several widths.

9. It is better to purchase a certain amount of new linen annually and

gradually supplement that worn than to wait and have all wear out at once.

_Some things to remember in purchasing silk._

1. That pure silk is seldom manufactured. It is nearly always weighted,

and a large proportion of weighting is to be guarded against, as it

weakens the wearing quality. Up to 30 per cent is not harmful and helps

the silk to take the dye. The fact that it is heavy in the hand does not

always mean that it is a good piece of material and will wear well——the

weight may be due to artificial “weighting” and not silk. Choose rather a

softer pliable silk.

2. Try the test for strength with the thumb (see “Shelter and Clothing,”

page 199) to see if the warp and woof threads are equally strong, or

stronger one way than the other. If the latter, it will not wear well.

3. Fray out the threads. Do they break easily? If so, the silk is not of

good quality. If the warp threads are weak, the silk will split across, if

the woof is weak, the silk dress will go in ribbons.

4. If you have time before purchasing, test a sample of silk by burning.

Place in a porcelain dish and heat gently for thirty minutes. The silk

will vanish and the weighting remain.

Burn the threads to see if there is cotton in warp or woof. Burn end of

sample. If it is the same shape after burned, it is probably weighted.

5. Close weaves wear better than more loosely woven ones and soft silks

better than stiff. Guard against buying soft silks, however, that are so

woven as to pull in the seams when worn.

6. Are you buying material made of reeled or spun silk? Bargains are

seldom found at silk sales. Should you expect to find pure silk at 50 or

60 cents a yard or as many yards of silk thread B as A on a spool?

Remember that the demand for a cheap product means the production of cheap

products. Wear something else rather than cheap silks.

7. Is the silk adulterated with mercerized cotton or artificial silk? Try

the tests. (See “Shelter and Clothing,” page 196.)

_Some things to remember in purchasing wool._

1. Wool mixed with cotton makes a cheaper fabric and should not be sold

for all wool. It wears well, but is not as warm as all wool. Garments made

of it do not keep their shape as well. Woolens are often adulterated in

felting. Pull the closely woven fabric apart and untwist the fibers to see

if cotton is present.

2. The burning test will help in deciding on the composition. (See

“Shelter and Clothing,” page 198.)

3. A good woolen or worsted fabric can always be remade. The inexpensive

is not cheap unless you wish something which costs little but does not

look well or wear well. One should not expect to get blankets of all wool

for two dollars a pair. They cost five or six.

4. Shoddy is one kind of recovered wool and is used to cheapen cost of

all-wool material. It can be detected because of shortness of the staple

of wool, but when mixed is difficult to see.

5. The weave of material affects the wearing quality. A close twill weave

is more durable than a basket weave.

_Some things to remember about color._

1. _Blue._ Dark blue in woolen material or gingham usually fades little.

Light blue is not as durable in color.

2. _Red._ Woolen material of this color wears well and usually fades

little. Red cotton when washed looks less brilliant. It soon fades by

washing.

3. _Black and gray._ Woolen materials of gray, white, and black or in

combination are generally satisfactory. Cotton materials of gray or black

are apt to show starch in washing.

4. _Lavender._ This is a poor color to buy. It fades easily in cotton

goods.

5. _Pink._ Fades with washing. If a deep shade be bought it may be

satisfactory.

6. _Green._ Usually very unsatisfactory. In good high-priced ginghams it

may not fade, but in cheap ones it is apt to turn yellow.

7. _Brown._ Good usually in ginghams, but likely to fade in woolen

materials.

8. See chapters on costume design and dressmaking in “Shelter and

Clothing,” for suggestions in relation to colors one should wear.

* * * * *

The above brief suggestions must be considered in the light of the

knowledge gained from the study of the chapters on textiles in the

companion volume, “Shelter and Clothing.”

In purchasing any materials for clothing or household furnishings,

remember that demand causes production and those who are intelligent will

make the right demands in the right places. Insist on the honest labeling

of goods and demand that for which you pay. Why should cotton

manufacturers label handkerchiefs which are cotton “pure linen,” and sell

them at ten cents? We too should know linen cannot be bought at that

price. The United States government employs experts to examine the

standards of textiles used in making army, navy, and other uniforms, and

will accept only those materials from the contracting manufacturers which

stand their tests. If a fuller discussion of the buying of textile

materials is desired, see Woolman and McGowan’s “Textiles,” particularly

the chapters on consumer’s judgment of textiles, on social and economic

conditions, and on clothing budgets.

EXERCISES

1. What rules should be borne in mind in planning to buy the furnishings

for a home?

2. What should guide one in relation to where to buy?

3. What methods of ordering facilitate shopping?

4. What is meant by the ethics of shopping?

5. What important facts should you have in mind in buying table linen?

6. What knowledge should you have before going to purchase a silk dress?

7. What will you think about in selecting colors for your garments?

8. Mention five important facts to remember in purchasing wool fabrics.

9. How does the United States government protect itself in the purchase of

textiles?

10. What knowledge should a wise shopper possess?

CHAPTER XXII

HOUSEWIFERY

This old-fashioned word is used here to include the methods and processes

connected with the actual work of the house, excepting the cookery,

sewing, and laundering, which have fuller treatment elsewhere. This

department of household management is a combination of sanitation and the

economics of labor.

=Order in place.=——Keep articles of a kind together conveniently arranged

in places set apart for them, these places to be easily accessible. Make

an inventory of household goods in a card file,——household linen, personal

apparel, including lists of clothing put away for summer or winter,

dishes, and valuables. Each housekeeper must make a scheme that suits her

own needs, but a few suggestions may be helpful.

Keep _bed linen_ and _towels_, piled preferably on shelves, near bedrooms

and bathrooms, marked and numbered. Put the clean underneath when they

come from the laundry.

_Clothing_ should be kept in an orderly way by each member of the family.

Winter clothing and furs should be cleansed for putting away, protected

from moths by wrapping in paper, hanging in tar bags, putting in cedar

chests, or in trunks with some strong odored substances,——moth balls or

cedar oil. Camphor is too expensive. Summer clothing should be washed and

put away unstarched and unironed.

_Dishes and silver_ should be carefully arranged in very definite places,

and counted often enough to keep account of breakage and loss.

[Illustration: FIG. 79.——Madam, who keeps your house? _Courtesy of the

Woman’s City Club, Chicago._]

_Brooms_, _brushes_, _dusters_, and _cleansing materials_ should have a

place of their own, well ventilated when possible, and all articles put

away clean.

=Order in work and division of labor.=——This depends so largely upon the

number of workers, and upon the equipment of the house that no definite

plan can be made for all. The question must be differently answered for

the woman who has a helper one day a week, or with one or two, or with a

large staff of workers. However, there should be some definite plan for

the days of the week and the hours of the day, and some division of work

among the members of the family or between the family and paid helpers.

The young people of the family should each have some regular piece of

work, at least in their own rooms; and the paid helpers should have a

definite plan given them, including some hours to themselves, as regular

as possible. There are emergencies that upset even the most perfect

system, and these must be met as they come, but a fair amount of work at

regular times should be the system.

“Domestic service” is too large a social and economic problem to discuss

at length here. Miss Jane Addams calls it “belated industry,” meaning that

in domestic work we are far behind the productive industries of commerce

in organization. We are trying experiments in putting work out, and having

helpers come in, and in time we may bring order out of chaos when

employers and employees are all properly trained and have the right

relation to each other.

=Processes of housewifery.=——Good working equipment, including

labor-saving apparatus, is an essential; and we must have knowledge of the

effect of different cleansing materials on fabrics, wood, paint, glass,

and metal.

=Equipment.=——_Brooms_ should be made of pliable straw (broom corn), be

evenly made, with a light and comfortable handle.

_Brushes_ may include the whisk broom, soft brush of bristles both short

and long handled for floors, a long handled brush of wool or soft material

for walls, ceilings, and cornices, a soft brush for furniture, a thin

brush for radiators, a silver brush, and stiff scrubbing brush. The

variety of brushes at a furnishing shop is very large, and interesting to

study. It is economy to buy good quality when you can, and if cleaned and

not abused they last a long time. Wash the brushes in soapsuds and water,

drain and dry before putting away. A bamboo beater is convenient. The

dustpan should have a narrow cover at the handle side, and a strong

handle.

_Carpet sweepers_ prevent dust from flying and are easy to use, but

inclined to wear off the pile of the carpet.

_Vacuum cleaners_ are a necessity in crowded city quarters, where we

cannot beat and shake dusty carpets and rugs out of windows, on the roof,

or in the street, on account of our neighbors. That we cannot all have

them does not make them less necessary. While they may involve no less

muscular exertion they remove dust and old dirt in a remarkable way from

fabrics, and are very useful for taking dirt from cracks in the floor and

woodwork and from upholstered furniture. The principle of operation

differs with different makes, and some are less effective than others, but

there are several patterns that do good work and are not expensive.

Experiment with one at the first opportunity. A room cleaned in this way

is markedly different in odor from a room that has been swept with a

broom, even when this is well done.

A good vacuum cleaner must have an air conveying system, a separator or

other means of disposal of the material picked up, and a vacuum producer.

They may be divided, according to the method employed, into those worked

by bellows, by fan, by rotary pump and piston pump. This is a problem to

take to the class in physics.

_Cleaning cloths._——Have a good supply of cheesecloth dusters, and heavier

cloth for work on the floors. A sponge and chamois are useful. The mop,

which is a cloth or fiber fabric on a handle, is something that we ought

to banish when we can, for it is hard to keep clean, and is a trap for

bacteria. A substitute for the common mop is a long handle with a cross

bar covered with corrugated rubber, which is held down on the cloth, and

rubbed back and forth but not fastened to the cloth. Avoid the use of

linty old cloths, because the thread and lint clog the traps and drains.

Cleaning cloths should be boiled in strong soap suds, rinsed, and

thoroughly dried before putting away. This is a difficult rule to enforce,

for it is a temptation to tuck such things away where they will not show.

Watch this matter as you do the garbage pail. When a cloth is too dirty to

wash clean, burn it or send it away with paper refuse.

_Cleaning materials._——Air, sunshine, and water are the great purifiers,

plus muscular energy or the power of machinery, but we frequently use

chemical aids. These should all be kept in stock.

_Soaps and alkalies._——White and yellow soap, some washing powder, sal

soda, caustic soda, household ammonia. Buy these in quantities if you have

room to store them, and if they will not be used too lavishly because the

supply is large. The soap is not much cheaper by the box, but it hardens

with age, and then it wastes less rapidly when used.

_Oils and polishes._——Crude oil, kerosene, a mixture of linseed oil,

vinegar, and turpentine, one part each, cottonseed oil, alcohol.

_Acids._——A solution of oxalic acid marked poison. Vinegar is on hand

among kitchen supplies.

_Gritty substances._——Rotten stone, whiting, some gritty soap of a kind

that does not scratch, a gritty powder, or fine sand for coarse work.

_Disinfectant and deodorizers._——A weak solution of carbolic acid marked

poison, chloride of lime, or some reliable preparation[26] (though these

are rather expensive), rock salt, and coarse common salt.

=Methods of cleaning.=——We must first consider what the substance is that

has to be removed. The fabrics and upholstery used in furnishing catch

dust which contains lint, grit, organic material from our bodies, and

bacteria. Fabrics also become spotted (see next chapter). The walls and

ceilings, floors and cracks, catch dust. All wood and glass surfaces

become soiled from the touch of even clean fingers, and the moisture of

the air mixed with dust dulls them. Metal surfaces oxidize, and this

oxidized layer must be rubbed off.

_To clean fabrics._——If you live in a suburb or in the country, brush,

shake, and beat articles to be cleaned out of doors, noticing the way of

the wind that the dust may not be carried back into the house.

To cleanse a rug, spread it on the grass, rub with a medium stiff brush

with white soap solution on the wrong side, turn it over, and rinse with

water from the hose; or better still, tack it by two corners to a wooden

wall, and then wash with hose. The city dweller must resort to the vacuum

cleaner, or rely upon a cleaning establishment. The other alternative is

to shake out the dust in the room, remove each article as it is cleaned,

let the dust settle, and take it out as well as it can be. One apartment

dweller heard this remark rise from the window below her: “Shut the window

quick. Those dirty people upstairs are brushing a rug out the window!”

_Painted surfaces_ and woodwork should be wiped off with a soft cloth

wrung out of tepid water. A small amount of neutral white soap solution in

the water can be used for paint if it is greasy, but alkalies are ruinous.

_A highly polished surface_ (piano) is cleaned by washing with a sponge

and tepid water, and rubbing until dry with a wet chamois wrung out of

cold water. This method was learned from a piano polisher, and it works

excellently. A dry chamois streaks the surface.

_The wood of furniture_ is kept clean by rubbing with a soft dry cloth,

but once in a while needs cleaning with crude oil or the mixture of oil,

turpentine, and vinegar. Bureau drawers need watching for finger marks.

_Glass_ is best cleaned by rubbing on a mixture of whiting and water.

Leave it to dry and rub off with a dry cloth. A fine gritty soap comes for

this purpose. Ammonia and water and a soft cloth work well, the success

depending upon the final polishing. Very soft tissue paper is satisfactory

for polishing.

_Marble, porcelain, and enamel_ need little more than white soap suds,

rinsed off and the surface dried. If spotted, use the finest kind of metal

soap.

_Metals._——Fine silver and plated ware should be kept polished by the

daily careful washing, rinsing in hot water. Silver will spot and tarnish.

Use whiting and alcohol, let it dry on, and rub off with a clean cloth or

chamois.

The silver powders sold at the silversmith’s are very good, but the patent

powders and liquids should not be used, as they remove too much of the

silver.

_Brass and copper_ are polished with rotten stone and oil. If the metal is

spotted, use oxalic acid solution with the rotten stone. After rubbing

well, the metal should be washed off in hot soap suds and finished with a

dry cloth.

_Nickel plate_ keeps bright if kept clean by daily dry rubbing.

=Care of rooms.=——_The bedroom._——The daily care includes airing the room

and its closets, airing and making the bed, dusting, removing lint and

threads from the floor, and removing slops and bringing fresh water if

bathing apparatus is in the room.

_To make the bed._——The amount of airing of the bedclothes depends

somewhat upon the weather; bed linen absorbs too much damp if placed by

the window on a rainy or foggy day. Pull back the bedclothes and hang them

over a chair set front to the foot of the bed, seeing that the bedclothes

do not drag on the floor. On a bright, fresh day remove all the clothes

and hang them singly near the window. If there is a screen in the room,

this is convenient for this purpose. The blankets should be hung out on

the line once in a while, and washed twice a year. One important point in

the cleanliness of the bed is a pad or thick cloth placed on the mattress

under the sheet. The mattress should be sunned and aired often, and beaten

or cleaned with the vacuum cleaner.

To make the bed, place the cover on the mattress, lay the under sheet

straight, tuck in firmly at top and bottom, and fold the sides under

straight, making angles at the corners. Put each piece on separately,

turning the upper sheet down over the others. The cover is sometimes

placed over all, and a strip to match over the pillows.

_Care of the washstand._——This is all important, and cannot be neglected a

day, without causing an unpleasant odor. The jars containing slops should

be rinsed in cold water, washed out in warm soap suds, dried, and aired.

If the ware is china, hot water may crackle the glaze, and then it is

impossible to remove odors. Wash and dry all the small articles and wipe

out and refill the water pitcher.

_Care of the bedroom at night._——Fold back, or remove the covers, and lay

the bedclothes partly back. See that drinking water is in the room, and

lighting conveniences.

=The living room, dining room, and halls.=——The daily care consists in

setting furniture and such small articles as the pictures and ornaments

straight, removing lint and dust from the floor, dusting wherever needed.

=The weekly cleaning of all rooms.=——Whether a thorough cleaning is needed

weekly, depends upon the situation of the house, and the number of people

who use the rooms. The rooms in a country house set in wide green spaces

do not need cleaning so often as those of a city house.

_General order for all rooms._——Dust all small articles, place them

together and cover them. Dust and clean off furniture and take the lighter

pieces from the room. Cover what remains. Clean the textile fabrics in

the best way available. Brush the walls, with a special brush, or soft

cloth on a broom. Dust and cover pictures. Brush the rugs, or use vacuum

cleaner. If the floor is hardwood, brush it with a soft brush, taking

long, steady strokes from corner and sides to center. Take up dust in pan,

and carry away to burn, or put in dust can at once. Wipe the floor with

moist cloth, or with oiled cloth.

If there is a carpet and a broom is to be used, scatter pieces of wet

paper over it, moisten the broom, and sweep as directed for brushing,

using steady strokes and not allowing the dust to fly. The broom should be

washed and dried. If dust flies, allow it time to settle. Dust the

surfaces left exposed. Wipe off the woodwork if necessary, remove covers,

and replace all articles. To have the room perfectly clean, windows should

be washed, but if this is not convenient at the time, or the weather is

bad, rub them and dust the sashes. Wash mirrors and the glass of pictures.

This means much labor, and some people cannot accomplish it every week;

and different rooms should have different cleaning days. But such thorough

cleaning occasionally is necessary for keeping all articles in good

condition and also for the health of the family.

The old-fashioned yearly house cleaning seems hardly necessary if cleaning

is well done through the year, but in both fall and spring some extra

freshening may be necessary in the way of thorough cleansing of textiles

and furniture. All closets should have everything removed from them and

the whole closet cleansed. Drawers should come out, be emptied, washed and

aired, and fresh white or brown paper put in all.

=The bathroom and toilet.=——This needs very particular care, no matter

what the type may be. All drains and traps should be flushed daily, and a

solution of caustic soda put down weekly. If there is an odor about the

water closet, try salt first, and then some chloride preparation. The

basin, the tub, and the seat and basin of the toilet should be thoroughly

washed daily. When the bathroom is used by more than one person, all

should be taught to leave all the toilet equipment perfectly clean. If the

toilet is not of the water-closet type, even greater care should be taken.

Everything must be kept scrubbed clean, and chloride of lime should be

put down daily, if there is not a removable pail with earth. (See “Shelter

and Clothing,” p. 48.)

=Care of lamps.=——If kerosene is used, this is an important feature of

housework.

Have a tray for holding necessary articles, soft cloth, paper, strong,

sharp scissors, lamp chimney brush. When the lamp is to be cleaned, set it

upon this tray. Take off all the easily removable parts. Fill the lamp

through a funnel, and do not let the kerosene run over. Wipe off the

charred wick with paper, and wipe the burner. Wash off the lamp in warm

soap suds, wash and polish the chimney and shade, and replace. If you

cannot get rid of odor, take the burner apart, boil it in a solution of

washing soda, and put in a new wick. Cleaning a lamp is not nearly so

disagreeable as many people think it, when it is done with good will. To

shirk it means an unpleasant odor in the room and a poor light. Always

fill the lamp in the daytime and keep it away from the fire.

=Household insects.=——Keep out flies and mosquitoes by screens, but see

first that your premises are clean, and do what you can in the whole

neighborhood.

Flies breed in dirty stables and mosquitoes in standing water. The stables

must be cleaned and kept so, and water drained off or kerosene put upon

it. Mosquitoes will breed in water in an empty milk bottle or old tomato

can. If flies enter the house, kill them in some way. Wire or net fly

killers cost only ten cents, and do good work. If the flies are very

numerous, catch them in wire traps, or burn pyrethrum powder in the room.

At night when they are on the ceiling, catch them in a glass of hot water

and soap, not quite full, by holding the glass under the fly and gently

knocking the glass against the ceiling. If the ceiling is high, tack an

empty can on the end of an old broom stick and set the glass in that.

Clothing moths are kept out by precautions already mentioned.

If bed bugs appear, go over the bed with great care and examine the

bedstead. Wash it off with kerosene, putting this well into the cracks. A

single insect may be brought in on the clothing. If they continue to

appear, all wall paper should be removed, woodwork varnished or painted.

It may be necessary to resort to fumigation, but this should be done by an

expert. Croton or water bugs are difficult to destroy, if they are once in

a house. No garbage should be left about, to attract them at night. There

are powders that drive them away, and another remedy is sulphur paste,

which comes for the purpose, and which may be spread on slices of potato.

The U. S. Department of Agriculture issues free bulletins on the

suppression of household insects.

=Precautions against fire.=——So many disastrous fires occur as a result of

a careless act that we need to train ourselves in caution. The matches

used should be of the safety type. They should be blown out, never shaken,

and never thrown into a basket of papers. When matches are used, always

have a small fire-proof receptacle in each room. Smokers are often

careless in regard to their matches, cigars, and pipes. Be careful in

summer to see that a breeze cannot blow some light curtain over a candle

or lamp.

If a kettle of fat catches fire, pour on sand, but never water. As a

general rule, extinguish a flame by covering it rather than by throwing on

water.

If clothing catches on fire, wrap a rug or any large woolen article

tightly around the body. To rush into the air is fatal.

If a towel or apron catches fire, roll it up quickly before the blaze

spreads. This can be done without injury to the hands.

Small fire extinguishers are not expensive. Most kinds contain a solution

of soda and a bottle of sulphuric acid which mix when the extinguisher is

inverted, and throw out a stream of water charged with gas from a small

hose. This works well just as a fire starts. Extinguishers arranged to

throw a stream of carbon tetrachloride are also on the market.

=Repairs.=——Too often in planning the budget, and the daily work, the

housekeeper forgets to allow for the constant wear and tear on the house

itself, and its furnishings; but to preserve the beauty and usefulness of

both the house and furniture, as much thought and time are necessary as

for the repair of clothing. In addition to the care and cleaning, there

must be a constant attention to small repairs.

_Inspecting and reporting._——Have a series of cards in the card file, or

pages in the notebook, where needed repairs may be jotted down. Have a

regular time for looking over different parts of the house; and give a

brief daily look as you pass from room to room. Each member of the family

should be asked to report whatever goes wrong in his province,——a leaky

faucet, a squeaky door, or broken castor, a tear in a curtain, a shade

roller that does not work.

For large repairs, like a leak in the water or waste system or shingle on

a roof, a trained worker is needed; but for small repairs a special worker

from outside is too expensive, and there needs to be a handy person in the

house, who can put in a screw, and use a monkey wrench, touch up the paint

or varnish, or mend the wall paper. It is pleasant work, and in these days

when schools teach so much handicraft, there should be some one in the

family glad to do it.

_A repair outfit._——Have a shelf somewhere for the repair “kit.” Look at

the woodwork of your house, and see what is needed; whether paint, or

varnish, an oil mixture or stain, or all of them. Have on hand a small can

of each, and bottles of alcohol, turpentine, and glue. Two or three paint

brushes of good quality and of different sizes are needed. Keep a bundle

of wall paper including pieces of all the patterns on the walls. A box of

tools is needed, including a hammer, gimlet, screw driver, monkey wrench,

a sharp knife, with boxes of nails and screws of mixed kinds and sizes

such as may be found at any hardware store.

EXERCISES

1. What are the reasons for keeping an inventory of household goods?

2. How should winter garments be cared for in summer?

3. Obtain a price list and estimate the cost of an equipment of brooms and

cleansing materials.

4. What are the advantages of a vacuum cleaner over a broom?

5. What are the best methods of removing dust? Of cleaning paint and

woodwork and glass?

6. How are metals cleaned?

7. What are the most important points in caring for a bedroom?

8. What is the order of work in a thorough cleaning of a room, and why?

9. How should plumbing be cleaned?

10. Is the old-fashioned order of work the best now——Monday, washing;

Tuesday, ironing; Wednesday, mending; Thursday and Friday, cleaning; and

Saturday, baking?

11. How may all the family help to some extent in household work?

12. Can you plan the best order of work for a day for the home worker who

has no help but some one to wash and iron?

13. What are the dangers from different household insects?

14. If a kerosene lamp suddenly blazes up, what should you do?

15. What is the principle involved in putting out a fire?

16. What are some of the simple methods of fire prevention?

17. What simple repairing can be done by members of the family?

CHAPTER XXIII

LAUNDERING AND DRY CLEANSING

“Washing is a necessity, ironing a luxury.” This terse sentence expresses

very clearly the relative value of the two large divisions of the

laundering process. The thorough washing of clothing is a most important

branch of household sanitation, upon which the health of the family and of

the whole community depends, for disease is communicable by means of

soiled garments and those that are imperfectly cleansed in unsanitary

houses and possibly in commercial laundries. The ideal city will have many

large and spotlessly clean laundries, where skilled labor intelligently

directed will insure clothing as clean as it can possibly be made.

There is an æsthetic element in laundering as well, for good washing

methods give a tinted white to fabrics that it is a pleasure to see, and

ironing makes a smoothness that is pleasant to the touch, and brings out

beauty of design, as in damasks and embroideries. There is an economic

feature, too, in that poor and rough methods of work in both washing and

ironing injure fabrics and shorten their term of usableness.

“Washing Day” has an ill repute that it does not deserve, for laundering

is a science and an art that it is a pleasure to practice, if one has

skill. Make it one of the household arts which you must carefully study,

and you will find it pleasurable as well as necessary.

=Soil in garments.=——The dust and dirt of the street and house that soil

our garments contain inorganic particles of earth, lint from textiles,

organic matter from animals and human beings, and also bacteria. The

material from our bodies consists of particles of skin, skin secretions,

and bacteria, which are collected in underwear and bed linen and towels.

Spots of grease and stains may fall upon our outer clothing, and fruit

stains affect table linen in particular.

=Cleansing agents.=——Water is the great cleanser, and if it is not

available in abundance and used freely, the washing is a failure. All

other agents are merely aids to the water or substitutes for it. In

primitive outdoor methods, still largely used in some countries, the

flowing water is the only agent, and yet the result is fairly good. We aid

the process by the use of soap or washing powders or ammonia.

The air and sun are also purifiers, and clothing should be exposed to

their action for drying whenever possible. There is a sweetness in air and

sun-dried clothing that no artificial drier seems to give. Probably there

takes place some oxidation of impurities present in very small amount and,

moreover, any bacteria still clinging to the fabric may be killed by the

sun’s rays. Heat is a purifier, oily substances being more readily removed

by hot water and soap than by cold; and the boiling temperature of water

renders bacteria and organic matter harmless.

Some mechanical action that forces water through the fabric is necessary,

and the method of accomplishing this is one of the important problems in

laundering. We seek a method that will be thorough, that will not injure

the fabric, and that will economize the muscular energy of the worker.

Beating, pounding, and rubbing are the old methods, the use of a machine

the new, and that is the best machine that meets all the requirements of

the properly conducted washing process as described below.

The _water_ should be soft and clean. Rain water is a perfectly soft

water and excellent for laundering if the cistern is kept clean, and free

from the dust of the roof. Lake, river, and well water are sometimes soft.

Strainers may be used on the faucets if at any time the water from these

sources becomes muddy. (See Chapter V for discussion of soft and hard

water.)

Hard water prevents the soap from lathering, and this must be counteracted

for laundering. _Temporary hardness_ is removed by boiling. _Permanent

hardness_ is not affected by boiling and can be overcome only by the

addition of some substance like ammonia, borax, or soda. Only enough of

these should be used to allow the soap to do its work, since they may

injure fabric and the skin of the worker.

_Soap_ is the most useful of the cleansing agents added to water. It may

have been accidentally made in the first place by some housewife who put a

greasy pot to soak with a solution of lye made from the ashes of her

hearth fire. Heat and alkali break up the fat into two parts, glycerin and

a fatty acid. The fatty acid combines with the alkali, giving soap, and

the glycerin remains free. Both animal and vegetable fats are used, and

different forms of alkali, usually potash or caustic soda, the former for

soft, the latter for hard, soap.

In these days soap is much better made in the factory than it can be at

home. In the factory the alkali is proportioned by weight, so that as

little free alkali is left as possible. Such a soap is called “neutral.”

Resin is added, in yellow laundry soaps, and is supposed to aid in forming

suds. When there is an excess of resin, as in some cheap soaps, it is hard

to rinse out and colors the clothes. Borax is sometimes added to soap, and

is useful when the water is hard, but not necessary in soft water. Naphtha

or some other petroleum oil in soap increases the cleansing property of

soap, by dissolving fatty or greasy impurities.

A _soap solution_ is essential for use in the boiler and in washing

machines and is useful for rubbing on spots before washing.

To make soap solution, cut up the soap and dissolve it in hot water, one

pound soap to one gallon of water. It should be strong enough to jelly

when cool, and may be kept in jars ready to use. Even more convenient are

soap chips which come by the barrel, but may be bought at pound rates.

=Bleaching and bluing agents.=——The sun, as it bleaches white fabrics, may

be counted in this group. Chemical bleaches are used to whiten clothes,

but should not be resorted to unless clothes are yellow from poor washing,

as in the end they weaken the fabric. Commercial laundries sometimes use

an excess of acid for this purpose. Cream of tartar is a harmless bleach.

Javelle water is another household bleach, chloride of lime being the

bleaching substance. This is also a good disinfectant.

_To use cream of tartar._——Dissolve cream of tartar in hot water, 1

teaspoonful to each quart. After the yellowed fabrics have been thoroughly

washed and rinsed, lay them overnight in a solution of this strength,

rinse, blue, and dry in the morning.

_Javelle water._——1/4 pound chloride of lime, 1 pound sal soda, 2 quarts

of cold water. Dissolve the chloride in half the water cold, and the sal

soda in the other half boiling. Stir together thoroughly, allow the

mixture to stand several hours, pour off the clear water with care, and

bottle it. Use a tablespoonful of the solution to a gallon of water, and

heat the yellow fabric in this mixture after thorough washing, for half an

hour, not allowing the temperature to rise above 100° F. Rinse very

thoroughly before bluing and drying.

=Bluing= is used to neutralize the slightly yellowish tint of the fabric,

when it cannot be completely bleached.

Ultramarine blue is sold in small balls and cakes.

Aniline blue is a strong color, and in a very dilute solution gives a

pleasing pearly tint to the fabric, especially when the violet tint is

used. Mix an ounce of the blue with one gallon water, and bottle for use.

Prussian blue is to be avoided, since it is a salt of iron, and often

yellows or spots the clothes. It is usually sold in liquid form. To test,

mix the liquid blue with a strong solution of washing soda and heat. If

the mixture turns red, and there is a reddish precipitate, the blue is

this salt of iron.

=Starch= is used to fill the interstices of fabrics and give a smoothness

and stiffness to the cloth that prevents the rumpling of garments. Both

wheat and cornstarch are used for laundry purposes when only the natural

starches are available, the wheat starch being better for home laundering,

as the cornstarch gives a quality that is too stiff and crackling.

Recently, however, the manufacturers have learned to make “thin boiling”

starches from corn and have placed on the market a variety of such

modifications of cornstarch for laundry use. Rice starch or “rice water”

is used for very thin muslins.

_To make starch._——For method of making, see starch experiments, Chapter

VIII. The starch must be perfectly smooth, and should be stirred while it

is boiling for a few minutes, and strained.

_Proportions._

1. For lingerie, 1 teaspoonful of starch to 1 quart water.

2. For medium fabrics, 1-1/2 to 3 tablespoonfuls starch to 1 quart water.

3. For stiff work, 5 tablespoonfuls starch to 1 quart water.

=Ironing.=——The ironing process is the most difficult art in laundering,

and requires good tools, practice, and patience. In the summer it is an

exhausting labor unless an electric or gas iron is available. Much energy

may be saved in hot weather by omitting the ironing of certain articles.

Dish towels, even toilet towels, and soft underwear may be stretched and

folded, and are perfectly comfortable to use. Some women who do their own

work even fold sheets and pillow cases without ironing.

The smoothing of the fabric is accomplished by heated irons, or by

pressing between rollers in a mangle.

_To summarize._——The essential steps in laundering are: the forcing of

clear water through the fabric; loosening of the soil and stains by soap

and appropriate chemicals, sterilization by boiling temperature, drying

and sweetening in the air if possible. The less essential are bluing,

starching, and in some cases ironing.

=Laundry equipment.=——We are beginning to realize that a separate room for

laundering purposes is an essential in a well-equipped home. Such a

laundry will be light and well ventilated, will have washable floors,

walls, and ceilings, running water and hot water supply, sanitary tubs and

conveniences in the shape of machinery. We shall not have perfect

laundries until electric power is available at a fair price. Much is said

about electricity on the farm, and the progressive farmer who has his own

engine should not fail to use the power for all laundry work. Trolley

power should be available, and this use of electricity should be made

cooperative when practicable. In a few communities abroad and at home, the

power available in a creamery is used for laundering purposes as well.

Where there cannot be a separate laundry, take pains to have the equipment

as good as space will allow.

=The tubs.=——If possible, have three tubs, for this makes for economy of

time. Enameled tubs are the most sanitary, and be sure that they are

white. You cannot tell whether or not the clothes are clean and blued to

the proper tint in a buff-tinted tub, which you may be tempted to buy

because it is cheaper.

_Round portable tubs_, to be set upon a bench, should be of galvanized

iron, which is sanitary and light. Wooden tubs are things of the past,

unsanitary and heavy.

=Equipment for forcing water.=——The rubbing board is the old-time method,

yet it wears the fabric and wears out the worker, and should be used as

little as possible. If still considered necessary, it should be of glass

set in wood. The wooden board is unsanitary and the metal board may at any

moment develop a tiny crack that will tear the fabric.

Fortunately, many women are learning that the washing machine, properly

used, is a great economy of fabric, time, and strength. Many machines are

on the market, and we need to discriminate and to select the machine

constructed to force the water through the fabric without injury to the

fabric, and with the smallest amount of muscular energy and that properly

exerted without strain. Of course, if machine power is available, the

problem is easy. These many washers may be classed in four groups. One is

a revolving arrangement, sometimes consisting of two corrugated boards set

in the center of a tub of clothes, one objection being that the clothes

are sometimes torn. Another type has a revolving perforated inner cylinder

for the clothes, and an outer one for the soap and water. This is much

more expensive. Still a third rocks the clothes in soap and water and is

very effective. A fourth type makes use of suction.

The principle of cleansing by pressure and suction is used in several

machines and hand washers, and these are, on the whole, inexpensive and

practical for home work. The work is accomplished by an inverted cone,

pushed down on the clothes, and lifted. Such a washer is seen standing on

the floor in Fig. 80. The same figure also shows another of this type

standing on the table, and still another to be used in the boiler.

Most of these devices can be used with power.

=The boiler.=——A portable boiler is convenient. It should be made of good

quality tin with copper bottom and must be thoroughly washed and dried

after using.

=The wringer= is of great assistance to good work. It should be a good

machine having hard rubber rollers, ball-bearing action, and strong

springs at the side. It must be cleaned after using, dried, the pressure

loosened, and the whole kept covered.

=The drier.=——If clothesline or heavy wire is used, this must be of good

quality, and well cared for. The clothesline should be taken in after each

using. A revolving drier is convenient, and may even be used in apartment

houses. The steam drier has a rack on which clothes are hung, and

economizes space and time.

[Illustration: FIG. 80.——Simple laundry equipment for the home. _A.

Fowler, Photographer._]

=Irons.=——The hand iron is heated in several different ways. The

old-fashioned iron heated on the stove, and the electric iron are the most

satisfactory. In buying hand irons, select those of good weight, for this

makes the work easier. Three or four will suffice for ordinary work, and

they should weigh from 4 or 5 to 7 pounds. A small pointed iron is

necessary for fine work, and for sleeves there is a special, narrow iron.

The irons must be kept clean, and perfectly dry when not in use. Wax tied

in a cloth is a good cleaner, and should be at hand during the ironing

process. A stand is necessary on which the iron may rest, and paper or

cloth on which to rub the iron when it comes from the stove.

Electric irons are proving very satisfactory, and although the first cost

is high, they should be used wherever possible.

=The mangle.=——Small mangles, used either cold or heated, are now made for

family use, and are great labor savers in flat work. Towels and small flat

pieces may even be put through the wringer, while they are still damp,

with very good effect.

=The ironing board.=——This should be firm, well padded, and covered with

clean cloth. The cover may be made to tie on so that it can be easily

changed. Ironing boards should be placed in a good light. Boards may be

attached to the wall, and these have firm support. In a small room, the

board can be made to turn up.

=Other apparatus.=——A hamper or bag for soiled clothes, a basket for

clean, pail and dipper, a clothes stick, a large pan, a small and a large

saucepan, a teakettle for boiling water, a knife, wooden spoon, common

spoons and measures, a sprinkler or brush for sprinkling clothes, a

clotheshorse, clothes hangers for waists and dresses. The soiled clothes

bag should be washed weekly, and the hamper should have a removable lining

also for weekly washing.

Monday and Tuesday are the traditional days for washing and ironing, but

the woman who does her own work, or perhaps has a helper, or one maid, may

find it a good plan to do no more on Monday than the mending, removing of

stains, and sorting. This gives time to make the house orderly, after

Sunday, and to prepare food, some of which may last over the next two

days. Some of the clothes may then be soaked overnight.

=Order of work.=——Mending, sorting the clothes, removing stains, soaking,

washing, boiling, rinsing, bluing, starching, drying, sprinkling and

rolling, ironing, folding, airing, sorting, and distributing.

=Methods.=——Mending and removing spots from fabrics are discussed in

“Shelter and Clothing.” A few common stains are removed as follows:

_Fruit and coffee stains._——Hold the spotted fabric tightly over a bowl

and pour boiling water through it. Of course, remove stains at once if

possible.

_Peach stains_ are removed by Javelle water. Apply a few drops and pour

boiling water through at once.

_Cocoa and chocolate stains_ are helped by borax, and by soap and cold

water.

_Ink._——Liquid ink removers provided for the library table are convenient.

Wet the spot, use 1, dry with a blotter, and use 2, and rinse at once. The

same thing is done by wetting, applying an oxalic acid solution first,

then Javelle water and rinsing.

_Blood stains_ are removed by soaking in lukewarm water, and washing in a

soap solution with a little ammonia and kerosene, or with a naphtha soap.

=Sorting.=——Separate the fabrics, wool from cotton and so on, and colored

cotton from white; also separate body linen from bed linen and from table

linen.

=Soaking.=——This hastens the process since it loosens dirt, and one

laboratory experiment seemed to show that soaked clothes are freer from

bacteria, than those that are not.

Shrinkable fabrics cannot be soaked. Body and table linen should be soaked

separately. The water should be cold, softened with a little ammonia.

=Washing.=——Wash woolens and silk underwear first, in warm, not hot, soap

suds, wring out, rinse, and hang to dry. Use a white, neutral soap. Have

the same temperature for both washing and rinsing. Boiling water shrinks

wool, and yellows silk. Hand-knit wool, as shawls and jackets, stretch in

drying. If dried in a bag or pillow case, this is partly obviated, or lay

them on a pad on the table.

Prepare hot water in the tub, with dissolved soap in it, either for

handwork or a washer. Wash table linen first, then bed linen and towels,

and next the body clothes. Soap the articles well, and rub or use a

washer. It is well to wash handkerchiefs by themselves, boiling in a pail

for half an hour. If one of the family has a cold or influenza, soak his

handkerchiefs in a solution of salt and water and perhaps a little

bleaching powder before washing and boiling.

Make fresh suds often. This means heavy labor in the case of portable

tubs, but clothes cannot be cleansed in dirty water.

_Colored cotton and linen_ articles may be washed last. They should be put

first into salt and water to set the color, washed in tepid water with

white soap, rinsed thoroughly and hung in the shade, wrong side out.

=Boiling.=——Boil the washed clothes in soap solution for ten minutes. In

case of infectious disease, all the patient’s linen should be boiled an

hour,[27] and of course exposed clothing is kept separate through the

whole process.

=Rinsing.=——This must be thorough and two or three waters must be used.

This is the stage where many laundresses fail. The suction washers are

very useful here.

=Wringing.=——This must take place between every two stages of the process.

=Bluing.=——Add the bluing solution to clean water to the desired shade,

shake each piece, put it through the water, and wring out at once. Do not

use bluing in excess.

=Starching.=——Next the fabrics that need a little thin starch may be

starched. _Starch_ for stiff collars and shirts is rubbed in at the time

of ironing.

=Drying.=——Hang out the clothes, having pieces of a kind together, and the

threads straight. If out of doors, hang in such a way that the air will

have easy access.

Take down, when dry, and _fold_ lightly in a basket.

_Sprinkle_, roll tightly, and leave them until ironing time. Thin fabrics

should be very moist, as they dry quickly.

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