Household engineering; scientific management in the home

Google

This is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on Hbrary shelves before it was carefully scanned by Google as part of a project

to make the world's books discoverable online.

It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject

to copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books

are our gateways to the past, representing a wealth of history, culture and knowledge that's often difficult to discover.

Marks, notations and other maiginalia present in the original volume will appear in this file - a reminder of this book's long journey from the

publisher to a library and finally to you.

Usage guidelines

Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the
public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing this resource, we liave taken steps to
prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying.
We also ask that you:

+ Make non-commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for
personal, non-commercial purposes.

+ Refrain fivm automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google's system: If you are conducting research on machine
translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the
use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help.

+ Maintain attributionTht GoogXt "watermark" you see on each file is essential for informing people about this project and helping them find
additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it.

+ Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are responsible for ensuring that what you are doing is legal. Do not assume that just
because we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States, that the work is also in the public domain for users in other
countries. Whether a book is still in copyright varies from country to country, and we can't offer guidance on whether any specific use of
any specific book is allowed. Please do not assume that a book's appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner
anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liabili^ can be quite severe.

About Google Book Search

Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers
discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web

at|http : //books . google . com/|

^^

M

Household Engineering

SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT IN THE HOME

MRS. CHRISTINE piEDERICK

Household Efpicibkcy Enqineer,

CBAUTAUODA LBCTOEKB, A

A C0RBE8P0NDENCE COURSE

E APPUCATION OF THE PRINCIPLES OP EPnClBNCY
AND SCIENTIFIC MANAOEUKNT TO THE EVEBY I
TASKS OF HOUBEKEEPING

CHICAGO

AMERICAN SCHOOL OF HOME ECONOMICS

1919

72'/oG0

Copyright 1915, 1919

BY

Home Economics Association

•

• »

Dedicated to

EDWARD BOK

to whose encouragement and

progressive leadership in reaching the

mass of American homemakers with

the gospel of home efficiency

I owe much inspiration

FOREWORD

HOUSEKEEPING it not only the oldest, moit Fundamental
and complex of all profeMioni. but modern luccex in it is
more difficult to attain than success in factory, warehouse,
traniportalion oi ihop, tiecauie il muil be attained by women work-
ing alone, and with many purposes. Men in work and play have
ipecialized in groupi along a tingle path, (or a single end. Women
*lMve ipecialiud not ai a group, but as individuals along all paths.
fot many ends.

There are six distinct clastet of activities: production, tranf
DOTUlton, manufacture, ilorafte, exchange and personal service.
The boy ii prepartd (or I 5 years or more lo co-operate with others
in mastering one particular part of one of these activities. A man
will give his life lo the specialization and standardization of the
methods and tools for a single oft repealed operation. Housekeep-
ing, ii B kitchen garden or milking is included, covers all six activ-
ities. Often without preparation a young woman workbg alone,
without the discipline of the group, expects lo be an adept in all sU
fields and in all fiatU of each (irid al oncct

Mrs. Frederick has succeeded in specializing and standardizing
the tools and methods for the many ever changing occupations of
the home. Tliis was an exceedingly difficult undertaking which
the has admirably completed.

Man it irreiponiible, woman it deeply responsible and. there-
fore, she evolved and built all the foundations of civilization and
•till holds onto ihem in her hfe. These foundations are home, cook-
ing, textiles, pottery, storage, manufacturing, music, language, medi-
cine and teaching. But man. like a boy growing beyond his mother's
size, strength, experience, energy, authority, hat usurped all that
woman has developed, even lo the feedmg of babies with his modified
food, and by hit method* applied lo hor inventions has enormously

:ased and cheapened the product through group endeavor and
through labor-savbg equipment. Thus, man and woman have
parted company industiially. Man may be at fauU because he
lushed impetuously ahead, woman may be at fault because she has
held too long to the old.

For women to gain a grip on the new the point of view muit be
changed. Therefore, earnest, high-minded, self-sacrificing, progres-
dve women who have the privilege of this course, so thoroughly
covering so great a problem, should come to it with the new point
They must learn to waive a hundred instincts and prej-
udices they do not even know they possess, constantly and con-
tinuously asking themselves "Why?" — ^weighing the real value of
what is relinquished against the gain in efficiency, time and self-

There are many ideals in homekeeping. Mrs. Frederick's
methods are good for all ideals, but because she has made work
easier, do not add another half dozen ideals I 1 remember when
sewing machines were first introduced ; they made the running of long;
tucks one hundred times easier. But this was made a reason for
making seventy times as many tucks I Because Household Engineer-
ing makes tasks as formerly done much easier, do not take on a
great deal more "unessential" work.

The World War was fought with woman's direct help, women
doing the work of men successfully because they followed the labor-
saving principles of work established by men. Let women introduce
these same principles into the work of the home and, thus, similarly
make a success of their work as they have so signally done with
men's work. This text is the manual which will point the way to
a modem, successful solution.

Harrington Emerson.

Author of "Tke Twelve Principle* of EfEciency," Etc.

NOTHING is more worth while than bringing efficiency into
the home. When housekeeping becomes a science, as well as
an art, when it is based on measurement — then it becomes
worthy of the best brains and highest endeavor. Mrs. Frederick
has rendered a real service to this country, in that she has eliminated
from housework that monotony that comes from doing uninteresting
and repetitive work without ah incentive, and in that she has seen
flie necessity for making the home a laboratory, — a training school
for the women and children in it, and perhaps an example to the men.

Every reader of her book will find not only concrete directions
as to how to make housework stimulating, productive and con-
structive, but also a method of attack that applies to all problems of
any life — ^whatever they may be.

Frank B. Gilbreth,

Consulting Engineer.

Author of "Fatigue Studies,** "Motion Study,** Etc., Etc.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

A Personal Introduction . . . . . .7

I. The Labor-Saving Kitchen 19

II. Plans and Methods for Daily Housework . . 65

III. Helpful Household Tools 99

IV. Methods of Cleaning 147

V. Food Planning for the Family .... 179

VI. The Practical Laundry : Methods and Tools . .211

VII. Family Financing and Record-Keeping . . 265

VIII. Efficient Household Purchasing .... 315

IX. The Servantless Household 377

X. Management of Houseworkers 419

XI. Planning the Efficient Home .... 449

XII. Health and Personal Efficiency .... 481

Bibliography 517

Index 521

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

A PERSONAL INTRODUCTION

SEVERAL years ago I faced the problem which con-
fronts many young mothers — how to do my housework
and care for two small children, and yet have any time
for myself or outside interests.

I had managed my mother's home at different periods
and really liked housework, especially cooking. But now it
was a daily struggle to "get ahead" of household drudgery.
Try as I would, there seemed so many tasks to do, so many
steps to take, and so many matters needing my attention
and supervision. Just as I felt I had reduced the cleaning
to its lowest terms, I found the cooking or the laundry
work or the mending claiming the remainder of my time.
It was a continuous conflict to do justice to all the house-
work tasks, and yet find enough time for the children.
And between it all, I knew 1 was not doing justice to
myself, and that I was becoming more and more tired out.
Indeed, I was often without much energy to "dress up" in
the evening, and when my husband came home, I was
generally too spiritless to enjoy listening to his story of the
day's work.

Things were dragging on in this unsatisfactory way and
I was becoming more and more discouraged with what
seemed my lack of ability to manage my househokl prob-
lem. Occasionally I was so depressed as to wish that I
were not married and that I was back in my teaching
"harness" where I did have a grip on things!

Just about this time my husband's work brought him in
7

8 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

touch with the new movement called "scientific manage-
ment/' and he came home with glowing accounts of what
it was accomplishing in the various shops, offices and fac-
tories where it was being followed. In fact, he and his
friends (some of whom were pioneers in the movement)
talked nothing but this new "efficiency idea." Because I
had an intuition that perhaps in this new idea was the life-
preserver for which I had been so earnestly searching in
my own problem, I listened eagerly to their discussion.

PUKPOSK OK SCIKNTIFIC MANAGEMENT

T fomul tli.it tlu* purpose of scuMilific management was
to savr time and clTort and to make things run more
smoothly. Its ol)iiTt was to short-cut and reduce work to
suili a system that tlu* shop or ollioo or any business would
Uv managed with less elTort, less waste, and even at a
lowor eost. It seeme<l to me that this was exactly what
my J»in» was in my own home, only I had all this time
been helpless to earry it out 1 That was just what I too
wanted some plan or general ^uidinj; principles that would
make my housework easier, more success f\il and less
cxptMisivo. If this wonderful new "siientilic manaj^einent'*
l)rin|^s about such lesult in other businesses, why couldn't
it do the same in my businoss of home making'?

So 1 decidetl to learn all about it and understand it. and
I wont for help to my husb.uul and his friends who were
apply niK the new itl«^» every day.

"If this new olliciency idea is all you cliim," I said to
tluMU, "atul can bo followed in work as wiilclv ditVerent as
iroti foundries and shoe faett»ries, I don't see why it can't
bo applied to housework as well. Vou men have made mo
so interested \\\ it that I want tt> try it in mv own homo
But first 1 want vou •otlWioncy engineers; as vou call
yourselves, to explain the idea to tno in ilottiil the why and

INTRODUCTION 9

the how and every point so that I will be sure that I
thoroughly understand it before I attempt to put it into
practice. Will you?"

Principles of Efficiency Engineering

So my husband and other efficiency engineers made it
clear to me, and I found that scientific management was
nothing difficult or expensive or mysterious, but that it
was a plan, or guiding set of twelve principles, as follows :

1. Ideals. 7. Despatching.

2. Common Sense. 8. Scheduling.

3. Competent Counsel. 9. Reliable Records.

4. Standardized Operations. lo. Disciijliiic.

5. Standardized Conditions. 11. Fair Deal.

6. Standard Practice. 12. Efficiency Reward.

There is this first principle of I.deals," they cx]>laincd.
When we go into a factory and try to improve the work,
the first thing we ask the owner about his business is,
What are you running it for? The reason so many people
are not making a success of their business is because they
do not know why they are running it. Yet ideals are the
most important thing to have in any work. They are that
'something* that controls and guides the whole plan, a kind
of chart they are trying to follow. You must know where
you want to go before trying to get there.

"Many women do have a strong ideal in their home-
making. It frequently is health or the education of their
children, or sometimes only a spotless house. Think of the
strong ideals that the mother of CTiarles Wesley and \\\%
brother must have had for their education to f/uoy her up
in all those years of poverty! The ideal can l>c so strong
as to look be>'ond present difficulties and discouragements
and make work a success in spite of apparently handicap-

(t

lO HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

ping conditions. The clearer a homemakers' ideals, the
more bound her work is to succeed. Homemakers, like
other managers, must know what they are striving for.

Common Sense

"Then there is this next principle — Common Sense, which
is sometimes only a homely term to cover some of the
other principles. It is common sense to be sure your tools
are sharp and in good condition before you start work —
and it's efficiency as well. Competent Counsel means expert
advice. We efficiency engineers are one kind of competent
counsel because our past experience and practice makes us
'competent' to come into a new factory and suggest better
methods and plans. Other 'counsel' is found in books, and
the written experiences of what has been found out in this
or that field. Even the most successful business men profit
by the 'counsel' of specialists and their recorded experi-
ences in solving problems in other lines. Many firms employ
such paid counsel to visit their branch offices, instruct their
salesmen, help their dealers, or in some way keep the
workmen on the right track."

The efficiency engineers continued their explanation while
I listened attentively.

Standard Operations

"Standardized operations, etc., sounds formidable, but
you will see clearly what the next three points mean. For
instance, when we go into a factory, we watch the men at
work, we see what motions and tools they use; then, after
repeated experiments and time studies, we try to give them
standardized or definite conditions of work, and show them
methods or standardized operations. This means working
at the right height, with the right tools, under the best con-
ditions of light, ventilation and comfort, with the least

INTRODUCTION

possible waste of energy and time. When we have found
out this best and shortest, — or 'standardized' — way, we
write it down, and these instructions of just how to do a
given task are called 'standard practice.' Then all the
workmen need to do is to follow these instructions and they
get the best results."

Despatching and Scheduling

"The next two points of Despatching and Scheduling are
very important," they continued. "You see, when we have
determined the one best or standard way to do any task,
we are not quite finished. We have to go still further and
find the best order of work, or n'lien to do it, as well as
how to do it.

"Despatching means planning, and Scheduling means the
carrying out of that plan. You know how they despatch
trains on schedule time. Suppose a train leaves Chicago at
8 p. M. and arrives at St. Louis at 7 A. M. The despatching
consists in running the train so that it reaches all the inter-
vening stations — Peoria, Springfield, etc. — at a specified
time. The schedule is the 1 1 hours it takes to make the trip.
Work in a factory is despatched in much the same way.
The raw material enters one room and then another and so
on ; or the workmen take up first one task and then another
after it has been laid out in definite order by the foreman.
This means saved time, and orderly, unconfused work.

"There is a great deal to be explained about Immediate,
Accurate and Reliable Records. It includes ways of keep-
ing information, bills, receipts, addresses, etc., so that no
time is wasted looking for a piece of information when
needed.

"The last three points — Discipline, Fair Deal and Effi-
ciency Reward — taken together, refer to the benefits. that
scientific management brings to the worker himself. It

12 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

isn't enough to make work shorter and easier and less
wasteful — it must mean more happiness and even more
money to those who work. In shops where scientific .man-
agement is in force, there have been few strikes and
troubles. Applied to the home, it would refer of course to
the hired worker or servant. If a mistress applied the
principles of Fair Play, for instance, to her help, they
wouldn't leave her in a crisis, perhaps, as they do now.
And if she used the principle of Efficiency Reward, she
might secure from them that something over and above
mere work — ^that "service plus" — ^which makes any employee
really valuable."

These Principles in Operation

After I had grasped this brief explanation of scientific
management, I visited factories and places where I could
see the principles in actual operation, so as to make it even
more clear in my mind.

I saw the marvelous improvement this efficiency idea had
brought in the commonplace task of laying bricks, which
had been done up till then in the same way since the time
of the Pharaohs. In all history, bricks had been dumped
in a mixed pile at the workmen's feet. Then he had to
stoop his entire weight, 150 pounds say, each time to pick
up a 4-pound brick before he set it in place. Think
of the thousands of times a day he did this useless stooping!
Now, when the efficiency engineers watched bricklayers at
work, they saw how many waste motions and time were
lost in this senseless stooping; so they devised a little adjust-
able table, which brought the bricks in an orderly pile to
the worker's side, and because he didn't need to stoop at
all, or even take time to sort 'the bricks, he now laid 350
bricks an hour where before he could lay only 120, besides
working with far less fatigue and effort.

INTRODUCTION 1 3

Then I was surprised to see how ''a>ininon senst*" ami
^'standardized conditions'' ha<l l>een a];|>licul in a ia.sli fi'gih-
ter factory. It had l>een the liabit of the workmen to |{o
every morning for their s]>e(*ial Ujoh U) lo<krrs at th«* end
of a very long floor, and to return the t<>ols th«*r4* in thf
evening. When "comixrtent <:ounser' iriYu'may mm »)liidird
this factory, they immediately notirxtd this twi«<'ad;iy
double walk across the flv^r, with rchulting <.onfiJhion, lohs
of time, and talking. 'Ihis wast*: of timt- and hlij^h wiih
avoided later by having the l><;n<hes of <'a<lj worker fitt«d
with small drawers and rrf/ss-strii>h to a<.«,onjmod;it«- i"»i*U
man's tools. 'J h^m the monjetit a man ' anw t*> hih bni' h, lu-
could start work, ajid at ni^ht work until ih< wIjiMI* b)« w,
which mcarji trjor< v.orl' :;*'! 1« m.?.* « ♦ :.: .i» y w*it«d tiiiuv

shop of a rh'TtjjiM wl*o hix'l ;j to*' 4 '/I yul. j/.i'I^imj/ j/jIIs,
into Ixjxes. l'''oruk^rr]y i\i*y v/u«iud vu* .j JfHi'lM^I j/Hl l/y
hand, at the rat«; of on*- I/// u imtmu J'/u* l/y jii:.»,.llj»»f<; ,1
simple little d'rvi'r win* Ij vii*'/u,j^u* ..W/ ''/umIwI ,« Iiijii'Im^I

pills and pUsh<;'l *lj<:fr: off if. ;i li^'l* .}.'/•«! JfM'; I/*;/*-. t«d
to th'm'j ori a \jt:\^ U!i'1mji«;.M. « ;i' Ij jmij a;j now ;iM« to
fill twerjlv ]j'jyj:t a iiiiuul* v\JOi Jio nt^ju I;i'/'/r

Aj?<i)rj. 1 bJr-w <;. v\ori'.)ji;jii; hj a'j «?!v<lo;y< l;i*^ory w4»o

turn out tilt \<\.iy,^>:' *-.ufi'v.' o^' «:'.v«rio;^« ^ ;/^:? hour. J^ot
when the efTicieu^y eiigiiieer^ observed hiin, t.}i<-y foufi'l
that ht took four ^vox^ to each paper, thus making a gr':<tt
dtt! of waste and frxi^nse. Bv fiTjdirjjr a new wav to rut
frr.\'^\rr,*t^ with tir.:} '.'r.re*: ':uv. tn^ 'rffi'-ien'.-y engineers «iv<-/i
torif of p^iptr arj-f thousand ; of ri'jl\<LT\ Ujr th*: firm -sx'K
year. Ar^d I w:!l n^'ver forget the iri'.Teased effj'.i'rri' v wr.-i'r.
rtfujtf d :- orjt '.'xirAry by the most sin-iple liv.l*- * -Ui-is^'
r :rr:jtr:v the wori:en used smal] shoveh w'ni'}. rrj*:^.-:* •■•-rv
frer"jer.t svyj'ivn^ to dis:>ose 0: a K?»'»:r. ^-.i*; or 00a' .'^ut

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

by studying to see just what weight and shape of larger
shovel a man could handle most easily, and yet carry the
largest load, the same number of workers were able with
the new large shovel to move the same load of coal in one-
third the time ! And all because scientific management had
studied a shovel!

' Scientific Management in the Home
In every instance I saw how these efficiency principles
were saving time, and effort, and money, wherever applied.
The more I saw and read, the more certain I felt that they
could save time and effort and money in my business — the
home. There was the point of height — didn't I with hun-
dreds of women stoop unnecessarily over kitchen tables and
sinks and ironing boards as well as bricklayers stoop over
bricks? Couldn't we perhaps standardize dishwashing by
raising the height of the sink and changing other conditions?
Did we not waste time and needless walking in poorly
arranged kitchens — taking twenty steps to get the egg-beater
when it could have been hung over my table, just as effi-
ciency insisted the workman's tools must be grouped?
Couldn't my housework train be despatched from station
to station, from task to task, and I too work on a "schedule,"
or definite plan, so that I wouldn't lose time in thinking what
to do next or -in useless interruptions?

I came to earnestly believe that scientific management
could, and must, solve housework problems as it had already
solved other work problems. I began to see where I had
been losing time — where I had been taking waste motions
and useless steps — where I could use different tools and
methods. Formerly I had been doing my work in a dead,
mechanical way, but now every little task was a new and
interesting problem. I found that housework was just as -
interesting and more so than many other tasks of business.

INTRODUCTION 1 5

Every day I tried to find new ways, new methods and new
short cuts in my home problems. If I made out a good
schedule of work for one week I tried to improve on it for
the week following. No housework detail was too small or
too unimportant. I constantly kept in mind that "shovel"
which had cut down the drudgery of coal heaving by one-
third ! I found that I, too, was actually doing my work
in almost one-third less time, without any extra physical,
and with far less nervous effort. I found that I could
"despatch" my work, that I could "standardize" it to a
great extent, and so have that longed-for "time to myself"
some part of the day.

The Efficiency Attitude of Mind

But by far the best result of all that came was the con-
fident "efficiency attitude" of mind which I developed. No
matter how hard things were — and they did not grow per-
fect all at once — I had that inward feeling that they would,
and should, come right in the end. I felt that in spite of
any difficulty or trying conditions, that I could master my
house problems — that there were solutions, and that there
was no such word as "fail" in the whole language of scien-
tific management. I cannot express how much poise and
determination came from this efficiency attitude, — the atti-
tude of being superior to conditions, of having faith in
myself and in my work, to feel that it was drudgery or
degrading only if I allowed myself to think so. I felt I was
working hand in hand with the efficiency engineers in busi-
ness, and that what they were accomplishing in industry, I
too was accomplishing in the home.

I kept on studying, visiting plants and factories, and get-
ting in touch more widely with the movement. Besides
studying myself, I got friends to watch themselves at work
and tell me the results. I began to test equipment and

l6 HOUSKIIOLD KNGINKERING

household ap[>aratus iti my own home so that I could tdl
other women what I foimd otit. 1 remodeled my own
kitchen and then the kitchens of friends. Before I knew
it. I became a **houselu)l(l enj^ineer/' and was called in as
''competent comisel" l)y other hometnakersi

I was so enthusiastic over the results of my experiments
that I wrote four articles calkd "The New Housekeeping*'
which appeared in The Ladies' Howe Jountal of 1912. The
interest from them was so j;:reat that 1 later brought out
the same material in hook \o\'\u. Since then the application
of efficiency princi]>les auk\ scicntilic matiagement to the
home has been more wides])read than 1 ever dared hope or
believe.

I have had literally thousands of correspondents among
all kinds of homemakers. In imic month only over 1,600
women wrote me for inlorni.\iion. Sometimes I am able
to help thcni with >uirs:cstions lor ,\ better kitchen arrange-
ment. In many cases 1 lay out "schcvhilcs" of work. Again,
I tell them about the new tools which are tested every
month i:: my own home, Applecroft l-'.xiH^rir.'icnt Station.

No: c-r.ly have 1 been able 10 help these ihousa.nds of
corref-i'Ondenis, but thev have helpcvl me with manv su£r-
Efestions and especially to understand more fully the prob-
lems that come to homemakers in all sections. Perhaps it
is the cost of living, or the struggle with young children, or
the lack of conveniences, or again, the feeling that house-
v^vrJ: is drudgery-. I have tried to be a "competent coun-
y:".."' a 'hC'USL-hc'ld engineer" to all of them, and do for
ihem what 1 so greatly wished someone could have done for
me in my former housework struggles.

HovsEHC'Li) Engineering

This course in 'Household Engineering" includes in
greater detail everything given in my book, "The Xew

INTRODUCTION 17

Housekeeping/' and all the help and suggestions gathered
from constant study during the five years which have
elapsed since its publication.

My correspondence has given me an exceptionally wide
viewpoint; and in this course I have tried to present the
whole subject of the application of scientific management
to the home in such a way that any homemaker, no matter
where she lives or what her home conditions, can under-
stand and apply it to the solution of her own problems.

I want you who take this course to feel that you are not
working alone in your own home kitchen. I want you to
feel that when you discover new methods of housework and
better ways of management that you can receive the same
recognition that a scientist or business investigator receives.
Do not think you are working out the problem for your own
home only. You are helping solve the problems of count-
less other women and homes, and what you do will be passed
on, and help build up a great mass of proved knowledge on
housekeeping. Is not housework as worth while studying
as the shoveling of coal? Is not housekeeping the biggest,
the most essential industry of all?

I am confident that some of you who take this course
have already been successfully meeting diffkult conditions.
You need only a little more assistance and the presentation
of this new viewpoint to become a household engineer your-
self. All my eflForts would be useless if you did not co-
operate with me to carry out scientific management in your
own home. I want your help and interest in making this,
course a mighty success. You are going to be one of a
great band of women investigators, working toward the
splendid aim of putting housework on a standardized,
professional basis.

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

THE LABOR-SAVING KITCHEN

WHEN we estimate the time consumed in all the vari-
ous tasks of the home, cleaning, cooking, serving
mcais, laundry, etc., we find that about 70 per cent
of the housekeeper's day is spent in and about the kitchen.
It is therefore clear that any plan for a reorganization of
the work of the home on a more efficient basis must begin
with a careful study of present kitchen conditions and
methods of work.

What is a kitchen? It is a place for the preparation of
food. All unrelated work, such as laundry work, with its
particular equipment, should be kept out of the kitchen as
much as possible. We see then that a kitchen, or a place
merely for food preparation, can be much smaller than was
formerly the case when it was used as a combined sitting-
room, laundry and general workshop.

The first step towards reducing time spent in the kitchen
is to have a kitchen small and compact, without loosely con-
nected pantries and cupboards. The small kitchen costs
less to build, but even more important to the worker, the
small kitchen saves steps by concentrating the working
processes. It should be slightly oblong, or almost square
as this shape permits the most step-saving arrangement of
19

20 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

tlic main (.■'luiiimcnt. Good sizes are 9 by 1 1 feet ; 1 1 by 13
feet; 14 by 16 feet; and in large homes with service and
larRc eiiuipment, 18 by 18 feel.

Formerly much more storage or pantry space was neces-
sary than today when more frequent marketing is possible.
Also, a pantry which contains the pots, pans and utensils
needed in the kitchen causes waste motion and useless steps.
As will be described in detail later, the efHcient plan is to
have utensil!) and materials grouped close to the surface
where they are actually used.

For this reason particularly, the detached kitchen pantry
is giving place to the built-in pantry which forms an integral
part of the- kitchen, and to the portable kitchen cabinet
which sometimes takes its place. The average pantry or
cupboard with broad, widely-separated, and high, useless
shelves is responsible for niucb of the fatigue and trotting
back and forth of the worker. An improved construction
plan would l>e to take some of the pantry space and use it
fur cupboards and shelves built into the kitchen itself.

H the family is small and has sinijsle service, only a very
tiny butler's pantry is needed, and even this can be dis-
pensed with. The more direct the route between kitchen
atul dining room, the more step-saving and easy 'is the
serving of meals, The butler's pantry in its most common
location between dining-room and kitchen has the two good
points of prcvcnthig kitchen odors and noises from disturb-
ing the (lining room, and of storing table china. But with
adequate ventilation, which the kitchen should have in any
case, simple service and built-in conveniences for china in
the dining-room, the sole reasons for the existence of the
butler's pantry are removed. In brief, llie closer the con-
nection between kitchen and dining-room, and the fewer ihe
detached pantries and cupboards, the simpler will be the
,rocesses both of preparing and serving food,

^a

THE LABOR-SAVING KITCHEN

Groui'i

21

■iNG uF Large Equipment

When wc study the steps entailed iii food preparation,
we find that work in the kitchen does not consist of inde-
pendent, separate acts, but of a series of inter-related proc-
esses. No matter whether we are serving a six-course
formal luncheon, or a simple family breakfast, each act in
food preparation is part of a distinct process. There are
just two of these processes: (i) Pbeparing Food, and
(2) Clearing Away. Each of them has (or should have)
definite, distinct steps, as we see if we analyze our work
from the time preparation of food is started to the moment
when the last dish is washed and laid away.

The steps in the preparing process are :

(i) Raw materials taken from storage, refrigerator
or pantry to

(2) Preparing surface where they are beaten, mixed,
or put in condition to place on

(3) Cooking surface or in cooking device. When fin-
nished, placed on

(4) Serving surface (table or tray) on which hot food
is laid and given final touches before being sent
to the table.

In other words, we i i) Collect, (2) Prepare, (3) Cook,
and {4) Serve food materials according to these definite
steps, even with so simple a task as boiling an egg.

The steps in the clearing away process are ;

(1) Remove soiled dishes and utensils from dining-
room.
9X2) Stack and scrape them to right of sink.
fi.3) Wash, drain and wipe.
K4) Lay away in respective closets and shelves.

22 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

In other words, we (ij Removk, (2) SckAPG, (3) Wash,
and (4) Lav Away dishes and utensils according to these
definite steps, in this definite order at every meal.

It therefore follows that the equipment connected with
these two processes and their respective chain of steps
should be arranged in a corresponding order. This prin-

i

ciplc of arranging and grouping equipment to meet the
actual order of work is the basis of kitchen efficiency. In
other words, we cannot leave the placing of the sink, stove,
doors and cupboards entirely to the architect. The reason

THE LABOK-SAVING KITCHEN

23

why so many kitchens are work-making is solely because
both the fixed and portable equipment are not placed in
right relation to all kitchen processes. Instead, equipment
is commonly placed wherever there happens to be space left
after cutting in all the doors and windows.

Y GROUPED KITCHEN EQUIPMENT

Again considering the two kitchen processes, (a) Prf.-
PAKiNG and (b) Clearing Away, we note that a definite
piece of equipment corresponds to each definite step, as
follows :

24

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

(a) Preparing Process

(i) Storage, — pantry, refrigerator, ice-box, etc

(2) Table or kitchen cabinet surface.

(3) Stove or other cooking equipment.

(4) Table, tray on wheels, or other serving surface.

(b) Clearing Azvay Process

(i) Stack surface to right of sink.

(2) Sink.

(3) Drain surface to left of sink.

(4) Adjacent closets and shelves to left of drain.

If the storage, stove, tables, sinks, etc., are arranged after
this fundamental order, the work will proceed in a pro-
gressive, step-saving track, or "routing," as the efficiency
engineer calls work which proceeds in a consecutive, orderly

If the equipment is not arranged on this principle,
the result will be cross- tracking, useless steps and waste
energy in all kitchen work. On pages 22 and 23 are given
two diagrams which clearly illustrate the efficient versus the
drudgifying kitchen arrangement.

Separate Surfaci; for Each Process

The "routing" or step-saving method of kitchen arrange-
ment requires separate surfaces for each process. The old
and commonly followed plan is to have one "kitchen table"
at which preparing is done, hot dishes set down, soiled
dishes from the dining-room dumped, etc. This results in
a double or triple handling of utensils and dishes besides
unnecessary steps back and forth.

For instance, if one kitchen table in the center of the
room be used as the surface on which to make a pie and
aka as flir nrface on which to lay the hot pie when baked,
sod aiiD as the surface on which to lay the soiled dining-
fW" **«. fct n» see what happens. The egg-beater,
I well as lard, flour, etc., must be
c permanent places to the table.

26

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

After they are used, each article has to be taken back; fhe
pie when finished, is carried several steps from stove to
table. The soiled dishes brought from dining room are laid
first on this table and then require a second handling to
take them to the sink where they are ultimately washed.
Contrast the different handlings and walking required by
this arrangement with the same work if done under the
efficient arrangement given in the first diagram. At the
preparing table is everything necessary for making the pie
with the exception of raw materials which are kept in
adjacent refrigerator, hence there is no walking to gather
materials and utensils together. When the pie is finished, it
is laid with a single motion on the serving surface to the
right of stove. Soiled dishes, instead of being dumped on

I

THE LABOR-SAVING KITCHEN

center table, are directely "routed" to the right of sink with
but a single trip and a single handling.

No one surface can serve for several processes without
resulting in extra handling, extra walking and confused
work.

In addition, the kind of material needed to cover the pre-
paring surface or table, is generally quite different from
that on which hot pots can be placed safely. The preparing
surface can he made of any impervious material, but the
serving surface demands a metal, heat-resisting covering.

It is much better to have several small surfaces for each
different process or special work, than to have one large
surface on which miscellaneous work is performed. For

28 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

instance, it is more efficient to have a small special surface
on which to clean vegetables near the sink (where they must
be washed) than it is to prepare them on a general "catch-
all" table which will necessitate a trip with them back
to the sink. If preparing is always done at one place, serv-
ing at another, soiled dishes laid on a definite unalterable
surface to the right of the sink — ^there will be less con-
fusion, less handling and consequently less waste time.

Improving Wrong Arrangements

Many housekeepers, even when won over to the worth
of scientific grouping of equipment, seem to think it impos-
sible to alter wrong arrangements in their present already-
built or rented homes. But a little study will show that
even the most inconvenient kitchen can be made step-saving.

If the stove and flue must be permanent in their present
position, the stove can be used as the pivot to which the
entire plan can be adapted, still keeping the right order of
grouping.

The sink and plumbing connections can even be radically
changed without too great expense or interference with
other systems in the house construction.

Tables can most easily be moved into the right position;
or a tray table on wheels can act as a stacking surface for
the sink if the sink is tightly jammed into a corner,
or as a serving surface to the right of the stove in cases
where space is at a premium.

Sometimes a few shelves over the kitchen table, near
the sink or the stove, will replace the inconvenient shelves
of detached pantries; or two-inch strips on which to hang
pots and small utensils will enable the idea of grouping to
be followed out so that the kitchen approximates the ideal,
step-saving plan. Often a portable kitchen cabinet, rightly
placed, will effect a great improvement.

y

the labor-saving kitchen

Grouping Small Equipment
The same principle of grouping already applied to the
fixed equipment (stove, sink, tables, etc.) must also be
applied to the placing of the small, portable equipment.
The old idea of keeping pots and pans out of sight, or of
putting bowls and kitchen china in a separate closet from
that containing groceries or utensils, is opposed to the effi-
ciency idea which insists that bowls, pots, and al! iitmsils
shall be permanently grouped al the place where they are
used. Any other plan or arrangement is step-taking and
labor-wasting.

Concretely, if the egg-beater, mixing-bowl and nutmeg
grater are used invariably at the preparing table, then near
this surface they should be placed or hung. If frying-pans,
soup-skimmers and ladles are always needed near the stove,
near the stove they must be grouped. If can-opener, vegeta-
ble knife and apple corer are always needed near the sink,
then near the sink they must be hung. Not until a close
time study is made of the actual number of steps taken in
each small kitchen task is it possible to realize the great
amount of "waste motion" caused by failure to group the
small equipment. Why walk ten feet across the kitchen to a
distant pantry for the tea caddy when both the tea-pot and
tea-caddy can be grouped near the stove where tea is always
made? Why walk eight feet to a kitchen table and eight
feet back again for the breadknife which is always needed
near the breadbox kept on the cabinet across the room ?

Articles should be grouped and placed nearest the sur-
faces on which they are used. Saucepans which must
always be filled with water before being carried to the
stove, belong near the sink to save steps in filling. Supply
of clean dish-towels belong as near the sink as possible.
All the distinctive dishwashing' accessories and cleansing
preparations also have their place near the sink.

rS.S;r3'£'"'ffit'!iirfe

1

THE LABOR-SAVING KITCHEN

31

On the other hand, there is a very large number of small
pieces — muffin and cake tins, moulds, meat chopper, meas-
uring cup, funnels, etc., etc., which peculiarly belong to the
preparing table or surface.

Others belong more especially to the serving surface
where the final touches of mashing, straining, etc., are given
foods as they are removed from the stove.
Grouping Food StrppLiES

The old idea of keeping dry cereals, sugar, spices, flavor-
ings and currently used canned goods, in a far-away cup-
board is also giving way before the efficiency grouping idea.
If these materials are needed in the daily work of seasoning,
baking, and other cooking, they too must be grouped near
the preparing table, or the stove where they are used. The
exact place for every piece of equipment can easily be
determined by asking, "Where do I actually use and need
this article most?"

A "time-study" made of any particular task under two
sets of conditions will show surprising differences in time
and number of steps required. The arrangement of the
main equipment and the grouping of the small tools will be
found very greatly to lengthen or shorten each task. Below
is given the result of such a time-study of the simple task
of preparing boiled potatoes under two varying arrange-
ments of equipment.

In Study r, the pot was kept in the pot-closet; the knife
was kept in a drawer in the pantry; there was no special
garbage arrangement.

In Study 2, the pot was kept on the shelf adjacent to the
•sink; the knife was kept on a nail at the vegetable prepar-
surface near the sink; garbage pail was lifted on a
shelf with the circular opening above as illustrated on
page 32. Position of storage and stove was the same in
both cases.

THE LABOR-SAVING KITCHEN 33

Ttme Study Showing Saving through Correct Ghoopinc of
Equipment

Study i. i. Walk to storage.

■2. Return from storage with small basket of potatoes,
and liiy oti kitchen table.

3. Walk from table to pot-closet for pot,

4. Return from pol-closet to table, on which lay pot.
I S- Walk from table 10 panlry drawer for knife.

6. Return from panlry with knife.

7. Pee! potatoes on table surface.

8. Take pot of potatoes in hand and walk to sink,
g. Wash potatoes and fill pot with water.

ra Walk from sink to stove and lay pot on.

It. Walk from stove to table, place refuse in basket.

12. Walk from table to sink with refuse and empty
same into garbage pail on floor.

13. Take Scrub cloth from sink to table, wipe up same,

14. Return with soiled cloth and knife to sink,

15. Wash ctoih, hang up. Wash knife.

16. Walk from sink to pantry drawer to

17. Walk from pantry drawer to sink t

18. Take small basket back to storage,
ig. Return from storage.

Time consumed : 5 minutes.

Study z. i. Walk to shelf adjacent to sink and get pot.

2. Walk to storage, carrymg pot, and fill it with
potatoes.

3. Return from storage, laying pot directly on vege-
table preparing surface near sink,

4. Pick up knife (from nail above this surface).
S- Pare potatoes directly into pail (soiling no surface),

6. Wash polaloes and fill pot with water.

7. Wash and hang up knife (on nail above sink).

8. Walk with pot and lay on stove.
Time consunied : less than 2 minutes, not counting actual peeling,

which would require the same time in each case.
Resume; Time Required Numbek of Steps

Study I 5 minutes 19 steps

2 2 minutes 8 steps

e knife.
3 get basket.

34

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Other time studies will show etnially great differences.
In no way but by a careful time study can the experienced
housekeeper convince herself that many of her habits and
methods are wasteful of time and effort.

One of the reasons why women have been unwilling to
follow the grouping idea is their belief that kitchen neatness
requires the keeping of all utensils and equipment behind
closed doors or in drawers. This idea perhaps was justi-
fied when the kitchen served also as the family sitting-room,
or when the fuel used was so dirty as to make it necessary
to protect utensils against dust and ashes. But with modern
fuels of gas, electricity or oil and the complete separation of
cooking-room from living-room, the kitchen can follow the
efficient ideals of other workshops.

-The "bench" of the mechanic can serve as a model for
the kitchen. Here above the working surface, or adjacent
to it, are strips, pockets and hooks for the holding of every
tool and supply needed in his particular work. There are
no doors to open and take up valuable floor space, no waste ]
motion pulling out drawers, no confusing or blunting of one
tool with another.

The kitchen must follow this workshop ideal. Every
utensil and tool should have a definite place either on a hook
of its own or on an open shelf so that it can instantly be
grasped and used without waste handling. Again, the hang-
ing of utensils prevents contact and wear. This is espe-
cially true of a large class of indispensable kitchen tools,
namely, knives. They are universally "banged" into table
drawers with the can-opener and the apple corer so that
their delicate edges become blunted, and consequently give
poor service. Yet it is just as easy to place them in the
separate pockets of a chamois or wooden strip over the
surface on which they are used, thus keeping them in good

RING

co'nditiou, and making it easy to instantly jiicl; out the ■
required blade.

Racks of various kinds permit attractive, exposed group-
ing. There is the "cook's rack" extending over the range,
from which skillets and saucepans hang neatly. A similar
kind of rack is consfructed specially for use at the side of

the stove and is commodious enough to hold many of the
small pots and tools needed only at this point. A wooden
rack about 5 by 2j4 to 3 feet built of narrow strips and
mounted on castors will partly replace inconvenient drawers
and shelves. On such a rack can be hung small saucepans,
spoons, beaters, knives, etc., which can be moved up to the
working surfaces, as needed. If painted to match the trim
of the kitchen it is as attractive as it is useful in applying
the grouping idea. Or a much smaller rack or set of strips
can be fastened directly to and over a kitchen table either

THE LABOR-SAVING KITCHEN

37

when it is in the center of the kitchen or when iihiecil
against the wall. If the straight cup hooks are placed at
regular intervals in these strips, they will accommodate
many groups of small tools needed at the table.

The right grouping of small equipment and food supplies
can easily be made in any kitchen with lUile or no expense.

CoRKECT Height of Working Surfaces

Next in importance to correct grouping is the correct and
comfortable height for all working surfaces and equipment.
For years women have stooped their backs over sinks and
tables that were too low, strained their muscles over ironing
boards that were too high, bent themselves double peering
into the oven, or stretched for utensils away out of reach.
No shelves should be lower than one foot from the floor
nor higher than six feet ; and for small women a com-
fortable reaching height is between 4J^ and 5J^ feet.

The sink, as universally installed, is several inches too
low for the woman to work without bending over, thus
increasing the strain and fatigue of the already fatiguing
task of dishwashing.

The same is true of kitchen tables in the heights com-

TWO METHODS OF

or TABLE), ETd

38 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

monly manufactured, which are from one to three inches
too low to permit standing and working at thein in a
hygienic upright position.

While most stoves are high enough for convenient work,
many of the portable types are also beneath a comfortable
working level. Although the coal range is the only stove
necessitating a low oven, manufacturers of stoves using
other fuels, such as gas and electricity, have been slow to
place all ovens, broilers and warming- closets above the
waist level. Happily, however, the latest models have ovens
either at the side or above the regular cooking surface,
which results in more comfort and less fatigue for the
worker.

Even the tireless cooker box should be mounted on a
frame or stand so that its top surface is practically the
same height as the usual cooking surface of other stoves,
which will prevent repeated stooping every time the cooker
is used.

No absolute rule can be given for invariable heights be-
cause not only the height of the worker must be taken
into consideration, but also the length of her arm, and
whether she is short or long-waisted, etc. From tests made
on women of varying heights, the following guide was com-
piled. This may be used by each worker as a basis for
detennining the exact height suitable to her individual
needs. But she should also make actual tests herself by
placing a dishpan or tray on a high stool, raising and low-
ering with the aid of books of various thicknesses, or some
other object, until she finds the exact height at which she
can work without strain either on the arms or back. If the
working surfaces are to be used by workers of different
heights (servants or maids) it is best to put them at the
height convenient for the taller workers and use a small
platform to make them the right height for shorter

I

THE LABOR-SAVING KITCHEN

39

The height of the sinks is given separately from other
working surfaces because here actual work, such as dish-
washing, is performed at a level about 2 inches or more
above the bottom of the sink. On other surfaces the actual
work, such as peeling potatoes, is done at the exact level
of the surface itself. ,

Table

F Standa

0 Height

FOR Working Surfaces

Sink,

Height for Other

Hdehi

Height of

Height fr

ora Floor

Working Surfaces,

of Stool,

Worker

to Base of Sink

for Standing

for Silling

5 feet

sg'A

nelies

31!^ inches

22 inches

5 " I in.

30

32

23 ■■

S ■' 2 "

30'A

32A ••

24 "

,5 " 3 "

31

33

25 •'

S ■' 4 '■

31^

"

33'A "

26 "

S " 5 "

33

34

27 "

5 " 6 •'
ii „..-n !.„

32'A

"

M'A "

28

It will be found generally that there is an inch of dif-
ference in the height of the stool to each inch of height in
the worker.

Sitting at Work

Another great preventive of strain and fatigue is the
practice of sitting down to many household tasks. It is
only custom, or a false fear that they will be considered
lazy, which makes many women object to sitting down at
work. A high stool (preferably with an adjustable seat)
can be used when washing dishes, peeling vegetables, pre-
paring pastry, and many other tasks. When sitting, a great
deal of strain is removed from the feet and abdomen of
the worker. This lessens the possible fatigue of the task,
and permits the worker to give her entire energy to it, thus
resulting in quicker and better work, after the sitting habit
is acquired.

I

THE LABOR-SAVING KITCHEN

Lighting

Adequate lighting and ventilation are two further essen-
tials to kitchen efficiency. In building, windows and doors
should be placed in harmony with the working surfaces.
Too frequently the good light from a win<low is wasted
because it does not reach the equipment where it is moat
needed. Very intense light is needed at table, stove and
sink, yet because windows are not placed so that the light
falls from a proper angle on these surfaces, the worker is
all too frequently standing in her own light or the equip-
ment is in shadow.

Windows should be placed so as to give a direct light
over the important working surfaces of table, stove and
sink. They should preferably be placed high in the walls
with the sills 42 to 46 inches from the floor. This will
allow the wall space under them to he utilized to the most
advantage. It will give t>etter ventilation to the upper part
of the room and the high sill cannot be used as a "catch-all"
for bottles, small dishes, etc. The high sill also keeps any
window curtains out of reach of working surfaces likcty
to soil them.

The pbcing of artificial illumination must alyo Ih: carc-
hdly studied. The very common single "droii" in ihc cen-
ter of die room is one of the [xmrest forms. It caM*
shwknrs and inadequately l^ts the comers tit Ihc Utom,
and is almost onnrersally placed so high that tt 1* n «lrsifn
to Ei^ k. If other electricity or ga* i* ii«-d, the Uitb iff
hnncr can be enclosed tn a hrmi of ofA/ftff ^Vk Awl ttfc
EjglM igfcmil up to the erXtxi^ m thf mswntt mfU-li ">wfi
rerf* fifii^ag. This method diffuse* rV ^fif moff tm*
Ae tatStK taom and '» law gfcwmiT «* fV fyt* iltnuf^tf,
0 Ar isKfaen n rarife. if 'v h«W«r fft tt^ if^tm^ wiM
ioffcrtfUPrinjt fftferf fighr 31 "rtov*. f;)h(c i.M ^i^tr '7y,r*».

42

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

neck" fixtures are manufactured espcL-iully fur this purpose
of focusing artificial light directly where needed. If a i
kerosene lamp must be used, the most efficient type is that i
having a "mantle" which permits a strong white light of
about 40 candle power similar to that given by the Welsbach,
An identical kind of light is given from lamps using dena- '
tured alcohol with special kinds of wick and similar
"mantle."

Ventilation

Cross ventilation is essential to keep the kitchen well
aired and free from odors. Windows in opposite walls, or
a window opposite a door frequently left open, may be
sufficient in the small kitchen. Transoms above the door,
and windows placed high in the walls will give additional I
ventilation.

But the most complete system is to have a special ven-
tilation flue in the chimney running to the kitchen. If the
natural current through this flue is not sufficiently strong
to carry away odors, a small electric fan can be placed in
this flue at its face and used as needed. If there is no
special vent flue in the brick chimney, the best plan is to
place a hood over the stove which will concentrate the
drafts around the surface of the stove. From this hood a
pipe can be carried through the wall of the kitchen and
from there to the top of the roof. This flue should be
double on the outside and about ten inches in diameter for
use with a 4-foot stove. Even a gas stove should be in-
stalled with a flue connection which will lessen the amount
of heated air, gases and odors in the kitchen.

Floor Surfaces

The labor-saving kitchen must meet the highest ideals of

sanitation. Therefore all its surfaces — floor, walls, tables,

etc. — should be as non-absorbent, non-porous and as easy

THE LABOR-SAVING KITCHEN

43

to clean as possible. What material, then, is best for the
kitchen floor which receives a heavy rlaily quota of dirt,
grease and water? All wood no matter how treated, is
absorbent of grease, and cracks collect dirt particles. Fre-
quent scrubbing merely widens the cracks and coarsens the
wood. For these reasons a wooden floor, even when
painted, varnished or shellaced, is out of place and unserv-
iceable in the kitchen. There are three groups of sanitary
floor coverings with definite points of merit and fault, i. e.,
linoleum, "composition flooring" and tile.

Inlaid linoleum with the pattern extending through the
entire thickness is more durable than printed linoleum and
makes a most satisfactory and inexpensive floor covering.
So-called "battleship linoleum" comes in a single color with
a dull, attractive surface, and from tests made by hospitals
and other institutions, has been proved the most durable and
satisfactory of any linoleum.

The laying of linoleum is most important. Unless laid
by a professional, it is apt to "belly" or the seams will not
be perfectly joined. Care should be taken to have the
baseboard joining perfect ; the baseboard should be put in
place after the linoleum is laid, or preferably, a rounded
metal strip should be used to cover the joining and facilitate
mopping, or the seams can be cemented.

Within the last few years great improvement has been
made in various "composition materials" of asbestos,
cement, rubber, etc., sold under various names. Generally
the material comes in a powder form, and is mixed and
spread after the manner of cement. Two or more coats are
applied, the first one frequently being applied to metal lath
and forming a continuous surface with the baseboard, which
may be made of the same material. These materials come
in a variety of colors, are resilient and easy to walk on, yet'
non-porous, without cracks and require a minimum of effort:

44

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

in cleaning. To be entirely satisfactory they shouM be
laid by the manufacturer's own workmen. These floors
are suitable for pantries, halls, porches and service quarters
as well.

Although tile may seem the most sanitary and impervious
surface for the kitchen floor, experience has shown that its
chief defects are that it is too hard a surface on which to
stand continually; it is also slightly slippery, which makes
quick walking dangerous and its hard surface is fatal to
dishes accidentally dropped. It is frequently desirable,
however, to have a tiled area ij/^ to 2 feet around the
stove, with the stove inset, and flush with the tile. This is
a protection against fire; and it is more sanitary than the
dust-catching space between stove and floor when the stove
is mounted on legs.

Wall Covering

As a wall covering, however, tile is ideal because of the
ease of cleaning, its impervious qualities and constantly
fresh appearance. Many institutional and commercial
kitchens have tiled ceilings, walls and floors on which a
hose can be turned daily if necessary. But for the family
home a wainscoting of tile is sufficient protection for those
parts of the wall which receive the hardest use.

Another good material for wall coverings is the oil-cloth
wall fabric which can easily be wiped with a cloth.

Above this wainscoting, plaster in either of its two main
finishes — smooth "hard trowel" or "rough sand"— can be
employed. The entire wall may be finished in hard trowel
plaster if desired, but the entire surface is not to be recom-
mended in the rough sand finish which offers too many
projections for the accumulation of dust and grease. The
smooth plaster finish can be painted preferably in a "flat"
paint easily cleaned with a damp cloth. The sand finish

THE LABOR-SAVING KITCHEN

45

should be treated with kalsomine and given a fresh annual
coat. Paper of any kind should never be used on a kitchen
wall or ceiling, because it puffs loose with heat and steam
and is unsanitary to a degree.

Color
The color of these floor and wall surfaces has a more
important influence on the worker than is sometimes re;il-
izcd. If some so-called "unattractive" kitchens were care-
fully analyzed, it would be found that they were unattractive
largely because of ugly green or hideous blue colorings.
The woodwork or trim should not be dark; cherry, ma-
hogany or even golden oak stain is too heavy and somber.
Pine or birch or maple in natural finish, or painted wood in
pure ivory white or such tones as "putty," warm gray, light
apple green, make the kitchen lighter as well as more cheery.
Similarly, light tones only should be used on walls or ceil-
ing, and large patterns should be avoided in both floor and
wall coverings. The ceiling should preferably be deacJ
white; if there is a wainscot, the section above it should
be a pale shade of the preferred tone ; the wainscoting may
be still darker and the floor the darkest of all. Good color
combinations are : ( i ) ceiling white, above wainscot light
warm yellow, wainscot buflf, floor white and brown, wood-
work old ivory white; (2) ceiling white, above wainscot
pale apple green, wainscot medium apple green, floor white
and green, woodwork putty. Baseboards, and a similar
height across the bottom of doors, and a small circumfer-
ence around door knobs may be painted the darkest shade
of the color used, to conceal wear.

Table Tops

Wooden surfaces of all kinds must yield to the pressure

for more perfect sanitation. The exposed wooden kitchen

46 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

table lop or drainboard absorbs water, stains, and grease.
This means wasted effort in continual scrubbing and scour-
ing ; in addition, the wooden surface is marred by havii^
heated pots and utensils laid upon it. The working surfaces
of the labor-saving kitchen must be covered with non-
absorlK-nt, easily cleaned materials, of which there is a
wide choice.

For the preparing table there is a selection of vitrified
glass, ix)rcelain (baked enamel), monel metal and plate
glass, all of them sanitary, impervious to grease or water.
For the serving table — or surface — on which it is necessary
to lay heated objects, either galvanized iron, zinc, monel
metal or German silver are desirable because they do not
mar or slain badly, and can be kept clean with a minimum
of effort, r^or drain surfaces, zinc, porcelain, German sUver
or copper arc practical and sanitary.

Built-in Conveniences

As was said previously, it is better to eliminate the dis-
connected pantry and build into the kitchen itself perma-
nent closets and shelving in harmony with the processes of
work. In order to follow the chain of steps in the clearing
awiiy i)rocess (No. 2) it is necessary to have permanent
shelves and pot-closet at the left of the sink. This permits
dishes and jiots to be laid away with no walking or carry-
ing, since such a closet is but an. arm's length from the
drainboard.

Most shelves, as commonly built, have two faults: they
are loo wide, and too far apart. The first fault results in
a broad shelf on which there are consequently placed a
double or triple row of articles. Then when one article is
needed, it is necessary to displace and search behind others,
which means waste of time and effort. The efficient shelf,
no matter whether used to hold supplies, dishes, pots or still

THE LABOR-SAVING KITCHEN 47

larger utensils, is only wide enough to accommodate one
article. That is, shelves should he graded in width accord-
ing to the size of the articles or utensils they are to contain.
Their width may vary from six inches for a row of pitchers
or sauce dishes, glasses, etc, to eight inches for Jars con-
taining cereals and small supplies, to ten inches for plates
and usual size pots and pans. Large pieces like bread-
mixer, steamer," preserving kettle, etc., may need a shelf
twelve or fourteen inches.

Again, shelves too widely apart mean waste space and
useless effort in reaching. Most shelving can he lowered so
there is less space between each shelf, which will give more
shelf space in the same wall area. If possible, the prepar-
ing surface should be a buiit-in fixture with shelves and
closets above and below of these correct sizes and widths
to economically use the space. Small narrow shelves such
as one for the tea-pot and tea supply near the stove, or
broad shelves to hold bread-box, etc., can be placed exactly
where most step-saving. Two-inch strips can be fastened
directly under small shelves over the serving surface or
adjacent to the stove in which straight cup-hooks can be
screwed at regular intervals. On these can be hung and
grouped many of the smaller beaters, cook-spoons, mashers.
etc., so that the shelf and objects under it can be related
to the working surface near it.

APPROXIMATE PRICES OF SURFACE AND WALL
COVERINGS
Coniposilion floorings (cork, cement, asbestos mix-
tures, etc.), set directly on wood or expanded metal

lath, per square foot $ .17 to $ .50

Sanitary cove baseboard, per lineal foot 20 up

Linoleum, inlaid and battleship (not laid), per square

yard i.,=io to 3-00

Tile (floor), per square foot, laid, but not including

cost of cement foundation 30 up

48 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Tile (wail, glazedj. per squari- fuLit. loid. Iiut not in-
cluding coat of cement foundatii>n 60 up

Oilcloth fabric (gla^e and mercerized). Cornea in rolls
^ inches x 12 yards, per lineal yard 25 to

Paint, per coat, per square yard 04 to

Kalsomine, per coat, per square yard 01 to

Zinc (z2 gauge metal), per square foot

Galvanized iron (22 gauge metal), per square fool

Copper (22 gauge metal), per square toot

Polished steel (22 gauge metal), per square foot

Monel metal (22 gauge metal), per square foot $i,DO to

German silver (22 gauge metal), per square fool

Plate glass, per square foot

Vitrified glass, per square foot $ .90 fo

Porcelain enameled steel, per square toot 1.00 up

Bins and Drawf.ks

111 the built-in fixture, it is best to allow for bins of J
various sizes for holding flour, sugar, etc., in quantity. J
The most improved type slide forward easily on ball bear-
ings, and are so made as to tilt with little effort. Bins. J
should be lined with zinc or similar metal to keep them J
moisture and insect proof. The point to avoid in the built-in 1
drawer is not to have it too deep, as deep drawers cannotj
he kept in order, and it is more difficult to pick up any^
required article. Shallow drawers, three inches deep i
kitchen ware, and about five inches deep for linen, are most
satisfactory. Large drawers in center kitchen tables ;
now manufactured on ball bearings so that they can easily
be pulled out and reached from both sides of the table.

Sinks

The three important pieces of fixed equipment in the j
kitchen are sink, stove and refrigerator. Sinks are n
of various materials, iron, slate, soapstone, enamel ware. I

THE LABOR-SAVING KITCHEN

49

For the country kitchen where a great deal of work must
be done, the slate or soapstone is preferable. But the
needs of the modern kitehen are best met by the attractive-
looking, white sink of enameled iron. In choosing any sink,
these arc the points to bear in mind : it should be deep
enough to give ample room for the dishpaii and thus avoid
water splashing over (8-10 inches) ; it should have the back'
and drainboards an integral part of the sink to avoid crev-
ices in which dirt might accumulate, and to avoid splashing

the wall, as occurs when the drains are not protected by
the splasher back of the main sink; it should have a con-
cealed "hanger" attachment rather than be mounted on
legs which prevent ease in floor mopping; it should have
a movable faucet nozzle, or have the ordinary faucets
protected with rubber tips to prevent china breakage.

The double sink with two compartments makes for ease
in dishwashing, one being use for washing, the other for
draining. If the establishment is large, it may be necessary
to have a separate "vegetable sink" and a deeper, so-called
"pot sink" in the kitchen, when the table dishes are washed
in a separate sink in the butler's pantry. For the small

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

kildicii a MrrviceaWc size is 30x18x8 inches with drainir4
surfaccH 2 feet long on cither siile. If there is only om
(Irainboard, it BhoiiI<l always be at the left.

Stoves

In the past few years great changes have been made i
the kinds of fuel used, and hence in the character of tin
cookinK equipment. The familiar kitchen range was gen-fj
crally a comhination of heating anij cooking equipment,
the water hack attachment heated water for household ust
in addition to the stove doing the actual cooking. A No. i
stove which used 2 tons a year of nut coal for cooking onlyj
UBcd 4j4 tons of coal when connected witli the waterbackJ

Owing to other changes in our methods of general house
hold heating, it is possible and much more efficient to sej
arale the heating system entirely from the cooking systemj^
and to have the latter under more exact control than is
pOHsihle with a coal range.

The ideal cooking device is that in which fuel is consumed
only when actual cooking is in progress, and where the
fuel can be cut off instantly. This ideal reaches a high
degree of perfection in stoves using gas, electricity, dena-
tured nlcohol or kerosene, because here the heat can be
controlled definitely by the operator — no actual cooking, no
nctuiil fuel. In addhion, modern science has proved that
much cookiHg can be done equally well with "conserved"
heat. Therefore, the modern kitchen has a choice of stoves
or devices embodying tliis principle, such as the insulated
oven of several pis and electric stoves; the fireless cooker
nnd combinations of the fireless idea in other stoves operated
by various fuels. Perhaps the most efficient type of stove
is the small gas stove with insulated upper oven which
permits cooking by both direct and radiated heat, with a
mininuim of fuel.

THE LABOR-SAVING KITCHEN 51

Plate Warmers

In every kitchen there should be adequate facilities for
keeping dishes and foods warm. With the coal range, this
is easily done because of the radiated heat from the stove
to the warming shelf above. With a gas stove of the range
type, the oven may be used to heat dishes and keep foods
warm. If a gas hot plate is the only stove, it should be
located so that a perforated metal shelf can be fastened to
the wall over the stove at a convenient height. This will
allow the radiated heat and steam to warm whatever dishes
or towels are placed on the shelf, or a small "portable"
oven or steam cooker answers the purpose admirably.

If the kitchen is heated by steam or hot water, a metal
grill can be fastened over the kitchen radiator, thus serving
as a shelf on which to dry utensils or keep dishes warm.
Some radiators are made specially in the "pantry radiator"
type with two or three decks of coils on which plates may
be laid. Or the dining-room or pantry radiator may contain
a small compartment. In large establishments a separate
"plate warmer" may be built in any size to be heated by
electricity. Similarly, one of the most improved metal
kitchen tables has a plate warmer compartment underneath
heated by current. A larger table which approximates the
excellent "steam table," seldom seen except in institutions,
is heated by gas and connected with the steam-heating
system.

Hot Water Supply

When the cooking arrangements are thus separated from
the heating of hot water, other provision has to be made.
One of the most satisfactory and inexpensive plans of inde-
pendently treating the water supply is by the installation of
a small heater somewhat like a laundry stove, preferably
in the basement or cellar, using pea coal. This heater can

52 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

be attached to a boiler and connected with the pipes to the
kitchen or bathroom. The boiler should always be installed
vertically (water takes longer to heat in the horizontal posi-
tion), jacketed with asbestos, and the heater itself covered
with plastic asbestos to prevent radiation. Such a heater
can be operated at a cost of $1.50 to $2.00 per month, and
combines a laundry stove with its use as a water heater.
If not installed in the laundry, one of the cylindrical type
of heaters with a magazine fuel feed should be used, as
these require less attention to operate.

An independent hot water plant permits of an abundant
supply of hoter water both summer and winter This plan
is preferable to having a hot water coil in the furnace or
other house heater, which at times gives insufficient hot
water, and at others causes the water to boil ; then the coil
may rust out or become stopped up, necessitating repairs in
cold weather. Experiments show that little or no coal is
saved, for the hot water coil requires as much extra coal
as is needed to run the independent heater.

If gas is available and the rate is low, the water supply-
may be healed by one of the several types of "gas heaters'*
now on the market. In some models the heating coils are
placed outside the boiler ; in others within it, or in some a
cast iron plate or burner heats the boiler by direct contact.
'I'yi)es where the healing coils are within the boiler are
pn^ferable because there is less loss of heat by radiation;
ihr <*oils should be brass or copi>cr in i)rcference to save
furl. Some of the latcrst models an- automatic in action
and Vi*v\) the water in \\\v boih*r ;it ;iMy rh-sired temperature.
Thin HM'thorl r;f h^-atin^; tin* wat^T viipply is very clean and
ronvrni^Mit, and it^. ny.\ \^ about ^j.tn) t,r $.^.00 monthly in
a nM'diuMi ^.i/^d family

'IIm* mi tnl\iu\ "iMM;HitaiM'onj;" iMiif^in, /if which there are
ftcvcral tWiUfM, if\inuU* by an ;iiitoi»Mti' valve which lights

THE LABOR-SAVING KITCHEN

53

the gas burners as soon as the hot water faucet is turned
on ; similarly the flame is extinguished when the valve
closes, by shutting off the faucet. These heaters are most
efficient, hut are more expensive in their first cost, and some-
what also in the operating cost, over the simpler gas heater.

All gas hot water heaters should he
connected with a flue to the outside
air, as poisonous carbon monoxide gas
is often given off.

Several makes of water heaters
using kerosene are on the market, but,
owing to the slowness of kerosene
fuel, do not give as quick results as
the gas heater. For homes without
gas, and where it is not desired to use
coal, the kerosene heater may he ade-
quate. The best model on the market
costing $12.00 has a separate, well-
jacketed heater, and which is claimed
by manufacturer's tests to care for
"two bathrooms, kitchen and laundry,
the fuel cost being one-half cent per
hour, with kerosene at 12 cents per gallon."

The approximate cost of the various water heating device
is as follows : Coil in furnace, $5.00 to $10.00 ; coal heater,
$12.00 to $15.00; outside gas heater, $5.00 to $10.00; boiler
and inside gas heater, $ao.oo ; automatic outside gas heater,
$32.00; automatic instantaneous gas heater, $100.00 (no
tank required). The boiler will cost about $8.00 for a
30-galIon tank to $12.00 for a 60-gallon tank and the jacket
for the boiler, $3.50. The labor will average $5.00 addi-
tional. The local plumber will give an exact estimate.

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Ref

The third important piece of fixed equipment is thd
refrigerator. Even if a family requires a separate col<V
storage room for storing perishables and containing its
quantity of preserves, canned goods, etc., a good refriger-
■ ator is indispensable in modern kitchen economy. The J
points to be carefully considered in buying are the insula- 1
tion, which must consist of adequate layers of non-conduct- 1
ing materials (cork, mineral wool, etc.) with a dead air^
space between; there must be sufficient circulation of dry, I
cold air ; the ice chamber should be situated on the side ; I
all compartments should be one piece of sanitary glass ot I
enamel with easily removable shelves to facilitate perfec±J
cleansing; if possible, there should be a coii under the ice I
chamber and connection with the drinking supply so that I
a constant supply of chilled drinking water is available 1
from a tap on the face of the refrigerator. The refrigerator 1
should preferably form a permanent part of kitchen c
struction, and be built into the wall space so that it can be ■I
iced from outside. This plan saves the tracking of ice.l
delivery into the kitchen and makes it possible to use very J
little ice or none in winter months. If the refrigerator is I
perfectly insulated and made, the modem kitchen temper- I
ature will not affect it. Step-saving ideals demand that the J
refrigerator be near the preparing surface, in order that 1
supplies can be withdrawn with little effort.

In country regions where the ice supply is scarce and I
where many food supplies are kept "down cellar," an ele-
vator refrigerator will be found most step-saving. This I
device operates on pulleys and counterweights and can be I
easily raised or lowered through the kitchen floor into a [
cold storage closet. It has a small ice chamber and two ]
more commodious sections screened with wire netting.

THE LABOR-SAVING KITCHEN

55

The so-called "iceless refrigerators" operate in the same
way through a galvanized iron cylinder to beneath the cel-
lar floor. Either will keep even milk and butter in good
condition in the warmest weather.

Garbage Disposal

Garbage disposal is part of the kitchen problem. In
the country it may be fed to stock, or in the city it is
removed by the janitor. Every effort should be made by
householders to have the municipality adequately handle
the garbage question. But in some detached homes, where
the garbage service is inadequate, and where the house is
piped for gas, it is desirable to install a device for the incin-
eration of garbage. These appear like small portable stoves,
are operated by gas, connected with a flue, and so built
that they can reduce a pailful of garbage to an ash in ten
or twelve minutes. It is preferable to install them as close
to the sink as possible so that the sink garbage pail can be
emptied into it with only a few steps of walking.

In all cases, garbage should be carefully drained and
kept as dry as possible. Waxed paper bags may be used
within the garbage pail, which will keep the pail clean and
enable the garbage to be handled in a sanitary manner.

Vegetable Preparing Table
A small built-in fixture which has been found to save
effort and waste motion is a vegetable preparing table,
which can be incorporated into different kitchens in various
ways. From a close study of how vegetables and. other
foods are prepared at the sink, the usual methods of han-
dling refuse several times and finally stooping to throw it
into a garbage pail on the kitchen floor appear wasteful of
time and energy. A simple board or small table surface
can be extended from the right drain. In this a circular

56 IIOUSICHOLD ENGINEERING

Opening about eight inches in diameter should be cut and. J
the whole surface covered with zinc or other metal. Under I
this board a small shelf must be placed at a sufficient dis- j
tance to allow the garbage pail to rest on it and permit the I
cover to be removed easily. The method of using it is to I
bring vegetables to the adjacent sink, and wash ihera; I
then instead of peehng them on a surface directly, the lidi
of the garbage pail can be removed and the worker peel f
or prepare over the opening so that the refuse falls at once 1
into the pail without any handling whatever. If small pre-]
paring tools are hung on cup hooks over this surface, thel
whole will form a serviceable vegetable preparing outfit. I
If the garbage pail is kept in proper sanitary condition, 1
there is no unpleasantness attached to this labor-saving I
method. If this refuse table is placed near the right of the J
sink where the dishes should be scraped, the refuse from |
the plates also can be scraped directly through this open-
ing into the pail, thus saving the unsanitary handling with
a sink strainer, etc., as commonly done.

Choosing Small Equipment

111 choosing the small equipment, it is better to buy tool
little than too much. The first step taken in putting a j
certain kitchen on an efficiency basis was to dispose, of half I
of the twenty-three saucepans and six egg-beaters or whips 1
found in the pantry. Too many women mistakenly over- ]
buy small equipment, which takes up room, requires addi-
tional care in cleaning, and duplicates itself.

Here are the points to observe in buying utensils and
small equipment ;

(i) Right and exact size and shape for purpose needed. 1

(2) Right material for purpose needed.

(3) Keep shapes and colors uniform and harmonious.

THE LAiSOR-SAVINT, KITCHEN

57

L

(4) Choose utensils with handles an integral part.
tS) Avoid "seconds," "three-in-one" tools, poorly fin-
ished articles with rough edges, etc.

(6) Select tools without complicated parts, which will
make washing easier.

(7) Select utensils that are comfortable to hold, to grasp
and to handle ; and

(8) that it will be a profitable investment for the price
paid and the amount of use.

Nothing is more essential before purchasing pots and
pans than to measure and find out the best sizes for the
needs of your particular family. One reason for excess
equipment is that the required size was not studied before
purchasing, and hence a great number of sizes had to be
bought. The shape is important because btoad, shallow
utensils have more surface exposed to the heat and hence
heat faster, which helps in economy of fuel. The tall, nar-
row utensil should therefore not be chosen.

"Bail" handles become too hot, as they hang at the side;
hollow metal or black rubberoid handles in one piece allow
easiest and safest handling.

Lids should not be fitted with a ring or separate wooden
knob, which may work loose from the nut ; the most durable
method is to have a strap-shaped metal knob welded to ihc
lid. Saucepans and skillets should be chosen with a lip
on either side to facilitate easy pouring. Utensils should
be free from seams and crevices in which food particles
may collect.

Just as there are different kinds of cooking methods, so
there are different metals and materials which are best
suited to each particular purpose. Different metals are
adapted to different degrees of heat. They also affect
chemically certain food elements rooked in them. The

58

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

difficulty of cleaning each metal sliould also be considered.

Enamel or Agate Ware. Here a vitreous material is
melted and baked on to a mould of iron or steel of the
required shape. This gives light weight utensils of smooth,
easily cleaned finish. It does not resist a higli temperature,
but "chips" when foods go dry. The gray finish seems
more durable than either the white or blue and white,
though different grades vary greatly. It is most suitable ,
for small bowls, pitchers, saucepans, and for simple stew-
ing and boiling.

Iron. Heavy in weight, but easy to clean when used !
for some time. Resists very high temperature. Suitable i
for frying, roasting and baking, and very large boiling
kettles. Sheet iron is a thinner quality used for baking
sheets, bread, pans, etc.

Steel. Resists high temperatures. Moderately hard to
clean. Used for same purposes as iron, also tea-kettle,
frying pans, etc.

Tin. Does not endure high temperature. Discolors
quite readily. Is light in weight, and best for cake pans,
colanders and similar small pieces. The best grades are
cheapest in the end.

Alx'minum is light in weight, does not radiate heat
quickly, fairly easy to clean, affects acid foods slightly and
is seriously affected by water containing alkalies. Made
in seamless shapes, suitable for all purposes, but not best
for frying, griddles, etc.

Earthenware. Moderate weight, endures moderately
high temperature, easy to clean, impervious surface, suitable
for slow cooking of all kinds — bowls, custard cups, pudding
dishes, casseroles, etc,

WooDENWARE. Use confined to meat, vegetable and
pastry boards, mashers and wooden mixing spoons.

THE LABOR-SAVING KITCHEN 59

Harmonious Shapes and Colors

One of the reasons so many kitchens have a cluttered
untidy appearance is that no two pots or utensils are the
same shape or finish. If a saucepan of a certain style is
decided on, use the same style in saucepans of all sizes.
If gray agate has been the material chosen for one kettle,
do not choose others of white, blue or mottled. If some
mixing bowls are yellow, do not pick out others that are
white or dark brown. A harmonious row of utensils as
to shape and color has much to do with making attractive
appearing shelves.

Seconds

The housewife should be wary of buying apparently
cheap tools. "Seconds" may be uneven so the bottom does
not sit squarely, or, as in frying pans, have a raised surface
in the center so that grease sinks to edges, and makes unsat-
isfactory frying. Agate-ware bargains commonly have an
exposed portion of the under-metal, which consequently
greatly shortens the life of the pan. The "three-in-one" or
combination tool is seldom a success. Just as there is
no satisfactory combination saw, plane and chisel for the
workman, so there is no practical can-opener, grater and
parer or other combination. It is much wiser to buy the
best grade of a particular standard tool rather than to
invest money in "novelties," for which extravagant claims
are made.

There is no one standard list of equipment that will fit
every family, because of differences in the main equipment,
in fuel used, in table standards and number in family.
Here is given a list of utensils and fuels for a family of
six, where all cooking is done at home on a small gas range
with fireless cooker attachment. If a kitchen cabinet is
part of the fixed equipment, it will contain hrcadhox, bread-

6o

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

lx)anl, spice jars, etc. Similarly some of the pieces may
be unnecessary in certain families. The prices given arc
average for the best grade of materials.

LIST OF UTENSILS AND TOOLS, GROUPED ACCORDING

TO USE

Preparing Tools (Grouped near kitchen cabinet or preparing surf ace)

2 half -pint glass measuring cups each $ .10

I graduated quart measure, enamel, or .35

I graduated quart measure, tin lO

I serrated bread-knife 50

1 biscuit cutter, tin lO

2 case knives .20

2 kitchen forks 15

I large sabaticr kitchen knife 90

I small sabatier kitchen knife 45

I egg beater and cream whip combined $0

3 earthenware mixing bowls, 8, 6 and 5 in. spread
20c, 15c, .10

I 4-si(le(l grater 25

I flrjur dredger 10

I flrnir sifter 25

I small f tinncl, enamel, or 20

I .small funnel, tin 08

I KlasH rolling -pin 50

I p.'iHtry board 40

I MUiall meat bo.'ird ^5

J larKr wooden spoons each .15

I Hpatttla, Htrrl 50

I rndi Htandat'd lablcHpcKMi and toaspoon 23

I ninit cbopp^'fi •stationary 1.25

I*HK.PAKiN(i Tooi.M ((it'oiiprd twHT niuk)

1 can oprnrr

J vrMttnblr preparing Knivr't ,

I (Mtrvecl bliule fruit knife

I glndN lemon Mpirr/rr

I npplc* eoriM' • • • • • 1 • • • • •

I corkiicrrw • . •

• • I i

I • • 1 1 1 1 •

• i •

each

1 1 1

i • I • •

.15
.20

.25
.10

.15
.10

THE LABOR-SAVING KITCHEN 6l

2 vegetable scrub brushes each .05

I pair of scissors 45

I pineapple snip 25

Cooking and Serving Utensils (Grouped near stove)

1 skimmer, enamel 20

I small deep skillet, 8-in. spread

I large iron skillet lo-in. spread

I each tea and coffee pot with supply jars

I large iron cooking spoon 15

I long-handled cooking fork 15

I ladle (enamel) 25

I pancake turner 15

I wire potato masher 25

I 3-mesh sieve or colander 75

I set skewers 15

I tea kettle with boiler insert, 5 qts. (aluminum) 5.00

1 tea kettle without boiler insert, 5 qts. (enamel ware) 2.00

Cooking Utensils (Grouped near kitchen cabinet)

Alumi-
Agate num

2 hemispherical 6-hole gem pans each $ .50 $ 75

3 bread pans, 9x6x3 40 .70

2 layer cake tins, square or round 30 .45

2 pie tins, 10 inches, i deep, i shallow 30 .35

I deep earthen pie plate 25

I china enamel jelly mould, i^ pts. to i qt... .50

I iron baking pan, 12 x 16 45

I earthen baking dish, i^ qts., g-inch spread.. .30

(pudding, scalloped dishes etc.)
I large earthen casserole, 3 qts., stews, soups . . .50

6 earthen custard cups 05

I small covered roaster, 15x11 3.25 4.50

Cooking Utensils (Grouped near sink)

I handled saucepan, iH qts. — cream gravies,
boiling eggs, etc 60 .85

I handled saucepan, 3 qts. — cocoa, warming
milk, heating canned goods 75 1.05

• •

• «

62 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

2 4-qt. saucepans — potatoes, vegetables, cereals .85 1^5
I 8-qt. saucepan — spinach, ham, corn, etc 70 1.65

MlSCKLLANKOUS EQUIPMENT AND SUCXIESTED GROUPING

1 clock I.OO

I covered garbage pail (near sink) 45

I wire rul.l)ish burner (near sink) 1.25

1 match-box (near stove) 10

2 oval llannel pot-holders (near stove) each .05

I cooking thermometer (near stove) i.oo

I handled asbestos mat (near stove) 10

Kitchen salt and pepper (near stove) 10

I toaster ( near stove) 25

I pan-hanging kitchen scale (near cabinet) 2.50

(ihiss cereal jars, spice jars (near cabinet)

Hreadbox

C'aril recipe cabinet, bill-hook (near cabinet)

Knife hharpener

C'olYee mill

I ice pick ami shaver :2$

1 enameled egg holder, glass butter jar each .25

1 large-figured calendar

Kitchen dishes, pitchers, etc

White enameled plates and dishes exclusively for

icc-box use

1 high siool on castors 1.50

1 tray i.oo

DisuWASiiiNi; EouiPMEXT (, Grouped near sink)

I Mpiare dishpan *. n feet 1.50

\ wire dish drainer $ .50 to 1.25

I large. 1 small dishmop each .05

I wire pot-brush 10

I w ooden plate scraper 25

\ sink strainer 25

I soap-shaker 10

I wire fauci t M»ap-dish 25

I sink-brusli and scoop 10

O linen, glass and silver, towels

J mesh pot -rags for wiping jn^ts and surf aces., each .15

6 ora.sli dishlowels

Soaps, cleansers, etc

THE LABOR-SAVING KITCHEN 63

Other pieces of equipment might be the portahle steamer,
bread-mixer, cake-mixer, broiler, if not in connection with
the range, pastry outfit, breacl-slicer, cleaver, saw, cherry-
stoner, etc., which would find a useful place in some family,
but scarcely be needed in others. Equipment must be chosen
having the needs of the particular family in mind rather
than bhndly following a set list.

Business Equipment
One more group of equipment must be mentioned in con-
nection with every kitchen, and that is the more business-
like helps, of which there are several. The card cabinet
filing cookbook which will be described in detail later must
have a place on the shelf above the preparing surface.
This makes for neatness, accuracy and ease in following
recipes. A drawer containing the cards can be attached
to a shelf at about the level of the eyes with a square of
glass protecting the cards as used. A bill-hook will keep
sales checks and other memoranda until wanted. A large
envelope should be used to contain the direction tags which
come with many pieces of equipment and which are so nec-
essary to turn to from time to time. If the calendar is
large and distinct enough, the daily deliveries of milk, ice
or bread or other memos can be placed in the square around
each date. A kitchen reminder list of some kind, and a
separate pad with pencil attached to string, on which to
write daily menus, is invaluable. A small "bulletin-board,"
possibly a slate, will also be found helpful to outline work,
suggestions or reminders.

Glass Containers and Labels

It is preferable to have uniform glass jars to contain

cereals, spices and other dry food supplies like powdered

sugar, beans, cornstarch, etc. Glass makes the best con-

64 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

tainer because then it is possible to see always the
amount on hand. All containers should be air and moisture
proof and have lids or stoppers that are easy to adjust.
Quart, pint and half-pint jars come in various shapes,
some with excellent sliding metal tops, which permit easy
opening. The square glass containers used in pharmacies
with solid glass plug stopper are equally excellent for cof-
fee, tea, rice, etc. All containers and all shelves should
be plainly labeled, and one can obtain attractive labels,
square or oval, with gummed backs in all sizes for every
need. The kitchen is now following the laboratory in its
sanitary, systematic storing of supplies in glass with plainly
marked labels.

QUESTIONS ON HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

I
The Labor Saving Kitchen

1. Draw a diagram of your kitchen, pantries, etc., showing

position of stove, sink, refrigerator, work table, shelves,
doors, windows, etc. Let one-fourth inch in the plan
equal one foot in the kitchen.

2. JDraw a duplicate sketch rearranging this kitchen so far

as possible in accordance with the suggestions of the
text.

3. Show the ^'routing" on these two plans (A) for prepar-

ing and (B) for clearing away a meal. Estimate the
distance and number of steps saved by the second
arrangement.

4. Get estimates from carpenters, plumbers, decorators,

etc., of how much the various changes and improve-
ments would cost. Give the order in which you would
like to have these changes made.

5. Tell what you have already accomplished in the better

grouping of small equipment and supplies ; also of any
other suggestions you have carried out.

Note. Those taking the correspondence course will be
supplied with a Report Blank having cross section lines, which
arc of assistance in drawing the sketches.

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

U

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

II
PLANS AND METHODS FOR DAILY HOUSEWORK

CONDITIONS in no two homes are exactly alike ; in
one the family may number six or more ; in another
be only three. The location, whether city apartment,
detached suburban housed or isolated country farm, also
greatly affects the kind and extent of the housework. The
house construction itself either increases or lessens the
amount of work to be done. The hours of meals ; whether
or not there are children or invalids in the family ; all these
factors have a bearing upon the plans and methods of daily
housework.

Letters by the hundred come to my desk, all bearing a sim-
ilar plaint that women like housework, are fond of some
special branch like cooking or sewing, but that they do not
seem to be able to "get done" and have any time to them-
selves.. In other words, the woman with the small family
and the woman with the large family have the same prob-
lem— not how to do any special task, but how to plan and
work out a schedule of all tasks; how to relate work and
apportion it so that it shall progress smoothly with as little
interruption as possible.

"My work is so different every day, and there are so many
separate kinds of tasks that I don*t see how it is possible to

Copyrlffht 1915, Home Economic Association.

65

66

HOUSEHOLD ESGINEERISG

^

make a definite plan of daily work, or a 'schedule,' as you
call it," some women have said.

But it is just because there are different tasks that a
schedide is needed. If a woman were doing nothing bul the
same thing without interruption from morning until night,
there would be no use for a plan of work. There is only
need of a plan when there are several pieces of varj-ing
work to be done at different hours with different tools.
Then it becomes essential to arrange these varj-ing tasks in
order and on time, so that the worker may proceed with the
least amount of friction and effort.

Daily Tasks in All Homes
While it may appear that conditions vary greatly in any
two homes, when we compare all the tasks done daily, we
see that no matter how large or small the home, or what I
the number in the family, etc., the tasks themselves remain
constant.

Daily Tasks
Cooking and serving of 3 meals

Dish and pot-washing
Bed-making and bedroom care
Liglit cleaning of living-room,
stairs, halt, kitchen, bath and

Weekly or SrEci.\L Tasks
Laundry — washing and ironing
Mending or sewing
Thorough cleaning of house
Window, silver or metal cleaning;' I
Special cooking or baking
Refrigerator, pantry or doset J

cleaning
Marketing and ordering of sup-

Every schedule or work-plan has two objects:

(i) The order of work.

(2) The time of work.

The order of ivork is hy far the most important, and the
thing that must be determined first. The reason for so
much "nerves" and useless effort is solely to be found in the
lack of order in the work-plan. The time at which a particu-

w

PLANS AND MF.THOnS

(ar task is done is secondary and can be decided only a
the order is arranged and provided for.

Planmnt. THi'. Da:

,■ SCHKOL-I

L

The first thing to do in making a schedule is to follow the
principle which other executives follow, namely : use llic
head first, and with pencil and paper write down the few
absolute conditions around which the schedule must center.
For instance, the first facts to be set down would be ihc
hours of meals, as these must be definite, and on them de-
pend the cooking and some of the other work. Next, writt
down the order of the regular daily tasks in the way you
think they will go best in your particular home; whether,
for example, it will be better to wash all the breakfast
dishes, straighten' the kitchen, and start some cooking foi-
lunch, before going upstairs to make the beds ; or whether
to merely put away food an.d scrape the dishes, proceed to
making the beds, doing light cleaning, and rtturn to start
lunch later, doing breakfast and lunch dishes together. ]Vhat
is the best order only the individual worker can determine
for her individual case. By watching yourself at work, liy
counting how long one plan of work takes versus a second
plan, and which of the two seems to save the most inter-
ruption, most trotting, the best plan can finally be worked
out.

In making out the daily schedule, the schedule of weekly
or special tasks must be considered at the same time, because
some of the special tasks are done each day. For instance,
in planning both the cooking and cleaning of Monday or
Tuesday, we must consider whether or not the laundry is to
be done on either of these days. Again, in planning the daily
schedule for Friday or Saturday, we shall have to take into
account the special thorough cleaning of the house, special
cooking, etc. In other words, there is no such thing as a true

68

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

daily schedule, but rather a schedule of every day, since the
entire week's tasks must be considered at once.
Purpose of the Schedule

Much of the confusion of unscheduled work arises be-
cause too many things are crowded into the one day, while
other days have too little. The .schedule aims to prevent
just this unevenness in work. It tries to consider all the
tasks, daily and weekly, and then group and arrange them
in stich a way as to have the work evenly distributed over
the entire week. Very often work is so poorly planned that
suddenly a woman finds it "all piled up" and herself facing '
the task of an excessive load of work at one time. Some
women, by temperament, like to work "by spurts," but it has
been foiuid that the smoothest housework is that which has
its definite task done regnlarly so that there never are
periods of overloading.

Without a schedule it too frequently happens that the I
worker allows an unexpected piece of work to interrupt and
confuse her entire day. For instance, during her morning's '
work a woman might be just ready to leave the kitchen and
go upstairs to make the beds. But she suddenly sees that
the breadbox is surprisingly full of stale and even mouldy
bread. She stops to give the box a thorough scalding. She
notices then that the entire pantry seems unusually disor-
derly. A "spasm" of cleaning fever seizes her, and she
decides that the pantry right then and there needs a thorough
cleaning. One thing leads to another, and before she
knows it the entire morning is given over to this unexpected
task. When she notices the clock she sees that the cleaning '
and bedmaldng have been neglected and Innch preparation
entirely forgotten. It takes her the whole day "to catch up." '
The schedule way would have provided for a special p
cleaning on some definite time, and never allowed the n
to be so interrupted.

,1

PLANS AND METHODS

So many women have said, "Oh, I couldn't bear to do my
housework Uke factory work. I want to rest when I want
to, and to do things as I feel like it." Let it be understood
that a schedule is not a treadmill, and does not mean per-
petual work without rest. On the contrary, every schedule
must contain a definite "rest" period. The worst opponents
of the schedule plan are those women who insist on working
"till they drop." Furthermore, the schedule plan is the only
one which forces regular rest or recreation periods. Its
whole idea is simply, plan what yon are going to do, do it,
and then rest; instead of not knowing what you are going
to do, resting or stopping when you feel like it, and never
knowing when yon are going to get done. In a certain fac-
tory in Massachusetts girls test the delicate parts of ball-
bearings. The work is so trying that every two hours they
are forced to stop for ten minutes in which they can talk,
leave work, or do what they like. In another immense
organization employing thousands of cierks, fifteen minutes
is given during the forenoon as an intermission. Nurses and
workers in many other lines have definite "time off." But
only by assiguing definite hours for work, can you also
assign definite hours of rest. For the homemaker, the sched-
ule should provide a short "rest period" in the forenoon, and
a longer one in the afternoon.

Examples OF Schedl-les

i White, as was said, it is not possible to give one type

schedule that will apply to any and all conditions, here is a
work schedule carefully planned for a week for a woman
who does all her own work in a family of 5, the 3 children
going to school (but coming home at noon); husband's
shirts being sent to laundry. The house is a detached,
7-rooni suburban cottage : the fuel used gas, with coal water
heater.

70 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

ONE WEEK SCHEDULE FOR FAMILY OF FIVE

Monday

6 :oor- 6 :30 Rise and dress ; start water heater
6:30- 7:00 Prepare breakfast

7 :03- 7 :30 Breakfast

7 :30- 8 130 Wash dishes ; straighten kitchen ; inspect icebox ; plan

meals for Monday and Tuesday
8:30- 9:00 Prepare towards lunch
9:00-10:00 Bedrooms, bath and hall cleaned; sort and prepare

soiled linen and laundry
10:00-11:00 Thorough downstairs cleaning
11:00-11:30 Rest period
1 1 :30-i2 :oo Serve lunch
12:00- I :oo Lunch

I :oo- 3 :oo Lunch dishes ; prepare cooking for Monday and Tues-
day; mop kitchen

3 :oo- 4 :oo Sewing and mending

4:00- 4:^0 Soak clothes and prepare for next day's washing
4:30-5:30 Rest period; play with children ; walk, recreation or

market
5 :30- 6 .00 Prepare supper
6:00- 7:00 Supper
7:00- 7:30 Wash dishes

Tuesday

6:00- 6:30 Rise and dress: put on boiler

6 :30- 7 :oo Prepare breakfast

7:00- 7:30 Breakfast

7 :30- 8 :oo Stack dishes ; make beds

8 :oo-i 1 :30 Washing

r r : 30-1 2 :oo Rest period

12:00- 1:00 Lunch (prepared day before)

I :oo- 2 :30 Wash breakfast and lunch dishes ; clear up laundry

2:30- 4:00 Take in clothes: fold, sprinkle, hy away

4 :oo- 5 :30 Rest period
5:30- 6:00 Prepare supper
6:00- 7.00 Supper

7:00- 7:.^,o Wash dishes

PLANS AND METHODS

71

6:00- 6
6:30- 7
7:00- 7

7:30- 8
8:30- 9
9:cx)-i2
12:00- I
I :oo- 2
2:00- 3
3:00- 4
4:00- 5
5:30- 6
6:00- 7
7:00- 7

"Wednesday

30 Rise and dress; start water heater

00 Prepare breakfast

30 Breakfast

30 Wash dishes; inspect icebox; plan meals; start lunch

00 Make beds; light cleaning

00 Ironing '

00 Lunch

00 Finish ironing; put away clothes

00 Wash dishes; straighten kitchen

00 Rest period

00 Market; walk

00 Prepare supper

00 Supper

30 Wash dishes

6:60- 6:30
6 :30- 7 :oo
7:00- 7:30
7:30- 8:30
8:30- 9:00
9:00-11 :30

11 :30-I2:oo

12 :oo- I :oo
I :oo- 2 :oo
2:00- 3:30

3 :30- 4 :oo

4 :oo- 5 :30
5:30- 6:00
6:00- 7:00
7:00- 7:30

Thursday

Rise and dress ; start water heater
Prepare breakfast
Breakfast

Wash dishes ; straighten kitchen ; plan meals
Make beds

Bedrooms and closets cleaned
Rest period
Lunch

Wash dishes : prepare vegetables toward supper
Upstairs windows cleaned (Up and down stairs win-
dows alternately each week)
Silver polished
Rest period
Prepare supper
Supper
Wash dishes

Friday

6:00- 6:30 Rise and dress; start heater

6:30- 7:00 Prepare breakfast

7:00- 7:30 Breakfast

7 :3c)- 8 130 Wash dishes ; straighten kitchen ; plan meals

^2 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING'

8:30- 9
9:cx>-ii
II :30-i2
12:00- I
I :oo- 2
2:00- 3
3:00- 5

5:30- 6
6:00- 7
7:00- 7
7:30- 8

00 Make beds

30 Downstairs cleaning

00 Rest period

00 Lunch

00 Wash dishes; start supper

30 Clean refrigerator, pantry, kitchen, drawers

30 Rest period; marketing

00 Prepare supper

00 Supper

30 Wash dishes

00 Set bread

Saturday

6:00- 6:30 Rise and dress; start heater

6:30- 7:00 Prepare breakfast

7:00- 7:30 Breakfast

7 130- 8 :oo Make beds

8:00- 8:30 Wash dishes

8 :30-i 1 :30 Special cooking, and baking

11:30-12:00 Rest period

12:00- I :oo Lunch

1 :oo- 2 :oo Wash dishes ; start supper

2 :oo- 3 :30 Clean stove ; wipe kitchen and porch

3 :30- 5 :30 Rest period

5 :30- 6 :oo Prepare supper

6:co- 7:00 Supper

7:00- 7:30 Wash dishes

(Good hot dinner Saturday night; .light or cold meals Sunday)

From the foregoing schedule it will be seen that both
daily and weekly special tasks are provided for; that there
is a definite rest period every afternoon and generally in.
the morning. It will also be noticed that there are certain
units or groups of work done together. For instance, the
period when the lunch dishes are washed is used for vegeta-
ble preparation so that vegetables and sometimes dessert for
the night meal can be cooking and watched while the dishes
are washed. This considerably lessens the time necessary

i

PLANS AND METHODS 73

(or supper preparation and allows a longer free period in
the afternoon.

It will be seen also that Tuesday and not Monday is given
to washing. This plan has several advantages, Sunday
visitors generally leave the house in confusion and the
woman more tired. Monday washing also means soaking the
clothes some time on Sunday, which is not desirable. The
Tuesday washing plan allows for a thorough brushing-up of
the entire house on Monday, a sorting and soaking clothes,
preparing shirts to be sent to laundry, and a double cooking
so that there will be practically no cooking on Tuesday.

Marketing is allowed for three limes a week, but if it can
be done once a week, so nnich the better. Notice that ice-
box inspection and meal planning take place immediately
after breakfast, the menus then being written clown on a
kitchen pad. This schedule gives simply order of work
without attempting any very special timing of any one task,
nor does it consider the work assisted by any labor-savers.

Routing Work Depends on House Construction
In the above schedule has been shown how one definite
task was taken up after another, or, as it is called, "routed."
Now, this routing depends somewhat on house construction.
In planning the cleaning particularly, the arrangement of
the rooms should be studied. By starting work in one room
and proceeding to others in a given order, saving of time
and steps can be made. The following diagram will show
the easier way to clean a given set of rooms and the more
step-taking plan which might have been followed if the
house construction had not been studied. This is true not
only of ihe work itself but particularly in regard to the
handling of utensils and tools. Lack of a definije order of
work makes for double or even triple handling, which is
altogether unnecessary.

PLANS AND METHODS

Minor Tasks in the Schedule

As was indicated, laundry to be sent away was gathered
and made into a bundle Monday morning. If at the same
time the bundles were carried directly near the back door,
they would be right at hand when the laundry man came for
them. So much unnecessary trotting is due solely to the
fact of running upstairs or going after some article which
should have been carried directly to the place from which
it is finally to be handled. Another minor detail is the
emptying of garbage, and cleaning of the pail. If this is not
provided for, other work will be interrupted by this unpleas-
ant task. In general, it seems best to empty it after the
lunch dishes and vegetable preparing for night have been
done, washing the pail and setting to air until night.

Similarly with lamps if their cleaning and care must be
included in the work schedule. This is a definite daily task
and should be fitted in and not left as an afterthought or
when this unpleasant piece of work might interrupt other
dean tasks.

Again, a very small task which often causes much unneces-
sary dirt is the emptying of waste baskets. So frequently tliL'
wrong plan is followed of carrying baskets, tools, mops, etc.,
and dumping them into the kitchen when their ultimate
destination is somewhere else. Again and again, it has been
noticed that on a general cleaning day waste, trash, cleaning
tools have all been brought to the kitchen when they might
just as well have been taken to their rightful closet or rub-
bish box without tracking through the kitchen at all. Making
the kitchen a general dumping ground means that additional
work and handling must be done in the kitchen, thus wasting
time and effort.

Another way in which many minutes are wasted is because
of a lack of definite imderstanding in regard lo tradesmen

76 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

and deliveries. For instance, it is most inefficient to have
the iceman call every morning inquiring whether you need
ice, if you need ice only three times a week. Make a point
of looking at the ice supply at a definite morning hour, and
hanging out a card so that the iceman can deliver without
internipting you at all. Plan definitely when you want
tradespeople to call and insist that they do not call at other
times. The special shelf near the kitchen or rear door on
which supplies may he laid has been spoken of. Give orders
that bundles, articles, etc., shall be left here with as little
interruption as possible. Keep a supply of change in the
kitchen. Running upstairs to a pocketbook, even once a
day every day in the week, runs into enough time in a year
to read several best sellers !

Spect.'^l Schedules
The type schedule given above will not fit every family.
There is the family with younger children or babies. Their
care will have to be provided for, and the special baby
washing, naps, airing, etc. Such a schedule for one day
might work out as follows :

ONE-DAY SCHEDULE FOR F.AMTLY OF THREE
(One small baby on 3-hour feeding period; small house or flat)
6:30- 7:00 Rise and dress; give baby morning feeding
7 ;oo- 7 :30 Breakfast. (Uncooked cereal, or cereal cooked in

tireless. Table set night before)
7:30- 8:00 Clear table; stack dishes; plan meals for die day; put

on water for baby's bath
S :oo- 9 ;oo Bathe baby, feed and put to sleep ; pick up after bath ;

straighten bedroom
5:00-10:00 Prepare baby's gruel, sterilized milk, etc.; wash baby
napkins "while watching food
(Baby naps 9;oo-ti:oo)
10100-11:00 Clean living-rooms, hall, etc., and dress ready to take

baby for morning airing while markelinj;
ii:oo-ij:oo Outdoors with baby while marketing

PLANS AND METHODS -j-j

:oo Return for lunch and baby feeding

:30 Wash combined breakfast and lunch dishes ; prepare

vegetables, dessert and meat, if possible, for evening

meal ; brush up kitchen ; empty garbage ; sweep porch

{Baby awake and playing outdoors, if possible, from

'~3; 3t 3 o'clock feeding and sleep until 4)
Iron baby clothing

Rest period; preferably nap with ba^y while it is asleep
Afternoon airing
130 Start supper

Put baby to sleep with night feeding
:30 Own supper ; supper dishes washed : tnlile set for
breakfast following morning
(Baby's last feeding 10 P. M.)

Similarly, the family wilh an invalid or where meals are
taken at veiy irregular hours, as by many professional men ;
or the many country conditions where the care of stock,
garden, etc., must be included. In each case, the schedule
must be built to meet and fit the essential needs of tbe.par-.
ticular family. It must always be kept in mind that' the
schedule in itself is zvorthless; and that it is useful only as a
meatis to an end — that the schedule must fit the family, and
not that the family be made uncomfortable or be moulded
over to fit an iron-clad housework plan.

Standardizing and Timing Special Tasks
We have spoken of the order of work and its importance
as the backbone on which the development of the schedule
rests. We now want to think about the timing of various
tasks in order that we can arrange a more closely-knit, exact
schedule. Every task represents a number of motions and
effort, and hence time. On study we find that there is one
best, shortest way of doing a task under a given set of cir-
cumstances. Finding out this best, shortest way and reduc-
ing it as nearly as possible to a habit 15 called "standard-
izing" it

m Wash

■ wipu

78 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

To standardize any task we must study how we do it and
then see if we cannot improve and shorten this former time
of work. Bed-making, dishwashing, cleaning, especially, are
purely routine pieces of work and can easily he standard-
ized. Let us take dishwashing.

Time Studies of Dishwashing
When we say "dishwashing," we commonly think of a
single household task. But when closely analyzed and made
the subject of a time or motion study, we see that it is com-
posed of several parts or steps, each with different motions,
and generally performed with different tools, as follows :
(r) Scraping waste from surface of china, agate
or other kind of dish or Utensil.

(2) Stacking or arranging dishes on surface adja-

cent to sink, preparatory to washing,

(3) Actual washing with water, .soap or other

cleanser, with aid of cloth, mop or other me-
chanical means.

(4) Rinsing dishes with clear water.

(5) Wiping dishes with towel or equivalent drying.

(6) Laying away dishes on or in respective shelves

and cupboards.

The efficiency of the whole process of "dishwashing" can j
be improved only by increasing the efficiency of each step.

From careful experiments made with dishwashing over 3
period of two months and an.ilysis of each of the six steps
in the dishwashing process, the following results were
obtained :

Test .\ Test B

Number of dishes. 50 50

Scraping nnd stacking 7 minules 7 ininutes

Washing and rinsing 1 r '* 10

Wiping t,l " 2

Laying away S " 4 "

Time

pla:

79

in both Icsta the nuinber of dishes wLishcd was the same.
But in Test B the conditions were changed. First, a wire
drainer was substituted tor a tray which entirely eliminated
the hand wiping; then sheives for dishes were placed adja-
cent to the sink instead of in a pantry iS feet distant, which
considerably reduced the time of the laying-away step, and
thus reduced the total process from 43 to 23 minutes, or
nearly one-half the time.

From many time-studies similar to the above, the follow-
ing general conclusions were reached :

(i) The height of the sink must be adjusted to the
height of the worker, and be sufficiently
high so that she can work without the slight-
est stooping.

(2) The depth of the sink must be such as to allow
ample accommodation for the dishpan with
sufficient surface above to prevent sloshing
of water over the edge and on person of
worker.

{3) Stack surface must be to right of sink, drain
surface to left for right-handed worker.
This permits easy and rapid laying-down
motion of each dish without awkward
crossing of left arm over right.

{4) Thorough scraping facilities the actual wash-

(5) Wire drainer keeping each dish separate is

more efficient than tray or other flat surface
which does not allow quick drying.

(6) Similar shaped pieces can be washed with

much greater rapidity per number than can
poorly assorted ones; hence the need of
stacking similar dishes in groups.

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

(7) Sitting down at dishwashing does not lessen

the actual time, but does greatly lessen the

fatigue.

(8) Scalding dishes in drainer more sanitary and

less time-taking than hand wiping.

(9) If shelves and closets for dishes and utensils
are grouped near left of sink or in same
relative position, the time saved in the laying
away step will be considerable over that in
which distant pantries are used, entailing
several trips with trays, etc.

(10) These generalizations cover washing of pots,
silver and glass as well, except that all in
these last three classes must he dried by
hand.

W This shows the method of analyzing and standardizing .

' any particular task. The standardization includes close

I observation of the way the worker uses her hands, the tool ■

and its conditions and particularly the preparatory and fol- t
I lowing steps of any given piece of work. For instance,

' many a woman might, by timing herself, find that she made ]

a cake on a lo-minute schedule, which is rapid work. But |
if she counted up the time she spent gathering her eggs, but-
ter, milk, etc., together, and the time she spent "clearing up"
and putting her materials and pans away, she would find
that the total time was not 10 minutes, but possibly 25 1
minutes. In this case, standardization of her work would '
; involve a more step-saving kitchen arrangement, and better (

i" grouping of tools.

Every task consists not of one single set of motions, but I
of a number of sets or processes linked together, as was ■
shown above in dishwashing. The only way in which the
whole process can be improved and shortened is by studying .

PLANS AND METHODS 8l

each one of these steps, improving and lessening the time it
takes, which wil! thus lessen the time of the whole task.

While cooking will be discussed in a later chaj-'ter in
greater detail, it may be mentioned here that every cooking
task consists of these three parts:

(1) Getting materials ready for work.

(2) Actual cooking proper.

(3) Qearing-iip; replacing materials and utensils.

As was pointed out, time is lost not in point 2, but in
l)Dints I and 3, and these conditions must be improved and
time shortened here before we can shorten the entire time
of cooking.

Standardizing Cleaning

In considering cleaning also, we find that it is not a single
act, but composed of many complex processes, as Sweeping,
Wiping, Dusting, Polishing, etc. Cleaning the average room
includes several or all of these processes. Again, each of
them is done with a separate tool.

Now, we find that much time is lost by needless handling
of cleaning tools. By carefully scheduling the order of
cleaning a number of rooms, less frequent handling of uten-
sils will be necessary. The time of cleaning a bedroom daily
may be cut down from 20 to 10 minutes by repeating each
day the definite cleaning order or schedule decided on.

Time Studies of Various Tasks
Following are a few time-studies of common tasks. It
must be remembered, however, that this "time" will not
apply in every case. They are only the result of work done
under one given set of conditions. In your home they
might be widely different, owing to the different conditions
.surrounding your work, or the different tools used. The
amount of furniture in each room, the size of the room, etc.,

82 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

will affect a lime-study of room -clean i ng ; or even the wrn-l
ilow washing will vary with the dirt on the windows, and
the tools and method used. Because you cannot do a similar
piece of work in the same time does not mean that you ai:t
not a good worker — these figures are given only to skt
you how yoit can work out your oitti lime-studtes, and i
them as a basis of a schedule in your own home:

flaking double bed. npproximaiely 5 minute^

Making single bed. appro ximalely 3

Brusbiiig up bedroom 14x16. appro ximaiely 12

Daily care of bathroom, approximately 10

t. Washing 50 dishes and 50 silver (entire process) by

hand 40

2. Washing 50 dishes ar.d 50 silver by hand, but under

standardized conditions 23

1. Setting tabic far nighl meal, family of six (trips

with trays) 13

2. Setting table for night meal, family of six (tray on

wheels) 6

Washing average si^e 3-foot window, in and out 12

Washing 8-hght pane window 16

1. Mopping kitchen 11OKI2) on hands and knees 20

2. Mopping kitchen ( loxra) with improved mop 14 -

I. Breadmafcing, by hand, 4 loaves, including deariing

board 24

2 Breadmaking ^vith mixer. 4 loaves, including clean-
ing board iG

Many women still" persist in thinking that by timing the*
selves they are holding a kind of whip of drudgery ov«
tliemselves. On the contrary, no one factor makes a pint
of work more interesting than that of timing it, and if p
bible, lessening this time in future work. Instead of I
ing a task drudgery, the timin'5 acts as a stimulus to do t
work more efficiently and "beat the record" of a previ
effort. Women who have tried the timing p'an say it mal
the work more fun to do it with eyes 0:1 the clock i

PLANS AND METHODS 83

determination to see in just how little time they can accom-
plish it and yet do good work without "hurry."

The more closely the worker can figure the time it takes
for any given task, the more carefully can she arrange the
housework schedule. She may. for instance have decided
this to be the order of the morning's work:
(i) Prepare and serve breakfast.

(2) Scrape dishes ; lay away food.

(3) Make beds; brush up bedroom.

(4) Brush up living rooms.
{5) Lunch preparation.
(6) Rest period.

But, by timing herself at these various pieces of work, si
will be able to add definite figures opposite, as,

Preparing and serving breakfast 6:30 — 7

Scrape dishes and lay away food. . . . 7:30 — 8:15

Make beds ; brush up bedrooms 8:1 5^ 9

Brush up living rooms 9 ^ 9 45

Lunch preparation 5:45 — 10:45

Rest period io:-l5 — n :45

By working out a still closer time schedide she might be
able to also include in the morning other work like special
cleaning, cooking, sewing, or her marketing. The more
closely work is timed the more nearly perfect the schedule
will be. This timing will not be a handicap, but make the
work more automatic so that it requires less nervous
attention.

Advantages of a Schedule

Sometimes women criticize the idea of the schedule, saying
that it is impossible under home conditions of children, sick-
ness, etc., to run the housework train on schedule time, and
ti«t it is not practical to think that at a given hour, say 8 :i5,

84 HOUSEHOLD ENGIXEERIXG

llie beds are going to be made, day iti and day out. The
answer is tliat -we do tiat make any rule or helpful plan based
upon excepH07is. The fact that even the best "limited"
express has to stop unexpectedly for accidents or because
other trains are not living up to their schedule, does not
interfere with the careful working out of a schedule under
ordinary, normal circumstances. Because once in a week
we are suddenly called from home, or because the baby is
suddenly taken ill with crou]> and all schedules have to go by
the board, is no sufficient reason why there shotdd not be a
scliedule for the many regular days on which there are no
unexpected interruptions, and which, after all, form the
average day's work.

Even if the exact time plan for a certain task cannot be
followed, Ihe order can usually be folioivcd and the entire
schedule either swung later or earlier in the day, or the less
vital work omitted entirely. For instance, if we have a
carefully planned schedule which starts with scraping dishes
at 7:30, but unexpectedly receive an important telephone
call which takes us out of the house for an hour, we merely
shift the schedule an hour ahead to 8:30 and begin Hater,
cutting down the least important morning's work, but still
following the regular order. /( is just in emergencies that-
Ihe value of the schedule is most fully felt; with it we havi
a guiding plan of work under normal circumstances. UndeP'
the abnormal circumstances, it does not permit us to become
flustered and completely upset.

Again, the schedule enables us to have a better "grip on
ourselves." Hundreds of women write in that they don'l
know where they are at ; that they can't get ahead of the
work, or never find time for themselves. Now, an attempt,
at least, to work out and follow a household schedule gives
a "grip" on one's self that is most helpful and encouraging.
It makes you know what must be done and sets the problem

r,

11

i
I

PLANS AND METHODS 85

before you of a certain given number of hours in which to
(io it. If you can plan, can arrange and master this situation,
then you feel as proud and as confident as other workers in
business or other fields who hkewise have the assurance
that conies from working under schedule conditions.

I have seen women in food factories fill thousands of bot-
tles of mustard per day, and girls bind books, or stamp aiid
label cartons. In all these cases, a very great amount of
work was demanded, but while the workers were tired at the
end of the day, they uniformly said that there was littli-
nervous strain because they knew what they could do in a
day and when it was to be done and when they were to be
through. In other words, standardised work anywhere re-
laxes Ike nervous strain and gives a worker a feeling of
mastery that working hit-and-miss never permits.

Schedules an'd Serv.\nts
While a schedule of household work most certainly helps
the woman who does all of her own housework, it is just as
important and necessary in a home where one or more ser-
vants are employed, or where a worker comes in for the
day, as cleaning woman, laundress, etc. One of the mo.U
frequent and strongest reasons alleged by servants them-
.selves as to why housework is not a desirable occupatioii ii
that they too "never have time to themselves," and do uct
work under any standard conditions. In large establish-
ments where there are many workers this point is usually
much better handled than in the smal! home with one general
maid-of-all-work. It is actually much easier to secure help
for a large establishment where there are definite assigned
duties and definite work hours than it is to secure a worker
for "general housework" in homes where the mistress cither
does not know or has not taken the trouble to schedule out
the work for the one maiil.

86 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Much friction can be avoided if the mistress will either
alone or in co-operation with the worker, work out a daily
and weekly schedule. How many times we hear a mistress
remark, "I wonder what Katy is doing now?" and there is a
feeling that Katy is shirking her work or taking unnecessary
time for herself. Again, Katy never knows what her definite
rest period or "time off" will be, and the result is unsatis-
faction on both sides.

There is no difference between planning a schedule for a
worker and planning a schedule for one's self. All the tasks
that must be done daily and weekly should be written down
and arranged in a tentative order. Some definite afternoon
hour or hour and a half should be allowed for the worker
in which to care for herself and do as she likes. It should
also take into account the special holidays or afternoons off
previously arranged with her at the time of engaging her.
Good workers much prefer to work under schedule condi-
tions and appreciate the fairness of such an arrangement,
which will prevent argument as to why such and such a
piece of work has been neglected. The schedule enables the
worker to "know where she is at," and will prevent too much
work being crowded into any one day. How can a mistress
expect a smooth -running household and workers to give good
service if the workers are left to follow out a hit-and-miss
plan, to do work as they feel like it. or to be blamed for
something which was overlooked, when the mistress herself
never gave definite scheduled orders that this work should
be done ?

Both a daily and weekly schedule can be written down for
the hired worker. It should include the smallest details, as
on what days tradesmen come, when to have laundry bundle
ready, the exact hours at which meals are expected to be
served, when special tasks like silver, window washing,
pantry overhauling, etc., are to be done. Besides, a simple

L

PLANS AND METHODS 87

daily schedule including the best order of bedmaking, brush-
ing up, meal preparation, etc., should be written down and
both these schedules hung in the kitchen or written down in
a little booklet and given to the worker when she first comes.
While such a schedule will vary in every household, the
following points should be covered in a schedule made for
the worker :

(1) Hour of rising for worker.

(2) Hour of meals.

(3) Hour of consultation with mistress regarding

food supplies and meals.

(4) Daily work routine.

(5) Days on which special work is done.

(6) Definite rest period each afternoon.

(7) Definite arrangements as to hoUdays or off

time.

In connection with this schedule, explicit directions can
be given as to where tools are kept, how to use and care for
them, and minor details of the way work is preferred to be
done in this particular household. These directions will be
spoken of in a later chapter, where it will be shown how a
mistress can make a "practice book" which will be inval-
uable to put in the hands of a new worker and which will
assist in "training" a servant more rapidly and enable the
work to be done with far less misunderstanding and
friction.

POSSIBLE .SCHEDULE DIRECTIONS FOR SERVANT FOR
ONE DAY

f Winter; family of adulls; cily conditions)
6 A. M. Worker rise:;

Attends to furnace and range
Prepares and serves breakfast

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

and plajis meals, perhaps ,

Inspects supplies «

■phoning to tradespeople
Dishwashing and kitchen strnighlening
Daily chamber work
Brushing up living-rooms
Prepares and serves lunch
Luncheon dishes: supper preparation; kitchen straighter

ing. Special afternoon task of cleaning
Afternoon rest period, generally 3 130 to 4 130 or 3 130 t

5, ill which worker freshens up, changes to afternoon |

uniform and has time to herself

L

More specific directions giving the hours and times of
these tasks would have to be worked out in each special I
case, depending on the number in the family, the size of the I
house, and the hours of meals, etc., and whether some of the I
work was done by the mistress herself (as daily care of i
jedroonis), or whether some of the work was done by other 1
hired help, as care of furnace by hired man, or laundry J
work done by laundress. If there are more than one workerj
the schedules should show the duties of each, where one |
worker takes the place of the other, and other details which j
will prevent any clash between them.

Relation of Equipment to SciiEurLE
In developing plans for more standardized housework it'l
will be found that equipment as well as methods affects the |
schedule. As was shown in the discussion of improved dish- ■■
washing methods, every step must be studied in a given task 1
to see where time and effort can be saved by doing it in a j
better, shorter way. This way may depend also on the kind J
of equipment used. For instance, a work scheduled ii
certain home may be carefully developed and followed where J
the fuel is coal or gas, but by using a fireless cooker in conrj

_ iiectioii with these fuels the schedule would be greatly modi-
fied, the time at which cooking was done would be altered
and the rest period changed. This is shown in the following
schedule :

HOW THE "FIRELESS" AFFECTS THE DAILY
HOUSEHOLD SCHEDULE

JVilhout a Firclfss Cookfr
A. M.
6 :oo- 6 :,10 Rise and ilrcss
6:30- 7:15 Prepare breakfast
7:15- 7:45 Breakfast

7:45- 8:30 Wash dishes and clear up kitchen
8:30- 5:30 Make beds; brush npstairs rooms and balh
g:30-io:45 To kitchen to start luncheon. Return lo cloaiiiiig of

downstairs rooms
10:45-11:45 To kitchen to watch cooking and prepare otiicr fijod

for lutich
71:45-12:00 Serve lunch
12 :oo- I 100 Lunch

P. M.

Wnsh lunch dishes; mop kileheii : sweep porch
Finish interrupted downstairs cleaning of morning

3:00-4:00 Special cleaning; windows, 1

4100- 5:30 Prepare roast, vegetables and desse

watch their cooking

5:30- 6:00 Dress; serve dinner

IVilh (I FWekss Cook-e,-

A. M. (30 minutes saved)

6:30(07:00 Rise and dress

7:00- 7:15 Remove breakfast from tireless

7:15- 7:45 Breakfast

7:45-8:45 Wash dishes and dear up kitchen

8:45- 9:45 Make l)cds; brush iipstiiirs rooms ar

9:45-10:45 Clean downstairs rooms

10:45-11:45 Specia! cleaning; windows, slovo, -.i

n;45-!2:oo Serve lunch

90 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

P, M.
1:00- 2:00 Wash lunch diahes; mop kilclifn; sweep (
2:00- 2:30 Put dinner in iireless
2:30- 5:45 Ren or recnalion pi-riud

y/i hours saved
5:45- 6:00 Serve dinner from hreless

Again, the use of a washing machine niJght change the
schedule of washday quite diiTerently than if a boiler were
used. If a vacuum cleaner is used this might quite consid-
erably alter the amount of lime necessary to a daily cleaning
with broom. Many of the better pieces of equipment affect
the schedule not so much in point of time saving in a single
operation as in the number of times or amount of handling
the method without the equipment entails. To illustrate;
a twice-a-week cleaning with a vacuum cleaner might take
the place of an every-day brushing up with the broom. Or
the preparation and handling of a boiler, laundry stove, sar*
irons, etc., would make a different schedule than if a wash-
ing machine were used with an abundant hot water supply
from a central hot water heating system.

CoL'NTKY Schedules

The housekeeper who faces the greatest number of prob-
lems seems to be the woman in the country without "con-
veniences" and whose fuel requires more attention, and
whose home is usually larger and home duties more numer-
ous. In addition, the country woman has her chickens, her '
garden, her canning, perhaps even butter-making, and fre-
quently many more to cook for.

Here is where the schedule meets the severest test and
where also it helps the most. As was said, if a worker has
only one or two tasks to do all day long there is scarcely
any need for planning, but if her hands and head must see
through a dozen, yes more, tasks, then a plan becomes a

PLANS AND METHODS

91

absolute necessity, if slie is not going to find herself worker!
to death, fagged out, with 110 recreation time. The schedule
for the country worker must include all the tasks which fall
into her particular hands. It must attempt to divide the
whole week's work so that only a fair share is done each
day. It too must give the worker time to attend a grange
meeting, to read an agricultural bulletin or to merely sit out-
doors and enjoy some of her own trees and sunshine.

The meal problem is generally the heaviest, so that the
point to begin the schedule with here is careful menu plan-
ning and arrangement of cooking so as to simplify as much
as possible. The use of a fireless cooker, an oil stove, or a
steam cooker, will cut down the cooking time. Also cooking
ahead, as is frequently practiced in the country, is the best
means of having a lighter afternoon. Simple furnishings
and the doing away with unnecessary care-making articles
will lessen the cleaning problem, as generally the country
woman has less time to spend on cleaning and the upkeep
of the house. Careful planning of trips outdoors will save
time, bringing in vegetables on returning from feeding poul-
try, etc. Washing vegetables outdoors or out of the kitchen
will prevent much unnecessary cleaning work in the kitchen.
Lamps can be carried down on going downstairs in the morn-
ing so that special trips will not have to be made to come up
and get them.

The arrangement of the kitchen, particularly, aiTects the
country schedule, and every means should be taken that the
pocketbook affords to solve the water problem and make
the kitchen as convenient a workshop as possible. One case
comes to mind lif a farmer who had water piped into his
barn for his convenience in watering the animals, but who
refused to pipe it into the kitchen for his wife, who wa-;
thus forced to carry wash water from a distant outside
pump. Built-in conveniences like wood-bin, elevator ice-box

93 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

which saves running up and down cellar, ample'shelf orl
dresser room will make a difference of an hour perhaps in I
the work schedule.

Housework anh Office Work
The argument is sometimes advanced that husiness can '
run more on the sechedule plan because there are no inters
ruptions like there are in homes. But a trip through any'
business office or establishment will show that this is not.
true. There are visitors who must he interviewed, constant
calls on the telephone, demands of stenographers or clerks,
letters must be written, merchandise looked over and direc-
tions given. Yet the modem man in his work has applied
the schedule method with the result that he can handle twice
as much business as his father with half the'cffort.

Today the ivojiian in the home is called upon to be an
executive as well as a manual laborer. Just to be a good
worker and keep on working until you drop is not sufficient
— or efficient either. The more planning, the more brains,
the more management, a woman puts into her housework,
the less friction and the less nervous energy she will have
to expend. Housework above any other must be followed
on the schedule plan so that a woman will know what she
must do, how long it takes her to do it, and when she can
get through and do something else.

Many women everywhere .are working schedules out for
their own particular conditions. As one little woman, the
mother of four babies, said at the close of a lecture: "I
never used to know what piece of work I had to do next,
but as you said, I sat down and wrote out alt the things
that had to be done, trying to arrange them in the best order.
I could. I followed this order for a week, perhaps 1
seeing where I had nude a mistake and could arrange soaie
thing better in its place. It took me about six weeks

I

PLANS AND METHODS

93

master the situation, but I did overcome it and have been
doing housework the schedule way ever since, and thanks to
this plan, I now do just as much work and have, in addition,
about an hour and a half a day in which to sew for the
babies. If I can't finish everything on schedule owing to
interruptions from the babies, etc., I at least have the satis-
faction of doing the most important work in an orderly way
and knowing where I must catch up later."

No tiny piece of work or task is too small to be left out
of the schedule. Indeed, the three-meals-a-day problem, or
even the cleaning problem, do not have to be considered and
planned for so much as the little task, the ordering, the run-
ning back and forth, the right location of tools, the deliv-
eries, the minor details which either make or mar the house-
keeping management. There is no excuse for "Oh. I forgot
to order more sugar,"' for making four trips upstairs which
could have been taken in one, or of finding that there isn't
another egg in the "house. Scheduled work can be proved a
success no matter what the conditions, the family, or the
location. You can make your housework easier and find
time for yourself if you will only try to follow the schedule
plan. Find out what you must do, write out when you can
best do it and try to improve even this plan. Repeat com-
mon tasks in the same manner, and if possible at the same
time so that they become mechanical and thus take less
energy. That is, study dishwashing, or cleaning, or laundry,
or any other minor tasks until you know just how you ought
to proceed to do it in your particular home. Watch yourself
at work and make a "time study" of the time and steps in
one method and then in another. When you have found
out the method that seems shortest, practice it until it be-
comes second nature and habitual. Time yourself, just for
fun. at first, and you will see the practical value in the end.
Try to go your former schedule "one better" and beat your-

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

self. Yon will be repaid in more recreation time and in a 1
grip on your housework that you have never harl before.

-Actual Form of Schedule

After finding the plan of work which seems best andJ
after having arranged each task in its approximate time, J
make a permanent record of it. One way is to take sheets 1
of paper about 6x9 and on each sheet write the outline for a
separate day. Punch a hole at the top, tie loosely together
and fasten on a cuphook in the kitchen either over the sink,
table or other conspicuous place. Each day turn one of the
sheets over to the proper day, as, Tuesday. Another way
is to use large filing cards and keep them in a filing cabinet
over the kitchen table, substituting a new card in place each 1
morning. A notebook at hand will serve in which to jot I
down suggestions and improvements which can later be j
added to the permanent record.

For a servant it is best to write the schedule in a per-
manent blank-book so that they will not be lost. Special I
instructions or standards for each specific task can also be J
included, as, "Standard Practice for Dishwashing," for |
"Setting the Table," for "Cleaning Rooms," for "Laundry J
Work," etc. Such a "practice book" will correspond to the J
"instruction card" given workmen in factories where scien-
tific management prevails. These instructions can include |
the exact tools to use and approximately how long it takes.
This makes for accuracy and avoids misunderstanding.

For instance, a practice card on bread-making to be J
handed a new worker might be as follows :

yui.

1 \Vx

I BRE.\t

milk

2 t sugar

I \east cake softened

shortening

in i c tepid water

salt (level)

Flour (aboiit3qviarts)

PLANS AND METHODS

95

Heat milk and water
Put into the bread mi-ti
the jeast which has bcc:
to make a soft batter a
to make a stiff dough a

Let rise i

to toiling, add s:ilt. sugar and shortening,
r. When cooled to 100° (luke warm), adt!
soaking in tepid water. Add halt the (lour
id stir vigorously. Add remainder of flour
h and stir till springy.

1 place until double the bulk (about 2 h). then
stir down, lake out of mixer, form into loaves, let rise in the baking
pans until double the bulk (about 2 h) and hake about 1 hour. Keep
the dough warm throughoul. 8o°-go°.

esdaj-s and Saturdays— baking days.

Make 4 loaves, three plain, one with raisins

and pan

of hot biscuit

Use breadmixer and agate measuring uten

ils

Preparation lime required, about 8 mlm

es— soak

mixer and scrape board as soon as work

s finished

In a similar way, "practice instructions" can be given on
each of the cleaning tasks which will be mentioned in a later
chapter. The very smallest detail of work can be timed and
written down. The more detailed the schedule the less
chance for the unexpected to be overlooked, or for any
mistake, forgetting, eonfu.sion and hurry.

Have you a small house or a large house ? Babies to care
for, meals to cook, and cleaning work to be done? Then
try the "schedule way" for two weeks at least. See if
"things" don't come easier, and that you are less worried
and tired. Determine to "master" this planning of work —
for that is all a schedule is. a plan of work which shall
permit the tasks of housework to be done in an orderly.
smooth manner with the least friction and confusion. You.
too, can have a "housework train." It is your pan to decide
at what stations it shall stop, and for how long at each one.
It is a route from drudgerj- to efficiency and personal
happiness.

HOU5FHOLD ENCIN'EERTN'G

QUESTIONS ON HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Plans and Methods for Daily Housework

Make out a schedule of your present plan of work.
Study to see where it can be improved. Try the new
schedule two weeks. Revise and try another two
weeks, and report.

Time yourself for at least a week on the same task, as,
washing dishes, peeling potatoes, making beds, or
cleaning the bathroom. How long does it take? Do
you find the time varying from day to day? Write
down two complete "time-studies" on these tasks,
showing the first record and the last.

"Standardize" some household task so that you can do ,
it every day in an identical manner without much J
mental attention. Does this not make it seem less -|
difficult?

What are your worst "interruptions" ? Make a schedule
which will take care of them as much as possible.

Do the same task with two different tools, and note the ,
difference, or do the same task with two different J
methods, or do it under two different sets of condi- |
tions. Find out the way that seems the best and
shortest for your particular case and report.

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

HELPFUL HOUSEHOLD TOOLS

THERE is a great contrast between methods of house-
work ill the United States and in other countries, with
the balance of convenience, labor-saving and easier
methods in the American housewife's favor. The reason
for this is that in no other country has mechanical inven-
tion been applied so extensively and successfully to all the
different tasks of the home. The inventiveness of the
Yankee is proverbial, and he has turned this quality to the
making of mechanical labor-savers not only in his own shop
and office, but for the benefit of the honiemaker as well.
There are on the market today literally thousands of house-
hold tools, devices and equipment for every possible need
of the home. It only remains for the homemaker to choose
among them wisely.

Another reason for the great supply and demand for
household labor savers in this country is that the American
homemaker has to face the increasingly complex problem
of scarce domestic help. Even today in other countries
service cost has been low, and one can secure a cook for
$12 or a housemaid for $8 a month. With such cheap labor,
I the need for the mechanical replacers of labor, or "mechan-
I ical servants," has not been keenly felt there. In the

■ Oopyrtfht 1015, Homo Etonomic AbsocIqUdii.

L 99

lOo HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

United States, according to estimates, only 8 percent oil
all families employ even one servant permanently. Thisl
means that 92 percent of homeniakers are performing thei^'l
own household tasks. It is to this class of women who a
actively concerned in the work of the home that the labor- J
saver and improved modern tool most appeal. The home- J
maker's time and effort are worth conserving by everyj
means. She should therefore, be eager to buy and use allT
the household tools which will save her strength and timef
and liberate her from household drudgery.

Need of Mechanical Knowledge

While some women are "handy" with tools, the fact 1
mains that most women are unfamiliar with the differentll
principles involved in mechanical tools and devices,
boy almost unconsciously absorbs knowledge about gears',
motors, force pumps, turbines, etc., in his daily work and
play, but the girl neglects handling or learning about tools,
believing it nnnecessary or possibly unfeminine.

The homemakcr. however, needs a most thorough knowl-
edge of the principles of applied mechanics. Even many a
good course in school physics unfortunately leaves a stu-
dent with but little practical knowledge applied to the tools
and equipment to be found in every kitchen and home. The
more a woman knows about tools the more intelligent she
will be as a buyer. Such knowledge will save her from the
useless expense of buying worthless equipment, and make
her more interested in purchasing the good- tools and high-
class equipment which will help greatly in saving time and
labor.

Equipment Buying an Investment

The only right and economical view to assume in buying
any and all equipment is to ask one's self beforehand, "Will

HELPI^UL jTptiSEHOLD TOOLS lOT

this article be a permanent investmenf?" • IVe Cani'wl afford,
lo buy tooh for temporary use. They should 'be fegardgtl
in the Hght of permanent purchases whose use will be ex-
tended over a considerable period of time. Too many
women buy equipment on a basis of cost only. They look
at the price without considering how many times the article
will be used. It is not the cos!, but the number of times of
use, which must be the basis of economical, efficient "buying.
-For instance, a woman may see an attractive cherry
seeder costing only $i.oo. The ease with which it removes
the pits and time it saves influences her to its purchase.
She will, however, hesitate and pass by a serving tray on
wheels costing $10.00 which she can just as readily see will
save her steps in setting and clearing the table, serving
meals, etc. The reason that she buys the $1.00 device in
preference to the $io.oo article is not because she cannot
afford either of them, but because she is wrongly buying on
a basis of cost only. The cherry seeder may be used only
ten times during the cherry season and never used the rest
of the year. The serving tray will be used three times a
day every day in the year, and on an investment basis com-
pares with the cherry seeder as follows :

First Cost Per
Cost Use

Chcrrj- seeder, used 10 times during Bcason $ 1,00 $o.iD

Serving tray, used 3 times daily, 365 days 10.00 -oog

This illustration is used not to disparage the cherry seeder
or any other good device, but to show that equipment must
be bought on a basis of the number of times of use, and
not on the basis of first cost. In other words, the home-
maker must ask herself, not "How much does it cost?" but
"How many times will I use itf"

This investment point of view must be taken especially in
regard to more expensive equipment like washing machines.

102 HOUSEHOJ-p EWCnNfeEi^ING

.dishwasHers: nianglft*, fifeless cookers, and others in whie
She first cost represents considerable money outlay.
family is large and slie hears of a good, lahor-saving dist
washing machine costing $50.00, her attitude must not I
"Oh I cannot afford $50.00!"' She must reason to herselj^
something like this: "This dishwasher with care will last j[
minimum of ten years. Allowing 6 percent interest on mjl
money, the annual cost of such a washer would be $5.0
depreciation and $3.00 interest or 15 cents per week t
about 2 cents per day."

The ([uestion of purchase then, resolves itself not in^
whether one can afford $50.00 but whether one can affof^
2 cents a clay to reduce the drudgery of dishwashing,
is the investment, "long distance" view which is the only
really economical one to lake in purchasing all tools, no mat-
ter how small or great their cost. The chief reason why
women have not still more successfully put their homes "oi
a mechanical and labor-saving basis as has long sini
done by men, is because they have taken the short-sightes
view and spent most of their money on small, cheap,
seldom used articles on a cost basis.

Tools Depend on Family Needs

The second important question the homemaker must
herself before purchasing equipment is, "Is this tool needed
in my particular family ?" A tool that would be an excellent
investment for Family A might be an injudicious and un-
necessary purchase for Family B. For instance, even
very useful a device as a breadmixer might be un unji
fiable outlay in a small family wliere bread was made
once a week. Similarly, an excellent fireless cooker, no
matter how worth-while in itself, might he questionable as
an investment for a family especially fond of broiled me^s.

1 un-

HELPFUL HOUSEHOLD TOOLS

103

or with an aversion to stewed foods, and which seldom made
soups at home, or followed cooking methods in which lies
the chief value of the tireless. Too often women are in-
fluenced in their purchasing solely because other neighbors
have bought a certain device; because it appears attractive
in the store, or because they think it is a helpful tool in
itself, without considering its relation to the needs of their
particular family.

Scientific Construction Necessary

Again, one of the most neglected points in themind of
the woman purchaser is, the scientific construction of the
tool or device. This is the most difficult point on which it
is necessary to be informed, and usually her only means
are the words of salesmen and descriptive circulars. But
the scientific construction should be understood, especially
before buying such pieces as refrigerators, stoves, fireless
cookers, various kinds of washing devices, and others where
the satisfactory working depends on proper insulation, con-
venient leverage, etc. Before buying say, a refrigerator, it
is best to read some authority or some dependable pamphlet
on the principles of refrigeration. This will enable the
prospective buyer to question the salesman intelligently,
compare the various models examined, and see if they ful-
fil scientific demands as to insulation, lining, air currents,
etc. If this is done, there will be fewer purchases of re-
frigerators which waste ice and give poor service after
short use.

Another reason why a woman should understand scientific
construction before purchase is that there will be fewer
chances of her being disappointed in the device afterward
because of her own failure to understand it. For instance,
a friend hearing of the widespread craze over fireless cook-

104 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

ers, ]Hirchaseil ;m excellent make. After a two weeks' use
she returned U, complaining that "it wouldn't work," and
was thereafter prejutliced against all fireless cookers. The
real situation was that she hadn't understood the scientific
idea of cooking by conservett heat on which the fireless is
based. She didn't learn exactly how to operate it before
purchase, and so was dissatisfied and deprived of the serv-
ice of a good device, largely because of her own failure ta
understand scientific principles.

The best method is to have one or several demonstrations
of any device, handling it one's self before purchase. First
hand information from those who have used it thorou^ly
is also better than trusting entirely lo circulars. Another
means is to know the standing of the manufacturer, insist
on his guarantee, and whenever possible, buy trade-marked,
identified lines of goods. Very often there is a free test
offered in the home, especially with vacuum cleaners,
washers, etc.. which should always be taken~advant^;e of.
Every possible test shoidd be given the device before actual
purchase.

Comfort in Use Essential

Very often a derice which fulfils other conditions
tioned above fails in the small but essential point of
fort in use. This is especially true of handles, levers, etc,
which either by their shape, finish, or point of attachment
prove uncomfortable when used in the hands of the worker.
There is the case of a breadmixer with the leverage afqilied
L at the top of the pail: othenivise a fine labor-saver, it re-
fciquires an awkward ami motion which would not be Ibe
fase if the leverage were applied at the base and side of
the pad as indeed it is, in another make. The handles of
many egg-beaters, mashers, spoons, etc., are not shaped for
tbe cxHofort of the hand, although there are others on

I

I

HELPFUL HOUSEHOLD TOOLS

market which ilo offer this point of comfort. Sometimes
the handle is too short or too long, flat instead of rounded.
Or a lever would be easier to operate if several inches
longer, and many other instances occur where the small
but important points of comfort are not considered.

Device Should Be Well Finished

Frequently the lack of a well-finished surface, or poor
construction spoils an otherwise good tool. An excellent
dish drainer with a tray of galvanized iron is on the market,
but the edges of the lower pan are so imperfectly soldered
and so rough that the hand continually becomes scratched
while working near it. Again, the hinges of a fine fireless
cooker were found to be so Jagged that as the cooker set
out in the room, the worker tore her apron upon it every
time she passed quickly. This detail of finishing should not
have been overlooked in sucli a high-priced device, nor in-
deed in any other. The interior of kitchen cabinets, the
trays of gas ranges, the seams and handles of many other
utensils, especially those made of wire, tin or galvanized
iron, are all places for the housewife's careful inspection
before purchase.

Ease in Cabe and Cleaning

"Is this device easy to wash and keep clean?" is another
important question which should be asked previous to buy-
ing. Too frequently the time and difficulty of washing and
keeping a tool in good condition is entirely overlooked.
Many devices have complicated parts, gear.s, beaters, ad-
justable cutters, etc. Now, the question of how long it
takes to wash and assemble these parts after use must be
considered, because this time really forms part of the total
time that the device is being used. For instance, there is a

I06 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

most efficient stationary puree -strainer consisting of a per-
forated drum, stand, rotating blade, separate liaTidle and
three screws. It does most excellent rapid work in mashing
potatoes, straining, etc., but it requires six or eight minutes
to wash, dry, and assemble the parts ready for the next
use. In short, while it docs the actiial work in less time
than the old-fashioned strainer, the additional time required
to clean it makes the total time of both equal. The value
of this tool, then, cannot be estimated in terms of time, but
only in terms of the superior quality of the work done by
this device over some other.

It should be firmly remembered that no device should
take longer to clean and adjust than the time it saves by its
increased efficiency over some other method — otherwise, it
ceases to be a labor-saver and must be justified on some
other grounds. For the woman who does her own work,
this point of the time and care required in washing and
handling any tool must not be overlooked.

Size Adapted to Actual Needs
Just as it is necessary to know exact measurements in
buying apparel, furnishings or other household articles, so
it is worth white to consider exact sizes in buying house-
hold tools and equipment. Shall one purchase a two-hole
or a three-hole tireless ? Will a certain vacuum cleaner be
adequate in size for the number of rooms and work de-
manded? How many sheets or other unit of capacity will
a given washing-machine hold?

These questions of size mnst be asked in buying, in order
to purchase a utensil or other piece of equipment adapted
to the particular needs of a particular family. Unneces-
sarily large equipment has the disadvantages of taking up
floor or storage space, being in many cases heavier to han-
dle and care for, and particularly offering a larger surface

HELl'FLL HOUSEHOLD TOOLS

107

to clean. If a Iwo-holc firelcss be ample, it is surely unwise
to purchase a three-hole which will take up another square
foot of space and be that much heavier to move ; or a "large"
meat-chopper offers no advantage over a "medium" size
under most conditions.

|1

f In one pantry recently explored by the writer, no less than

I twenty-four saucepans and cooking utensils were found.
When this was commented upon, (chiefly because it took up
so much space), the homemaker replied that she had to have
them. The truth was, that they were badly chosen as to
size, and that the same service could have been filled by as
few as eight pots, if selected with their exact purpose in
mind, thus cutting down pantry space two-thirds. It is
easy to measure the capacity of any utensil with a quart

to8

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

measure or to secure from llie manufacturer the estimated
i'ai>acity anil jiowfr of other equipment. ' If the kitchens
of the future arc to be more step-saving and less costly the
minimum of fijuipmeni should be chosen.

Thu Four Main Grocps of L.\bor-S avers

All equipment falls broadly into two classes; (i) the
fixi-d, like the sink, range, etc., and (2) the portable, to
whiVh the great bulk of minor tools and devices belong; and
this latter class can again be divided into

( 1 ) Labor savers.

(2) Pud savers,

(3) Time savers.

(4) Step savers.

In addition, there is a fairly large group whose main ap-
peal is sanitary or hygienic value ; there is also a wide group
of miscellaneous tools which cannot be clearly classed. In
many cases, too, the same device overlaps into two or even
three of the above groups, but this classification is very
convenient because it helps the homeniaker decide exactly
what value she most receives from the tool or device.

We shall discuss in this chapter all equipment except that
l>clonging particularly to the cleaning or laundry processes
which will he t.ikcn up separately in the discussions of these
subjects,

Lauoh Saviors

Many of the best household tools fall under the heading
"labor savers." The list is long and includes the mechanical
helps which replace more laborious hand process work.
Such a partial list is:

Bread and cake mixers.

Egg beaters, cream whips, mayonnaise mixers.

Ice cream freezers, butter churns.

\

HELPFUL HOUSEHOLD TOOLS lOQ

Coffee, spice and meat grinders.

Stationary colanders, strainers and mashers.

Potato parers, fruit corers and parers, slicing devices of

all kinds.
Stationary chocolate a:id cheese graters.
Stationary nut crackers.

Dishwashing machine.
Dish draining rack.

Disii Washing Machines

The results of standardizing dishwashing by hand have
been given on pages 78 to 80, showing that it is possible to

reduce the time nearly one-half by substituting rinsing on
a wire drainer for wiping and arranging shelves adjacent to
the sink for laying away the dishes. The following tests
were made with the most prominent portable dishwashing
machines on the market.

Both hand tests and tests with four different types of
mechanical commercial dishwashers were made simul-
taneously over a considerable period. In each of these
tests the same number of dishes (50) and silver (50) were
used at each test. The temperature "of the wash water was
140 degrees with the washers, and 120 degrees with hand

HELPFUL HOUSEHOLD TOOLS

III

tests. The average from three tests is given below with full

comments.

Duhwiukcr A: Tub or barrel model ; in poorly finished, aliiminized
sheet iron. Principle of force pump ; operating through a per-
forated cylinder in center of washer from which water is forced
over the dishes by action of a hand-lever at top of lid. Two
drain racks; only fair stacking of dishes possible. Very labori-
ous method of draining water by hand from stop-cock in base
of can. Can bulky and space-taking. Action easy, but force
of water poor and not satisfactory for thorough cleansing.

Results : Inadequate ; many dishes, especially cups, not entirely

of V

4 nallDiiE

Dislnuasher B: Tub model of enameled stamped metal; operating
on principle of turbine by hand lever. Low gearing. One wire
rack without handles, perforated upper lid. Action of lever
very easy; force of water only moderate. Wastes space in
upper part of tub. DifGcuhy in removing rack without handles.

Results ; Inadequate, as custard in cups, coffee grounds, etc., not
removed in given period of washing. Good points are neat,
small appearance of can and simplicity of emptying water by
pressure on small valve.

Dishwasher C: Square box model of galvanized iron; on principle
of force-pump operating by hand lever on outside of box; a
spray □£ water tlnrown by swinging nozzle which can be moved
from side to side ; water easily emptied by pressure on small
valve. Height about three inches ; too low for convenient
operation. Maximum amoimt of dishes, 40; silver, 25 pieces;
held in fmall detacliablc box in center. Vertical wire racks for
dishes, with separate side cup-hooks.

Results : Satisfactory, but action back-breaking owing to low height
and general inconvenience of this model.

112

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Dishwasher D: Tub model of substantial retinned metal. Power
transmitted through hand lever and chain sprocket to a shaft
and bevel gear al bottom of can which operates a horirontal
dasher inside on the principle of the turbine; throws water
with great force, adequately spraying upper and lower tray
which have convenient handles. Permits satisfactory stacking
odd-shaped pieces in top tray under convex lid. Action a little
too difficult and lever should work much more easily.

Results : Entirely adequate, and even milky and egg-soiled dishes
entirely cleansed.

2M e

2«. B

Sand Method: Stack surface at right of sink, drain surface at left
of sink, rectangular washing pan, wire drainer keeping eacli
dish separate and permitting them to dry after rinsing without
^ wiping, long handled dish mop.

Conclusions o

Mec

i Hand Method

The case for all mechanical washers can he summed up as
follows :
(t) There is less danger of chipping and breaking.

(2) There is much [greater sanitation and possible sterilisation.

(3) There is no discomfort or hard usage to hands.

(4) They cut down only actual washing time, hut that consider-
ably, !f operated by motor power the amount of effort as

well would he greatly reduced. This was seen iu sevtral

hotel dishwashers operated by power where the labor of the
operator is negligible.

(5) They offer a sanitary container for the temporary storage of
soiled dishes over night or until desired number accumulate
permitting washing to be done once a day in a small family,

This i;

a very great advantage.

HELPFUL HOUSEHOLD TOOLS

he case iigaiiisl the mechanical washer in its prcserii form, and
er existing conditions, is ;

Results, except in one of the small portable dctachcil washers,
were unsatisfactory, and the amount of effort required in oii-
eration somewhat offset other good points.

In every test, the portabJe washer "crept" about the floor with
the action of the lever. The difficulty of filling' and emptying
these models by hand was considerable and had to be included
in the total washing time.

The time required for the steps of stacking, scraping and
laying away is identical under both hand and mechanical meth-
ods. The only steps affected are the ones of actnal washing
and sometimes wiping. This saving of time and also of effort
is much more marked in those machines operated by power,
as was seen in close study of hotel washers.

The use of (he washer is strictly limiteil to dishes, glass and
silver ; no odd shaped utensils, pitchers, cggbeaters, or pots
were successfully washed in all cases, and the arrangement
of the racks docs not permit the stacking of these articles.

The lime in one step, washing (5 minutes vs. 14 minutes) is
cut considerably by the use of a mechanical device; but this
saving is partially offset by the increased amount of effort
required to operate the lever in all cases. In no case would it
be advisable to operate a dishwasher in a beautiful street
dress, as some manufacturers suggest by their circulars — in
order lo thoroughly cleanse the dishes considerable physical
movement must be made.

The quantity of exceedingly hot water required in nearly
every case with a washer is a point against it in many homes
under present conditions. The efficiency of all washers was
found to depend very largely on the degree of heat of the
water; second, the satisfactory "self-wiping" of the dishes as
they rest on the racks, which is made such a strong point by
the washer manufacturers, depends even more largely on this

Hf,

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

It shouid be borne in mind that the defects pointed od
in the mechanical washer refer solely to those operated 1
hand, and not to dishwashers operated either by motor c
other power; and to those not ptrmanentiy connected wiq
the plumbing and hot water system.

In concluBion, it is the writer's opinion thnt no portable,
detached washer which entails hand filling and emptying,
has very great efficiency value. The ideal for the mechanical
washer must be a permanent installation connected with
an adequate water supply of scalding water, having its
drain outlet connected with the regidar plumbing. Such con-

i

HELPFUL HOUSEHOLD TOOLS 117

iiections are not difficult or expensive to make. At present
the best solution of the hot water problem is to put in one
of the automatic instantaneous gfis hot water heaters which
can be regulated to give scalding hot water in any quantity
desired. These heaters for furnishing hot water all over
the house on the turn of the faucet cost about $100, but a
small "bath" instantaneous heater, for dishwashing, can be
installed for $25.

Time Saving Fuels

In the days when wood was to be had for the picking up,
costing nothing but labor, and when coal was $3 and $4
a ton, no question arose of economy of fuel. Today the
cost of all fuels has so markedly increased that the con-
servation of fuel, and thus the lowering of fuel cost is one
of the homemaker's chief problems.

Since she must pay the prices demanded for fuels today
(range coal costing in many sections anywhere between $6
and $10 per ton and other fuels also being high) the only
way she can meet the problem is by using such cooking
methods and cooking equipment as will conserve, not waste
fuel. In addition, she can today command the services of
three fuels practically unknown to her grandmother — gas,
alcohol and electricity.

The great disadvantage of both coal and wood is that it
is not possible to put them under direct control; even with
the best constructed range, nnich of the heat generated is not
actually used in a cooking process. Regarded solely in the
light of a cooking equipment, both coal and wood-using
stoves are wasteful of fuel. Moreover, they result in a
large percent of waste products like ashes, clinkers, dust,
etc., which entail labor in keeping the stove and kitchen in
proper condition.

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

The ideal cooking fuel is one that can be directly con-
trolled and checke<I. the moment it is desired to Bnish a
cooking' process. It must also be one in which waste prod-
ucts, offensive gases, radiated heat and other accompani-
ments of combustion are reduced to the minimum. Gas as
a fuel has these advantages and even when tlie price is as
high as $1.50 per 1,000 cubic feet it costs less to use than
coal, if any value is placed on the housekeeper's time. At
low prices, 60 cents lo 80 cents per 1,000 cubic feet, the ad-
vantages are all with gas.

The newer models of the gas stove have an upper oven,
which makes for efficiency by preventing unnecessary stoop-
ing. Burners of different sizes are provided and broders
and warming ovens so placed as to be in the most con-
venient position. Before using any gas stove it is best lo
have a demonstration by the agent of the local company
who should explain the care of the burners, how to adjust
the flame, how to detect when there is too much or too little
air mixed with the gas and other details which will enable'
the operator to use the range most intelhgently. Besides the
gas range, there are other devices using gas now perfected.
Such are the gas iron, chafing dish and percolator with gas
connection, gas water heater and other pieces heated by gas.

Alcohol as Fuel
Within very recent years, the new fuel, denatured alcohol,
has been offered the homemaker. Denatured alcohol is
formed by adding wood (methyl) alcohol and petroleum
benzine to ordinary (ethyl) alcohol. It is thus com-
pletely unfit for food use and is indeed dangerously poisonous.
It burns with a dear, intense flame (with no by-products of
carbon, odors, etc.), and there are on the market special
stoves for its- use which resemble the small gas "hot plate."
But its cost in this country (even at the wholesale prices of

HELPFUL HOUSEHOLD TOOLS

119

45 to 75 cents per gallon) makes it too expensive a fuel for
regular family use. Also the fuel value in a gallon of
alcohol is only about 2:^ that of a gallon of kerosene or
gasolene. Its use at present must be confined to the occa-

sional chafing-dish, percolator, plate warmer and other small
pieces for distinctly table service. There are however, sev-
eral excellent one-burner stoves, easy of operation, which
will fill many a place in sick-room and light housekeeping
cookery where otlier fuels are not available.

r

KEROSENn

To the rural housekeeper especially, who is out of the
range of gas and electricity, and who nevertheless wishes to
free herself from the labor and dirt of coal and wood
ranges, kerosene offers a solution of the fuel problem.
Kerosene can be bought everywhere, the price averaging 12
cents per gallon, with a saving of several cents per gallon
if bouglu by the barrel.

Kerosene burns with a slow heat, not to be compared with
gas in intensity. The chief criticisms generally advanced
against it is the odor, and possibly sniok-e present and it
radiates more heat than gas. Neither of these accompani-
mentj however, need be present if the stove is properly
cared for daily. The best type of stove is by all means that
using a wick, as the "wickless" stoves are much more un-
satisfactory and require more attention.

Kerosene stoves are now manufactured in two, three, or
four-burner models with an upper standard, warming shelf
and portable oven, which make them compare in appearance
and residts quite favorably with gas stoves. They require,
nevertheless, daily care in wiping off each wick and atten-
tion to see that the wick is never raised too high or burns
with "points" which will cause yellow, smoky fiame instead '
of the blue flame necessary for perfect results. In the j
writer's opinion, a three-burner kerosene stove and a firelesa. 1
cooker are the ideal country combination to supplant the J
laborious coal range with its waste of heat and imperfect. J
control. In my summer home, with a family of eight, we.l
consume between three and four gallons of kerosene a week.. J
A fireless cooker is used.

A late type of the "Perfection" oil stove contains a tirelesi J
cooker oven with thermometer, cabinet style, four burner8,,T
shelf, etc.— in fact, a complete oil rai^e.

HELPFUL HOUSEHOLD TOOLS I2I^^^^^B

Gasolinf. ^U

Gasoline is in somewhat bad repute as a fuel because of ^^M
the maiiy distressive accidents from the use of gasoline ^^M
stoves. Most often, however, sucli accidents come from ^^M
carelessness, such as filling the reservoir when the stove or ^^M

*,

m

■

]

-■i i

i

; |_|_| !

•PEKPEcnox" orL raxok with rtRELEcR f.-ooxeii vnai ^^^1

HaikMM bf ID* Bi=iulMd oil Cn, Iprl.-* itlmni IWHi, ^^^1

lamp is lighted, spilling the ga.solinc. knocking over the ^^M
stove, etc. In the older styles the flame might ea*»ly l« ^H
blow-n out by a draught of air. [he gas wf*uH then «witinii« ^H
to form and an explosion might remit if a light were ^H
broii^ into the room.

The best types of gasoKne stoves are «fe if uud vntk
tHteOignce and care. The uif^Ay tank can be (Jace/f m
a different room and piped to the »i«vc. (he stove cAn be
secured to the floor and pbce/l away from draiighci.

A good gasoline wove grves a Mi»e fbme Dearly er^liw- ^^-

122

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

lent to gas in intensity and so is a quicker fuel than kero-
sene. The chief disadvantage is that the generator in the
burner must be heated for some time before the burner
can be lighted properly. Gasoline is more expensive than
kerosene, costing from 14 to 25 cents a gallon.

Acetylene Gas

Acetylene gas is still anolhcr fnel being used more and
more in country homes for cooking as well as for lighting.
Acetylene generators, approved by the National Insurance
Hoard, are safe if given intelligent care. The gas turns
with a very intense blue flame and must be used in stoves
and hot plates especially designed for it. The expense of
using acetylene for cooking is greater ihnn kerosene hut not
prohibitive.

If a coal or wood stove must be used in winter, by all
means have the fuel stored on the same floor level as the
stove — not in the celler. Some of the steel ranges are now
provided with a sheet iron pipe from the ash y\\. of the stove
to a metal ash can in the basement, through which the ashes
may be dumped as necessary. This arrangement saves much
labor and dirt and could he adopted in many cases.

Electric Cooking Equipment

The most modern of all fuels is electricity, which while
not a fuel proper, is a source of heat and thus a means of
cooking. Several years ago there was scarcely a piece of
electric cooking apparatus, on the market, and the use of
electricity was confined chiefly to lighting and power pur-
poses. Today electricity, "the silent servant" is being
adapted to not only the small portable cooking devices such
a percolator, toaster, grill, hot plates, etc, hut to the larger
fixed equipment of stoves and ranges proper.

HELPFUL HOUSEHOLD TOOLS

123

No other fuel can be under such direct control. No other
fuel equals it in entire absence of unpleasant gases, odors,
soot or other products of combustion. It is without doubt
the most ideal cooking fuel from the standpoint of cleanli-
ness, direct control and absence of waste heat by radiation.
Because it can be measured and the degree of heat so ac-
curately obtained, electric cooking can be performed at
any continuous desired degree.

At present however, electric cooking is not much used
for two reasons: the present high rate of current, and the
high cost of the equipment itself, owing to the fact that
electric equipment can be made only of the highest grade
materials and requires expensive metals in its construction.
Many sections of the country have not progressed far
enough to make separate rates for cooking and power from
the usual rate charged for lighting. Other localities, notably

124

- HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Oregon and some of the western states, have a low "flat"
rate which covers cooking and the use of electricity as
power to operate washers, vacuum cleaners, etc. Thus the
cost of current differs widely, and can only be summed up
in the extreme figures of 3 cents to 15 cents per kilowatt
hour, the average being about 10 cents in medium sized
cities.

APPROXIMATE FUEL COSTS
Flic! Rale Burner Cost l-er hour

Electric 6c lo T5C per kilo Disc, stnvc,

r burner 250 w. tJ4c to afjc

Denatured

Alcohol

40c 10 7SC gal.

I burner

i>M

Gas

7oeto$i,25

I medivim top

per 1,000 feet

S ft. per h.

j4cto55c

Acetylene

$\ per 100 feet

1 burner

2c to 3C

Oil

i2c per gal

I medium flame Yic

Conl range

$5 to $9 per ton

Entire stove

From '/i to

I ton per monlli

(without watc

back)

3/5C to 2f4c

Electrical Terms

There are a few terms constantly used in speaking of
electric apparatus which should be familiar lo the home-
maker. The first of these — the "ivatt" — is the unit of
measurement of electrical energy. It is estimated by the
kilo or 1,000 watts, usually expressed "kilo-watt" or kw.

The second term is the volt, which is the unit of electrical-
pressure. Electricity may be considered as forced under
pressure along the conducting wires to the stove or other
apparatus. If a wire of large diameter is used, the pressure
or "voltage" can be lower than if a lower pressure or
voltage is employed. The common high pressure voltage
used in houses is generally 200 to 250 volts ; low pressure
being at 100 to no volts.

HELPFUL HOUSEHOLD TOOLS 125

The third term which nutst be understood is the "aiii-
perc," whicli is the unit of electrical quantity flowing
through the wire. The number of amperes multiplied by
the volts gives the number of watts — (AxV=^W), for
instance, if the pressure used is 200 volts, and 5 amperes
of current are absorbed in the circuit, the number of watts
used is 200X5. equals i.ooa.

I The cc

I Stoves, percolators and small appliances are rated in

I "watts" as for instance, a certain kettle may be rated at

4S0, a grill or table cooker at 550, or a small hot plate stove
may have two or three degrees of heat, say 6oo for "high,"
and 300 for "low," This ability to change the degree of
heat is one of the economies of electric cooking, as it is
possible in many devices to change from a high degree,
(perhaps 900) for full boiling, to a mzdium degree (600)
for simmering and slower cooking to the lowest (300)

HUGHES ELECTRIC

126

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

used merely to keep foods warm. The user should always!
know the amount of volts supplied, as a device which i
fitted for 220 volts supply will not heat when connected 1
to a no volt supply, but if a device wired for a no voItJ
current is connected to a 220 volt circuit it will be over-J
heated and probably mined. Every electrical device from I
reputable manufacturers is marked at the bottom, as ,
toaster may be marked 206-215 V. — 2.4 A. This mean
that the toaster may be used on any voltage between zo6 1

^

and 215 and that it will take 2.4 amperes of current. Mul--J
tiplying these figures would show that the toaster will use
about 500 watts an hour. If the cost of electricity is 10 cents^l
per kw.h. (r,ooo watts per hour), the cost of running thel
toaster will be 5 cents an hour. Both the wattage and volt-i
age are usually given in catalogs of electric criuipment, and
should be noted carefully before buying.

When electric energy is to be delivered to any great dis- 1
tance "alternating" current of 2,CXXJ volts or more is pre
duced, thus permitting small conducting wires to be i
As such high voltage is very dangerous to life, a smaUjI
"transformer" is put in, usually on the pole nearest the J
house, which reduces the voltage to the desired intensibril
most commonly to no volts. All househpld heating andj

HELPFUL HOUSEHOLD TOOLS

127

lighting apparatus work equally well with "direct" or with
"alternating" current of the required voltage, but direct cur-
rent molars cannot be used on alternating current, nor
alternating current motors on direct current circuits, except
for a few special motors which may be used on both. For
an alternating current motor also the number alternations

r or the "cycles" of the current must be known. Direct cur-
I rent is used for electric cars and in small plants. Nearly
all electric lighting circuits use alternating current.

i M Ad KING MOTOR

ATTACHMENTS

1.
I

L

Electkictty ar Power

But while electricity has not come into its own as a fuel
for reasons given above, it has more certainly entered the
modern household as a source of power. In no other coun-
try are there so many household labor-savers operated by
electricity. First perhaps in importance is the increasing
number of vacuum cleaners. Washing machines, mangles
and other laundry equipment electrically operated, are being

128

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

put on the market in greater numbers, thus robbing wash
day of many of its former terrors. Dishwashers, coffee
grinders, meat choppers, and otli^r similar pieces come
fitted for power.

One piece of electric apparatus which is bound to come
into more general use is the small utility motor. Such a

motor can be attached so as to operate a common hand-
power washing machine. It will also polish silver, freeze
ice cream, grind meat or coiTee and can be connected to a
house pump, to a vacuum cleaner or many other pieces of
household equipment. In one case where such a motor
was attached to a simple ironing machine, all of the family
ironing was done in one hour, which previously took over
five hours by hand. In many rural sections electricity is
being successfully used to operate chums, separators, grind-
stones, pumps, etc. It should be only a step to continue

HELl'FUL HOUSEHOLD TOOLS

129

its use to help the woman on the farm, lighten her wash-
clay labors, wash her dishes, or clean her house. A last
most important use of the small motor is its application to
the sewing machine so that there is no treadling, and the
machine and material need only be guided by the worker.

ELECTRICAL HOUSEHOLD DEVICES WITH ESTIMATED
OPERATING COSTS

Watts
Consumed
Per Hour
Combioalion kettle, saucepan and disk slove

for table cooking 550

Coffee perfolator. 3 pis 440

Toaster 600

Oven, 3 heati

130 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

DcvrcEs AND Utensils Which Save Fuel

Even though the modern fuels discussed above are lesi-
wasteful of heat than coal or wood, it is nevertheless neces-i
sary to economize fuel still funher by the use of devices
and utensils which conserve heat or make for economical'i
cooking. Foremost among such equipment is the much-
discussed fireless cooker, based on the principle of cookii
with conserved heat in an airtight box, instead of by direct]
heat.

The first cookers were merely well insulated boxes into
which the container of heated food was left to cook slowly
until finished. Improvements were made by adding the
so-called disks or radiators of soapstone or other metal
with a rack to hold them, thus permitting roasting and
baking as well as boiling and stewing.

Another step in advance has been to combine the principle
of the fireless in some regular cooking stove. For instance,
there is the regulation gas or electric stove with usual
burners. In addition, such a stove has an insulated oven or
compartment corresponding to the "well" of the fireless
with its heated radiators. Food is put into this compart-
ment, heated for a short period, after which the fuel is
turned off, when the food continues cooking by means of
the heat radiated from the compartment walls, or from a
disk or metal plate in the bottom of the compartment. Irt
a gas-fireless stove recently used by the author, a 5-poundj
rib roast was thoroughly browned and cooked in the ovei
fireless, using only zo minutes of actual fuel. In the ordi-
nary oven about one hour and a quarter would have been
required.

The advantages of fireless cooker ovens are that they
have greater cooking space, take up no extra room, require-
no preheating of Jiot plates, save more fnel and more time..

I

131

HELPFUL HOUSEHOLD TOOLS

Automatic Fireless Cookers

In a few present models, the cooking compartmeni,

whether gas or electric, is under automatic control. In

one or two stoves, also a hooded insidnled coniparliiient

can be lowered over a utensil of boiling food, the heat
turned off, when the cooking again proceeds by conserved
heat. Automatic gas fireless stoves are a tested success,
and no doubt, automatic electric cooking compartments will
be made mechanically perfect though they were not when
firsf put on the market. The advantage of these improved
types is that less space is taken, and motion and time are
saved over the old portable models in which Ihe radiators
were heated independently and required lifting up and
down, etc.

132 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

SUMMARY OF THE FIRELESS COOKER

(l) It reduces fuel cost, sometimes as much as one-third or one

half.
(a) II lessens labor by eliminating 3. great deal of work attendant

upon the usual cooking processes, as basting, looking at food,

C3) It saves time by tnaking unnecessary so much useless pot-
watching and time spent in kitchen while foods are cooking,
to prevent scorching, etc.

(4) It cooks food with liltle loss of weight, owing to absence of
evaporation, or drying out, as in usual methods.

(5) It brings out the juices and flavors of foods, and renders
tender inexpensive cuts of meat as is almost impossible in
any other way.

(6) It is especially adapted for the long cooking of cereals, soup^.
beans, and large pieces like whole ham. etc.

(7) The utensils used in fireless cooking do no( scorch
hence can be washed wiih the least effort.

Dis.

( 1 ) Considerable planning and forethought necessary to operate
one successfully. (This may be considered an advantage!)

(2) Does not brown foods as well as an oven. Flavor no
with some foods.

(j) Unless used often the fuel or time saved does not justify 1

the investment.
(4) Requires intelligence, care and some experience to

esults.

Steam Cookers

k

Another important fuel saver is the steam cooker,
consists of several round compartments fitted hori^nl
into each other, or a square compartment with section!
below both of which there is a water tank. Steaui from
this water penetrates all compartments and cooks the food.
By accommodating from four to ten different dishes or
foods, the steam cooker saves fuel which would be con-
sumed if each of these were cooked on a separate burner.
Steam cooking; is also preferable to boiling, especially wi

w^^_

HELPFUL HOUSEHOLD TOOLS

133

vegetables, cereals, etc., because it causes less loss in weight,
flavor, and particularly loss of important mineral salts
which are too frequently extracted in the boiling process
and thrown away.

In a recent test it was proved that odors from different
foods do not contaminate each other. Boiled cabbage, rice,
custard and beets were all cooked at the same time. The

custard and rice were entirely free from cabbage odor.
This cooker can also be used excellently as a canning device,
accommodating from 4 to 24 jars, according to size.

Other Fuel Savers

We have also the "triplicate pail" or the 3 or 2 interlock-
ing pots fitted to one burner — not very useful. There arc
also various combinations of pots and insets which permit
boiling in a lower compartment and the steaming of one or
two foods above. The newest tea kettle with its "boiler
inset" permits the cooking of custard, rice, etc., at the same

134

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

time that a quantity of water is being heated for other us£
in this way taking the place of the cumbersome doubd
boiler.

Several radiating plates are manufactured especially fd|
gas stove or range use. One of these is triangular in shap^
so that it covers three burners at once, but uses the heaq
from only one, thus permitting foods on the other tw^
burners to cook slowly by radiated heat alone.

A new cooking pot which is^
an improvement on the cast-
iron pot of our grandmotiier
has a rack in the bottom and
fitted with a steam valve.
Tlie valve is left open at I

L

first while the food is being browned; it is later closed so^
that the generated steam falls back on the food, thus in-
creasing the tenderness, and the pot once heated requires
only a minimum of fuel. A further development along this
line is the pressure cooker, fitted with a clamped (
pressure gauge and safety valve. These save much fu^'J
and time and give excellent results. The small portabl*
ovens to fit over one burner of a gas stove use about ona
half as much gas as the large oven and are useful for coold
ing one or two small dishes quickly.

HELPFUL HOUSEHOLD TOOLS

Vacuum Fuel Savers

Another group of modern utensils which save fuel is the
devices operated on the vacuum principle. These are either
in the form of bottles, jars or large containers which when
filled with a food or liquid of a desired temperature, retain
it for a considerable number of hours. Coffee made in the
morning can be poured, scalding, into the vacuum bottle
and be ready to serve at a later meal. Many foods may be
kept in these containers without a second fuel expense for
"warming-up." Platters and dishes with hot water pans
underneath also permit foods
lo be kept hot for a consider-
able time. There are, too, plat-
ters and serving dishes made
of a composition metal which
retain heat for several hours
and permit the most satibfac-
tory service of meat, fish, etc.,
at the right temperature. Ov-
ens with glass doors are said ■
to save fuel by allowing the
food to be watched without
needless opening, but some heat passes through the glass
as "radiant heat." This could be reflected back into the
oven by a piece of bright sheet metal over the glass. Vari-
ous roasting pans and other utensils are fitted with insulated
hoods or covers, all of which save heat by preventing radia-
tion.

Step S.wers

While many devices in other groups also save steps there
are a few pieces of equipment which may be called dis-
tinctly step savers. Chief among these is *' ' '' ^'^^n cabinet

HOrSEHOLD ENGINEERING

I !«« Am* mMI M|^ Mks, vTiMl «»< 4i>."

HELPFUL HOUSEHOLD TOOLS

The serving tray on wheels is another distinctive step
saver. Several models are on the market, some with single,
others with double tray, mounted on rubber-tired wheels
which can be steered easily. Such a tray enables tlie home-
maker to serve a complete meal with one or possibly two
carryings of dishes, or to clear the table with similar ease.
This kind of tray can also be used excellently as a stack-
table when there is no drain to the right of the sink, or it
can be used to wheel clean dishes to the pantry, avoiding
constant trips and the dangers attendant on tray carrying.
Larger and more massive styles are found in the typical hotel
dishcart which can be used equally well in the large house-
hold.

The so-called "Lazy Susan" or servette finds favor with
the homemaker who is her own maid. This is a revolving

HOME-MADE

WHEEL TRAT

138 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

circular wooden or glass disk, supported on a stand placed 1
in the center of the table. Foods laid on the disk may be I
revolved to each person in turn, thus saving "passing," or J
frequent rising. It also saves space on the table by giving J
a place to bread and butter, sauces, condiments and other I
small dishes.

A unique refrigerator most excellent in country homes
particularly is a worth-while step saver. This '"elevator

^^^^^ SU'

ice-box" looks much like other small refrigerators, has three I
compartments, but is operated by clock-work pulleys. Ils^
is so installed that the pressure on a button in the flooi
causes the ice box to rise up into the kitchen ; or a simiUn
pressure causes its descent into the cellar. This saves t
hundreds of tedious steps entailed by the country home-^
maker who has to keep many food products "down cellar,'*
And if the cellar is cool, this icebox can be satisfactoriljl
used even without arf ice supply.

Any other device or equipment which co-ordinates worl^
such as these: a tool-basket with compartments, a house

HELPFUL HOUSEHOLD TOOLS

139

maid's bucket with places for rags, soap, powder, etc.,
speaking tubes or "house" telephones, etc., can be grouped
prof>erly under the important head of step savers, and hence
energy and effort savers.

Knives akh Cl'Tting DiiViCBS

There is no one more important kitchen tool than the
knife, and yet no other tool is so universally abused- A
cook can be judged by her knives, and it is indeed rare to
go into a kitchen and find either good knives or knives in
good condition. Many make the mistake of thinking they
can buy a well-made knife at a low price, but it is unwise to
purchase an inexpensive knife when it is the most used tool
in the kitchen which cuts our bread, prepares our vege-
tables, shces meat, and- without which no meal can be pre-
pared.

The most efficient knife blade for general kitchen cutting
is triangular in shape and is called the "sabatier" knife.
In moderate size, it will cost 75 cents, and a larger size
$i.OQ or more. For cake and bread slicing a special knife
with serrated edge cuts quicker and cleaner than the ordi-
nary straight edge. Even the small vegetable preparing
knives should be of the best quality, firmly riveted into
the handle, and with points best adapted to their use of
picking out eyes, etc. As was suggested previously, the
important point about knives is not only their selection but
their care. No knife or cutting device of any kind should
be ruthlessly banged into a drawer along with nutmeg-
grater, apple corer or other implements which unquestion-
ably will dull the edge. Strips of leather or grooves of
wood can be placed where convenient, and into these knives
can be slipped, each having its separate pocket. Small knives
and cutting devices in which the metal blade is not exposed

I40

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

between the wooden handle at the bottom can be fitted with
screw eyes and hting up.

Knives must be kept in good condition by frequent sharp-
ening. Either a "steel" or sharpening stone is excellent if
the worker understands how to get the best results, but
for many one of the newer knife sharpening devices seems

easier to use. One consists of a double set of wheels placed
opposite each other. The knife blade is inserted between
them, and the wheels are set revolving by means of a small
handle at the side. These little sharpening devices are
clamped permanently on the wall or table and make quick
and correct sharpening possible.

Here is a partial list of helpful small cutting devices
which save time and make easier the preparing of vege-
tables and other foods.

Cost.

Sabatier kitchen knife (raediuin) $i.oo

Sabatier kitchen knife (small) 60

Vcgelable parers .aj.

Serrated breadknife 50

Breadslicer 50

Medium sired shears 60

Grape fruit knife with curved edge 50

1

HTLFTrt. ltOCSXIHH.f» TO©tS

H\

Vegeaiiie ScaBopcr .>...,..ivi...n.n... , .i|

Slrau-berrj- hnller ..........,.■■. .,,,,.n,i,, .^i .t^

M£ASfRINt; Dkn-icks

No kitchen is complete witliuut avVHmlt; mwiBllVKS. 'IVv
are necessary to good cooking iilul scirilliHr klUlll'll Wi'|-lli
and to better marketing nml jiuri'lmsliiR In>i-iHl!>i? \\\fy fii
able the hnniemaker to check up ami cii-ii]«'nile Witli tli-ttlff"
and manufacturers.

A rebable scale easy In reRd, nlinlild lir plti'Ml Id n
permanent position preferHbly ni-nr (be pff|tiifi(i||( fnlilf-
where most measuring is df»np. The licst stnic Utt h'ntW-
hold use is the ^-callcrl pan of fwfiglfig •rale, Thl« fy(*
is preferable to others becauw hfre thf wcijIffK i* HIHfit^tM
from the dial and nm place'I '/ver if ThH mfwus fhn( fh^tt
is Icis chance of the »<'ale gt1tifi% fffrt fit ttri\*t, fit 6l Mtrfl
tanqxnd with as is the cj«c mhtrt ft* vrf1t(hi hi f^sM^
above tlu sprios;. Seafa* of Ai* ly^ •'Mn^ #il^ m*titHi¥i!
wUte enoKi pan, gbM yvMarMtf (IM. xnff * ctrtrfttAt^
Inalc i.)r hanging A ^M tef^WttH ttrAj ffif pftWi4<l )9
\xaer thnn "jne inrbVaringr rw^fy h^-imw iV ^Wr'W feftW-
icg and tiiot^ ipare trt ear-h Hiviwm prtWHN ^iiwW/ /AHft«(f
ai die oactions or rli^ 'fLiTitrl

■iKtfiesewctwert -

't^

142

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

"dry" measures, peck, quart, pint, will assist in checking
purchases and help along the cause of honest weights and
measures.

Paper Pkoducts

No one group of minor kitchen furnishings has done
more to make for neatness and sanitation than the increas-
ingly popular group of paper products. The kitchen
"roller" can easily be replaced by the paper towel roll in
its attractive white holder, lessening the laundry labor and
making for increased cleanliness. The same roll or sep-
arate "towels" of paper can also be used for draining fried
foods, making food containers, wiping up, and in general,
taking the place of unsanitary "rags."

Paraffine paper is developing daily new uses in keeping
foods moist, wrapping cakes, etc. It may be secured in
disks cut to fit any size, square or round pan, as for jelly
glasses or cake making, thus saving time. The same disks
can be used in connection with paper plates. It is possible
by using a fresh disk at each course, to serve an entire
meal {except soup of course,) on the same paper plate. The
paper plate too, is no longer confined strictly to picnic use,
but can be utilized at many summer meals for children, and
indeed in most attractive forms at adnlt meals from time
to time. Each season brings new paper dishes, bowls, etc..
which are convenient for icebox use. Pies are found
equally delicious if baked in a paper-plate.

Much has been said about paper bag cookery, and it need
only be mentioned here that while not adaptable to all forms
of cooking, the paper bag does save labor and pan-washing,
and will be found especially helpful in cooking fish and
certain meats and other dishes. The same paraffine bags
used in cooking are excellent when used in the garbage
pail, preventing waste from coming in contact with the j

HELPFUL HOUSEHOLD TOOLS

143

metal can, thus corroding it, and permitting the entire bag
of garbage to be easily moved. This plan was followed
most successfully in Boston, and found a great preventive
of the fly nuisance.

Paper tablecloths are made exactly resembling damask.
Paper napkins also are made in fine quality, and these and
the new paper plates which look just like china can do much
to reduce laundry and dishwashing for the busy homemaker.

VARIETIES AXD PRICES OF PAPER PRODUCTS,

Oblong deep dishes, 1-3 lbs $'75 to $z.oo per M

Table plates, 5 inches in diameter $t.95 per 400

Table plates, china finish 25c per dozen

Panffine disks, S to ,6 inches loc per M

Paraffine disks, 9 to 10 inches Z5c per M

Roll paper towel 35c per 150 sheets

Paper tablecloth, 66x72 inches $1.00 to $1.50 per dozen

Paper napkins $1.00 to $2.50 per M

Paraffine paper cooking bags, 15 to 60 hags for 25c,-tiepending on size

Paper nipR 25c per too

Paraffine sundae dishes 50c per roo

Paper dish cloths ^aflMM^^kij.30c per dozen

Paper cake pan linJnKs, round or ia^^^^^^^^^^^..i5c per 50

I

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

e arc many minor helpful tools, many of which c
be justified largely on sanitary grounds. Others, like a.
good canner, will do much to save labor and give better re-
sults in this important part of food preparation. Still others
make for neatness, for skill, or iill other demands of Ibejl
eflicient kitchen. The following list conld be expand)
indefinitely :

Canning machine.

SanJiary egg holder, prcvaits breakage.

Milk botlle cap. makes pitcher of boltk and keeps milk dean. ]

Cieani dipper to remove cream from quart boUli"-

Cream syphon.

Qais butter and food containers.

Gas lighters, do awaj with bamt matches, safer, quicker.

The subject of Helpful Tools will be touched upon further 1
in the next chapter on Cleaning and in Food Planning, the I
Laundry, and elsewhere.

In the endeavor to save time and labor in housekeeping |
it must be remembered that correct flanmng. good practice j
and efficient head wrk are far more effective than Ike moiS
elaborate atid expenshe equipment, unihoul efitieut manege^
m^nt.

QUESTIONS OX HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

III

Helpful Household Tools

1. In your housekeeping at present, which seems most

important and why (a) to save time. i,b) to sa^-e
labor, (c) to save money?

2. .-\I1 thii^ considered, what fuel is best for you to

for cookit^ in winter? In summer?

3. Your method of washing dishes — how can yoa

prove it?

4. Based on the study of your schedule of work, what

would be your next purchase of helpful household
tools, if you were free to choose?
Tell iif >our failures in the purchase of househtdd equip-
ment.

I

i

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

I

METHODS OF CLEAXIX'G
NCREASJNGLY high standards of ;

litation in the
■aning one of the most important
divisions of housework. Probably a house that was
regarded as clean a century ago would not be considered

"clean" in our modern sanitary sense, which disproves of
large carpets, tufted furniture, and an excess of draperies
and ornaments. This high cleaning standard results in a
definite money expense, and in a time expense on the part
of homemaker and houseworker. In many homes, cleaning
is one long drudgery, consuming hours in disagreeable and
fatiguing work. How can a home be kept satisfactorily
cleansed without too great an expense of time and effort ?

Cleaning Processes
First, a clearer idea of the term cleaning must be under-
stood. As generally used, it would appear to be a single
piece of work. But, like many other household task.":,
cleaning is composed of many different processes, 'many of
them complex and done with different tools and motions, as :

1. Sweeping — cnrpets, rugs, bare floors, tiifted furniture, etc.

2. Wiping or scrubbing windows, walls, tiles. porceUiins. etc,

3. DusTLNG furniture, woodwork, walls .nnd ornaments,

4. Polishing — silver, brass and other melal objects, utensils.
"Cleaning," therefore, may be any one of these processes.

or several of them, and in cleaning the ordinary room we
find all o£ them included.

C'op>-rtEhl lOin. ]

^iBtlOD.

L

148 irOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Again, cleaning is almost entirely muscular or physical
work or exercise more than any other kind of housework.
To make a broad comparison, it might be said that the
several steps of cleaning can be likened to different athletic
exercises, as tennis, ball, rowing, skating, etc. We know
that in tennis certain bodily motions are gone through, while
in playing ball other kinds of motions are performed. So.
too, an analysis of cleaning and its steps shows that each
different step is a different kind of muscular adjustment.
That is, sweeping (r) with a common broom uses definite
sets of muscles in the back and arms with a broad swing
and play; again, scrubbing (2), as commonly practiced in a
prostrate position, uses an entirely different adjustment of
back, arms, and trunk. In the third step of cleaning —
dusting (3) — there is again a different motion of the body,
much less violent, and done chiefly with one arm and a
slight stooping. In polishing (4") the worker may either
stand quietly or sit, using only the arms. Other special
cleaning steps, like beating rugs, shaking draperies, or clean-
ing walls with a long-handled tool, will require other and
differing muscular adjustment or physical motion.

Chance of Shift
The usual method of "cleaning" a room is to perform
several of these differing steps consecutively in the same
room, changing rapidly from one to another. That is, if a
group of rooms were to be cleaned thoroughly, the worker
would first sweep, then dust, then wipe floors in one room,
and then repeat the four processes in the next room, and
so on. This woidd mean a frequent change from one mus-
cular process to another, or, as it is called, a "change of
shift.'' But a study of this method proves that it is most
fatiguing and time-taking. Every lime there is a change of
shift (from sweeping to scrubbing or from any one step to

METHODS OF CLEANING

149

another), there is vjoste molion and effort. The reason is
that it takes time to "speed up" on any one muscular act,
and for the muscles to become adjusted to any repeated
consecutive motion. In tennis, ball, etc., the first efforts are
never as easy, smooth and rapid as when the player has
been performing for some time and "gotten into his stride."
The same holds true of cleaning, and the more rapid the
change of shift from one step to another, the less easy,
smooth, and eflortless the work. The usual cleaning methods
of jumping rapidly from sweeping to scrubbing, etc., can be
compared to an attempt to jump from tennis to rowing, and
from that to swimming or other sport, and expect to do
smooth, rapid work in each. No wonder a worker is "all
fagged" when she attempts to work in a way no athlete
would follow 1

Efficient Cleaning Avoids Rai'id Change of Shift

Efficient cleaniny, therefore, depends on avoiding rapid
change in shifts of work; or, to put it differently, to con-
tinue one cleaning process as long as possible before chang-
ing to another. The idea works out concretely in the fol-
lowing way :

Let us suppose that it is general cleaning day on an
upstairs floor with four bedrooms and a bath. The usual
practice would be to sweep, dust, and mop each room sep-
arately, that is, with rapid change of shift; but let us woric
the new way, and sweep all rooms through consecutively,
next dust them, and last mop them, continuing a similar
process through four rooms without a break, instead of
stopping in each to change. Similarly, any special cleaning
process, like washing windows, should be continued through
as many rooms as possible, and one kind of work should not
be dropped and another allowed to interrupt it.

150 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Chance of SmiT Causes Extk.\ Handlinu of Tools
Not only did the old method of rapid shift change cause
fatigue and lose time, but its second fault lies in the fre-
quent handling of tools necessitated. As was stated, each
step of dusting, scrubbings, etc., is done with different tools
— broom, bucket, cloth, etc. Now under the old method
each change meant change and handling o f the tools. Room A
would be swept and the broom dropped to pick up the scrub
bucket, and this in turn laid aside for the duster. The same
handling would prevail in rooms B, C, and D. In certain
house arrangements this extra handling would be very
considerable.

Contrast this handling of each piece many times with the
handling under the efficient plan: In this case, the broom
would be picked up with which to clean Room A, and never
laid down until rooms B, C, and D had been swept and the
broom laid down with one final handling. Similarly, a
bucket used in room A could be carried straight through
the other rooms. Not until work is closely watched and
motions noticed does it appear how much useless time and
effort is caused by change of shift in work.

Time Studies in Cleaning

These facts are dearly brought out in the following time
studies of cleaning several rooms under the old and the
newpkn:

Three Rovtiii Cleaned Sefarately

Preparing Rooms fur Sweeping i8 minutes

Sweeping Room^ 2\ miniiies

Dusting Rooms

Total time 58 r

of each tor!)

METHODS OF CLEANING 151

Three Rooms Cleaned Coiiseeuiivety

Preparing 15 minules

Sweeping

Dusting

■Total time 47 minules

(One handling of each tool, j

This rule of change of shift and its results apply particu-
larly to such tasks as window washing, where exactly sim-
ilar motions are done with each successive window. Nine
windows cleaned consecutively take less time than nine
windows cleaned intermittently with stops for other work.
Several beds made one after the other (witness the sleeping
car porter!) can be made in less time, each, than if the
worker makes a bed, and then stops to brush up or do other
work. It follows, then, that such tasks as windows, airing
of bedding in several rooms, shaking rugs, etc., should be
done in as "wholesale" a method as possible. The only
exception to this avoidance of shift-change may be when
rooms are so far apart, or on different floors, that the extra
walking entailed might be as time-taking as the old method.
The fatigue is always less when work is uninterrupted.
Change also causes nervous adjustment, and it is not so
much the work itself, which causes the fatigue, as it is tkc
"jump" from one kind of zvork to another. This has been
quite conclusively proved in various tasks by different
workers. Therefore the woman who wishes to work with
the least friction will avoid such planning that will force
her to do too many kinds of work on the same day, or too
many kinds of tasks in the same hour.

"Standaro Practice"
Each cleaning task should have its own set of directions
or instructions, since each step of cleaning is done with dif-
ferent tools and in a different way. This "standard" or

152

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

best way, tliese rules, can be called "standard practice,"
just as in industries we have written rules for the way this
piece of work or that should be done. We have long used
"standard practice" or definite instructions in cooking, as
in recipes and the kind of bowl, spoons, etc., to use. The
reason why our meals are so often better cooked than our
rooms are cleaned, is almost solely because there have been
no written directions or "practice" for the latter, while there
was for the former. There cannot be a properly cleaned
room if some one step is forgotten, any more than there can
be a property made cake if some needed ingredient is
forgotten.

Standard practice means, then, ivrhteii directions as to
method and loots, and time. While these directions may
vary slightly owing to the different construction and furnish-
ing of homes, these following few "standard practices" will
help in making such as will exactly suit the particular needs
of any special home.

Standard Practice on Bedroom Care
Tools — Cacpclswceper; long handle cluslpan; dustiess duster; long

handle stricig mop.
Method — (, Pick up cloiliing, shoes and soiled linen (beds thrown

back in advance, windows open).

2. Make bed, leaving valance, it any, tucked ii]).

3. Remove burned matches, papers, etc.. from bureau, table, etc;

arrange and dust toil« articles, placing wasle in dustpan

4. Sweep nig wiih carpel sweeper.

5. Dust furniture, window nnd door irim. and baseboard edge.

6. Use siring mop around nig edges and under bed. replacing

chairs, etc, at same lime; let down bed valance,

7. Pnli shades to half, allow sufficient ventilation-
It would be easy to modify this "standard" if there were

a fireplace in the room and a hand washstand ; in that case
»*■•■ "standard" coiiKi be amended:

METHODS OF CLEANING 153

Remove ashes and lay wood for fresh fire (to precede step 3).
Scour basins and bring fresh water (to follow step 3).

In this way a "standard" for any given set of conditions
can be worked out simply by setting down in the best order
the various steps which are needed to do the entire work
in the most satisfactory manner.

Standard Practice on Bathroom Care

Tools — Long-handled toilet brush or tongs.
Impregnated metal polish cloth.
Cleaning cloth and cleansing powder.
Wet mop and bucket.
Disinfectant, soap, linen.

Method — -i. Remove soiled linen and bring new supply, also soap,

paper roll if necessary, and lay on convenient chair.

2. Clean windows and medicine closet mirror and light

fixtures.

3. Wipe window ledge and exposed woodwork, including

baseboard.

4. Rub faucets, towel bar and other metal parts with im-

pregnated metal cloth.

5. Clean bathtub, then washbasin with cloth and cleanser,

and last, the stand supporting toilet.

6. Wipe floor with mop, being sure to get under tub.

7. Empty pail into toilet, flush; clean with toilet tongs,

flush again; pour down disinfectant and replace lid.

8. Lay linen, soap and other supplies in place.

Standard Practice for Cleaning Several Rooms

(On one floor)

Conditions — Large rugs, hardwood border, 4 rooms opening on
central hall.

Tools — Carpet or vacuum sweeper; long-handled dustpan, string
mop ; dustless duster for furniture ; flannel duster for
ornaments and glass.

Method — Open windows top and bottom about one foot, carefully
pin back draperies.

154 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Twp ; — 1. Assetnhle all tools at entrance of room A; take both
dusters and dustpan in hand: pick up waste into dustpan
while dusting and replacing ornaments and tops of tables,
bureau, etc., and dusting liaseboard, door and window trim
and exposed woodwork. Do this in rooms A, B, C and D,
returning to Room A entrance and exchanging for sweeper
tool.

Thip 2 — 2. Use sweeper in rooms A, B, C and D, returning and ex-
changing for string mop. using this on all rooms as before.
Return with sweeper and exchange for string mop.

■['bip 3— j. Use string mop in rooms A, B, C and D; return to en-
trance A (arranging furniture if necessary).

Last step— Gather al! tools from entrance .\ and carry direct back
to house closet.

Under these conditions, dusting precedes using Ike
sweeper, so that any dust or waste from shaking and han-
dling books and ornaments may fall on the floor and be
swept up.

Sweeping precedes mopping with oil or string mop, so as
to avoid any tracking on the nicely oiled floor. Either with
carpet sweeper or vacuum cleaner this is the best order:

1. Dusting.

2. Using sweeper.

3. Using oil mop.

If window cleaning must be included on this day (al-
though it should not be included, if possible) it should be
done after dusting ; if the walls and picttires need thorough
cleaning, they should be done before dusting. In other
words, it is only common-sense, as well as efficiency, to
perform first those processes which cause moving and shak-
ing of objects. In general, the work must be done from
the ceiling down, as :

1. Ceiling.

2. Lighting fixtures.

3. Pictures and mirrors, hangings.

METHODS OF CLEANING

ISS

4. Ornaments and books on tables and horizontal surfaces.

5. Furniture (including window, door and baseboard).

6. Rugs or carpets on floor.

7. Exposed wood on floor.

If a wet process like scrubbing must be done, it should
follow the rule for floor cleaning, and thus follow the carpet
cleaning.

It is thus seen how easy it is to make "standard practice"
instructions for any given set of conditions. This "prac-
tice" had best be written down when once worked out, and
not left to the memory. It must include, as shown above,
the tools, the method, and the lime. This last element can
easily be found after the method has become mere routine.
It may be, "Bathroom, 25 minutes," or bedroom, "15 min-
utes," or whatever the case may be. In this way the "stand-
ard practice" becomes a means of developing a good
schedule.

Copies of this "practice" may be written on cards to be
pasled or tacked in an inconspicuous part of the room, or
included in the instructions to a hired worker in her
instruction book.

Place for Cleaning Tools

Just as a special place like a kitchen cabinet is needed for
keeping kitchen tools in order, so there must be a definite
location for the equally important tools of cleaning. Such
a place is the so-called "house closet," This may be small
or large, specially built or developed from the waste space
in a back stairs, etc.

In country homes an excellent place for such a closet is
on the back porch or at the head of cellar stairs or between
kitchen and washhouse. The closet should be high enough
to accommodate long-handled brooms and mops hung up,
with additional space above for a small shelf. Good dimen-

J

156 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

sions are 6 feet high by 4 feet wide by i foot deep. This
permits the floor space to conveniently hold coal hods, scrub
buckets, etc. (See page 146,)

Each tool should have a screw eye of the right size put
in the handle; then in the strip under the shelf right angle
up-hoolis can be placed at convenient distances apart, on
which the tool can be hung by its screw-eye. On the shelf
can be placed bottles and boxes of cleaning preparations.

The closet is not complete without a label marking t!ie
right place of each tool. If these are pasted on and then
shellacked, they will stay in place for years. A shoe-bag
with diflferent sized pockets is excellent for holding dusters,
twine, newspapers, cleaning gloves, etc. Even in such a
closet the grouping of tools can be carried out, and duster,
dustpan, and mop, or other combination, hung together so
that they can easily be picked up at once.

New Versus Old Idea in Cleaning

If one general term could be applied to the manner of all
cleaning up to the present, that term could well be "scatter-
ing"; for in all the various steps of sweeping and dusting,
the work was done in such a way as to scatter and spread
the dust particles (and bacteria) from one place to another.
The corTi broom swept the dust out of the carpet, only to
raise it in the air so thai it lodged on pictures, mouldings,
etc. Again, the feather duster removed the dust from these
same pictures only to have it fall on the floor, and thus
went on a continuous cycle of dust which was never entirely
eliminated from the house after all.

The new sanitary ideal today has for its watchword
"absorption." The broom is being largely replaced by the
suction method of ihc modern vacuum cleaner, and the dust-
less duster htilds dusls <js it cleans. No one invention is so
responsible for new cleaning methods as is the so-called

METHODS OF CLEANING

157 1

vacuum cleaner. The principle on which these are built is
that of suction, or the intake of air. This suction is devel-
oped in various ways, and takes with it the dust as well as"
air from whatever surface the cleaner is operated on. There ]
are four broad types of cleaners as follows:

(i) Large portable vacuum cleaners, dustbag within the
cleaner ; hand or electric.

(2) Small vacuum cleaners, dustbag outside the cleaner; 1

electric.

(3) Carpet sweeper, box model vacuum cleaner (hand J

type).

(4) Stationary machines, located in basement, with pipes
to all floors.

There is a slight distinction between vacuum cleaner and
suction cleaner. In the vacuum cleaner, a diaphragm or
rotary pump is used to create a partial vacuum in each
stroke. The surrounding atmosphere then rushes in to fill
this vacuum, bringing in dust. At the end of each stroke,
when operated slowly, the vacuum model loses "pull" for
an instant, but this is not noticeable at full speed. This type
of cleaner can make a very strong pull.

158 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

In the suction type of cleaner using power, the suction is
created by means of fans or turbines operated by a small
motor encased in some portion of the cleaner. These fans
in revolving cause an intake of air, bringing with the air
dust, small fragments of paper, matches, etc. In this type
of cleaner the "pull" is not very strong, but a large voltmie
of air can be moved, permitting the use of a wide opening.
In the suction type of cleaner operated by hand, the suction
is created generally by a pair of bellows which, in being
shut, caused a similar but less violent suction of air and
intake of dust. In the hand type, however, the effort of the
operator is needed to make the necessary power. In the
suction type also there is a continuous flow of air, while in
the vacuum type there is a distinct "pull" for an instant, as
mentioned above, at the end of each stroke.

The large portable vacuum cleaner (electric) is made
with a powerful motor and is particularly suited to cleaning
large houses or where there are many thick, all over rugs,
carpets, and a quantity of draperies. This type of cleaner
is always used with a hose attachment inserted in the intake
opening. At the other end of the hose is what is called
the nozzle opening, which is the actual part of the cleaner
moved over any given surface. This nozzle too! may be a
tool for the floor, for mattresses and tufted furniture, for
draperies, etc., etc. The price of such a large portable
cleaner is about $75.00 because of the cost of a powerful
motor.

The large portable vacuum cleaner (hand) is operated by
an air pimip and lever, and preferably is worked by two
persons, one to pump and one to move the hose attachment
wherever necessary. In both of these portable type ma-
chines, the dustbag is within the body of the cleaner. This
hand portable when operated by two people does almost as
J work as any electric machine, but the labor is consid-

METHODS OF CLEANING

159

erable. It comes fitted with all similar attachments, and
costs from $20,00 to $30.00.

The small portable cleaner (electric) is made in many
models and seems the best type suited for average use in
homes wired for electricity. With this type, the dustbag is
on the outside, the machine is light in weight, and can be

operated on carpets and floor without a hose attachment.
The hose is necessary here only to clean draperies, mat-
tresses, etc., and anything off the floor level. The advan-
tages of such a machine are that it can easily be taken up
and downstairs by a woman, that it rolls easily, tliat it takes
little storage space when not in use. The price of such a
cleaner is from $30.00 to $45.00, attachments included.

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

The sweeper type of cleaner is operated by hand. It
consists of a box built like a carpet sweeper in which is
contained a bellows. These bellows are operated whenever
the cleaner is moved backward or forward over the carpet,
the suction created drawing the dust from the carpet. No
attachments can be used with this type, which is strictly for
floor use and is suitable only for carpets and large rugs.

ELECTRIC VACUUM

It does not clean bare floors well. This type is somewhat
heavy and fatiguing to work in comparison to the usual
carpet sweeper. In some models of this box type a sweeper
just like a carpet sweeper is combined so that the carpet is
swept at the same time that dust is sucked out of it. They
cost from $5.00 to $12.00.

While the powerful electric machine and even the small,
light machines suck dust from a given surface and pick up
hnt, matches, etc., most of them do not pick up threads,
crumbs, or, in other words, brush the carpet at the same
time that they clean it pneumatically. In order to provide

METHODS OF CLEANING

l6l

for this picking up of threads, many cleaners, both large and
small, are fitted with brush attachments either within the
body of the cleaner or mounted without on a small platform.
It is well to note this point in a cleaner before purchasing.

Suggestions on Buying Vacuum Cleaneks

The first thing to decide before purchasing is the condi-
tions ill the home in which the cleaner is to be used. If
there are large areas of all-over carpet, many draperies, etc.,
a powerful portable tjpe will be needed. If small rugs,
matting, and bare floors, the light-weight electric cleaner
can be used. If it is more important to have the draperies,
tufled furniture, etc.. des "'^^^is method, select a
machine that has a direct 'an-<Ii;imber instead

i63 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

of an attachment that clamps to the floor suction nozzle.
In all cases, select a cleaner having a wide suction nozzle,
about ro or 12 inches, so that there will be enough .width
in the cleaner nozzle to clean a sufficient width at one time.
Aluminum parts and case make the lightest cleaner to move
and use. The cleaner should be mounted on rollers so that
they can be moved readily. The electric machine should be
equipped with a small switch on the handle so that it is not
necessary to reach up to the light socket to turn the current
on and off.

Note the details of liellows construction, the materials
of the dustbag and genera! construction before purchasing.
It does not pay to buy a "cheap cleaner" which will become
worthless in a short time. Tlie cost of the electric models
depends on the power and quality of the motor. Know
also the voltage, for while most cleaners come fitted to a
100 to 120-volt socket, the voltage should he known before
buying.

Never attempt to run an electric model over a damp place
or allow it to suck up wUter, as this will spoil the motor.
In operating the cleaner, be sure to elevate the suction nozzle
at the right height from the surface. This may make all
the difference between fair and excellent cleansing.

Permanent Vacl'um Systems
There are two types of permanent vacuum systems, one
operated by electric motor, and the other by a motor oper-
ated by water pressure. In this case pipes are laid in the
walls, having openings near the baseboard of each room,
and connected with the motors in the basement. It is then
only necessary to attach to these floor openings the hose,
and thus clean all rooms easily. The present cost of such
systems is fairly high ; but in new houses they are worth
considering, as such systems certainly make for "dustless

METHODS OF CLEANING 163

homes." Many hotels and institutions are so equipped, and
the cost of installation is balanced by reduced worker's and
cleaning women's cost.

The water motor system costs much less than the elec-
trically operated motor system. It, however, needs a pres-
sure of about 40 pounds to the square inch in order to be
satisfactory. The cost of installation of electric systems is
from about $200 up, depending on the number of rooms.

Time Study ox 9x12 Rug by Different Methods

Minutes

Broom sweeping (outside on porch) 10

(Moving to porch and replacing, 6 minutes)

Hand vacuum sweeping 18

Electric vacuum sweeping 12

On Small 4x6 Rl'gs

Minutes

Broom 4

Hand vacuum 10

Electric 6

Fr6m the point of time, the vacuum cleaner gives Httle if
any saving, the chief advantage being only in the absence of
the scattering of dust, and in the somewhat greater thor-
oughness of the work, and the fact that the rugs need not be
lifted from the floor. It is the most labor saving where
there is a large rug, or stair treads covered with thick carpet
which it is almost impossible for a broom to get at. On bare
floors the hand vacuum cleaner is almost totally useless ; the
electric models, even when fitted with a floor tool, do not do
the work as easily as a long handled string mop. It is on
carpets only that the vacuum cleaner is most worth while.
Small rugs where there are large bare floor areas can be as

164

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

easily dt-aned of surface dirt with a carpet sweeper. The
thorough suction cleaning given by a vacuum necessitates
less frequent cle;ming, which is the great advantage.

In the time suidies given above, the amount of effort is
important : it took less effort to clean the rug by broom
than by hand vacuum cleaner. In the electric cleaner test,
the effort was much less than in either the band vacuum or
the broom method.

The Handlkd Versus the Short Tool

Another great broad difTerence between the tools of to-day
and yesterday, is that the modern ones are generally
mounted on handles. Tbe scrub brush, tbe hair brush, the
many kinds of fibre duster tools, even the dnstpan, have
at last been elevated by being placed on bandies. Why stoop
to the dustpan, when it can come to you? Why use a
bundle of coarse cloths on a floor to mop with, .ind bend
prostrate over the task, i f you can fasten the same cloths on
a stick and get better results?

"But I can't scrub so clean if I don't get right down on
the floor," some women may say. We believe this is only
imagination, and a habit of working, rather than the facts.
There is practically no cleaning too! which cannot be
mounted on a handle and give better results than the same
tool used in the hands. This is because tbe "handle" comes
under the laws of the lever. By test it has been proved
that a handle, even a short one, acts as a fulcrum or point
of leverage, so that greater pressure is exerted by means
of a handle than if tbe band were used direct.

Some interesting experiments were made on lengths of
handles of cleaning tools. Three women of varying heights,
5 ft. 3 in.. 5 ft. 6 in., and 5 ft. 8 in., were tested and grasped
the handle as follows :

METHODS OF CLEANING

3

y

t66

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Woman A—
5 feel 3 inclics
Long handle scrub

brush I foot I iijth

from end
Short handle scnih
brush I fool 4 inches

Oil mop 1 foot 5 inches

Broom 1 foot 5 inches

Woman B— Woman C—
5 feet 6 inches 5 feet 8 inches

1 footfiinches 1 fnotginches

fro

foot g inches
from end

foot 6 inches
from end

foot 6 inches
from end

foot 10 inches

foot 0 inches
from end
foot 8 inches

fro

lend

From these figures and other data in regard to the position
they toolf as they worked, it appears that each height of
worker has a fairly constant distance apart at which she uses
her arms, no matter what the length of the handle of the tool.
Now if the handle is short, the worker has to stoop overto
get into the particular position in which her arms remain
the proper distance apart ; if the handle is long, her hands
assume this comfortable distance without stooping.

Again, the angle at which a loiig-handled tool is used has
much influence on the amount of pressure exerted on the
mophead or whatever it may be. If the mop or broom could
be held straight down, the same amount of pressure exerted
at the handle would he given to the mophead. The further
the niophaiidle inclines from the vertical, the less its pres-
sure. Now we see where the real benefit of a long handle
comes in ; il permits the xvorker to exert at a standing height
the same amount of pressure that she would have to bend
greatly to exert, if the hatidle were short.

The facts to remember in order to make cleaning more
efficient are :

I. Any handled tool should preferably be 5 feet or over
11 length.

METHODS OP CLEANING 167 ^

2. The straigliter the handle is held to the vertical, the

greater the results with any given amount of
pressure.

3. Grasp handles with one hand as far down the handle

as possible^ — this gives a longer "force-arnt" to the

haiKlle, and hence greater pressure on the mop itself.

One hand is used chiefly to direct the handle, while the

other, sometimes right and sometimes left, depending on

individual cases, gives the real force.

By the use of the handle, then, it is possible to sweep, mop,
dust, and scrub, upright and h'jV/i less effort, the same work
done with a short handle or none at all. The longer the
handle, the straighter the position of the worker, the fur-
- ther down the force is applied — -the easier and more efficient
will be the work.

Importance of Proper Clothing
As has been pointed out, "cleaning" is exercise to a J
greater or less degree. Why not, then, dress, as if it were "
exercise, in order to receive the maximum benefit from the
work? No heavy skirts, "pull" at the arms, tight waists or
shoes can result in comfortable work. While much may
be said in favor of the one-piece dress, because of its neat
appearance, it has been found that a two-piece garment gives
tnore freedont if planned right. Such a dress is a modified
"jumper" consisting of a plain, short, gored .skirt and a
jumper waist like a middy blouse. This allows very great
freedom of movement to both waist and arms such as needed
in wiping, stooping, etc. Since the waist of this dress ex-
tends four or five inches below the natural waist line, it '
permits a great deal of bodily motion without exposing the
bell. It should have elbow sleeves and low collar, and can
be made in seersucker, chambray. or similar materials.
No detail is more important than the kind of shoe, and I

i68

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

wliile il may seem economy to wear "cast-ofF" best shoes
at work, it generally brings poor results in causing sore feet.
Only a broad, low heel, preferably o£ rubber, or a rubber
soled "athletic" shoe or a "nurse's" shoe should be worn by
one doing much cleaning, and who does not wish to risk a
"turned ankle" at rapid work.

A cap is also a needful accessory, keeping the hair from
corping loose about the face, as well as serving as a dust
protector. Emphasis is here put upon the kind of clothing
because right, neat clothing affects one's self-respect. The
reason why many women think of cleaning and similar
tasks as degrading, even, is because in the past the worker
looked like a "slavey," and was so uncomfortable about
her appearance that it made the work drudgery in her "
mind. It seems, too, Ihat a worker does neater, more careful
work if she is ncally attired and avoids doing careless,
sloppy work; while if dressed in a slovenly manner, her
work is slovenly too, because she "doesn't care how she
looks." It is possible to do even mopping and cleaning
without becoming a "sight." Training in working in an
efficient manner results in a neater appearance, and vice
versa. It is not how much we get done, but how well we '
get it done, with comfort to ourselves and others, that means
true efficiency.

There is also the "bungalo" dress, which is merely a large
allover apron with kimono sleeves, buttoning in the back.
This has been found very neat and serviceable as a cleaning
garment, because it permits little clothing used under it.
and a great deal of arm movement. Another dress found
desirable is a "reversible" dress which fastens with only
one button! This is made in one piece, of a comfortable
short sleeve type, and buttons at the belt. It can be reversed
and worn on the other side, if desired. Its advantage is the
easy way in which it is fastened,

METHODS OF CLEANING 169

So many women say, "I hate housework because it ii
hard on my hands !" It is. however, possible to preserve the
nice looks of the hand considerably by the use of gloves of
various kinds. The following have been proved worth
while :

Rubber gloves — dishwaaliing, toilet cleansing, wnshixig liabj nap-
kins. (Avoid u^iiig ttilh grease; good pairs cost $1.}

Large white cotton "teamster's" gloves — for sweeping and dust-
ing; for silver and metal cleansing; while using many kinds of
devices in the liand. (Cost 10 cents a pair.) Grease the hands
with cold cream before using.

Yellow oilskin— may be used instead of rubber as they last longer.
For same purposes and al^o as sweeping gloves. Cost about 50

Rub cold cream on the hard before begimiing hea\-y
cleaning, slip on gloves. After work, rinse hands, and rub
in an astringent like benzoin water.

Importance of Posture

Cleaning is exercise, but even exercise must be done
properly. It is possible to twist and contort the body mi-
necessarily. The use of long handle tools will allow the
worker to stand more often than stoop. But there is even
a best way to stoop, and that is fruiii the waist and not mth
the back. Go tipstairs on the ball o'f the foot, and not the
hee). Expand the chest even while using the arms with
broom, mop, etc. Never prostrate and shake the body as in
usual floor scrubbing, but choose some tool that will permit
standing work. Pails can be carried with less effort if the
body is rigiitly balanced. Tool handles can be grasped more
handily, so that the hand is not made misshapen and awk-
ward, just as there is an easy, graceful way of handling
a table fork and knife, and one that is awkward. Try and

ryo

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

assume comfortable positions. Train the hands to quick,
deft action, even in picking up floor cloths, grasping handles,
levers, etc. In this way the highest results and exercise will
replace drudgery.

What Is a Good Cleaning Outfit?

The needs of homes differ owing to their differing fur-
nishings ; the following hst covers the needs of many homes
in a complete and yet nut expensive way. If certain tools,
as vacuum cleaner, are included, this will dispense with tools
doing equivalent work.

SWEEPING AND DUSTING TOOLS

1. Vacuum or Suction Cleaner for thorough carpel, p ._

floor and drapery cleaning.

Electric models $25.00— $73.00

Hand models (2 persons) 20.00 and up

2. Carpet Sweeprk for threads, and surface cleaning

every day 3,50 and up

3. LoKG Handle (5 feet) Hair Broom for exposed

wood, tile and hnoleum sweeping 1.50

4. Short Handle (3 feet) Hair Broom for sweeping

fireplace, picking waste into dustpan 75

5. Dhv or Oil Strisg Mop for dusting or oiling wood

floors 75 and up

6. Corn Broom — only for sidewalks or coarse porch

floors, etc., or rugs swept outside 45 and up

7. Wall Brush of Fibre or Pulled Cotton — long
handle, to clean walls, mouldings, ceilings, pic-

. when no vacuum cleaner is used.,, r.jj.mdup

8. Short Handle Fibre Brush for dusting stairs... .50

9. Dustless Dusters for furniture and woodwork.
Flannel or silk duster for ornaments, piano,
etc, glassware as each

10. Long Handled Dustpan, with trap 50

11. Radiator Brush, bristles set in a thin, narrow han-
dle for cleaning between radiator pipes 50

METHODS OF CLEANING

171

MOPPING AND WEST CLEANING TOOLS

^ ^ ^ f , If . , , Approximate

1. Oliver Sanitary Cleaner — long handle with rub- p •

ber grip at base to hold mop cloth; excellent

for cleaning tile, linoleum, etc $ 1.25

2. String Mop for coarse work on porches, cellars,

etc.; not needed generally if the "Oliver** is
used 50

3. Combination Scrub Pail and Mop Wringer. One

motion of foot wrings the mop head. Only
needed if strmg mop is used 1.50

4. Common Papier Mache Bucket, light weight.

Bucket 50

Basket .25

Use sponge and soap basket on edge.

5. Scrub Cloths of knitted heavy crash — 22x22 is a

good size 25

(Such cloths are much better than "cast-offs"
and rags, which are hard to clean, and do un-
even work.)

6. Handled Scrub Brush — regular scrub brush on

4-foot handle 50

.7. Window Washer — contains water, and is fitted
with both rubber edge and felt dryer — mounted
on long handle. Useful for many high, out-
side window work i.oo

8. Windowclean Cloth — inside work, needs no water,

and replaces chamois for mirrors, globes, etc. .25

9. Bathroom Tongs or Brush. The tongs are more

sanitary and, used with paper clean the toilet
bowl. A long handled brush is necessary if
tongs are not used.

Brush 65

Tongs .75

POLISHING AND CLEANING TOOLS

Approximate
i. Silverclean Pan — cleans flat ware and small Price

shaped pieces in shorter time $ i.oo and up

172

HOUSEHOLD KNGINEERING

CiOTRs FOR Metal— one kind for
brass, another for nickel. Use iri5tead of pastes
and powders. Always wear gloves when nsing

Ihem 25 each

3. Polishing Mitt — for use on stoves and other dirty
work. Shaped to the hand, and white wool on
one side 25

ACCESSORIES Apiiroxittiate

Price

1. CoMBlNEtl StEPLADDEH AND Ch.UK $ 2.00

2. Broom-holders — small devices which permit han-

dles to be easily kept off the floor loeach

3. Sraped Broom Cover of Fei.t — for slipping on

corn broom in place of string mop 2-,

4. Paint Brushes — of several sizes for getting into

stair corners, brushing wicker, etc 15 and up

5. Putty Knife— This triangular tool is helpful in

cleaning baseboards, angles, and for general
scraping 25

6. Galvanized Ikon Strip, 6x3 inches. H this is held

flush with baseboard or window trim it will
prevent paper from being soiled while wood-
work is cleaned

7. Pocket Bag for string, gloves, etc

8. WATtRpHOOF Apron, for doing heavy or unpleas-

ant cleaning, or washing dishes

9. Rubbish Burner of wire

SUMMARY OF CLEANING VARIOUS FINISHES

Linoleum — Wa^h with tepid water and naphtha suds; rinse with
clear tepid water and dry thoroughly. Avoid water seeping under
edges, which causes rotting. Do not use brush, but soft cloth. It
can be successfully waxed, which preserves it and makes it easier
to care for.

Mattino — Sweep with hair broom ; vacuum cleaner is particularly
good on matting; to cleanse thoroughly, wipe with cloth wrung
out of strong warm salt solution (one-half cup salt to one gallon).
There is a matting made of woven paper which looks identical, but
wears better, as it does not split.

METHODS OF CLEANING

173

and hot water. Avoid
lime ; successively scrub.

Tile or Bhick — Use scouring powder
sloshing, and do only a small section at a
rinse and dry small sections.

Enameled Wood — Woolen cloth wrung out of ivory soap suds. ]
Wipe with clean, damp clolh. Do only a small section a
Use no scouring powder which will remove the finish, but whitii^ I
paste if very soiled. Polishing wilh dry flannel restores the high J

W.^XED Wood — Sweep with hair broom. Mop with dry mop or
bagbroom covered wilh flannel. Do not oil or wash with water;
use only mop moistened with turpentine, then clean dry mop to
polish. Wax. small spots as ihey appear, and polish with weighted
brush about once a montl:. The well waxed floor is, of all, the
easiest to keep clean and in repair.

Varnished Wood — Sweep with hair broom ; use dry or oil mop
daily. Never use water if possible, as this removes varnish and
coarsens wood. Repair small worn places before they wear entirely
through: if a varnished floor is waxed it stands wear better and is
easier to care for. Light stains show dust less than dark ones.
Be sure no excess oil is left on floor to soil rug edges. Varnished
wood is hard to care for, shows heel marks and "wears through"
quickly unless care is taken.

Shehacked Wood — Use liair broom and string mop without oil.
Never use water. In beginning, use equal portions of white shellac
and grain alcohol applied with a brush. Shellac gives a hard 1
finish temporarily, but must be renewed frequently. Never 1
shellac on linoleum.

Oiled Wood — Use hairbrush and dry or oil mop. This finish ,
looks well, but shows footsteps readily. It should not be wiped
wilh water, but reoiled with good boiled hnseed oil every three
months or so, being sure to "rub out" the excess o

Painted Wood — Use hair broom and string mop ;
ened flannel cloth, but never scrub or slosh with wi
paint is good in inexpensive bedrooms where there i
not where liiere is much treading, as the paint w
^iotches.

Painted Plastek— As tor enameled wood.

Burlap or Fabric Walls — Use siiff small wUisIt
uin cleaner tool.

CoKh

HnUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

1 Floor — It should first be oiled when laid ; then

use hair broom ind oil mop W5
coloring Not smted for kitcher
and absorbs grease readih

CoMPOsITlOM I-LOORS — \s lile ; c
brnsh can be u=ed

scours it but spoils the soft
' pantry, as it is too porous

ily. being without cracks, c

\n e-^ccellent polish for all wood except light maple or
miho^an\ is

J 3 benzine
^3 Lrude oil

Mix thoroughly, and use on cloth or mop to both clean
and polish. It costs about 30 cents a gallon.

Briefly, avoid water on all wood; use damp cloth but not
sloppy; use cloth or soft string mop, but not brush.

From the point of view of care, only, and not upkeep,
floors may be graded in the following order:

r. Waxed.

2, Stained and oiled.

3. Varnish or shellac.

4. Painted.

5, Linoleum or tile.

IJST OF CLEANSERS AND THEIR USES

1. Soaps — strong for coarse work bare boards, cement walks, etc.;
mild for fine woodwork, china, glass, etc.

2. Bon Ami — -powdered and brick, for porcelain, windows, lile, etc.
,V Elect HO- sn-icoN — for cleaning silver.

4. Barsuh's Putz Polish — brass polish, ahiminiim. ■

5. Brillo and steel wool — aluminum.

6. LiQuiu Veneer or other good furniture polish.

7. Old English Floor wax for floors and fine woodwork.

8. Washing soda for cleaning drains, traps, toilets, etc,

9. C-N Disinfectant, or Piatt's Chlorides for disinfecting bath-

METHODS OF CLEANING

175

10. Bathbrick for scouring knives and other steelware.

11. Kerosene for outdoor disinfectant, pouring down drains and
cleanir^ coarse woodwork.

12. Parson's ammonia for washing windows, linoleum, etc.

13. Borax for softening water, for washing glassware, etc.

14. Whiting for cleaning enameled paint and nickelware.

15. Impregnated metal cloth for polishing nickelware.

16. French chalk for cleansing spots in fabrics — blotting paper.
1'^. Linseed oil for wiping woodwork and polishing cast-iron

ranges, etc. Bum rags used with linseed oil; danger from fire —
spontaneous combustion.

18. "Sapolin" in aluminum, gold, black, Jtc. for finishing stoves
and radiators.

19. "Porcela" for bathtubs and porcelain.

Cleaning W.\lls

Wall surfaces for the kitchep have been already discussed
in Part I. Without doubt painted walls are the easiest to
care for, and retreat, as well as being the most sanitary,
-\ painted wall may be treated with a thin coal of starch
paste at the time of painting; this may be washed off when
soiled, taking the dirt with it, and a new coat applied, which
is as easy to do as scrubbing the paint. Paper is the surface
to show the greatest marring, as well as proving fairly un-
sanitary. Grease spots in paper can be removed by holding
over the spot a clean white blotter, and holding a hot iron
over this, which will draw the grease into the japer. Water-
color paints and a fine brush can be used to "tint" mar» and
small abrasions.

One of the most satisfactory wall surfaces is a material
called "lincrusta," which comes in definite sized sections, and
resembles a thin plastertike material on cardboard. Tliis
material comes in different [jattcms, imitating wood and
burlap, and can be either painted or stained after it is nailed
to the wall. It can then be scrubbed, if necessary, and as
it b practically part oi the wall. It i« most durable and

176 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

sanitary. It can be applied before the "smooth finish" coat
of plaster, in a new house, thus saving expense. In homes
with children, especially, lincrusta proves the best wall coat-
ing, as it is practically lifelong in wear and upkeep.

Various kinds of "beaver board" also make more easy-
to-care for wall surfaces, as they are sanitary, and need
renewing far less often than paper, paint, kalsomine. Bur-
lap and fabric coverings, although they may look well,
shrink and "bubble" if not very well put on, and are quite
unsanitary and difficult to dean.

QUESTIONS OF TTOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Methods of Cleaning

(a) What cleaning tools have you at present ? (b) Do
you think it advisable to add any and what ? { c)
Where do you keep these tools?

If possible, report time studies on cleaning rooms sepa-
rately and again without "change of shift."

Write out "Standard Practice" for your most unsatis-
factory or difficult cleaning task.

What is your experience (if any) with vacuum clean-
ing?

From experience, do you agree with the text in the use
of long-handled tools?

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

FOOD PLANNING FOR THE FAMILY

MANY women admit that while cleaning takes a great
deal of time, atiil it is one of the tasks of the home
which can be glossed over, or quite neglected in
extreme need. But the three -meals-a-day problem seems the
one from which there is no escape. We can leave the windows
unwashed if we don't get time or are loo tired, but no
matter what the circumstances or how the homemaker feels,
the family must eat and so food must be prepared regularly.
It is estimated that 70 per cent of the total time spent on all
housework is devoted to meal planning, cooking, serving, and
dishwashing, whethei^the family be rich or poor.

Is it necessary that this large proportion of time and effort
be spent by the homemaker in order that her family is prop-
erly nourished? Even though three meals a day must be
prepared every day in t!ie year, it is possible to reduce the
work involved ;

1st: By studying and understanding food values,
and: By following cooking methods that are well-
planned.
3rd: By using fuels and utensils that cut costs and
save effort, and time.
The question must be asked first, "Why do we cook?"
And the answer is naturally, "To nourish the body and

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERIXG

maintain it at the highest point of health and power for
work." But again and again it is found in many homes that
a great amount of cooking is done that does not fulfil this
aim. Cooking is all too freijuenlly unthinkingly done to
feed llie family, without planning to nourish it. For instance,
an individual might eat two or three large dumplings which
would undoubtedly "feed" him, but which would not nourish
him properly. Cooking is also done according to the whims
or tastes of the members of the family, who do not under-
stand what their body requires, but who desire food that
merely gratifies the palate. It is therefore the all-important
duty of the homemaker her.self to make a study of food
values and to supply her table with rightly-chosen foods,
cooked inteUigenlly.

The first step toward simpler, easier cooking is this true
understanding of food values. The practice of cooking alone
never gives this, and someone may "cook for twenty years"
and still not he preparing food according to the real needs of
the family. While the knowledge of foods is a study in
itself (which can only be touched on here), nevertheless
there are certain principles of nutritioe on which the easier
and better preparation of meals depend.

NUTRIENTS OF FOOD AND THEIR USE IN THE BODY
(i) Protein: Lean of meat and fish, white of egg; abundant in
cheese, beans, peas and other legumes ; in milk and many
grains like oatmeal, wheat and barley and in nuts.
(Protein is the only nutrient which can furnish the mate-
rial to replace old or grow new tissue.)
(a) Cakbohyijeates ; Starch, sugar, etc. Starch found in all cereals,
flours, meals and their products ; in many vegetables —
potatoes, beans, peas, etc.; in nuts and some fruits. Sugar
as cane sugar, beet sugar, and present in most fruits, some
vegetables and in milk.

(Carbohydrates furnish "tuer for heat and rauscnlar
energy to the body They are the quidt fuels.)

FOOD PLANNING FOR THE FAMILY

l8l

m, laril, suet ; also
oils and shortening

(3) Fats: Fats of meat and fish, butler, 1

vegetable oils like olive, cottonseed, t

preparations made from them.

(Fats furnish over twice the "fuel" for heat and energy as

same weight of carbohydrate or protein. Excess of food

supply is stored in the body as fat.)

(4) MiNEGAL Salts : Salts found in all vegetables and fruits and

in the outer coats especially of various cereals; also in
milk and eggs.

(Mineral salts form the greater part of the bony structure
and are a very small, though necessary, part of every tissue
in the body; they arc necessary for the digestive secre-
tions and for the blood.)

Bulk oh Waste Products : Tissues of many vegetables and fruits
which do not contain nutrients, but which serve to give
"bulk" to the meal, and act as "brooms" to the system,
stimulating the intestinal and muscular walls, as the cellu-
lose in cabbage, celery, beets, carrots, spinach, etc

Wateb; This forms a large portion of all foods and body tissues and

is necessary in dissolving the food, canying away waste

products, and in regulating the temperature of the body

through the blood.

Every food contains one or more (sometimes all) of these

"nutrients," For the average person the best meal is that

which is planned after what is called the "balanced ration."

What Is the "Balanced Meal"?
A "balanced" meal is one in which the z'arious food prm-
ciples are combined in a proper proportion. The "balanced"
meal must cotitain some protein, some carbohydrate, some
fat, some mineral salts, some water and some bulk. This
combination or "balance" should be present in all meals,
both for the needs of the body and for good digestion. In
other words, it will not do to eat nearly all starch at one
meal, nearly all protein at the next. A meal should not
contain roast beef, beans and a rich custard dessert, or there
will be too much protein ; a meal should not contain corn on

1

182 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING i^H

cob, mashed potatoes and rice pudding, because this would ^^H

give too much starch, and a meal should not consist of ^^M

pork, fried potatoes and rich pudding with butter sauce, ^^H

for it would contain too much fat.* ^^M

A glance at these two sets of meals will show which is ^^M

"balanced" and which is not : ^^|

B.^LANCED MEALS ■ ^^M

POTRO.\ST WITH l-ARSHIPS AND CAKBOTS ^^^|

BAKED APPLE OK OTHER ACID FRUIT ^^H

.

«'H,TE ^^^^^^^ CELATI^^*"''' "'^'' ^1

(3) VEGETABLE ^^

POTATO SALAD PEANUT SANDWICHES ^^^|

CHOCOLATE ^H

MEALS NOT BALANCED ^^M

(I) ' CREAM POTATO ^H

POTROAST WITH POTATOES, PAHSNIPS, CARROTS ^^^^^^^B

(Too ^^^^^^^^^^t

(2) ROAST PORK ^^^^H

'^^st^ea™b"puddisc with hIr^sIu'^"^ ^^^^^H

(Too ^^^^^^H

(3) ^^^^H

(Too much pmlciii") ^^^H

\

•BullellnB of Iho Hchool, "Fooil ValuM." -Freehnnd CoolilnB," "FIV8 ^^^M

■•LcMnna In Cooking. Through PrepBrittlon or Meals" glvcB SflT wall bal- ^^^|
ancfil niPnus, irlth r^^'^lpc and dtrcetionH for preparing each of the mealB, ^^^^1

^H

FOOD PLANNING FOR THE FAMILY 183

The Balanced Meal Is Less Costly
Not only does the "balanced" meal furnish the proper
proportion of nourisliment, but it lessens the cost of the
menus. The homenmker who understands the principles of
the balanced meal will not, for instance, have an expensive
eg^ dessert when the first course is a substantial meat dish,
or vice versa. She will not have ham and eggs and cheese
and a floating island dessert. She will know that many of
the so-called cheaper cuts around the flank, etc., furnish as
much nutriment as porterhouse or expensive loin. She will
know that a simple meal of cream soup, bread and butter
with a custard furnishes as much nourishment as an elab-
orate luncheon of sardines, sliced meat, potatoes, canned
peaches and cake. In other words, the balanced meal makes
for real economy.

The Balanced Meal Saves Time in Cooking
But the balanced meal truly makes for efficiency in cook-
ing, because the housekeeper who follows this plan does not
need to spend the time in preparing the balanced meal that
she does usually on an elaborate meal. When she knows
that the simple balanced meal, wel! cooked and served will
satisfy the actual needs of her family, she need not spend
hours over unnecessary pot-watching, making compHcated
desserts and taking several hours to prepare the food for
one meal. Most of the yo per cent of her time spent in
cooking results because the housewife attempts to serve too
many kinds of food or too many courses at the same meal.
Cooking can be simplified largely by having a simpler
standard.

Pf.AXNiNG Meals for Taste

Another important thing to remember in planning meals

is, to consider tlic taste and appetite as well as the nutritive

l84 irOUSKHOLD EKGIXF.ERING

values. Even the best dinner, arranged on the most nourish-
ing plan, would not necessarily be appetizing if certain rules |
are not observed. Every meal should have contrast — sweet i
with sour, light with heavy, crisp with soft, strong with deli-
cate. The ideal meal is that in which one passes from one I
pleasurable taste to another. Every dish in the menu must -j
be considered with relation to every other from the point of |
view of taste alone.

It is not only what we eat, but the pleasure we enjoy when I
we eat that makes meals satisfactory. Science has proved
that the appetizing meal is more likely to be well digested.
Therefore the housewife's planning must include the appear-
ance and daintiness of each dish, and its contrast with the
others. We do not want so many courses as in the so-called
■'formal" meal, but we do need to follow the dexterous n.an-
ner in which each course opposes the other, and, ai
"plays up" the succeeding one.

Two creamed foods should not generally be served at the ■j
same meal or there will be too much "sloppy" foods. Dry '
meats should be served with creamed or scalloped potatoes,
dry potatoes with gravy. A meal should not contain two
strong flavored foods like cheese, onions, cabbage, cauli-
flower, turnips. Rich puddings should have acid sauces,
light cakes go with rich desserts, and rich cakes with plain
and fruit desserts. Not even a good appetite can enjoy
monotonous unrelieved foods.

Planning Meals Ahead
Nothing wastes time more or is more inefficient than to
let the choosing of a meal go until an hour or two hours
before it is to be served. If left in this way until the last
moment it is quite sure Jiot to he a "balanced" meal, but one
hastily put together, of anything that happens to be in the
1 house or that can be obtained quickly.

I

FOOD PLANNING FOR THE FAMILY 185

Planning meals ahead has definite advantages :

(i) It permits economical marketing in advance, and
purchase in larger quantities,

. (2) It cuts down the time necessaiy in marketing, as
instead of shopping every day for a small amount,
marketing is done once or twice a week.

(3) It permits cooking for more than one meal at a

time and saves in the use and washing of kitchen
tools.

(4) It permits food preparation many hours in advance

of the actual meal.

If meals are left until the last moment it is likely that
someone may have to "run to the store," or telephone or pay
the highest price for some article which is to be included in
the meal. The most extravagant way of purchasing house-
hold supplies is to purchase in small quantities "by the bag"
or by the box from day to day. On the other hand, by plan-
ning mea]^ in advance, the materials for these meals can be
carefully chosen, a list made, and bought in quantity. Sta-
ples should be estimated and bought in quantity, and by
weight. Each time an article is divided in a smaller and
smaller unit, as a pound, a quart, it costs more proportion-
ately than an equal amount bought by the bushel, the case or
the ten pounds.

It has been estimated that potatoes -which cost $1.00 per
bushel for a 60-poLmd bushel, or at the rate of 25 cents a
peck, cost the consumer as high as 45 cents a peck when
sold by small bags or 10 or ig cents' worth at a time. Rice,
cornmeal, sugar and other bought groceries should be pur-
chased in 3, 5 or lo-poimd quantity. The menus can be so
planned as to get the greatest advantage from a plan of
wholesale buying.

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

How TO Make and Use a Purchasing Sheet

In all institutions and hotels meals are planned consid-
erably in advance and a "purchasing sheet" made out for
these articles. This makes for economy because by seeing
what several meals are to consist of at one time the house-
keeper can apportion the iriaterials to the best advantage and
arrange the meals so that meats, vegetables, etc., are planned |
for two or more servings.

A purchasing sheet can be made out' for one lyeek or for |
two weeks, and should include ez'ery item necessary for the ■
salisfaclory completion of all the meals in a given time.

This does not mean that every item for the whole week
must be bought at one time, but that it be known in advance
what every item is which is needed to develop these meals
satisfactorily. Thus the "purchasing sheet" fulfils the sec-
ond benefit of meals planned in advance; it prevents the
possibility of being "out" of any product needed in the
preparation of the meals.

To make a purchasing sheet, proceed as follows:

First write down the menus desired. Then estimate the
number of eggs, the pounds of tea and coffee, the amount
of potatoes, meats and vegetables, etc., needed. For in-
.'itance, in the meals following, by looking at the desserts and
other dishes which call for eggs, we see that 30 e^s are
needed. By measuring a pound of coffee it is found that it
contains 50 tablespoens. On this basis, as S tablespoon fuls
are used each morning, i pound of coffee will suffice for 10
mornings. Beets are used twice and 2 cans of tomatoes,
and it is always noted what foods are in season before
making up the menus in the first place. Suppose about 8
potatoes are used every meal, and that S potatoes weigh
approximately 2 lbs. By having potatoes at 9 meals. iS lbs.
^will be needed for this one week. Since it is further known

FOOD PLANNING FOR THE FAMILY 187

that a bushel of potatoes weigh 60 lbs. a further estimate
shows that a little over ^4 bushel is needed each week. In a
similar way every item, number of pounds, bunches or dozen,
can be worked out to prepare the menus for any given
family.

The menus following and their corresponding purchasing
sheet are for simple, average family meals, particularly sea-
sonable for the cold winter months. They are arranged to
give "balanced combination of foods," and yield a large
amount of heat and energy so that the body can withstand
the cold. That is why the menus contain much fat and
starchy foods, hot cakes, baked or casserole dishes. But it
will be noted no starchy vegetable is used at the same meal
with a starchy pudding ; a heavy meat is relieved by an acid
salad or a fruit dessert ; poor combinations like rice, potatoes
and macaroni are avoided, and each meal has a proper "bal-
ance" of protein, starch, fat and bulk.

SUNDAY (i)
Breakfast— stuffed baked apples

IRISH OATMEAL FRENCH TOAST AND MAPLE SYRUP

COFFEE

Dinner — breast of lamb

CREAMED potatoes MASHED RUTABAGAS

LETTUCE AND PIMENTO SALAD
LEMON GELATIN CHOCOLATE WAFERS

Supper — CREAMED FINNAN HADDIE BROWNBREAD SANDWICHES

FRUIT LOAF
COCOA WI-TH MARSH MALLOW WHIP

MONDAY (2)
Breakfast — stewed apricots

POACHED F^GS
BUCKWHEAT CAKKS AND SYRUP
. COFFEE

Luncheon — fried baby sausages and apple rings

LEMON CREAM RICE
rolls TEA

^Bt

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B

W i88

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING ^^H

^^^^ Dinger—

LAMB ^H

SCALLOPED POTATOES BEETS ^^^|

^^^^b

RAISIN rUFFS WITH FOAMY SAUCE ^^H

^^^P

TUESDAY (3) ^^M

^V Breakfast-

BAKED BANANAS ^^^H

OMELET TOAST ^^H

■

COFFEE ^^^H

H Luncheon-

SPACaETTI WITH CHEESE AND PIMENTO ^^H

CELERY SALAD ^^^H

■

SLICED ORANGES JELLY ROLL ^^^1

^L Dinner—

CASSEROLE OF LAMB, POTATOES AND CARROTS ^^^|

^^L

COLD COCOANirr CUSTARD PUDDING WITH LEMON SAUCE ^^H

^^r

WEDNESDAY (4) ^H

Break fast-

BAKED PRUNES CRACKED WHEAT ^^|

DROPPED EGG ON TOAST COFFEE ^^|

Lunch eon-

CROQUETTES ^^H

BRAN MUFFINS PICKLED BEET RELISH ^^H

Dinner—

VEAL CUTLETS ^^^|

CREAUED CABBAGE MASHED POTATOES TOMATO ASPIC ^^^M

PINEAPPLE WHIP ^^H

THURSDAY (5) ^^M

Brcakfast-

ORANGES ^H

•

CREAMED DRIED BEEF AND EGG ON TOAST ^^^|

COFFEE ^^^1

Luncheon-

CREAM OF TOMATO BISQUE '^^^|

l-OPO\'EHS^^^^ FRUIT ''^AF° ^^^^'^ ^l

Dinner—

MoTrCHrCKF.N ^"piE ^|

CRANBERRY BETTY TEA ^^^|

FRIDAY (6) ^H

Breakfast-

APPLE COMPOTE ^^|

WAFFLES AND SYRUP COFFEE ^^H

Luncheon-

SI'UFFED SWEET POTATOES ^^^^|

^^

HERMITS ^^^^^^1

FOOD PLANNING FOR THE FAMILY 1S9 ^^B

Dinner— casserole of

.„.„,.„„„„..,.-„ ■

DHESSEIl LETTUCE ^^H

I

NCER PUDDISC ^H

SATURDAY (?) ^H

Breakfast— STEWEd apbicots ^^|

TOAST COFFEE ^^^

Luncheon— csea

z"'r',zr" m

LEMON S

J4AFS COCOA ^H

1 Dinner— baked lentils with tomato sauce ^^|

t BAKED POTATOES

CELERY AN-D CABBAGE SLAW ^^H

BAKED APPLE

WITH ^MINCEMEAT STUFFl.VG ^H

PURCHASIXG SHEET

FOR FOREGOING MEALS ^H

J4 peck of apples

I pound of dried prunes ^^H

'A pound each of Irish oat-

5 pound; of veal ^^H

meal, cracked wheat and

2 cans of tomatoes ^^|

other cereal

[ small can of pineapple (or ^^M

lyi pints of maple syrup

the fresh fruit) ^^M

Ji pound of coffee

'A pound of dried beef ^H

10 pounds of forequarter of

•A box of cocoa ^^M

lamb

Yi cake of chocolate ^^M

iJ4 pecks of potatoes

Yi pound of flageolets ^^H

2 medium sized rutabagas

pint of cranberries ^^H

I small can of pimentos

I quart of sweet potatoes ^^^|

I box of gelatin

1 quart of oysters ^^|

lyi pounds of smoked finnan

1 box of oyster crackers ^^1

haddie

4 pounds of halibut ^^|

a pound box of marshmal-

I quart of parsnips ^H

lows

Yi pound of bacon ^H

I'A pounds of dried apricots

yi pound of tapioca '^^|

2yi dozen eggs

I box of lemon snaps ^H

I quart jar, or a large can of

2 pounds of lentils ^H

beets

2 cupfuls of mincemeat ^^|

1 pound box of raisins

2 quarts of milk daily ^H

2 pounds of sausages

I l.irge loaf of bread daily ^H

J4 pound of rice

y^ small bag of salt ^H

8 bananas

V/i pounds of lard ^^1

a pound of spaghetti

% pound of tea ^H

K pound sharp American

% box of cornstarch ^H

cheese

6 pounds of tlour for rolls, ^H

3 bunches of celery

cakes, gravies, etc. ^H
iVi pounds of butter ^H

8 oranges

1 bunch of carrots

2 very small heads of lettuce ^H

1 large cabbage

3 ■

I box of grated coroanut

igo

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Looking at the menus it will be seen that the meals were
planned so that : Tomato from Dinner No. 4 made soup for
Luncheon No. 5 ; potatoes from Dinner No. i made potatoes
for Dinner No. 2 ; veal from Dinner No. 4 made potpie for
Dinner No. 5 ; fish from Dinner No. 6 made creamed fish
for Luncheon No. 7; pudding from Dinner No. 3 made
Luncheon No. 4; the forequarter of lamb made four meals
(explained below) ; cabbage for slaw No. 3 made creamed
cabJjage for Dinner No. 4; egg yolks from dessert No. 4
made Breakfast No. 5 ; left-over lamb from dinners Nos. i
and 3 "made croquettes for Luncheon No. 4.

The fifth strong argument in favor of scheduled meals is
that it saves endless time and nervous energy. Under the
old way one had to stop and think about "What shall I
have ?" at least every other day. Poor planning means that
a suddenly needed article is "out," and the whole meal has
to be replanned to fit this condition. Poor planning also
makes for "hit-and-miss" results, and it is impossible to
estimate how certain quantities will last. With "scheduled
meals" there is no such fussing and readjusting.

Such menus and purchase sheets should be preserved for
reference. With changes' and improvements they can be
used many times, thus saving time in planning.

Time Scuedule of Meai^

Still another advantage of planning meals ahead in this
way is that it permits a more accurate "time schedule" to
be made and followed, as outlined in Chapter II, Plans and
Methods of Daily Household. Indeed, it is impossible to
make a practical schedule unless the meals are planned in
advance and the cooking fitted in with the other household
tasks.

It is also advisable, especially for beginners, to put down
> the order of preparation and time at which the cooking of

FOOD PLANNING FOE THE FAMILY igi

each disli must coinnieiice, so that the whole meal may be
done and ready to serve on schedule time.

How Careful Marketing Saves Money

It is difficult to say just wtere to draw the line between
the saving made by careful planning and by careful market-
ing, as they dovetail so much. Careful marketing depends
on careful planning, and on the other hand successful, effi-
cient marketing is based on exact planning.

A reference to the menu shows that dinner on Sunday
consists of breast of lamb, while the second dinner is lamb
chops; Dinner No. 3 is of Irish stew; and Luncheon No. 4
is croquettes. All these meals are obtained from the same
piece — the forequarter of lamb or mutton, bought at one
time in one section. As a whole, this forequarter, when it
weighs 10 pounds would cost $1.50 for the piece; but if
bought in sections it would cost considerably more, as the
^ following table shows:

SAVING IN BUYING MEATS IN QUANTITY

10 lb. forequarter of mtitton, at 15c per pound $i.SO

li divided: 4 lbs. shoulder roast @ i8c $0.72

2^ lbs. neck for stew @ 13c 36

3J4 11'5. rib chops @ zoe 65

$173

or 23 cents saved by buying the entire forequarter,

10 lb. hindquarter of mutton @ i8c $1.80

If divided : 7 lbs. of roast (3) 22c $1.54

3 lbs, of chops @ 28c 84

S2.38

or 58 cents saved.

10 lb. shoulder of veal @ 18c $1,80

If divided : 7 lbs. roast (® 22c $i.S4

3 lbs. of stew @ i8c 54

$2.08

r 28 cents saved.

2 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERfNG

10 lbs. of rib roast @ 22c

If divided: 8 lbs. of short rib for roast ® 26c $2.oS
2 lb?, of long ribs for soup @ l8c .36

or 24 cenis saved.

10 lb. loin of pork @ 20c '.

If divided ; 5 lbs. of roast @ 20c $1.00

5 lbs. of loin chops @ 22c i.io

It would seem from these figures that there is a decided
saving in buying certain meats in quantity enough for two
meals or more. This is possible when the family is large
enough and there is adequate storage facility to keep the .
uncooked portion until needed. However, this saving is I
made only on the better meats on "prime" cuts. There is
no saving in buying quantities of chuck, brisket or other of
the cheaper cuts, because no matter how much is bought
there is no more to be obtained at a less price than the small
quantity price.

The saving is on large "prime" sections which, when cut I
up, make chops, roasts and choice pieces, and on which there j
is also more waste Jn handling for the butcher. If he can J
sell a whole loin at once he is willing to sell it for four cents ]
a pound less in order to save the waste there is in it to him
when he divides it up into separate sections of chops, 1
shoulder, etc. I

Another reading of these menus will show that this !
several-meal-buytng idea was followed out with the vegeta- '
hies and fruit. Enough beets were bought to do two meals,
a hot vegetable and a cold relish ; apples and oranges were
bought with the double meals they would serve in mind;
cabbage was planned for two meals ; enough fish was bought '
at once to do for the warm dinner and the creamed fish for J
luncheon ; the same was planned for the veal and the mock
chicken pie it made the following day. This idea of over- J
iHppiuf; the snn«e material for two or more meals and map-l

FOOD PLANNING FOR THE FAMILY

keting with this in view results in a big money- saving,
because it forces the housewife to buy more closely and less
lavishly and less in the hit-or-miss way which is always more
costly.

COMPARISON OF "POUND" AND QUANTITY BUYING

Cost by the Pound Cost in Quantity Saving

1 pound $0.30 5 pounds $1.25 $0.2S
'/i pound .22 2!^ pounds l.(

2 oz. bot. .25 yt pint

Coffee

Baking powder

Flavoring Extract.

Canned soups

Canned vegetables.

Canned fruits

Olive oil..

Whole wheat flour..
Bice, beans, lentils,

tapioca, etc

Packaged jellies, co-

coaitut, etc

Tea

Biscuits

Dried fruits

Laundry soap

Toilet paper

Laundry starch... ..

White soap

Potatoes

Lard

ro pounds

I pound

I package
1 pound
t package

I pound
I pound

.10 12 packages
.60 5 pounds

.05 12 packages
.15 2 pounds

.00 6 rolls

.05 10 pounds

.40 I bu-shel

.14 5-pound pail

How Planning Meals Saves Time in Cooking
Many women will say, "Oh, I always use up left-overs
in salads or in various souffle or scalloped forms." But there
is a difference between the "left-over" and the deliberate
planning to prepare sufficient of the same material to last
two meals, with only one "long" cooking. For example, in
Dinner No. 1 creamed potatoes are used. Now, without the
several-meal idea in mind, perliaps a generous quantity suf-
ficient for one meal would have been prepared, and if some
happened to be left over, it would have been fried or pre-
pared in any accidental way that struck the fancy. But by
planning ahead, enougli was prepared at one long cooking

194

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

to reheat with a short cooking the second day, — part oR
creamed potatoes on Dinner i were scalloped for Dinner 2^.1

This plan makes a decided saving in fuel, for it takesj
from 25 to 40 minutes to cook any potatoes or other vegeta-T
bles for one meal. But it takes only lo or 13 minutes to j
reheat or scallop the potatoes — which is called "short"
cooking. In other words, by planning meals ahead in this
way, instead of there being two "long" cookings, there is
necessary only one "long" cooking and one "short" cooking.
This is illustrated in the cooking of potatoes for Dinner
No. I and Dinner No. 4; croquettes of Luncheon No. 4;
veal of Dinner No. 4, fish of Dinner No. 6 and at varioua
other times. This method shortens the time of preparing
and saves money in fuel. In many a home potatoes are
boiled half an hour for cz-ery dinner, and a hot vegetable
for every mea! for 40 minutes, and never a thought is given
to the many times this second "long" cooking could be 1
saved.

In the cocoanut pudding, Dinner No. 3, two distinct '
dishes were made at one tinne, one in a mold for dinner and ■
the other in individual cups for luncheon, which, served
with chocolate sauce, made a distinct dessert. In Dinner
No. 6 all the halibut is cooked until done, then the second
portion is removed for the next day's luncheon before the
tomato is added to the first part. In any case where there
was a first "long" cooking of both potato and vegetable, they
were both cooked on the same burner in a steamer.

In summer it is easy to use in a salad vegetables which
have had the first "long" cooking, because string beans, car-
rots, beets, etc., when cooked, make just as attractive vegeta-
bles served cold with French dressing as tbey did hot the
first day. In winter, potato, cheese and egg "planned-overs'* 1
can be scalloped quickly or served in a cream sauce. Dinner
No. 7 is a "baked" dinner, and dinner No. 3 a boiled one-

TOOD PLANNING FOR THE FAMILY

'95

all foods being baked in one case, and boiled in the other.
The greatest waste in fuel occurs when frying, boiling, and
baking are all attempted at (he same meal.

Aside from using such helps as tireless cookers, steamers
and portable ovens, the housewife can cut down fuel expense
by plajining left-overs or extensively developing this idea of
giving the "long" cooking only once to either meat, vegeta-
bles or fruit. There are women who claim that left-overs
can never be more than what their name implies, but in
France the use of small pieces is an art. and many of the
most successful dishes are made from what American house-
wives would call worthless. The sauce, and the daintiness
with which they are served are the secrets of making left-
overs successful, whether they are meat, vegetable or cheese.

A novel way of utilizing left-overs is to use them with
canned soups, like tomato, mulligalawney, oxtail, tomato and
vegetable, costing ro cents a can or 50 cents a half dozen
cans. The contents are diluted, then thickened to make a
pleasant sauce, and the beef, mutton, fish, etc., are heated
in the sauce and then served either at once on toast or scal-
loped for a few moments in the oven and dotted with bread-
crumbs. The smallest left-overs can be made into appetizing
dishes in this way.

Muliigatawney soup as sauce for portions of cold meat beef, mut-
ton, pork or veal. Makes a delicious curry, shepherd's pie, baked
peppers and rice, collops on toasl, flank steak, etc.

Oxtail soup as sauce to spaghetti, rice, peppers, left-over meat of
any kind, hard-boiled eggs, etc., chopped Hamburger, chopped tail
of steak, pickings from any meat, made into croquettes or force-
Vegetable soup as sauce for left-over soup meat, brisket, roast
or pork, in individual casseroles, etc.

Mutton and beef broth as slock, the basis of croquettes and many
other made dishes, in every case where stock is generally used,
which causes the great expense of the "long" cooking and strain-
ing of stock.

Tomato soup, very diluted, as sauce to portions of fish, cheese
and canned salmon to make mock lobster, rabbit, Venetian eggs, etc.

196

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

CiX)KiN<; Plans Which Save Time

When any cooking is analyzed it is found that it consists
of the following three steps:

(i) Grouping food materials and utensils.

(2) Actual preparation, or work.

(3) "Clearing up."

It is also found that while the time spent in actual prep-
aration (2) is nearly constant, the time spent in grouping
(r) and clearing away (3) varies considerably. The first
help, then, to efficient cooking is efficient grouping of utensils
and materials, as described in Chapter I. Only when tools
are grouped, when materials are conveniently arranged and
the kitchen step-saving, can cooking be done easily and
quickly.

Much time that is often wasted in clearing up {3) can be
lessened by a more dexterous, neat manner of working.
For example, if a recipe calls for both dry and liquid mate-
rials, the dry materials can be measured first, in this way
using only one container or cup, whereas if it is the liquid
that is measured first, a clean one would be needed to meas-
ure the dry. The "wipe as you go" adage is a good one;
but another saving plan is to cook at the same time dishes
needing similar tools.

For instance, a Spanish cream, a prune whip and mayon-
naise are types of dishes that 'overlap'.' and use the same
kinds of utensils, bowls, beater, etc. If made at the same
time, there is a saving in the number of utensils and also the
time of preparation over these same dishes if made at dif-
ferent times with separate groupings and handlings. Here
is where planning ahead will permit a saving which would
1 be impossible with haphazard meals.

J

FOOD PLANNING FOR THE FAMILY 197

TIME FOR FOUR COOKING TASKS DONE SEPARATELY

Numbed
Time Requiked to Group Prepare Clean Up Utensils

Spanish cream 4 rain. 7 min. 5 min. 6

Boiled salad dressing 3 min. 8 min, 5 min. 8

Cake 4 min. 9 min. 6 min. 11

Prune whip 3 min. 5 min. 4 min. 5

14 min. 29 min. 20 min. 30

Total 63" Minutes.

TIME FOR FOUR COOKING TASKS DONE SIMULTANE-
OUSLY

Number
Time Required to Group Prepare Clean Up Utensils

Spanish cream 4 min. 7 min. 6

Boiled salad dressing 1 min. 8 min. 3

Cake I min, g min. 4

Prune whip 1 min. 5 rain. I

7 min. 39 min. 9 min. ' 14

Total 45 Minutes.

The points brought out are that the amount of time spent
in the actual preparation is about the same whether the tasks
are done together or separately. But if the tasks are done
together, the time spent in grouping materials is cut down
about one-half, from 14 to 7 minutes. Also, the time spent
in cleaning up is cut down over half, from 20 to 9 minutes.
The number of utensils saved is appreciable, and in general
the amount of time saved is greater the more similar the
kinds of materials and tools used in each case. That is,
briefly, it takes much more time to clear up after separate
tasks or cooking than if several dishes are made successively
and only one "clearing up" performed. Thus there is a
distinct saving by planning to cook dishes using similar
utensils and material at one time.

Cooking in Advance

Probably the usual method of preparing three meals a

day is first to cook breakfast, then proceed to other cleaning

I

19S HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

and housework, come back to the kitchen for luncli prepara-
tion, then spend several hours for preparing the evening
meal. No wonder, so many women feel that most of their
life is spent in the kitchen! The planning of meals in ad-
vance has this chief value — that it permits cooking and prep-
aration in advance. Many women now follow this plan
either consciously or by instinct, and practical teets prove
that it is the one thing to make cooking less complicated.

If the breakfast dishes are washed in the morning this
time will give a half hour or more in which to start lunch
preparation, either preparing a cup custard, starting a pot of
soup, or doing some other "advance" cooking so Ihal the
actual time needed to serve lunch will be considerably les-
sened. Similarly, while washing the lunch dishes and being
present in The kitchen for an hour or more after lunch is just
the occasion to give the dinner an "advance" start. Many
cases were noted in which women required an hour and a
half previous to supper for its preparation of vegetables,
meat, etc. Now, a great part of this time might be saved
by giving a preliminary cooking to some of the supper foods
while the worker must stay in the kitchen to clear up after
lunch. The write'r's personal plan is to prepare vegetables,
arrange meat in pan. clean salad, and if possible cook the
dessert in the hour following lunch. She has then a house
dress on and can wash up the tools and utensils used for
dinner preparation along with the lunch dishes. This makes
it necessary for the worker to spend only a minimum of
time in the kitchen at night when she is dressed for the
evening, and greatly lessens the number of pieces to be
washed at the evening meal. This is the one plan which
above all permits a longer, more definite "off time" in the
afternoon for calling, club meeting.^ or rest.

That this "advance" cooking method is worth while is
shown by the following letter :

FOOD PLANNING FOR THE FAMILY

199

"On receipt of your letter I sat down and decided to put
your good advice into practice. Since then my husband's
two brothers have come to me, I have had to take three more
rooms, and yet despite this additional care I get through my
work more easily than ever. I rest for an hour every day
and take Sonny for a walk — all due to having followed your
rule. The purchasing sheet is a line scheme and planning
a week's menu is a great ncrve-'-rii' r. ) .In :in nnich cooking

as possible in one period. I am writing now Monday morn-
ing, J2:io. I have my potatoes peeled in a pan of water,
my carrots are scraped, I have an apple pie baked for to-
night's dinner, a loaf of sponge cake and a chocolate char-
lotte for tomorrow's six o'clock dinner. Today I have no
extra work, so I cook all I can for tomorrow. My house is
in order and I have a whole rainy afternoon in which to
sew." Makv F. S.

Cooking foh Several Weals at One Time
Mrs. S. said in her letter that at 12 o'clock one day she

200 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

had cake and dessert ready for the following day's night
meal. She had followed out another practical plan — that of
cooking for several meals at once. It is only custom which
keeps alive the idea that every single article of food needed
for a meal must be cooked just previous to that meal. Many
desserts, stewed fruits, can all be prepared hours in advance.
Vegetables too can be cooked long before they are needed
without losing flavor, if care is taken. For instance, if
creamed carrots, celery or cauliflower is to be used at night
it could better be given its "long" cooking during the after
lunch hour while the worker is watching the stove at the
same time she is washing dishes. Then at night there would
"be needed only a quarter of an hour's "short" cooking stand-
ing over the stove to make the cream sauce and heat the
vegetable in it.

Even many roasts and similar pieces can be given a two-
thirds cooking during the early part of the day. A turkey
is improved in taste if cooked once and given its final cook-
ing and heating just before serving. A leg of lamb for a
night meal may be given an hour-and-a-half cooking in the
forenoon when both cook and kitchen are in working order
and need only a half hour's heating previous to its final
serving. The practice of cooking for several meals at one
time proves scientifically to save the constant recurring,
trotting to and staying in the kitchen, and standing over the
stove at every separate meal.

Our grandmotliers unconsciously frequently followed this
plan when they had a "baking day" or a "roasting day" in
which six or a dozen dishes were cooked which were to be
distributed over two or three days. The continental people
follow much the same plan, especially with their large ovens
which are heated and cook a very large quantity, then served
in smaller containers at separate meals. This running into
the kitchen to give an hour's boiling to every vegetable, Md

FOOD PLANNING FOR THE FAMILY 201

a two-hours' roasting for every separate meal is unnecessary
and disastrously time-taking.

Similar Methods at the Same Meal
Another chief reason for unnecessary time spent over the
cook-stove is the quite general practice of following two or
three different cooking methods in the preparation of a
single meal. A boiled soup, a fried meat, a boiled vegetable
and a baked dessert is an example of a dinner requiring too

many different processes. If one article is to be baked,
have several dishes baked — or an "all baked" dinner. If
one vegetable and a soup are to be boiled why not inste
make an all-hoiled dinner with meat, vegetables, after the
New England "boiled dinner" or the many delicious "stews"
of foreign countries, so that the same method is used?

To have many cooking methods going at the same time
makes it more difficult to serve and much more time-taking.
Again, even if one vegetable is preferred boiled and a roast
and dessert are cooked in the oven, it is possible to cook
even that boiled vegetable inside the oven, if space permits.
With the exception of cabbage and cauliflower, which need

202 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

air to keep them white in cooking, other vegetables may be
cooked in water in the oven with an increase in flavor. This
does away with the objection of having too many burners
going, or having so many pots to watch on top of the stove.
Fuel is saved as well as time. {See Dinners 3 and 6, pages
18S, 189.)

Casserole Cooking
Another means of enabling the worker to cook in advance J
is by the use of earthenware or glass casserole dishes.

Meats, soups and vegetables can in these earthenware dishes
be cooked slowly or given a preliminary cooking so that only
a final warming is needed just previous to the meal. The
newest casseroles are of heavy but beautiful glass which
stand the long continued heat of any kind of oven. By this
slow cooking flavors are developed, meats are made tender
and none of the juices can escape. Another advantage they
possess is their sanitary superiority over the usual iron pot
or roasting pan. Last, the casserole permits the food to be
cooked and served in the same dish, which greatly lessens the
dishwashing needed by the usual method of coi
i then serving on a table platter or dish.

FOOD PLANNING FOR THE FAMILY 203

FiRELESS AND StEAM CoOKING METHODS

In this connection must be mentioned again the fireless and
the stean^ cooker, which are the greatest aids in this method
of "advance preparation" of meals. As is well known, foods
can be placed in the fireless at night for use the next morn-

ATIC FIBKLESS OAS BANGE,

ing, or in the morning for use at night, etc. The steam
cooker has these advantages — it operates over one burner,
it permits the use of baking dishes which can also be used
at the table, and foods can be placed in it and cooked hours
in advance of the time they are actually served. The newest
gas stove on the market is a combination gas-fireless. It is
a complete gas stove with an insulated oven which is also

204 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING ^H

operated by an automatic attachment. For instance, a roast,
pot of string beans, apple bread pudding and pot of soup can
all be placed in this insulated oven at one time. The gas is
then allowed to bum for a short time, at the end of which
it turns off automatically and the cooking proceeds on the
fireless principle. In this stove probably, the height of mod-
em cooking economy and efficiency is reached. The time
^L saved by cooking with such a stove over the usual cooking
H method may amount to three or four hours. (See Chapter
V II, Plans and Methods of Daily Housevi'ork, page 8g.) ^^^

Dismissing the Frying-Pan Habit ^|

If there is one method above all others that we, as a nation,
I seem to be addicted to, it is the use of the frying-pan and

1

m. /^ \

^llMl

1^1

^^^ / , ; ; nil U^

Li L 1 Jl

I ^^~-^flB^^^

H "AMICO" BROILER AND COVER. ^H
^M Used on top ot stoves. Drtpplnss rnn Into the ■mall pan as fast as tolmt^'^^M

H "fried" foods. An excess of fried foods is most unwhole-
B- some, but from our point of view, the frying-pan is one of
■ the greatest labor-makers in the kitchen. Frying, as prac-
ticed with a very small quantity of grease in the pan, creates
smoke, odor and adds to kitchen cleaning. Many foods
ordinarily fried can be prepared otherwise. For instance,
bacon or ham taste better broiled or baked in the oven over
a little bacon grid. There is no smoke and far less odor
and none of the unpleasant sputtering attendant on the _ .

FOOD PLANNING FOR THE FAMILY

205

frying-pan. Similarly, chops and other foods fried can bet-
ter be laid in a roasting pan and cooked in the oven.

A new broiler on the market can be used on any stove and
is more efficient than the usual wire type. It consists of a
corrugated iron plate with bail handle, which will fit oyer
any burner or range opening. Broiling on this grid is far
more satisfactory than cooking with the usual frying pan.
All of the baking, casserole, and stewing methods and their
respective equipment result in more wholesome cookery and
in less labor for the cook than the frying-pan way.

Standardized Amounts Prevent Waste

No food planning can be economical and efficient which
is not based upon a knowledge of weights and the various
amounts needed in any particular family. Many housekeep-
ers naturally or by practice have learned to judge how far a
certain amount of food will go. But it is better to supplant
this haphazard information by tested, accurate figures. For
instance, how much round steak is needed ? How long will
I- pound of coffee last? How many pounds of sugar are
used a week? More exact knowledge on these and other
estimates will make for better purchasing and easier cooking.
For example, there are seven medium-sized meat-balls in
Ij4 lbs. There are 50 tablespoon fuls in i lb. of coffee, and
possibly }i lbs. per week is an average. These facts written
in the housekeeper's notebook would enable her to judge the
family's needs and to buy more accurately.

Planned-overs> or Overlapped Meals

The general way in cooking is to buy a generous amount
and use what you wish and if there is any left utilize it for
the following day in a "left-over." The newer idea is to
purposely plan for a left-over which will be large enough
to be of really practical use, as illustrated in the menus which

HOUSEHOLD ■ENGINEERING

wc have considered. Thus, mashed [lotatoes might l)e made
for one meal and so few left over that nolliing could be
done with them. Little scraps of meat might he either 1
thrown out or merely tolerated. But with the "planned-
over" method the estimate of what the family will eat at a |
given time is so close that, say, a douhle portion of mashed '
potatoes is made, one to eat hot and the other purposely
sufficiently to make potato balls for a second entire meal, '
Instead of a few scraps of meat enough is bought so that
the second portion will make a thoroughly satisfactory and
adequate dish. It is not permitted to have onlv a saucerfiil
of a vegetable left, but either none at all or enough for a
second helping. For instance, twice as much carrots, beets,
peas, etc., are cooked so that one serving can be hot and the
other serving re-heated in a different manner or used cold
as salad. In other words, foods are so gauged in their
amounts that there is no waste and that the economical ,
"planned-over" replaces the frequently wasteful "left-over."

Other Small Economies in Cooking

One of the most common wastes in cooking is to throw I

away the water in which a vegetable has been^ cooked. AU

vegetables contain — and some greatly — valuable mineral

salts which are their chief value as food. But the common

way of boihng carrots, spinach, etc., in large quantities of

water and pouring this off merely throws away the valuable

dissolved salts. The best cooking method for vegetables

(with the exception of the cabbage tribe, old turnips and J

onions) is to steam in no water, or to boil in a very small -I

quantity and then utilize this smal! amount of liquor iii I

serving the vegetable or as a basis for a sauce. 1

Frequently fuel is wasted by keeping a pot boiling furi-: ]

ously. Once it is at a boiling point the temperature cannot J

jmcrease nor the cooking time be lessened, no matter ho"K J

POOD PLAxxrw; s--

^^ >bc waller 1-, Irtiiwum^.
«¥«Jly «n a gas si.nr. w « «

™* ftwd. Inside ^

*«*•<; boiler the Um^

f^^Om is aboo-

"9-'' F. The corr^
''^ree of beat ■.•■r
^^'^ is abooi try.
F- to 180" F. Cw.i.
oig over the '■■.,-:r-.
'"erer" burner '.- -
gas stove can f* <,,r,.
"sing only f', -
t'lree feet of g^,, ;-

*««*s of fcet- .-.

iKwl in cookmg v -

the result o: -liir--;

fuel, unoecessanlr irjt

•cifchen an-i oitea

poorly cofAM food

"nie {oOcnrinf; taMe tor hokiat in»J ti* Mf/ttH '■

•■*->,;3r%jWr-J!««*'

OVeX TEMPEBATfBKS
, , ,.... <*»* P

HHCn
tSvr

4V' P

48.'* F.

, Spice or Rabin 45"° K

and BUcoits -,. <50° K

Bread and Molasses MixWrc. jSo° F.

Cake 380° F.

c C3ke 350° F.

CusUrJ 350° F

|(W AT

isn* If.

*»' F
450' F.
450' F.

Higher ia w

I

I

208

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

A good cooking thermomcler should be in cvLTy kitchen 1
and may be obtained for 50 cents. A satisfactory oven ther-
mometer which stands up in the oven costs $1.00.

The three-meals-a-day problem can, be solved — some or
all of the methods suggested in this chapter will help. Have
you any other methods? What do you think of the sug^es-
lions given here?

QUESTIONS ON HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Food Planning for the Family
Write out a day's menu, giving well "balanced" meals,

A day's menu with poor combination of foods.
Give a simple menu for a week for your own family,

based on what your market affords at the time of

writing. Include "planned over" or overlapping

meals ; similar cooking processes in the same meal ;

desserts, etc., cooked before the time of serving.
Make out a "purchase sheet" for these meals.
Write out a time schedule for preparing the dinners — I

that is, when to start cooking each dish and the order" I

of cooking, so that the whole meal may be ready to

serve at the desired time.
Prepare and serve these meals to the family if possible. 1

Report mistakes and changes you would make if the

menus were repeated.
Does this plan make the work more interesting? Is it

time, labor, money and worry saving?

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

VI

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

THE PRACTICAI. LAUNDRY: METHODS
AND TOOLS

IN many liomes the cooking and daily cleaning have been
so well planned that the worii proceeds smoothly and
easily, but the task that frequently throws the whole
week into confusion and upsets a careful daily plan is the
once-a-week laundry day. "Blue Monday" is not merely a
cartoonist's joke, hut the most trying day in the week — the
most fatiguing and the one Ukely to be the least organized.
But the laundry problem need not be such drudgery. In
fact, while it is extremely difficult to set down rules for
cooking that will apply to the many different homes owing
to the variations of taste even among people of the same
income; and while cleaning processes vary owing to dif-
ferent furnishings in homes, it is encouraging that laundrj-
work lends itself most easily to "standardization."

Cooking too often depends on the caprice of the family,
the season, varying hours of meals, etc., and requires con-
stant variety and adjustment of plans. The housekeeper
must learn new dishes and adapt meals to the changing
needs of a growing family.

But laundry work is the one set of tasks which can be
planned and followed year after year after the same iden-
tical method, once that method is established. Here the
housekeeper can simplify her laundry work and reduce it
to the easiest form of standard practice in her particular

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

family. Once the technique of washing flannels, removii^.B
stains, ironing, etc., is understood, she knows it far all timeiM
and should be able to do it week in and week out with^
lessening strain.

The origin of the word "launder" is from the Latin,S
"lavander," "la zvash" or "to bathe in water" ; laundry worfel
can therefore best be defined as the cleansing of fabricsl
by a water method, in contradistinction to "dry cleansing,"'W
which is the cleaning of fabrics by substances other than I
water, like gasoline, benzine, carbon tetrachloride or otherl
solvents of grease. The first steps, therefore, to easier.J
more efficient work in the home laundry are knowledge of:!

1. Various textiles from which garments and fumishingaj

are made.

2. The effect of water and temperatures upon differing I

textiles.

3. The action of various solvents and chemicals like soap,

borax, soda, etc., on both water and textiles.

4. The effect on textiles of various processes like rubbing,"*

wringing, pounding, starching, ironing, etc.

The two distinct classes of fibers from which all textilefil
are made are animal fibers — wool and silk — and vegetable I
fibers — cotton and linen.

The animal fibers are more easily aflfected by heat and']
by alkalies. Each wool fiber is covered with small i
lapping scales lying all in one direction, which when thel
fiber is wet and warm, expand and tend to interlock. Rub- 1
bing wool fibers directly with the hand, or with any me^l
chanicat means causes the scales to interlock, the fibers toj
shorten, antl thus the whole wool garment to shrink. Silk-I
does not shrink but its fibers are weakened and its lustre lea
sened by either alkalies or too great heat.

Vegetable fibers of cotton and linen are tougher than sill

THE PRACTICAL LAUNDRY

213

and wool and resist friction, heat and alkalies better. They
can be treated with strong friction, high degree of heat and
with dilute adds, alkalies and bleaching powder if these are
thoroughly rinsed out and neutralised. Wool resists acids
well, but bleaching powder harms it. In washing any
material which is a combination fabric, it is best to follow
the method safest for the weaker of the two fabrics; i.e.,
if an undershirt is part wool and part cotton, it should be
washed according to the method for wool.

The degree of heat or cold of the water also greatly
affects the cleansing process. Heat tends to expand the
threads of the fabric, and the dirt caught in the threads is
then more easily removed. But if the cloth is again cooled
during the washing, the thread contracts and the dirt is still
retained. It is therefore best to soak clothing in cold or
tepid water, if the soaking plan is followed, so as not to
first heat the fibers and then have them contract later, when
the soaking water is cooled. The principle of temperatures
to follow is, to begin with warm water, and to keep the
water the same, or even a rising temperature, until the
clothes are clean.

Wool fibers, because of their peculiar formation, must not
be soaked, or treated with temperatures of either extreme,
but in "lukewarm" water of about 100° F., and hkewise
pressed with a medium hot iron. Silk, also, needs both
water and heat of medium temperature. Cotton and linen
being stronger can be treated with both cold and very hot
water and very hot irons.

Water in Laundry Work

Water is spoken of as "hard" or "soft," depending on
the amount of lime {calcium) and magnesium salts it con-
tains. Rainwater is best for laundry work; it is "soft"

ause it will quickly form a good lather with common

214

HOrSEITOLD ENGINTilERTNn

forms of soap. "Hard" water contains so much lime c
magnesium salts that these combine with soap and prevent
it from forming suds and doing its work ; instead in hartf^
water, "lime soap" is formed, which is insoluble and whiclv]
appears as a while, curdy mass floating on top and through
the water. White clothes which have been washed repeat-
edly in unsoftened hard water are apt to have a gray
appearance due to the lime soap formed an the fibers whei
the clothes, saturated with dirty soapy water, are rinsed it^
hard water. If there is any iron in the water, "iron soapT
will he formed which may form iron rust stains on thi
clothes. Water containing much iron will give a red i
stain on bowls or water closet from a leaking valve.

Kxperiments show that about 2 ounces of soap is wastecS
in softening one hundred gallons of water for each "degree'!^
(grains per gallon) of hardness. Lake Michigan watefj
which is considered fairly soft, has a hardness of 8 degree^M
and as 40 or 50 gallons is a usual quantity of water folS
an ordinary washing, 8 ounces of soap would be wasted ii|i
softening the water.

Because of the waste of soap and the undesirable efFec
of lime soap, hard water should he softened for all laundi
work. The most common and cheapest water softener ]
washing soda. // only the correct amount of 'U.'ashing sodt
is used, no washing soda is left in tlic zvaler. When wasb<
ing soda, borax or ammonia is added to hard water, th<
salts of lime and magnesia unite with it. forming carbon-
ates which are not very soluble and so come out as a
white powder, giving the water "milky" appearance. Thi
powder will settle in time, but does no harm. Any i
present is precipitated also. It is using too much washirq
soda or throwing it in "by the handfid" that does dama{

There is no very good household method of tellii^
exactly how much washing soda to use. If the degree t

THE PRACTICAL LAUNDRY

215

hardness of the water can be learned from the local water
department, about -/t, ounce of washing soda per roo gallons
for each degree of hardness is the correct amount. For ex-
ample, if the water has 20 degrees of hardness and 10 gal-
lons is used in the tub, then V/^ oz. of washing soda will
soften the tubfull.

Always use washing soda in solution — two !bs. dissolved
in a gallon of hot water makes a convenient strength; then
for each measuring cupful of the solution will contain i
ounce of washing soda. When the degree of hardness of
the water cannot be learned, add the soda solution J^ cupful
at a time, mixing well, until a little of the water will give a
suds with a small amount of soap solution. If sufficient
soda has been used to give the water a soapy feeling when
rubbed between the thumb and fingers, too much has been
added for softening; then reduce the quantity.

Rorax as a water softener has the advantage that using
too great a quantity is not so harmful as too much washing
soda. It has less softening power than washing soda, i^
oz. being equivalent to i oz. of soda. A safe proportion to
use is I oz. to 10 gallons of water with a hardness of 10
degrees. Two level tablespoon fuls make about an ounce —
or better, make a solution of 2 lbs. to the gallon {i oz. to
the cup). All softeners should be dissolved and well mixed
with the water and the softening finished with a little soap
solution before the clothes are put in.

Use the correct proportion of washing soda or borax so-
lution in all soaking, washing, boiling and rinsing water;
bluing water, unless very hard, need not be softened.

Hard water cannot be made as soft as rain water, for a
trace of lime salts and an appreciable amount of magnesium
salts cannot be removed by any household methods, except
by adding soap solution.

Lime soap will dissolve in gasoline, kerosene and other

2l6

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

like solvents, which probably accounts for the wliitenin
effect of the "kerosene boil" and similar methods of cleans-J
ing cloths.

Laundry Soap

Soap is the resulting product of combining fats and oiH
with forms of alkalies. Old-fashioned "soft soap" wa!
made from the lye of wood ashes and melted fat. Modem
"hard" or cake soap is made from caustic soda and various
fats : in order to be satisfactory, the combining should be so
perfect that there is no "free alkali," which is parlicularlyj
harmful to wool and to colored clothing, or free fat i
soap. Also there should be no adulteration. Resin
nearly always used in the manufacture of common yellow
soap because it reduces the cost ; but an excessive proportion
of resin soap will cause trouble in ironing if not completely
rinsed out or if used with hard water. Naphtha, kerosene
borax, etc., are sometimes added to laimdry soap to aid tifl
cutting grease and cleansing.

Soaps are classed as mild, medium or strong, and shotd
be used correspondingly on delicate, durable and coarse fab<
rics. Only white soap should be used on wool and colorefjf
clothing ; yellow soap on verj- soiled pieces and rough work.

Various soap powders are also on the market, which are
mixtures of soap and some alkali, as washing soda, borax,
etc. It is a better plan to use a good plain soap and thftj
additional material uncombined, as then one is more sure oB
the ingredients and the cost is less. Washing powders ai^
to be avoided, as many of them are dangerous and all t
them are expensive. A great many defects in laundry woi
can be traced to their use. Soap chips, however, are mere^
regular soap cut in small pieces, but this can be done i
home, using a lo-cent grater such as commonly used fql
shredding vegetables.

be so
ilarly^^H

in isl^^l

;lIow

rtion

etely

sen^^^H

id^^l

lotii^^H

fab^H
lored^^l

THE PRACTICAL LAUNDRY

217

Soap solution has the peculiar property of taking up the
fine particles which make up "dirt." It also will dissolve
or emulsify the grease and oil which usually holds the dirt.
Thus while water is nearly a universal solvent, soap and
water will take up many more substances. The more grease
present in or on clothing, the stronger the soap or the "cut-
ting" properties needed. Soap has antiseptic quahties and
acts as a partial disinfectant.

Wasiiinc; and Wrtntjing

The removing of soi! and grease from fabrics is greatly
facilitated by kneading and twisting of the fabrics which
will naturally assist in loosening it from the fabric. There-
fore one of the most important steps in washing is the
application of a mechanical means for moving the garment,
pounding it, forcing water through it, and thus loosening
dirt from the fibers. This friction or movement has been
accomplished by varying methods in all countries, from
the primitive rubbing of the garment on a stone to the
modem washing machine. The time-honored washboard on
which the knuckles were rubbed as well as the clothes is
slowly becoming obsolete, and in any truly efficient laundry,
must give place to a more improved method of forcing the
soapy water through the fabric.

Water must also be sf|ueezed or wrung out of the cloth-
ing, and for this purpose wringing, preferably by a mechan-
ical wringer, is the next step, as wringing both extracts the
water and smoothes the article so that it can be handled
more easily at the next step, which is starching. It is not
necessary that clothes be starched, but it is done for the
sake of appearance, and so that they will keep clean longer,
as the starched surface docs not absorb dirt as readily as
the unfinished material. Ironing also may be spoken of as

2i8 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

a luxury in the cleansing of clothes, but it makes clothes j
appear better and feel more smooth to the touch as well as |
making the use of starch possible.

Stains should be treated before washing for the reason
that they may be spread or "set" during the process. Re- ,
move as follows :
Grease Spots: Gasoline, kerosene.
Axle Grease and Old Gre.^se Spots: Rub on lard, let stand o

night and put thrcugh the machine.
Paint ; Turpentine or lard.

Coffee, Fruit, Wine Stains : Pour boiling water through.
Chocolate — Cocoa: Borax, soap and cold water.
Mildew: Lemon juice and sunshine; hleaching powder solution. I

Mildew is a growth of mold and if advanced cannot he removed. %
Scorch : Water and sunshine, repeatedly.
Grass Stmns : Alcohol ; ■
Iron Rust: Lemon juice,

acid for had stains; rin;
Ink ; Cold water hefore it

Small spots use "ink (

stains, bleaching powdci

neutralize with ;

r dilute hydrochloric J

r ruh on molasses a

salt and sunlight c

; and neutralize wilh a

dries, followed hy lemon juice and water. I

adicator" 05c at drug store); Large I

solution (cold) and vinegar;

Soaking

Whether to soak the clothes or not depends upon condi- ■
tions ; it undoubtedly loosens the dirt and saves time in the '
actual washing, but it takes time, soap and water. Soaking
in iinsoftened hard water gives unfavorable results. Hard
water always should be softened before the clothes are put
in it. The method of wetting the clothes, rubbing soap on
the soiled portions, then filling up the tub with hard water |
will deposit lime soap directly on the goods ; the water will' A

THE PRACTICAL LAUNDRY

219

not penetrate well and more hami than good will be clone.
If very dirty clothes are soaked with clean ones the dirt may
become distributed on the clean parts and a general grayness
result which is hard to wash out.

When a power washed is used and the clothes are not very
much soiled, labor is saved by omitting the soaking ; or soak-
ing for a short time only in warm water and washing for a
longer time in the machine. Soaking for half an hour in
warm water is as effective as over night in cold water. It is
a good plan to wring the clothes out of the soaking water,
to get rid of as much loose dirt as possible, for this saves
soap in the washing.

Handkerchiefs which are much soiled should be soaked in
salt water (i cup of salt, 2 quarts of water) to remove
mucus.

Boiling

Even with the washing machine, many clothes can be
boiled to advantage, such as face towels, bed linen and
underwear. Boiling also sterilizes the clothing and should
always be done to handkerchiefs, etc. The clothes are
usually wrung out. and placed in the boiler with cold water
(softened) and a quantity of soap solution or soap chip and
brought slowly to boiling; then the clothes may boil, not
more than ten minutes. Long boiling with soda or yellow
soap tends to yellow the clothes. A brass or copper wire
grating fitted with hoop-like handles may be placed in the
boiler previous to laying in the clothes. Then when it is
desired to drain the clothes, these handles may be lifted up
and ,the clothes allowed to drain on the rack before being
lifted out. Never pack the boiler too full.

Various substances like a cupful of turpentine or kerosene,
a half-pound of shaved paraffine, may be added to the boiler
with the soap to increase the cleansing effect. The percolat-

220

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

ing device spoken of elsewhere is excellent used in the boil- I
ing- process. Except in the "paraffine boil" only dean clothes I
should be boiled, for boib'ng will serve only to still further'!
"set" the dirt of dirty clothes.

RlNS[N("]

Much of the poor quality nf laundry work is due to inad-
equate rinsing. One cannot rinse too much, and two, or even |
three, rinsing waters are better than one. The first rinsing
water should be hot in order to remove the soap and dirt;'
and the second may be warm or cold so that there is less I
tran.sition from the rinsing to the bluing wafer. Kinsing' J
must be well done before bhiing; otherwise the clothes may J
become spotted.

Bluing

Bluing is added to cover up any yellowness of the whiteB
clothes. When the clothes appear blue too much bluing has:!
been used. Well washed and rinsed clothes which are drieti'^
in the sunshine in clean surroundings do not need bluing.

Practically all of tlie liquid bluing and some of the solidfl
blues on the market are made of "Prussian Blue," which is J
a compound of iron. Hot soap or alkali solution will decom- 1
pose this compound and iron rust stain may be deposited on
the fabric. This can be shown by bluing a piece of cloth a deep ]
shade, drying and boiling in hot soap or soda solution. Oneiv
advantage of soaking is that most of the bluing is removed,J

Indigo bhie and ultramarine blue contain no iron and cajtM
be obtained as "ball bluing," though with some diPficulty^J
The commercial laundries use aniline blues, sold by laundryl
supply houses. A substitute is to dissolve one of the locfl
packages of blue aniline dyes sold by nearly all drug stores,.a
in a gallon of hot water. This will make a strong blueJ
less expensive and better than the liquid blues commonljrt

THE PRACTICAL LAUNDRY 221

sold. It will not give streaks of bluing and cannot make
iron rust stains on the clothes.

If ball bluing is used, enclose it in a small square of
muslin and test the amount of bluing in the water by bluing
a small sample. Some fabrics, such as loosely woven mesh
underwear, absorb more bluing than others. Clothes should
not be allowed to stand in such bluing water but should be
moved about either by hands or wooden paddles to prevent
the blue from settling and the clothes from becoming
streaked.

Starcding

The consistency of the starch depends on the thickness
of the fabric to be starched. Starch is known as thick,
medium, or thin, and garments requiring the thickest starch,
such as cuffs, shin bosoms, etc., should be starched first, as
the water squeezed from clothing gradually thins the starch.
Garments treated with boiled starch should be most thor-
oughly dried before being dampened, and dampened several
hours before being ironed.

Drying

Drying clothes, especially in the sunshine, serves also to
disinfect them. Clothes must be pinned properly and care-
fully, either on the line or dryer, to get lliem back into
normal shape ; i. c, stockings must he hung by the feet,
shirtwaists by the collar with the two sleeves pinned up.
The better the pinning the more satisfactory the drying and
also the ironing. Great care must be taken to have the line
or dryer perfectly clean and the clothes so well pinned that
they will not blow clown. In stormy weather it is a good
plan to pin the small clothing, such as children's underwear,
napkins, etc., on to the line while it is piled on the laundry
table, and then carry it out piled in a basket, which will

222 HOUSEHOLX) ENGINEERING

save the worker standing and pinning so long a time out-
doors. All things of a kind — ^towels, napkins, underwear,
etc. — should be kept together in a washing and drying, as
this saves time in ironing and putting away.

A cheap wheel tray of wood, homemade, and mounted on
small baby buggy wheels, is useful for wheeling the basket
about, if the lawn is smooth ; or even an "abandoned" go-
cart will be found useful for the same purpose, to save
stooping and lifting. A simple stand on which to place the
basket near the revolving "umbrella" dryer, if used, will
serve the same purpose.

Sprinkling

After the clothes are dry, they are taken from the dryer
or outdoors, sprinkled, rolled smooth and then made into
a tight roll and allowed to stand several hours or all night
before ironing begins. The longer they stand the more
evenly will they be dampened. Always use tepid water for
sprinkling, and either the bottle spray which will fit any
bottle opening or a whisk broom, or a special clothes sprin-
kler, but never the hands, which make the work uneven.
Table linen needs to be sprinkled most; bedding requires
little dampening; starched pieces, especially flat starched
pieces, should be very damp.

THE LAUNDRY ROOM

The washing and ironing shoiilcl be done in a room sepa-
rate from the kitchen whenever jjossible. This for sanitary
reasons, and also because nothing causes more confusion
than to try and wash in the kitchen while carrying on the
work of meal preparation three times a day. There is much
to be said in favor of having the laundry situated on the first
floor with sunny exposure, avoidance of running up and
down, and good ventilation ; in many continental cities laun-
dries are located on the flat roofs which permit steam and
odors to escape and clothes to dry in the sun, as is done in
many city apartment liouses in our own country. But in
most cases a well planned section of the basement is the
preferable location in detached homes.

If possible, the laundry-room should be considered before
building and located as far away as possible from a heating
plant, coal and ash containers. An entry directly from the
laundry to the yard is desirable so that no waste steps are
taken. The surface of the walls may be the original unfin-
ished or smooth plaster, painted or unpainted, or tiles. The
floor should be of cement, linoleum or one of the new com-
position materials that permit perfect, easy flushing — wood
is not to be tolerated. It should have a floor drain if possi-
ble, with floor slanting slightly to it.

The laundry needs very adequate light for thorough
washing and perfect ironing. High-silled windows are pref-
erable, and enough and large windows. Transom windows,
especially if the ceiling be low, will assist in letting out
steam, and keeping the worker cool without causing a direct
draught on the worker. A small electric fan blowing air
out of the highest windows will help to get rid of Steam if
ventilation is poor.

223

y.

/,

//

/

r

jr.t.

THE PRACTICAL LAUNDRY 225

side may be narrow, for storing tlie ironing board and
bench; the other side may contain narrow shelves for the
various soaps, bleaches, irons, and needful holders, pins, etc.,
as well as the utensils which should be kept especially for
laundry use (see list).

Groupikg Laundry Equipment
The steps of different processes of laundry work are:

1. Sorting, mending, and removing of stains.

2. Soaking.

3. Actual washing.

4. Rinsing.
S- Bluing.

6. Starching.

7. Hanging up and drying.

8. Ironing and laying away.

NaturaHy, each of the steps depends on the other, and the
efficiency of the whole laundry work depends on the high
quality and skill with which each part is done. For instance,
good ironing cannot he done on clfathes that are either poorly
washed or improperly starched or proper bluing on clothes
poorly rinsed.

Just as we found in the labor-saving kitchen that the
stove, sink and table must be arranged according to the
order in which food preparation and clearing away were
done, so we find that laundry equipment must be arranged
as nearly as possible according to the way that the laundry
processes follow each other. Although th* mending is gen-
erally done in some room other than the laundry, it is in the
laundry that the first step — -sorting — begins. For greater
convenience, a laundry chute, built in the studding, will
permit .soiled clothes to be conveyed from any story of the
house direct to the laundry. This saves carrying a bundle

226 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING ■

of wasli or throwing it downstairs. A sanitary basket may I
be placed in the base of the chute and ihe chute itself should 1
be well made and preferably lined with zinc, at least in the I
base, for sanitary reasons. I

The next step after sorting will be the soaking, which can'I
be accomplished best in a pennaiient set tub. Since a large J
washing cannot all be soaked in one tub, it is best to havcl
two or even three set tubs so that time may be saved inv
washing and rinsing without the effort of stopping to empty ^
and re-fill. The actual washing may be done either in the I
set tub or in some kind of a washing machine. For ease of J
cleaning and convenience, the washing machine should be.l
movable or at least placed in such relation to the set tubs ■
that the worker can walk all around it. Boiling enters into J
the washing process, and so the stove on which the boiling I
is done must be considered, and must be so placed as to be 1
in a step-saving relation to both the washer and the set tubs. M
When the clothes are wrung, they pass from the washer to:fl
a basket or container and here the washing process actually 1
ends. ■

From the time the clothes are dried, through the various J
steps of sprinkling and ironing, they do not need any of thc^
washing equipment. Therefore it is preferable to plan the
laundry so that these two processes can be carried on inde-
pendently and yet make use of commonly used equipment.
Briefly, then, atiy laundry should be arraiujed so that Ihcsir
two processes and the special equipment of each be kepi I
separate, i. e.,

(i) IVashing—soTt'mg, soaking, washing,
wringing, starching, hanging up.

sing,

bluing, i

(2) Drying — sprinkling, folding, ironing or mangling,
ing and laying away.

THE PRACTICAL LAUNDRY 227

Routing Laundry Work

A study of Diagram A will show that by the proper plac-
ing of laundry equipment it is just as possible to route laun-
dry work along a connected chain of steps and to keep the
two divisions of work separate. This will prevent double
handling, cross-tracking and retracing of steps. Even
though the equipment of many homes be simpler than given
in the diagram, the same idea holds true in laundry as in
kitchen :

(a) Group related equipment together.

(b) Divide the room so that the two different processes has

each its separate chain of steps.

Permanent Plumbing Essential to Easy Work

No one other household task can be so easily affected by
equipment and installation as can laundry work. In fact, it
might be said that 50 per cent of the drudgery of laundry
work vanishes when permanent plumbing connections and
tubs are installed in place. That is, much of the so-called
drudgery of washing has nothing whatever to do with the
actual washing of the garments and the removal of dirt, but
is concerned entirely with lifting and emptying pails of
water, lifting tubs, emptying the l^oiler, etc. Permanent
plumbing at once removes the need for this effort and strain.
Also a worker often condemns a good washing machine
solely because of the trouble she has carrying and emptying
the machine. As one prominent dealer said the other day:
"Fully one-half the time is required for work which is un-
necessary when hot and cold water and drain connections
are provided."

The most efficient installation is that in which there is one
or more permanent set tubs connected with hot and cold
water, and a washing machine properly placed and sim-

«'.

f- sto

^^H the

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

ilarly connected. But even when there is no hot and cold
water supply, it is easy to install the simplest set tub oQ
slate or composition to take the place of the frequently s
(portable) tubs, which usually means emptying and fillinj
with a pail by hand.

In country sections, cistern water can be stored in a htgra
tank, connected with plumbing or forced through theai
pipes by a compressed air tank. There is no excuse fol
the back-breaking work attendant on washing due to thi
mere lifting of tubs and heavy buckets of water whi
can be installed permanently at so little cost. Even if theW
is no running water, stationary tubs are better because t
easy way of draijiing them other than by hand i
arranged. They can he filled with water for rinsing and
bluing directly from a pump, connected with hose or chute.

When no running water is present, very careful arrange-
ment must eliminate every extra step and efTort. In the
diagram shown, a hand pump is mounted on a concrete base,
with a trap drain underneath, the floor gently sloping to this
drain. A 2-inch pipe with elbow carries the waste water
from the tubs to the drain, and another similar pipe is
attached to the washer outlet, and similarly carried to the
drain to avoid lifting heavy pails of dirty water. Cold
water is pumped directly into the boiler for heating and
into the tubs for soaking and rinsing through a short length
of hose. Only the heated water need be carried by hand
from boiler to washer and tubs. A boiler with a faucet
outlet saves dangerous bailing of hot water.

The tubs shown are of the "portable" galvanized iron
kind, moimted on a washbench 26 inches high, to avoid
stooping. They are fitted with "basin plugs" and rubber
stoppers which cost about 25c each. It will be seen from
the arrangement that pump, tubs, washer and boiler are so
placed as to avoid every extra step in the work. In a sep-

THE PRACTICAL LAUNDRY

229

arate group is a "pullman" ironing board which fits back
into a shallow closet when not in use, a table for sorting and
for ironing large pieces, and a closet for laundry supplies.
A hand mangle coidd easily be mounted on this table. Iron-
ing hoard is 33 inches high, table same height. A high stool
is used for work. Light is given ftom two sides, and exit
directly on drying yard.

e->z^^^^.^/^/^^^^^^;^c:^^

It cannot be urged too strongly that the country laundry
be fitted with running water as well as a drainage system.
In many country homes some form of high tank or com-
pressed air system supplies water to barn and kitchen and
it means only a slight additional expense to supply the laun-
dry. Even the simplest kind of a high tank filled with a
force pump operated by "man" power, with drainage system

230

TiOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

will do away with carrying buckets and hand filling and J
emptying which will reduce the labor at least one-half.

When the laundry work is heavy, as is often the case it!
the country, a power washer and wringer, operated with a
small gasoline engine, will reduce t!ie work still more. Ai
reliable i}4 horse-power gasoline engine can be purchased as I
low as $30.00 and will have many other uses in the country I
home. A power operated washer and wringer costs about!
$25.00, or there is now on the market a washing machine J
and wringer with a small J'j horse-power gasoline engine i
geared directly to it, which is easily started and operated;;
price $65.00. No investment will pay better dividends in'
the saving of health and strength.

Prices op Set Tuns

Composition granite set tuti. 48x24x16, z conipartmciU $5-50 i

Composition granite set tnli, 60x24x16, z fompanintnt 7-OO'J

Composition granite set tub, 60x24x16, 2 compartment, with

Composition granite set tub, 72x24x16, 3 compartment, with

Composition granite set tub, 90x24x16. 3 compartment, with

back I

Enameled, 2 section tubs, back in one piece, with pedestal 45.00

Enameled, 3 section tubs, b-ick in one piece, with pedestal 65.ODI

Enameled, a section tubs, no back, iron legs 30JX>*

The height at which the tub is placed is most important, I
Fully as much backbreaking is done over the laundry tub!
as over the kitchen sink. A convenient height for a woman j
5 feet 6 is to place the tubs so that their bottoms are about J
22 inches from the floor, or the edge of the tub 38 inches]
from the floor in a straight line. The regulation iron 1
are generally three or four inches lower than this, but theyj
can easily be placed on wooden blocks so that the tub can b6-J
used by the worker without stooping, but as she is standin
-erect.

THE PBACrrCAL LAUNDRV 331

Thg Laundry Stove
Unless an unlimited amount of water is heated by means
of a coil in the furnace, or by a separate gas heater, some
kind of laundry stove will be needed to heat water for wash-
ing for the boiler and possibly for the irons. The best type
is the so-called "drum" stove of iron, with depressions
around the drum in which to heat the sad-irons. Such a
stove will heat water in the pipes, heat the boiler and irons

Made by Chlcaso Dryer Co., Chlcagu. PrJco (lOO up.

at the same time. But if gas is available, the laundry stove
may be dispensed with entirely and its place taken by a
simple, two-burner hot plate, A piece of clean sheet iron
should be used under the irons used on a gasplate to
keep them clean. This may be mounted on a table or stand ;
one burner will do for healing the boiler and the other for
heating tlie irons and making starch.

But probably the most efficient arrangement of all is the
combination clothes dryer and gas-operated heater. Here

» 232 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

we have a portion of the laundry room fitted with drying
racks which come specially made and can he fitted to any
size comer or room. These racks, or more properly, the
enclosed drying; room, are heated with an individual ga
stove, and this in turn can he used for the boiler, starch and

1

1

ron so that the heat of one stove will dry the clothes, boiL ^^H
hem and heat the irons. In a permanent house of any pre- ^^H
tensions such a dryer should be installed because it permits- ^^^|
a very even quality of drying without danger of wind- ^^|
whipping and freezing, especially in winter and rainy^^^H
weather. When yard space is scarce, this is by far the best ^^|
permanent plan. The objection that this indoor method! ^^|
does not keep the clothes white is not true, if the drier is ^^^|
sufficiently ventilated, and the clothes adequately rinsed. ^^H

THE PRACTICAL LAUNDRY

233

111 small homes where such a built-in dryer is tiot pos-
sible, another plan is to use the combination out door- indoor
"umbrella" drier. This consists of a pole fitted with eight
or twelve radiating arms which can be used as an outdoor
fixture, especially suited for suimy days. It is so made that
the arms can be detached and fastened into sockets prepared
for them along the laundry wall so that they can also be
used for imlour ilrymt,'.

Still another dryer is one especially suited for very small
homes and apartments. This consists of a light, wooden
rack fitted with pulleys so that it can be raised and lowered
from the ceiling, bearing the clothes to be dried out of the
way. Smaller racks on the timbrella type are excellent for
use in the laundry, on which to lay the freshly ironed clothes,
and are much better than the old-time "horse" which was
so easily knocked down.

A few special drying devices will make the care of clothes

234

■ HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

easier. One of these is the wooden or metal stockir
stretchers which keep the socks in shape and prevent theiq
from shrinking; another is the wire garment stretcher c
which sliirts and bodies may be kept shapely. These t
only 5c each, and a half dozen will save much mussing and

crumpling. A clothes reel which can be stretched across the
room, will assist in indoor drying.

The Laundry Table and Ir

ININC-BOAHD

A table is as necessary in the laundry as in the kitchen
because on tt clothes are sprinkled and sorted and its broad
surface offers the most excellent space for ironing doilies
and other large pieces too wide for the board. A hard
maple table is best, with a separate fitted ironing quilt. There

THE PRACTICAL LAUN'DRY

235

is also an excellent new combination table board on the
market. This is a table whose top lifts up and discloses an
ironing-board which can then be lifted out and put in place ;
and kept there when not in nsc so that it will slay clean.
The one point to increase the efficiency of an ironing-

tyiFiv-peAor to laofi

board is that it must be steady and of the right height to
allow the worker to exert pressure with comfort. Far too
many ironing-boards are wobbly, are even dangerously in-
clined to slip, and nothing is more inefficient than to rest the
board on the back of a chair.

If the laundry room is permanent, the ironing-board can
also be made permanent by being fitted to a heavy iron leg
screwed into the floor. This is the type of board seen in

236 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

1 laundries and institutions and will give far bet-
ter service than the common, collapsible wooden board and 1
stand. If the board cannot be damped to a leg, it can, at 1
least, be put on hinges and fastened permanently to a wall. ,
It can then be laid up against the wall or in a shallow board I
closet when not in use. and let down at a moment's notice, I
and will be much steadier than the board mounted on a ^
stand. This is called the "pullman" board.

Broad, blunt boards give wider ironing surface than the ]
frequently too narrow board used in the home. A perma-
nent attachable metal ironing stand can be fastened to the I

COVER STRETCHERS.

board to take the place of the awkward ready -to-fall-oflF J
"stand" of wrought iron commonly used.

Then comes the question of the cover or pad for the-^l
board. Another poor method followed in the home is tou
tack the cover on each week. This causes tearing and is a
great deal of trouble. There can be bought several kinds.J
of ironing cover fasteners. One is a set of strong, steel J
hooks to clasp the under side of the cover together. An-'
other is a set of pins and tape which permits the cover to.l
be laced up and fastened securely. Even the simple planil
of sets of tape at intervals is preferable to the untidy habit:!
of using tacks.

The ironing cover may be of table padding or felt and i
the cover should be hemmed and neatly finished. A special J
felt pad and cover come fitted with a fastening device; thel
whole pad can be removed easily and laid away
moment.

THE PRACTICAL LAUNDRY 237

The lieiglit of an ironing board for n woman 5 feet 6 with
the usual ami length is preferably 34 inches. If a table is
used for ironing, it can be from 32 to 34 inches. The point
of height must be kept in mind fully as much in laundry
equipment as in kitchen equipment.

Kinds and Weights of Irons

With either coal or gas as fuel, the usual type sad iron
can be used. For the sake of economy, three of the irons
may be covered with an inverted pan or a cover made for
the purpose to prevent radiation of heat. The point against

all irons not self-healing is that the worker must make
frequent trips to and fro for fresh irons, thus wasting time
and steps. This waste can be cut considerably by placing
the worker near to the stove and its iron. If electricity is
available, by far the most individual labor-saving piece of
laundry equipment is the electrically heated iron. Here the
heating unit is in the base of the iron so that it is possible
for the worker to take and use it anywhere, even on a porch,
or wherever a connecting cord will permit ; also, as in all
electric equipment, the heat of the electric iron is under
direct control, and it is also possible to regulate it in some

238 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

irons to low, medium or high. There is httle radiation, noi
excessive heat around the worker, and clothes are uniformligj
pressed. The working surface of the iron can be kept i
perfect condition with no trouble.

The heat unit in any electric iron should be so construcfe*
that the heat is evenly distributed, and not concentrated i

s^ ..„.„„..„„.

the tip only. There should be a "cut-off." and preferably^^B
a "swinging crane" connection to keep the cord taut and up
out of the way of the worker, to permit more rapid work
and prevent sagging. A less expensive arrangement, though
less effective, is to suspend the cord with a stout string andi^^|
flexible spring (like a bird cage spring). ^^^|

The gas irons are a little more diunsy to o])erate tliaiF^I
electric irons, though with the new metal flexible gas tubing,
the difference is not great. They have all Ibe advantages
of the electric irons and cost much less to run — less than
heating sad irons on a gas stove. The tubing should I
suspended by a spring as suggested.

Following are the proper weights of irons for dtSec
kinds of work:

210 3 lbs Baby clothes ^

4 to 5 lbs. ...• Lingerie and shirt wtiti

6 to 8 lbs. Gtncral ironing ,•

5 to to lbs. ,,,FUl w-ork, tatilectod^^ «

10 to 13 ibs Pressing men's !■-=" ''

*Ib. flounce iron Pttticiv»ts wid r

Ttof irons ..Policing shirl l

THE PRACTICAL LAUNDRY 339

ALconoL AND Gasoline Irons

Another type of iron especially practical in tiic country
where no current is available is the portable iron using
gasoline or alcohol. This type of iron contains a small reser-
voir for the heating fluid. In the base of the iron is a small
burner or generator which is pre-heated before the outer
iron itself becomes hot. This generating is done by pouring
a few tablespoons of alcohol or gasoline under the generator,
lighting it and then turning on the air valve which permits
the mixture of air with the gasoline, thus securing a hotter
flame. Such irons arc perfectly safe, come in several sizes
and are as satisfactory as any electric iron, except that they
are a little more difficult to operate. They are far preferable,
however, to the ordinary sad iron in every case where the
worker wants to avoid a roaring stove and the need of
standing near it in order to get hot irons. By regulating the
valve on such an iron, a very intense degree of heat can be
secured.

INITIAL AND OPERATING COST OF VARIOUS IRONS.

Electric (light) household iron, weight s lbs. with 5-Eoot cord and
lamp-socket plug, price. $3.?S I operating cost, less than 2c per

iron, 7 lbs. with cord and plug, cost $4.50;

Specially heavy electric laundry iron, g lbs. with cord and plug, cost

$?-S0.
Self-heating gasoline iron, weight s'A lbs., cost $4.00; operating cost,

J^jc per hour.
Gas iron, weight 6 lbs. with 6 feet of flexible steel tubing, cost $3.50:

operating cost, J^c per hour.

Ironing Machines

Mangles, or ironing machines, are of two types; one, the
cold mangle, the other the heated ironer. The cold mangle

readily to the table; otiiers come with a bass or frame of
their own. Tbe heated iroiier may be run by hand, or by
power. In either case, the "shoe" (which is a steel cyhii-
der and which corresponds to the ironing surface of a hand
iron) must he heated either by gas, gasohne or electricity.
This steel "shoe" is outside an inner cloth-covered cylinder
which corresponds to the ironing-board. Pieces are laid over
the padded roll, and pressed against the hot "shoe," tlius

THE PR.\CTICAL LAUNDRY 241

onlng Machine Co., Chlca

242 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING H

both smoothing and drying the article at the same time.!
These ironers come in several types, as : *■

(i) Gas-heated, hand operated, price $20 to $35. I

(2) Gas-heated, electrically operated ; price $60 to $125. I

(3) Electrically heated and electrically operated ; price $200 J

up. I

(4) Gasoline heated and operated; price $35 to $45. I

(5) Cold roll mangle, hand operated ; price $6 to $20. I

Ironers can be used for "flat" pieces or garments, i. e., 4
table and bed linen and towels, and also on many ordinary J
garments, as night gowns, rompers, aprons, etc., by prac- 3
ticing how to avoid buttons or hooks. The ironer saves a I
great deal of time, since the larger, surface is equal to afl
surface of 6 or S hand irons, Ironers can be fitted for a 1
power drive, and operated by the gas engine which is used 1
to pump water, run the washing machine, etc. In order to 1
heat an ironer thus driven, it is necessary to use the type*
that has a small gasoline taiik and generator attached to it. ■
While such a tank is fairiy safe it should be used with cau- 1
tion. There is also another method, that of storing or bury-1
ing a tank of gasoline in the ground and making the neces- I
sary connections. This removes considerable of the fire I
risk. Such a power operated laundry is most successful in 1
rural homes, especially where there is a man to take the I
responsibility of cranking and operating the gas engine, as I
in general a gas engine is too much of a strain for a woman, m
An exception is the washing machine made by the Maytag 9
Company, which has a very small engine directly geared tofl
the machine. It will also operate an ironer. ■

Wherever there is a lai^e family, and artificial gas, the I
value of the ironer is verj- considerable, and its first cost
would easily be covered by a few months' use. The hand
pwer ironing machines usually require two persons to

THE PRACTICAL LAUNDRY

243

operate them well ; the motor or power machines are easily
operated by one person.

Other advantages of an ironer are the uniform heat, the
saving in trotting haclv and forth with the visual method of
heating irons, and the great amount of time saved over the

dolly type ivasl

method of using an individual iron. A good family size is
a 48-inch machine that will iron a tablecloth once folded.
The hourly output of ironers varies according to their size,
but the capacity of gas-heated models per hour is about:
25-30 bedsheets, tablecloths or centerpieces per hour. (De-
pends on size and thickness.) (20 inches by 40 inches size)
150-180 towels per hour. (These estimates do not include
•^folding which must he done by hand.)

Different Typ

^ WASIIIKG MACniNEi

Probably the one most important piece of equipment ]
the modem laundry is the mechanical washer. As wu
pointed out, the chief cause of fatigue in the hand metht
of washing clothes is due solely to the physical effort c
rubbing and pounding the clothes by hand on some type 0
washboard. The washboard is the extreme exanijjle of i

THE PRACTICAL LAUNDRY

household cievice which causes waste motious and physical
drudgery. No one has had the courage to count the number
of rubs done by the hands of a woman in the usual family
washl The mechanical washer is the greatest of labor-
savers because it truly replaces entirely hand labor. No
matter in what other direction one must economize, money
should be expended for some type of washing machine. No

246

HOUSEHOLD ENGraEERING

other process is so mechanical as the actual rubbing of J
clothes, which requires no attention from the mind. There-
fore it is the one process that should be given over entirely]
to a mechanical servant, and thus relieve the woman of what
is only pure manual labor.

An inquiry recently showed that there were 125 different!
manufacturers of washing machines in the United State9,J
but these machines with few exceptions fall clearly into onel
of four types. Before purchasing, the principles of each of j
these types and its method of operation should be under- J
stood. The various types are as follows :

1. The "Dolly," or agitator type, frequently called the "re

fary," Here a "wooden milkstool" or dasher revolverf
and reverses in the center of the tub while churning J
the clolhe.s. This type has many modifications, suchl
as corrugated boards around the side of the tub; or J
the lid and tub both may be grooved, thus adding tpi
the friction exerted on the clothes.

2. The Cylinder type. This consists of inner and outef.j

drums either of metal or of wood. The inner drum i:
perforated and has shelves which lift the clothes and a
drop them back into the water as this inner drutnj
revolves. The action is then reversed, after a few
revolutions, thus forcing the water through the clothe»J
with a strong force.

3. The rocking or oscillating type. This consists of a metal

or wooden box-like tub which rocks back and forth,
cleaning the clothes by throwing them rapidly from
side to side. Sometimes this box is corrugated, whidij
adds friction to the process.

4. The vacuum type. Here both pressure and suction i

exerted directly on the clothes by means of one (
several metal cones, which alternately press and i
lease the clothing.

247

Any one of these types may be operated by hand, by
power (gasoline), or by motor (electric). The mistake
should not be made of choosing the washer on the basis of
the power used to operate it, but choice should be based on
the principle of the washer, and its action and eflect on the
clothes: — that is, not whether it is an "electric" washer or
a "hand" washer; but how it washes.

In the "dolly" type, the clothes are rubbed somewhat, so
that this type is most suitable for heavy coarse clothing, as
on the farm where overalls, aprons and heavy bedding
form a large part of the wash.

In the "cylinder" washer, the clothes are not touched by
any rubbing device, but are cleansed entirely by the water
being forced through them, and by the clothes themselves
being rapidly moved. This type is used in commercial laun-
dries. The load drains well and can be rinsed and even
blued in such a machine.

248 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

In the "rocUiiig" type there is also no direct friction, as 1
the clothes are cleaned by heing thrown rapidly from one |
side of the washer to the other, thus forcing the soapy I
water through and through the clothes.

Both of these types are good for all general family t
except that in these types operated by motor, the action is too |
strong to safely wash in them lingerie, fine baby clothes c

other very dainty garments, which should not be placed i
the washer, or should be enclosed in cheese cloth bags, I
which will take the strain but not interfere with the J
cleansing.

In the "vacuum" type there is considerable pressure di-
rectly on the clothes as well as suction produced by the J
various hells. It is probable that the vacuum type is easier I
on fine clothing than any other type, especially if it is a I
hand model.

The following representative washing machines are ar- \
ranged according to type:

THE PRACTICAL LAUNDRY

249

Dolly

The Maytag Co., Newton,
Iowa (hand, electric, gaso-
line or gas engine).

The Horton Washer (elec-
tric), Horton Manfg. Co.,
Ft. Wayne, Ind.

The American Washer Co.

(power), 118 Sidney St.,
St. Louis, Mo.

The Grinnell Washing Ma-
chine Co., Grinnell, Iowa
(hand and power).

The A. G. Christman Co.,
Reading, Pa. (hand).

Cylinder

Hurley Machine Co., Flat-
iron Bldg., New York
City; or Chicago (motor).

The Brokaw-Eden Co., St.
Louis, Mo. (motor).

Western Electric Co., Chi-
cago (motor).

Oscillating

Wash Easy Co., T4lh and
Western Ave., Chicago
(motor).

The Kochestcr Rotary
Washer (hand), 40T Cut-
ler Bldg., Rochester, N. Y.

The Judd Laundry Machine l^he Chicago Dryer Co.,

Co. (motor), Chicago, 111. 264 S. Wabash Ave., ('hi-

Boss Washing Machine Co. cago, 111. (motor),
(hand), Cincinnati, Ohio.

Vacuum

Dodge & Zuill, Syracuse, The Arora Co., New York
N. Y. (hand and motor). 46 l^ast 41st St. (motor).

The kind of power availal)lc in the home will also partly
determine the machine purcliased. Without doubt, thct
electrically operated machine of any type does rjuirker,
more thorough work than the best type of hand machine
possibly can do. In choosing an electric tyj^e see that the

HOUSEHOU> ENGINEERING

motor is located in a position where there is little dati]
of the motor becoming wel. Washers with enclosed gearing
and simplicitj- of construction are to be preferred to those
with belts which must be tightened ; open gearing, however,
is dangerous to the operator. Although the best tubs of
cedar give excellent ser\'ice, the preference may be given
to the tub of copper or nickel alloy, which is the njost sani-
tarj' and will give the longest service-
Further, in choosing an electric washer, that stj-Ie should!
be selected that has a reversible wringer and drain chutes.^
This makes it possible to wring the first load of dothcSJ
into 3 basket while the second load is being washed indi
pendently in the washer. There should be a "cut-off" on'
the wringer so that it can be stopped quickly if clothes are
Before purchasing an electric machine, the woman
' ^ould be sure that she understands the operation of the
motor, the care of the parts, and if possible, should use the
machine under the guidance of a demonstrator before s!
purchases it.

The water-motor operated machines are usually of the
dolly tj-pe and require at least 20 lbs. of water pressure at
the faucet. The wringer cannot be run by water power.
Such machines use 200 to 300 gallons of water an hour.

In selecting a hand-power type, the following points
should be noted. Convenient height of washer, as machines
are frequently placed too low and thus cause unnecessary
stooping. Legs should be fitted with castors to permit easy
mo^-ing from place to place and the washer should never
be too heavy to move easily. Lever, wheel or handle sboultLi
be long enough, and so placed as to allow work withoi
strain or back bending. A satisfactory outlet for
water should be provided other than the common "bung,"
which empties badly.
It is much better to have even a hand power machine

11-

1

re
he

ibould-'^^H
ithou^^^H

THE PRACTICAL LAUNDRY

251

connected with a permanent drain, and with pipe and cock
of its own so that the draining and filling will be easy.
Hand washers, unconnected with drain or water pipes, re-
quire so much "pailing'' that their efficiency is greatly low-
ered. A hose connection (at least i inch) from the water
outlet to floor drain is almost always possible, as well as a
hose from hot and cold water. A piece of brass or gal-
vanized iron pipe with elbow and nipple in the end of the
hose will hold the hose in place and direct the water where
desired. There is no excuse for lifting any water in a
laundry having running water.

In addition to the four types given above there are many
i/mall washing appliances. The vacuum principle is ap-
plied to a cone mounted on a broom han-
dle, which is useful for cleaning small rugs
and sanitary cloths and baby napkins. An-
other cone with perforations is made to set
in the middle of the boiler and sprays the
clothes after the manner of a coflFee perco-
lator. Several other modifications of the
funnel type are fitted to set tubs or to be
attached to the ordinary galvanized tub, but
the writer is frank to say that any of these
is useful only for washing a few small
pieces at a time and cannot take the place
of a regular, full-sized washing machine.
a cylinder washer which fits inside an ordinary set tub,
but the capacity is less than that of a good machine.

Boiler

Even with a good washing machine, a boiler is necessary
for the boiling of certain pieces, such as very soiled under-
garments, children's diapers, etc. A boiler should be made
with a copper bottom which will give longer wear and con-

Ingram Vacuum
Washer.

Price $1.50.

There is also

252 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

<Ulct liciit more quickly. The ordinary lifting nf a boiler j
to empty its contents can be entirely avoided by having a I
rcjfular faucet soldered in the end of the boiler. (A faucet
costs 75c, work about 50c.} Then the water can easily
he run off without danger and labor. Arrangements should
be made for filling the boiler from a hose pipe or faucet.

The boiler shonk! always be well dried and aired after use.

CaRE of LAtTNDBV EQUIPMENT

As laundry equipment represents often a very consid- j
crable money ouilaj'. it should be given good care, that it J
may not deteriorate and its value lessen. Such pieces as J
mangle, washer and table should have specially made covers
of ticking to keep them clean and dfA', Irons also should
he put into a closed closet or covered vritli \'aseline if used i
but occasionally, Great care should be taken with electric I
irons and connecting cords for all devices, as if the cord is
i>ent the insulation is impaired, A special clothes-pin bag
and ironing- hoard cover hag made of ticking shoidd T»c used
to keep them clean. Washing tubs should Iw: kept perfectly
clean and left dried to a\mt\ rotting. The motor should
never be allowed to get damp. Care must be taken that
the oil used on various parts is sufficiently wiped off so as

THE PRACTICAL LAUNDRY 253

not to soil the clothes. Wringer rolls must be unscrewed
when not in use to avoid flattening them. All minor equip-
ment, starch-pot, etc., should be left clean and laid away
and not allowed to become rusty, as rust is one of the
worst foes of the laundry.

Additional Laundry Equipment

A good laundry should contain its own necessary small
tools, like starch pot and spoon, quart measure, etc. Never
use tin articles, as they rust. As described in the efficient
laundry plan, these articles should be kept in a closed cup-
board out of the way of dust and soil. Although the needs
of each family vary owing to size, climate and standards of
clothing, the following list of small laundry equipment will
be found helpful in purchasing:

. LIST OF FAMILY LAUNDRY EQUIPMENT

Washing Outfit Approximate Cost

Set tubs $ 5.50 to $ 15.00

Washing machines :

Dolly, hand 8.00 to 14.00

Dolly, motor 35-00 to 75.00

Cylinder, electric 85.00 to 150.00

Cylinder, hand 8.00 to 15.00

Oscillating, hand 12.00 to 20.00

Oscillating, motor 95.00 to 150.00

Vacuum, hand i.co to 10.00

Vacuum, motor , 85.00 to 150.00

Boiler, copper bottom 2.00 to 5.00

Boiler, copper bottom, with faucet i.co extra

Wringer, hand 3.00 to 6.00

Wringer, power 14.00

Clothes basket 1.50 up

Small scrubbing brush for rubbing soiled spots 15

4 to 6-quart agate Berlin kettle for starchmaking.". .40

254 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Washing Outfit Approximate Cost

Long-handled agate spoon for starch $ .15

Agate quart measure 25

White soap, yellow soap

Borax

Lump and pulverized starch

Oxalic acid (2 ounces)

Concentrated ammonia, i pt

Washing soda, salt

Wax or paraffine, turpentine

Javelle water (made from chloride of lime, receipt

on package)

Glass medicine dropper 05

Small agate funnel 10

Wire strainer for starch 10

Galvanized iron pail 25

Drying Equipment

Clothespins, per box of 200 ' 30

Clothesline, white braided fiber, per 100 feet 40

Umbrella clothes dryers, outdoor 8.00 to 20.O0

Folding umbrella clothes rack for ironing 1.50

Built-to-order drying closet 50.00 up

Overhead moveable clothes dryer 5.00

Bottle stopper, aluminum sprinkler 10

Ironing

Mangle 20.00 to 200.00

Irons 50 to 4.50

Iron holder 05

Folding ironing stand and board 2.50 up

Permanent metal standard and board 12.00

Sleeve board 75

Ironing board cover (home-made)

Ironing board clamps or fasteners 25

THE PRACTICAL LAUNDRY

Good Planning for Washday

The work of washday will be greatly simplified by care-
ful planning and preparation. On no other day is it so easy
to get the house in confusion, to serve poor and hasty
meals, and for the worker herself to become thoroughly
tired out. In most homes the plan of a weekly washday must
be followed. But if the supply of clothes is large enough,
there is a great gain in having the washing done only on
alternate weeks, as this gives one free week for sewing,
special cleaning, etc.

Let us suppose that all the washing of a family of four
is to be done by the worker herself; only shirts and collars
being sent to the commercial laundry. Plan the other days
of the week so that the washing is done on Tuesday, con-
trary to the time-honored custom. This permits the house
to be given a good brushtng-up after Sunday's confusion
and the cooking of practically all of Tuesday's meals on
Monday. It also gives opportunity for the thorough sort-
ing and soaking of clothes and removing stains the day
before, which is most inconvenient when done on Sunday.
When the clothes are sorted they should (except stockings)
he mended so that the washing will not make the rents
larger, and to obviate the more common plan of mending
the gannent after it is freshly laundered, which has the dis-
advantage of crushing the newly ironed article. Also it
gives more time for the treatment of stains which, if left
to the regular washday, are likely to be overlooked and
neglected.

The standard practice for any washday will differ some-
what owing to whether a washing machine is present, the
method of heating the water, etc., etc.

Here follow five different "standard practices" for vari-
ous conditions and methods. They may be modified or

2S6 HOUSEHOUD ENGINEERING

combined to suit your conditions. When you have deter-
mined your "standard practice" it should be written down,
with its "time scheduled

STANDARD PRACTICE FOR WASHING, No. i. (Without

Set Tubs. See Diagram, page 229.)

Conditions: Two portable galvanized iron tubs with basin plugs
and rubber stoppers on wash bench; hand washer; pump; washer
mounted on stand higher than tubs, and connected with them by
double galvanized iron drainboard. Wringer on washer between
tubs and washer ; lever of washer to extreme right. Stove and
boiler used for heating washer.

1. White clothes soaked in Tubs i and 2 over night (or for half

an hour in warm water).

2. Fill boiler from pump.

3. Fill washer with boiling water from boiler, and add soap

solution.

4. Drain Tub i and place Load i in washer; operate washer by

hand ten minutes.

5. Remove Load i and run through wringer back on to drainboard.

6. Add more soap and boiling water to washer, refill boiler from

pump.

7. Drain Tub 2, and place Load 2 in washer; operate by hand ten

minutes.

8. Remove Load 2 and run through wringer back on to drainboard.

9. Drain soiled water from washer; refill with clean hot rinse

water.

10. Fill Tubs I and 2 with cold blue water; start starch preparation

at stove.

11. Fill washer with as much of Load i and Load 2 as possible;

rinse in washer (by lever) about six minutes.

12. Wring back on to drain, then put into blue water.

13. Repeat Steps 11 and 12 with remaining clothes.

14. Finish starch preparation and lay pot on drainboard.

15. Wring clothes loosely from blue water by hand, and starch

necessary ones on the drainboard (basket underneath).

16. Hang up all white clothing.

17. Repeat above steps for colored clothing, of which there will be

probably only one load, hence shorter time. Do stockings sep-
arately by hand in last soap water, and rinse in clear (never
blue) water.

THE PRACTICAL LAUNDRY

STANDARD PRACTICE FOR WASHING, No. z.

Conditions; Three stationary Uilis; motor operaled washer with
reversible power wringer and drain chutes ; permanently installed
hot and cold water and waste connections.

1. Separate all white linen and clothing into two groups. Load A

requiring boiling (sheets, cases, towels, etc.), and Load B
requiring no hoillng (tablecloth and napkins, centerpieces,
scarfs, etc.).

2. Cold soak over night. Load A ii

3. Drain both loads from soiled 1 ,
with hot water (softened) and soap solut

n Tub I, Load B in Tub 2

; place IjDad A in washer

15 mmutes.

Load A
4. Wring and delivei
directly into boi

water comes
Use this time t

in Tubs 2 an

ash by n

Load B

. Add more soap solution

hot water to washer

with Load B; wasi

to a boil. minutes.

prepare clear warm water in Tub 3, blue v

258

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Load A

10. Refill washer with clean hot

water (softened).

11. Remove Load A from boiler

and place directly into
washer of clean hot water.
Rinse lo minutes by motor.

14. Wring and deliver Load A

into Tub 3; rinse by hand.

15. Run through blue water.

16. Run through power wringer

into basket. Starch. Hang
out.

Load B

6. Wring and deliver Load B

on to drain chute. Empty
washer.

7. Refill washer with clean hot

water (softened).

8. Refill washer with Load B.

Rinse 10 minutes by motor.

9. Wring and deliver Load B

into Tub 3. Empty washer.
*****

12. Rinse (by hand) Load B in

Tub 3; then run through
blue water in Tub 2.

13. Reverse Load B from Tub i

through power wringer into
basket. Starch on Table
T; process ended. (Hang
out Load B before finish-
ing with A.)

Repeat steps with colored clothing according to practice for
Load B; no boiling. Add hot water and soap to rinse water in
Step II. If only one load, drain the washing water off with
the clothes in the machine; run in warm rinsing water; run
the machine; drain and rinse in the machine with cold water
twice; wring and hang out.

THE "JL'DD" I.AUXDRY T.AYOUT.
For Stamlanl rnifticr No. 3.

THE PRACTICAL LAUNDRY 259

STANDARD PRACTICE FOR WASHING, No. 3
With '^Judd" Rinsing Tray

Conditions : Three tubs in line with power washer, drain chutes,
reversible wringer, Judd Rinsing Tray ; machine next to Soaking
Tub I ; Bluing Tub 2 in center ; Rinsing Tub 3 on the end ;
boiler at same height with side close to end of Tub 3; Load A to
be boiled, Loads B and C not boiled, Load D colored clothes.

1. Soak Load A in Tub i, M to J^ hour, in softened warm water

with half a bar of dissolved soap.

2. While soaking Load A, oil machine, fill with hot water, soften;

add lYz bars of shaved soap or equivalent of chip soap.

3. Wring Load A from soaking water through power wringer into

machine; run 10 minutes to half an hour, till clean.

4. While Load A is being washed, soak Load B in Tub i. Fill

boiler, soften, start heating.

5. Wring Load A out of machine on to Judd Rinsing Tray and

slide into boiler of boiling water (no soap added). Boil 5 to
10 minutes.

6. Wring Load B from soaking water into the machine ; add a little

more soap if necessary and start washing.

7. Start Load C soaking in Tub i.

8. Take Load A from boiler to rinsing tray, let drain ; slide load

into warm (softened) rinsing water, Tub 3; rinse well; toss
on to tray placed on Tub 2 ; swing tray and slide load into
warm bluing water; take load over tray, placed on Soaking
Tub I, through machine wringer into basket ; hang.

9. Run Load B, now washed, through power wringer on to Judd

Rinsing Tray; slide tray to one side.

10. Wring Load C from soaking water into machine ; add more soap

and hot water and start washing.

11. Put Load D (colored clothes) into soaking water (fresh, if

necessary).

12. Rinse Load B from tray in Tub 3, a piece at a time, throw;ing

on to unoccupied part of tray as fast as rinsed; slide into
bluing water, Tub 2; wring over tray through power wringer
into basket; starch; hang.

Repeat process No. 12 with Loads C and D, give second rinsing
to Load D in place of bluing. With only two tubs, rinse and
blue in the same tub. Rinsing is more thorough if done a
piece or two at a time in the whole tul) of water as directed.
With the Judd Rinsing Tray, wringing between rinsing and
bluing water is not necessary.

The Judd Rinsing Tray can be used to advantage in any type of
laundry; price $3.00, Judd Laundry Machine Co., Chicago.

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

-^v:'

:^=^

STANDARD PRACTICE No. 4 (PARAFFINE BOIL)

CoNUiTiONS : Two portable or stationary tubs; hand power washer;
wringer; boiler (white clothes only).
I. Soak clolhing over night in cold (softened) water in Tubs I

and 2 or for J^ hour in hot water.
a. Fill boiler with cold soft water and bring to boiling point.

3. Add to boiler 'A of the following mixture made previously;

I lb. bar yellow soap, shaved fine.

I cup best quality while paraffine, shaved fine.

I qt. boiling water.

Melt together thoroughly,

4. Drain clothes ; wring, and place Load A in boiler.

5. Boil Load A J^ hour.

6. Deliver Load A into washer of dear, very hot (softened) water, I

7. Refill boiler with Load B, adding another cup of paraffine n "

ture and boil '/i hour.

8. Rinse Load A in washer, by lever, about ten n

9. Fill Tub I with clear cold water. Tub 3 with blue v

10. Wring Load A into Tub 1, then place into Tub 2

hang.

11. Repeal steps Nos. 8. 9 and 10 with Load B or Loads C, D, etc.,

as there are aljout 5 boilerfuls in a large family wash of white |
clothing. Oothes which are not much soiled need i
soaked but may be put directly.

STANDARD PRACTICE No. 5 (NAPHTHA SOAP)

CO!

Two stationary set tubs and water motor washer, witH J
permanent draiti and hot and cold water connections. No boiIer;J
hand wringer. I

1. Soak clothes (white) over night in softened cold water andSg

naphtha soap solution.

2. Fill washer with tepid water (softened) and naphtha soap \

3. Drain clothes from Tub i; wring and fill Load A into washer; J

operate washer 20 r '

THE PRACTICAL LAUNDRY 261

4. Empty washer; refill with clean tepid water; operate washer 10

minutes.

5. Empty washer; refill with clean cold water, and operate for a

second rinse of 8 to 10 minutes.

6. Fill Tub I with blue water.

7. Wring and deliver Load A into blue water of Tub i. Starch and

hang.

8. Repeat above steps with all following loads, including colored

clothing.

(This cold water and naphtha soap method needs no boiling if
a motor washer is used which will give the long-time and
strong friction and rinsing. This is the easiest of all methods
for only moderately dirty clothes.)

Naphtha Soap Solution

There are two naphtha soaps, the "white" and Fels-
Naptha. The latter is much the stronger. Slice 4 bars of
soap and place in a two-gallon jar of water. Allow to stand
over night. Then beat up the soap with a strong egg beater
to thoroughly dissolve. Add about 2 cups of this jelly to
each washer of clothes. (Naphtha soap cannot be used
with boiling water, hence the plan of beating the jelly until
it is perfectly dissolved.)

STANDARD PRACTICE OF WASHING WOOLENS

1. Avoid change in temperature cither of water or drying or

pressing.

2. Wash and rinse in water of the same temperature, about 110° F.

3. Use rain water, if possible. Soften both washing and rinsing

water, if hard, with correct quantity of borax or ammonia
and finish softening with a little soap solution before the
goods are put in the water. Leave a little soap in the last
rinsing water to give a soft finish, or add glycerine.

4. Never rub soap directly on, but use soap solution of mild white

soap.

5. "Squeeze" rather than rub, and avoid all possible twisting and

stretching and rubbing.

6. Handle quickly, "pat" into shape, and dry in warm room or out

of doors in warm weather; freezing is harmful.
Woolens may be washed in a washing machine but should be
kept separate.

262 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Washing Colored Clothing

Colors in fabrics may be either "heavy," as deep brow
blue, red, etc., or "delicate," as pale pink, lavender, grc£"J
blue, etc. The latter wash better than the former, whicTiT
have more tendency to "bleed" or run; but al! colored ord
parti-colored materials need to be washed with great care*
as even the best dyes are not always to be trusted. It iai
best to test a sample of the fabric with hot water and soapB
to see if it will "bleed." If the soapy water shows color,!
"set" the dye by soaking in salt solution, i^ cups to a quart
of water, for an hour or two, then dry.

Again, articles are not generally made all of the samel
colored material but are composed of two or more materials
and colors, i.e., a pink striped chambray dress with solid
pink collar and cuff of linen ; or, overalls of blue denim
with red straps, or a centerpiece of white linen embroideredj
in colored silk. Each kind of material absorbs the samd
color differently, hence the extreme care needed in wash-fl
ing and also in the later drying and pressing under hean
Colors are affected by all the conditions of alkahs, acid^
simlight, soap and heat.

But all colored materials can be washed under the same^
general rules, as follows :

STANDARD PIL\CTICE FOR WASHING AND IRONINQ
COLORED ARTICLES

I. Set the co!f>r, if necessary, by soaking in salt solution.
z. Avoid soaking usually,

3. Wash iij wafer about 110° F. ; never hot.

4. Use mild white soap in solution, but avoid ruhbing soap directlji

on material.

5. Wash, rinse and dry quickly.

6. Never boil: generally avoid bluing.

7. Hang wrong side out away from sunlieht, as shaded by a sheet <>.

trees, etc. Sunshine and moisture fade nearly all colors, 'i

8. Iron on wrong side with cnol iron, using mvislin or where o
sary to press on right side to avoid "shine".

THE PRACTICAL LAUNDRY

Washing op Baby Garments

2«3

In many homes the washing of baby garments is a daily
and time-taking task. A few words about it will not be
amiss. First, a baby's clothes should never, for hygienic
reasons, be mixed and washed with the family clothes.
The hands, sox, shirts and petticoats of flannel can be
washed as for above directions of woolens. The white
dresses, unless very elaborate, need no starching, and only
a good boiling each time. The diapers need especial care.
The faeces should be at once removed, and the diaper placed
in a metal covered pail, like a new garbage pail painted
white, or a white enameled pail, until time for washing. If
a few drops of Lysol solution are sprinkled in the pail it
will remove odors. It has not been found a good plan, in
the writer's experience, to soak the napkins that are washed
every day as this makes the work more unpleasant.

A small, stiff scrubbing brush should be used for further
cleansing; then they may be placed in cold water, rubbed
slightly, and then put on to boil in cold water without any
chemical, merely white soap chips. Reserve for this use
solely a galvanized or white enamel bucket holding 2 or 3
gallons. Boil ten minutes after the water boils. Rinse
in clear hot water and hang out. Never use hluing, as this
yellows them and causes dangerous chafing on the tender
skin. Although many small devices and washers are sold
exclusively for baby use, none have proved practical or as
simple as the boihng in the pail, as even with a washer
they must be boiled in order to be strictly sanitary. Wash
hands in alcohol after handhng such articles.

SOAP SOLUTION FOR WASHING MACHINE
I !b. soap chips to 6 gals, water added directly to the water in the
machine, or 1 large cake soap to 2^ qts. water. Cut soap fine and
melt over slow fire; do not cook after it is dissolved.

Soften the water hy adding the correct proportion of washing
soda solution befare adding soap.

264 HOUSEHOLD EXGIXEEBUXG

WHITE SOAP SOLUTION FOR FLANNELS

I large bar (i-lb., 2-oz. size) Ivory soap.

4 qts. cold water.

Cut soap fine, add to water and heat and dissolve. One-half cup
wood alcohol can be also added to ven- soiled woolens. U'se half
of this in each of the two wash waters. Add i tablespoon glycerine
to 2 qts. of the tepid rinse water to give a soft tinish.

COMMON STARCH FORMULA

I qt. water.

3 tblsp. starch (corn).

Yz tsp. each borax and paraffine or clean lard.

Make a paste of some of the cold water and the starch to sep-
arate the starch grains. Have the right amount of water boiling,
and stir in the starch paste slowly, stirring well to avoid all lumping.
Boil gently for about fifteen minutes, using an asbestos pad under
to prevent scorching. This is a "heavy" starch ; thinner quality is
made by using less of the starch powder.

QUESTIONS OX HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

The Practical L.\uxdrv

1. Make a sketch of your present laundry. What changes

would make it more stej)- and labor-saving? Is .your
present equipment "grouped** so that work can be
easily "routed" ?

2. Make out a "standard practice" of your laundry work,

stating what conditions you have to work with, 1. e.,
wa<her, tubs, installation, etc. Do you consciously
follow such a "practice" on wash days?

3. What is the chief reason why your present laundry work

is hard? 1 'lease compare }our experience in hand
(washboard) rubbing and any washing machine you
may have u>ed.

4. IIow large is }()ur family washing T number of persons),

and how many hours does it take to do it, both the
wa-hing and the ironing?

5. Have \<^A\ used motor-operated laundry equipment, and

do you like to u<e machinery, or are you somewhat
afraid of it? Is it the first cost that prevents you from
using more machinery?

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

VII

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

FAMILY FINANCING AND RECORD KEEPING

"M^

fY HUSBAND earns $ioo a month; we are five
in the family. My husband pays the rent, the
coal and his lodge, and I have a weekly allow-
ance to run the house. I do all my own work, and yet
have nothing saved. Do you think keeping accounts would
help me? What do you mean by the 'budget' plan? Will
you please help me get this money problem straightened out,
and tell me how to manage better?"

This letter is typical of hundreds which have come to
the author's desk, all asking some questions about the
handhng and disbursement of money in the home. "Effi-
ciency" means not only prevention of waste energy in steps
and labor, but prevention of waste in money and materials
as well. Therefore no discussion of new methods in home
management would be complete without seeing how they
apply to that most important part of homebuilding — the
plans for income spending and saving, and the means of
making those plans easy to follow,

In former days there was less need for care in spending
or accounting of money first because less actual money
was handled. Even as late as 1890, 63.9% of the popula-

Copyrlght lOia, Home Beonomlo Aaaaclallon.

26s

tion was rural, and only 36.155' was urban. Today
is rural and 46.3% lives in cities. That is, twenty-five
years ago 64% of all the families of the nation lived in the
country and raised and manufactured the bulk of its prod-
ucts, for which no money was paid. But today almost half,
or over 46% of all families live in cities, and hence are not
producers, but consumers who must buy and pay with
money for the countless articles and foods that each home
requires-

Therefore it was then not so important for the woman,
or the wife and husband together, to follow some definite
plan of expenditure. In this present age, too, there are
also other urgent reasons why a family must have a con-
scious plan of spending and saving. These reasons may
be grouped as follows :

1. Greater social demands and higher standards of
taste and living generally.

2. Longer periods before children become self-support-
ing, due to modem insistence for education and child labor
laws.

3. Each individual today adds a definite cash amount to
family expense without so much chance to render back
value as in the past.

4. Men are considered economically "unfit" for work
and are forced to "retire" from occupations at a much
earlier age than formerly (i. e., the man of fifty today finds
his place usurped by the young man, and many employers
refuse to hire men over a certain age limit).

5. Therefore parents have to provide more savings with
which to support themselves during this lengthened period
without work opportunity ; whereas in the past, when living
was simple and rural, there were more kinds of unskilled
labor at which even a very old person could "earn his

M

FAMILY FINANCING

267

6. Increased cost of maintenance in "the rainy days"
and the higher cost of medical attendance and nursing in
ilbess.

The health of the family, its education, its pleasures, its
savings, are determined, not by the amount of that income,
but by the distribution, or the spending of that i
Many families who today may complain of their low i
are suffering frequently, not from a low income, but from
misspending of that income. The whole standard of family
living depends only on the apportionment or spending of
what the family earns. Two families may, as often hap-
pens, have identical incomes ; yet one manages to own its
own home and send its children to college, while the other
will be always on the brink of debt and unable to afford
its children advantages. To save, to diminish the expendi-
ture, is just the same as having an increase in income.

Women Handle the Finances of the Home

For the 18,000,000 families in the country today over
nine billion dollars is spent annually, mainly by women.
Women alone buy 48.4% of all merchandise for family use,
and have an important voice in buying 23% more — ^buying
a total of 71% of all products used in the home. Further,
women buy:

48% of all drugs,

96% of all dry goods,

87% of all raw and market foods,

48.5% of all hardware and house furnishings.*

As most of this sum is spent without keeping records,
the proved experience of business men shows that there

■ Figure! from InveatlEatlon by Prof. H. Holllnswortb. ol CDlambU

i

268 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

must be an attendant waste of at least 3%, probably muchl
more, which means that each year American women by
sHpshod spending waste at least one hundred million dollars !
How important it is, then, not only to each family, but to
the nation, that some efficient plan of family spending and
record keeping be followed. All too often homemakers com-
plain that their work inside the walls of the home is "uninter-
esting," and that it has not such "opportunities" as outside
"business" affords. Young women who maintain this atti-
tude of disparaging the possibilities in homemaking are fre-
quently the very ones to devote their best intellect to keeping-
in order the accounts and books of a business firm. WhyJ
should not the same inteIHgence and care be given to them
accounts and expenditures of the home — which is the centei
for which all other businesses exist?

The Whole Family Must Plan Together
No other question is so important to the happiness of thel
home as the mutual understanding of finances by all mem-
bers of the family. If only the wife makes the plans, it is
difficult for her to impose them on the other members of
the family. If the husband handles the money, doling out
a niggardly sum to the wife, no large general plan of all
expenditures and savings can be made. The ideals, stand-
ards and plans must be shared equally by both husband
and wife, and understood by the children, in order to have
happy united "pulling" toward a definite aim. Again, if
all are equally informed, and agree to the same plan, each ,
will feel a responsibility in seeing that the "plan" is livedJ
up to and carried out. Nothing draws a husband and wifel
closer together than a frank, businesslike cooperation abouti
their finances — to have a mutual aim to buy a piece o{M
property, pay for a house, put away an educational savings^
fund, etc

FAMILY FINANCING

269

Disadvantages of "Allowance" Systems

While the plan of a personal or household "allowance"
to the wife is often followed, the author is frank to say
that it is, in her opinion, a relic of some past time when
women were supposed to be too inexperienced to handle
money, and to whom therefore it was "doled" out by the
husband, who was always the financial support. These
are the strong objections to the "allowance" plan as we see
them : First, it prevents the woman from seeing and under-
standing more than her own petty allowance expenditures.
In handling and having a voice only in this part of the
income, she is bound to be inexperienced and fail to grasp
the broad view of all the family finances which it is most
important she should take. Second, it sometimes results
in extravagance and onesided expenditure; because, satis-
fied with her personal allowance and spending it all, per-
haps selfishly, the woman loses sight of the other family
needs, or does not realize that the personal allowance is an
unfair proportion compared to all other items of family
expense. Third, this plan seems to force a woman into the
undignified necessity for begging or skimping for every
penny she should have by right. Fourth, the greatest criti-
cism of all, the allowance scheme is unbusinesslike, and
makes impossible the satisfactory carrying out of any uni-
form "budget" plan of expenditures for the whole family.

Housekeeping is a business; husband and wife are equal
partners. The entire income (from whatever sources)
should be mutually shared and directed by both partners.
Any other plan fails of self-respect, and cannot be called
true business management. The allowance scheme, either
for husband or wife, can only be compared to two partners
in a commercial business (having a joint income of $200
per month), one of whom gave to the other a small sim;.

«70 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

say $20, and said to him, "Here, Brown, is an allowance '
for your cigars and neckties; don't worry your head c
any other money matters, leave the management of the other
$180 a month to me." We cannot imagine any two actual
partners doing such an absurdity; nor can we imagine
modern progressive husbands and wives dividing the re-
sponsibility of their Joint income in any similar silly way.
"But don't you believe in a 'household' allowance?" many
women will ask. If by "household allowance" is meant
all items of family expense, we do; but as generally used
by those who write the author for advice, and by other
persons, "household" seems to refer only to food, clothing,
and a few extra expenses, and is not used to include rent.
savings, investments, education, and the really larger items J
of expense. For instance, one woman writes: "I have I
a household allowance of $20 a week to run the house on;
my husband pays the coal, rent and insurance. I buy my
own and baby's clothes out of the house money," etc. This
kind of "household allowance" plan lets the woman share
in the spending of only a few items— while the husband is
entirely responsible for others. Such "household allow-
ance" does not permit any carefully thought proportioning
of expenses, one item to the other. Neither does it require
both to share the responsibility for the spending of the
whole income. The wife should share the responsibility
for the financial success or failure of the family. And that J
is why such an "allowance" does not make for good man-
agement or efficiency in family spending, for if she does not J
feel responsible she will not keep the accounts on which the \
"budget system" of spending depends.

The Old-Fashioned "Household Accounts"

"I get $20 a week to run the house on," again repeats I

my friend of the above letter, "and I keep track of every J

FAMILY FINANCING

271

penny I spend. My husband is economical, too, and yet
we never know where we are at from one month to the
other. Some months we save ; but the next month it seems
as if we had to meet a big bill which leaves us 'in the hole.'
And there always seems to be something unexpected turn-
ing up to use up the little we do get ahead. I can show
where every penny went, but I still don't seem to be able
to manage — "

An inquiry into the details of the spending in this
family, and a look at their "account book" showed this
fact — that they were economical to the extreme — they
noted every single penny and wrote down a record of it
afterward; but they didn't in the least have any general
planned -in-advance scheme of spending. They knew what
they had spent ; but they didn't know what they would
spend. And so, while they were "careful" they just met
bills as they came along, took out this sum or that as the
need seemed to arise, and let their expenses master them,
instead of mastering those expenses! When I wrote and
asked this correspondent to tell me what her income was,
what per cent of it she spent annually on food, on clothes,
on amusements, on savings, on running her home, — she
didn't know, even with that carefully written account book
before her! From all the hundred details, she had no
large general percentages which would give the amount
spent for one group of needs as contrasted with another, or
which would he a guide to future spending. Thus, unfor-
tunately, she had been "keeping accounts" largely to no
purpose.

The Budget System

The old-fashioned "accounts" is to keep track of what
has been spent; the new-fashioned "accounts" is to plan
what mil be spent. That is, instead of one partner having

272

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

an "allowance" for two or three items, or instead of either
spending hit or miss, just as the need seems to arise, the
new way is to make a spending plan in advance, to be coT"
tied out equally by both partners.

This definite, well-thought-out plan of spending money
in advance is called a "budget." This term is taken from
the bag, or "budget," of financial estimates for the com-
ing year laid before the British House of Commons by
the Chancellor or Exchequer. It may be said that a
"budget" is "spending on paper," Instead of taking an
income, say $ioo a month, and spending it just as each
need seems to arise — $30 for food one month, $20 the next,
"squeezing" down the food some other month because the
entire family needs winter clothing, etc., etc., — the "budget"
way is to plan, and particularly to apportion in advance how
much can be spent for food, for clothing, and for all other
needs throughout the entire year. Its view is annual, not
monthly or daily. Its object is not so much skimping,
economy or saving, as it is proportionate, balanced spending.

City and national governments, every business worthy
of the name, estimate their divisions of expenses for the
coming year, "The annual budget," reads the daily news-
paper, "for improvement this year in this state will be

dollars, to be divided as follows between the

counties," and then follows a detailed estimate

of the exact proportion of money which can be spent on
roads, bridges, harbors, etc., in that state for one year. The |
"budget" plan can be followed just as satisfactorily in the 1
equally important spending of home finances— how much J
shall we spend for food, how much for rent, how much for I
every need and want during the coming year?

Although the needs and wants of any two families may j
diifer widely, it has been found that the following general
divisions cover those of all families:

I

FAMILY PINANCING 273

TYPICAL DIVISIONS FOR ALL INCOMES

1. Shelter. — Rent, or its equivalent in interest on investment if prop-

erty Is owned; property taxes, fire and burglar insurance; water
tax; repair attd upkeep of the house; railroad or carfare inci-
dental to siluaton of house, etc.

2. Food. — All meats, groceries, vegetables, dairy products, husband's

or children's lunch, meals taken away from home.

3. Clothing. — All materials and articles of clothing, mending sup-

plies, dressmaker or tailor, clothing repairs, pressing, etc.

4. Operating. — Light, heat, ice, telephone, wages of maid, laundress

and service of all kinds ; house-furnishings, labor-saving devices.

5. Savings. — Payment on property, endowment or life insurance,

bonds, savings account, etc., beneficiary society or lodge, etc.

6. Luxuries. — Cigars, barber, hairdresser and similar personal lux-

uries. All extra food, clothing, candy and other indulgences and
pleasures which are neither necessities nor advancement.
?. Advancement — Education, music, books and periodicals ; club
dues, church, charity, gifts, amusements, vacations, health (phy-
sician, dentist, medicine), postage, toilet articles, telegrams, etc.

Variation in Family Budgets

What per cent of any given income shall be spent on each
of these seven divisions ? There is no one universal answer,
because the percentage to be spent in each case and for
each family is determined by a number of different causes
or conditions. Just as each state cannot blindly follow
another state in making an annual "budget" for improve-
ment, hut must base the per cent to be spent on the number,
location and peculiar needs of its own roads, harbors, etc.,
so the "budget" for each family is influenced by many fac-
tors, chief of them being the following six:

I. The temperament, taste, and especially the "goal" or aim to which
the family is striving.

a. The climate and place where the family is located (city, counti]M
^emperate, cold, etc).

3. The social or professional standing of Itie group to which t
family belongs or with which it wishes to be classed (arttsa
doctor, farmer, clerk, etc.).

remoteness to markets and other s

4. The proximity c

supply,

5. The number of persons in the familj', and their age.

6. The amount of the annual income {this includes not only t

sum earned by the father, but money earned by the children
and mother, or received from investments, or the equivalent c
3 garden, stock, gifts, fees and other sources of revenue).

Budgets Must Suit Needs of Individual Family

What is called a "statistical family" consist of two adults
and three children under fourteen years of age (actually,
4.6 persons). For greater convenience and uniformity, all
theoretical budgets prepared by experts, or those budgets
based on actual concrete family experience, are estimated
on the basis of this theoretical family. But if your family
is not the "statistical" one, but contains besides a grand-
mother, or has three children over fourteen instead of-
under that age, allowances for increased expenditures will
have to be made in modeling your budget after the "typical"
one from which you are trying to get help.

Now, as said before, no one family can adopt and follow
the "budget" worked out by another family in exact detail ;^
because no two families are identical, owing to the variations
made by the six main causes of difference listed above —
goal, climate, number, income, etc. All that a "typical" or
"model" budget can do is to act as a guide or pattern which J
you may follow in outlining your own budget. It i
you were going to make a new dress from a pattern i

ins
or

1

FAMILY FINANCING 27?

nearly fitting as possible, but in which you would have to
allow extra fullness at the hips, or more pleats in the back,
or take in a few darts at the waist — to suit your particular
figure!

Again, it is a serious mistake for persons about to make
out a "budget" to base it chiefly on income. No budget
can be determined by your income, but by what you want
your family to get out of that income. Before you plan
any budget at all, you must think what objects and aims
your family wishes to realize, what values you count high-
est, and therefore put first. Because the Smiths have $200
a month, and your income is also $200 a month, is no reason
you must spend the same percentage tor each item that the
Smiths do. This point is emphasized because the author
has all too frequently found correspondents blindly copying
the per cent spent by some other family with the same
income. Each "budget" must be a law unto its ovm family.

The Family Aim — Goal — Ideals

You recall that the first "efficiency principle" given and
discusssed in the first chapter of Household Engineering
was the point of "ideals." "What are we running the
home for? What is the goal of this business of home-
making? What do we wish most to secure from life for
ourselves and our family? This question of "ideai/' or
goal must be definitely answered before any budget can be
satisfactorily worked out. The aim, and taste, and striving,
of a given family must determine the working budget which
they are going to follow. Otherwise it would be just as
if a ship were to start on a voyage without a port toward
which to sail. The budget is to the family what a charted
course is to the navigator with a settled harbor in view and
definite sailing directions to guide.

276 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Where do you wish to sail ? What port does your family
wish to make? Is it saving to send the children to college,
or money spent to increase your husband's business, or
more esthetic richness in your life, or opportunity to do
more good to the community? Let us repeat that a clear
idea of the goal {or there may b'e several) toward which o
Particular family slriz'cs, is the first essential of budget
makitig. On this choice depends the apportionment of all
the seven divisions given above.

Before discussing several "typical" budgets, and how we
can get help from them in developing our own, let us see
exactly why it is not safe or wise to blindly follow the
budgets of other people, or those regarded as "typical."
Suppose two families have the same income of $100 a
month. One, Wheeler, lives in California, where the climate
is warm and food prices low. The other, Mr. Morehouse,
lives in an eastern suburb, with a rigorous winter, at a long
haul from the metropolis to which it is a satellite. In one
family the three children are aged 2, 4 and 6, and the mother
has a helper in the home; in the other family the children.
are 8, II and 13, and the mother and children do all the
housework. The father of the California family is a skilled
employe of a railroad ; the father in the eastern family is
a teacher in the high school, anxious to attain a better posi-
tion.

Although both of these families are the "statistical"
family of two adults and three children under 14 years of
age, it will be seen instantly how different the per cent
each must spend for the seven divisions of their income.
Ill the first case, we will suppose that Wheeler, of Cali-
fornia, has no great ambition or chance to ever earn much
more in his occupation than $100 a month. On the other
hand, Mr. Morehouse is willing to spend his evenings on
study and courses which will enable him a few years later

J

FAMILY FINANCING

2TJ

to take a small college position. He wants his children,
too, to have the hest education. This goal alone possibly
determines that a large per cent of Mr. Morehouse's $ioo
monthly shall go to his children's educational fund, to
books and expenses while he attends courses at a nearby
university.

Again, food in the locality being cheap, and the Wheeler
children being small, a less per cent will need to be spent
for food in that family than in Mr. Morehouse's, where
he has to feed three older children, and pay the long haul
plus the city price for all his food supplies. Further, Mrs.
Wheeler feels she cannot get along without help when her
children are so small, so she has a helper who costs about
$4 a week, while the Morehouse children are themselves old
enough to assist their mother in the housework before and
after school. In addition, Mr. Morehouse, being a school
teacher, has to dress fairly well and live in a good district,
while Wheeler, who is working in a railroad office, can
wear less expensive or work clothes, and Uves in a section
where rents are low. Also, Mr. Morehouse is expected and
wishes to assist certain "causes" — he has the dues from
various societies to which he must belong, certain school
and social expenses which, being a teacher, he must meet.
Mr, Wheeler's reading comprises the daily newspapers and
his obligations are optional.

The "budgets" of these two families would therefore
differ widely, even though they had the same income and
the same number of children, principally because I hey
wanted to do different things and achieve different results.
The author has given these two opposing cases in this
detail to illustrate the point that a budget must not be
based blindly on "typical" budgets or the experiences of
others, no matter how excellent or helpful they may be.
The budget of each family, as said before, must stand or

I

278

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

fall alone, and be based exactly on what that partictilar
family wants to achieve most out of its life.

All that other budgets can do is to suggest the appor-
tionment of a given income for a given number of persons.
It has always been a source of disagreement for the author
to hear other authorities say, "Given $ioo a month, then
$25 a month must be spent for food;" or, "If the annual
income is $2,000, then 20% must be spent for clothes,"
etc., etc. From the two contrasts given above, it will be
readily seen that differing families have different needs.

Genekal Laws or Estimates Which Will Help Mak
Individual Bi^mjets

From thousands of actual budgets studied by experts
a number of helpful generalizations have been deduced.
For instance :

, Tlie lower the annual income, the higher the per cent
that will ha^T to be spent on food. Con\-ersely —

a. The higher die uinoal income, the tower the per cent
nec<«s«ry to be spent on food. (Example — on an
income of $600. 40 per cent most be spent to ma
tain family in heahh. while on an incoine of $2,400
only 23 per cent will need to be spent on food.)

3. Tite kygrer the income, the less per cent that can be

5|«nt for savings, huniries and adt-ancemmt Ca
versehr —

4. Tbe hi^aer the mcome, tbe {rater the per cent ftat
B be ^Kot oo these tbrcK #n»en&.

FAMILY FINANCING 279

5. The per cent to be spent on the four divisions, food,

advancement, luxuries and savings varies imtk the
size of the income.

6. The per cent to be spent on the three divisions, rent,

operating and clotliing remains more nearly fixed,
whatever the i:

Shexter

The amount spent for shelter should be determined by
convenience of the house, its nearness to business or school,
and its sanitary and healthful situation. Too frequently
rait is based on a mistaken social pride. Many families
spend on rent a sum out of proportion to the other divisions
in their budget, A family may rent an elaborate house for
their children's sake — an expense which may not be justi-
fied, as the children might be Just as well and happy in a
smaller, less pretentious house. Or a young couple want to
"keep up appearances" by living In a fashionable neigh-
borhood, when they should be putting more in their own
pockets and less in the landlord's.

If "shelter" includes heat, this extra sum will be balanced
by lower operating expense. Distance from school ^r busi-
ness must be figured, as rightly all transportation costs must
be considered a part of "shelter." If the house has a yard
and there are children, the additional expense of the yard
may be offset fay decreased need for a nursemaid, as the
yard will enable children to take care of themselves. Again,
the size and style of a house greatly affect the item of
"operating," a point too little considered. The number of
windows, the amount of service time and labor needed to
clean the rooms, the fuel to heat it, the upkeep of lawn,
etc., will either increase or keep normal the "operating"
item. Even a supposedly "low" rent for a roomy old-
fashioned house may be "high" if the fuel and additional

sSo

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

upkeep are considered. Shelter, then, must not be con-
sidered without "operating," and even some of the other
divisions; for instance, if too large a per cent is spent on
"shelter," certainly less can be spent on advancement,
savings, etc., which would be of more permanent value.

Whether to rent or own is a big question to be only de-
termined by the individual family, the location and the
profession and permanency of the work of the father. If
the home is owned, the amount of investment that it repre-
sents should be divided monthly, and entered under "shel-
ter" in the budget. For instance, if house and land repre-
sent an outlay of $5,000, then 6% of this sum annually will
be $300, the amoimt that $5,000 would bring at normal inter-
est. To this $300 should be added taxes, insurance and.
repairs. The sum divided by 12 will give about $30, or the'
monthly rent of which the house is the equivalent. This
amount of $30 a month should be entered in the budget.
Many times a family, such as minister or supervisor of a
farm, has the rent or parsonage free. This approximate
value must be set down in the budget, otherwise there will
be wrong estimating, such as has been found in many budgets
handed the author for inspection. That is, if the income of
a country minister is $600, and "parsonage free," his actual
income is about $750, basing rent of parsonage at $I2
month. The budget would then be made out, not on a $6ocv
but on a $750 income.

Food

The per cent necessary to keep the statistical family in
good health has been approximately figured for 1916 city
prices as at least $587 per year, or about 35 cents per day
per person. If there is a garden, the equivalent of this
should be credited in the budget as added to the regular
income. A large garden will represent about $100 to $150

:s

■' I

1

n I

FAMILY FINANCING 281

a year, especially if canned products raised in it is included.
If there is one place where good management shows, it
is in this item of food. The skill and training of the
homemaker in nutritive values and cooking will bear greatly
on this point, and one woman may feed her family for two-
thirds or even one-half of another. However, the amount
of food should never be stinted, especially with growing
children. But the amount of money spent gives little indi-
cation of the nutritive value obtained. Low doctor's fees
are an indication of right nourishment and if there is no
sickness, one may be sure the food supply is being cared
for properly.

Operating

The percentage spent here will depend on size and style of
house, the standards and taste of the family. The cost of a
maid or other service by the day, plus the cost of the maid's
food, must be charged in "operating." Some make a mis-
take when they write "We have three in family, and a
maid," and then estimate the percentage of food on three,
and leave the maid out of calculation. The kind of heat,
its control, the kind of furnishings, etc., will all affect this
item. Many "skimp" on this division, and put an excess
on clothes or other item. As much labor-saving equipment
should be bought and counted here as possible. Laundry,
or laundry equipment, linens, furnishings and their repair,
and all upkeep are included in this item. Simple furnish-
ings, modest houses and good equipment can do a great
deal to reduce expenses in this group.

Savings

While under this heading have been given payments on
property, etc., there are other kinds of savings which may
be entered as such by some families. Vacations, travel,

382

continued expense at one's profession may be a kind of
potential savings which will be realized later in increased
8trcngth or efficiency. Many families make the error of
thinking that "saving/' must always be concrete cash. The
line between savings and advancement is slight, and many
items under both divisions may be interchangeable. In-
stead of putting money in the bank, one young doctor ex-
pended it on further training so that he would become a
specialist — a personal savings for the future when his in-
vestment in himself would be justified by the returns in a
larger income.

In a similar sense, children can be looked on as "savings'*
or investment, and not as an expense. Healthy, efficient
children represent a sentimental investment to their indi-
vidual families ; they are also the greatest social investment
which can he made by the state and nation. We are just
beginning to take this view as a community, that better
babies, more sturdy and intelligent children, are investments
to society. We are finding out that a state
no better way than by encouraging such conditions and
investing money in such work as will produce the high*
types of children.

In other words, some families fail to invest in them-
selves, so. that they will be able to do more important work,
be more socially valuable, etc., but instead concentrate
wrongfully on the kind of savings which are only repre-
sented by a bank book and which are often mistakenly
made at the expense of present comforts, or even necess-
tics — sufficient food and adequate standards.

TIic immigrant, who on his farm at a pitiable wage, went
back to the old country with $2,000 in his pocket after four
years, may have saved — but at the price of personal growth
and \-aIue to the communitr,

Tbe couple witbotit childrai, that has never gi^-cn equiva-

ind^H

FAMILY FINANCING 283

lent in service to the community, but that has instead
amassed commercial savings, has certainly lived by the
letter and not the spirit of this meaning.

Luxuries
The list of these items is long, and the decision as to
which are luxury and which are not, must be determined
honestly by the individuals. Autos may be advancement, or
the equivalent of transportation, but frequently are pure
luxuries. Personal services hke those pertaining to the
toilet, flowers, gifts and numbers of expenses can be justi-
fied on no other ground than the head of "luxury."

Advancement
This division seems clear enough, except that many cor-
respondents and others fail to see the connection between
health and this division. The care bestowed upon the fam-
ily's teeth, eyes and health, all items for sanitary use, mark
the difference between the family with a low standard and
one with a higher view. All spiritual needs, all educational
expense, or the means of increasing knowledge, training,
development or the making of the members more efficient
to themselves and to society, must be classed here.

Where Childeen's Expense Is Estimated

"How shall we class the expenses of our children ?" write

some. It is just as easy to estimate their food, clothing and

education as that of the adult. Roughly, the following have

been estimated as the cost of children for different ages,

omitting the birth expenses, which vary most widely :

Child J- 6 years $100 annual cost, without nurse or attendant

6- 8 " 125 "

" 10-12 " 17s '

" 14-16 " ?20i>— ?3oo in school, not at work

284

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

But two children do not double the cost of one.
same equipment will do for two or several, and the same
fuel and time to cook for two as one. Also, older children
can be taught to help the younger, and thus lessen any
"operating" expense of the first child, which might have
needed a nurse.

The coming of children is often used as the occasion to'
raise the whole standard of living, moving to a larger house
and employing extra help, when, by applying more efficient
household plans, and reducing the elaborateness of the home,
this expense could be easily avoided. Fuel, laundry am
doctor's fees usually increase the budget when there
small children.

Typical BinjGEXs

Here follow several "typical" budgets based on actual
budgets which have come into the author's hands through
an extensive survey made through a periodical. In every
case the percentage spent on each division is given, as well
as the actual amount of money spent. The benefit of this
is that if your income should fall between any two incomes
given here (as $1,350, between $1,200 and $1,500), you
can more easily compute exactly the sum spent for your
particular income. Again, the percentages for each di-
vision vary from some of the standard divisions, notably
those of Mrs. Richards, due to the fact that the author's
percentages are based on the prices and standards of 1916
instead of 18S5, when prices on food, shelter, etc., were
considerably lower. These budgets are based on a s;
posium of actual budgets which have been proved and usi
successfully.

I

1

u?h I

4

FAMILY FINANCING 285

SUGGESTED BUDGETS FOR VARIOUS INCOMES
(Statistical family of two adults and three children under 14 years)

Expense Per Month

Income Advance-

pcryear Food Shelter Operating Clothing ment

$ 600 $20.00 $10.00 $ 5.00 $ 8.00 % 7.00

40% 30% 10% 15% 14%

900 2S.00 1500 8,25 11.25 15.50

33!-5% 2o7o 11% 15% 20%

1^00 30,00 23,00 13.00 14.00 20.00

30% 23% 13% 14% 20%

'.5«> 37-50 28,00 16.25 1750 25,00

20% 23% 1370 1470 207d

2.000 40.00 33.00 23.20 22,00 49.00

24% 20?fc 14% 14% 29%

2,400 44,00 40,00 30,00 28,00 58.00

22% 20% 15% 14% 29%

Making Out the Budget
After understanding the explanations given previously,
let us proceed to draw up an actual budget. Let us suppose
that we have $1,200 income, or $JOO a month, and have no
special aim which will interfere from our budget following
the "typical" budget for this income, to begin with. A
budget for a $1,200 income will be arranged like this:

$1,200 Income

Shelter (including husband's carfare, Per month Per week

etc-) 23% $23.00 $5.30

Food (including meals from home) .30% 30,00 6,92

Clothing 14% 14,00 3,23

Operating 13% 13.00 3.00

Savings 10% 10.00 2.30

Luxuries 4% 4.00 .92

Advancement 6% 6.0a 1,39

$100.00 $23.06

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Account Keeping

Once this "budget" or estimate is made, it must be foU^
towed, and some system kept which will keep record of the i
expenses and see if the actual budget conforms to the
theoretical budget. The author's chief objection to most
"systems" of keeping household expenses, is their elaborate-
ness, which would prevent the busy housemother fromJ
having time to keep them correct and up-to-date.

In order to follow out the budget plan, we will have to |
use some of the knowledge and terms of regular bookkeep-
ing. But the system should be as simple as possible, the
idea being not to make a bookkeeper out of the homemaker,
but to permit her to have the most accurate record and .
also the best "short-cut" method to serve her purpose.

There are two separate methods of keeping a budget or ]
any other form of household account. One is by means of
a book, or set of books, and the other by means of a set of ,
cards. The book plan is the simplest for a beginner. It
is a proved fact that American women, as opposed to those
in England and France, know little about keeping accounts,
or records of money. In those and other foreign countries
this is made a part of the education of girls — an ideal to be i
striven for here, j

All transactions have two sides ; each person is always in
the joint position of debtor and creditor. This makes
every account of expense have two sides, — the debit and
the credit; we are debtor to the cash account for all the
■ money or income received. This cash account must include
Knot only salary of father, but money earned by other mem-
bers of family, or through investment and the equivalent
of garden, free rent. etc. The credit account will include
all sums paid out tor every item of the budget.

Now. to make this very easy to keep track of, let us rule

it

I

I

FAMILY FINANCING 287

3 large blank book about 10x8 in. Let us use two pages for
each month, and divide both pages into similar columns,
about twenty in number. Write days of the month in the
first column, and in the second write all the cash receipts,
or amount to our deposit in the bank. Continue to the right,
and label each column for each item of the budget (see
illustration), keeping items of one group, as "food" (gro-
ceries, meats, vegetables, etc.) together and connecting them
over the top with a bracket labeled with the main division
of the budget. That is, there will be seven main divisions
divided into about twenty columns straight across both
pages.

The extreme right column is for "total daily balance."
At the foot of each column is ample space for the total of
each column and also for other figures. We will suppose
that we are paying bills both by check and by cash. We
will have a check book, and draw on it from the monthly
sum deposited there to our credit which we think will be
enough to pay the hills we desire to pay by check, as monthly
butcher and grocer, light, etc. We will keep all sales checks
or slips, and use them as a basis of the sum entered in its
proper credit column. In this account book only the gen-
eral total sum spent is entered to save space and time,
i. e., instead of writing under "Vegetables — cabbage, .10;
carrots, .20, apples .40," we will write the total, "Vege-
tables .70," as that is sufficient for accuracy and too much
detail is complicating. If there are details that we do wish
to preserve a record of, they may be kept separate in a small
book which corresponds to the "day-book" in business. It
may be said in passing, that the household account book
now being described for use with the budget plan of ex-
pense, is what in bookkeeping or business would be called
a "journal-ledger," in which both receipts and expenditures
can be seen at a glance.

288 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

1

c»™

5HELTED

FOOD

CLOTHIHG

^

^>.

Br=,=.^

^

-^T^

','"

1^

~"

u.

ML.T

-t-

'^

zz

-^

""

=

r

=^

—

=

=

=^

=-

=

!S1E

M,

«■

..'

,■■

..«

*-.

-«■

,~

—

^

-™:»^-:

--- *sr-""'*z3

RULING FOR THE ACCOUNT BOOK— LEFT HAND PAOH.

How THE Account Book Follows the Budget Plan ^H

Now let us begin to keep the accounts of January or the
new year accounts. Let us suppose that we had a bank bal-
ance of $50, and $7.50 in cash from December. The first
column would be as per illustration. Now as we pay cash
for meat, groceries or what not, we merely enter the total
sum in its proper column. We also pay other weekly bills
by check. If so, we will write the sum under its proper ^H
column, and note on our check stub the firm to whom paid, ^H
the date and number of check. Every week it will ^|
take us perhaps forty-five minutes or less to "balance the ^H
book." To do this we add the figures of the daily expense. ^H
and place in total weekly expense column. Supposing the ^H
total amount spent, according to your account book, is $27. ^H
Your check book shows a total of $24 paid by check. That ^H
would mean you had paid out the difference between $27 ^|
and $24 in cash, or $3. You began the week with $7.50 in
cash and spent $3 in cash. Therefore your purse should
contain $4.50. It takes longer to explain this than to actually

w

FAMILY FINANCING 289 B

OPEDATINC

SAVINGS

LUXUBIEO

aOVAMahlCKT

1

TZ

™'

L«-.

■>».

^

^

«

™^

»^

™

Sff

^S"

™

—

—

__|

—

L-

—

—

—

—

=

=^

—

=

■-=\

■=

^=

<■—

SlVlMOi ♦_-

LUJWBrtS »

MN-Honrm-

►— ;

RULING FOR THE ACCOUNT BOOK-RIQHT HAND PAGE.

do it. In many cases a monthly balancing would be suffi-
cient. At the end of the month total each of the 20 columns
under the seven large divisions given above. We may find
that the total sum spent in some one division is beyond our
budget allowance. For example, "operating" in January
may run away beyond the $14 per month limited by our
budget. But if we look over the operating column carefully
we may find that the bill for the winter's coal has been paid
in January and thus brought up operating expenses. But
as this is a cost to be distributed over several months, we
will find that we have really not exceeded our appropriation.

Perhaps, however, we find that our food bills have been
exceedingly large, and upon close scrutiny we see that we
really have been extravagant in supplies. So we promise
ourselves to "hold down" food expenses in February and
keep within our budget.

In the back of the account book should be a record of
the budget as planned for the first of the year. At the end
of the year the totals of each of the seven divisions should
be copied in the back alongside of the estimated totals for

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

quick comparison. This will be a simple kind of "balance
sheet" and the failure or success in living up to the budget
can be seen. The budget of this year will be nothing more
or less than information for future spending next year. In-
deed, no budget is perfect the first year. It takes some
time to make one which will be smooth running and adjust
automatically to the increased demands on it of constantly
growing older children, etc., etc. But it is only by having
some basis, some first budget, that future ones can be made
more nearly perfect.

Account- Keeping by the Casd System

This plan is a little more complex, or at least more diffi-
cult for the beginner to handle. Instead of a book we use
4x6-inch ruled cards, which can be bought at stationer's or
of office supply stores for about 75c or $1.00 per thousand.
In addition, there will be needed about 20 cards with a
special tab on the top called "guide cards." In this plan
one card will lake the place of one column in the book. The
number of cards to be used will vary with the subdivisions
or needs of each particular family. The author has found
the following plan with twenty cards satisfactory for an
average family:

FAMILY FINANCING 291

Matebials Needed: Guide cards with tabs, of stifF cardboard, size
4x6 inchpE ; 250 plain ruled 4x6 inch cards ; small clolh or wooden
box with cover to fit cards, (These can be bought for about soc.)

Rule twenty of the plain cards, like the "Groceries" card
illustrated. Write in the upper left-hand comer of each
card the subject, or division of the budget, as follows (from
I to 20) :

I 'iHELTEB / ^ Rent, railroad and carfare

L 7. Taxes, lire and burglar '

il. Dairy products
2. Fruit and vegetables
3. Groceries
4. Meat and fish
5. Meals outside

8. Bought garments

9. Dress materials and supplies

10. Tailor and dressmaker

11. Fuel and light

12. Furnishing and repairs

13. Service and laundry

14. Telephone and ice

19. Life

IV. Operating. ,

, real estate, beneficiary SO-
es, bonds, etc.

ri8. Gifts, candy, toilet articles
' '\ travel

VII. Advancement J 16, Church,
[17. Physicia

n and periodicals
s, dentist, medicines

These twenty divisions or cards seem to cover the needs
of an average family, btit special cards can be made out for
Garden, Automobile or Buggy, Chickens, or for each mem-

292 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

ber of the family if it is desired to keep separate records
for each of the children.

Arrange all twenty cards under their proper guide card,
as from I to 5 under Food, ii to 14 under Operating, etc.,
and place upright in their box. As a purchase is made
simply write the total amount, on its proper date, on its
proper card. Each of the cards contains room to enter
the total spent on any one item for every day in the month,
with a space at the bottom to write the monthly total —
"Groceries, $12.46," or "Fuel and Light, $4.60."

In addition, prepare a recapitulation card (see illustra-
tion), on -which to enter the sum total spent on each dwision
of the budget for the entire year.

This one card alone, then, will at a glance show exactly
the total spent on all the divisions of the budget, and can
be compared and used as a basis for succeeding budgets,
just as the simple "balance sheet" was used with the book
plan.

"EALANaNG" THE HOUSEHOLD ACCOUNTS

"Balancing accounts" is not a difficult task once the
principles are well understood. It is a necessary part of
good account keeping; otherwise, items may be omitted
from the record and the whole value of keeping accounts
lost.

Here are two illustrations showing how monthly accounts
are balanced. Illustration A is in a family with an income
of $100 a month, where all bills are paid in cash (none by
check) and the sum left over at the end of the month de-
posited in the savings bank.

Illustration A. On the last day of the month the home-
maker adds up the total of all expenses— food, clothing,
operating, luxuries, amusement. Supposing the total of all
, expenses is $90. She deducts $90 from the $100, repre-

I

I

FAMILY FINANCTNG

Grooerlee

Jan.

Oarrlad fwd.

6

n

Oarrlsd fwd.

f«1

liontll

11

22

/

!■)

If

pn

/

11

«

M

14

IS

1

If

10

37

IT

#

93

17

^

29

/

U

^^

30

10

Uontli'e Total /^

n

t HOUSEHOLD ACCOUNTS.

y^REOAPlUJLAIIOlt \

aTpensaa, Inoone & Savlciga

InOODB

Ji,

F,i

Ar

«»

^

J^

*•

A

■V

ftt

fcZk

s&/

OlothlnR

thoU.r

OpsratinB

Ad..n=..«lt

TOTAL EXPKMSISS

TBB BIJMWAET CARD OB" TBB PODSHHOLD ACCOCNT FILB.

394 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

senting income. She should therefore have on hand in
actual cash $io, or the difference between her expenses and
her income. If she has less than $io in her purse, or cash-
box, it means that she has probably spent some money which
she has forgotten to enter in her book, or that she has made
an error in adding some column. First, go over the addi-
tion, and if there is no error there, look over your accounts
again to make sure that you have not omitted some item ;
try to remember what you may have bought that you failed
to enter; if you have sales slips from your baker or dairy
or grocer or butcher, compare these sales slips with your
entries. Possibly you will find that you have omitted to
enter some item, and when you do enter it, and add up the
column again, your balance will come out right, J

Illustration B is of another family with an income of I
$ioo per month, but where most of the bills are paid by
check and only a few bills — like laundry work, seamstress,
ice— paid in cash. Suppose on the ist of each month $75
^s deposited in bank to draw on and $25 is kept on hand
in cash.

On the last day of the month the homemaker adds up her
account book or cards showing all that has been spent on
food, clothing, operating, etc. This covers all bills whether
paid by clteck or cask. Her account book shows that she
has spent $75. As her income is $100 per month, there
should be $25 left. But she finds that in her purse or cash
box she has only $5 in actual cash. |

She then adds up the check stubs in her check book,
showing the total amount of bills paid by check. This sum
totals $55, Since $75 was deposited the ist of the month,
therefore there is a balance of $20 in bank; and since she
has also $5 in cash in her purse, there is a total of $2$
actually on hand, bank and purse thus rightly balancing
with her account book balance.

FAMILY FINANCING

295

In case checks are deposited to the account several times
during the month, she first adds up the **credit" side of her
check book to show the total amount deposited; next adds
up the "debit" side to show how much money she has drawn
against her account — ^and the difference is her balance in
bank.

But, supposing on January ist, before depositing the in-
come check for the coming month, she already has a bank
balance of $650? Then on January 31st, when she is try-
ing to balance her monthly accounts with her check book
she simply deducts the January ist balance of $650 from
the January 31st balance, which is $670, and this will show
her that the difference between the January income and
January expenses paid by check is $20.

Advantages of Payment by Bank Check

It IS surprising how few housekeepers use a checking sys-
tem to pay household bills. A checking account will be
helpful in either the book or the card plan. It is much the
best to pay as few bills by cash as possible, and to keep
little cash around the house. The monthly sum which it is
estimated will cover all bills payable by check can be de-
posited in a local bank, where it is safe, and where it may
even get a low interest Every check stub is a receipt in
itself, and thus is one good means of "keeping track" of
what has been spent. In business, the word "voucher" is
used to mean "any document which bears witness to the
truth of a statement made in the credit side" (of the ac-
count book) ; now, either a receipted bill or sale alip is a
voucher when signed by the person to whom ^ mooey is
paid; or the endorsed check paid to a pe f^ «

voucher. These endorsed checks come bs'
from time to time, and should be kept t

2g6

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

have been paid. It is a good plan to keep receipts of evei
kind at least one year, and important ones even longer.

It is a much better business to pay a four weeks' bill
the home office by one check than to have the interruptii
of paying a collector at the door four times a week. The
less money handled, the fewer mistakes and the more busi-
ness-like the account can be. Efficiency in keeping money
is judged by the small amount of cash carried in the home-
maker's own purse. Indeed, the simplest and surest method
of keeping a record of family expenditures is to deposit in
the bank all money received and check it out for expenses — ^
even for "petty cash."

The Budget Plan with Irregular Incomes

Frequently letters come from those who say that tin
budget plan or any means of keeping household accounts'
is practical for those with steady incomes, but not for the
doctor, minister, or others who receive their income in small
sums. The only plan for such families is to establish at
once a "sinking fund" or "pool" in the bank which will
carry them and run current expenses. For instance, a
dentist may receive $ioo in fees one month, $140 the fol-
lowing, and so on, or $1,500 the whole year. The way to
make up a budget in such a case is to make a montlily aver-
age of the total income for the previous year and base the
budget oti that. On this supposed $1,500 income it wouh
be $125 per month. By constantly keeping up the deposits]
in the bank for a "pool" and basing the budget on $12;
monthly, there should be no difficulty, even on an irregul
income.

How Other "Records" May Be Kept Efficiently

But records of household accounts are not the only fact

pr data which every homemaker should be able to put ha

I

FAMILY FINANCING 297

fingers on instantly. Is there any other "business" outside
the home which has more different kinds of information,
papers and bills to keep track of ? While many women are
orderly and most careful in this regard, it is true that
countless other women managing homes spend untold hours
of energy hunting, pulling out and searching for- this or
that paper or information when it is suddenly needed.

Now, it is just as inefficient to waste energy looking for
a recipe to give a friend, or for the month-be fore's gas
bill, or for a set of heavy underwear, as it is to allow
"waste motion" in the kitchen or in cleaning tasks. Just
as we have shown the need of a definite system or routing
of cooking and other tasks to save time and effort, so there
is equal need of a definite system or plan of keeping in one
easily accessible place the different information which the
housekeeper is constantly using. Some woman may say,
"Oh, but I do keep addresses in a book and have recipes
pasted in my cook book, and put clippings into envelopes."
The fault with these plans is their lack of uniformity, and
the fact that separate books and envelopes are just as likely
to be "lost" or mislaid as the important facts they contain !

Another thing is that the quantity of information is con-
stantly growing in proportion to the family's expansion;
therefore some plan must be followed which will not only
keep all information together, but allow for future increase
for a number of years.

Now, after several years' struggle with separate books,
"pigeonholes" in a desk, and other common means of keep-
ing household records convenient, the author has, for a
number of years, successfully followed an adaptation of
the "filing system" used in every modern library and office,
and which is only a step beyond the method of keeping
accounts described above.

298 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

A "TIME-AND-WORRY SaVING" HOUSEHOLD FlLE

The basis of this plan is again the 4x6-inch filing and
guide cards spoken of in connection with the system of
keeping household accounts above. It is so simple, inex-
pensive and satisfactory that it is worth a six months* trial|
by every housekeeper. Its advantages are:

I. It keeps all records and data ii

place

: readily accessible

2. It is expansive, so it can grow with the family's needs.

3. It is uniform, thus doing away with separate books
and papers.

4. Changes or mistakes can be rectified with a minimum
of trouble.

5. It cannot be "lost," but is easily available to every
member of the family.

FAMILY FINANCING

THE HOUSEHOLD RECORD FILE

Materials Needed: 6x4 filing cards (about 500); guide cards

with tabs, about 60; small cloth or wooden box; 2 seta "alphabet"

guide cards. (The 5x3 in. cards may be used and are cheaper, but the

larger cards are somewhat better.)

A LARGER RECORD FILE

With SzB Id. oards. price Jl.SO; with 4x8 Id. carda. pries 12.00.

First, decide what are the subjects or "heads" under
which you need or which you want to keep information.
These will naturally differ with each person or family, some
having certain interests on which they want to keep Infor-
mation, others different ones. The following outline is
given only as suggestion which will apply to all average
families, and additional headings can easily be added. /«
ihe writer's o-uti plan the twenty-eight cards for household
accounts are kept in the sam^ box with the household file
and is therefore included here:

300

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

DIVISIONS OF THE HOUSEHOLD RECORD FILE
I. — Household Accounts (as given and subdivided above)

2. — Address Record —

3. — Medical Record—

4. — House Records —

5. — Library Records —

6. — Financial Records-

(a) Social

(b) Commercial

(c) Special

(a) Physician

(b) Dentist

(c) Oculist

(a) Family sizes

(b) Clothes storage

(c) Sheets, bedding, linen

(d) Supplies and pantry

(e) Gift and occasion

(f) Housefurnishings costs

(g) Repair dates

(h) Special supply, firm addresses (stove
dealers, home equipment, manufac-
turers, etc.)

(a) Fiction

(b) Poetry

(c) Reference

(d) Books to read or buy

(e) Music list (sheet, pianola, victrola).

(f ) Music to buy

(a) Taxes, real estate

(b) Document record

(c) Bank records

(d) Income

(e) Bills receivable

(f) Bills payable

(g) Personal financial accounts
(h) Organization dues, etc.

FAMILY FINANCING

301

7.— House Hints—

(a) Baby care and hygiene

(b) Garden and plant care

(c) Toilet suggestions

(d) Entertainment, games, party, etc

(e) Jokes, stories, etc.

8 — General Inventory —

(a) Silver and jewelry

(b) Furniture

(c) Clothing

(d) Furnishings and miscellaneous

The Address Record

Arrange the tv\ro sets of "alphabet" guide cards in their
proper order. Use one card for each name, writing the
surname first and given name last, and the address on a
lower separate line; use balance of space to write other
points to be remembered, as :

Walker, Mrs. Susan J.
1409 Emery Av.,
Springfield, 111.

(Pres. Club for Business Girls)
Mem. Gen*l Fed. Women's Qubs
(Interested in hotels for working women)

J. J. Boch & Co.,
10 Barclay St,
New York City.

Cut glass, imported china and novelties
(Repair broken china, ivory and shell articles — reason-
able price)

302 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

The Medical Record
Use a separate card for each member of the family. This
is an especially helpful division where there are children,
and where the schools require specific information ; it also
assists physicians by giving them a statement of the child's
past health, as:

David, born Sept. rSth, 1908

Adenoids removed Feb., 19IZ
Vaccinated Sept., 1914 (see certificate, V-receipts)
Chickenpox, March, 1915 ; eyes examined May,
1915; very farsighted glasses for dose work.

1

i

The "Dentist" card may contain the date and cost of
fillings, etc. The "Oculist" card should give date of eye
examination, and prescription of glasses if they be used.

House Records
The first group here is that of family sizes (a) ; this
means a card for each member of the family, giving alt
sizes, so that the cards may be slipped into the shopping
bag and used as a guide. How many times one has seen a
"bargain" in men's shirts which could not be bought be-
cause we did not "remember" whether the neck size was
14 or 155^ ! The card for one child gives sizes of under-
wear, suspender waist, stockings, shoes, neck measure.

Clothes Storage
While many women carefully wrap and tag articles of

clothing to be laid away, not always is there a written de-
scription of the place where they can be found. Useless
"rummaging" and energy follow a vain search to locate a

FAMILY FINANCING

303

sweater, etc., when the need comes unexpectedly. After

tying and labeling each bundle, any plan may be used of

writing on the card, as "Full dress shirts and mufflers — ^hall

window seat ;" "children's summer nighties — right lower of

cedar chest."

Linen Record

While marking linen in embroidered initials is decorative,
there should be some plan of more practical use to assist
the housekeeper to know how many and how long her linen
lasts. A simple plan is to write the date of purchase on
the sheet, together with some distinguishing letter, and the
sheet number. For instance, if there are three sizes of
sheets used, let A be used on wide sheets, B on narrow
ones, and C on crib or baby sheets. Letter each sheet of
Its class. A- 1, A-2, B-2, B-3, etc. The following written
carefully on the lower hem of a sheet with indelible ink,
C-5, 19 1 3, means that this is one of the crib sheets bought
in 1913. The date of purchase is valuable because it gives
a basis on which to figure how long that qualit)r at a given
price wore. The letter is a means of accuracy in making
out the laundry list. On the card itself should be written
the cost, size and firm from which bought, if a really accu-
rate account is desired. If a sheet has worn badly, why
purchase the same grade and price of the same concern?
Only a card record of this kind will give the facts for
future purchasing.

Other House Records

The card with pantry supplies gives a list of the stock
articles used in a particular home, the sizes of the cans,
and the cost. For instance, one of the items reads, "Pine-
apple, No. 2j4 can, contains eight slices, cost .16;" it is
used as a basis in quick ordering, because it contains the
exact kinds and styles of products used. It has saved time

\

304 HOUSEHOLD EXGINEERING

over and over again in making out orders of quanti^ •
grocery supplies. A duplicate card of canned goods par-
ticularly can he made out and hung in the kitchen. Then, ""
as a can of peas or peaches is used, it should be crossed
olT the list, so that at a glance the number of cans on hand
of any particular product can be seen without poking around
the storage and actually coiniting the cans.

A card stating the article received or given as gift is
often a help at holidays or occasions. The card of house
furnisliing costs contains such items as the cost of painting
the ]H>rch and entry: the price of bed pillows for a given
size and weii^lit : the cost of garden tools, etc., or any cost
which will in future be a giiiile in buying. This point is
emphasi.-ed over and over, because it has been noted that
much ini necessary time is wasted making new estimates and
measures because no one can "lav hands on" the ones made
j^reviousiy. 7\\» ir.uch t!n:r is dt^'otcJ to shopping, in the
li-riicrs i>/*;;j.\>;:. Jwv.'/.n'i* there is no accurate record of pre-
vious costs. This is oiu^ of the places where industrial
etViciency is most m;irkod. as all costs are most carefully
kept for instant re:'oreiuv.

The other subdivisions of the tile can be understood
easily. The object of nnancial records ^6"^ is to give, in
concise form, a staiemoiu of all money, property and val-
uables which the family possesses. Then, in case of unex-
pected death, say of the hoavl ox tlie family, a record would
be bad at Jiorr.c of the \a:ious iTuestments and matters, the
valuable papers of which sh.ov.Kl Iv in a safety \-ault out of
the house. Too n^-Tiy times a sudvlenly bereaved family
has not the least iJ.ea of the condition of affairs in which
the father has left ir. atid onlv loni:: '«^cal search discovers
it. The inventorv i v'^'i is necessarv so that in case of fire,
or burglary, a record can be had of the actual belongings
and furnishings. Such a pennanent inventorj* is the basis

FAMILY FINANCING 305

of house, fire and burglar insurance. Other divisions can
be made at will. The best point about this household
filing plan is that it expands exactly as one wishes. One
small box may do to begin ; a larger one can easily be added
when necessary. If desired, a more permanent wooden
drawer can be used, with a wire rod down its center, on
which to fasten the cards, so they cannot be lost or taken
away. The writer, who began five years ago with a small
box, has now four drawers of cards for household and
professional use.

If a card should be incorrect, or when new facts need to
be added, all that is necessary is to write a new card to
replace the old one. The card plan becomes an easy
"habit," and anyone who has tried it long enough has be-
come enthusiastic over its ease, compactness and quality of
being in one place. As laid out by Mr. Harrington Emer-
son, it will be remembered that "immmediate, reliable and
accurate records" is one of the chief principles of efficiency.
Even many a housekeeper who now keeps "accurate" rec-
ords has not them so arranged that they are "immediate"
to get at or read; the system of household filing suggested
above will, more than anything else we know, or have seen
tried, help the housekeeper to keep all her important house-
hold information "immediate, reliable and accurate."

The Card File Idea Applied to Cookbook

One more department of housewifely knowledge was
omitted from the above discussion, and that was, all infor-
mation relating to cooking, recipes and household practice,
because it seems better to discuss it separately. But here
again is another great interest of the housekeeper — recipes
and cooking methods. How shall she arrange it all? The
usual cookbook contains much that is only reference ; again,
the interested cook is always clipping new recipes from

306 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

periodicals, and exchanging them with her friends. What
shall she do with this new material which is supplementary
to the regular cookbook? Again, the usual way of lajring
a cookbook on the table and following the recipe results in
spattered and soiled pages, as well as being difficult to
follow, as it lies below the eye level. All these faults are
remedied by making a cardfile recipe cabinet, as follows :

Card File Recipe Cabinet
Materials : 6x4 cards (about 500) ; 20-30 guide cards.

Write on each guide card the divisions into which you
prefer to classify your recipes. Following is a practical
arrangement, arranged alphabetically:

1. Beverages 15. Game, poultry

2. Breads, yeast 16. Jelly, preserves, canning

3. Breads, quick raising 17. Lunchbox

4. Cocktails, fruit, shellfish, etc. 18. Macaroni, rice, curries

5. Beans, peas, lentils 19. Meats —

6. Cakes and icings (a) Beef

7. Candies (b) Brains, sweetbreads

8. Cheese, rarebits (c) Mutton, lamb

9. Desserts — (d) Pork

(a) Without eggs (e) Veal

(b) With eggs 20. Menus

(c) Cake 21. Pastry picnics

(d) Fruit 22. Pickles and catsups

(e) Pudding 23. Potatoes

(f) Frozen 24. Salads and dressings

10. Eggs, omelets 25. Sauces

11. Fish, salt 26. Sherbets and punches

12. Fish, fresh, shellfish 27. Soups

13. Fruit, fresh, stewed ' 28. Vegetables

14. Fritters, waffles, pancakes

Special cards may be made up giving. Unusually Success-
ful Dinners. Children's Dishes, Formal Luncheons. After-
noon Tea. etc.. etc. Another classification might be accord-
ing to the qualities of the foods, as 'Troteins/' ''Starches/*

FAMILY FIXAXCIKG ^r*

etc. Other cards might be, "meat snbscfrzrfs.' "^^-.'lis?
recipes," "milk dishes," "invalid dishes." e:^^ e:^ F.t^
points should be covered ii-ith each rec^w:

1. Approximate cost

2. How man^* does it serre?

3. How long to prepare?

4. How long to cook?

5. Nutritive valne

This file of recipes should not be kept wr± tbe icbir
cards in the household file, but in a separate ^r-^" ":»:x zz
the cabinet, or over the kitchen table. Or the czsis m* :■*
placed in a sliding drawer to pull out under th-e shtLz. A
piece of glass the same size as the cards can be bufjt ir.:: ihie
front of the drawer. All these cards should be y^-zbti
with a small hole in the center upper edge. Then a ?cr^
hook should be screwed in the shelf at about eve level, lt. i
as a card is taken from the box, it is to be hung on the hoik.
where it can be easily seen and read. The newest g*-::t
cards for this file have celluloid tabs so that thev will not
soil or become bent with constant thumbing.

What Shall We Do With Our Receipts?

The receipted bills themselves are of course too bulky to
be placed in the card file box. What is called a "venical
letter file" is excellent of this purpose. This is a pasteFjoanl
box, with envelope partitions, numbered alphabetically. It
is an easy matter to have this file stand upright on one's
desk, and quickly slip into it receipted gas bills under "G,"
butcher on ''B," etc.

Special Arrangement for Clippings

Sometimes much of the material the housekeeper wishes
to keep is in the form of clippings on this or that favorite
topic* These can be handled best in a series of large
envelopes such as are used in libraries and commercial

(Touiir ncronition," rtc. TTic following method of labelling
thrm lit IIk^ anllior'n own adaptation of the "Dewey Decimal
Systnii" atifl is so ainii>le and helpful that it can be applied
to any wt of houHphuld clippings, or those for other uses,

Decide on the main »iihjt;ct on which you wish to collect ■
dippings and information. Call this envelope No. i. Al-J
low ten envelopes to this one subject. Decide on another^
general head, call this envelope lo, and allow ten envelop*
to this group, The third envelope of the general subjectl
will he 20, the fourth 30, and so on. The plan works c
■• follow! :

FAMILY FINANCING 309

Envelope No. i — Food clippings

2 — Menus for special occasions
3 — Food for children
4 — ^Lunchbox plans
5-9 — to be added later
Envelope No. 10 — Child education
II — Prenatal care
12 — Nursery devices
13-19 — ^to be added later
Envelope No. 20 — Club programs
21 — Music

22-29 — to be added later
Envelope No. 30 — Fashions

31-39 — to be added later

The "key" to the wrhole plan is to allow ten envelopes to
each subje.ct, whether they are in use or not. This brings
the number of each general subject ten and multiples of ten,
so that grouping is very easy. If one wishes to carry the
plan to full completion, use a set of 3x5 cards in connection
with the envelopes, and "index" the cards by subject to
correspond with the numbering on the envelopes. That is,
if envelope i is "Foods," and envelope 50 is "Garden and
Sprays," the cards to correspond will have a large guide
card, stating:

Foods No. I

(with nine separate cards each with its subject behind it)

Garden and Sprays No. 50

(with its nine cards behind it).

It is thus possible, by looking through the card file first,
to locate instantly a clipping on a given subject. The plan
may sound complicated, but it would not take more than an
hour to label and arrange both envelopes and cards, and it
will be a permanent way to quickly and systematically file
all kinds of clippings, recipes, booklets and others which
GOme with many household furnishings."

3IO HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

The Filing Idea Is Not Complicated and Difficult^

Now, after we have described these plans and the way
to keep all houshold records "immediate, reliable and
rate" by means of a filing system, the author hears some
women instantly look up from reading the chapter and'
remark, "Well, that may be efficient all right, but it sound;
too long and difiiriilt for me to try. I don't have the time

to write all that stuff on cards, and keep such a plan going.
I'll have to stick to the old-fashioned way." Now, dear
reader, do not condemn any plan until you have given it
a fair trial. Second, the author wants to say, emphatically,
that even if you don't use any such system you are taking
time "to keep track of things," ci'en in your present old~'
fashioned way. Think of the hours you spent "hunting"
for an important address which you must have imme-
diately. Think what an amount of energy you waste run-
ning around the house for a commercial receipt that you
are "sure you paid," when the collector calls for his bill.
Think how you take the time of the family asking

1

T

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

viir

312 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

instantly be slipped out and changed. It can be used excel-
lently for:

Telephone list (with alphabetical cards)

List of phonograph records

List of linen closet

List of appointments

List of standard house supplies and other subjects

Every Homemaker Can Have a "Business Corner^'

One thing that contributes to being businesslike is to
have the right "business" atmosphere. There should be
some kind of "office" in every home, where the above files
and papers, etc., can be permanently arranged. A writing
desk IS not so good as a flat-topped table, such as even a
stained kitchen table in the corner of some room. If the
homemaker does her own work, some convenient kitchen
shelf and drawer would be excellent. Just as the busy
executive needs a place where he can have his papers and
materials untouched, so the homemaker needs an "office"
corner, no matter how humble, where she can go to plan
her menus, write out her orders and make up her accounts.
A few shelves over such a table, to hold her reference
cook books, government and state bulletins and other pub-
lications on homemaking would all tend to increase her
system and pride in the "business" end of homemaking.

QUESTIONS ON HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

VII
Family Financing and Record Keeping

1. With what system of family financeering are you most

familiar ? What are its advantages ? What its defects ?

2. Give the budget of your own family as nearly as you can.

Criticise.

3. What system of household accounts seems best to you?

4. Household records — do you keep any? Is it advisable?

5. Can you arrange for a "Business Corner"?

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

VIII

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD PURCHASING

EVERY large business and factory recognizes that
the purchasing of its supplies and equipment is one
of its most important and responsible departments.
Therefore we imd business firms employing persons called
"purchasing agents," who are trained, informed on market
conditions, and able to buy to the best advantage for their
particular firms. Such "agents" enable their firms to save
many thousands of dollars which otherwise might have
been wasted in misguided or poorly planned purchasing.
The woman in the home must occupy a similar position as
the "purchasing agent" of the family, because in her hands
lies the spending of the family funds. She must therefore
know exactly what the family has to spend, what it wishes
to spend for according to its prearranged "goal" or aims,
when is the best time to buy, and what she should pay. In
other words, every woman running the business of home-
making must train herself to become an efficient "purchas-
ing agent" for her particular firm or family, by study, watch-
fulness, and practice.

The first basis of efficient purchasing is to plan the spend-
ing according to the budget plan given in the previous chap-
ter. Definite amounts of the income must be set aside and
known in advance for food, clothing, replacement, etc. These
amounts must be ktwwn not only for the week, or the month,

CopyriEht, 191?, by Home Economics Association
315

3i6 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

but for the whole year, or otherwise no systematic buying,
no economies, or truly wise investment-buying cg.n be prac-
ticed. Unless purchasing is so planned, then the home
"purchasing agent" will not be able to take advantage of
the right seasons for buying, or be able to buy in quantity,
or find money enough set aside when the time comes to
purchase. The larger the income, the more easy it is to waste
and spend haphazardly. And with the increasingly high
cost of all living, still greater responsibility is placed on the
home "purchasing agent" to buy on a small or moderate
income, the necessities of food, clothing and furnishing, and
still have left enough money to supply the family's needs
of education and advancement.

Never before in the history of the family have the burdens
of purchasing been placed so heavily on woman's shoulders.
'I'his is because today the modern woman is chiefly a con-
sumer, and not a producer. The housewife of a century, ago
made soap and candles, wove and fashioned all of the gar-
ments, and with her own hands produced not only food for
daily use, but also "jarred" and dried fruits and vegetables,
and preserved meats for winter use. Today even the good
housekeeper finds it profitable to buy many articles prepared
in a "food factory," some clothing that is "ready made,"
and to avail herself of countless articles which make for
comfort and sanitation which are produced commercially.

Tt might at first seem that by being able to buy the article
instead of having to make it, that the modem consumer is
at once relieved of all responsibility. Some women take
this view, but it is a mistake. Because, in letting go the work
of her own hands she is instead faced with entirely new
responsibilities. When food, garments, or other articles
were formerly made in the old-fashioned home, the woman
herself determined by personal supervision, that the quality,
purity, and cleanliness of these articles produced under her

EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD PURCHASING

317

roof, were of tlie highest. Just so, she today must (person-
ally or collectively), assure herself of equal standards of
purity and sanitation in these articles wherever they are
made — in factory, shop, or mill. In other words, some of
the time saved by having these articles manufactured outside
the home must be taken by the housekeeper in learning to
ttudcrstand how to buy commercially made products. What
standards to demand, what price to pay. what adulterants
to avoid, are some of the things which must be learned in
order to become a trained consumer, or a responsible "pur-
chasing agent" for the family.

To become a trained consumer is therefore one of the
most important demands made on the housekeeper of today,
because, whether she is conscious of it or not, the woman in
the home does the hulk of the family purchasing. The fig-
ures in the last chapter will hear repeating :

Women buy 96% of all dry goods, 8790 of raw and mar-
ket products, 48.5% of hardware and housefumishings, 48%
of drugs, 11.2% of men's clothing. The broad conclusion
is that women alone buy 48.4% of all merchandise for family
use, and help in selecting 23% more, thus buying practically
/ifo of all the products used in the home. How essential,
therefore, that with this great responsibility placed on her,
she teaches herself to become a wisCj trained consumer,
equipped with knowledge and warned against pitfalls and
inefficient buying methods. If she does not train herself,
this large percent, representing annually billions of dollars,
will be spent for waste and not value. Her family will suf-
fer ; or the husband will be compelled to increase his income
with no corresponding saving; or he may, indeed, be forced
himself to take up the burden of the family purchasing agent,
thus overtaxing his time and strength and taking the time
needed to make his own business a success.

gtill fiuther, women, by failing to understand how to buy

3i8 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

in the most efficient manner, are frequently responsible for
many of the evils or high costs present in our modern |
selling methods. The women blame the retailer or the manu- |
facturer, whereas, it can be proved clearly in several in-
stances that the blame should be laid directly at their own
door. By undue use of the "charge account," by excessive ^
delivery demands, the "return goods" habit (by vagaries in i
buying and other errors, women make the cost of doing busi-
ness higher than necessary. Also it may be said here,
llial every lyowiflu should be a trained consumer, whethet \
she has a family (i. e., husband and children") or not. The |
waste of inefficient buying of independent unmarried women
creates just as much disorder as does the poorly planned j
buying of the homemaker, particularly as the former, hav- I
ing frequently only themselves to support, are inclined to |
even greater carelessness in their buying habits.

The Housekeeper as a Trained Consumer

Increased skill in buying will come, like every other kind

of proficiency, only from contimioiis trying, from experi- |

ment, and study. Any woman (or man) can become a I

trained consumer, if they consciously train themselves :

1 — By knowing that efficient buyiDg is based uoi only on price, but
also on considerations of value, quality, wear, future invest-

2 — By knowing the merits of various kinds of distribution methods,

as parcel post, mail-order, co-operative buying, public market,

etc.
3 — By knowing the nutritive values of food.
4 — By knowing and co-operating in the enforcement of state and ^

national laws governing the standards and handling of raw an

manufactured products.
5 — By knowing existing weights and measure laws and cheeking n

weights in the home kitchen.
6 — By knowing adulterants found in products and malpractice.l

among dealers. 1

7 — By knowing how to identify manufactured products, their trade- J

marks, labels, advertising, sizes of cans, etc.

EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD PURCHASING

319

a — By knowing the manufacture and qualities of various textiles.
9 — By personal experiment and test, keeping definite records of

results in all purchasing.
10 — By co-operation with organized consumers, as housewives' and
jues, boards of health, etc.

Value vs. Price

The first lesson in all efficient buying is to distinguish
between price and value, and to learn to make all purchases
on a basis of value, and not on price alone. Prices may fluc-
tuate because of economic conditions, but the value of an
article can be fixed only in the consumer's mind. Value is
the "long-distance," investment view which considers many
factors and resuhs in wise expenditure. For instance, a
comfortably upholstered Morris chair at $20 would give
more value than a brocaded gilt settee at $50. Or, a lunch-
cloth of excellent linen, with scalloped edges, which cost
$8.00 that can be used every day, would give more value
than an elaborate one of Madeira embroidery costing twice
that amoimt, but so fragile that it can be used only once
or twice a year. Again, a house Is valuable as a residence
in proportion as it oilers sunshine, dry cellar, reliable plumb-
ing, and satisfactory heating, and not in proportion to the
details of finishing and decoration of the exterior or the
interior. The price of the second house, however, might be
double that of the first, but the former is more valuable if it
gives greater comfort and health to the family. Or, a small
talking machine, which all the family could use, at $20 would
probably give more value than a piano at $400 if no member
were a musician.

The point of value versus price applies to all branches of
expenditure. A simple recreation plan for the family, alive
and interesting, such as camping, may have value far and
above the actual money expended. Sight-seeing trips to city,

320

HOUSEHOLD ENCrNEERING

factory or mine, which cost only carfare, may prove more J
interesting and valuable than ten times that sum spent at the 1
theaters. Or, Mrs. B. may be willing to pay two cents more I
for a loaf of bread wrapped in paraffin paper, a cent more a |
pound for butter protected by a carton, because she believes j
the additional value of the increased sanitary handling is
worth it. If price only were her basis, she would buy the I
cheaper loaf, and the bulk butter. A conception of value 1
is of the utmost importance, for value is always greater than 1
price and must control price in the consumer's mind in order J
to have efficient purchasing.

The Cost of Distribution

"Distribution" is the term which covers handling, or I
means of getting products from the grower or manufacturer
who raises or makes them, into the hands of the consumer
who uses them. This handling cost must, of course, be
added to the actual production cost of the article and paid by
the consumer. The price paid for eggs in a city store, or for i
shoes or a suit of clothes, includes not only the price paid ,
to the fanner or manufacturer, but also includes the fee 1
chained by a respective chain of commission men, whole-
salers and retailers, for packing, handling, and bringing the
article to a location or store conveniently near the consumer.
In other words, "distribution" includes ihe sendee of brings j
ing an article from a distant territory, or factory, so that it f
can be easily placed at the disposal of the buyer, thus saving 1
her time, effort and personal handling. In the case of manu- I
factured articles, particularly, the cost of distribution i
eludes the risk taken by each one of the distributors that the 1
consumer will achially buy this product; i.e., the manufac--!
turer who makes women's suits, let us say, sells the suit to a I
wholesaler or jobber, who then assumes the risk or chance

EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD PURCHASING

321

that he can sell this suit to the retailer; next, the retailer
accepts the risk that he can sell the suit to the woman in his
town, and that she will like to buy it, so that he will not have
it on his hands. This risk is added to the cost of distribution,
as is also the cost of storage, which, in the case of some prod-
ucts, is very high.

There is nothing wrong with the theory of the consumer
paying for this delivery, service, and convenience; it is only
that in many cases distribution costs have been excessive,
due to no regulation or control by law. This has been particu-
larly true in the case of the commission houses, that have
been exposed, and proved guilty of such offenses as steaming
potatoes in order to hold up the price, buying up orchards
and dumping the fruit, etc., etc. The remedy here is not to
do away entirely with the central wholesale place of ex-
change which the commission house offers, and which is
absolutely necessary for the retailer and consumer in a large
city, but to regulate such centers by law. Some such regu-
lation, after the manner of public service commissions, state
industrial commissions, etc., with uniform laws and mini-
mum distribution charges, should be enforced by each com-
munity in the interests of both consumer and producer.

In most cases where lite consumer erades the distribution
cost, she herself must take some of the time and effort of dis-
tribution, which in the former case she avoided, but for
which she paid. For instance, prices are universally lower
in a public market than in a retail store. However, the
market necessitates that the consumer take her own two
hours of time walking a long distance, or, perhaps, paying
carfare, and carry her packages home herself. In many
cases it will be a real saving to do this ; in many other cases
the convenience and delivery of the neighborhood retailer
will be worth the additional cost. Similarly, while the "cata-
log" house in a large center may save some money, it gives no

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

service, the consumer cannot see the goods before she buysa
and in most cases she must pay the delivery cost.

Links in the Chain of Distribution

I — A manufaclurer is tlie original source of production of a. produc

made in factory, mill, mine, etc A producer o)

original source of production of farm or livestock products.

manufacturer sells to both jobbers and retailers. A producer se

generally only to commission houses.
a — A jobber buys manufactured articles from the manufacturer a

sells to the retailer, but never manufactures himself.
3 — A commission merchant, or "house" is a jobber in food productsB

who buys from the grower and in turn sells to the retailer.
4 — A retailer buys from either manufacturer, jobber, <

merchant, and sells to the consumer.

The consumer may try to break through these links in the J
chain of distribution, and in some cases be successful,
with the parcel post, which is a direct means of selling ber
tween the producer and the consumer, or by the niail-o
house, which is a jobber. But it must be said emphatically
that the retailer has a gemnitc place to fill, and service to give
in every community. Even if the parcel post were far more
universal and satisfactory than it is at present, such a system
would not be satisfactory for all consumers in large centers
All buying cannot be done at public markets, or from out-ofJ
town mail-order houses, owing to distance, time involved, etCi'J
In other words, no matter how we may save money once in a
while on buying a suit by mail, or going six miles to a market
or having eggs sent direct by parcel post, we need the retaUsf
to give us service in providing necessities and perishables-^
fruit, milk, butter, bread, elastic; we need the retailer t:
mend our sudden plumbing leaks, to supply us with amica
and toothpaste, to let us quickly get another eggbeater, i
badly needed shoes and stockings.

EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD PURCHASING

333

We may be able to save money on buying the large, antici-
pated, occasional purchase, like a rng. or a suit, from a mail-
order house or manufacturer direct. But it is only on such
occasional, almost luxury-purchases that the retailor makes
his profit, since he makes almost none on selling us the
necessities. Therefore, unless we do buy from him ihe
luxuries or occasional purchases on which hia profit is larger,
he may not be able to remain in business, and wc will no
longer receive the convenience, delivery and service on ihc
daily necessities.

There are many inefficient retailers, and often the cost
of doing retail business is far too high. Tn many places tht-rc
are too many retailers. On the other haiitl, the woman con-
sumer herself is actually to blame for much of the excessive
costs of retail selling. How many of us run Up charge ac-
counts, which increase the cost of doing business over $%J
How many of us ask our grocer to send the boy over with
a yeast-cake and a loaf of bread, or demand aw many as six
daily deliveries? How many of us fail to pay our bills, or
are guilty of the telephone habit, the C. O. D. habil, or the
"returned goods" evil — all of which can be shown to increase
the retailer's cost of business unfairly. One delivery per
day in a store makes the delivery service only about 5%,
whereas many deliveries increase it to as much an 13%.
The grocery store which does a "cash" business has a cost of
about 14% of doing business, whereas the store which "car-
ries" customers must pay nearly 20*/!.. Similarly in all retail
lines, delivery, bad debts and inefficiency on the part of the
consumer increase the cost back to herself.

The first thing is to reform herself, and insist that the
retailer carr>' out these reforms with her. For instance,
induce the retailer to make one price if goods are delivered,
and another if the customer carries them home herself. This
has been done in a Urge bakery, which, for example, a*ki

324

HOUSEHOI-D ENGINEEHING

II cents per doz lor rolls sent home, but only lO cents tf
tliey are taken. A large milk company has announced that
milk of a certain grade will be lo cents per quart if delivered
as usual, or 8 cents if the consumer comes to certain depots
with her own container. This is the right saving principle :
io separate delivery cost from actual cost. Again, the cash
customer should receive a percentage off on his purchases,
or be entitled to lower prices. The "cash-and-carry" stores
always can undersell stores with charge accoimts.

Frequently, too, the customer is under the illusion that
when she buys from manufacturer or jobber direct, that she
is getting a "wholesale price," This is seldom, if ever, the
case, for the manufacturer who advertises that he will sell
"direct to you" has to pay the cost of advertising and printed
matter; he has to make separate deliveries, take care of the
risk, the collections, etc. In a word, he must assume some of
the expense of the retailer. He cannot possibly sell you one
chair for as low a price as loo chairs to a retailer. Thus
the consumer never gets the wholesale price, though the
price may be less than charged by the local retailer fi
goods in stock.

The distinction between "quantity" buying and "whole-
sale" buying should be kept clear. Oftentimes so-called
"wholesale prices" can be obtained through the local retailer,
on a s]>ecial order, at no more than the "mail-order" price.

It is a wise plan to co-operate with the local retailers and
to understand their difficulties. The greatest saving in pur-
chasing staples comes through quantity buying, as was
shown in the purchase of meats, pages 191-193.

Use of Newspaper Quotations in Marketing
The consumer can keep check on the retailer, especially
in the case of market or fresh produce, by reading the mar-
ket reports or quotations which tell her from day to day the

ne

1

ially
the

J

EFFiaENT HOUSEHOLD PURCHASING

325

fluctuations in food prices. The prices quoted for veg-
etables, fruit, flour, etc., are for carload or 100-pound lots,
and are the prices paid by the commission men, or whole-
salers. These reports do not give the retail price because
the desirability of goods, even in the same lot, varies, and
thus no definite invariable increase can be added to the
wholesale price, and the retail price estimated by the con-
sumer. But the reports do help her by lelling her the head-
lines, 2vhich state ivhetbcr a certain commodity has risen or
fallen in price. Tf the rise or fall is steady for two successive
days, the retail market will be affected on the second or third
day. War and labor conditions, the reports from the gov-
ernment's "volunteer crop reporters," who tell Uncle Sam
about local crop conditions — all these will be straws to show
which way the market winds blow, and which can be inter-
preted by the observant consumer so that she can buy to
advantage. For instance, if weather conditions have been
such that the potato crop is scarce, then it would be wise
to put in a supply early, before the prices rise, due to gen-
eral shortage. Or, if the new wheat crop is affected by
blight, buy a barrel of flour at once (flour held in mills),
before price advances on the new milling.

How Shall the Consumer Market?
It has been pointed out that quantity buying is preferable
to "bag" or package buying, wherever possible. But to
practice quantity buying, there must be adequate storage
space, of the right temperature, and such inspection that a
large portion of the goods will not waste, and thus undo the
original saving.* Such staples as matches, candles, sugar,
flour, etc., are always best bought in quantity, if space per-
mits. On the other hand, it is not generally advisable to buy
perishables in quantity unless the needs of the family are

•Send for U. S. Bulletin No. 375. "Care of Food in the Home."

326 HOUSEHOLD ENGTNEERING

well estimated ; also, such articles as soda biscuit, spices, co^
fee, etc., involving crispness and flavor, must be well pro-
tected from air and moisture. Too frequently a large quan-
tity is bought because the price is low, and then the food
must be served so frequently as to tire the family palate, in
order to "use it up." In bu^'ing packaged goods or small
jars of such foods as potted meats, fish, etc., it is economy
to buy, say one jar or package at 25 cents, rather than two
jars, one at 15, and the other at 10, which, tt^ether,
will not contain as many ounces as the lai^r jar at the same
price.

If, however, the family is small, it is greater economy |
buy in small quantity. All buying should, indeed, be base
on the "purchasing sheet" (see page 186}, and on the experi-
ments the housekeeper herself makes and tinds out in regard
to her own particular family. Seasons also affect all buy-
ing, as in summer, less coffee may be used and more in
syrups, or less cereals, and the heavier meal, beans, i
Never keep cereals and a quantity of flour over the v
weather, as insects or mold are likely to develop, DaU^
shopping is not necessary ; twice or. at most, tri-weekl
ordering makes for efficiency and the "advance preparation's
of meals. In the author's home, five miles from fresh sups
plies, and 40 miles from a city, meat and perishables an
bought once a week ; monthly a large grocery order i;
to a city dealer — and that ends all the marketing !

Food Budgets

All marketing should be primarily on the food budj
which gives the total sum to be spent for food during tfii
year, based on a general average for each month. If staples
are purchased in quantity, the expenditures of one month
may greatly exceed the average. This excess should be

EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD PURCHASING

327

apportioned over the succeeding months ; thus, $24,00 spent
for winter vegetables to last six months will reduce the
allowance for food $4.00 a month for six months. Such
seasonable buying should be provided for somewhat as
follows :

January — Linens, reduced price winter clothing and
undergarments.

February — Canned goods.

March — Kitchen utensils.

April — -Barrel sugar, preserving and canning jars and
accessories.

May— Coal.

June — Box of soap.

July — Reduced price summer garments and textiles.

August — ^Furniture, reduced price summer furnishings,
blankets and bedding.

September— Winter apples, root vegetables, onions.

October — Canned goods, potatoes, cereals, dried vege-
tables.

November — Lard, smoked meats, syrups.

December — Holiday gifts and extra delicacies.

Co-operative Buying

Another means of lowering distribution costs, is for the
consumer to buy co-operatively with other consumers. Con-
side.rable money can frequently be saved if four to ten fam-
ilies make up an order together and get the quantity price,
and pay only one charge for delivery, instead of many.
There are, however, frequently marked disadvantages, espe-
cially if the people ordering do not live closely together, or
do not have the same tastes, as each family is more limited
to choice and selection when nine other families must be con-

328 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

sidered. Again, some one member of the group must take
charge of collecting the money, be responsible for it, and
take her own time to go to market, see to the deliverj-, and
attend to the parliiion of the order into ten different deliv-
eries. It often seems a fallacj- to sup|«)se that nine persoi
are going to be able to get a tenth most intelligent consumj
to buy for them, and yet not pay her for the time and inte
ligence and effort she puts into that shopping. Further, |
this tenth person is paid for the time spent, then the artid
bought co-operatively may cost about as much as if bouj
at the high individual price. However, two or three neig^
bors can club together to buy a barrel of apples, crate <
oranges, 30-dozen crate of eggs and the like with a consiq
erable saving in price and not too much trouble.

Co-operative stores are successfid in some parts of 1
country, but are not nearly so common as in other countrioj

The Parcel-post System

In a small and sporadic way. the parcel-post system helps
the consumer by enabling her to get prodticts from the farm
to the city. The disadvantages of the method are that some-
times the containers devised are not satisfactory and t
much breakage occurs. Also, the shippers tJiemselves coDB
plain that the deliveries are not sufficiently prompt to satisf
their customers, much discontent being found with delayf
orders. Vegetables, fowls, or cured meats pack and cart
the best.

One of the most successful developments in this line is ll
well-known "hamper" deliveries of the L. I. R. R. Agrici
tural Experiment Station at Medford, L. I., where differet
sized hampers of assorted vegetables are sent twice weekly
to city customers. Now that aulos arc in such common use,
it is quite possible for city people to make a weekly trip to a

EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD I

329

farm, with which a standing order is placed for speciiic
products.

On the other hand, it is a not uncommon experience to find
that the country producer charges exactly the city quota-
tion, and expects his customers to carry home products them-
selves— or that he even refuses to sell retail at a good fair
price, and prefers to sell all his produce at a low figure to a
food contractor. The situation differs widely in different
sections, hut is worth trial. The U. S. Department of Agri-
culture is encouraging parcel-post marketing, and postmast-
ers usually have a list of producers. Some of the express
companies also have lists.

The Telepiioxe Habit

The telephone habit, as generally practiced, makes for
extravagance, encourages hand-to-mouth buying without
advance buying, and increases the cost of doing business to
the retailer. In every case greater economy will result if the
housekeeper picks out the desired cut and amount herself
than if left to the dealer over the 'phone. By marketing
personally, a better idea of what is seasonal is obtained and
the chance to substitute the cheaper vegetables or fruit than
those intended. By choosing a time of day, preferably be-
fore 10 a. m., and by having a tentative purchasing sheet in
hand, little time will be lost. Some market days are better
than others — Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in most
cities — for the selection of perishables. The telephone habit
encourages that lack of knowledge of conditions and prices
as exampled by the woman who ordered celery in May and
complained that it cost 35 cents a bunch and that she was
being robbed. If she had shopped personally, she would
have, doubtless, found yoimg carrots and spinach at a third
the cost.

NGINEERING
Food Purchasing According to Nutritive Value

The purchasing of food suppHes is the most important
of all buying, since from one-fourth to one-half of the
income is spent for foods, and the smaller the income, the
larger the sum that must be spent. There is »o relatioi
fortunately, between the cost of food and its nutritive valt
The cost as paid by the consumer is determined by
other factors, such as the cost of production, especially with
animals eating grains, which today is much higher than for-
merly; by the cost of transportation, as with the citrus
fruits brought the "long haul" from Florida or the West ;
when the food is "in season" ; by the way it is packi
in bulk, or in fancy basket or carton ; by whether it il
"selected," all of one grade, appearance and size; by
degree of its perishability, especially with such crops
lettuce, berries and other fruits.

Broadly, there are two bases on which to buy foods!
(i) a basis of ttiitritive value, or how much the food will
actually worth to the body as fuel and building material, a
(2) a basis of taste and esthetic appeal of flavor, color, t<
ture, shape, etc. On a generous income, there is less net
to think of the nutritive value, and more scope to buy foo<
which please and attract the eye or palate. But on any ii
come, every housekeeper should think, not in terms of ntt
ket price, but in terms of nutritive value first, in order thiH
her family shall be well nourished. There is far too strong
a tendency to think that foods which we like are good for us,
and to let appearance and flavor determine selection, when,
so far as real nourishment goes, they are secondary.

How Many "Food Units" Are Required Daily?j
An ordinary diet must contain from 2,000 to 3,000 or n
"food units" (calories), depending chiefly on size of t

EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD PURCHASING

331

and amount of muscular exercise. -The calories give the
measure of the "fuel value," or the "heat and energy value"
of the food. Thus, perfectly dry starch, sugar or protein
yields the hody 1,820 calories per pound, while fat gives
4,040 calories per pound.

The U. S. Department of Agriculture has found by experi-
ment the average calorific requirements of the body under
different conditions as follows:

FOOD UNITS USED BY THE BODY PER HOUR

Weight of Body (lbs.) no 120 130 140 150 160 1^0

Asleep in bed 47 S2 56 61 65 63 70

Sitting quietly 73 80 87 94 100 105 110

Light exercise ...' 125 136 148 159 170 178 187

Active exercise 140 152 165 177 190 200 209

Severe exercise 33*> 360 390 420 450 471 496

Thus, a woman of about 130 poimds, sleeping for 8 hours,
doing light housework 10 hours, reading, etc., 6 hours, would
require (8x56) + (,10x148)+ (,6x87}=2,45a calories. A
boy of about the same weight with 8 hours' sleep, 8 hours'
active exercise, 6 hours' playing tennis (severe exercise),
and 2 hours* quiet would require (8x56) + (8x 165) +
(6x390) + (3x87) =4,282 calories. He would need a little
more food to provide for growth. No wonder he has such a
ravenous appetite! A nervous, restless person will require
somewhat more calories than indicated in the table; a thin
person will need about as much food as if of normal weight ;
and fat above the average should be disregarded.

The subject of balanced diet has been considered briefly
(pages 180-183). O" ^ calorie basis a balanced diet means
that out of each 100 calories, 10 to 14 should be protein, 20
to 40 fat, and 30 to 60 starch and sugar, A mixed diet,
unless badly one-sided, will come within this range.

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

ImuuI priuhuts have high "fuel value" when they contain
1)111 \\\\W waicr. As fats give 2^ times the food units of
i.iilM»h\»lratos, or \>rotcin, foods which contain mudi fat
\\,\\v viMv hijjh fuel vahie.

1 hr foUnwiiij: tabic gives the general average of calories
|ur |»ui\t\il i>f classes of food as eaten, i.e., without waste,
i\\u\ also the uuiuhcr of calories which come from the protem
in iiH> calorics oi each food. Commit it to tnemory.

•M'OOD I'NirS" IN EDIBLE PORTION OF FOODS

(.{['i'roxhnate)

Calories Protein Cat-
per lb. cries m ICO

Ccrculs \\o\\\\ uumIs. break fast foods, maca-

aroni. etc 1650 W

Urcad 1200 13

I' cans. vca>. loniils v^^v ^ 15^0 25

Meat uaO 150O ^

Meal V"H'di\iu\ ) laOO 30

Meat vlcau> 9«> 40

Cheese aooo 25

Ejivis u^ or 1)^ 635 32

Milk KV'mO' ■ 310 19

Potato ovhite^ 38$ '®

Root vegetables 200 10

Green and watery vegeiaMos l^ • '^

l'>uits (^ fresh ^ 300 to 400 3

Fruits varied ) ijOQ to 15^ 3

Nuts 1, shelled ) ^ 2000 13

Butter— ideo 3*00 0-5

Lard, crisco. salad oils 40OO 00

Sugar 1750 <»

XoTE. Meats vary so much in composition that it is ^^^ *J
give general averages: e.g.. veal mav have only ^^ ^^^''^ ^
pound and have ;o calories of protein in 100; fat po« naj" «J^
over 2.000 calories per pound and have only 12 protein calones m iw

In a diet containing 3,000 calories per day. for example,
300 calories or somewhat more should come from protem,
and the balance from starch, sugar and fats- As will 1«

EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD PURCHASING

noticed from the table, all food, except the fruits and manu-
factured food like butter, lard and other fats, corn starch
and sugar have lo or more calories of protein per loo cal-
ories of the food, so that it is not difficult to plan a diet con-
taining sufficient protein. But feeding the family is also
a matter of satisfying the appetite of the different members
and here cooking and manner of serving is more important
than the chemical composition of foods.

The fuel value alone is not the only consideration. Cheap
fuel calories may be dear protein calories, and vice versa.
Also many foods which have low fuel value, such as the
watery vegetables may be of sufficient value, even at high
prices, when we consider the mineral salts and bulk or
"roughage" qualities they offer. Spinach, lettuce, string
beans, celery, etc., must be purchased considering the value
they give in the necessary iron and calcium. Milk and eggs
are especially valuable for children, for, in addition to their
protein and salts, they contain "vilamines" and "lipoids,"
which are necessary for growth. Vitamines are also present
in meats, vegetables, fruits, and the outer severing of grains.

When prices go up we are apt to feel that some common
foods become too expensive to use. For example, a quart
of milk at 12 cents seems high, but is equivalent in fuel value
to about a pound of lean steak, which may cost 25 cents, or
eight eggs costing 30 cents, or a quart of oysters costing 40
cents. Sugar and oatmeal have practically the same calorific
value (i,/'5o per pound) and cost about the same price per
pound, but 300 of the calories of the oatmeal come from
protein, while the sugar has none. The oatmeal also fur-
nishes iron, phosphorus and calcium salts, all of which are
necessary to the body. In comparison, then, oatmeal gives
more value than sugar, though not more fuel value.

334

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

"lOo Calorie Portions'* of Food
The easiest way to become familiar with the "fuel value"
of different food is by examining a table of "lOO calorie por-
tions," as devised by Dr. Irving Fisher. This table is re-
printed in the bulletin Food Values, and also shows the dis-
tribution of the calories of protein and fat and carbohydrate
in the lOO calorie portions, which gives a better understand-
ing of the real composition of food than percentage by
weight. For example, shelled almonds by weight have a
composition of 21% of protein, 559f> of fat, iy% of carbo-
hydrate. 2% of ash and 5% of water- — apparently a high
protein food. On the calorie basis of each 100 calories of
almonds 13 come from protein, yj from fat, and 10 from car-
bohydrate. Entire wheat flour gives about 15 of protein, 5 I
of fat, and So of carbohydrate from each 100 calories. On a
percentage by weight basis, the wheat flour shows only 14%
protein. Thus, wheat is really a higher protein food than
almonds, thoiigh the opposite might be inferred simply by
examining a table of composition by weight. The contrast
is even more apparent in comparing foods containing much
water with dry foods. For example, milk contains only
about i%% of protein by weight, but of each 100 calories,
19 or 20 are from protein. ,

It so happens that a loo-calorie portion of food corre-
sponds in many cases to a serving. For example, there are
100 calories in a large slice of bread, an ordinary pat of
butter, 1 Vi cubic inches of cheese. ^ of a glass of milk, small
serving of beef, 2 apples, a large banana, 2 small oranges,
3 heaping teaspoons or 1J/2 square lumps of sugar, etc., etc.
After weighing out 100 calorie portions of food and actually
seeing the quantity, it is easy to estimate closely the amount
of food being served.

id Valuei: Practical Mflhoda in Diet Calculation a." Published bf

EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD PURCHASING

335

It would be helpful if all cook books gave the calorific
value of recipes. This is happily being done in some hooks*

It is not difficult to figure out the calories in recipes by
using the following approximate values ;

FUEL VALUE OF FOODS IN HOUSEHOLD MEASURES

H'eighl Calories

Flour, wheat (sifted) . .
Flour, wheat (sifted)..

Aleasure
.. I tbsp.

Butter— oleo
Butter — oleo

Crisco, cottolene, salad oil i cup

CrJBco, cottolene, salad oil i tbsp.

Sugar (granulated) i cup

Sugar (granulated) i tbsp.

Note. Complete and detailed tables, together with food units in
many .standard recipes are given in Feeding the Family, Rose, price,
$2.10.

It is not a very complicated matter to plan menus for a
given sum with the required number of calories for the
family, as is the practice in scientific feeding in hospitals,
sanitaria, and in the array and navy.

336

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Waste or Refuse in Food Bu\^^-c

The amount of waste or refuse must always be considered
in buying food. This is particularly necessarj- in purchasing
meat, for the amount of bone and trimmings varies greatly
in the ditFerent cuts and to a considerable extent in the same
cut of different grades of meat. The tables in U. S. Bulletin
No. 28, "Chemical Composition of .\merican Food Mate-
rials," give the percentage of waste in detail. For example,
the averagf for ribs of beef is 20'/i . and for shank of beef,
55% ; in the ribs, the variation of refuse is from 13% to
29%. and in the shank. 50% to 68%, It is an excellent plan
to actually weigh at home the amount of bone and trimmings
and figure the percentage of edible meat being delivere)
It will be found that bones and trimmings frequently amoi
to half the purchased weight. The amount of trimminf
before weighing varies in different localities and by different
butchers. All trimmings and bone paid for should be deli'
ered, as the fat can be tried out and utilized, and the bones_
are of value in the soup kettle.

It will be noticed from the tables in Bulletin No. 28
lean meats contain considerable more water than fat meal
even in the same cut. As an example, the edible portion of
lean round is shown to contain 74% of waler and 3% of
fat, while the edible portion of very fat round is shown to
contain 56% of water and 26% of fat. The first has a fu(
value of 475 calories per pound, while the fat round givi
1,145 calories per pound. The lean round has only a littli
higher percentage of protein than the fat. Medium f:
meats give more value for the money, as well as being oj
better flavor.

Till; price of the cheaper cuts of first quality meat is bul
little higher than second and third quality, while the nutri-
^V.e value is greater and the flavor far superior. The follo'

ings^^

ling^H
rent
iliv-
■>nes

thi^H

EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD PURCHASING 337

ing iic'ws])aper quotations of wholesale price of beef brings
out this point :

WHOLESALE PRICE OF BEEF

No. I No. 2 No.s

Ribs 21 20 13

Loins 27 23 15

Rounds 17 16 13

Chucks 15 14 13

Plates -13 12 II

[Above prices much higher than usual)
It will be noticed that there is a difference of only 2 cents
per poimd in the price of first quality chucks and third
quality, while there is a difference of I2j:ents between the
corresponding grades of loin. City retail butchers usually
have to buy extra loins and ribs, in addition to sides of beef,
to fill the demand for choice cuts. Oftentimes the cheaper
cuts of meat can be purchased at the high-class stores at a
better price than shops catering to poorer trade, with the
additional advantage of getting first quality meat.

The economy of buying meats in quantity has been shown
(page igi). Marketing for meat is the most difficult and
important part of food purchasing, for one-quarter to one-
third of the money spent for food usually goes to the butcher.
Considerable study and experience are needed to become an
efficient purchaser of meat. Then the skill of the cooking
has much to do with the money that need be spent in this
division. There are a number of excellent U. S. Govern-
ment bulletins on meats.

No. 3pi — "Economical Use of Meat in the Home." (Free.)
No, 526— ■■Mutton and Its Value in the Diet." (Free.)
No. 34 — "Meats : Composition and Cooking." (Free.)
No. 4^— "The Food Vaiut and Use of Poultry." Price, 5c (coin).
No. 460 — "Fats and Their Economical Use in Home." Price, 5c
No. 28— Chemical Composition of American Food Materials,
Price, 10c.

Send to Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C, for
bulletins "for sale." Stamps not accepted. The "free" bulletins are
distributed by the Department of Agriculture and Senators and
Representatives. They cost 5c each if jeiit to Canada, etc.

J

JIOUHRIIOI.I) ENGINEERING

Thi fiilliiwIhK ItiWc, fliiuml on fairly high retail prices
(but (IM "w«r" pi'k'pn), will lie UHcful in Eiviiig the relalivt
90M Ot i,iiiiii calfirlfN iif tnnd, A similar tiible based «
yflHf lluni tiirrrnt |iricc will well repay the trouble t^
ffliklni It

THtCK ri'U i'iniNiini'-i':niiu.i-:roRTiON, ANDcosT pei

|.ih»> r.M.OKlI'lS OV SiiMK COMMON FOODS
(KAS'l'KkN KFJAIl. PRICES)

\(*rkft r«*<H«MjM> rriff CaloPM-f C*tt|

I* , . . • < -M

m\\\>\y *iii« <r

a>\l \vm. ■ jH
\m (U«»(^> m

llJWWlMfc'V*!^"" *l M Z *S

f .^■.^^^,■... JS «• .«. kj^

S«rt,,,vx...-s~, A •» Jtt SS

>»7

-|0

HOO

iM

-aj

910

%<L»

M

i.«^

47

•5*

79a

*M

■3a

sss

lb*

^

t-«i5

a-»

••»

9fm

«9«

■»

7^

ut

-*

3P»

*•

-*s

«^

a,

EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD PURCHASING

339

Note. The simplest method of figuring ftie price of edihie por-
tions of food is to consider loo lbs, ; thus, in loo lbs. of porterhouse
Steak there will be 12.7 !bs. of bone, etc., and 87.3 lbs. meat roo lbs.
would cost $35-00 and J lb. would 0031535.00-^87.3 or $040. The cost
of i.QOO calories is found by mWtiplying the price paid by 1,000 and
dividing by the number of calories per pound as purchased in the
table.

The figures given in U, S, Bulletin No. 14a, "Principles of Nutri-
tion and Nutritive Value of Food" (price, S cents), were used for
this table.

Knowledge of Sanitary Standards Necessary

The trained consumer should be familiar with at least
the most common laws in her state, passed for her protec-
tion in regard to the standards and handling of products,
and must co-operate in their enforcement. The national
government has taken some steps to enforce high standards
in the manufacture and handling of products; but the con-
sumer must generally depend on the laws of her particular
state and city to insure her purity, quality and sanitation,
especially among such products as meats, ice cream, fish,
milk, oysters and other perishables. Each state has some
well-organized department located at the state capitol ; each
city has a board of health and various officers who oversee
weights and measiires, detect adulteration, unsanitary condi-
tions, etc., and prosecute the offending dealers.

Both these state (or county) and city departments have
issued definite laws on how much certain commodities must
weigh, what constitutes standard scales, measures and in-
fringements of the law. The consumer should send for
copies of these bulletins (to the state capital) : "Specifica-
tions for Weighing and Measuring Devices," issued by the
3oard of Agriculture of Ohio, or the Bulletin "What Every
jHousewife Should Know," issued by the New Jersey State
^Department of Weights and Measures; or the "Sanitary
fcode" of any city, which gives the laws governing the ban-

340 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

d!ing of foods, as cold storage chickens, loose mUk. "base-
ment bakeries" or open markets. Armed with the informa-
tion contained in the bulletins of her respective stale (and
city), each consumer will be able to detect violations of the
law and insist on honesty and freedom from adulteration,
etc. For instance, there has been a strong fight for more
sanitary handling of all products in all sections. The intelli-
gent consumer will no longer tolerate bakery goods exposed
to flies, "loose" milk opened a dozen times daily and kept in
foul ice chests, or ice cream factories where the floor is filthy
and the workmen themselves unclean.

Economical purchasing does not mean getting foods and
products which are merely "cheap," but those which have
been made under or handled in a way to safeguard family
health. Foods made under filthy conditions or treated, adul-
terated or processed with chemicals cannot be "cheap" at
any price! It is a large share of the modern consumer's
work and training to detect such frauds, boycott them and
bring them to the attention of the proper inspectors.

llnw A Knowledge of AnuLTERANTS and Fkauds Fore-
warns THE Consumer

A discussion of the common adulterants found in manu-
factured foods, or various fraudulent practices, is taken up
here, not to prejudice the consumer against all dealers, but
merely to warn her as to possible deceit. "Forewarned is
forearmed," and knowledge of wrong only protects the right.
Naturally, in all manufacture there are a few firms who try
to make additional money out of the ignorance of the con-
sumer. Therefore it behooves the consumer to be doubly
intelligent ! Most of the dealers in manufactured foodstuffs
are trying to give the consumer clean, unadulterated prod-
ucts made in sanitary factories by clean workers. The

341

National Food and Drug Act passed in 1907 has helped
conditions greatly. However, there is still a great deal of
adulteration in many classes of foods in which there is
profit when inferior materials can be substituted.

What Is a "Pure" Food?

A pure food must fulfill these requirements:

1. It must not be positively adulterated with foreign sub-

stances, as ground hulls for the true ground spice buds.

2. It must not be treated with chemical preservatives like

benzoate or salicyclic adds, as in some catsups and
canned vegetables.

3. It must not be made of "substitutes," as starch and lard

for true cream in ice cream, or as starch in chocolate.

4. It must not be artificially colored with dyes or flavored

with chemical flavors, as in candies or "soft drinks."

5. It must not be handled in a dirty, unsanitary way, or by

unclean workers.

6. It must not have some of the valuable elements or parts

of the food removed, so as to make it a "devitalized"

food, as polished rice or bleached flour.
These may seem like impossible demands. Yet unless the
consumer insists that these pure food standards be lived up
to, she cannot be sure that her family, and especially her
children, are eating manufactured or bought foods'that will
nourish them or that will positively not harm them. If
health depends on food, then surely that food must be as
pure, clean, and as rich in nourishment as nature originally
made it.

Consumers Ignorant or Complacent

It is often remarked that Americans will "stand" any-
thing; and certainly it is either because they are overly
complacent^ or else actually ignorant, that the consumer

allows startling and disgusting practices to be follow
Let us quickly list some of the food practices which '.
should not tolerate :

r. "Basement bakeries," no light, unsanitary, moldy condi-
tions, unhealthy workers.

2. Artificial coloring and flavoring of candies, cakes ;
drinks with chemicals.

3- Substitution of low-grade materials in supposed hidj
grade products.

4, Artificial preservatives to "keep" foods, as benzo:

"preservaline," etc

5, Exposed meat, bakery goods, or permission of sale j

same in open carts, wagons or stalls.

6, "Devitalizing" of flours and "bleaching," which lessa

nourishment.

Space 'does not permit going into the details of all thei
frauds; but many times the consumer is quite responsible
for these frauds, although she may not realize it. For
instance, flour is now "bleached" very white, and rice grains
given artificial jwlish solely because women ^vant or have
made a market for white foods, and refuse to buy dark-
colored grains and flours! Again, mothers who give their
children soda water which is only water sweetened with
saccharine and colored with coal-tar dyes, cannot expect to
blame the dealers. They must refuse to purchase such foods,
and then the dealers, finding trade unprofitable, will be
forced to change their ways.

At a recent Farmers' Institute in a large western state
the author was conducting a week's series of lectures. One
morning, before going to the lecture hall, she visited a dozen
shops and purchased about thirty samples of "penny line"
candies. She had a beautiful ( !) assortment of candy made
of parafiine, starch and glucose ; varnished, brightly ■colored

J

EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD PURCHASING

343 "

with dyes, flavored with artificial products, and in al! quite
an exhibit. The samples were on a table and brought to the
attention of the mothers present. Many would not believe
that such candies were purchased only two blocks from Iheir
homes ! — or that such vile candies were made! The exhibit
was passed on to the pa rent- teacher association, and effort
made to educate children to buy other and purer uncolored
kinds.

The Importa\ce of Being Informed on Weights and
Measures

No one not directly connected with investigation in this
line would believe the extent of fraud and deception prac-
ticed in connection with all kinds of weights and measures.
Owing to recent campaigns for greater honesty, almost
nation-wide, and a demand that false measures be confis-
cated and dishonest dealers be prosecuted, conditions today
are much better than formerly. There are still, however,
many dishonorable practices or causes for faulty weighing.
The consumer must be on her guard against them.

I. Scales may be faulty because — the scale is out of balance,

L and is too heavy on the scoop side ; or the scale may

I balance when equal weights are placed in the center

I of the pan, but not when the weights are shifted right

K or left; the scale may be "insensitive" owing to poor

■ construction, worn or broken parts ; false weight may
B be given by attaching small wads of iron, lead, hooks

■ or some small article under the scoop, or on the cross
I under the scoop ; the "nested" iron weights may be
B stacked as 8 oz., 4 oz., 2 oz., thus totaling 14 oz. instead
B of the required 16; the "poise" may be light, thus
B registering more than is true on the scoop ; the weights
L themselves may be worn, drilled, or "filled" with lighter

lUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

substances ; or even in the beginning they may never
have been accurately adjusted so as to weigh correctly.
wTfry measures may be faulty because — of "false" bot-
toms, as in wicker baskets, barrels and measures; they
may have "false" sides or be so cut down as to reduce
the depth and hence the true amount ; they may be
broken, dented, or originally of wrong or "short" ca-
pacity, especially wicker or berry boxes holding less
than the standard amount ; or six-quart measures may
be used illegally for peck or eight-quart measures ;
or liquid measure, which is less, may be used for dry

Liquid measures may be faulty bccause^lhe measures
are bent or dented ; or they have a "cupped" bottom ;
or they are leaky ; or they were originally manufac-
tured "short."

Linear measures may be faulty because — the yardstick is
warped or "short"; counter tacks may be wrongly
placed ; the cloth tape measure may be shrunk or
inaccurately divided.

le department of weights and measures of each state
ploys both county and city "sealers" — -men whose duty
to periodically test all scales and measuring devices.
If the measure passes the test, the dealer is allowed to con-
tinue its use, and the scale is marked with a large seal,
generally red, so that the consumer may know that it will
register correct weight. If it does not pass the test, it is
"condemned" and its use forbidden. Sometimes several
thousand inaccurate or false measures are "condemned" and
burned by state authorities.

While the laws of different states vary, it is almost uni-
versally conceded that the older type arm or balance scale
with scoop and iron weight is least trustworthy. The pre-

EXAMPLES OF SHORT PECK ME.
Qed bj The ChLcaEo Burfiu of WcLghlg

ferred scale is that called the "pan" or hanging type, or
the excellent glass protected "computing" scale. Scales car-
ried by ice men or platform scales on which coal and large
amounts are weighed are most frequently faulty. Again, the

1

346 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING I

dtak-r is not supposed to rest his hand on the scale, place I
the package iinevenly, take it off before the consumer reads
the dial, or, for instance, weigh butter in a wooden container
unless a similar container, empty, he placed on the opposite
side. In the case of hams and other foods covered with
burlap, a certain legal allowance must be made, of about
four ounces. Meat dealers are allowed to sell meat at the
untrimmed weight, but these trimmings belong to the house- ;
keeper. If left with the butcher they will be resold by him
to rendering plants. On a five-pound leg of lamb there may i
be as much as a pound and a quarter of trimmings. It will J
pay, and pay well, to check up the weight of all food coming |
into the house. Tests have shown as much as 20% short- j
age. A good scale is necessary (see page 6). I

It is a rather common custom to sell dry beans and peas I
and cranberries by the liquid quart ( one-quarter gallon), J
which contains about one-sixth less in volume than the dry J
measure quart. This practice is not legal, even if it is the I
custom. I

In all of this discussion, let it not be thought that every \
dealer is unscrupulous. The majority of all dealers in all j
lines intend giving dependable measures, but frequently
scales become inaccurate without the dealer knowing it; I
or he may have happened to buy a cheap, unreliable measure |
from some unscrupulous manufacturer. The consumer I
should insist on honesty, not so mtich to prosecute the dis- I
honest dealer as to protect herself and give a fair deal to 1
the man who is trying to be fair to her. The reliable dealer I
who has nothing to fear will not be incensed if the consumer ]
investigates his measures, the sanitary conditions of his j
store, or other of his selling methods, but will welcome J
investigation, as it will only serve to bind the intelligent J
consumer more closely to his establishment. 1

All purchasing should be by definite' weight or amoimt,-J

EFFiaENT HOUSEHOLD PURCHASING

347

as bushel, peck, quart, gallon, etc. Instead, foi
of buying a bushel of potatoes, the consumer will be assured
of getting her money's worth if she asks for sixty pounds of
potatoes, or whatever the legal amount is in her particular
state. Nothing makes for more wasteful, inefficient buying
than this mistake of buying by the "bag" (how much does
it contain?), as no two dealers sell the same kind of "bags,"
and even the same dealer might at different times be using
different kinds of measures, so that the consumer can never
be sure of always getting a definite quantity for a definite
sum, unless she asks the price per zi'eight of a definite stand-
ard, as a bushel, or fraction of a bushel, or gallon.

State laws are by no means uniform ; each state has, for
its own limits, passed standard weights per bushel for differ-
ent articles, as shown in the table on the next page, taken
from Measurements for the Household, Circular No. 55, U.
S. Bureau of Standards,

Net Weight of Contents Law

An amendment to the National Food and Drug Act passed
in 1914 requires the net weight or volume of contents to be
printed on the label of containers or packages distributed in
interstate commerce, A number of states have also passed
a similar law, so that practically everything in the food line
except bulk goods is so labeled. For example, the various
brands of popular breakfast foods contain (at present writ-
ing) the following weights :

Quaker Oat?

Cream of Wheat.,
Pettijohn

Shredded Wheat .

Grape Nuts

Corn Flakes

PulTcd Wheat

Puffed Rice ...,,,

348

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

LEGAL WEIGHTS PER BUSHEL

2
^

•«5

5

.2

.§

c
5

0

8

1

<^

v-c^

^

o

c

Q

^

0

d 0

0

»

^

Q^

CQ

L)

0

a.

Q,

Q,

«oa.

h«

^

Alabama

• •

24

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

60

55

55

Arkansas

50

24

• •

• •

57

.• •

• •

60

50

57

Colorado

• •

• •

■ ■

• •

57

• •

• •

60

• •

• •

Connecticut

48

25

60

50

52

45

• •

60

54

50

Florida

48

24

• •

• •

56

• •

54

60

60

54

Georgia

• •

24

• •

57

• •

• •

60

55

55

Idaho

48

24

56

50

57

50

48

60

50

56

55

Illinois

50

24

60

50

57

50

48

60

50

56

55

Indiana

• •

25

• ■

■ •

48

55

• •

60

55

• m

55

Iowa

48

24

56

50

52

45

48

60

50

50

55

Kansas

48

24

56

50

57

52

48

60

50

56

55

Kentucky

24

■ •

• •

60

50

57
52

• •

45

• •

• •

60
60

55

• •

• •

• ■

60

Maine

44

50

Maryland

50

28

• •

50

54

• •

40

60

60

60

60

Massachuetts

48

25

60

50

52

45

48

60

54

56

55

Michigan

48

22

• «

■ •

54

• •

• •

60

56

• •

58

Minnesota

50

28

50

45

52

42

• •

60

55

• •

• •

Mississippi

26

• ■

• •

57

■ •

« •

60

54

■ •

55

Missouri

48

24

• •

50

57

44

48

60

56

45

42

^[ontana

45

• •

50

50

57

50

• •

60

• •

• •

50

Nebraska

48

24

56

50

57

50

48

60

50

56

55

Nevada

48

24

56

50

50

48

60

50

56

56

New Hampshire

48

25

60

50

S2

45

48

60

54

56

55

Now Jersey

?'■>

25

60

50

m mm

■ •

50

60

54

• •

• •

New Mexico

45

24

56

50

57

42

48

60

50

50

56

New York

48

25

■ •

50

« •

• •

60

54

• •

• •

North Carolina

48

• •

• •

■ ■

57

• •

• •

56

56

• •

50

North Dakota

50

60

• •

52

• •

• •

6\^

46

• ■

60

Ohio

4S

24

S6

50

56

50

48

60

50

56

60

Oklahoma

48

24

60

50

44

48

60

55

45

60

Oregon

45

28

■ •

• •

■ •

. .

• •

60

• •

• •

• •

rennsvlvaj:ia

5-">

25

60

50

50

50

48

60

54

60

60

Khoae Islar^l

48

25

50

5'"'

51

50

45

60

54

56

50

S.">;:*.h D.'.'n ta

■i?

5ri

51

%

42

48

6'-)

46

50

55

Ter.r.essee

5 ■»

24

5 1

50

56

50

50

60

50

56

50

TCX-.S

■i'

2S

. .

. .

%

• .

5;^

60

m «
N N

55

55

Vcr:v. .T.t

48

, ,

0?

50

52

45

48

60

54

56

60

V:ri:"v:A

. .

2S

•

• •

« «

■ •

• •

56

56

• •

55

\V.;>V.::".Ct V'.

45

:s

• •

■ •

■ •

• ■

6"

• »

• •

West V:rk:-r.:a

.

_ r

. >

• •

- -

■ •

j« "

• •

• •

» »

Wisconsi:;

*«

^

5 .

%

5 ~

■ ■

c."

54

• »

42

The letral \veig!:t for a bushel o: whoa:, a bi:>hci o: dry. white

■ :* cor:i ;i:^'. rye. 5o pounds, of
:::a. Pc'.A.v.ire. P:>:r:ct of Co-
a. l':.ih. iir..: \Vyo::::r.g have

bt\i::s. ai:J c

:ry peas, is oO p

7 ">

oats, o- po::r..-S.

lunibia. Loi::s:a::a. South Caro!:::
few or r.o local \vc:::h: la\vs.
A bushel contains 4 pecks, and a peck S quarts.

EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD PUECHASIKG

349

This law is a great help to the consumer in comparing
prices of package goods with bulk goods or diiTerem brands
of competing products, as in canned goods, and in keeping
informed as to the price per pound of package goods. The
"puffed" breakfast foods, for instance, at 15 cents a package
cost 60 cents a pound.

As the price of staples increases, the manufacturers have
reduced the weight of contents, in self-defense. This fact ts
ftol advertised. For instance, some years ago a package of

THE COMMOIJ SIZES OF CANS

Quaker Oats contained 2 pounds — the price remains the
same (or more) but the contents of the package has been
gradually reduced to i lb. 4 oz. Uneeda Biscuits when first
put on the market contained nearly half a pound; the 5c
package now contains 4

Knowledge of Can Sizes

So many of the foods used in the home today c

s and cans that it is necessary for the c

be familiar with the sizes and other facts of identification.

She may have noted that peas, for instance, come in cans

smaller than tomatoes ; but the first fact to learn is that all

350

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

canned products, whether they be soup, vegetable, fruit, or
other foods, are supposed to be packed according to a series
of standard sizes, which contain corresponding weights,
though the weights will vary somewhat for diflferent
products.

I (tall) some-
times called iJ/2..

TABLE OF STANDARD SIZES OF CANS

Size Number Kind of Food Wt. of Contents

rSardines, potted meats, pastes,]
54 "! "samples," condensed milk, K to 4^ ounces

[etc J

Potted delicacies : shrimp, lob-l

^ ^ ster, clams, condensed milk, 8 or 7^ ouncesi

["flat" salmon (small), etc J

("Canned soup, potted or bonedl

I (short) -j meats, tomato or other purees, \ 10 ounces

condensed milk J

Corn, peas, pineapple, sliced] 16 ounces and is
peaches, flat or "tall" salmon, standard i lb. or
tomatoes, etc J i pt. can

Small vegetables, like corn,"
beans, and small fruits, like *,

berries, grated and chunk | • 4 •

styles J

fMany large fruits and vegeta-l
2j^ (41-7" high).bles, baked beans, asparagus, V i lb. 14 oz.

[tomatoes, etc J

Large fruits, peaches, pears,!

3 Regular - baked beans, whole tomatoes, ^2 lbs. i oz.

[beets, spinach J

3 Tall (5^" high). Same as above 2 lbs. 6 oz.

Corn on cob, sauerkraut, soup

10 -( and large quantity for trade \6 lbs. 6 oz.

distribution

There is no number on the can, as "No. 2," to indicate its
size, but this size can be easily determined by noting the
weight, which is always printed in small numbers, generally
at the base of the face or the reverse of the can. If the label

EFFICIENT HOUSEHOUl PURCHASING

351

reads, for instance, "i lb. 14 oz.," it is probably a No, 2j-^
can. The same product may be packed in any one of three
or four sizes. As an experiment, the author asked for "A
can of tomatoes" in several stores. She was handed five
different sizes of cans, varj-ing in weight from 10 ounces to
2 lbs, 6 oz. — or from the No. i "short" to the No. 3. Five
different size cans all in answer to the same request for a
"can" ! The grocer knows the various size cans by number.
Therefore if you ask for them by number you have a better
chance of ge'ting the exact size you wish. Then note care-
fully the "net weight of contents" on the label.

Family Needs Determine Can Sizes

In one brand of pineapples, for instance, a No. 2j4 can
contains ten large slices and costs 15 cents. The No. 2 can
of the same grade contains six small slices and costs 10
cents. In one case a large slice costs ij^c, but buying the
apparently cheaper can each small slice costs i^c. There-
fore by estimating how many slices or portions are con-
tained in different sized cans the housewife will be able to
purchase more economically, buying the exact size can that
suits her particular family's needs. It is generally better
economy to purchase one large can and make it cover two
servings than to purchase two small cans separately, because
the smaller the size the higher, proportionately, is the price.

Many kinds of fish and other food come in flat as well as
tall cans. The tall No. i weighs exactly the same as a flat
No. I, but the flat can generally costs 10% or 15% more.
This is because, as in salmon, for instance, a solid piece of
fish is cut right out of the best portion of the salmon, whereas
the tall can is filled with one or two smaller pieces, which
makes the packing less expensive,
^^^jetimes the can appefl "' '"Uy empty at the top, as

352

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

in corn. This is called "slack fill" and is contrary to law. i
It docs not always mean that the can is short in weight, f
A certain amount of space must he left between the top of ,1
the can and the material in it, so that the red-hot "capping 1
iron" will not scorch the contents. Corn especially swells 'J
in "processing," and extra allowance must be made.

It is economy to purchase canned goods in quantity, as 1
there is a reduction in goods bought by the case, or 24 cans, j
Fall is the time to purchase fresh season stuff. It is easy 1
to estimate how many cans of the various products will be ^
used per week, month or season, then to make up an order
and purchase by the case (2 doz.), or at least the dozen.
This is not only a money but a time saving, as all too fre-
quently unnecessary time is wasted running to the store for J
a can of this or that.

It is helpful to write in the kitchen note book the con-J
sunier's experience with various brands, sizes and grades'!
of canned goods; also the number of portions, slices, the 1
quality, trade mark or other facts which will enable her to J
do future buying most economically and easily. No lawl
compels canners to use uniform sizes, and as cost of mate- J
rials and labor increases there is a tendency to decrease the I
size of the cans instead of increasing the price. It is impos~l
sible to distinguish by the eye a can slightly under standardJ
size, but the net weight on the label will reveal it.
the weight may be falsely kept up by the addition of extra j
water, as in tomatoes, which is an adulteration ; therefore 1
those standard brands should be bought which have proved I
the test of honesty and full measure and quality.

At retail city prices it is not always good economy to canj
vegetables and fruits at home, but near the source of supply;
or from the home garden a very considerable saving c
made by "putting up" canned goods. There are many Gov-J
emment Bulletins on the subject which will be sent «

EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD PXJRCHASING

353

request from the Department of Agriculture. The "cold
pack" method seems easiest and is successful.

How THE Trademark Protects the Consumer

It may be asked, if there are as many methods of deceit
and adulteration as have been pointed out, how is the con-
sumer to protect herself except by constant and continued
investigation ? Will not every purchase be an experiment as
to quality and purity? The one means of protection the
consumer can rely on is the "trademark" on the package or
product she buys. The "trademark" is some kind of label,
emblem or other means of identification bearing the manu-
facturer's name, place of factory, weight, size, or other
words leading to rapid identification on the part of the con-
sumer. For instance, before buying a can of peas or a pair
of hose, how can the consumer be sure of the quality and
wear of these articles? Only by selecting goods which bear
a "trademark" or the name of a manufacturer who has come
to be widely known as a maker of articles of quality and
value.

Et;LK Versus Package Goods

There has been a great deal of discussion as to the best
kind of products to buy — those which are "packaged,"
wrapped or in some kind of container bearing a trademark
—and those which are merely "loose" or "bulk," and un-
wrapped or untrademarked, and which sometimes, as in
"loose" tea, may cost a few cents less a pound than a pack-
aged tea. Now, in the author's opinion, all "bulk" goods
are open to the same criticism^ — namely, that they are
unidentified, and thus the consumer is unable to tell the
quality in advance, and thus has no means of safeguarding
her purchase. Identification is the only means of protecting

354

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

the consumer as to the quality of what she buys. In othcl
words, some kind of trademark saves the consumer's time
enabling her to pick out an article of known quality quick
as well as being the sole means of identifying quality, (
lack of quality. Not all Irademarked goods are superior t
bulk or ttnidentified merchandise; but the mere fact that (,
are "trademarked" and identifiable, protects the consitma
either the one way or the other. Trademarked goods ara
generally superior to bulk goods for the following reasons a

1. They furnish a means of identification either for

against quality.

2. They give the manufacturer's name and location of fac-J

tory.

3. They inform the net weight or quality standard of thoi

product.

4. They permit more accurate weighing.

5. They insure that the goods were made under sanitaryj

conditions by sanitary workers.

The man who is willing to put his name on his product,
and the place where it is made, is generally the manufac-
turer who has no fear of the investigations of the consumer.
Also, if he has put out a trademarked product for years, thu
chances are strongly that the product has a high quality, 1
else consumers would long ago have found out its inferioritj
and put it off the market. And, last, the price of the ider
tified products of wide distribution is generally as low ■
that of a similar "bulk" article; because its wider distri-fl
bution and long continued sale will have enabled the manuJ
facturer to install such machinery and methods in his facfl
tory as to lower the producing cost, and thus sell his !dea-^J
tified article at as low a price as the unidentified "bulk"'
article can be sold. Examples of this are Ivory Soap andl
Walter Baker's Chocolate, sold under trademarked label^

EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD PURCHASING

for many years, yet which are as low in price and of hig
quality than similar competing unrecognized brands.

Private Brands Versus Trademarked Brands

There is another distinction in brands which the consumer
must know. That is, the ditference between the "private"
and the genuinely "trademarked" brands of goods. For in-
stance, here are two cans of tomatoes ; both apparently have
a label and name. But if we look closely we see that Can A
says, "Queen Tomatoes, packed for J. Jones & Company";
Can B will say, "Smith's Tomatoes, S, & S. Smith Bros.,
Vineland, New Jersey." What is the difference between
these two labels ? The first is the label of a "private brand."
It does not state the firm that packed it, only the name of
the firm for whom it was packed. Also, it generally does
not give the location of the factory where the product was
packed. On the olhcr hand, the label of can B does state
the name of the packer and the place of the factory. In the
first case, we have a "jobber" who wants to sell tomatoes.
He gets any number of small factories, even in several states,
to pack tomatoes for him. Then he has these cans sent to his
wholesale house, and there puts his own labels on them. In
the second case 2ve have the original packer himself putting
his own name on the goods and where they were packed.

The "private" brand goods is put up in different factories,
from different sources each year, and there is no guarantee
o£ a permanent quality behind it. Since the name of the
packer does not appear on the container, there is no way for
the consumer to find out what kind of a factory or condi-
tions it was packed under. On the other hand, the honest
name of the packer himself insures the consumer that she
can look up this man and this factory, and that he stands
back of his goods, since he is willing to put his name on them.

356 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

In every case, the trademarked brand carries more infe^^
rity or guarantee. It is now almost universal for the trade-
marked brand to carry a refund guarantee of giving the
consumer another article or refund of original purchase_
price if she is dissatisfied. If, for instance, the Kaysei
gloves do not wear as represented, or Holeproof sox develc^
holes within a certain time, the manufacturer "makes goorf
with duplicate articles. Some jobbers, it is true, have als^
established the high grades of their brands by years of fa^
dealing, and their goods can also be relied on in such cases. J

"Read the Label," the Coxsumer's Watchword

The label is the one protection of the consumer, if slq
only learns to always read it intelligently. Every lab*
should declare the contents of the article; but often ■
may find labels that are deceptive, or which at least :
far from straightforward. It is common on canned meats t
find the words:

"POTTED meat HAM flavor"
so printed as to make the consumer think she is buyia|
potted ham, -when the contents are really only inferior mea
scraps flavored with ham. Or she may think she has bouglj
a bottle of vanilla, when really the label, closely read, stata

"Extract of Vanillin"
Now, vanillift is an artificial flavor made from the oil i
doves; even if it were as wholesome as true essence i
vanilla from the tonka bean, it is not fair that the constim(!|
should pay vanilla prices for vanillin.

Similarly, "MAPLE flavor SYRUP," or other wording
reveals the fact that the possibly expensive syrup which tlM
consimier thought was true maple syrup is only a sugs
syrup flavored and colored artificially. The labels on caH

EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD PURCHASING

357

sup, as "preserved with ^^ of i% of benzoate of soda, arti-
ficially colored," etc., are familiar; often the words arc
purposely made misleading, as a cough syrup may say "Tinc-
ture of Poppy, 2j^"; but this "tincture" is really nothing
but morphine or laudanum, if read intelligently. Drugs need
most careful reading, as often headache powders which are
claimed to be "harmless" contain acetanilid or other dan-
gerous drugs. The consumer should be especially wary of
the words "compound," "artificial" and "harmless."

Advertising and the Consumer

Modern advertising in periodicals, on billboards, cards,
etc., is another means of bringing goods of all kinds to the
consumer's attention. The costs of advertising must be
included in the general cost of distribution of an article,
and do not add any more to the price of an article than any
other means of display, such as store window exhibits, cir-
cular letters and the older forms of traveling salesmen which
were practiced in the days before periodical publication
made modern advertising methods possible. Advertising
generally raises the standard of production (since it does
not pay to advertise a poor product), at the same time that
it makes possible wider distribution ; and wider distribution
enables larger volume of production with consequent greater
economy. Because it has brought so many thousand articles
of furnishing, comfort, and luxury before the consumer, it
has, naturally, tended to raise the standard of living. At
the same time, our daily papers and periodicals would be
impossible if it were not that the advertising they carry
pays largely for their printing. Since most advertised arti-
cles are also trademarked articles, they insure the consumer
guarantee, identification and time-saving shopping.

The "Cut-price" Lure and the Consumer

There are some forms of advertising practice, however,
which should not he encouraged, chief of these the "cut-
price" hire, especially on a trademarked article. These
"specials," as "three cakes of Ivory Soap for a quarter," or
Fownes' Gloves, $r.oo grade, only $0.79," are used solely
to get the woman into the store, where they hope that she
will buy other unindcntificd merchandise on which the dealer
makes more profit but which are of poorer quality than
the trademarked goods. In other words, the "cut" is merely J
"bait"; that it is not a sincere reduction is shown by thq
fact that it is offered "for this morning only," or "only ond
to a customer," or in some other way which has a "string'^
attached. The reason that such buying is demoralizing i;
first, that it traps women into buying other goods of lessen
quality; second, it gives them a false idea of the pric<
which they should pay for the article — a price which t
own local retailer cannot meet, so that, therefore, after i
time, he may refuse to carry the article because he cannol
meet the "cut" and still make a profit. This may eventualljn
drive good products off the market ; third, all juggling (
price, and discrepancies, are bad, because they create i
the consumer's mind false Ideals and ideas of value, i
encourage her to demand "bargains" to such an extent thai
merchants are forced to offer her inferior quality i
to satisfy this "bargain" appetite.

The sister evil of the "marked tip" price is also a rest
of this pernicious demand on the part of women
means that the advertised price of an overcoat, say, i
as "$40.00 overcoat, now only $19.50." The truth is ths
the overcoat was probably only a $25,00 grade in the fira
place, but that it has been falsely "marked up" in order 6
make the "bargain" seem more of a drop in price. Sudj

EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD PURCHASING 359

practices must not be confused with legitimate reductions
which occur at seasonal times. But it cannot be too strongly
said that women must stop encouraging the "bargain habit"
if they wish dealers to make conservative, dependable claims
and statements. Before John Wanamaker developed and
enforced his policy of plainly marked prices, the buyer did
not know whether he was being cheated or not. Today the
cut-price, the marked-up price, and misleading statements
are still a few surviving mal-practices which the woman con-
sumer must help eradicate.

•PURCHASING OF CLOTHING AND TEXTILES

Next to food, clothing is the most important division in
household purchasing. The efficient consumer must learn
to distinguish, test and judge the wearing qualities and
value of all articles of clothing and textile fabrics. The mar-
ket carries so many grades and variously named novelties
in fabrics that it is somewhat difficult for the buyer to judge
intelligently. However, the number of "standard" fabrics
are not very great, and the novelties are but variations of
"standard" goods.

The expert judges textiles by the appearance, feel and
weight of the fabric and the knowledge of the various fibers,
yams and methods of weaving and finishing the goods.

A knowledge of the common textile fibers is the first
essential. Briefly, cotton fibers are very fine and compara-
tively short — ^ of an inch to an inch. Flax fiber is larger
and much longer than cotton. Lii^en cannot be bleached by
chemical means as easily as cotton or without losing strength
and luster, nor can it be dyed as easily or are the colors as
fast. It launders well but shrinks more than cotton. Linen
has superior wearing qualities.

As raw flax costs two or three times as much as cotton,
and as the loss in finishing is much greater and the process

36o HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

more expensive, there is a strong temptation to adulterat(fl
linen with cotton to make goods less expensive. As is \
known, cotton in table Hnen detracts from the wearing qu
ties, as thcshort fibers of the cotton give the pieces a fuzz
appearance after being used a short time.

Silk fibers are very long, are strong, and have high lustefJ
Soft silks wear better than stiff ones which are "weighted'!
with salts of tin and iron. This weighting decreases 1
strength of the fiber but makes it "go farther," Taffeta
are examples of heavily weighted silk.

Wool is the important animal liber. Its scale-Hke s
gives it special felting and spinning qualities. It is strorij
elastic, and when spun and woven the elastic properties g
a great number of air spaces in the fabric, rendering ctothin
made from woo! very warm and light. It will absorb up t
30 percent of its weight of water without feeling damp t
the touch.

Wool fabrics are divided into "woolen" and "worsted*^
materials. The woolens are made from the short wool fibei
obtained by carding the wool fleece. Woolen yarns a
and fJuffy. Worsteds are made from the long fibers whid
have been combed and carded until they lie smooth aiw
parallel. They are then twisted more tightly than woolei
yams, thus making it more regular and lustrous. Wo
materials are soft, elastic, of soft finish and blurred patten
Worsted materials are of harder finish, show the weave n
plainly, and have a clearer pattern.

The expense of manufacture of worsted yarn is greati;
than for woolen yarn, consequently worsted materials t
more than woolens of the same weight and width.

Adulterations and Tests
The mixing of fibers is legitimate, but the c
a right to know what percent of each textile she is j

EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD PUBCHASING

chasing, and not, for instance, pay "all wool" prices for
materia] containing a large proportion of "shoddy" or other
adulterant. The consumer often encourages adulteration by
demanding very low-price materials. Generally, the brands
of "tradeniarked" textiles, like "Skinner's Satin," etc., long
established, can be best trusted. There should be a national
"pure textile" law which would enforce labeling that would
inform the consumer exactly what percent and grade of
each textile she is buying.

The following gives some of the common aduherations
and simple home methods of testing:

Cation ill Linen. Linen threads break off with sharp-
pointed ends, while cotton threads break off short with fuzzy
ends. A spot of oil or glycerine makes linen more trans-
lucent than cotton. A drop of water on linen spreads
rapidly ; on cotton it absorbs slowly. Singed ends of cotton
thread spread out, while singed linen threads look close
together and uniform.

Cotton in Woolen and Worsteds. When cotton threads
make up part of the warp (running threads) or the filling
of the fabric, the cotton is easily detected by picking the
threads apart and burning— -cotton burns quickly, with little
odor or ash ; wool in burning gives the odor of burning
feathers.

When cotton fiber is spim with the wool, detection is
more difficult. Boil a sample of the goods in a solution of
washing soda, 2 tablespoons to a pint, for twenty minutes.
The wool becomes jelly-like and may be separated from
the cotton by rubbing in warm water. Or boil the sample
in caustic soda solution (a two-inch stick of caustic in a cup
of water) ; the wool will be dissolved completely and the
cotton left.

To remove cotton from woolen, boil sample in oxalic
acid solution (one tablespoonful to a cup) and dry without

362 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

rinsing. Then wash out the acid crystals, dry, and rub thd
goods — compare with original sample or with sample thj
has been simply boiled in water and dried.

Weiglttini/ of silk may be detected by laying a sample
tin plate and leaving in a hot oven for about an hour,
pure silk will be burned away and the weighting remain ii
the form of the sample; if it burns to a heap of ash, it i
pure silk and not heavily weighted.

Silk is sometimes adulterated with mercerized cottonj
which is somewhat difficult to detect. Mercerized cottol
is made by treating cotton threads with strong caustic sod]
solution while the cotton is under strong tension ; then t
caustic is removed. This process swells the cotton fib
and gives it luster. The process strengthens the goods and
makes a wear-resisting fabric, but it should not be sold at
the price of silk. Artificial silk is made by dissolving
cellulose (cotton) and forcing the pasty substance through
small holes, thus giving the structure and somewhat the
appearance of silk, but lacking its true softness and elasticity.

To test any woven material, pull sharply between the
two thumbs, first one way, then the other. If it gives much
or tears apart easily, the fabric shows lack of strength.
Close, firm weaves are more enduring than loosely ^
ones. By holding a sample of cloth to the light, imperfee
tions may he detected. Rubbing the material between t
hands or thumb and first finger will often detect "sizing'
in the goods.

Wash goods may be tested by taking a sample horn
and heating a part of it in soap and water. If the colot
"bleeds" it will be quickly apparent. Moistening a samplfl
and exposing it to direct sunshine for a day or two 1
show its fastness to light. A part of the original sampla
should be kept for comparison. Washing will also remov*
starches and gums used in finishing to conceal defects ai»

EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD PURCHASING 363

give an ^attractive appearance. The author recalls some
yards of Swiss with a beautiful "dot," which in the first
washing, disappeared!

The word "shoddy" is often heard and not as often under-
stood. "Shoddy" is the technical term of "regenerated"
wool, made from old woolen and worsted garments, rags
and tailors' scraps. These are pulled apart and the fibers
respim. "Shoddy" is coarse, inelastic, and shorl-fibered ;
material made from it will crease easily, and have a dead
"sticky" feehng; it cannot be depended upon for wear. A
certain amount Is unobjectionable as it gives warmth, if not
wear, and indeed is a commercial necessity, as there is not
enough pure wool in the world to go around ! But the con-
sumer must learn to protect herself and not pay a "wool"
price for "shoddy."

What the Efficient Buyer of Textiles Must Know

The woman who "can fulfill the following requirements
may be classed as an intelligent buyer of textiles :

1. Know the appropriate kind of cloth to be used for
the occasion, considering weave, color and design.

2. Know what she can afford to pay for it.

3. Know what she should be able to get for that sum of
money.

4. Know whether the material she purchases is what
it is represented to be.

There is a great tendency to be lured by the swiftly chang-
ing fashions into spending more for clothing than the income
justifies. Some women prefer a number of inexpensive gar-
ments following the fashions and designs of the hour, while
others prefer a few well made garments of beautiful ma-
terial in conservative style to use for two or three years.

364 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

The first class of women sacrifice quality of material and'
workmanship to faddish styles — few have enough money to
extravagantly squander beautiful material on extreme
gowns ; the second class sacrifice the latest skirt and sleeve
to the beauty of color and line so pleasing to the individual
and to others. Needless to say the second class of women
on the whole appear better dressed. Where growing chil-
dren have no brothers or sisters to wear their outgrown
clothes, inexpensive materials are justified.

Having decided the kind of clothes wanted (^inexpensive,
up-to-the-minute in style, and many of them, or expensive,
conservative, and few in number), consider next economy
in clothing from the standpoint of time and money which
must be spent in construction or workmanship. It may be
economy for mothers and daughters to make their own cloth-
ing, or have the clothing made at home with the seasonal aid
of a visiting dressmaker, paid by the day. In estimating th(
true economy of these plans one must consider the
time and plus energy of the individual. Can the schedul)
be planned so that the household will run smoothly for tl
other members of the family during this period?
time required, justified by the results and money saved, ori
could it be more profitably used in other lines?

Many busy women who do not find it profitable to sew rel'
entirely on the department stores or mail order houses as
means of saving time and nervous energy. If they can be
fitted in the regulation sizes all is well hut much refitting
defeats their purpose, is unsatisfactory as a rule and also
expensive. Those who can not be fitted easily at the de-
partment stores turn to high class tailors or dressmakers fi
two or three gowns a year which la.st several seasons witl
little repair or alteration. Based on the number of years o(.
wear of the garment the average expenditure of such a plan.'
is not excessive. Some combine all of these methods wor]

I

EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD PURCHASING 365

ing out their own budget of money and time expenditure to
suit their particular needs.

Dressing on the Budget Plan

Whatever the plan followed it is extremely desirable to
work out a dress budget as it alone helps one to see the dress
problem dearly and see it as a whole,

A dress budget is best based on a three-year average. The
expenditure for one year may exceed the allowance but
thru continued use of the articles in successive years the aver-
age may be maintained. In this connection the importance
of keeping the clothing repaired and pressed for resuks in
long service, can be easily seen. According to the budgets in
Part 7, 14% is the average amount for clothing. As women's
clothes usually cost more than men's assume that ^ of
this amount may be used by the women and J^ by the man.

How TO Make a Deess Budget

After detennining the amount of money which can be
expended, consider next the social or business demands
which must provide for; then, list the occasions for
which clothes must be planned— such as church, afternoon
and evening affairs, theatre, office, street, afternoons at
home, morning work dresses, etc. That dress is the most
economical which is appropriate to tlie greatest number of
occasions. For instance a dressy waist with a tailored suit
forms an acceptable costume for church, luncheons, theatre,
informal afternoons; a light summer silk or lingerie gown
can continue in use thruout the year as an evening party
frock. Having listed the garments needed your present
wardrobe must be reviewed, and the garments on hand
checked off. The following dress budget is based on the

366 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

purchase of all articles ready to wear. If the clothing listed j
here be purchased between seasons, better quality can I
had for the same money or a greater number of garments I
can be supplied.

TYPICAL CLOTHING BUDGET FOR THREE YEARS
Income, $1,500. Family, 2 adults. Clothing (i4Vi'), $210; J^ for J

Iteus
Suits, coats, waists, gowns.

Suit for at] seasons $25,

Under jacket for extra

wartnth 2.

Waist, dressy 5

Waist, tailored 3.

Reception gown (silk)

Winter dress 12.

Summer waists —
I dressy

Yeah 2d Year 30 Yeah

White wash skirt

Summer silk (light) or lin-
gerie gown 20.o(

Summer coat 15,01

Summer dresses 5.0c

Summer dresses 8.0;

House dresses —

I at Si.50 30c

Aprons-
Underclothing, winter undcr-

4 at $0.25

Combination suit
2 crepes at $i.(

Nightgowns—
2 at $1.00

Brassieres —
Z at 50 cents. .

Corsets—

't $1.50

I at 3.0a......

EFFICIENT HOL'SEHOLD PfRCHASING 367

Items istYear 2d Year 30 Yeas
Petticoats-
Silk for suit 3.50 3.50

Ox'fords 3-00 .... 3.O0

Street shoes 5,00 5.C10 5.00

Dress shoes 8.00 8.00 8.00

Room shppers 75

Rubbers 75 .75

Slippers 4.00

Gloves-
Winter (heavy) 1,00 1.00

White kid 1.50

a pr. white washable at 60c 1.20 .60 .60

Hats-
Winter, street (new or re-
modeled) s.oo 1. 00 5.00

Dress (new or remodeled) I.oo 6,00 1,00

Summer, street 5,00 i.do 5,00

Dress i.oo 8.00 i.oo

Hosiery—

1 at $1.00 ,

TOTAL $158.60 $11615 $133.25

Total of three years $408.00

3 X $140.00 = $420.00, leaving $12.00 or $4.00 a year
for handkerchiefs, repairs, cleaning aud sundries.

Note. Prices in tliis budget liave no special significance — the idea
is to show the plan. '

Buying Ready-toWear Clothing

The value of many ready made garments can be readily
enhanced by adding a bit of hand embroidery, fine lace or a
different collar. The woman who must economize on her
clothing and yet wishes to dress well, must buy either gar-
ments or materials between seasons. A great deal of time
can be saved in shopping if the housewife can identify her-
self with one clerk in the department, as the clerk knows

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

the stock and soon will learn lo fit it to the customer's taste
and pocket book. Time of usual legitimate seasonal reduc-
tion in clothing are as follows:

After Thanksgiving — fail articles on salt

First of the year — winter articles on sale.

First of February — between seasons — period of greatest reduction.

Decoration Day — spring articles on sale.

Fourth of July — summer articles on sale.

First of September — between seasons — period of greatest reduction,

Home-Made Clothing

Where the clothing budget of the mother must be divided
with little children, or where she desires to have many gar-
ments at less cost saving must be effected by making some
articles at home. In general it may be said that outside
clothing as suits and coats should be purchased, for their
style depends entirely upon lines and tailoring. The more
skilled the housewife is in designing and sewing fine clothing,
the greater is her saving, as shown by the following table
based on the clothing budget given.

Saving where nothing

Wash waists (which have hand work)

Winter dress

Summer dresses

Light summer silk or lingerie dress. . .

Hats

House dresses

Aprons

Machine-made waists

Underclothes

is paid for time

5% to 15^

Standard garments, such as housedresses, aprons, and
underclothing which have no particular style, can be cut out
by the hundred, and made by unskilled workers. As the style
is not pronounced, a merchant can carry them over several
seasons (unless soiled) so there is less loss in handling,
factors combine to make them cheaper, so that the bui
housewife can little afford to spend her time on such iti

I

EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD PURCHASING 369

The Sewing Corner or Room

Ready or home made as the garments may be, all need
attention at some time in repairing and alteration, so every
home needs a sewing corner, just as it needs a "business

comer," If repairs and simple alterations alone are planned
for, the simple equipment of a home-made sewing screen
such as illustrated may be sufficient. The hooks and spindles
provide places for all tools as scissors, hem gauge, darning
ball, pin cushion, beeswax, and .thread of different shades
and numbers. The many pockets are arranged to hold find-
ings, patterns, remnants, current work, and in one comer of
the top sheif, pill-boxes of sliding variety with collar button
punched through the front, make useful little drawers for
buttons, snappers, hooks and eyes. Where home sewing is
a regular part of the seasonal schedule, the following equip-
ment should be added ;

370

HOUSEHOLD EKGINEERING ^^^^^^H

,

Machine. ^^^H

2

Cutting board or table. .^^^^^^^H

3

Chair height). ^^^^^^|

4

Lap ^^^^^^H

5

Ample scrap basket. ^^^^^^^^|

6

Dress ^^^^^^|

7

^^^^^^1

8

Shelves for fashion magazines. ^^^^^^|

9

^^^^^^^H

lO

Pressing board and doth. ^^^^^^|

11

^^^^^1

12

m

PORTABLE SErtlNG M.^CntXE. ^^M

Elcc

trie MclT Allicliedi M:iJe by Western Elccltic Co. Prigc, J35.00. ^H

Dressmaking Records ^H

The following form for dress file will be suggestive and^^|

prov

particidarly valuable where sewing is done for mair^^H

nitmbcrs of the family : ^^|

1.

Samples of each standard fabric on a card with infoT^^^f

nialion of width, cost, guarantee, manufacturer, aod^^l

dealer's name. J^H

3,

Classified list and location of findings, kept on hand, ^^M

3-

For each member of the family : ^^H

u. Dress budget plan. ^^H

b. Measurements with date of taking. ^^^^^B

^^^^L

c. Sewing cost of each article. ^^^^^^^H

^^^H

Cost of materials. ^^^^^^|

^

Time required. ^^^^^^|

EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD PURCHASING 371

Dressmaking in the Schedule

Sewing is a seasonal occnpatiOu in many households and
the complaint arises that sewing and housework do not fit
together, and that the many interruptions make progress in
the work difficult. True the regular schedule would have
to be reduced to a minimum of simple meals, bed-making
and simplest putting of the house in order, and the time of
different sewing operations will have to be planned accord-
ing to frequency and nature of interruptions, such as:

Evening for cutting-^

1. Least interrupted time, and

2, Work does not strain the eyes.
Morning for machine work —

Fewer implanned for interruptions.
Afternoon for handwork —

Can be continued during unexpected calls.

Standard Practice in Dressmaking

Making a number of like garments at one time such as
underwear, dresses, waists, and having a standard practice
of procedure simplifies the work and reduces the total time.

A. Preparatory.

1. Test samples.

2, Select pattern.

1. Open each piece.

2. Mark with make and number.

3. Measure for required amount of material if
allowance on pattern seems large.

Buy material and finishing.

Put pat tern, material and finishing in a labeled box.

Note costs in dress file.

L

372 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

B. Cutting.

1. Prepare equipment.

Board, scissors, weights (better than pins),
yard stick, French chalk.

2. Lay goods and pattern.

3. Cut.

4. Baste or mark as necessar)'.

C. Replace pattern and pieces in respective boxes.

D. Work on all like articles at one time without change of

shift as skirts, waists, sleeves, etc.

1. All basting.

2. All fitting on form.

3. All seams.

4. Remove basting.

5. Final fitting.

6. Do all like finishing, as buttonholes, snappers,

hems, etc.

7. Pressing.

E. Replace each article in resp)ective box as done and

avoid confusion.

The time study for each step will var\' with the speed
of the individual and the amount of work done, but making
a study of dress making as with other work will give
not only a valuable gauge for schedule calculations, but will
show also whether the time spent in sewing is profitable in
proportion to the saz'itig of money.

The Buying of Housefurxishixgs

The buying of household tools and equipment has been
taken up fully in a previous chapter (^see Chap. Ill, pp. loo-
108: also YD : the other needs which must be purchased
for the home, mav be divided into Furniture and Room fur-

EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD PURCHASING 373

nishings; Medical and Sanitary; China, Glass and Silver;

Art and Musical Objects.

Space does not permit going into each group in detail.

It may be said, however, in regard to furniture :

1. Buy a few pieces of good model, and the best work-
manship rather than an assortment of poorly harmon-
izing ones.

2. Avoid those pieces which have high polish, and an
excess of carving, "turned legs," etc., as they show soil
and scratches more easily and require more work to
keep them clean.

3. Avoid buying "sets" or "suites" or "period" furniture
when the home is neither large enough nor has the right
setting for such furniture.

4. Buy separate mirrors and drawers rather than typical
"bureaus," because they can be more 'easily placed in
different positions and rooms; have as much of the
furniture "built in," rc^ther than of the portable type.

5. Choose such models which permit easy cleaning under
them, and which have such pillows, seats, etc., which are
easy of care and inexpensive in restoration.

6. In choosing beds a "box-spring" covered, is the most
permanent and sanitary, and less likely to catch on
bedding.

7. The cost of an iron or enameled bed depends on the
width and weight of the iron, supports, and on the ar-
rangement of the spring. Those beds with woven wire
spring attached permanently to the framework, are
more satisfactory than using a separate wire spring.
See that the spring is reinforced by strands of cross
wire so that it does not sag.

8. Mattresses of laminated cotton are more sanitary, and
distribute weight more evenly than those of horsehair.
Ask to see a cross section of the filling before purchase.

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Medical and Saxitarv

In every home there is need of certain sanitary
and comforts bought from time to time. The point is tl
very few of these articles are planned in purchase, but are
bought suddenly when emergency demands, with a result
of either extravagant or inefficient buying, whose total is
quite a sum out of the annual expenditure. A comfort like
a hotwater bottle is best developed in an electrically heated
pad if there is current in the home, or at least by an alumi-
num bottle which cannot leak, or burst like the rubber bag*
Grey agate ware sanitary utensils give better service
cost less than the same articles made of white enamel. Mi
cines should be kept away from light ; the tri-sided poison'
bottle should be used to avoid danger, "Quantity" buying of
gauze, absorbent cotton, etc.. by the half or pound is much
less expensive than buying small lo and 15 cents' worth;
large sizes of witch hazel, alcohcl, bought bj' the pint, etc.,
toilet rolls bought by the dozen, and soap by the box where it
can be unwrapped and laid to harden. In famili
children the medicines or "emergency shelf" should be ki
well stocked, where it is instantly accessible. All rubb*
tubing, etc., must not be used or left with oil and must
hung away to a\'oid bending and breakage. Care
ing contents protected from air and dust, well corked, et<
will .save as much as original careful estimation of pi
chase.

ChinAj Class and Silver

In buying chinaware it is wiser to buy from "open stot
This means a stock or pattern which the manufacturer a
retailer have constantly on hand, as opposed lo a "set" whid|
is a pattern of which only a few "sets" are manufacture^
and then discontinued. "Open stock" permits buying on]

ba^H

EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD PURCHASING'

a few dishes af a time, and allows easy replacement for
breakage. Indeed it is always better lo avoid the lure of
all "sets of io8 pieces complete," etc., because many of the
pieces of such standard sets are used so seldom as to be poor
investments ; i. e., the large turkey platter, the soup tureen,
etc., can best be replaced by a more serviceable chop-plate
or a less expensive casserole which can be used for other
foods than soup alone. Staring or large and brightly colored
patterns are tiring to the eye, do not set off the food attrac-
tively, and do not harmonize with the other table appoint-
ments. Avoid large handles and ornate knobs, which break
easily and excess of gold-leaf, which comes off in the wash-
ing after hard usage. Porcelain is the finest quality of
ware, almost transparent when held to the light, and the
most fragile. Chhia is the medium weight grade of which
most sets are made. Pottery is the coarsest ware, of which,
however, beautiful pitchers, bowls, etc., are made.

It is also not necessary to buy a "complete dozen" of each
kind of plate, saucer, etc. For a small family, eight of each
kind of fiat dish seems to be adequate. A plate which will
be suitable for both breakfast and supper, and salad can be
chosen, and so avoid the endless number of sizes of plates
with which the average "set" is burdened. One size sauce
dish, or a shape that will do both for soup and cereal, again
saves a muhiplicity of dishes. The same points are true in
regard to silver — that simple pattern, good lines, and few
pieces, give the table a better appearance than does an excess
of elaborate encrusted ware, which also means more cleaning
labor for the housekeeper.

Art and Musical Objects
So many are the articles which might come under this
head, that merely the general suggestions may be given, first,
not to have too many of such extraneous objects as pictiu-es,

hangings, ornaments, since most American homes (and
women buyers) delight in an excess of superfluous objects in i
the rooms — objects which mar the general harmony, which .
are often of doubtful quality and ephemeral value, and I
which also lessen the amount of air in the room, not to
mention the great labor they entail in cleaning. Long-
trailing lace curtains, portieres, fringe, doilies, bric-a-brac
are generally not wise investments. "Ten-cent store" buy-
ing is a cause of unwise spending, and overcrowded, inartis-fl
tic homes — siniplicily and permanent quality should be twoj
watchwords in all buying of house furnishings.

QUESTIONS ON HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

VIII

Efficient Household Purchasing

1. Investigate {by telephone or better by visit) the price of I

flour, sugar, eggs, butter, potatoes, bacon and flank I
steak in all your local stores and sources of supply, on T
the same day, and report. 1

(b) How do the sanitary conditions in the dilTerent ]

stores compare?

(c) What are your local laws, if any, on sanitary-J

standards? On weights and measures? J

2. Tell of any experience you have had in purchasing food!

by (a) parcel post or express, (b) co-operative buj-^
ing or wholesale, fc) at public markets.

3. Make out a table of at least ten items, giving the cost

per 1,000 calories of food "as purchased," using youi'
current prices.

4. Give a recipe and calculate (a) the total number of c

ories it contains, (b) the total cost and (c) the cod
per 1. 000 calories. '

5. The dress problem — what seems the best solution undef

your conditions ? Have you ever used a " '
bu 'get ?"

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

IX

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

THE SERVANTLESS HOUSEHOLD

THERE are approximately 22 million families in the
United States; of this number, 92%, according to
1910 estimates, employ no permanent servants. Fig-
ures compiled now would undoubtedly show an even higher
percentage; war conditions abroad have almost entirely cut
off the stream of immigrant labor from which servants were
formerly recruited; war conditions in this country have so
disorganized industry that women are replacing men in
shops and factories which offer such high wages as to tempt
many professional servants away from all branches of
housework into these wartime occupations.

Employment agencies in Eastern states have requests
for four times as many applicants as they can find
even at wages a third to a half higher than at a period
" before the war." The demand is so much greater than
the supply that even responsible workers are shifting and
unreliable. It is even more difficult — almost impossible, to
secure household help on farms and in isolated suburban
sections, as workers prefer town amusements and city living
conditions.

It is probable that the situation will not improve, but
that there wilt be a still greater shortage of professional
resident servants during the succeeding years.

CoDITlBill mis. Homo Eninomlc AiBcKlalloo.

37;

378 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

The average homemakcr is therefore faced wi
necessity of doing all her own liousework, or depending c
such outside assistance and agencies as will enable her t
manage her home without permanent or " resident "
ice. But this should not be regarded by her as a situation"
to be deplored, but as an opportunity to manage her home
according to her own highest standards of thrift, efficiency,
sanitation, and family happiness.

Disadvantages of a Permanent Servant in the Hom

There is a very strong case against the presence of th
permanent Worker in the home. First, there is the response
bility and psychological adjustment which she forces on th(
homemaker, and on the entire family. Even if she i
trained worker (and how seldom she is!) the employerj
in addition to the strain of seeing that the worker carriei
out her directions and plans, feels responsibility as
whether the worker is "satisfied," if she has sufficient prt-^
vate life after hours, if her goings out and her comings in
are as they should be, if things in the house are adjusted
to please her. In other words, there is usually considerable
tension between the worker on one side and the family ooj
the other.

In many cases, the standard of the home is consciously
or unconsciously made less simple or adapted to the eJrpcc^
tations and demands of the worker. This is particidarlji
true in the case of meals ; it is a common occurrence to find)
the cook, hired man or houseworker dissatisfied with thej
simpler kind of food with which the family itself would b
quite content. Again, hundreds of intelligent, progressiva
housekeepers have ideas of continuous efficiency, thrifu
and management which it is impossible for them to |
their servants to follow. The result is that the home is"

THE SERVANTLESS HOUSEHOLD

3/9

not managed so iimch according to the standards the home-
maker would hke to have set, as according to the ineffi-
ciency, waste and lower standards of a constantly shifting
and generally low-grade worker.

Further, what is the actual cost of a permanent worker?
She receives a cash wage; in addition she represents (which
many homemakers fail to include) a cash expenditure for
food, room, light, furnishings, heat, breakage, wear and
tear. She also creates more work in the family, merely by
living in it— i, e., her dishes, the washing of her clothes,
etc., all of which must be estimated in her exact cost. It
is a fair average to figure that a servant costs double her
wages ; a worker costing $25 in wages costs actually $50
in cash, and that each additional worker costs 20'/(i more.
A professor of nutrition writes that each servant represents
a cost of at least $4 weekly for food alone.

Added to this, her general lack of thrift brings her total
cost startHngly high — $600 to $1,000 or more a year. In
other words, whether she likes to admit it or not, the home-
maker is paying a high price (perhaps even more than the
price of efficient day or hour help) for transient, inefficient
permanent help.

J Cost 0

Each Resident Servant

Wages feeneral housekeeper.
Board (men servants, about o

Room (weekly, $i-$3) 4- 1

Light and fuel 3-

Breakage and waste (weekly, 5i-$3) 4- i

Total $52-$g

Eqi

, blanket,
Bureau or chiffonier ..

Two chairs

Table

380 household engineering

Advantages of the Servantless Household

The servantless household (by "servantless" is n
without resident workers) offers the only real opportunity
for a family to follow the exact standards it wishes and to
■carry out its ideals regardless of adjustment to any other
persons. Again, it offers the homemaker the one chance
of putting into practice her progressive sanitary knowl-
eAge, the use of improved machinery, and eiTficient home
management. Further, it enables her to practice thrift and
economy, and to know that every dollar she spends for
service goes for actual work done, and not for waste or
additional " overhead." Last, and most important of all,
the servantles.s household enables a family cooperation and J
a chance for the training of children that makes for thel
highest value, and which can never possibly be secured!
under the constant presence of hired workers.

Necessity for Right Point of View for tiie HomemakerJ

It may be well for the woman who is the executive he:
of the servantless household to turn back to the " Intro^
duction" {page 9) and re-read the twelve principles oH
efficiency. There she will see " Ideals " given as the firsj
principle. To n;ake a success of managing a home by her-^
self it is necessary, above all, to have the right point 1
view about her work. She must ivant to run a home, and]
see that its various tasks offer scope for her best intelligenct
effort and study.

The reason, perhaps, why many women " doing th^
own work " regard housekeeping as distasteful, is that thq
merely " married into housekeeping," and are constantlyi^
regretting that they can't afford a servant, or thinking ot'M
teaching or office work which they would prefer to do, orS

THE SERVANTLESS HOUSEHOLD-

envying women who do nothing except try to amuse them-
selves. No one ei'er made a success of any enterprise which
he IMS constantly disparaging in his own mind. It is most
important that the homemaker of the servantless home see
all its advantages for family cooperation and child training,
and the chance it is for her to show to the conmiunity in
her homemaking, her executive ability, her expression of
what a home in the highest sense should be. Here is her
best chance to be " A productive citizen of the State, not a
social debtor." — Ellen H. Richards.

One of the first elements of this right point of view will
be to get rid of the idea that her particular family or house
must be run according to arbitrary standards, set up by
friends or the community. Another is to refuse to attempt
to run a home without service in the same way or on the
same scale as a house which has permanent help.

If in a particular family it seems best only to wash
dishes once a day, or if it shoqld make for family happiness
to do the laundry work on Thursday, instead of Monday ;
or if certain kinds of meals are preferred other than the-
conventional ones, let the homemaker follow these or what-
ever methods conduce to the efficient management of her
particular home, regardless of tradition, or what is sui>
posed to be the " proper " way. Too many women doing
their own housework are slaves of routine and tradition,
and put the work itself first, and the true comfort and
development of the family, and justice to their own health
and interests, second.

One woman with the right viewpoint lias her week so
planned that she neither cooks nor cleans on Saturday, but
devotes it to her three small boys who are home from
school, taking them to museums, the zoo, and other places
of educational interest, since this is the only day they can
go. How much better than the plan which "must" put

baking day on Saturday! (and leaves llie children to run
loose around the neighborhood).

Another wise woman arranges her Sunday with buffet
or tray meals pre-cooked the day before, so that she, also.
has a " day of rest " and can spend more time with hus-
band and children than if she follows the usual hot mid-day
dinner which means incarceration in the kitchen the whole
forenoon. The woman managing the servantless house-
hold has the widest field for ingenuity, for originality, for
running a home with the greatest freedom and service to
her family. h

Enlisting the Co-operation of Childrex H

The servantless household offers a wide opportunity
for training and educating children. Unfortunate indeed
are those children in homes of wealth where the cook will
not allow them in the kitchen, or where the children are so
waited upon that their initiaiive and responsibility are not
developed. As a very prominent and successful man said
to the author recently, " The greatest loss to society v.
disappearance of the family woodpile." He meant by tl
that the child who has chores to do and who shares
many small tasks of the home will receive training in the most
important point of co-ordinating motor and mental tasks,
as in making beds, learning to cook, doing small cleaning
tasks, etc. Indeed, the modem educator with bis Motwj
tessori and similar systems is only trying to give back to
child in school what he formerly (and still could) learn
the various small manual tasks of the home. But, furthi
if there is one thing more than another that will teach cl
dren the ethics, the spiritual side and beauty of home
it is to enlist their co-operation with the mother in doi
home tasks, and making them feel " this is my home,
Each child in the servantless home should have its d(

;aia

THE SERVANTLESS HOUSEHOLD 383

nite daily and weekly tasks. Older boys may care for
furnace or stove, clean rugs, and similar work; girls can
cook and clean, and even the smallest empty a wastepaper
basket or " pick up." Children of eight or over can be held
accountable for making their own bed, picking up their
night clothes and leaving a room " tidy."

If housework is presented to them with the right point
of view, children regard it as a privilege, rather than a duty,
and are eager to " help." No mistake is more fatal than
to keep children from doing work because the mother can
"do it so much better myself." How will she ever
expect skill if she does not permit a period of inexperience
and practice? How many girls there are who have said
that they did not know anything about housekeeping, be-
cause when they were small their mothers prevented them ?

It is the author's feeling that there should be no sex
discrimination in.such tasks — that boys should cook simple
dishes, and at least darn and sew buttons, and that girls
should share in the mechanical jobs with hammer and saw.

Older children taking manual training in school can assist
by making simple labor-savers like shoeblacking or sewing
stand, coal box on castors, etc., the making of which will
round out their school instruction and be an incentive
because they will see their handiwork actually used by the
family.

But whatever the task or work, )'/ should be definite,
provided for in the schedule with its due reward or repri-
mand. It should not be a constant nagging to do all kinds
of running and errands so that the child comes to hate his
share instead of like it. A child should not be made a
"body servant" — he should have his rights as well as his
duties. Here as in all child training "An ounce of example
is worth more than a jxiund of precept."

a present indications it would seem as if the struggle

384 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

for living is going to be eveti much harder for our childrenB
than it is for ourselves today. Economists and moralists-J
point out to us that many of the serious modern problems of I
extravagance, divorce, etc., arise largely because young*
people, girls especially, have not been trained in home man-,
agement, or in ideals of thrift and homo life. No " donies-<
tic science training," however good, taken in later years, '
can replace this early dexterity in manual tasks, or the
instilling ideals as to the point of viezv of the ivorthzvhile-
ness of normal, inter -co-operative, home life of parents and
children, 1

What Is the Father's Share? ■

In some households where there is no permanent worker,
it often happens that the homemaker looks to the husband
as a kind of nursemaid, choreman or kitchen assistant. The
author's feeling is very much against this. view, — that the J
moment a man comes into the house he should be asked to I
carry out the slops, hold the baby or wash the dishes. If.]
the father works hard and faithfully at his task of eamii^l
money during his work day, it is not more fair to ask him 4
to turn choreman as soon as he comes home, than it would I
be to ask the woman who has cooked and cleaned all day 1
to turn around and do office or business work after five 4
o'clock. It is not fair to put on a father any housework;!
duties ; his hours at home should be hours of recuperation,.
or so that he can study his own work, become more pro- I
ficient, and thus secure advancement or a better economic^
position.

There comes to mind the case of a gifted man startitij^
a profession, who, because of his wife's poor management,*
spent his time after office hours caring for the children and]
doing chores. He never seemed to " get on " as far as people I
had expected. Would it not have been better to use hi^l

THE SERVANTLESS HOUSEHOLD 385

spare time studying and improving in his own profession
and thus be eventually able to pay for more service to help
his wife, than to neglect his own opportunities by doing
the housework?

I

There are other ways in which father can be of more
true assistance, — one is in being satisfied with simple stand-
ards, and especially simple meals and table service. It
has been found too often that unnecessary work for the
housekeeper has been made because the tastes of the men of
the family were capricious. One husband, for instance,
always refused to eat " made dishes " of any kind ; another
did not think he had a good meal unless pie of some sort
was included; other brothers wouldn't eat anything but
roasts, demanding constant watching at the stoves, etc., etc.
Sunday is the hardest day in the week for many women
largely because their families demand (or are in the habit
of having) an extra fancy hot noon dinner, when such a
dinner could easily be taken Saturday night, and only simple
buffet meals takerf Sunday which would allow the house-
keeper, like the others, to enjoy one day of rest.

Many of such habits on the part of the family make the
housekeeping harder, but can easily be changed by a little
helpful co-operative spirit and willingness to see a new
viewpoint. In one home where Sunday breakfast usually
was dragged on from seven until nearly ten by different
members on whom the mother waited, a newer plan was
followed by setting four separate trays on the dining table
complete for each one with fruit, prepared cereal, and
glass of milk. As each came down, he ate his trayful, then
carried it out and washed and laid away those few things
himself, thus doing away with any long-standing and un-
tidy table and waiting. The ideal should be not to do any-
thing or leave anything untidy that will make some' other
member of the family do needless personal service.

386 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Again, he may by suggestions fnom his busine^
her in her finances and budget making. If he i^
man he may occasionally turn his toms to n^ "
repair, or device to save her labor. Solv-
ing and doing other household tasks
any man may be expected to hel])
special emergency, but father's shai
boy — housekeeping the woman's job a.
burden the man with it.

Practical Management of the Servani .

The first step in managing the servantless hoi.
to sit dozvn and study carefully the conditions 3'<.w,
meet in your particular family and home. Get them ti
in writing! What are the " must-be's " of the problem — lin
maximum money you can spend for outside service, the
unalterable construction of the house you live in, the inex-
orable needs of a baby or small children? At what hour,
and what kind of meals must be served, when can you best
do the marketing, when will be the best time for a " rest
period" for yourself, or for outside or social interests?
How can you save steps, time, effort and fuel and run the
home at the lowest expenditure and yet carry out your
ideals ?

This takes us back — particularly to what is given on
" Schedules." All that has been said in previous lessons
will bear re-reading. For instance, it is of the first impor-.
tance that the woman doing her own work have her kitchen
arranged in the most step-saving manner, with heights of
tal)le, sink, etc., to suit her own comfort, and utensils placed
and grouped where they will entail fewest steps in assem-
bling or laying away. A high stool for work, adequate light,
ventilation and both floor and work surfaces that are easy
to keep clean will make the kitchen work done in shorter

time will I
in plan 1-1
them, ill ■
will m,'

Otili.'

^KftVANTLESS HOUSEHOLD

389

■d with warm or tepid water, the dishes

-I the solid silver) can be done in one-

Iwo batches arc made of it. When a

is even practical to wash the dishes

ILL", having stacked and soaked them

-cut

by students of this course

ting and excellent, but uo l7i'i)

one who can draw up a suc-

vowrself, under your ajjectHl

ilan your best sdicdule in a

■ctL Also, you will have to

.<iir schedules to changing

near the I
or hall, wii.
etc., where '
afewminul>
near a windin\
was kept a sink
means of " freslicnin
aprons, a few niajj.i.
and also the houseliuld ,!■.
just the corner to sit down
while at the same time cnlcn
What is said on planning;
marketing and planning meal
especially helpful. For afti 1
vey " (as one might call it) oi :.. ,-
particular home, as suggested alxjvc, itM; *».
out such schedules as will best suit th-^
weekly and daily, experimenting wil>i il^ t-_5ning of the
proach a " standard " that seems to do tl# ^
to the work and to the family's comfon t^ ■■ l>e done

he schedule too elalio-
, complexity of meals,
iiit, especially for the
l^Qssible to keep the
■ iiir of hands to do

'int interests.

' Work for

iiplicate. For
he bathroom

'jeceasary ;

tity, marketing seldom, cooking in cotn ■
several meals, are all ways to -shon
motion, and the chapters dealing espt-i '■■■
should be studied over again and apj-t:-

It will be distinctly "up to" ih'
whether she saves steps or the revnr '
supposed to be &pent in actual house^^ o

of

i

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

dissipated tn running up and down stairs {how many times
a day?), hunting for the needed receipt, waltzing about the
back yard, or just pure sitting around or neighborhood
" visiting." You must work to have leisure !

To save running up and down, have enough money
downstairs to pay all small amounts that may be presented.
lay articles to be carried up on the stairs to be taken up by
the first goer, and not run up especially. Don't make a
special trip to carry out the garbage, unless you can also do
some other outside chore, etc. Read most carefully the
pages on grouping of tools, foods, and sitting dov/n to work
(page 29 et seq.). If you have a 'phone, kindly ask friends
or local calls to be made only within definite most conve-
nient periods or have an extension 'phone upstairs. In
many houses a most startling amount of time is wasted in
useless 'phoning. Above all, work on schedule, as it will
save you more energy and time than you will believe.

Remember, too, that you should have definite rest periods
as well as work periods (see Part II). Emphasize the
importance of "beating your own record" and making
time-studies of each particular task. The housekeeper in
the servantless home has widest opportunity to make origi-
nal kitchen and housework time-studies. Where does the
time go? How long does it take you to make the beds?
How long to clean the downstairs rooms ? Do you wash
dishes three times a day, or only once ? Why ? There is a
peculiar prejudice among some women that dishes must be
washed after every meal. Now, with a family of not more
than two to four, it is far more efficient to wash the dishes
of two meals together. The time covered by the whole
work of dishwashing is very largely consumed, not
in actual washing, but in the " clearing up," the scouring
the sink, etc. If dishes are well scraped, and stacked, in
the dish pan or even in the sink itself, fitted with a broad

THE SERVANTLESS HOUSEHOLD 389

stopper, and covered with warm or tepid water, the dishes
of two meals (except the solid silver) can he done in one-
third less time than if two hatches are made of it. When a
dishwasher is used, it is even practical to wash the dishes
of all three ineals at once, having stacked and soaked them
in the washer previously.

Many of the schedules sent in by students of this course
have heen particularly interesting and excellent, but no two
are alike. You are the only one who can draw up a suc-
cessful working schedule for yourself, under your special
conditions, and you cannot plan your best schedule in a
week or a month or one year even. Also, you will have to
constantly modify and adjust your schedules to changing
conditions, if need be.

The general tendency is to make the schedule too elabo-
rate— to raise standards of cleanliness, complexity of meals,
etc. This is often a wrong standpoint, especially for the
servantless household. It is quite possible to keep the
house loo clean, when there is only one pair of hands to do
the work, and to neglect other more important interests.
Housekeeping should never be an end in itself. Work for
a minimum schedule ; try to simplify, not to complicate. For
example, if each member of the family leaves the bathroom
as he found it, daily cleaning should not be necessary ; in
some localities and in some families, weekly cleaning of the
living room will keep it in good condition.

W'hile some of the special cleaning needs to he done
every week, much other work needs to be taken care of
only once a month, such as window cleaning, high dusting,
beating of rugs. These things should be provided for
in the schedule, but divided so that no one week is over-
crowded. Mothers with little children find it difficult to
plan a working schedule. Here a margin of time over that
required in the - time studies " must be allowed. One

J

39°

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

mother witli children of two and five finds that a margiQ J
of ttn minutes on the hour is sufficient to meet their n
stuall demands.

One housekeeper writes : " I have found my schedule^
a great help until the spring sewing, gardening and yard
work all came at once to upset it. Then everything had to
be brushed aside and I hurried from morning till night in
the old way." Here is just where a schedule should prove
most useful. The minimum schedule, even, should be sim-
plified, especially the meal preparation, so that free time is _
cleared each day. This free time may then be given to thtt
planned seasonable tasks.

The following suggestions may be helpful in planninj
seasonable work which, of course, will vary somewhat in J
each family :

January — Household linens, supplies or furnishings.

February — Undergarmen ts.

March — Spring clothing.

April — Spring clothing and gardening.

May — Garden and housecleaning.

June — Garden and canning.

July — Garden and canning.

August — Canning and vacation.

September — Fall clothing.

October — Fall clothing.

November — Housecleaning.

December — Holiday preparations.

A busy mother finds that her sewing progressed easily
if she planned and cut at night, did all possible fitting ana
machine work in the morning liours and saved the hand-J
work for the afternoon. By this plan she was able to giv*y
about six hours a day to sewing for a few days.

A number have written that they find it easier to plan's
menus and to market twice a week rather than only (
One, for example, markets Friday for Friday dinner, thru J
Sunday to Monday night and on Tuesday thru to Friday.J

i

THE SERVANTLESS HOUSEHOLD 391

Expenditure for Labor-Saving Equipment

Labor-saving equipment is more justifiable and profit-
able in the servantiess household than in any other. It is
right that the woman without permanent service should
invest in every device she can afford which will really
save her own manual effort and time. Also, the woman
doing her own work is so much more intelligent than the
average hired worker, that she can get far better results
with equipment requiring skill and understanding. Indeed,
as a general rule, labor-saving equipment is almost useless
in the hands of the servant of whom mistresses constantly
complain, " She will not use a bread-mixer," or a " fire-
less," or some other device.

The author confesses, regretfidly, that in her own home
an excellent ironing machine, gas iron, fireless cooker, dish-
washer and washing machine stand unused by any save her-
self— more than one worker (and that, too, of education,
and more than 15 years' experience in managing homes of
their own) refusing to be " bothered " with " new-fangled "
ideas, even preferring a hand washboard and knuckle rub-
bing hours to an excellent rocking type washer, and asking
if she could lay aside the most efficient dish drainer and
substitute an old tin tray on which to lay the dishes !

Too many housekeepers have somewhat this same atti-
tude— a feeling that " mother's way (or grandmother's way)
is good enough for me." What success or progress would
a. storekeeper or professional man or farmer make who has
this attitude? It does take some time and' patience and
study to learn to use labor-saving household equipment
effectively and it is easier to continue in the " old ways,"
without progress ; but is this not an indication of mental
stagnation and a sign of old age?

Other housekeepers spend much money for new equip-

39-i

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

^ bytl

ment in the vague hope that it will make the housework go
easier and are disappointed to find that it does not help
much. Perhaps the appliance is not suitable, perhaps not
enough time and patience is given to mastering it and often
the appliance is not cared for properly; it gets "out of (
kilter," so it is discarded and the money spent for
wasted. Time studied will show clearly what applia
and changes are most needed. (Read Part III "Helpful ]
Household Tools" again.)

The purchase of such equipment may be looked upon aS \
so much tHoney expended for service. For instance, if a f
washing machine enables two days' work to be done in one,
then its cost may be balanced up or credited against the ]
wages of a day laundress. The cost of a dish-washer, bread-
mixer or other useful device can all be bought with what-
ever appropriation the homemaker has for " temporary "
or day service. The exact labor-saving tools which should
be bought will depend on the particular home, fuel, and con-
ditions. But it may be said generally, that the servantless
household will get the most benefit from such equipment as ■
the fireless or pressure cooker, or stoves having ovens based [
on the fireless or insulated principle ; from the dishwasher, I
from a power washing machine, from the ironing machine, 1
from paper products, from some form of portable tray c
wheels for serving and clearing meals, and from a utility I
motor with various attachments.

A resident servant costs $600 a year or more: if with 1
labor-saving equipment and part time expert service, one-J
half this expense is saved, that will amout to $300.. This!
represents an investment of $2,000 with interest and depre- 1
ciafion at 15 per cent. This sum is very much greater thanJ
need be spent for all the equipment that could be used, S9.l
there is no question of the economy in replacing the humatlJ
by the mechanical servant.

THE SERVANTLESS HOUSEHOLD 393

"But," you say, "I have no money to spend on equip-
ment." Little money is needed lo make a good beginning.
The U. S. Department of AgricuUure has an excellent Bul-
letin which will be sent on request — " Home-Made Fireless
Cookers and Their Use"; also descriptions of home-made
wheel tray, iceless refrigerator, etc. More often it is lack
of enterprise rather than lack of money which stands in the
way of a more conveniently arranged kitchen and labor-
saving equipment.

Electric Devices Greatest Service in the Servantless
Home

The device or cooking equipment ofierated by electricity
Is also most worthwhile where the intelligent homemaker
herself uses it. It is generally unsafe to trust the common
grade of household worker with the costly and delicate appa-
ratus of electric cooking, or expect her to understand atid
use it economically. On the other hand, in the servantless
household much labor may be saved by using extensively
the percolator, table stove and table wanning units in meal
preparation; and by depending entirely on electric cooking
(where the current cost justifies it), as it will mean a clean,
cooler kitchen with no waste heat or combustion products as
ashes, soot or smoke, to make further cleaning labor for
the homemaker.

The expense of a general utility motor with its many
attachments such as coffee grinder, parer, silver buffer,
mixer, etc., would be excellently justified, and act as a
" silent servant " for innumerable uses. There is now on
the market a fairly low price motor which may be attached
to bread mixer, chopper, etc., thus replacing much hand
labor. Other electrically operated equipment, such as vacuum
cleaner, washer and dishwasher, will replace a large share
of the work usually done by a permanent servant. Indeed,

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

fit may be said, that " the one way out " of the serv
problem in the future is the much wider use of power and I
machinery in the home. The servantless household will |
have to become more of a mechanical household, where J
ivery possible purely manual task is done by arms of steel
r knuckles of copper.

^

Ijy liejTiolcia

k

And in the future it is believed that such machinery will i
be far more unified than at present. That is, instead of (
such small devices made by different firms and bought sepa- J
rately, there should be a larger installation or " system "
(scientifically) planned for a specific kitchen, with the 1
various pieces related to one another. No efficient lunch- I
. room or hotel kitchen today, for instance, is fitted out by j
the manager by buying a kitchen table here, a stove there, I
sink there, a potato-parer off in another comer ; the equip- |
ment he buys is (if up-to-date), all related, and made ao'1
cordingly as it shall be placed scientifically to permit of thfi^
best "routing" of work from step to step. It is generally f

THE SERVANTLESS HOUSEHOLD

395

also of the same finish, same design and so matched as to
avoid any grooves, cracks, etc. Similarly the home kitchen
will have to be made efficient in the future, with labor-saving
equipment standardized and related by a definite system of
work, not placed as at present, according to the whim of the
owner, or accordingly as some architect happens to leave
space for it.

Stakdahuizing Special Work in the Servantless
Household

After having made out a general workplan, with sched-
ules for day and week as suggested above and in Part II,
according to the conditions of your particular family, after
having installed such labor-saving devices as seem to be
most useful in those particular conditions, the next step is
to work out standard practice or tlie best and shortest way
to do certain kinds or divisions of work. The most fre-
quently recurring work is the preparation and clearing
away of meals — how can this be made more efficient for
the woman doing her own work? Briefly, by the following
suggestions and sunnnary :

1. Understand food values so that as nourishing and attrac-,

five meals may be obtained from a few courses as
from many complicated dishes.

2. Market in quantity and jjlan meals in advance, thus sav-

ing being "out" of articles, and wasted time in too
frequent marketing.

3. Cook in concentrated periods for more than one. meal at

a time. (See page 193, Part V.)

4. Prepare bulk of evening meal in the forenoon.

5- Reduce time spent in "pot- watching" by use of fireless,
pressure cooker, or insulated oven stoves.

I

396 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING 1

6. Adopt a simple table service without service plate and

elaborate usages. 1

7. Make use of table and self-service cooking devices;

i. c, electric table stove, percolator, grill, etc. J

8. Use a portable tray on wheels for easy service and re- 1

moval of dishes. 1

9. Use "self-server" table device for easy serving at table, i

10. Make frequent use of paper products to save dishwash- j

ing labor ; also casseroles, glass dishes, etc. J

11. Have many "tray" or buffet meals, especially at lunch, J

and in summer. (These can be set. individual style, I

in the kitchen and carried to any room or porch with- J

out setting forma! table.) |

12. Set table at night for breakfast, without putting dishes j

back into pantry. j

13. Always utilize the time spent in dishwashing, in over-

seeing some form of "pot-watching" or cooking, thus 1
lessening the time needed for staying in the kitchen

for cooking only. I

14. Wash dishes but once daily, if possible, or at most only |

twice. J

The serving of meals can be accomplished gracefully J
and with ease, even without a servant. Some form of port- I
able wheel tray and either warming disks or electric plate I
warmer or disk stove turned at "low" heat, and platters I
with covers are needed. The tray should stand at the left of I
the hostess. On its lower surface, place the warming disks I
on which the hot roast, vegetables, or other hot dishes may I
be kept covered and warm until needed. On the top tray I
place salad, cold dessert, extra silver, water and small ac- I
cessories. Reserve the middle tray for setting on the soiled J
plates as they are taken from the table. By having the I
table all set, accessories ready, the serving tray so planned^ I

THE SERVANTLESS HOUSEHOLD 397

and the first soup or meat course on the table when the
niea! is announced, it will not be necessary for anyone to
rise from the table to serve during the course of the meal,
unless the family is very large; then it is often possible to
have the removal of plates done by older children, one taking
one course, the other the next. The reason meals without
a servant are frequently interrupted with rising and con-
fusion is not that it must be so, but because there has not

TDE "SEKVETTK- OK SILENT SHHVANT
Ma<Je In Varldiw Slws. IMoc, f 13.00 to flU.OO

been sufficient planning, and " standardhation" of the scrv-
antlesa meal in advance.

In many cases, where the dining table has a large
enough diameter it is practical to use in the middle
of the table a "revolving susan" — or circular glass
tray mounted on a revolving stand, which will ac-
commodate butter, relishes, etc; but its greatest
value lies in assisting the host to pass dishes to each
person to be served. Set the plate of food on the server,
give slight touch, and it will revolve to the person desired,
thus doing away with awkward passing from one to another.
Similarly the server may be used for removing the soiled
plates, by each person laying their soiled plate in turn on the

398 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

server and whirling to the hostess, who will then remove
them unobtrusively to the lower tray of the portable tray at
her left.

If a crumb brush and tray are placed at hand on the tray,
it IS an easy and also graceful matter for the hostess to
remove crumbs from her own place, and pass to each in turn.
After the meal is finished, every article but the linen may
be piled on the portable tray and wheeled to the kitchen to
sort and wash.

Dispatching Cleaning Work

The first requisite, perhaps, in making cleaning work as
simple as possible is for the homemaker to have a new point
of view about the furnishings in her home. Dozens of let-
ters have come to the author bewailing the amount of clean-
ing necessary and the time taken, and how tired out the
homemaker became because of the daily recurring work.
Now actual visits (on lecture trips) into many such homes
have disclosed the fact that altho the homemaker was doing
all or most of her own work, the furnishings in her home
were such as to require the daily upkeep of one parlor maid,
if not two ! It cannot be said too plainly that no efficiency
methods will help, if, in the first place, the home is cluttered
and crowded with ornaments, portieres, bric-a-brac and ex-
cess furnishings. If there is only the one pair of hands
to do all of the housework, it is physically impossible for
them to be adequate to a heavy cleaning burden, without
resulting in overtaxed strength.

Long lace curtains merely catch dasi: and require more
time to "pin" than scrim or net curtains of sill length ; plate-
rails loaded with dishes and ornaments make the room hotter
and smaller as well as being a joy to the Dust Demon;
portieres, pillows with fringe, elaborate doilies and scarf
covers, too many small articles lying around on the tables

TkE SERVANTLESS HOUSEHOLD

399

and sideboards — all make for confusion and unending work.
Too often rooms have a profusion of small novt-lties and
curios scattered on mantel, shelf, or tables, which rightly
belong only in a glass-ddored closet, where they will be
both safe and clean, and not cause such excessive handling.
One of the greatest of American failings is to purchase too
many "things" which are often neither truly beautiful or
useful. The honieniaker doing her own work, must first
of all incorporate into her efficiency point of view, that the
house with few and simple furnishings will not only be,
after all. the truly most restful, attractive and artistic home,
but from the work point of view, the home that requires less
time, less labor and less cost in upkeep and care. Get rid of
the junk.

It will be well to re-read Part IV on cleaning and pay
special attention to the point of trying to "route" the clean-
ing work to the best advantage in your particular home.
Properly "routed" work will save at least 20 per cent of
waste effort and time. Then again comes the need, men-
tioned before, of having a definite place for cleaning tools,
and for keeping them in efficient condition.

It may also be said that here is one of the places where
family co-o]jeration may score heavily — much of the so-
called cleaning is actually only endless "pick-up" of cloth-
ing, toys, and other articles. If each person, and child
especially, is responsible for and shares in this work of
"straightening" whatever newspapers, table top, playthings,
etc.,' have been used, 50 per cent of the cleaning will
he done. One very charming family is recalled, where
before leaving the living-room for the night, each member
"picks up" the library table in order, straightens the pillows,
brushes in the hearth ashes, and sets the chairs straight ; it
is hut the work of a moment for each, but how much better
than for all to leave the room upset and unsightly, where it

400

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEESING

might require twenty minutes' time of one worker (if theE|
tj one) next morning.

If the income provides for outside service, part of itfl
may be spent with the greatest advantage on forms of day
cleaning service. A competent cleaning woman in one day of
eight sohd hours of work, will go thru a seven-room house,
thoroly and completely, except the fine dusting or bureau
top arranging, which would take the permanent worke(J
most of two days, and then not be done so well. M

An electric vacumn cleaner may be rented for abou^
50 cents per hour, to be operated by the homemaker or one
of the family ; or less frequently a man and his own large
apparatus may be employed to give the rugs, draperies, and
walls a thoro going over, at from $3 to $5 a day, depending
on the locality. Windows may be washed by professionals
at about 10 cents each. By thus expending a small amount
on expert cleaning service at stated intervals, the daily _
cleaning in the servantless household should be reduced toj
a minimum, especially if the family co-operates well :
"picking up after itself."

When there are small children in the household, 1
should have their own playroom, if possible, with the I
not to bring toys into the living-room. If they have the!
own play-table, shelves and window seats, they will lej
likely be blamed for upsetness in other rooms.

There should be a good footscraper, place for rublw
shoes, and rear entry where muddy boots and outside wra|
may be hung without taking into the house. It is ofta
merely habit which makes the family "track" thru ■
kitchen or living room when there is another entry provide^
Keep the other door locked.

Children can be taught to pick up, and to eat tidily, to
hang up their clothes, and nol keep the whole house in one
huge disorder— no training is more valuable.

THE SERVANTLESS HOUSEHOLD 401

The Laundry Work in the Sekvaktlkss Homu

In most homes where there is no permanent servant, the
washing and ironing may be done by the hoiiscWcfpcr her-
self, or by a day laundress, or part of it sent to coninicrrinl
laundries. It is, however. ]>ossil>lc in any case to cnl <Iikvii
the amount of laundry in the following ways :

1. Use crepe materials tor much personal underwear, house-

dresses, for children's dresses and rompers — crcjic
needs no ironing. Use Turkish towels only ; knit K"'"'"
and cotton flannel "nighties" need not be ironed. Cotton
blankets in place of sheets in winter arc warmer and
save laundry work. Small boys much prefer jcrseyn
and flannel shirts to starched linen.

2. Simplify table service by discarding long allovcr white

tablecloths, and use instead separate doilies, "runners"
of crash or toweling, or small colored cloths of Oriental
or foreign type.

3. Use paper napkins frequently, especially for children and
I. during the fruit season ; use paper cloths for luncheon,

and paper towels as hand towels In kitchen and lava-
tory.

4. Individualize towels, wash cloths, napkins, etc., K'vinR out

an "allowance" weekly for each fterson aufl cliild.

5. Avoid niiBed, be-laced articles, especially for childrcn'o

wear.

6. Standardize and schedule the washing ; know how many

sheets, cases, bedspreads, towels, nat^ins, ihiru,
dresses, etc, there should he each week, and do not
overlntrden any week and ui»et the vihiAt weekly
schedule.

7. Hang np dodiif^ after use on proiper stretcher* iind

hzi^ers, thus ktxfAng dean lon^fer by avmdiiii; crmb-

403

HOtTSEttOLD ENGINEERtNG

: homa

The need of good equipment in the laundry has herf
dwelt on in Part VI. The price of a washer should I
counted as an investment which will save on the wages of 1
day laundress, or on the health and strength of the I
maker herself.

It is often advocated that the housekeeper without pc(
manent help should take advantage of the commercial 1
dry to the exclusion of the day worker to whose wages must
be added the cost of equipment, fuel, soap, etc. But from
experience it appears, that as yet, even with all the disadvan-
tages of inefficient help (especially in country sections) i
results of laundry work done at home are preferable 1
that done by commercial lamidries, both on a basis of \
and tear and of price. The only exception to this may be
the low rate of 35 cents to 45 cents per dozen for "flat" work
(sheets, cases, towels) made by some good city laundries.
in which case it is most wise to take advantage of such prii
and have the "flat" done outside the home.

In other sections there is a "wet wash" service, meaning
that ci(thes are washed |but not starched or ironed) and
brought home wet at once. Again there is the "rough dry"
plan which washes and starches and dries the clothes, bu^
leaves them to be ironed at home. The success of them
plans depends largely on the particular laundry. The "
wash" method may not be sanitary, the "rough dry" meth4
and "flat" or mangle work are usually safe, because of t
high temperature used in drying. It is worth while to n
a personal investigation before using a laimdry.

A recent experiment was made in the author's horn
sending to an average laundry all of the washing and ironin
usually done in one day by only an average laundresij
Counting the labor of the worker as $2, and fuel, soap a
interest on equipment as 50 cents, there was a cost of $2.(3
as balanced against $6.35 which the laundry asked for t

Ivan-

\.y be
work
dries^^^

anin^H

THE SERVANTLESS HOUSEHOLD

403

same bag of wash, eadi pair of socks counting as 5 cents,
and many of the children's rompers, 20 cents and 30 cents
each, etc. The cost of collection and delivery, rent, interest,
bookkeeping, profit, etc., and lack of vohime of household
lavindry makes the cost too high for ordinary use.

In the Country Home

"Yes, that's all very well, but I live in the country and
have no electricity nor gas, have a small baby and half-
grown children. I can get no help at all— what shall I do ?"
This letter is typical of many homeniakers in isolated sec-
tions, and the author herself has been in exactly such a
situation. The answer is, first, simplify furnishings, serv-
ice, meals, clothing, laundry. Perhaps tt will be best to
use a small table for meals in the kitchen and make the
dining room into a first floor nursery and playroom, where
the children may be watched, and yet not be right under
the feet. Cut down the ainount of cleaning and handling
necessary by laying away ornaments and extra furnishings,
leaving only a minimum of articles to care for. Do concen-
trated cooking; plan one or two-dish meals instead of elabo-
rate ones ; cut down laundry as suggested ; bring up into the
kitchen or back porch enough vegetables and the necessary
canned materials for several days to avoid constant trotting ;
make every step count.

And, further, pick out the essential things and do them
first, and, if necessary, let the other details slide. Thomas
Edison told a friend that "I always do the hardest things
first." His advice is as applicable to the home as to the
laboratory. The woman with little children must let some
things go neglected : if it is a choice between excessive clean-
liness and artistic surroundings, on the one hand, and a
woman's strength on the other, the health of the mother
should come first. She has no right to sacrifice her health

404

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

and youth for small children and housework ; the children
will need her much more a few years later.

Third, train the older children to help one another, pick
up and watch the bahy intelligently. Train the baby to a
strict feeding and sleeping schedule, and arrange your work
according to the baby's schedule. For instance, plan to do
the most exacting work, such as cooking, when the chil-
dren are good or early in the day, and save the purely ,
mechanical work like dishwashing for the time when they

I

may be fretty and you will have to be interrupted. Let
the baby sleep outdoors, so that it will be less nervous and
fretty. 'V\'hen the baby naps, take a nap or at least a complete
bodily relaxation for yourself instead of foolishly utilizing
that time to "dig in" and completely use your nerve force
up. Train yourself to manage several tasks at once without
letting it fatigue you.

Even in the country there are many labor-savers. The
hand operated washing machine and dishwasher are better
than doing work all by hand. A small gasoline engine will
operate such equipment as washer, ironing machine, chum,
separator, freezer, etc. The newest oil stoves are nearly
;; efHcietit as gas and only need a little more care in clean-

THE SERVANTLESS HOUSEHOLD 405

ing and upkeep — use one for cooking the year round. The
fireless, and the hand suction sweeper are available. But
most important of all is the plaiming, the picking out the
essentials that must be done, and having that efficient atti-
tude of mind that does not permit small dt-tails I0 annoy
and create nervous tension.

Value of Co-Opesativi; Schemes
It is frequently urged by certain groups and persons,
that co-operative living will still better solve the problems
of the family which cannot afford or does not care to employ-
permanent help. Why, they ask, should ten families slrug-
■gle with ten kitchens and ten laundries with ten second-
grade workers, when, if they all co-operated they could
equip one kitchen and one laundry with the most perfect
equipment and first-class cooks and workers, thus relieving
each homemaker of responsibility, and giving her better
service than she can possibly now alone procure? Many
experiments have been tried along these fines; but it must
be said regretfully, none have been a success for more
than a few months,

No one questions but that such a plan would greatly
remove the burdens of management and result in better
service with less friction than the present plan of having
ten separate homes struggling with ten inefficient workers,
etc. But il seems strange to the author that all these advo-
cates of co-operative living fail to see thai it is not necessary
to start any new scheme to attain exactly this end — it is
only necessary to move to a high-class apartment hold or
boarding house and obtain exactly these benefits. i-"or
does any co-operative plan, such as the.sc persons suggest,
differ from living in an apartment hotel where one may
have as many rooms as one chooses and eat in a common
dining room ? Or live even in a detached cottage and use

4o6

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

well established in mat

a central caling place, at
sections ?

The chief obstacle of every co-operative plan is its t
pense; in spite of what its advocates may say, it <
proved that co-operative living is far too costly for even the
average family of moderate income. Without doubt a high-
class apartment hotel or cottage eating system relieves the
individual homemaker of responsibihty and permits bette
management and higher class service, than that found j
the individual home, but how many families, especially wflj
children, could afford it as a permanent method of livii^
The advocates of co-operation, in their estimates, count t
cost of materials and wages only^they do not include t
cost of management. They say, "if ten of us bought t
supplies together, and we had five efficient workers instei
of ten iow-grade ones, how much more efficiently we coid
all live." But tvho is to buy the supplies, and who is to n
age the five workers? In other words, they entirely lem
out of account the cost of managing any co-operative plA__
Now the whole point of a co-operative scheme of any type is
this — if it is well managed, from the business side, it will be
a success, if it is poorly managed it will be a failure; and
in order to have it well managed, some person or persoi
must be well paid for his services; and, as soon as th^
services are included, then the whole co-operative schet
becomes more costly than the average family can afford.

In many large cities there are apartment house hotd
where it is jiossible to rent several rooms and then take mes
in a basement or roof restaurant of ihe building. There are
even other apartments where one may have meals cooked to
order and sent up to an individual family dining-room for
the family to serve themselves. In Qeveland there is a
large and beauti fnl suite of apartments of this type which do.
indeed, thus make the "mechanics of living" very simple.

THE SERVANTLESS HOUSEHOLD

407

But — the price ! A suite of four rooms in such an apart-
ment costs from $60 to $70 monthly, unfurnished, and the
meals for only two persons amount to about $100. Such
modes of living, then, are beyond the reach of the average
home, and entirely out of the question for families with
growing children on a basis of price only, even if they best
filled the requirements of family development in other
respects.

In nearly all cities the tendency is for more and more
families to live in apartments or "flats" ; the expense is less
than for detached city houses, and the janitor service and
heat furnished, and small rooms simplify housekeeping some-
what, but conditions are not most favorable for children nor
ideal for family living.

There is also a second, and almost equally important
reason why co-operative living plans (such as Montclair,
New Jersey) have not been a permanent success. And that
reason is that families are, and prefer to be, individual in
their taste and living habits. Co-operation would be very
easy if every one of us is willing to become "standardized" —
that is, eat just what the rest do, be served the same way
without preference, choice or personal taste.

But this is not the case ; we prefer our own privacy, we
want certain food tliat others may not care for, we have
marked hkes and dislikes, and any co-operative plan to
meet these varying demands and tastes, must cost more
than a plan where all tastes are standardized the same.
Concretely, it is possible to feed thousands of men in the
Army with abundance of food at the low cost of 32 cents
for food per day because every one of the thousand is eating
the same ration of beef, beans, potatoes, and plum duff; on
the other hand, the cost of serving thousands in the dining
cars of our railways is nearer $2 per day, because the dining
car caters to individual preference. It may be said, then,

4o8

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

b

finally, that co-opcratwe living plans can be cheap only ichi
those participating are ■n'illing to have their individual tastes
and preferences set aside tti favor of one, universal "stand-
ard" service and kind of food. The truth is, however, that
most of us still prefer inefficiency in service and maiiagemi
to being deprived of our love of privacy, individual prefi
ence and choice — this is the real reason why co-operatii
has, and possibly will always continue to fail.

"Part-Time" Service Is Successful
Since such co-operative plans are neither possible or
practical for the great mass of families, and since permanent
service is either of low grade, or too costly or impossible
to secure, the housekeeper will find her solution in her own
efforts rightly aided by "part-time" service of different
sorts. As has been pointed out, a skilled day worker can,
in one day, do as much work as a general houseworker c31
do in parts of two or three days. Again, in many homes
schedule can be so arranged, that a few hours of woi
each day will amply assist the housekeeper. Just
service will be needed, depends on the size of the famil]
whether there are children, the style of house, whether
members stay at home all day or are at work, etc.

In large cities, there are many agencies which make
specialty of "part-time" workers. For instance, they wi
furnish a cleaning woman, a nurse, or a cook by the hoi
at all times. Again, in smaller towns there' are many womi
who would like to use some of their time beyond that needi
for their own family, to earn extra if the hours could only
be arranged for both parties. The number of such mature
and practical women who want to housework on a part-time
basis has greatly increased since the war has forced up living
costs, and many instances are known of where such arrange-
ments have worked out most successfully. An advertise^

.hat
lenti^

I

ment in the local paper, attractively worded, will bring
replies.

This is one work arrangement: For example, in a
family of four adults, all of whom are employed out of
the house all day, one day a week a woman comes to thor-
oughly clean the entire house of six rooms ; one day a week a
worker does the washing and ironing ; the family gets its own
breakfast, leaving the dishes. At 4 p. ra. every day a woman
(with family of her own) comes and works until 9 p. m.
During this 4^-hour period she washes the breakfast dishes,
cleans silver or pantry, prepares, serves and dears up after
a several- course supper, and lays the table for breakfast.
The cost of this service is $4 weekly for cleaning and laun-
dry, well done, and $5.50, at 20 cents hourly (for six days)
for the cooking, or a total of $9.50 weekly. This is about
the same as a general houseworker receives in a small town
— if she can be found ! But remark that there is no cost of
meals for the worker hut once daily, no room, light, heat,
etc., less chance of waste, and all of the service is first-class,
without any responsibility or friction for the housekeeper.

Another actiial case is of a woman who comes to work at
10 a. m. and stays until 3 p. m. In this period she washes the
breakfast and lunch dishes, serves lunch, bakes bread or
cake, and prepares greatly toward the'evening meal which
the housekeeper serves and clears up after herself. The
housekeeper does her own cleaning, and the ironing for a
family of three. The service here costs $6 weekly for a
period of iive hours daily for seven days, and $1 weekly
for the laundry, with a minimum of waste, fuel, and "over-
head" expense. This arrangement has been working most
successfully for about four years— the woman has a family
of her own that she sees off to school before she goes to work,
and to whom she is back before they are out of school, and
for whom she has the whole latter half of the day, and yet

410

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

earns as much as many permanent workers, with none of the
mutual disadvantages.

Such part-time workers receive from 15 cents to 30 cents
per hour, depending on the kind of work, the skill, and the
location. Generally, 20 cents or 25 cents an hour will cover
any part-time service, even including mending or dressmak-
ing. Men cleaners are ahle to do heavier work, and are
worth the additional 5 cents or 10 cents hourly they may re-
ceive. One friend told how she had the local painter clean
her kitchen frequently in his spare time; old men can take
care of furnace or yards, or even a boy of ten, if the family
does not possces one, may do some of the work formerly
done by "Mary Ann," on an hour basis.

College Students and Y. M. C. A. Helpers
Although relatively few families live in college towns,
the success of sludent workers as helpers to the housewife
should be noted. In most college towns, there are many
students who for room and board, or on a straight hour
basiSf will, if men, care for furnace, yard, windows, bea^
rugs. etc. Young women can assist with the cooking, i
serving, or certain specific cleaning or mending.' In 1
house where the author lived one year in a college tow
one of the women students had her room and board i
exchange for getting the family breakfast, waiting on the!
family dinner, and doing about four hours of cleaning 00
Saturday. A boy student washed the windows weekly, and
did the heavy rug cleaning, and cared for the lawn, by the
hour. The mother of the family did the cooking, sent t
laundry out, and was able, even with a family of six, to r
her home on a minimum of scr\'ice cost. At a western stata
school recently, the wife of one of the professors told how
she never had a servant problem in her life, because siti
always arranged the work between three college boys,

THE SERVANTLESS HOUSEHOLD

411

the hour basis, and tliat she would never go hack to any
servant girl again !

Many Y. M. or Y. \V. C. A. homes can furnish names
of those who would be only too willing to do housework,
if on a dignified part-time basis. One girl is known, who
came at 8 a. ni. and stayed until noon in one home, and ttten
went to a neighbor's, working from 1 to 5 p. ni., buying her
own lunch independently, and having her every evening free,
and yet giving some tired housekeeper just the necessary
daily "lift." It is among such girls that nurses by the hour
are commonly found, or what may be called a "mother's
helper." To the housekeeper with children, this is one of
the most important part-time services. She may be able
and want to do all her housework, if she can o^ly find
someone to take the children for a few hours in the after-
noon. In large cities, this work is definitely established.
One may go to a good agency bureau, and have sent a reli-
able young woman who will take children for a walk, to a
museum, or chaperone them trustworthily anywhere. There
are other grades of workers, also, who will come in and, do
the rougher work, such as mending, napkin washing, etc.

Every housekeeper should do all she can to encourage
"part-time" household service because it will only be on
a part-time or hour basis in the future, that our detached,
individualized homes can continue to exist. Eifort should be
made to locate women of mature experience who can give
three or five hours to outside household service without
foregoing their own homes ; to young women graduates of
domestic science, who on an hour basis can find in house-
keeping as dignified a work as teaching or demonstration
work ; to the many other young women who have a natural
bent toward housework, but who enter the store or the office
because housekeeping is on an unstandardized, indefinite hour

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Muxic

AL Co-operation with the HousEKEErER

In cities, of course, some parts of lioijse or homekeepinj
are performed hy the municipality. Such common ones :
garbage and ash collection should be insisted on everywher
In one progressive suburb, the ash man comes to the vei
basement door of the detached house, and takes a specifiecJ]
can out daily ; how much better than the householder's con-
stant struggle and overseeing of a privately engaged person'
In one other progressive street, the entire care of fifteei
furnaces is handled by b,vo men employed by the
of the houses collectively, instead of by each house indi-
vidually. Such an arrangement permits more wholesale
buying of coal and other advantages over separate manage-
ment. •

Municipal housekeeping in the way of clean streets mak<
a great deal of difference in the amount of cleaning and
laundry work required in the individual home. Dusty
streets should be oiled by the town or by the "Neighborhood
Improvement Association."

In a few cities steam for house heating is distribute)
through the streets like gas, but only in the closely-built-u]
portion, as the loss of heat and expense of construction h
prohibitive on long runs. The cost is not less than for indi-
vidual house heating ; the saving is in labor, trouble and dirt.

A few co-operative steam laundries have been started
in the country in connection with dairies, but with no great]
success, because the housekeepers do not place a cash vali
on their time and labor.

The Cost or the Servantless Home

As has been pointed out. the cost of running the servant-
less household is much less than the upkeep of the housu
with permanent help. Even if the money expended for sei

THE SERVANTLESS HOUSEHOLD 413

ice by the hour is identical with the sum paid for service by
the month, the saving lies in the lower " overhead," and par-
ticnlariy in less waste of fuel and food. As one woman put
it, who dispensed with a servant, and started in to do her own
work, assisted by day labor, " I see now where all my maga-
zines and theatre tickets kept going out of the kitchen
garbage can." With present food prices, the food of an
additional adult is certainly worth $5 weekly, and furnish-
ings and room rent are higher than ever, thus increasing the
upkeep over the figures of past years.

While no general percentages can be given, we can take
the estimates of families who have actually tried the two
plans, and who have given their opinions as follows:

Mrs. M.— Location, Boston, family of two adulls and two chil-
dren ; over period o£ five years from I9t2-igi7 :

" Formerly one general houseworker. $28 monthly ; one nursegirl,
$18 monthly; estimated total cost of both workers, including their
food, lodging, etc., $75. Present plan: Laundress, i day, $2; cleaner, i
day, $2; 3 hours' special nurse daily on hour basis of 50 cents day,
$3.50; Sunday dinner at hotel for four, $3.50 (of which only about
?I could rightly be charged to service) ; and boy, half Saturday at
50 cents to clean basement, etc. Total, $9 weekly; no food for any
worker except two lunches for laundress-cleaner, which you might
say was 50 cents, thus bringing the total cost of service to not more
than $10, as against $18 weekly in the first case. Housekeeper (Mrs.
M,) herself prepares the meals, but often assisted with them and did
other work even with a general housekeeper."

The B. Family. — Location, Chicago, 3 children and two adults ;
from 1915-1917:

" I used to keep a cook and a nursemaid, and had a laundress ;
this cost me in wages alone, $68, I reorganized my household this
way: Had a man come in one day every week for cleaning at $2.50;
hired a more capable woman who could both cook and do the laundry
at $40; the children were older now, and one at school; I bought an
electric washer, and we did our wash in half the time as before;
then I did the upstairs, and paid the cook extra when she kept the two

F4H

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

[ smaller children when I wanted to go out at night. This way the plaa
ts me about ?55 in wages, but I have only one person to feed a
e for. and all the work runs more smoothly and is better done thai!

Mrs. S.— Five adults, near Oeveland. Ohio, 1914-1918

" I used to keep one general girl of all work at $24, and do all

• upstairs myself and finish the ironing as well as special cooking. I

couldn't hire a girl now for $J5, as they all work in factories. Now

I send ali washing out for $2.50 a week. Every other week I and

a colored woman at $1.75 do the thorough cleaning. I get breakfast

and am alone at lunch. My daughter in high school gets thi

I with me. It costs $15 for our service now, without any cost of food

Tfor the girl."

Mrs. N. — Family of 3 adults in New Jersey:

finl^l

"In 1915 we kept one general worker who did everything.
I haven't been able to get anyone for some time, as we are in a !
what lonely suburb. I can't even get a good local worker,
this plan the best in my family, and at less expense after all. Every
other week I have a crackerjack colured v/otnan from the city come
out for three days. Then she does our wash, irons, and cleans the
whole house. We wash only every other week. She gets $2 a dayj
and her car fare, which is almost a dollar each time,
other week. Then once a week, generally Sunday, we all have dti
ner at the club house here, which I don't call service, but our pleasuro^
One other night I try to go into town and meet Mr. N. and my son
and have dinner with them. My son takes care of the heater. I
should say that it costs me $18 for service only, I buy home-made
bread from a neighbor twice weekly, and a cake on Saturday,
talents run to sewing and not cooking. We all like the freedom
the arrangement very much. It seems to me that there need be
servant problem for the able-bodied woman who has
children."

The C. Family in a Pennsylvania Small Town.—Three daufl
ters, Z younger sons, father and mother and grandmother, 1914-igi^

" You ask me how we manage such a big family without help.
Well, we girls are all over twenty, and tho two of us work every
day, we manage nicely. The boys cut wood for the stoves and do

r take care of our big lawn and hose the

porches. B . is a school teacher and takes Saturday morning for

her work, which is baking, which she likes well, and in that time she
bakes bread and pies and cake enough to last more than half the
week. Grandmother makes the beds and tidies the rooms. Mother
gets the other meals with me, and does the washing ; we have a
power washer and mangle, and it takes iis about two days to get it
all done along with the other work. We take turns at supper dishes
between the four of us, or if we all happen to go out, father or the
boys will help. Each of us girls gets a little money for our share and
so do the boys, 1 can't say how much it costs, but of course less
than any servant which we couldn't even afford."

To sum up, we can say that the servantless house is by
far the more preferable method of management. The chief
secret of doing housework daily, and yet not becoming over-
fatigued or dulled, is to use the old suggestion of " more
head and less heels." Free time must be planned for. If
necessary this planning must run counter to what is com-
monly accepted as what " ought " to be the house routine.
If there are children, they should share in the responsibility
of small tasks so as to make the division of work more
equable. Each child should "lift his own weight" in the
housework at as early an age &s possible. Part-time outside
service will give more efficient, less wasteful assistance than
any permanent worker. A simpler standard for the home,
both in food and furnishings, will make the work less labori-
ous. Finally, the servantless housekeeper should install and
use very possible true labor-saver which will save her time
or energy.

4i6 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

QUESTIONS ON HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

IX

The Servantless Household

1. How many hours per week (one person) are needed to

keep your home in running condition: (a) For meal
preparation and clearing; (b) For cleaning; (c) Laun-
dry work; (d) Other work?

2. What have you done since beginning the course to " short-

cut " this time ? What more can you do ?

3. (a) Enumerate the tasks on which you have made "time

studies" and give your results, (b) How many exam-
ples of "standard practice" have you written record
of? (c) How does your present "schedule" differ
from the first one you worked out?

4. Count the number of " things " in your house that are

neither useful nor beautiful and report. What is the
most time-wasting factor in your home ?

5. Give your experience (a) with resident servants, (b)

part-time service. How do they compare in cost and in
satisfaction?

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

TWO YOUNGEST CHIUIRBN

IK

MANAGEMENT OF HOUSEWORKERS

ONE of the problems in management which many
housekeepers face at least during some part of their
houselieeping experience, is the handling of house-
hold workers or "servants." As has been pointed out, the
"servant problem" is more acute than ever owing to the fact
that women formerly engaged in household service have
entered industries and prefer these conditions with high pay
and freer hours to the more confining conditions which gov-
ern housewprk at present. In many other cases, especially
among colored workers throughout the entire Southern
stales at period of the war, men were receiving such high pay
either in Government service or at "boom" war industries
that their wives or families who formerly did housework,
cleaning, laundry, etc., no longer needed to work and so stay
at home. As one colored cook said to the family where she
had been emjiloyed for years, "Jeff am niakin' so much money
by de Gov'ment dese days dat I thinks I'll just set at home
and help him spend it."

Even with normal industrial conditions, there is every indi-
cation that service for the home will be increasingly more
difficult to obtain — and also to keep. It is therefore worth
while for any employer of household labor to study the
"servant problem," understand its causes, and particularly
give attention to the relation and attitude between herself
and any employee she may engage.
419

420

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Recently the national Y. W. C. A. undertook a report on
household employment. They interviewed women workers
themselves in different occupations; some girls were at the
time working as house servants, others as clerks, factory
hands, office help, etc. And the girls themselves (who cer-
tainly must be regarded as the best judges) summed up their
opinion briefly that it is the conditions surrounding house-
work, and not the work itself which are today urging women
into factories, stores, offices — any place except the kitchen
of another woman. Prominent industrial and social wel-
fare authorities who have studied the "problem" concur in
the same view and even urge women away from domestic
service because of the following reasons against it:

(i) Social stigma of "servant" both from employer's class
and from other members of worker's own group in
other occupations, as factory workers, shopgirls, etc,

(2) No standardized hours of work.

(3) No independence or private hfe after work hours.

(4) Too much loneliness and confinement and lack of stim-

ulus from other workers.

(5) No chance for advancement or professional progress,

(6) Often lack of bodily comforts.

(7) Housework offers fewer chances of marriage.

It is significant that neither the girls themselves (this
report was based on a consensus of 500 girls) nor social
workers make any mention of pay in connection with the
problem. All based their objections on the conditions or
psychological objections involved. In other words, even if
the pay of the houseworker and the office worker were iden-
tical (at the present time housework is even better paid!) a
girl would prefer the latter occupation. The most impor-
tant of these objections, because it is the most difficult to con-

trol and eradicate, is the social stigma which commonly
attaches to the appellation "servant." Naturally, "servant"
still carries with it the o!d world idea of an inferior, a
dependent or subordinate. And in this country of democ-
racy, whose very air breathes the idea that "all men are
created free and equal" (tneaning with equal opportunities),
neither men nor women like to be in positions of implied
inferiority to the people for whom they v;ork. It is only fair
to acknowledge that household service is still the only occu-
pation for women where this inferiority is implied, or often
keenly fell by the worker.

The "Mistress-Slave" Attitude
It must be admitted by many women or mistresses them-
selves that they are largely to blame for this relation. While
Other work for women has been put upon a business-like
"employer-employee" basis, the servant still is part of the
old feudal "mistress-slave" basis long since discarded by
modern industry. They may not outwardly admit it, but
most women who are able to afford servants to assist them
in the home, want those other women workers to stay just
servants and to remain on a subordinate plane where they
can be bossed and talked down to from her platform of the
superior mistress. They want the "servant" as well as the
service.

It would be an excellent idea if women employers of
household labor could visit a modern large office or factory
and see how employees in modem business are treated. The
factory may hire the services of the most humble vegetable
preparers, dish washers, label pasters, etc., and yet each of
those employees is treated not as an inferior, but as a worker
free and equal with the higher overseers and managers. The
true basis of the success which modern industry has in deal-

422 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

ing with employees and the reason why even the most inferior
and low-wage factory entices girls away from domestic
service, is the principle of "team work between equals." Each
employee under "scientific management" feels that he is part
of the company, and this team work basis elicits their loyalty
and co-operation. The most successful corporations and
employers of labor are those who are doing everything pos-
sible to make each employee feel his importance, instead of
crushing him by browbeating and treating as a subordinate.

Whetl er she likes to or not, the housekeeper of today who
employs labor will have to revolutionise her own attitude
along the lines of modern treatment of employees — or she
will find no other women willing to work for her. It cannot
be quite explained why women who do often assume this
progressive attitude in regard to a trained nurse (who does
similar acts to a houseworker), or to a stenographer, or a
sewing woman, or even to a day laundress whom they em-
ploy, nevertheless refuse to assume it to a woman who cooks
their food and dusts the chairs. Why should she treat a day
sewing woman or laundress with respect and fairness, while
she so often feels it is her right and privilege as a mistress
to browbeat, scold and tyrannize over a household worker?
The reason is, that in her own mind, the mistress commonly
does think the servant "inferior." And thus thinking, she
naturally shows it in her attitude and treatment.

Let it be repeated then, that the first step in solving the
servant problem, is to solve the "mistress problem," and for
the mistress to place her relationMp with the worker on a
straight, dignified, employer-employee basis. The old feudal-
slave relation was possible as long as workers did not have
any other occupations from which to select, and as long as
they remained unintelligent and uneducated ; but today work-
ers will not put up with such medieval treatment. In other

MANAGEMENT OF HOUSEWORKERS

•W

words, the mistress of today is trying to impose a worn-
out, archaic relation upon a worker who in many cases has

become more educated and who will not submit to it.
Adjustment must be made before it is loo late.

The Employer-Employee Basis
The adoption of the modern employer-employee basis
means, first, that ih her ou-'ti mind the mistress jvili not Ihitik
of the household worker as an inferior. Second, instend of
calling her servant, why not think and speak of Iter as a
household assistant, a household helper, or "houscworkcr"
seems about the best term, which will counteract the prcBent
social stigma? If even the youngest $6.00 a week office girl
is called Miss Smith, why not Miss Smith in the home? If
the worker is really reliable and intellijtent enough to truiit
with the preparing of food for the family, with attcndinff
to its comfort and keeping ihe home sunitary and attractive,
is she not worthy to be called by her Buniamc instead of
addressed by the familiar first name which wc reserve either
for animals or for our loved ones? If each mistrcM would
sincerely follow out this altitude, then gradually jniblic opin-
ion would come to place household work on a higher plane
and the worker's own friends in Mher occupalions would
not longer slightingly call her "pot (linger," "kitchm me-
chanic," etc. — an attrti>dic which doc* much to pr«judice ft
sdf-rcspecting girl agaixut household fervice.

StAXItAMDJZB) HOVU Of WoSIC

The Moood duef ra»oa given a^sM bowchold fervice
tf aS die ■wwken tjoesUooed was "do Matidarilizcd htjvn."
It is ■? firm penoeal belse< dial all bottMhoU Mrrtce thoidd
he faased oa n Isoar ijnun and that wMktn thoiM We
ami eac a m>k titker fhcK dtas tlw hooie where tkef arc

424

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

employed. I feel strongly that the adoption of this living-
out-plau would do more to solve the problem and change
the conditions now surrounding the work than any other
one step. I believe, and have preached for years that house-
work, like any other occupation, should be placed on a day
basis and permit the worker to have a home life of her own
after the hours of service she gives to her employer. Such
a living-out-plan, of course, would at once solve the point of
standardized hours, for then arrangement can easily be made
about the exact hours that a worker will give to her task.
(See page 408, Chap. IX.) It will also in one sweep solve
the objections of "private life after work," "loneliness" and
"confinement," chances of meeting people, etc. And the
author cannot too strongly emphasize her conviction and ex-
perience that the final solution of the servant problem can
come only by placing housework in all its branches on a day
basis of definite hours, which will permit the worker to have
her own life after that specified work is done, Just as is now _
followed by factory hands, clerks, laundresses and sewing
women. ,

But if the mistress still wishes to cling to the present 1
method of having workers (if she can find them I) sleep in
the home, she nevertheless must arrange for them definite
schedules of both the work they are to do for her and the
rest or free periods they are to have for themselves. Over
and over again fias come the story of a worker "having no
time to herself," and not knowing all day long at what time
she will be "free." Mistresses say in reply that they do not
require the worker to be busy all of the time, merely that she
"be there" when wanted. But the mistress must surely see
that it is just as fatiguing to "be there," as it is to actually
work, and must provide and allow some definite period every
day which the worker can use as she pleases.

MANAGEMENT OF HOUSEWORKERS

425

How many mistresses permit a girl an hour or two every
afternoon in which she can unquestioningly go shopping, to
the hbrary, or do exactly what she likes? When this point
of a definite rest period for the worker was mentioned by
the author at a lecture before a prominent woman's club,
several immediately exclaimed, "But who will answer the
bell in the afternoon while she is out ?" It was hard to con-
vince these dear ladies that the situation is so serious today,
that it is a choice between answering the bell oneself during
a couple of afternoon hours or not being able to secure a
worker at all !

Further, let any mistress ask herself, can she expect a
worker to remain in good health and yet never leave the
house except the conventional "Thursday afternoon off" and
"every other Sunday"? The majority of mistresses in the
past, too, have afways exacted that their cooks and maids
"stay in," in the evening, unless special permission is given
to leave. Can any mistress imagine any factory or business
man asking an employee to stay in the office or factory in the
evening as long as she has finished her stipulated work?
Why then, if the cook has served the supper and washed
the dishes, should she not be free to leave the house every
night if she wants to ?

Privileges Versus Rights of Houseworkers
But no, the average mistress usually regards "time off"
and free evenings as "privileges" or something for which the
worker must beg and which is a favor if it is granted. In
their own hearts many mistresses resent employees being
sufficiently independent to leave the house without special
permission. But from the employee's point of view, it is this
constantly having to ask permission that creates the feeling
of no independence — a feeling that they keenly resent. It is

a mistake for any mistress to thus patronize her workers
and grant them "privileges" which frankly shoiUd be the
employee's business-like rights.

It may be set down as a rule and as an essential pari of
the new relationship that a irorker should be free to leave Ike
house and go and do what she chooses in the specified after-
noon rest period or when she has finished her evening's
allotted tasks.

When the author strongly stated this point at the above
mentioned dub audience, she was instantly met with the ob-
jection, that permitting workers to leave the house without
greater supervision would result in inimoralit}' ! Several of
the 6nest club women rose and said that in restricting the
girl's time away from the house and in supervising her
friends they were doing her a favor and looking out for her
best interests. No doubt these fine club women had the best
of intentions. But in these days of independent women
workers, no girl of intelligence or spirit will stand such su-
pervision. Such a supervision implies on the face of it that
the employer doubts the conduct of her employee and is
therefore treating her like a child instead of a responsible
adult. Let any mistress think for a moment of an office
manager who would question his filing clerk as to where she
had been the night before or whom she had seen. Under
the new relationship, no employer has a right to question a
worker as to where she has been, where she is going or what
she does outside of the hours of her stipulated duty and
work. The only exception to this is that she should not go
places from which she might bring health contamination to
the household. The old slave attitude (which so many mis-
tresses still wrongly persist in following) meant paying for a
girl's life; but the new business attitude means paying for a
girVs work.

I

I
I

MANAGEMENT OF HOUSEWORKERS 427

To return to the point of supervision by the mistress in
protecting the girls from immorality, which was made by
several audiences addressed on the domestic service problem
— ^the facts are, that there is more immorality in the ranks of
household workers than in any other class of women workers.
This statement comes from such workers as Miss Grace
Abbott of the Protective League, by matrons in rescue homes
and from Miss Jane Addams of Hull House, who says : "In
spite of the fact that domestic servicers always suggcstccl by
the average mistress as an occupation of safety for girls the
Federal report on Woman and Child Wage Earners in the
United States, gives the occupation of the majority of girls
who go wrong, as that of domestic service, and in this it con-
firms the experience of every matron in a Rescue Home.
Many indeed are the instances of fallen girls who only a few
months before had been honest girls, cheerfully working in
the household of a good woman mistress, whose sense of
duty expressed itself in dismissing the outcast as soon as she
knew her situation. Is it not significant that the girls who
chiefly supply the demand of the "White Slave" trade are
drawn most largely from the one occupation which is fur-
thest from the modern ideal of social freedom and self-
direction ?"

In other words, the only result of ihft mistress's attempts
to incarcerate the worker in her kitchen except on a speci-
fied Thursday off. and to oversee her goings out and comings
in, leads to nothing but the license v.hich comes from
restraint.

How much better it would be if the mistress encoura;(':d
the worker to have whole sorr,': social ties. She knov.'s that
for her own daughters ir.utual interest and recreation v/ith
j'oung men of good standing are necessary, that every ^/irl
needs a chance to ex->ress hers^:]f sociallv. otherwise she v. ij!

428

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

become dull and degenerate. Yet, in many instances, she 1
allows her young worker possibly only in her teens, no re- I
laxing evenings away from work, and especially resents her ]
taking advantage of neighborhood social life. If the mis-
tress would only see how inconsistent it is to expect the
highest morality and conduct from an individual she persists
in shutting up like a chicken in a coop, or from one whom
she does not allow the privilege of attending church or other, J
ethical service ! I

Again, why is it that mistresses expect the highest per- 1
formance and knowledge from their workers and yet refuse'!
to grant them the stimulation of attending meetings or I
groups where home subjects are discussed? It is not unrea- I
sonable to think of a houseworker as a member of a food I
club, or as an attendant at meetings where topics of diet, I
sanitation, economy, etc., are discussed. Some women even I
resent their workers reading books and magazines about the!
house. Indeed, the author knows of but few families out- 1
side of her own, where the worker visits food demonstra- I
tions, reads Government pamphlets or other matter along I
home lines. Yet, why not ? I

Schedules for the Houseworker I

This brings the discussion back to the point mentioned atl
first, that the mistress must prepare a definite schedule ofl
both off time and work time for each houseworker. It will 1
assist any mistress to re-read Chapter II, on Scheduling and I
Despatching, because whatever principles of work are hel(>--l
ful for the housewife herself are even more helpful for any I
employee. She should bear in mind that planned work is I
work done with less friction. And it is almost necessary for I
each employer first to try to follow the schedule she hersel&fl
has made, before she exacts it of her employee. For it iaM

MANAGEMENT OF HOUSEWORKERS

429

one of the frequent complaints made by workers, especially
in a household where only one is employed, that too much
work is laid out for a required amount of time. It must be
admitted that many mistresses are guilty of this fault or
overloading work which cannot possibly be done in the re-
quired time ; the result is that even the best worker becomes
discouraged and resentful and doesn't do the overload im-
posed on her.

In households where there is but one worker, the house-
wife herself must assume some of the duties or hire extra
help by the day, unless the house or apartment and the family
are very small. It is just because so many mistresses in the
past have expected anything and everything and overloaded
the one worker, that we now have no longer a "general house-
worker," and that girls who formerly were general house-
workers have turned to some specialized branch such as
waitress, parlor maid, or cook. The only result of the mis-
tress's unfairness has been to deprive the one-servant house-
hold of today of the unspecialized help which is so badly
needed.

Careful planning of the schedule should limit it to a defi-
nite number of hours. There is no reason why the average
housework in a typical family with modern conveniences
cannot be compressed into 8 working hours or at most 10,
instead of the 12 to 15 hours of which some servants have
justly complained in the past. Of course, in every family
the schedule will need to be interrupted because of occa-
sional sickness, special guests, etc. But the regular every-
day routine should be studied, systematized and made as
nearly definite as possible.

The schedule should, as has been pointed out, provide for
work hours, and rest hours. It should specify each task
and approximate time ; it should include the special outside

430 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

help such as laundress or cleaner, and state the days on
which tradesmen come, hours of delivery, etc. If there is
more than one worker, then their hours also should be care-
fully scheduled with relation, one to the other, providing
that when one is on duty the other is oif . The schedule for
houseworkers will depend, as for the housewife herself, on
the various factors of hours of meals, size of family, number
of rooms, etc. Following are some simple outlined schedules
for one worker :

No. I. Schedule for One Worker (qJ^ Hours)

7:00 A.M. — 12:00 M. Breakfast, dishes, cleaning, preparing

lunch.
12:00 M. — 1:00 P.M. Lunch.

1 : 00 P.M. — 3 : 30 P.M. Dishes, special silver, window or pan-
try cleaning. Prepare towards dinner.

3 : 30 P.M. — 5 : 00 P.M. Worker's off time.

5 : 00 P.M. — 7 : 00 P.M. Dinner and clearing up.

No. 2. Schedule for One Worker (S]^ Hours)

7: 30 A.M. — II : 30 A.M. Breakfast, dishes, etc., as above.
II : 30 A.M. — 1 : 00 P.M. Off time.

1 : 00 P.M. — 2 : 00 P.M. Lunch.

2:00 P.M. — 6:30 P.M. Special work, cleaning, preparing and

serving dinner, housewife clears up
after evening meal and stacks dishes.

No. 3. Schedule for One Worker (9 Hours)

7 : 00 A.M. — 8 : 00 A.M. Housewife gets own breakfast with aid

of toaster, percolator, etc.

8:00 A.M. — 12: 00 M. Houseworker begins work, as above.
12:00 M. — 1:00 P.M. Lunch.

1 : 00 P.M. — 4: 00 P.M. Special cleaning and preparing toward

dinner.

4 : 00 P.M. — 5 : 30 P.M. Off time.

5:30 P.M. — 7:30 P.M. Serve and wash up dishes of evening

meal.

No. 4. Schedule in Country Home (10 Hours)

6 : 00 A.M. — 7 : 00 A.M. Breakfast ; pack children's school

lunches.
7:00 A.M. — 8:00 A.M. Dishes; start soup, etc., for dinner.
8:00 A.M. — 9:00 A.M. Garden or butter making.
9:00 A.M. — 10:00 A.M. Beds, brush up rooms; lamps filled.

MANAGEMENT OF HOUSEWORKERS

io:oo A.u. — 12:00 It

12:00 »

1 : 00 P.M.— 3 : 00 P,

- 7:1

Baking, dinner preparation.

Noon dinner.

Ciear up after dinner, dean kitcher

porch, etc.

Off time ; or mending.

Supper preparations ; feed stock.

Supper and dear up.

The above schedules are, of course, only suggestive ; they
would vary from day to day according to the special tasks
(see page 70).

While a schedule is an excellent plan !or most workers,
it must be admitted that there are others who will show
greater efficiency if allowed to plan their own work or do it
in the method that suits them best. And it is not wise for the
employer of this kind of woman to lay down an hour by hour
scheme,^ — rather write down the essential tasks that must be
done and allow the worker her own license to do it.

The Efficiency Reward
The fifth charge against housework on the part of women
workers themselves, was "no chance for advancement." It
must be admitted that, compared even to clerking and the
lowest office positions, housework suffers at this point. There
is chance that the $8 a week stenographer will before long
receive $12, or maybe $20, if she increases her efficiency;
there is the chance that the dry-goods clerk may some day
become head of the department, buyer, etc., but what hope
is there for the house assistant to advance? It is a well
known psychological principle that no worker increases his
skill or interest or loyalty without some hope of financial
gain, or some other reward, emotional or otherwise. This is
as true of the cook or maid as it is of the stenographer or
shop girl. Remember that the twelfth principle of scientific
management, and perhaps the most important one, is the
"EfSciency Reward."

432

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

But how very few housewives ever think of raising their I
worker's wages or offering her any incentive to increased
efficiency, until she conies and announces she is going to leave
and work for Mrs. Brown across the street, who is willing to
pay her more ? Would it not be a far better plan at the time
of hiring an employee to teh her that if her work is satis-
factory and she proved permanent, that she would receive a
raise at the end of a certain period? One good plan is to '
offer an increase of $i.oo per month after the first 6 months j
of service are ended, up to 25 per cent of the original salary.
For instance, a worker receiving $28 at time of engagement,
would after six months receive an increase of $1.00 each
month for seven months or until she had advanced to $35, '
and similarly with other wages. I

This may seem an unwarranted plan to many women. '
But it is a plan followed with great success by business firms.
The theory is that at the end of the time of increase, the
worker will certainly be worth 25 per cent more than when
she began. In some cases, a raise of only 10 per cent is
given. But business men affirm that if a worker isn't worth I
a certain per cent of increase at the end of a definite time of I
service, she isn't worth retaining. The other theory which ]
some employers follow is to employ only the cheapest help
work them hard until they demand more pay or want to
leave, then discharge them and get other cheap help and
repeat the process. But the more successful plan is to offer j
the competent worker a substantial wage incentive for in- ]
creased efficiency, so that when she has become efficient, she j
will not leave but give her employer the benefit of hec in- i
creased skill and training. 1

"But I cannot afford to raise the worker's wages," com- 1
plain many women. Yes, but if they stop to think, they will 1
see that when they lose trained help they do afford the ex- 1

MANAGEMENT OF HOUSEWORKERS

433

pense of new advertisements or agency fees, the cost of
breaking in new help, etc., which in the end amount to as
much as the increased wage would have done — not to men-
tion the cost of nervous strain and worry.

It must be remembered, also, that wages are only a part of
the expense of a resident worker and that an efficient helper
can save on food, fuel, breakage and wear and tear much
more than the few dollars a month which may be needed to
hold her. A full time houseworker is now a luxury and
when the demand is greater than the supply, a high price
must be paid.

How TO Hold Ho use workers
The industrial experts speak of the leaving and re-hiring
of workers as "labor turnover," and they have estimated the
per cent of this turnover in many industries. But no one
has yet been brave enough to estimate the per cent of house-
worker turnover in the home, although from the facts it
would seem to be over loo per cent a yearl Now it is true
that a certain amount of change in positions will always
occur; hut the modern housewife must take it as one of her
responsibilities, as an employer of labor, to lessen the per
cent of turnover of house employees by all the methods she
can. Beside granting wage increase as above, she can —

(1) Give two weeks' vacation with pay to all employees

having served one year.

(2) Allow legal holidays or their equivalents.

(3) Bonus for performing special tasks; like bread and

pastry making, fine ironing, pressing clothes, etc.

(4) Extra pay for extra work beyond stipulated time.

(5) Bonus for six months' or a year's service.

(6) Give percentage of saving on food and fuel bills,

(7) Promote worker from lower position to higher.

434

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

This lasl point is possible if more than one worker is cm-
ployed ; or sometimes a girl who is firsf employed as a gen-
eral houseworker may become proficient and show such
initiative and responsibility that she can advance to the
higher position of housekeeper, and be relieved of the more
fatiguing manual work by the services of a day worker.

Providing Incentive for Workers
It is true that the worker in the confinement of a private
home has no stimulus from a group, such as obtains in
offices, factories, etc., and which exert such a strong influence
toward increased efficiency and advancement. But why does
not the housewife herself act as a stimulus on her employees?
Surely, if she were sufficiently interested and enthusiastic
about food values and sanitation and methods of work, she
could at least do something to stimulate an employee, espe-
cially if she does part of the work along with her. Praise ■
is another means of increasing interest and skill and should
be often given when it is deserved. But above all, the mis-
tress should try to give the worker room to develop her
initiative — Ibe one practice which will surely increase effi-
ciency and keep up the worker's interest in her work.

Far too many mistresses advertise for "responsible" and
efficient help and then surroimd them with such constant
surveillance and hold them in such rigid subordination that
the worker cannot become anything but a mechanical drudge.
In how many cases does not the mistress always want the
worker to do things "her way"? In how few cases does she
ever allow leeway for the ability of the worker to count?
As someone has said, the average mistress gives her worker
"responsibility without authority." Case after case comes
to mind, where the mistress has actually killed the spirit of
the worker by refusing to let her "have her head" as the

MANAGEMENT OF HOUSEWORKERS

435

saying goes. The author had in her employ for a number
of years an exceptional Scandinavian woman who made this
point clear: she said in her coimtry, when a mistress em-
ployed a housekeeper or worker, she then "put it up to" that
worker to make a success of her management. But in this
country, the American homemaker was constantly interfer-
ing and refusing to give the authority sufficient to make the
woman develop her best effort. And the author has herself
foimd that the really capable and efficient housekeeper must
be allowed to develop her initiative, to create and to have
sufficient independence in planning her own work, to make
her happy in doing it.

There are some exceptions, but as a rule women in
the home are exceedingly poor employers. The same
housewife who flatters herself that she handles her house-
workers well wotild doubtless not be given the position of
office manager or factory forewoman by any manner of
means. Also there creeps in at this point the old prefer-
ence that many women have for working for men employers
rather than for a "woman boss." Part of this may be due
to natural sex preference, but undoubtedly part is also due
to the poorer executive which the average mistress really is.
When one hears tales of the petty nagging to which workers
have been subjected, the interference of the mistress in the
worker's private affairs, the unnecessary giving her work
just to "keep her busy," it is small wonder that women
prefer the freer regulations of modern industry where most
frequently they are dictated to by men.

Providing for Bodily Comfort

The lack of bodily comforts often mentioned by girls who

have worked in homes has also some foundation. There are

many housewives who do provide sufficient bedding and fur-

436 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

nishings ; yet it has often happened that the room devoted to
the houseworker is generally the least desirable in the house,
hot in summer and cold in winter, furnished with cast-offs,
or is the attic room, devoid of any attempt at decoration or
beauty. The housewife may say in defense that workers do
not take care of attractive furnishings. And it is not un-
usual to have an ignorant Lithuanian woman who never
even heard of built-in plumbing in her own country, demand
a private hath in a position here. Still, it must be remem-
bered that a large reason why the servant girl so much fea-
tured by the comic papers, looks frowsy and untidy is be-
cause she has neither had time nor opportunity for her
personal toilet. If a housewife wishes to have the worker
neat and dean, she must provide the means of realizing it
and the time for doing it. In the writer's own home it is
plainly stated at the outset, that the attractive hangings and
bedspread of blue figured cretonne will be taken away unless ■
cared for and the room kept worthy of them.

If possible, there should be an extra bath for the worker
near her own room or she should be granted the use of the
family bath at certain times. In all service portions of the
house, hardwood or composition floors insure the greatest
sanitation. A single size enamel bed of the hospital type is
most suitable : and it has been found that blankets which can
be washed frequently or with each change of occupant are
more sanitary than padded comforters. Beside adequate
closet space a worker should have a chiffonier, table or desk
and comfortable rocking chair. Generally, it is best to have
the walls of light colored tones of paint and to permit each
worker to "decorate" her room as she prefers. The rooms
of all workers should be open to inspection at stated times i
and always required to be kept neat,

There should be, if possible, some provision for

I

MANAGEMENT OF HOUSEWORKERS

437

worker's meals, other than snatching a "snack" standing, or
cold food in the dining room after the family meals are fin-
ished. If there is a "dining alcove" in the kitchen, as de-
scribed in the following chapter, that solves the difficulty.
If not, perhaps one can he arranged, or at least a "drop leaf"
in front of a window, preferably away from a view of the
more or less cluttered kitchen. If the family is not too large,
the worker's hot food should he served to her from the
dining room. From the standpoint of health and efficiency
the eating-on-the-run habit of many houseworkers must be
discouraged.

There seems to he no reason why a high grade worker
should not take at least the noon meal of informal luncheon
with her employer. It is a little thing, but its psychological
influence is great. Indeed, in many families there is no
reason why the intelligent worker should not sit at the
same table at least part of the time. In the writer's home,
the following plan is followed with pleasant results, both
to the dearly beloved "nursie"-housekeeper and the children.
Every Friday this worker has time off, the whole after-
noon, and does no planning or work whatever toward the
evening meal on that day.

It is the children's "cooking day," and as soon as they
come home from school, they go with their mother into the
kitchen to prepare the supper. Generally each child is
allowed to choose the dish that he prefers and great inter-
est is taken in vying with each other. At the supper hour the
housekeeper is called and sits with the family at table, being
pleasantly surprised at the children's efforts and enjoying
a meal about which she has not had to concern herself. This
plan trains the children and also gives a personal touch to the
relation to the houseworker.

Then there ought to be some place besides the kitchen

_ -Hi '.2

__ < • -•-

r-rl — "11113

"H:: l-T-lS^'Vir-vIir

"i T' -"ra.

ri^u

::'V r:*

-.IC :r^rll

. . . tiz::.-!. ^::_i

-7-.1

II'

-|-- -■■

ri:
n:

:: v.TDi'fmi:

*-kjr — • '

-j.t^ :jt:

MANAGEMENT OF HOUSEWORKERS

439

more eager for movies and other city amusements where she
can display her clothing and attract the opposite sex, while
the mature woman, possibly a widow with certainly more
experience, will not demand such amusements so constantly
and will thus make the problem easier, especially for the
suburban or country home.

On the other hand, many mature women apply for posi-
tions, who "kept house for 20 years," but to which this is only
a handicap, and who continually lay more stress on the home
they used to have, the social position they once held, and
whose efficiency does not warrant their boasts. It is nearly
always the case that such applicants have had "every comfort
in their own home," and the difficult point seems to be to
make them feel that the employer's home is as superior as
what they were accustomed to. Indeed, the author has had
in her employ several able and refined married women, all of
whom have had more. "elegant" homes and more "handsome
husbands"than the author ever has had or ever hopes to have !
Mature women of the right type always are more respon-
sible and dependable. There are two chief points to be con-
sidered in selecting them ; first, they may be those who have
had their own comfortable homes and who wiil feel very
sensitive if the contrast between their former position as
superior and their present one as subordinate, is too keenly
made. In other words, mature workers must be "handled"
differently from young girls; if competent, she should be
the "housekeeper." And second, the mature woman, with
experience which would be intensely valuable to her em-
ployer, often does not have the strengtli to do the rougher
kinds of work. The combination to make here then is to
hire a mature woman for efficiency, responsibility and man-
; agement and to have the rough and harder work done by a
day worker,

440 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

In a somewhat wide experience, the author feels it is safe
to say that no woman over 50 should be taken for active
housework. But women between 35 and 50 are excellent
as housekeepers, children's nurse or any executive capacity,
while the active work should be done by those between the
ages of 20 and 35.

There are also numbers of women with children who oflfer
the most permanent dependable kind of help, especially for
the suburbanite or in families with other children. Such a
woman, having her own child with her, will be less lonely and
more satisfied away from city amusements, and also more
responsible with children. In pay they receive from $10 to
$15 less per month than a worker doing the same work,
without a child. Such workers may be secured from the
Children's Aid Bureaus or Mother and Child Department of
City Charities and other social organizations. Here the only
problem is to allow the mother to discipline her own child
and to allow in the work schedule sufficient time for her to
clean and bathe the child as well as herself.

How TO Obtain Household Help

There are two most common ways of securing labor for
the home. One, the use of a commercial employment agency,
and the other, inserting advertisements in local newspapers
or nearby metropolitan papers. Mistresses should know the
advantages of each method. The employment agency is at
present operated by private individuals, who in return for a
fee put those desiring help in touch with applicants. The
agency is supposed to be responsible or to guarantee the
honesty of the workers and looks up references of past
employers as to efficiency. In most agencies, however, no
faith at all can be put in this kind of reference. Also, sincd
the agency receives a fee from the applicant when she reg-

MANAGEMENT OF HOUSEWORKERS 441

isters, as well as from the mistress, it can easily be seen that
it is to the advantage of the agency to have workers change
positions as often as possible !

The one advantage the agency offers is the chance to inter-
view many applicants quickly and at once. But anyone who
has sat for an hour in the typical employment office only
becomes sickened both at the casualness with which mis-
tresses engage workers and at the class of labor offered.

Even when an agency cannot secure and says there are no
workers for a position, it is possible to secure a much higher
grade of worker by inserting a well written ad. The fee of
the agency ranges from $2 to $5 for each worker, allowing
one month of service, or if the worker leaves before that
time the agency will replace. It is to be hoped that in the
improvement in social and industrial relationships the private
agency will be changed into some form of municipally oper-
ated agency, run at cost ; or it has always been the writer's
thought that the women's clubs all over the country should
supervise locally run employment agencies and insist on
higher standards of work and more dignity among the mis-
tresses in regard to housework as a profession. It seems
futile for women's clubs to discuss "Browning" and the
"early Aztec pottery," while they neglect to solve or make
any progress in the great problem of woman as an employer
pf labor in the home ; or hard to understand how they can
reconcile their extreme solicitude for securing an 8-hour day
and the highest working conditions for the labor of women
in industry and outside occupations, with their refusal to
conduct their own personal homes so as to conform to such
fair demands.

As was pointed out, generally a higher grade of labor can
be secured through a newspaper advertisement in the classi-
fied section. The following advertisement, based on an

442

HOUSEHOLD EXGIXEERIXG

S-hour day is said to have brought 120 replies at cadi tmc
of insertion :

\Vantei>— A young woman to do light honscwork, 6 iicnii? a
day, 6 days a week, sleep home. Apply by letter only.

Another excellent advertisement is:

Wantld — Dependable, efficient household helper, treated as
family, g^x^d wages, advancement. Appl}- Mrs. Smith. Rirer-
view, X. J.

Much more can be learned by studying the applicant's face
and apix:arance than by reading the dingy '^reconuDenda-
tions" she carries folded in her jxKket-book. Previous
ployers should be phoned or written to and questioned,
cially in regard to honesty and habits.

Another alternative is to secure through advertising or
otherwise an assistant of one's own education and social
Stan din j( and make her one of the family, sharing family
meah and othc-r activities, like the farmer's daughter who
acts ab '"help" for a neighbor. It would simplify matters to
adopt her, for the time being, as distant niece, cousin or
aunt, and keep the matter confidential. In such a case it is
especially needful that there be a trial period and a detailed,
written agreement as to duties. The ad might read :

"Competent high school graduate of good family, between 18
and 20. War. ted a? mother's helper in the home of a domestic
scier.ce graduate, to share family meals and have the statns of a
relative. Convenient and attractive suburban house. Salary
Sj-.O'j per month, with increase up to $3^.00. Send small phota"
0?

"Waxte? — Working housekeeper between 35 and 40. normal
or hivrh sch^'L-l graduate, t-.- be c-ne of a family of 6. two small
children. Large, comfortable room, no heavy work. Salary
?350».^ per month. Give education, experience, and send photo."

Tho success of such an arrangement depends, of course,
on tho ]HM*sonalities and temperaments of the worker and the
omployor. and requires tact and forbearance on both sides.

MANAGEMENT OF HOUSEWORKERS 443

It is one way out of the difficulty if resident help must be
kept. There are many thousands of women everywhere who
want and need to earn money and who would prefer domestic
work under the right conditions.

The Square Deal for Houseworkers

One of the chief requisites to success in all management
of labor, is a clear understanding at the outset of the duties
required, time off and pay. It is a good plan to have written
down in black and white in duplicate what is expected and
to read it to the worker and secure her approval before en-
gaging her permanently. Too often mistresses engage a
worker, glossing over some of the work they expect done,
and then later resent the fact that the worker is unwilling to
do it. As many of the specified points should be made clear
as possible, as for instance :

(i) Hours of rising.

(2) Hours of work.

(3) Hours and time off.

(4) Extras for which extra pay is given.

(5) Pay, whether monthly or weekly.

(6) Amount of notice required before leaving.

(7) Whether medical care is paid for by mistress or

worker.

(8) Understanding as to the care of the baby or young

children.

(9) Understanding in regard to breakage.

(10) Complete list of detailed duties.

The more definite the understanding at the beginning, the
less likelihood there will be of friction later. In regard to
the wages, it should always be specified as "two weeks notice
given, or wages forfeited before leaving and two weeks' pay
or notice given on discharge," or even a month's notice. It is

— - TT - —

r_ -?! i^o:>z ST T— 7=

^^ •• .^^___

M.! =un^. Tnt inf? *7 te "s — :u
:L:i::i:-i :r-a.Tir^* rn tn: n.T.i-c-
.'■" ^tri:; imov t^s: ^rif i: i:

.V V -_■ Inifratt ami Ian t.t

?I V i: Zzr± icr anr TTnsri r
r:''t 5»i2:iijiisa.

— ■ '' .1.^ '_

L :.::.! Itla-nmt and iv'Tmrs"

--" ' _--*-'* TDT and ^"nert i:

~ *: - ^ :: Sr-rini: Glaring.
■ " — : : T .rntT>. Sui'er. Glass.

in? rc ser dows ir^

5 iiT i> set dowT.
r I;-S5 danger c"

MANAGEMENT OF HOUSEWORKERS 445

them. Each household has special rules which can be thus
systematized, made simple and put into the hands of the
worker that she may read and follow.

Management of Several Employees

While the average mistress may employ only one or two
servants, it is well for her to know distinctions of work
which have come to be generally accepted as follows:

Cook — Prepare meals for family or other servant, keep
kitchen and pantries clean, sometimes do own laundry.

Kitchen Maid — ^Under cook, prepares vegetables and does
rougher work of kitchen and pantry cleaning.

Waitress — Serves meals to family, possibly preparing
salads, etc. Washes family dishes in Butler's Pantry
and sometimes has the duties of a parlor maid.

Parlor Maid — Cares for cleaning and dusting of first floor,
answering door, etc.

Chambermaid — Making beds, cleaning bath, also mending.
Sometimes combined with child's nurse.

Child's Nurse or Mother's Helper — Care of young chil-
dren, washing their garments, mending and sewing.

General Houseworker — (If not extinct) combines duties
of plain cook, cleaning and chamber work.

Managing Housekeeper — Oversees other servants, in large
household, markets, has full charge over food, linens
and house in general ; keeps account. Does no manual
work.

Working Housekeeper — Buys and markets and has some
responsibility, but also does cooking and other work in
small family.

No men servants are included in this list, because men
employees are generally employed in only the wealthiest

446 HOUSEHOLD EXGIXEERIXG

homes ; they consist of butler, second man, foot man,
chauffeur, etc.

In such home, with three or more employees, the mistress
has the opportunity to show what she can do as a real busi-
ness executive. Or the same problems confront the house-
keeper in a sanitarium, club or other large establishment
where she has several working under her. In order to be
successful she must remember first and always to be fair,
to apfXjrtion each employee's work so that the work is
evenly distributed and each "carries his own weight,*' rather
than that one employee is shown partiality at the expense of
another.

Further, the manager of many people must have: (i)
Clear [>lans as to what she wants done ; (2) Be absolutely
sj^ccific in issuing those instructions and commands; (3)
Sec that the orders are executed. Nothing makes for fric-
tion so much as a misunderstanding of orders. For this
reason the orders should he clear in the manager's ozvn mind
first, and after she has given them she must not change them.
Again, she should try to find out the peculiar failings or
excellencies of each worker and the stimulus which will
cause each to do better, more efficient work. She should
understand that there are broadly two types of minds, the
"detail" worker, who is excellent at the small repeated tasks,
but who has little judgment, initiative or power to take re-
sponsibility. The second class is more of the "executive"
type of mind, those who generally dislike detail and routine,
but who can be relied u])on to act in emergencies or take
charge and carry plans through. The more the manager or
employer learns to understand these two types and give them
the work that is suited to each, the more successful she
will be as an executive.

Frequently, in a large household it is wisest to secure

3XAXAGEMEXT OF HOUSEWORKERS 447

workers all of one nationality, or one religion, so that there
will be more harmony. For instance, if all workers are
Irish and Catholic, they are likely to be more congenial than
one of this faith and country thrown with another of Scan-
dinavian and Protestant origin. While there are exceptions,
it seems to be true that workers of these nationalities have
the following characteristics : Irish (good hearted but often
untidy, inefficient, little responsibility). Scotch-English
(great dependability, sense of duty, well trained). Geniian
(thrifty, hard-working, capable of much manual work).
Scandinavian (self-reliant, sometimes tricky, often extrava-
gant, excellent as latmdresses and cleaners). Polish-Lithua-
nian, etc. (emotional, little responsibility, inefficient, but
frequently good cooks). Italian (not dependable or take
responsibility,, sloppy at work, but thrifty and excellent
cooks). French {wtry neat, thrifty cooks and sewers, some-
times unreliable or looking to their own interest, but excel-
lent managers; not capable of heavy work).

There is a constantly increasing demand for trained house-
keepers in sanitaritmis, hotels, clubs and semi-private estab-
lishments. There is also a great demand for housekeepers
in Y. W. C. A. and similar social agencies. Such a person
should have the experience of actual practical work, an^l b':
able to do any branch of housekeeping in case there is muIi
a necessity. But in addition she is supposed to hav; tlj*:
executive responsibility, and to buy foods, runninj^ \i"t :i'
coimts on a budget system, arranging meals and ov r ,' ' imj^
servants under her. Such positions demand f:XM'ptioii;il
ability, coupled with training, and above all, tlj*- Ino-.vI'd;"
of handling subordinates. The task c-iu )»': * '/luj^.ir' d \n
the position of sales manager or offu'; nian;i;;'r in ili' l»«i i
ness world. Such positions pay fairly v.'ll, noi u ii;illv ;«My
more than the position of housekeejj'rr in a v/'aHIiy pf ivatc

.--ZTi^ ZK'iTZ}!^ i; acec^sjvr nonscKccpcr demands
- •■: i: T-ii-ir.it iz.-i zzr.tLz.^'i^x^ There are many women
- . M z ."^i ; nrr-jijl txrisrioce in Acir own borne, who
: _ : T-r - "..-. 1 l-'-It — :^- — ^y cuaSfy for such resident
'-: :j: :'iI :•: j :o:r^ —-J =^25^ know food values, cuts
. : r Ti: rr.ir-.-: r^ lt f Lmz-Z^ of oxals. economical buy-
-^ - : r: -LiTcr.-r.: ir.i yiz'z'.Jts^ aad csnaDy have knowledge
. ! _- ir. :r- . z-zirr.T-z >rv;ric 2^1 care of fancn.

Ir. :..r.r_; :"" ? clMjitr :: =-^vl* said that modi of the solu-
: r. :: -.r.t "^tr.^Lz: rrrrlrn'" rests with die mistress, and
v-i: :: '.::r :- ttt hmi? :: Se-cccae die fair-minded modern
t"^: ':■• tr :r.r:tii ::" rerr-iinri? ic capncioiis medieval mis-
: r T ? * . 'It.'.'. ■ : h : ? 3. i • -sr^ier.: and bv doii^ aU in her power
:. r irir :hr ::r.i:'::r.y surrrundfnehonscwoikonapar with
'.'r.-z ::r.i::::n5 f .:rr:ur.i:r.f o:her work. wiD she be aMe or
-'■ . v.! : ?hr exTr::: :: ?e-»r-re and rexain high-grade women to
-"t 'r.r trr.zitr.zy c^r.i Izyzlzy in the management of her

Zf-

jVE.-Tio::.- ex hovsehold exgixeering

Ma::a~zvzxt :? H ouseworkers

1. I: vov. v.'rr-: cor::rrV.ec thr-visrh circumstances to earn
your !:v:r;i- Ci- a house.vorker. what sort of treatment
v.ou'id you frxT^ec: from your employer? How much
pay ?

J. Give a ;^eneral daily schedule of what you would expect
from a work'.r and show the total time per week.

3. What succe-s liave you had i or know of) in pving
bonuses with ihe'purpose of keeping houseworkers?
( b ) What result for giving extra pay for extra work?

j. lender present conditions and wages figure the cost per
hour for a resident worker, taking account of the
extra cost of food, fuel, light, laundry, breakage, wear
and tear.

5. With what ideas in the text do you disagree?

HOCSEHOLD ENGINEERING

n

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

PLANNING THE EFFICIENT HOME

TO HAVE a "home of one's own" is the universal ideal,
yet no two ideal homes would be identical. Just as
was shown in consideration of the subject of Budget-
Making, how the "budget" must be adapted to the individ-
ual family, so the home must conform as nearly as possible
to the needs and aims of the particular family dwelling in it.
The question "What is a Home?" may well be asked and
answered before going on with definite suggestions for home
planning. Is the home merely a shelter where the material
needs of eating and sleeping can be satisfied? Or must not
the home also provide for the educational, ethical and aes-
thetic needs of mind and spirit? Truly' the efficient home
must be built to cover the educational and spiritual demands
equally with the practical demands of a house. To illustrate,
the efficient home must be so built as to help people, espe-
cially children, develop the greatest health, and the best char-
acter and possibilities in them, i, e., provision for music, a
play room, or work benches for a growing boy, are even
more important than hardwood floors, laundry chutes or a
tile bath, A "den" for father or a "business corner" for
mother may conduce to broader development than the same
amount of floor space added to the size of a parlor, unused
except for company.

449

4SO

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

There is then a sharp distinction between "home plannii
and "house planning," The most up-to-date, most labor^
saving and most beautiful house might truly be a failure as
a "home" unless it provided also for the higher interests
of the family, and was especially adapted to the ni
of the particular family using it.

Requirements of the Efficient Home

The requirements of a normal family of parents and sev-
eral children for a truly efficient home may be summarized
as follows:

1. Privacy given by adequate grounds, shrubbery and in-
terior arrangement.

2. Desirable "exposure" for light and sunshine in the
most important rooms.

3. Interior arrangement — compact, labor-saving, easy-l
care-for surfaces and furnishings; rooms for collective
joyment and for individual privacy and work.

4. Pleasing exterior of harmonious color and line ; mal
rial and construction maximum fireproof and weatherproof.

5. High-grade plumbing; restful lighting; adequate, clean
heating.

6. Built-in conveniences ; adequate storage for food, fuel,
clothing, etc

7. Low operating cost ; low upkeep and repairs.

Need of Privacy
Privacy is one of the most desirable ends expected in the
individual home, and the one quality that chiefly distin-
guishes the home from a hotel, boarding house or any cooper-
ative living plan. Adequate lot or grounds and concealing
shrubbery will partly secure this ; but the house construc-
tion itself affects the amount of privacy or lack of it. By
the use of many windows of the wide "plate glass" type it
often happens that the occupants of rooms are always visible

sev-
rized

din-

L the

nat^H
roof^H
:an

jel,

1

from the street. Now even more air and more light would
be secured if the windows were placed closer to the ceiling
with higher sills, which would at the same time insure more
privacy. The function of windows is to let in light and air,
but they should be so placed or grouped as to give seclusion
to the inmates at the same time.

The common "double hung" plate glass window permits
only half the window opening to be used for air. Is often
ugly in line, and prevents privacy. There should be a greater
use of casement windows. These permit the whole opening
to be used for air, have higher sills, and in many ways are
more atractive. The casement-opening-out type is somewhat
more weatherproof than the type opening in, and it does
not take up room space when opened ; its disadvantage is that
the screens must be on the inside, but there are various fix-
tures on the market for opening the windows while the
screens are in place ; it is also more difficult to clean, as
the washing must be done from the outside. Casements
which open in should be used above the first floor.

When the climate is very warm or very cold, the windows
must be small to protect against excessive heat or cold, but
in the temperate climate of our country, and with modern
efficient heating plants, the windows may be large or many.
Indeed, the tendency of present American architecture is to
let in more light and air by the use of numerous windows.
The "sun porch" or "sun parlor" is usually the most popular
and attractive room in the house.

Many windows increase the cost of heating somewhat but
with later types of "window strips" or the less desirable
double windows, comfort may be had even in cold weather,
and health and cheer of sunshine retained. i

Porches should be planned for privacy and preferably
should not face directly on the street nor be connected with
the main entrance. Any one who has noticed a typical

HOUSEHOLD ESGIN'EERING

"row" of American houses, with all porches adjacent, filled
with rocking, gossiping people, will recognize that such an
arrangement does not make for privacy.

The Best Exposure

The most desirable "exposure" or the relation of the prin-
cipal rooms to the points of the compass and sunshine is the
most important consideration in the arrangement of rooms
in house planning. It often happens that a house plan is
selected having attractive and convenient arrangement of
rooms which was designed for an entirely different "ex-
posure." The diagram showing the sun's path in summer
and winter will make the following points clear: In the win-
ter time in the northern hemisphere, the sun rises south of
east and sets south of west, so that rooms having only north
windows will get no sunshine whatever throughout the day.
South windows will receive sunshine all day long, east win-
dows simshine in the morning and west windows in the after-
noon. In midsummer the sun rises north of east and sets
north of west so that all rooms will get sunshine part of the
day. The hot afternoon sun of summer is not desirable.

In midwinter the sun at noon is only a third the way up
from the horizon to the zenith and the slanting rays will
not he cut off by overhanging eaves or projections. In mid-
summer the Sim is nearly overhead at noon and eaves will
protect the windows from the glare of the midday sun.

-The prevailing cooling breezes in our eastern states on
hot summer days are from the south and west, so that a
southern exposure is warmest in winter and coolest in sum-
mer, and is altogether the most favorable exposure.

The following, then, are the best exposures for the various
rooms :

I, Living room — south will give sunshine and warmth in
winter and comfort in s

HOUSE PLANS WITH LIVING ROOM ON THE SOUTH. DINING-ROOM
EAST, KITCHEN NORTH, PORCH EAST AND SOUTH
Nds. t. 2, 3 and 4 EBSEntially Ihe Same Hduie
E4S3]

454

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

2. Dining room — east will give cheery morning sun at bres

fast, winter and summer. West undesirable, becatu
the level rays of the setting sim give discomfort at t
evening meal.

3. Kitchen — north and east will be cool, cheery and not too

hot and sunny for afternoon work.

4. Living porch — east, southeast or northeast — not west, as _

that brings the full hot sun in the afternoon, just at tl

I

PiACtAM Smowikg B>,th of 5un

time when home maker and friends have leisure for
porch recreation.

5. Bed rooms — any exposure except entirely west or full

north, which are too hot, or too cheerless, respectively.

6. Sleeping porch — west or south, not east, as early momii

sun makes sleeping after sunrise djfilicult; north,
much exposed to winter winds.

eiy.
lins^H

•1

The ideal sun plan of a rectangular house with four ri
on the first floor will have the living room in the southwest

PLANNING THE EFFICIENT HOME

455

corner, the dining room in the southeast comer, the kitchen
in the northeast corner, and the den, Hbrary or parlor in the
northwest comer. The natural tendency is to place the
Hving rooms facing the street and kitchen and dining room in
the rear, but this is not always desirable on a lot facing
north. The sketches of practically the same house show how
the rooms should be arranged on lots facing the four points
of the compass. It is not so simple to design an attractive

house with the kitchen and dining room on the street, but
it can be done.

When the ideal sun plan does not seem practicable, modi-
fications can be made which will help ; for example, a north
dining room may have a projecting portion with a window
which will catch the morning sun; west porches may be
shaded by trees or awnings. Again, if the outlook or view is
particularly attractive in any one direction, it may be better
to modify the plan with this in mind. Houses on diagonal

" HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

streets can have a more favorable sun plan than those placej
straight north and south or east and west.

The Materials of the Efficient Hom

From all practical points of view the house of r
has advantages over other materials. Either brick, stot
and stucco or "hollow tile" make the most permanent, s
isfactory houses from the modem viewpoint. All of t
materials are more fireproof, more sanitary and need less
repair and upkeep than timber. Although the house built of
timber may be attractive, today the cost of lumber makes
the wood house nearly as expensive as that of more fireproof
material, and the wood (particularly in the case of shingles)
is not of so sturdy or lasting a quality as the wood which
entered into the building of many houses still standing, built
a century or more ago. The cement or stucco house on wood
frame is not much more fireproof than an all-wood hous^
but has the advantage of permanent exterior finish.

From the appearance point of view the stucco house c
be made more attractive by the quality or roughness and
handling of the material as it is applied. It should also be
so colored as to be more interesting and harmonious and less
like stiff, gray cardboard.

The "style" or type of house can only be decided by pe^
sonal taste, climate, etc. All that can be said here is that a
would be mtich better to use a given sum of money in achien
ing a small house well than in attempting a la
elaborate house unsuccessfully. Generally speaking, thes
ideals should be realized in exterior construction:

I, The house should harrno7n::e with the surroundings and
seem to be an integral part of them; i. e., low, flat ground
needs low roofed houses, not "castle" effects. The house
must be "tied down" to the ground on which it rests first,
by means of the right construction line of roof, etc., and

wood

OUSQ^^H

: and^

;o be
I less

457

second, by the means of shrubbery, lattice or other nieans
to this end.

2. The type of house must be kept "true" throughout— -
"English" type must not be confused with a "Swiss" porch,
or an "Italian" villa with construction features which are
dearly "Colonial" ; otherwise the house will have a confused,
inharmonious appearance. The advice of a good architect
is needed here.

3. Absence of unnecessary juts, scroll or stone work, spar-
ing of bays and angles. Straight walls are less expensive
to build, appear better and enable the heating arrangement
to be placed more satisfactorily.

4. The color plans, whether paint, masonry or stucco,
should be pleasing, and as much as possible blended or in
harmony with the adjoining houses and the feeling of the

Efficient Interior Arrangements
What needs must be met which affect the arrangement of
the rooms in any house? There seems to be two broad de-
mands: First, rooms large enough and suited to collective
group-living and enjoyment ; and second, rooms suited to pri-
vate or individual comfort and development. With these
two demands in view we see that every house should have at
least one room large enough for a group of twelve people
to be comfortably entertained. Such a room is the living
room, which should he in size varying from 12 by 18 to
16 by 30 feet, which will give floor space sufficient for the
dancing of young people, for a meeting or social gathering
without crowding.

Having the second demand in view, we find there are many
times when not all the family cares to be a part of the one
large group, but some members would prefer to be quiet or
by themselves. This brings up the need for a second or

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

PLANNING THE EFFICIENT HOME

smaller room, which may be a "den," silting room or library.
Many are the occasions when a group of young folks wish
to use the living room and when, if iherc were no extra
small den on the first floor, the parents would have no alter-
native but share the noise of the young people or cIbc go
upstairs to a bedroom. Again, there are many times when
the home maker is entertaining guests in the living room
when it would be convenient to have other members of
the family, particularly the children, in a room by themselves.
In families with small children this second room could be
most conveniently a play room, or combined sewing room
and play room. The one large living room and smaller sit-
ting room are thus the two essential rooms which must be
planned for in the efficient house.

Is THE Separate Dining Roou Essential?
Why 3 separate dining room in the small family home?
Only about three hours of the day are spent here— does thi«
anxHint of time justify the special room? If a. family has
plenty of building space and money, no fault can l>e found
with the separate dining room; but a combination living-
dinii^ room seems the more effident arrangement in the
man, Dxxkme a»t borne. The condrioed in'ag-fiiBang
room is not a tlicot7, bat has been toceemtvUf and prac-
tical^ apptitd in BOMty homes. The eating portion of the
nxnt can be separalcj bjr Frendi or f oUinf doors, or by a
scracB. A set of fonr doors iostcad of two, wlikli tiM
badcoa dw— elKS wil p«« privaqr to the dtoiaf ponwn
and yet poMt fbc tfoMf and fiviBC roosa to W OHd at Mc
It is aMff ^dHJiMa' •» <■»« imify Mcali ia mmma oa
wawmei fofdi, mliUk muf U (fimei Ut for mater mc
thm Aat m *r f»nafaf 4M^ dunt «0 the taiAm,
«lBdb fcarihw Immmw Hm mt4 «f » MfmwU ^Magnam.
H *» aMM fo « dMw *«»m«» ii^ tjp tfK MMVol

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

dining room and giving up the small den on the first floor, 1
all means let the dining room be omitted, rather than forego-l
the small separate "withdrawing room,"

The Hall, Stairs and Entry
Although the plan of the single large living room or living-
dining room is excellent, it must be carried out with restric-
tions. For instance, many plans of inexpensive houses have i
the main staircase ascend directly from the living room
and have the front door open directly into the living room.
There are serious disadvantages to both these popular plans.
In the no-vestibule plan, opening of the front door brings
in a large quantity of cold air, slush and mud in bad weather ;
also a guest entering has no private place to remove wraps,
or again, it often proves awkward or unpleasant to bring a
stranger directly into a group in the living room.

The defense of the open stair is that it is picturesque and
gives a more spacious appearance. The practical disadvan-
tages, however, are that the open stairway (with no back
stair) usually makes it necessary for every one wishing
to go upstairs to cross the living room and ascend in full
view of all; this is never pleasant, especially with children
and servants. The second chief disadvantage is that the open
stairway acts as a funnel to suck up heat from the first floor
and often carry it wastefully upstairs.

Both front and rear hall should receive careful attention
and not be altogether dispensed with. In general, means
should be provided so thai the front door may be answered
without walking across the living room. There should be
a back stairway, or the front stair be so placed that children I
and servants can go upstairs without disturbing persons in '
the living room or dining room. The rear entry should be
so arranged that tradesmen need not enter into the kitchen,
and also so that children have some other means of getting

PLANNING THE EFFICIENT HOME 461

upstairs than continually tracking across the kitchen or other
rooms. It is sometimes advisable to have a rear hall and
here locate the telephone and a small seat and make of it a
"business comer." It should connect with the rear entrance
so that children can take wraps off here and tradesmen enter ;
there could be a box for the storage of rubbers, toys, etc.

Rooms opening into each other may look more spacious,
but they have two disadvantages — that of creating much
harder work in cleaning and much greater possibilities for
noise and lack of privacy. It is a poor arrangement where
entrance is made directly into a living room and where the
living room, dining room, and even den, are a!! open into each
other with possible ineffective portieres. No privacy, no se-
clusion is possible in such rooms and no thorough cleaning
except at a great amount of effort.

Upstairs Interior Arrangement

Private is essential upstairs, and every bedroom should
have its own door and should be able to be reached without
having to pass through some other room. The bathroom,
particularly, should be located so that it can be reached from '
the hall direct. The only exception to this is where there is
more than one bathroom and where the second bathroom
belongs solely for the use of some individual bedroom or to
two bedrooms.

There should be upstairs space provided to hold cleaning
tools so that it will not be necessary to carry the tools from
downstairs as mentioned in the chapter on Cleaning. Again,
a linen and storage closet should be located on the hall so
that it can be reached easily from all rooms.

Built-in Furniture and Fixtijres

Many of us remember, and some of us still possess, the
colossal wardrobes, bookcases and chests of past days. Some
of these were both beautiful and useful; but from the point

452 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

of view of convenience and modern housekeeping, they took I
up too much space, were almost impossible to move and sel-
dom fitted in with the rest of the furniture. In the present
lower ceiHnged houses such immense pieces are highly im-
practical— the fewer the "movables" in any home the more
harmonious the room and the easier to care for. Built-in
fixtures need never be moved out to sweep the dust from
under them, they take less floor space than movable pieces
answering the same purpose, and they can be more success-
fully finished to match the trim and wall decoration. Also if
plans are made for building-in when the house is being built,
less portable furniture will be needed and hence more real
economy practiced. For instance, a built-in closet for coat
racks and a seat for overshoes is much more attractive and
is easier to care for than a movable coat rack, settee and
umbrella stand ; or a built-in buffet will be more efficient and
commodious than the usual "portable" sideboard. Here is a
partial list of excellent built-in fixtures:

Kitchen cabinet recessed in wall.

Buffet and china closets.

Recessed iceboxes.

Medicine cabinet recessed.

Towel and linen closets in bathroom or hi

Bookcases with open shelves.

"Pullman" ironing board fitting back into shallow dos

Window seats- which hold wood, magazines, etc.

Ingle-nook fireplace with seats.

Telephone table and seat.

Cedar closets for storage.

Broom or cleaning closet.

Built-in "victrola" cabinet, or cabinets tor "records"

player-piauo "rolls."
Recess for piano.
Built-in radiator covers.
Closet or recess for table-leaves.
Provision and milk receiver, built-in wall, locks when closed

from outside.

PLANNING THE EFFICIENT HOME 463

Another group of built-in fixtures is the chute which will
save time and labor in house work. It is usual to connect
fireplaces with ash chutes which run in the masonry work
of the chimney to a hollow space in the base. Sometimes the
kitchen range is connected with an ash chute of metal leading
to metal ash can in the basement.

Then there is the laundry chute, which, if possible, should
have opening in the upstairs hall near the bathroom and in
the rear hall or in the kitchen, leading to the laundry. The
laundry chute may be combined with a dust chute by a par-
tition in the center or a dust chute may be made of oval
furnace piping, run between the studding. The openings for
dust should preferably be in the floor, closed by a small trap
door. Such chutes are best made of or lined with galvanized
iron and always should have self-closing doors at the lower
outlet to prevent their acting as flues in case of fire and
becoming a dangerous fire risk. Speaking of fire risk, every
house should have a number of small fire extinguishers, lo-
cated near the fireplace, in the kitchen, the laundry and near
the heater, also in the upstairs hall.

The Breakfast Alcove
An especially interesting built-in fixture is the so-called
"breakfast corner" or alcove in or adjoining the kitchen.
The seats are permanent and the table may be fixed or mov-
able for other uses in the kitchen. The corner should be
lighted by one or more windows and a special lighting fixture.
Such an alcove adds to the attractiveness of the kitchen and
does away with the necessity of a maid eating in the kitchen
or having a separate room for this purpose. The dining
alcove may be located in the position of the usual butler's
pantry, between kitchen and dining room, or in a corner of
the kitchen where it may be backed up by the kitchen cabinet,
china cabinet or sink without loss of wall space. Often such a

464 HOUSEHPLD ENGINEERING

"breakfast" alcove becomes a breakfast, lunch and dinner al-
cove when the family is small, as it saves so many steps.
Not infrequently it can be added to existing kitchen.

Still other built-in arrangements are "dumb waiters," best
located near the rear hall, running from basement to the top
floor and used for conveying food, laundry, waste baskets,
etc., up and down, thus saving endless steps. In large houses
a "lift" about four feet square is used for the same purposes
and for carrying luggage or even one person. The kitchen
elevator icebox spoken of before is a modified dumb waiter
and is a manufactured article which can be duplicated by a
competent carpenter. Another elevator which may be put in
when building at small expense runs from the basement to
the wood -box, near the fireplace.

Among the special fixtures are disappearing beds which
fold in a special section of the wall made to receive them, and
aired from outside. Or where great economy of space must
be practiced there are other forms of "in-a-door beds" which
fold up and can be swung into a ventilated closet or dressing
room when not in use, and which are more desirable than
the so-called "folding beds." These are particularly well
adapted for use on sleeping porches and can be arranged
to swing down into the chamber or sleeping porch as desired,
being kept dry and zvarm in a closet between in the daytime.
They are made by the Door-Bed Company of Chicago,

The more built-in fixtures the more floor space, the easierj
the cleaning and the more homelike and permanent the house.;

The Matter of Closets
One of the most important of the group of buih-in fixtures.
is the built-in or cabinet closet. Now, there are good closets
and bad ones. The bad ones are those which are built too
deep or particularly those which are so narrow and long that
the entire front contents must be brushed against to real

I

PLANNING THE EFFTC]

465

the articles furthest back. If the closet is intended for clothes
only, and if garments are hung on a vertical rod, it should
be built just a little deeper than the width of a dress hanger.
Or, another good construction is to have such a system of
garment hanging on an adjustable rod which will lift for-
ward, bringing with it five or six garments hung from front
to back, after the manner of wardrobe trunks. In this case,
a deeper closet would be more practical. In such closets

L

OLD STYLE CLOSET CABINET CLOSET

HOUSE PLANS, SHOWING THE SAVING OP FT,OOR SPACE BY

THE USE OF CABINET CLOSETS

From the Book of Design, of John Thomas Battj, roannfactnrer of Qoiet

Furnishings, Grand Kapids, Mich.

the light doors open the entire width and disclose all the
contents. Sometimes these cabinet closets are built six to
ten inches off the floor and with or without drawer under.
This adds to the cost but gives better protection against floor
dust.

The same general rules apply to all closet construction. Do
not have the shelves so broad that front articles have to be
removed to get at those at the back. Do not have the shelves
too high to reach, or too far separated, one from the other.
High shelves are suitable only for storage, but not for every-
day use.

A closet that is slightly oblong is the ideal, and two bed-
rooms can most conveniently have adjoining closets in the

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

waste space between walls. An inclined board fitted wil
cleat placed at the back wall of the closet floor will keep sht
in better shape and away from dust. No drawer in any built-
in fixture should be loo deep, or it will be too heavy to pull
out when full ; also a deep drawer makes it necessary to turn
over the top contents in order lo get at the lower layer.
Avoid placing a heavy, deep drawer at the bottom of any
closet, as this means an uncomfortable strain to bend over
pull it out.

An excellent linen closet is a great convenience, A i
desirable one was built as follows ; The lower part of
closet consists of different sized drawers to accommodate
large and small sheets, towels, cases, etc. The upper part is
divided into three sections or open shelves, each having a
close-fitting, hinged door. These sections are to hold blan-
kets and may be lined with tar paper or made of cedar wood.
If more space is available, a linen room can be built witli
open shelves on three sides for the holding of blankets and
large bedding. Then, some of the shelves can be partitioned
off with shallow wooden uprights to fit exactly the size cf
towels, cases, etc. A drop-light fixture should be in such a
room, also in every large closet to facilitate finding articles
at night. It need hardly be emphasized that all such shelves
and drawers should be labeled clearly for quick identification.

It is not advisable to place the linen closet in the bathroom,
as is sometimes advocated, but preferably in the general
where it will be more easy of access, though a small d<
for clean towels is convenient.

In placing a small medicine or similar wall closet,
much better to "recess" it so that it is flush with the wi
especially when located over a hand basin.

Kitchen and pantry shelves and closets have been spol
of in their respective places ; the whole idea! in any closet
building is to arrange its spaces so as to most conveniently

3oni,

1

PLANNING THE EFFICIENT HOME 467

fit the size and character of the contents which will be stored
there, thus facilitating handling and preventing articles from
being crushed.

Efficient Plumbing

One of the largest expenses in the American home is the
plimibing. To save cost here, the plumbing fixtures should
be kept near together to avoid excessive piping ; 1. e., bath-
room should be over or at the same side of the house as the
kitchen, and the laundry under the kitchen. The largest pip-
ing expense is the 4- to 6-inch "soil pipe" which runs prac-
tically straight from the basement through the roof and
to which water closets must be connected closely ; if toilets
are not located near or over each other, separate soil pipes
must be provided. If it is not desirable to put in all eventual
fixtures at once, by all means plan the plumbing in advance
so that the main piping can be put in when building: ; fixtures
may then be put in later without great expense and without
serious marring of floors and walls.

All home builders should know the diflference between
"porcelain" and "enameled iron," which are often used as
interchangeable terms in speaking of sinks, lavatories and
tubs. Enameled iron ware is produced by a covering of
enamel applied over cast iron. It must be fired in a kiln at
a comparatively low temperature and its surface is softer
and somewhat more porous than porcelain. The truly
vitreous fixtures of porcelain are made of clay which under-
goes a drying process of several weeks and then is subjected
to a heat of about 2,500 degrees. This insures a high and
impervious glaze which does not take stains so easily, cannot
rust and is much easier to keep clean. Small sinks and lava-
tories of porcelain now cost hardly any more than a good
grade of enameled iron and are altogether preferable.

Care should be taken to preserve the glazed surface of

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

enamel or porcelain and consequently plumbing fixtures
should not be scoured with gritty washing powders, nor
should strong alkilies or acids be allowed to stay in them f<
any length of time.

Bathtubs should be of the built-in type, if possible, so
to avoid the cleaning bug-bear of "reaching under the tub."
These are less expensive than when first introduced. An
extra first floor or basement toilet is needful where there
are small children or maids, and if one's pocket book per-
mits, a small but individual bath adjoining the maid's room.
A small lavatory or hand basin on the main floor, either
adjoining the rear porch or connected with the central back
hall, is also a great convenience. Such small lavatories may
be located in a closet between two adjoining chambers at.
moderate expense.

In selecting the outlet traps of all lavatories, sinks and tul
see that the trap can be detached easily or is provided wi(
a screw cap which can be opened for the easy removal
clogged matter. There is usually a grease trap in the outli
of the kitchen sink to take care of stoppage.

Most of the exposed parts of the plumbing are nickeled;
this is nickel plate over brass or bronze. Often the difference
in price of two fixtures which look alike is owing to the bet-
ter coating of nickel of one over the other. Poor nickeling
quickly wears off, making the fixture unsightly. Porcelain
and vitrified fittings for the bathroom are now replacing
much of the nickeled ware formerly used.

The drain from the refrigerator should not be connected
with the regular drainage of the house; there must be air
space between so that there can be no possibility of sewer
gas entering. Often the pipe from the refrigerator empties
into the laundry tubs. This pipe is very apt to get clogged-
and it should be arranged so that it may be taken apart

Other details of plumbing conveniences are "compressi<

1

lay

M

"1

PLANNING THE EFFICIENT HOME 469

faucets," which save water, especially hot water; a white
porcelain seat on the toilet instead of wood ; noiseless tank
attachments to the toilet ; a hose connection for lawns on two
sides of a large yard ; a water connection on the porch for
flushing ; in large houses a small "slop sink" in the rear hall
is an excellent addition to the cleaning closet,

The position of the main stop-cock for the water in the
basement should be known to all members in the family so
that it can be shut off instantly in case of an overflow or
accident. It should be tested occasionally to see that it is not
too stiff to turn easily. It is also a good plan to have water
shut-offs in the principal lines of water supply so that the
entire house need not be cut off from water when a new
washer needs to be put in a faucet, or other repairs made.

When putting in the rough piping is the time to plan for a
pennanent vacuum cleaner; this should be located centrally
in the basement with openings in each room. Or, if the house
is small and compact, one opening in the hall on each floor
will be sufficient with which to connect a long tubing. There
is no doubt that the cost of such outfits will decrease in the
near future, and it is now possible to secure an outfit for
about $150 for a small house.

Adequate Heating Apparatus
There is still difference of opinion as to the relative merits
of hot air, steam and hot water for house heating. A hot air
furnace is least expensive in initial cost; gives quick heat;
provides ventilation when the cold air box is connected with
the outside air ; gives moist air when a special apparatus for
furnishing water for evaporation is installed. The usual
water tank situated in a cold part of the furnace is not suffi-
cient to have much effect on the hot air supplied. The dis-
advantage of a furnace is that distant rooms requiring long
runs of piping cannot be heated adequately and in a strong

470

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

wind the rooms on the windward side are difficult to heat;
also the pipes take up much space in the basement. A fur-
nace is most suitable for a small, compact house. The fur-
nace must be set deep enough so that there is sufficient angle ,
to the hot air pipes to give a flow of hot air. I

Steam heating is best for large houses and is used in nearly
all large buildings and apartments. The piping and radiators
can be much smaller than for hot water, making the cost of
the plant less. No heat at all is given to the radiator until
steam is formed so that the water must be kept at boiling
point or above to give heat ; the circulation stops immediately
if the fire goes down. The temperature of the radiators
is over 212 degrees F., which makes an uncomfortably in-
tense heat. There are various systems of so-called "vapor
heating," "modulated steam" and "vacuum" steam heating
which in part overcome the disadvantages. .

Hot water heating is usually considered the best for homes 1
as the water in the radiators can be heated to any degree
up to about 210 and the water will continue to circulate and
give heat even after the fire gets low or goes out. The dis-
advantage of a hot water plant is that a considerable volume
of water must be heated and it is thus not possible to modify
the temperature of the rooms quickly for extreme changes
in weather ; also large pipes and radiators must be used to
give good circulation and sufficient radiating surface. Hot
water systems have an "expansion tank," located at the high-
est point, which is open to the air. If the water is heated
much over the boiling point, the water will boil out of the
system and cause all kinds of damage, consequently the "ex-
pansion tank" should always be provided with an overflow
pipe leading to the basement or out of doors.

In the pressure hot water heating system a column of mer«l
cury or spring valve is introduced so that the water c

t heated over the boiling point. This gives i

; rapid cir* I

PLANNING THE EFFICIENT HOME

471

culation and smaller pipes and radiators can be used, which
saves somewhat in expense and makes less volume of water
to heat.

Radiators should be placed under or near windows or near
doors as this aids in the circulation of heated air and heats
the cold parts of rooms. More artistic and low radiators
are being manufactured; a combined radiator and wanning
closet arrangement is useful in the kitchen and dining room.
Sometimes radiators are enclosed, with space for the air to
enter at the bottom and space for the heated air to come out
near a window, but it is not advisable to place shelves over
radiators as this interferes with the circulation of air.
Rooms are warmed by circulating warm air.

With moisture proof and cement lined basements, our
American houses are very apt to be supplied with air that is
much too dry for comfort or best health. Air at 70 degrees
will take up five times as much moisture as air at o degrees
F. ; consequently, in cold weather, even if the air outside is
fairly moist, it will be very dry when heated to comfortable
living room temperature. If no moisture is supplied, it will
be drawn from the wood work, furniture and from our
bodies. When coming from out of doors into warm, dry
air, the perspiration in our clothing quickly evaporates, which
produces a very considerable degree of cooling of the body.
This is why a room with moist air at 65 degrees seems
warmer than with dry air at 70 degrees.

There are a number of kinds of air moisteners on the
market, the simplest being a flat corrugated pan which slips
over each radiator at the back and is filled with water ; others
are placed on top of the radiator. For steam radiators there
is a valve which lets out steam without noise, said to dis-
tribute the equivalent of five gallons of water per day. There
is an arrangement for furnaces which supplies water auto-
matically to a pan placed over the dome which will really

472

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

supply the hot air with adequate moisture. Sprinkling the
basement floor with five gallons of water night and morning
will help somewhat.

Of furnaces, steam and hot water heaters there are types
too numerous to mention, but by all means secure a heating
plant with capacity sufficient to a little more than heat the
house, for it is more economical of fuel to run a large heating
plant slowly than to force a plant which is a little too small.
The various magazine-feed heaters, like the Newport and
Spencer, for hot water or steam, burn the smallest or buck-
wheat size of hard coal, which is cheaper and require fuel to
be added only once in 24 hours in mild weather and twice
in cold weather. A good draft is required for such heaters
but is needed for efficiency in any heater.

There are several small devices which make the care of
any system easier. One is a draft regulator with a dial
located in any wall on the first floor, connected with chains
to the damper and draft by which the degree of heat may
be maintained with fair regularity. Another is an alarm
clock arrangement which turns on the drafts at the desired
time in the morning so that the house may be warm by break-
fast time. The best arrangement is a thermostat which turns
on the drafts when rooms go below the desired temperature
and turns them off when the desired temperature is reached,
thus automatically maintaining an even temperature in the
house. This saves much coal, especially if from careless
management the fire is allowed to burn until the house is
uncomfortably hot and the coal only a lied of ashes, requir-
ing a new fire to be built. These thermostatic heat regu-
lators cost about $40 installed by a plumber or electrician,
but can be purchased from a mail order house for about $18
and put in by the owner with very little trouble.

An efficient heater will not continue so unless kept dean.
An eighth of an inch of soot or dust will reduce the con-

1

PLANNING THE EFFICIENT HOME

473

ductivity of the heat absorbing surfaces to a very consid-
erable extent. Steam boilers in factories are usually cleaned
twice daily ; house heating plants should be cleaned with 3
wire brush or otherwise daily or once or twice a week,
depending on the fuel and heater. The heater should be
thoroughly cleaned and overhauled in the spring and treated
according to tha directions of the manufacturers, not left to
accumulate moisture and rust throughout the summer.

To save fuel, all hot water and steam pipes should be
covered with asbestos pipe covering and the heater itself with
asbestos cement ; even furnace pipes should be covered with
sheet asbestos.

Tasteful, Restful Lighting
Daylight comes chiefly from the sky, and is a perfectly dif-
fused light, except direct sunshine, which is too intense for
eye comfort. House lighting should approximate natural
conditions and the best diffusion of the light for the general
illumination of rooms is best obtained from the now common
form of "indirect" lighting fixtures, in which all or nearly all
of the light is thrown onto the ceiling, from whence it is
diffused to all parts of the room. The "semi- indirect" fix-
tures, made with a bowl of thick opalescent glass, throw some
of the light downward and are ideal for the general illu-
mination of living rooms. The ceiling must be white or
cream colored and the fixture suspended from the correct
distance to obtain proper iilumination without serious loss
of lighting efficiency. Indirect lighting fixtures may now be
had for gas as well as for electric lamps.

This soft, general illumination may be made sufficiently

strong for reading in all parts of the room, but the better

practice is to have individual portable lights or wall fixtures

for close work like reading, sewing, music, etc.

All lights should be shaded so that the full glare of an

474 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

intense light cannot fall directly in the eyes. This is espe-
cially needful with the high intensity of tungsten or "Mazda"
lamps and Wellsbach mantles, which have many times the
light intensity of the old-style carbon filament electric lamps
and open flame gas burners. A softer effect may be secured
by using frosted or ground glass globes instead of globes of
clear glass. But even frosted globes should be shaded, pref-
erably by shades which give an artistic color effect.

A point to remember in the installing of fixtures is the
direction in which the greatest candle power occurs. In an
electric bulb and in an upright gas mantle lamp the greatest
intensity of light is directed horizontally ; in the inverted gas
mantle the light is directed chiefly vertically downward.
When it is desired to concentrate light downward, an in-
verted gas mantle or electric lamp with deflecting globe
should be used, but when general illumination for room
space is wanted then the upright gas mantle lamp or upright
tungsten lamps should be used.

The worst possible light for a kitchen is the central drop
electric light on a swinging cord, usually furnished without
a reflector. It would be better to use wall fixtures over sink,
stove and table or one indirect bowl to light the entire room.

In too many houses the details of artistic lighting are badly
neglected and the discomfort of poor lighting not realized.
The local electric light company will usually furnish infor-
mation and booklets on the subject or very interesting mate-
rial may be obtained by sending stamps to the Illuminating
Engineering Society, 20 West 39th St., New York City.

Drawing House Plans

A truly efficient home must usually be "made to order,"

and the prospective house builder must have a fairly definite

idea of what is wanted to be able to order it. This means

furnishing the architect or builder with sketches or drawings

I

1

PLANNING THE EFFICIENT HOME 475

made to scale. For preliminary sketches, a scale of >i inch
in the drawing equals one foot in the house is commonly used.
The working drawings are usually made with J4 'i^ch equal
to a foot ; larger for detailed drawings. Sketches are most
easily made by the amateur housebuilder on cross section
paper lightly ruled in eighth-inch squares. The first step in
planning a house is to measure a few familiar rooms so as
to have an idea of how large a room, say 12 by 16 feet, really
is ; alse to measure width of stairways, doors, windows, etc.
Existing furniture should be measured so that it may fit wall
spaces in the proposed house. It is usually easier to
modify a plan found in magazines or house books which
meets nearly all the requirements, rather than to start alto-
gether anew.

The most difficult part of house planning is to arrange for
the stairways ; often not enough "head room" is provided for.
The rule for stairs is that twice the "riser" plus the "tread"
should equal 24 inches. Stairs with 6j4-inch riser and
ii-inch tread are very easy; a 7-inch riser and lo-inch tread
makes a comfortable flight; 8-inch riser with 8-inch tread
makes a rather steep stairway but one often used for attic
or cellar stairs.

The ceiling height is now -from eight feet, in small-roomed
houses, to ten feet in large houses with more spacious rooms.
A house with a nine-foot ceiling will measure ten feet be-
tween floors, allowing a foot for floor joists, plaster and floor-
ing. A stairway with 7-inch risers will require 17 steps
from the first to the second floor in this house. If the stair-
way has a straight run and lo-inch treads, this would mean
16 times 10, or 160 inches, or 13 feet 4 inches from the edge
of the first step to the edge of the landing floor. (Note
that there will be one less treads than risers.) "Head
room" under a landing would require a rise of at least 6 feet
2 inches, plus 8 inches for floor joists, etc., or 84 inches ; this

I

476 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

would be given by twelve 7-inch risers, and with lo-inch
tread there would be needed eleven times ten, or 110 inches,
or 9 feet 2 inches. If the landing were 3 feet 10 inches wide.
the distance would be 13 feet from the beginning of the Stair-
way to the wall side of the landing. From the landing to the
second floor would require five sleps more, but as there is
one less tread than riser, this would make four times ten, or
40 inches.

The second floor can overhang the beginning of the stair-
way a certain amount, depending on the height of the ceiling
and the steepness of the stairway. With the stairs we have
been considering, three steps up make 21 inches rise, leaving
"head room" of 6 feet 3 inches ; these three steps would give
30 inches of "tread," so the second floor could project that
much and still give sufficient head room. Too much projection
is not desirable as it interferes with talking furniture up and
down stairs and with the appearance and lighting. Winding
stairs or stairs with "twisters" economize space but are
somewhat dangerous, especially with the "twisters" at the
top.

It is usual to place cellar stairs under, and attic stairs over,
the main stairway to economize space, though if the roof
lines would interfere with the attic stairs in such position, i
may be better to run them parallel to the ridge pole, between
chambers, and use the space underneath for closets.

As a general rule the partitions between rooms on the
second floor should come directly over the partitions on the
first floor, otherwise floor joists must be made extra strong.
and even then ceilings are apt to crack from warping due
to unequal drying out of the woodwork.

The least expensive bouse for the usable space is square o
rectangular in outline, with one stairway, one chimney and
one soil pipe. A bungalow costs somewbat more than the
same floor space in a two-story house because the extra ex-

PLANNING THE EFFICIENT HOME

477

pense for excavation, foundation and roof more than over-
balance the saving in wall and stairs.

The planning of the kitchen should have special attention,
but the subject has been well covered in Chapter I, pages
19 to 48. The position of sink, range, refrigerator and cab-
inets should be clearly drawn in to scale. In the living room
and chambers the position of couches, piano, beds, dressers,
etc., should be carefully determined.

After the sketches are made they should be turned over to
a good architect who may be able to suggest improvements
and who will make the "working drawings" and the "eleva-
tions." He will be able to give the artistic roof lines, en-
trances and constructive details which go so far to make or
mar the appearance of the house. He will also make the
detailed drawings for built-in sideboards, bookcases, cab-
inets, as well as for the windows, doors and "trim," which is
usually made at a mill and called "mill work." A good
architect can easily add much more than the five or seven
per cent of the cost charged for his services to the value
of the property. In this country the sale value of the house
always must be considered, for it is not often that a house
is occupied by the same family for more than ten to twenty
years.

The Country Home

A farm house can now have all the modern conveniences
of a city home and at a cosl of less or no more than the dif-
ference in the price of the land. Even a small city "lot" costs
$1,000 or more and a good sized one from $3,000 to $5,000
or more ; the farm house lot is usually worth perhaps $100
at most.

Modem city improvements consist of ( 1 ) running water ;

(2) sewerage system for kitchen, laundry and bathroom;

(3) electric current for light and power; (4) gas.

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

The best equipment for running water is a pneumatic tank,
located in the basement, into which water and air are pumped
under pressure. The compressed air in the top of the tank
forces the water all over the house hke any city supply.
The pump is best operated by an electric motor which is
automatically stared when the pressure becomes too low
and stopped when the required pressure is reached. The
cost of such an outfit is from $I20 to $150. The pump may
be operated also by a small gasoline engine which may be
located at a distance from the tank, or by a windmill. The
source of supply may be a well or cistern. If the well-water
is very hard it may be advisable to have two tanks, one for
cistern rain water and the other for the hard water. The
hot water supply can be heated with a coal or kerosene
heater as described on pages 52 and 53.

A sewerage system usually involves the construction of a
"sceptic tank," which is a modernized cesspool with over-
flow piping distributing the purified sewage underground in
a safe and odorless manner. They work continuously sum-
mer and winter and require little attention or cleaning. About
$100 would cover the cost.

A small automatic electric light plant operated with a gaso-
line motor may now be purchased for $200 up. These pro-
duce current of 32-volt intensity and special small motors,
fans, vacuum cleaners, electric irons and toasters may be ob-
tained at about the price of similar equipment for the usual
iro-volt current. Then there is the acetylene gas plant for
light and for cooking, as well as plants for making gasoline
gas. But it is less expensive to use kerosene as fuel for
cooking and the latest types of kerosene ranges are but little
more trouble than a gas stove and cost less than a good
coal range.

fee can be harvested and stored on most farms; if not.
then there are various "iceless" refrigators, consisting of <

PLANNING THE EFFICIENT HOME"

479

circular metal compartment with shelves which run through
an 18-inch galvanized iron pipe from kitchen, pantry or
porch through the basement floor, or about eight feet into
the ground under the porch. The food compartment is raised
or lowered by a crank and pulley arrangement. The cost is
about $30, or no more than an ice refrigerator. A temper-
ature of between 55 and 60 degrees F, is said to be main-
tained.

A furnace or hot water heater is just as easily installed
in the country as in the city, and indeed the farm house
can be made as efficient and labor saving as any city house for
the cost of an automobile, and any farmer who can afford an
automobile, can afford to have an efficient house. A good
way to start to investigate costs is to send for the special
catalogs on plumbing, heating and electric lighting, of Sears,
Roebuck & Co., Chicago; then send for the catalogs of the
Western Electric Co. and other specialty manufacturers.

Sanitauy Arrangements

The kitchen garbage, waste paper, etc., can be disposed
of in a convenient and sanitary way by an "incinerator,"
but these cost from $75 up, which seems rather expensive.
An arrangement which will do similar work is a so-called
"kitchen heater," made to attach to a gas stove, which may
be obtained from gas stove makers. These come with a gas
burner "lighter" and cost only $12 to $15. Some of them
are furnished also with a hot water front. Another kitchen
incinerator consists of a small brick chimney into which
all garbage, waste paper and tin cans are put, the whole being
burned once a week and the ashes taken out of the door in
the basement.

A convenient garbage can is the Sanitas, which opens by
foot pressure. The out-of-doors, underground garbage re-
ceptacles are also useful and keep the garbage away from

' '^USEHOLD ENGINEESWtr *

dogs and flies as well as out of sight. In communities where
there is no garbage collection it can be buried in a shallow
trench or given fresh every day to chickens or stock.

Each community breeds its own flies and mosquitos, for
neither pest can fly far. The flies propagate in horse manure
and uncovered garbage; the mosquitos in stagnant pools of
water, tin cans, cess pools and catch basins. It only means
enlightened public sentiment and a comparatively small ex-
penditure of money to rid any town of both these pests.
Valuable bulletins may be obtained free on flies and mos-
quitoes from the Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.

Community housekeeping in keeping streets clean and
abating the smoke nuisance affects materially the amount of
cleaning and laundry work in each individual household. It
is to be hoped that universal suffrage may help to do away
with much of the dust and smoke now so common. The cost
of community cleanliness would be, in all probability, less
than the individual cost of extra cleaning and laundry work.
Neighborhood clubs often can have streets "oiled" at very
modest expense per family and do away with much of the
street dust.

QUESTIONS ON HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING, XI
Planning the Efficient Home

1. If you were planning to build, what would you include?

2. Would you favor a combined living-dining room?

3. What built-in fixtures would you have?

4. Could these be added to your present house:

(a) Sleeping porch (b) Dining or living porch
(c) Dining alcove ? Show how by sketch.

5. What are the most serious faults in your present house?

How might they be helped or remedied?

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

xn

P^'-'sffl ^^^1

M

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

xn

L

HEALTH AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY

THE basis for all efficiency in work, whether in industry
or the home, is health and controlled vitality. We
may put a worker into the most efficient kitchen, we
may hand her the most useful labor-savers, we may show
her the easiest way to wash clothes, but all our teaching will
be in vain if the worker is ill, if she "fags" easily, or if she
is subject to headaches, "nerves," or other physical ailments.
The woman with a headache cannot intelligently plan a
family budget no matter how much she may know about
one, nor can an "all-tired out" woman take enough interest
in the subject of nutrition to enable her to feed her family a
balanced ration. The important factor in doing zvork is the
human factor — ij: the woman herself. Any improvement
that can be made either in methods of work, or in the tools
with which work is done, is important only in its eifect on
the welfare and heakh of the human worker — the woman in
the home. Let it be repeated — household efficiency, and
above all, personal efficiency, depend absolutely on the phys-
ical and mental health of the woman herself.

Although both men and women suffer from sickness and
disease, the records of unbiased insurance companies assure
us that women are considered the poorer "risks," and that

481

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

women as a group are most subject to attacks of illness.
This is probably due to the fact that until a few years ago
it was considered "unwomanly" to indulge in active outdoor
sports ; it was thought "indelicate" to talk about and study
the body and its functions ; and there was a strong popular
feeling against women wearing comfortable clothing or
taking exercise which might make them "masculine,"

We are fortunately entering a new period when it is de-
cidedly "good form" for girls to be "athletic," and where,
in schools, girls' camps, and in the popular mind, the close
relationship between efficient work and good health is being
daily more clearly recognized.

The homemaker of today must allow for definite health
care in her daily schedule. Housekeeping will be drudgery
or the reverse largely through her physical ability to meet
the work-demands of house tasks, and her mental ability to
withstand the tension of childbearing and child care. But
the aim must be, not to see just how much strain they can
endure, as much as to see how great they can make their
strength to accomplish more work. Far too many women
pride themselves on "what they can do," rather than on
"what they are," and refuse to take time to build up their
surplus vitality so that it shall be equal to the tasks and
demands imposed by the three-fold service of housekeeper,
wife, and mother.

There are several definite factors which the homemaker I
must consider in her efforts to secure and retain health as ^
a basis for personal efficiency :

I, — Air and sleeping conditions.

2. — Food and eating habits.

3, — Posture and comfort needs.

4. — Fatigue and balanced work conditions.

5. — Clothing.

HEALTH AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY

483

6. — Exercise of the body for remperaiton.

7. — Exercise of the mind, emotion and aesthetic sense.

8. — Mental attitude toward her Toork.

L

Importance of Fresh Am During Work Hours
We can live for days without eating and drinking, but we
cannot live without air for more than a few minutes. The
homemaker, who spends possihiy 60 to So per cent of her
time indoors, must be sure to see that the air supply she
breathes is adequate and changed sufficiently often. Moving
air is of far more value than still air, for we take in about
one-fifth the expired breath when there are no air currents ;
therefore windows should be opened from the top, and doors
opened to give cross ventilation, or a horizontal window-
ventilating board inserted beneath the lower sash in winter.
House temperature should be about 60-68 degrees, not
higher, since heat is debilitating, and overheated rooms are
responsible for far more sickness than colder rooms which
are more invigorating. It is excellent to accustom oneself
to a low temperature and not "coddle" oneself as many
homemakers do by becoming so used to indoors that they
are not hardened, and are therefore more subject to cold,
grippe, etc House air should also be moist, since in cold
dry weather it is estimated that the air supply of a house
needs at least ten gallons of water every 24 hours.

The need for constantly changed air in the kitchen, where
the homemaker spends so much time, bears repeating (see
page 42). If the house is constantly permeated with cook-
ing odors, then there is decidedly something wrong or lacking
with the ventilation measures, which should be remedied.
A professor friend of the author's constantly refers slight-
ingly to, "The Home — the Museum of Smell and Taste."
Certainly too many homes, and particularly kitchens,.

484

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

SO badly aired that the worker becomes overheated, faint,
and enervated as she stands at stove or bends over sink.

Again, dust is a big enemy of the houseworker; house
conditions should be such as to permit the least dust to col-
lect ; the carpet sweeper, the vacuum cleaner, oil dusters and
small removable rugs are important not so much as labor-
savers as because they minimize the number of impurities
and disease germs, especially those which attack the nose
and throat and come from expectorations and dirt tracked
into the house.

Even if the homemaker finds it difficult to have a constant
supply of fresh air in the house during the day, there is one
time when she can control the air supply, and that is at night
The modern sleeping porch has come to stay, and outdoor
sleeping is no longer a fad. Such outdoor sleeping should
appeal to woman, so many of whose hours are spent in con-
fining rooms, especially in apartment or small city houses.
Night air is purer than day air, being free from smoke, rising
dust, etc. Some^women may say, "Oh, but I always sleep
with both windows open." But there is no comparison be-
tween outdoor sleeping, and rest taken for 7-8 hours in an
indoor room, however well ventilated, which has been heated
and occupied during the day and subject to house odors.
Any porch, up or downstairs, can be screened, or be fitted
with swinging windows at little expense ; or a sleeping porch
can be "built on," thus greatly enlarging the sleeping-room
capacity of the house.

The secret of successful, comfortable, outdoor sleeping
is to have as many blankets under as over the sleeper. The
author has slept outdoors for five years with marked benefit
to health. Two of her children have never slept indoors, ,
and even as this chapter is being written, the baby four
months old, has been sleeping outdoors in a temperature of

HEALTH AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY

485

2 below, with splendid results in uninterrupted night sleep
from 9 p. m. to 6 a, m,, with no feedings between. Outdoor
sleeping increases the supply of fresh air, which in turn
stimulates digestion and gives additional repose to the nerves.
Some families spend large sums spasmodically, going to ex-
pensive health resorts, when they might every night secure
free, in their own locality, air just as pure and invigorating.
Only one glance at the annual statistics showing the fearful
mortality from tuberculosis — a "house disease" — ^through-
out the nation, should induce every homemaker to urge out-
door sleeping on herself and her family, so that they can by
this little at least, combat the increasing evils of confining
business and industrial life.

Single beds always permit more comfort; and it is to be
hoped that the sensible habit of having separate beds for
each parent and member of the family will become even
more popular. The homemaker, especially, should try by all
means to secure private, uninterrupted sleep for 7-8 hours
to enable her to "carry on" to the end of the busy day which
usually falls to her share.

Eating Habits anh Their Effect on Personal
Efficiency

Much has been said about feeding the fanfily and using the

"balanced ration" ; yet it appears that women, and particu-
larly homemakers, do not give as much attention to their
own eating habits as they should. It has been found that
more women doing housework are either over, or under
weight than women in outside occupations ; large numbers
of homemakers from 35-50 years of age are carrying excess
fat. Tho this may be due to other contributing causes, it
must be admitted that many women overeat, compared to
their needs based on their height and the work that they do.

486 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Many women say, "Oh, I know I'm fat, but I feel all right
anyway." Nevertheless such women should practice those
habits which wilt keep weight down automatically, no matter
how well they feel, because (i) excess fat is unattractive
from the appearance standpoint; (2) overweight after 35
years (according to the best insurance statistics) is closely
associated with a high death rate; (3) and excess weight
particularly handicaps efficiency in work or recreation.

Every homemaker, then, should closely estimate her own
dietary. If she has servants and merely makes the beds or
does light dusting, etc., then she needs only approximately
1,800-2,400 calories daily ; but if she does most of her house-
work, including the heavier work of room cleaning, laundry
work, etc., then she will need more nearly 2,500-2,800
calorics. (See page 331.)

IDEAL WEIGHT TABLE FOR WOMEN AT AGE OF
MATURITY (30 YEARS)
Pounds HacHT Pounds Height Pounds
..112 5 ft 2 in.... 124 5 ft. 8 in.... 146
.. n4 5 ft 3 in.... 127 5 ft. gin.... 150

,. 116 S ft. 4 in 131 5 ft 10 in 154

,. 118 5 ft 5 in.... 134 5 ft It in.... 157

.120 5 ft 6 in 138 6 ft 161

.122 s ft 7 in 142

4

t

Height

4ft 8in.... 112

4ft gin.... 114

4 ft 10 in 116

4 ft II in.... 118

5 ft 120

5 ft I in — 122

(From the tables

mpiled by forty

companies, ;

published by the Association of Life Insurance Medical Directors.)
Evils of Constipation
One of the chief evils of which women permit themselves
to become victims, is the habit of constipation, and poor elim-
ination of the colon and alimentary tract. Thousands and
thousands of women habitually suffer from headaches, diz-
ziness, fatigue and similar symptoms, which are directly trac-
able to an overstuffed and inadequately emptied colon, or

HEALTH AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY

487

lower hoivel. Physicians call such conditions "auto-intoxi-
cation," meaning that the contents and poisons of the intes-
tines which are not removed quickiy enough, "back up"
(just like an overful waste pipe or sewer) and thus poison
the blood supply. It is this poisoning of the blood with
waste and decaying food residues, that makes the "head-
aches," the "tired feeling" of which so many women con-
stantly complain. Many women think they are "tired" from
work, whereas the truth is that they are suffering from a
stow poisoning of their systems due solely to inactive, slug-
gish elimination of food waste. Three times a day is the
natural, normal evacuation of the bowels, or a movement
after each meal to keep the system in the most healthful
condition ; once a day is the minimum.

Medicines and dangerous cathartics which irritate and
often induce after effects of marJted constipation should
never be used. There are foods and diets which will nor-
mally gain the same results, and the homemaker, as a special-
ist in food values, should be the very woman to make intelli-
gent use of such diets to improve her own health and thus
retain and increase her personal efficiency. Anti-constipa-
tion measures are: (i) Much more "bulk" or "roughage"
foods like the coarser vegetables, carrots, spinach, cabbage,
celery (especially eaten raw), and the green foods like let-
tuce, chicory, romaine need be eaten ; (2) "roughage" in the
form of coarsely ground cereals, particularly bran, which
may be eaten in some form at every meal, whole oatmeal,
cracked wheat, and coarse flours and breads ; (3) raw fruits
like oranges, pears, grapes, berries, and such dried ones as
figs, prunes, raisins; (4) avoidance of coffee and tea, which
both stimulate and derange the liver and digestion; (5) min-
imum of meat, especially the red meats ; (6) liberal drink-
ing of water or fruit juices, from 2-3 quarts per day, between
meals.

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Emphasis is here laid on this point o£ right feeding and
adequate elimination, because no one other single health
point is so vital to women's efficiency and so generally
neglected, with the result of "nerves," irritability, and greatly
impaired work power. As a class, too, women overeat of
sweets and undereat on strengthening foods, as compared
with men. They have delighted in the unhealthful fineness
of bolted white flour, the excessive sweet of preserves, jams,
and dessert fripperies. Women in the home, as well as in
business, tend to prefer chocolate, puddings, and starchy
foods, wrongly using a less quantity of protein, vegetables,
and fresh fruits than they should. This excess sweet is fa-
vorable to teeth decay, "acid mouth," etc., and unfavorable
to the strong muscle and blood development necessary if
women are to work efficiently at maximum output of both
their muscle and their mental power.

Other Mistaken Eating Habits of the Homemaker
Again, many women who do their own housework habit-
ually undereat or have contracted wrong eating habits. Fre-
quently such thin, nervous women and quick workers allow
themselves to "eat any old time." Now, there is a bodily
"rhythm" in every bodily act, and once the muscles have
adjusted to a definite eating interval (or any other definite
interval), that period should be observed, even tho we eat
only a small quantity at a time. Many thin, nervous women
are exceedingly rapid workers and can just "pitch in and do
wonders" in a short time. Ofter they get started on a spe-
cial stretch of work, key themselves up, and then refuse to
sit down and eat until this long, badly planned work stretch
is finished. The chances are that at the end of this pro-
longed strain, they either don't eat at all, or they eat hastily
and ravenously.

4

HEALTH AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY 489

Another wrong habit practiced by women who are at home
"alone during the day is to "seize a snack" of cold stuff from
the pantry and eat it hurriedly instead of taking time to pre-
pare a warm dish. One should never eat when tired; never
eat beartUy before active physical work; never eat when the
body feels "tense," or when suffering from excitement or
anger. Definite regular meal periods must therefore be
included in the daily work schedule, and work so planned as
to avoid excessive long stretches of effort without adequate
"rest periods."

The Importance of Right Posture
"Oh, but I get so tired doing housework," is the complaint
of many women. Now, I ask fairly, is it the work itself
which makes the "tired," or is it the way it is done? Is it
dishwashing as a piece of manual work, or is it the stooping
over a low sink? Is it the paring of vegetables, or is it the
standing the slouchy way, weight on one hip? In other
words, too often blame is laid upon the task itself, which
should be put upon conditions or the manner under which
the work is done. Right posture is an essential point in work
efficiency. Frequently there is a slouchy poise, particularly
while standing before table or stove ; the weight may be bal-
anced unevenly, or the shoulders allowed to stoop, thus keep-
ing the chest in and not permitting proper breathing. Now
a slouchy posture causes the blood to stagnate in the liver,
and causes a feeling of mental confusion and despondency,
and is often the cause of chronically cold hands and feet.

Again, if the abdomen is constantly held relaxed, the re-
sults are very bad, as this posture interferes with digestion,
and is a contributing cause of many women's diseases. For
these reasons some form of corset or abdominal belt or
supporter should always be worn when doing the manual

490

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

tasks of housework, especially by women who have had
children and whose abdomen is unduly relaxed from child-
bearing,

Flat feet and broken arches are also more common in
women than in men, largely due to faulty standing, which
places unnecessary strain on the arches of the foot. More
sensible shoes with broader heels will help, as well as always
trying to stand in a poised symjnetrical way with weight on
balls of feet, not against the spine. Often the leg muscles are
weak, which fault may be remedied by more vigorous exer-
cise, running, tennis, etc. Many times wrong posture is held
just because the matter is not given thought, as stooping over
to hold a long-handle floor mop, or picking up a bucket with
the weight thrown on the spine instead of on the shoulders,
etc. Keep the chest up, and, above all, practice deep-breath-
ing exercises, as it is practically impossible to breathe deeply
and hold a very bad posture.

Adopt Sittinc; Rather than Standing Postures
If the bad posture results from wrong heights of working
surfaces, a small change will usually remedy this (see pages
37-39) . The sitting posture is always more efficient and less
fatiguing than the standing position. It is quite easy to wash
dishes, iron, make cake, pare vegetables, etc., while in a sit-
ting posture, and this principle should be followed and not
let it be regarded as "lazy to sit down," Do not make the
mistake of thinking that standing is exercise, or that to sit
down at work is a sign of weakness or inefficiency, as many
women do so regard it. On the contrary, in factories and
industries without number, work chairs and benches have
been installed for tasks at which the worker formerly stood
up, with the result that the workers have done the same or
even a greater amount of work with far less fatigue.

4

1

HEALTH AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY

49'

For some women, the typical office "high stool" is com-
fortable. For others, especially women of heavier weight
and figure, it is most uncomfortable to thus perch on a small
sitting surface with the legs drawn up or left hanging with-
out foot rest. For such women some form of modified
kitchen chair on 4-8 inch blocks of wood, with casters, to give
additional height, will be found preferable. The author uses
in her kitchen an adjustable, so-called "library" or office
chair, with both adjustable back and seat, so that it may
be raised or lowered to exactly fit the working surface at
which it is temporarily used. Generally some kind of foot
rest, such as a tiarrow board, should be nailed to the legs of
the chair, as there is still less fatigue if the feet are sup-
ported ; indeed, no sitting position with the legs hanging
should ever be held for a long period.

Relaxation Through Reclining Postures
The power to relax is one habit which every homcmakcr
must acquire if she does not know how already. Some people
even sleep without relaxing ! Relaxation consists in making
the body "limp" and letting the tension of both muscles and
nerves entirely disappear. While it can be practiced in a
sitting position, it is always best to relax lying down. It
may be put down as a rule that tvery homemaker should at
least once a day Ke do-um in a relaxed position from ten to
twenty minutes. This is best taken by lying on a couch
or bed flat on the stomach, arms hanging limp at sides. Duf'
ing sud\ a horizontal position of the body, the blood pressure
becomes less, and thus the cell walls arc rested ; also, it
greatly strengthens the sex organs, many oE whose ailments
arise from too constant standing.

A noted woman, now elderly, and famous for the extent
and variety of her interests, gives it as a positive injunction

492

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

to women that they lie down a half hour each day if they
would be free of "nerves" and have better health. Even a
five-minute rest in a reclin-ng posture gives much more rest
than a much longer period taken in even a comfortable chair.
It is a faulty American habit, and especially practiced by
women, to use "rocking chairs." There is no rest in a "com-
fortable" rocking chair! It dissipates energy and makes for
nerves. Try to use the Morris, wing-back, and square library
types of chairs instead. The horizontal relaxing may often
best be taken in the late afternoon before commencing the
busy supper preparations necessitating standing; mothers
with young children whose sleep is disturbed at night should
by all means "make up" with a day nap, generally when the
baby sleeps also.

Relation of Fatigue and Balanced Work Conditions
TO Efficiency

One of the chief aims of household efficiency has thus
been the elimination of fatigue. By standardizing dishwash-
ing (see page 78), by using a power washer instead of the
hands, by sitting down to work, etc., much of the fatigue
accompanying work can be eliminated, as has been shown.
The reason we wish to eliminate all possible fatigue is not
only because waste time and effort result in actual money
loss, but because fatigue has a direct relation to the personal
efficiency of the worker. The "all-tired -out" woman isn't
either a successful housekeeper, or a happy mother, or a
helpful member of the community. It has been proved that
the recovery from normal fatigue can be quickly made with
a small amount of rest, but "That it takes more than twice the
amount of rest to recuperate from twice the normal amount
of fatigue." (Gilbreth.)

To prevent a more than normal amount of fatigue in

I

HEALTH AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY

493

honsdiold tasks, then, the homemaker should make a "sur-
vey" or study of all her work conditions and remedy them
as much as possible either by different location of etiiiipnient
(seepages 21-37), by the use of improved tools (see Chapter
III) or by different methods of work (see Chapter II).
remembering that light, height of working surface, air, pos-
ture, heat, clothing are also factors which n)ake for fatigue
or the reverse. Next, after eliminating the unnecessary
amount of fatigue, she must distribute the normal fatigue in
a balanced way. Now. any period of work may be repre-
sented by a "graphic curve," which will vary nt different
periods. In business we frequently hear of "three-o'clock"
fatigue common among office workers; in industries, the
fatigue may be most marked at certain other hours of the
day. We call this hour or time when the fatigue is most
noticeable, the "peak-load."

Housework, like any other work, may be represented by
a graphic curve. The author sent a questionnaire to 100
women who did their own housework, and from their many
replies prepared a graphic chart of housework for the
period of one working day. This chart shows that in the
period from 7 a. m. to 7 p. m. there were two distinct "peak-
loads" — one at about 2 p. m. and the other at 7 p. ni. The
location of these peak-loads in any individual case will, of
course, depend on exactly what work is done in the period—
the "load" on a wash day coming perhaps at a different time
from a day on which rooms were cleaned, or sewing done.

There are two objects which the housekeeper must strive
to achieve in relation to these "loads" as they occur in her
own individual housework :

—Prevent the "peak" from mounting so high by better
planning of the work schedule.

494 HOUSEHOLD ENGIKEERTNG

2. — Prepare and be ready to meet the "peak" when it
occurs.

If, in your particular case, the "peak" rises at 2 p. m. and
you find yourself unusually fatigued at this hour, you may
prevent the "peak" very greatly by better scheduling of your
work in the morning so that you are not so fatigued at this
hour. If 7 o'clock, the after-supper hour, seems again to be
the most wearisome, then this, too, may be changed if a rest
is taken in the late afternoon, or if much of the supper prep-
aration is made in advance. In other words, better schedul-
ing (see Chapter II) so as to more evenly balance the work-
periods will do much to lessen definite fatigue points of the
working day.

Again, if a. certain "peaf^' of the day must be necessarily
high, and nothing you can do by planning will change it from
that hour, then you must prepare to meet it by coming to it in
a rested condition by making extra advance preparations, etc.
For instance, 5 130 in the author's house is a very trying
"peak-load" indeed. It is the children's supper hour; it is
the time when the baby is undressed and bathed for the
night; and the time when the other members of the family
come home from business. No better scheduling will alter
these facts. Therefore, they must be met as efficiently as
possible. The table set in advance, several supper foods
pre-cooked, the bath materials laid ready, the homemaker
rested by a reclining nap, and refreshingly dressed, all help
to meet this "peak-load" with the minimum of friction, hurry,
and energy.

In all cases, heavy work like wall cleaning, sweeping,
laundry, etc., should be followed by periods of sitting work.
Again, excessive sitting should be interchanged with stand-
ing or walking around. It may be given as a rule, that the

i

HEALTH AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY 495

more strenuous the work, the longer should be the duration
of the "rest" period (or whatever means is taken to counter-
act the fatigue) and the more frequent the rest periods
should be made. It is a common mistake, especially of ener-
getic women, to start a "spurt" of work, and "see it right
through" without stopping. In general, it may be said that a
two-hour interval of one kind of work is long enough, and
that every two hours there should be even a slight rest, relax-
ation, change of posture, music, or mental interest.

When you think you just can't possibly wash another dish,
go and put a stirring march record on the phonograph, or
when your back gets tired at the stooping cleaning work, put
on a polka or a schottisch and see what music does to sweep
away fatigue 1 A face sponge, a clean waist, or a cup of
malted milk are other first-aids to relaxation.

Mare -work can be done if the worker applies herself stead-
ily over short periods than if she works less steadily, or too
steadily over prolonged periods.

Confusion Ceieates Extreme Fatigue
Another source of fatigue is found in disorderly, upset
kitchens and overcrowded sinks, and rooms which have been
allowed to "look like a sight." From the efficiency point of
view such overcrowding should never be allowed to happen,
not only because it causes excessive bodily fatigue to clean
up such unusual confusion, but chiefly because disorder cre-
ates mental fatigue of a severe kind. "Clutter" causes the
worker to become discouraged, and this in turn lowers her
work efficiency. Therefore, those methods which prevent
confusion, such as definite place for grouped equipment, the
cleaning up of mixing bowls in cooking, the "pick-up-as-
you-go" habit, are to be followed not only because they save
time, but because they save emotional fatigue.

496

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Clothing as an Aid to Personal Efficiency

Clothing should serve these five purposes : { i ) moderate
warmth; {2) ventilation; (3) freedom from pressure; (4)
cleanliness; (5) Eesthetic appeal. Much fatigue (and thus
lowered personal efficiency) is caused by too heavy under-
wear which does not permit ventilation to the skin. Fatigue
is also caused by working in too tight clothing instead of
doing such work as heavy cleaning in bloomers and middy
blouse, thus freeing the legs from restriction. (See pages
167-168.) Clean or new clothing also acts as an important
antidote against fatigue by increasing the feelings of pleas-
ure, change, and visual satisfaction in color, form, and tex-
ture which it gives the wearer.

A whole chapter could be written on the one point alone
of women's general clothing and its relation to their personal
efficiency. Most home women spend entirely too much time
and emphasis on the subject of clothing ; they have numerous
changes and dresses which are too elaborate and which are
made according to the arbitrary whims of fashion. It is a
lamentable fact that while home women (more than business
women) spend literally days of time thinking, discussing and
making clothing, they spend almost no time in originating
clothes to suit their personality, either in color and line or in
developing such dresses that wiil make for more efficient work
or greater (esthetic appeal. Instead of studying their own body
proportions and the colors that would enhance their good
points, and making clothing to emphasize the beauty of these
proportions and colors, they mistakenly follow "fashion."
Thus the home woman is constantly "altering" this and that
gown to adjust to fashion's vagaries, no matter whether they
suit her or not, and ii she has growing daughters, the appal-
ine amount of time that this takes, and the inharmonious

HEALTH AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCV 497

clothes that result, certainly detract from her personal effi-
ciency—an amount of time and effort which could be devoted
to other interests with far more profitable results.

Similarly, many women with children, especially girls,
follow standards of dress for their children which are out
of all proportion to their standards of living in other respects.
They put lace-fringed white petticoats and embroidered
white dresses on little girls, and make for them clothing which
does not allow the highest comfort or make the child look its
best. They make the mistake of thinking that "hand tucks"
and embroidery — the details of clothing — give to dress that
beauty which is based only on the selection of right colors
and proportionate lines and form — if these be wrong and
inartistic, no amount of needlework will cover it up ! More
time should be devoted to a study of the design and textures
of clothing and less to the details of construction. Every
woman should try and design for herself, or have designed
for her, one work dress which best fits her needs and one
house-gown for home wear which is artistic and brings out
,her "best points" — regardless of fashion. These two can
then be copied in many materials to give variety, yet their
making will always be more standardized and less time-
taking than regular clothing, besides assuring that the design,
line and form on which they are made needs no "altering"
twice a year, but is always such as will best express the
personality and emotion of the woman who wears them.

Further, the time consumed in the dressing process is often
out of all proportion to its results or necessity. One of the
minor but still important details in developing the woman's
personal efficiency is to see how easily and quickly she can
make her dressing schedule, and reduce such a mechanical
process of repeated daily occurrence to the minimum. It
may be interesting to know that in a series of time tests on

498 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

dressing, it was found that a woman could easily dress for
the street in ten minutes, or for a formal function in twenqr
minutes, if she followed a standard practice and kept her
mind on what she was doing! J

Daily Physical Exercise Needed for Health 1

Efficiency

"What, take more exercise when I do all my own house-
work ?" manj women may exclaim in surprise. In general,

all women in the home lake too Ultle exercise to keep them in
good condition, and to enable them to store up surplus vital-
ity. Most housework is done indoors, does not give a chance
for increased air supply and invigoration ; second, cooking,
dusting and the like are all relatively slow work as compared
with tennis, golf, basket-ball or such sports for women. It is
seldom that housework makes a woman perspire and get
into that "glow" which is so essential to perfect condition.
And last, few women get into housework the "play" idea
which the best forms of exercise give.

Therefore, the homemaker, above all other women, needs
to indulge in daily outdoor exercise and sports, particularly
such as develop the leg muscles. A woman thinks she is so
tired from housework that she cannot take other exercise,
and makes the mistake of thinking that "rest" always con-
sists in lying down or taking a warm bath, etc. On the con-
trary, she should take that form of outdoor exercise which
would not only offer her a change of scene, but which would
so develop her as to enable her to stand the strain of the
unusual standing and "tracking" she may have to do. A quick
walk of :it least two or three miles daily is an absolute neces-
sity. Or if she can indulge weekly in tennis, golf, swimming,
or plain gymnastics, she will receive great benefit.

Any woman who thinks she "doesn't need exercise" should i

HEALTH AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY

499

watch her breathing when she runs for a. car, or compare
herself with women who are noted swimmers, golfers, etc. It
is a peculiar delusion of many women to fail to see that
exercise develops reserve nerve force as well as muscular
resistance. Often they look at exercises as entirely unneces-
sary, thinking that the slow, and often puttery work of stand-
ing, sitting, tracking housework is genuine exercise. Isn't it
unusual for the average married woman to take time for out-
door sports? Doesn't the term "housekeeper" usually carry
with it a "settled" stay-in-the-kitchen sort of woman who no
longer follows many of the sports in which, perhaps, as a
giri she excelled? Yet need this be so? Real, vigorous daily
outdoor exercise is demanded of every homemaker who
wishes to keep her efficiency at the top notch.

Thousands of women think that as homemakers they are
"overworked," Some, indeed, are working beyond their
strength. But the plain facts are that most of these thou-
sands of women who think they are being overworked are
instead victims of bad air, wrong diet, poor elimination,
body poisons, lack of exercise and worry and mental disquiet.
They make the mistake of thinking that because they are
"tired" it is work which is fatiguing them. They fail to
see that most often it is not the work of the house, but these
other wrong living habits that cause the fatigue and weak-
ness. There are some women, perhaps, working beyond their
capacity, but on the other hand their working capacity is
only a fraction of what it would be if they took exercise, if
they were not constipated, {/ they did not eat wrong foods,
if they did not worry! There is no better economy in life
than to keep up one's working power, and the homemaker on
whom not only the work of the home depends, but also its
guidance in educational and spiritual needs, must keep up
her working power by strict attention to right living habits.

Soo

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Finally, it is an excellent plan to have a "survey" or diag-
nosis made annually of all body conditions and organs, even
tho the woman may feel in perfect health. Never was the
saying, "a stitch in time," more applicable. We all know
the tooth which decays entirely, when a tiny filhng the year
previous might have saved it. So, too, such a "survey" of
heart, blood pressure, sex organs, eyes, teeth, etc., may reveal
slight indications of wrong which, taken in time, will never
become the aggravated symptoms and illness they might
develop into if unobserved at the start. One week spent in
a sanitarium under the constant observation of trained health
specialists will more than repay the cost, especially if the
woman later follows the course of diet, or exercise, or
hygiene planned for her special problems.

The Mind, Emotions and Senses Need Exercise AlsoI

There was a recent widespread discussion on the point of
whether the home woman did not allow herself to stagnate
mentally so that, say at 40, she would be unable to success-
fully undertake a course of college work, and that she is
always, as a matter of fact, less mentally alert than other
women who have not been married or been homemakers for
a number of years. It is often pointed out that as a class,
homemakers are less interested in public affairs, less keenly
alive than women who have made careers for themselves in
other work or professions. Is this true, or need it be true?

It must be admitted, however regretfully, that far too
many married women permit themselves to slip back into a
slough of mental inertia ; they "lose interest" ; they don't
keep up with current events ; and particularly they allow
their minds to grow rusty and refuse to consider problems
of beyond -the- home or of abstract interest. Here is, per-
haps, the one crucial difference between men's work and

I

I
J

HEALTH AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY

501

k

homemaking as commonly practiced : men have had and do
now follow tasks just as fatiguing, just as monotonous, just
as limiting as any washing dishes or bathing babies could
possibly be (let anyone who does not believe it think of men
who run elevators, drive teams, add up figures, collect tickets,
handle freight, dig sewers and the other jobs which make
up the bulk of men's occupations) ; but men have, as a group,
kept up their mental development because they separated
their day's work from their after-^ork avocations and inter-
ests. Men have not, nor do they have, necessarily more time
than women, but they have utilised that spare time and after-
work-hours freedom to better advantage.

Concretely, here is Mr. Smith, who works from 7 :oo to
7 :oo as an express agent — certainly a confining, monotonous
kind of employment. Here is Mrs. Smith, who works from
7 :oo to 7 :oo at the confining, monotonous tasks so many
women claim of the home. But — Mr. Smith reads a good
daily paper ; he bowls once a week ; he spends Saturday after-
noon at a free swimming tank; he votes; he belongs to a
club of "fellers" who have great meetings solving problems
for the president, the war, the railroads ; he has a hobby
for shooting galleries, or dogs ; and, even if not a college
professor, Mr. Smith keeps up his mental development out-
side of work hours. But Mrs. Smith — does she read a good
paper ; does she swim ; does she belong to a club to discuss
broad civic and abstract problems; does she have a whole-
some hobby — or is it not too true that many and many a Mrs.
Smith's whole universe is bounded by the price of butter,
how Susie's dress is to be made, the baby's symptoms, and
what Mrs. Jones told her about the Browns — does she not
"talk shop" most of the time ?

We must be fair and admit that the interests of many
homemakers are bounded by the over- elaborate, petty details

502

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

of their own individual housekeeping. We must admit this in
order to clear homemaking of the many charges heaped
against it by both men and women today; it is not home-
making that is narrow and limiting in mental discipline, but
the fact that so many homemakers have neglected to have
other definite, beyond-homemaking interests. Men have fol-
lowed their work or occupation, and also an avocation — a
spare-time set of interests ; but many women have wrongly
permitted homemaking to be both a vocation and an
avocation.

This is a serious point, because it has had so much effect
on the popular idea of homemaking as "uninteresting," and
why, particularly, numbers of young women think only of
a "housekeeper" in terms of disparagement and reproach.
Does Mr. Smith, the express agent, get his mental culture,
such as it is, from his Job itself? But Mrs. Smith has made
the error of supposing that she could get alt her mental cul-
ture from washing dishes. And often, because she didn't
find it in washing dishes, she has wrongly, most wrongly,
blamed dishwashing and wishes she were working at some
other job. Now, the whole problem here is for every home-
maker to find for herself extra homemaking avocations, in-
terests, and pursuits, and to develop herself as a human
being outside and beyond her housework and child-raising
demands.

She can do this by :
1. — Reading newspapers, magazines and books of the better
class, particularly books on civics, psychology, govemnient,
ethics, and critical reviews of more abstract interest
2. — Having a hobby or fad far removed from housework, as
music, sketching, garden, or flower collecting, care of pets,
designing, civic improvement, suSrage, or some kind of
reform work.
3. — Taking daily and weekly physical recreation in gymnastics,
walking, tennis, or other sports.

HEALTH AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY

503

4. — Belonging to dubs or associations having broader interests
or the wider interests of the home as objects, housewives
and consumer leagues, civic clubs, art associations, etc

5. — By giving even a short moment each day to abstract think-
ing, and cultivating a well thought out philosophy of life.

Women as a group, too, do not read enough wortlnvliile
books. They overindulge in novels and fiction, but should
also read books dealing with civics, labor problems, sociol-
ogy, history, etc. It is even more necessary for the home-
maker than for other women to include such reading in their
plans for personal efficiency, since they are more closely
confined and out of touch with world events. They should
also read magazines other than the so-called "women's mag-
azines," which unfortunately cater largely to the home in a
narrow concrete way instead of to the larger human inter-
ests of the world of both men and women. Among the most
profitable magazines are ; The Literary Digest, The Review
of Reviews, The New Republic, The Atlantic Monthly,
World's Work, National Geographic, The Bookman, Good
Health, The Woman Voter, Journal of Home Economics,
etc. And there are many, many fine broadening books if the
homemaker will but seek them.

What Shall the Homemaker Do with Her
Lexsube Time?

A reputedly brilliant man once said to the author 1 "Well,
Mrs. Frederick, after a woman has found out how to save
time and effort by following the ideas you give her, what
is she going to do in all this spare time she has saved?"
What, indeed, is the object of all the more efficient methods
for doing work, the use of laborsavers, the time, effort and
nerve-saving plans which this course on "Household Engi-
neering" advocates so strongly to the homemaker? Is it

504

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

only that she can do in ten minutes tasks which formerly '
took her twenty, or that she may find herself less tired by
using a washing machine than by rubbing on a washboard?

No ; far from it ; the real object in saving time and effort
in the work of the household is to enable the homemaker to
have leisure time to devote to interests which are more im-
portant than the mere mechanics of living. Looked at
closely, the homemaker must satisfy the following demands:
( I ) the manual or largely physical tasks of cooking, sewing,
cleaning — what we call the "mechanics of living" which are
involved in ordering and arranging that food, shelter, cloth-
ing, warmth be supplied as efficiently as possible to her fam-
ily; (2) the mental and spiritual tasks of providing the
"home atmosphere" of stimulation, sympathy, education,
ethics, love to both husband and children; (3) the three-
fold physical, mental and spiritual demands of her own de-
velopment as a woman and as a human being ; (4) the mental
and spiritual tasks of sharing in the larger home of the com-
munity and home of the nation by being a good neighbor,
civic worker and patriotic and loyal citizen.

Now, looked at broadly, which set of demands are the
most important ? We can easily see that all demands should
be satisfied in the ideal homemaker's life; but we can say
truly that the first set of demands, the mechanics of living,
important as they are, are not as important as any of the
other three demands. In other words, the family, or men
and women and children as individuals, are not getting all
or even a full share of life if their food, shelter and cloth-
ing needs are completely satisfied, and nothing more. The
most important needs are surely the mental and spiritual
wellbeing which it is the homemaker's peculiar function
to pour out to her family and the community. "Man can-
not live by bread alone," it is written, and Jesus praised.

HEALTH AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY

50s

Mary, even though she only sat at his feet and listened, while
Martha busied herself with household duties.

The real object, then, in all household efficiency, is to so
lessen and reduce the time required and consumed by the
demands of the mechanics of living — the dusting, and cook-
ing, and washing, and mending of garments — that the home-
maker shall have leisure time to devote to the three other and
far more important endsoi homemaking. "Household Engi-
neering" is valuable only as a means to this end — it must
never be regarded as an end in itself. Thousands of women
have a!I their lives been nothing but housekeepers — they
have fed their husbands three kinds of pie, but they have
not fed them sympathy and interest in their business, or com-
radeship in work and recreations; they have spent hours
seeing that their children were "properly" dressed, but they
have not taken as many hours to see that the children were
properly chaperoned, or trained, or brought in contact with
stimulating and habit-forming persons, arts, or educational
opportunities ; they have broken their backs dusting and
sweeping and scouring their own individual hearths and
chairs and garbage pails — but they have neglected to keep
the schools, and the amusements, and the city garbage pail
up to a high and safe standard.

Or, again, thousands of married women have secretly or
openly repined because they "never had the time" to follow
up some cultural pursuit like music, and the arts, or indulge
in some business which attracted them. Marriage and child-
bearing is thus commonly regarded as a barrier towards any
outside "career" or cultural achievement ; indeed, many
brilliant women have refrained from marrying or refused
at least to bear children because it has been so commonly
accepted that housekeeping is so absorbing, so overwhelming
that it does not leave any room to carry on other interests
and pursuits at the same time. Is this, or need it be, true?

506 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

If we sincerely study and face the facts, do we not find
rather that many of these thousands of women do not value
and make the ynost of the time and leisure they da have?
Or, do they not waste hours in social chit-chat, in needless
entertaining, in unnecessary thinking about clothes, in time-
wasting shopping, marketing, etc., instead of putting this
valuable time to some definitely planned work or interest?

What is the value of one hour saved each day? Unless its
use is planned for, this time is gone forever, and there is
really no need or use in increasing the household efficiency
which gives leisure unless it is planned to be utilized to the
best advantage. Thirty minutes saved each day equals three
hours per week of working days, or 156 hours a year. The
100 best books of the world could be read in about 36 months
of this time, saved at the rate of only a half hour per day I

But the homemaker's life is from twenty to thirty years —
think of what could be accomplished over this period of years
with only a saving of thirty minutes a day, that were planned
for! One could perfect a modern language, learn a com-
plete science, take a course of music, master a business, in
the spare time of only thirty minutes per day distributed
over the span of homemaking life. Think what you could
do if you saved an hour, or an hour and a half — and thenn
made the best use of it!

It is a mistake for women to think (as many do) that men
have "more chance" to attain eminence or success in cultural
pursuits than women, especially homemakers. Investigation
proves that many, many men who have achieved notable
success in some line have done it in afler-wark hours' leisure.
So often women exclaim, "Oh, I had to give up my music,",
or, "I can't do any of these things because my housekeeping
takes up all my time." Now, let it be repeated again that
men have had to apply themselves at monotonous jobs and
hard work, and that, all things considered, the responsibili^

<

i

HEALTH AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY 507

of earning a living and supporting a family is as great a
responsibility as that of managing a house and children. If
more men have attained success, it has been in spite of family
and work responsibility — ^it has been because men have or-
ganized themselves, organized their time and their leisure
to make it count the most. Lincoln, Franklin, Carnegie all
utilized their after-work hours and planned definitely to
reach some desired goal ; Lamb and Hawthorne and others
were clerks tied to a most rigorous daily routine when they
yet found time to write their beautiful fiction; and the
example of such women as Harriet Beecher Stowe, who
wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin in spite of poverty and care of
small children, and Mme. Schumann-Heink and Louise
Homer, who are great artists even though they have had six
and eight children, and the lives of many other actresses,
literary women, etc., all prove that homemakers can achieve
a large share of personal efficiency and development, even
world distinction, without sacrificing the emotional benefits
of family life — ^if they organize themselves and plan the
use of their leisure time.

Organizing the Home i

Also, not only do few women plan to organize their time
to the best purpose, but they do not organize their households
as men do their business, into a going concern. For instance,
it is a very poor strata of business man who, all himself
answers the phone, writes his own letters, files them, gets
the business, then comes back to the office and prepares it,
etc., etc. He employs even a low-price assistant to do some
of the work so that he can devote his own time to the more
important phases of the business. In other words, he values
his own time, and refuses to spend this high-price time at
work which some other low-price assistant can do equally
well. The idea of the modem, efficient "organization" is to

508 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

have one acting head with co-assistants, helpers and others
who are responsible for, and who do relieve the acting head
of details, so that he jvilt be able to put his entire energy into
the more important work of an executive and manager.
But few homemakers are filing to give over responsibility
and to delegate authority to assistants — they still mistakenly
cling to the old, inefficient conception of an "organization" —
that of having one head who has authority, and who must
pass on every detail and practically carry the whole respon-
sibility before anything is done.

Concretely, many women insist on doing "everything my-
self." They take hours doing the mending, or making baby
dresses, when perhaps they were never trained for sewing,
but can cook or do something else unusually well. Why not
give over certain tasks about the home to others who are
more experienced and fitted for them? Is it not a mistake
to try and "do everything well"? The author knows a clever
business girl who married and then entirely dropped her pro-
fession and started in to do every bit of her own work, in-
cluding the sewing, which she found unusually difficult.
After a few years she was an entirely different woman ; she
was exhausted from trying to learn and do several kinds of
strange work — she scattered her efficiency. Would it not
have been a great deal better to continue proficiency in her
specialty in her spare time, and by means of it pay some
woman who was an expert sewer and thus save her own
energy at the same time she gave employment to another
woman who needed it?

It is therefore far more important that the homemakerJ
have a definite purpose and plan for the use of the leisure'
time which household efficiency will give her, than that it
merely enables her to accomplish her present kouseworl/i
with less effort. It is not lack of time which handicaps the
homemaker, but lack of power, lack of will and a strong

I

it

n

ic

HEALTH AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY

509

enough ideal to force her to subordinate housekeeping roulitic
to the attaimnent of the higher ends of personal and family
happiness and success. What shall the homemaker do with
her leisure time ? Here are some suggestions :

Ten Things to Do in Leisure Time

I. — Take time to read more about her own specialty, as
government and state food bulletins, books on
household management, child care, house planning,
equipment, etc,

2.' — Take time for actual correspondence course in
homemaking subjects ; attend special classes in cook-
ing, food conservation, budget making, which her
community may offer,
-Take time to interest herself in and understand her
husband's business, so that she can aid, sympathize
and be a comrade in his work.
—Take time to supervise her children's school work,
play, friendships ; take them to museums, zoos and
places of interest on their holidays.

5. — ^Take time for daily grooming, hygiene and physical
exercise.

6. — Take time for reading and making personal thought-
out decisions on the problems of life, ethics, immor-
tality, philosophy of life, etc.

7. — Take time for music, art, language, business, hobbv
or interest beyond housekeping.

8. — Take time to "keep up on" some specialty or pursuit
in which she excelled before marriage, or by which
she used to earn her living, so that she can relieve
herself of some phases of housework for which she
is not fitted, and so that, in case of death or disabil-
ity, she would be more able to take upon herself the
burdens of family support, if occasion required.

■

510 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

g. — Take time for interest in local school, housing, san-'
itation, temperance and food conditions — belong to
organizations having these aims as objects,
10. — ^Take time for active Red Cross or other war charity
work ; act as census taker, soldier chaperone or other
patriotic duty, either in war or peace.

The Homemaker's Mental Attitude and Its Relation
TO Heh Efficiency

Sleep, air, posture, food, physical exercise, etc., have all
been discussed in their relation to personal efficiency. We
now come to ihe most important factor of all — the home-
maker's mental atlifiide toward her work and its great influ-
ence on her personal efficiency.

In the first place, numbers of women constantly work
under a sense of hurry, they seem constantly to be trying
to "catch up," and this sense of tension and uneasiness enter
into every smallest act. Now all such feelings of worry
and tension are wasteful of energy and make for the nervous
debility of the worker. It has been proved that even mild
worry is more exhausting than hard work, and that this sense
of hurry actually reduces the speed of their ivork. Indeed,
much of the fatigue and depression that women blame on
housework comes instead from this totally unnecessary nerv-
ous, wrong mental attitude which they permit to accompany
their work.

Instead, it is vitally necessary that the homemaker develop
a sense of equanimity, repose, calm, or inner spiritual poise
which she may exert even in the most trying of situations.
And this poise consists not so much in repressing anxiety as
in ignoring it. To illustrate the difference, think of the
mother who draws in her breath, who gets all "keyed up"
and tense when Tommy comes in yelling from a slight fall,
and the other, wiser mother, who calmly refuses to allow

HEALTH AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY

SI I

herself to be "worked up," and you have the difference be-
tween the inefficient, destroying mental attitude and the
efficient and healthful mental one.

In the first case, the woman allows her mind to be swayed
by her emotion and acts just as it wills ; in the second case,
she manages her mind and diverts and controls her attention.
This "control of attention" is so important that every home-
maker should practice it a few minutes daily, changing her
attention from one thing which seems to absorb and master
her, to some other thought, or even making her mind a blank
nothingness. To do this easily is one of the greatest protec-
tions against tension, worry and fatigue. It will enable her
to "see through" a huge pile of unwashed dishes, a serious
illness of one of the children, or be of immense value in
countless emergencies. Indeed, this attitude of mental con-
trol will, more than any one other thing, enable her to master
housework and carry a heavy amount of work and strain
without fatigue.

Again, so many women allow themselves to be needlessly
affected by "interruptions" of one kind or another. The
author has had women tell her over and over that the inter-
ruptions coincident with housekeeping work make them
"nervous" and upset. Now, this need not be true. It is a
psychical fact that monotonous work is far more fatiguing
than interrupted work. The point is, not that the "inter-
ruption" makes the woman nervous, hut that her own mental
attiude towards the interruption is the real cause of her irri-
tation. If she would relax and welcome the interruption
instead of allowing herself to be irritated by it, each inter-
ruption would only serve as a rest and change of work, and
means of lessening tension, instead of increasing it.

Second, women have differing mental attitudes toward
their work, most of which greatly limit their efficiency in that
work. From thousands of letters '■'^ve come to the

5"2

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

writer, and also from talking to women all over the coun-
try, from farms, from small towns or large cities, I can say
that women generally regard their work from some one of
the following points of view :

I, — A widespread feeling that bousework and child care is a
kind of "trap" into which they have fallen because of their
marriage, and from which they constantly struggle to es-
cape, and yet which they cannot master or control.

2, — A clinging to the traditions and experience of the routine
past, which makes them refuse to see the new modern con-
ditions of homemaking, or to try and use improved methods
or equipment because such practice was unknown to their
mothers, or not included in their previous experience.

3. — An automatic, unthinking attitude, accompanied by unstan-
dardized work, and lacking in any mental interest or imagi-
to get finished as soon as possible in "any old way."

4. — A mania for some one phase of housework, as cooking, or
sewing, on which all originality is spent to the neglect of
an efficient management of the home as a whole.

5. — An excessive insistence on the details to the end that house-
work is exaggerated, elaborated and repeated, and the more
important executive side of housework neglected.

6. — A mistaking of the physical, manual tasks of housekeeping
to the almost total exclusion of time and attention upon
the more important responsibilities of home-making; an
emphasis which measures homemaking efficiency solely
by the amount of and the exhaust iveness of the physical
tasks accomplished and the time spent on the mechanics of
living.

7. — A general fear, anxiety, lack of confidence and inability to
control the situation ; a refusal to make a survey of condi-
tions, and knowing them, to apply definite, and even radical
means of changing them; a lack of self -discipline and con-
trol of the will.

8. — A refusal to see in housework any opportunity for cultural
development or self-improvement: a contempt for all house-
work, with a preference tor teaching, business, or other
career, and the hope to be relieved of it entirely some time
and take up other, more "stimulalittg" work.

I

HEALTH AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY 513

. — A failure to put into housework tasks the same interest,
initiative and "punch" which are demanded to make any
other occupation or business a success.

.^A refusal to see beyond individual housekeeping and its
problems into the wider city and national housekeeping of
which it forms a part, and which it so much influences in
regard to national habits of thrift, conservation, char-
acter, stability and morale.
)i. — The parasitic attitude— unfortunately rather common— a
feeling that society, their husbands, parents, or somebody,
owes them a soft place; that they should not be expected to
work, to give value received, but should be allowed to
"adorn" society, amuse themselves, and cultivate their
"higher faculties."

What Is the Right Mental Attitude for
the homemaker?

The right mental attitude involves the reverse of all the
wrong attitudes listed above. The homemaker must look
at her work as it is, as a problem which is interesting, which
is stimulating, which will call into play all her highest train-
ing, and which, no matter how difficult, can be solved by
the twelve principles of efficiency, (See page 9.)

That homemaker has the right mental attitude when she
holds before herself a strong ideal of what she wishes to
accomplish in her work ; when she uses common sense in
securing this ideal ; when she standardises her conditions of
work so they save effort and time ; when she standardises
operations in her work, and writes down standard practice
instructions of the best, shortest, easiest way to do a certain
task, and exactly what tools or equipment will give this;
when she takes competent counsel from some person's expe-
rience, from a book, or a course of study ; when she makes a
plan or schedule not only for her daily housework, but a
plan which shall provide for the larger interests and self
development she is seeking ; when, once having made such a

J

514 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

plan, she dispatches it, or sees it through, against eveiy
obstacle and seeming difficulty ; when she keeps reliable rec-
ords of her business, so that she knows the cost; specifica-
tions, names, etc., required in that business ; when she trains
her will by discipline to accomplish what she sets out to do;
when, finally, she gives herself and her family a fair deal
and a true efficiency reward by achieving for herself and
for them the largest measure of health, happiness, andi
success.

One means of retaining the right attitude is to bring the
spirit of a game or competition into work. Try to make a
"record" in some task, like bedmaking, or table setting. The
next time try, with yourself, to better that record. Again,
vjritteii standard practice instructions, such as may be hun^
in the kitchen or other room, are, in Ikemselves, an inspira-
tion to keep up the high standard of work.

Often "slogans" or mottoes hung up, even for a few days,
have their effect in stimulating efficiency, as "Plan Your
Work, then Work Your Plan." Always substitute science
and tests for personal bias and tradition, and by this means
keep up interest. How long does it take asparagus to steani
— how long to boil? Try sweeping and cleaning a room in
the efficient order, then the reverse — see if the work doesn't
add in interest. Cultivate right feeling about work — be con-
tented, enthusiastic, optimistic.

Above all, do not waste time and energy in worrying
over conditions and circumstances — but expend the neces-
sary ptental energy to think them into better and more desir-
able conditions. Often women become discouraged solely
because they don't take time and trouble to think clearly;
because they don't adopt the scientific method of test, experi-
ment and research in housework to replace the old traditional
methods. Today we must relegate to the scrap-heap the
traditional technical experiences of the past. For instance,

4

I

I

HEALTH AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY 515

Me times of conservation, who has use for recipes
ning with "8 eggs and i quart of cream"? Or, who
lay is interested in roasting meat over a spit when the
T«ssure cooker is at hand?

in other words, we must realize how rapid, how all-indu-
,.e have been the changes in homemaking during the last
j^ years — fifty years ago, even twenty-five years ago, there

SQO pressure cooker, no fireless, no insulated oven; there

•vSS no dishwasher, no washing machine, no heated mangle

jf ftlectric utilities of any kind. Scarcely a can of food

old be bought ; clothing was all home-made. The home-

m^ing that was fitted to those conditions is not adjusted

to the conditions of today. All too often young women speak

^ scornfully of "housekeeping," when they have in mind the

r old-fashioned kind of housekeeping. It is time to realize

* that the era of the "Household Engineering" has come I

f Conclusion

' "Household Engineering" has only tried to show the new,

' modern conception of homemaking, with its many possibil-
ities for scientific work, for the use of improved machinery

' in the home, for less waste in materials, energy and time —
to the end that the woman herself, and her family, and the
nation be developed to the fullest power and vantage ground
in health, happiness and true prosperity. If "Household
Engineering" helps any homemakers and families do this,
as it has so wonderfully helped the author, and if in any
small measure it dears housekeeping from some of the slurs
cast on it, and more rightfully places it in relation to the
whole tremendous problem of woman, her work and devel-
opment, and in relation to the business and industrial prog-
ress of the present era, the author will be well repaid for the
labor it has cost her — a labor additional to the care of a
country home and four young children — a labor made pos-

Sl6 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

sible only by well planned work and equally planned-for
minutes of leisure time !

QUESTIONS ON HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

XII
Health and Personal Efficiency

1. To what extent has your health affected your personal

efficiency? What measures can you take to increase
your degree of health' and personal efficiency?

2. Are you conscious of a "peak-load" in your daily work and

what can you do to lessen it?

3. To what extent and how has the study of Household Engi-

neering saved you time in housekeeping?

4. Have you a well defined plan for use of your spare time ?

If so, what? If not, what appeals to you as worth
working for?

5. What is your attitude towards homemaking as a pro-

fession ?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cooking and Diet

Lessons in Cooking Through Preparation of Meals — Bobinson and

Ham met. $2.00.
Feeding the Family— Rose. $2.10.
Low Cost Cooking— Nesbitt. $0.50.
Successful Canning and Preserving — Powell, $2.00.
Food and Dietelics — Norton. $1.50.
How to Cook and Why— Condit and Long. $1.00.
Principles of Cookery — Barrows. $1.50.
Boston Cooking School Cook Book— Farmer. $2.00.
A New Cookery Book — Farmer. $1.00.
Mrs. Allen's Cookbook — Allen. $2.00.
The New Cookery — Cooper. $2.00.
How to Cook in Casserole Dishes— Neil. $1.50.
Canning, Preserving and Pickling— Neil. $1.50.
Candies and Bonbons and How to Make Them— Neil. $1.30.
American Salad Book — DeLoup. $1.25,
Fruit Recipes — Fletcher- Berry. $2.00.
The Housekeeper's Apple Book— MacKay. $1.00.
The Fireless Cookbook— Mitchell. $1.30.
Book of Corn Cookery — Wade. $1.00.
Canning, Preserving and Jelly Making — Hill. $1.50.
Cooking for Two— Hill. $1.50.
Low Cost Recipes — Harbison. $1.00.
How to Cut Food Costs — Cooper. $0,75,
Food and Flavor — Finck. $2,00.
1001 Food Tests— Wiley. $1.50.
Principles of Nutrition— Jordan. $2.50.
Food Products— Sherman. $2.40.

Management and Fauilv Finance

Household Management— Terrill. $1.50.
The New Housekeeping — Frederick. $1,50.
The Business of the Household— Taber. $2,00.
Increasing Home Efficiency — Bruere, $1.50,
Principles of Domestic Engineering — Patterson. $2.00.
The Modern Household — Talbot and Breckeoridge. $i.oa
Cost of Food— Richards. $1.00.
Cost of Living — Richards. $i.oa

517

5l8 HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

The Woman Who Spends— Richardson. Si.oa

The Up-to-Date Waitress— Hill. $1.50

The Expert Maid Servant— He rrick. $1 oa

The Expert Waitress— Springs lead $1.00.

The Dut.es of Servants (English). $im

Domestic Service— Solomon. $2.00.

Wanted, A Younsf Woman to Do Housework. $i.oa

The Uw of the Household— Beecher. Juj.

.

Clothing and Laundiy

Textiles and Oothing— Watson. $1.50.

Dress Making— Falea. $i.eo.

Clothing for Women— Baldt. $2.00.

Practical Millinery Lessons— Bottomley, $1^5.

Textiles — Woolman and McGowan. $2,00.

Practical Sewing and Dressmaking — Allington, $1.50.

The Secrets of Distinctive Dress— Pkken. $2,oa

Sewing and Textiles— Turner. $1.75.

A Guide to Laundry Work— Chambers. $o.go.

Laundry Work— Sheppard. Jo.ga

Laundering— Balderson. $1.25.

Qiemistry of the Household- Dodd. $1.50.

The Complete Housekeeper— Holt. $2.00.

Housekeeper's Handbook of Cleaning— UacLced. $1.50.

Equifuxkt, BuiLUKt^ Eic

The RfTident Kitchen— Chads. $1^.
I'llie llralthful Farmhouse— Dodd. $a6a.
"Tf'leii and Approved" List — Good Houseken>uiS- $0^3a
lliiiiip Labor Saving Devices — Scott Si.oa
The llouie: Its Plan, Decoration and Care-^ericr. St-SD^
M.iihiii American Homes — Von HolsL ^30.
A It'K'h rif House Flans— Buuerfiield. tzxa
( oMimBii Homes— Stickle}-. S^oo
hiniitii^''Wt and Camps — Comstock. $2Jn
l/f'fltKlivc Homes at Uoderaie Cost— Sajlor. $3^0.
ThN framllv Hosse— Osbon»& $us,
HOTi»e— dart $i.sa

lit BtK>k of Litde Houses— Ml cisilha. ^BtTS.

4m Cnt S«barban Hones— Wticht $IJS.

t TmIC in House Fawiskiic— Scft SUS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Health, Child Cage, Etc

The Human Mechanism — Hough and Sedgwick. $1.50.

Personal Hygiene — LeBosquet $r.so.

The Four Epochs of Woman's Life-— Galbraith. $1.50.

Exercise and Health— Hutchinson. $0.60.

Home and Community Hygiene — Broadhurst $a.oo.

Household Hygiene — Elliott $1.50.

House Sanitation — Talbot. $1.00.

Care of Children — Cotton. $1.50.

Study of Child Life— Washburne. $1.50.

Education /

0 Progbess.

Twelve Principles of Efficiency — Emerson. $3,00.

Efficiency— Emerson. $2.00.

Principles of Scientific Management— Taylor. $i.SO,

Fatigue Studies— Gilbreth. $2.00.

Woman's Share in Primitive Culture — M&son. $1.50.

Woman and Economics — Stetson. $1.50.

Democracy and Social Ethics — Adams. $1.50.

Progress in the Household — Salmon. $1.50.

Home Problems from a New Standpoint — Hunt. $1.50.

Blessed Be Drudgery— Gannett $o.?5.

Family Secrets — Washburne. $1.50.

Will the Home Survive?— W. L. George. $1.50.

Fear and Conventionality — Oews-Parsons. ¥1.50,

The Woman Voter— Austin, $i.5a

Behind the Battle Lines— Doty. $1.25.

The Ambitious Woman in Business— Gilbert, $1,50.

INDEX

Acoountlne, Need of. Z6B

'fcharge. Coat of. 323

286

a Fuel,

Acetylene Gaa. s

Address Pile. 301

Advance Cooking. 197

Advancement, in Division of In-
come. 2 S3

Advantages of Servantless House-
hold. 3S0

Advertising and the Conaumer. 3BT
for House workers, 44£

Adulteration of Foods, 341

Air Molstenera, 471

Freah, Need of, 483
Alcohol as Fuel, 118

Irons, 239
Alcove, Breakfast, 4K3
All-baked Dinner. 201
Allowanea Plan, Objections to, 2i9
Aluminum Utensils, GS
Ampere, Meaning of, 125

Need of, 266

Plan in Spending, 211

Typical, 284

Variations in, 278
Buffet Meals, 882
Built-in Fixtures, 481

Fixtures, Kitchen, 40
Bulk in the Diet. 181
Bulk vs. Package Goods, 3E3
Bungalo Dress, 168
Bungalows, 477
Bushel, Legal Weights of, 3(B
Business Equipment, S3

Comer, 3B7, 44B

Corner. Need of, 313
Butler's Pantry, 20
Buying Clothing. 369

Co-o,_

erative. 327, 40S
. 317-387

Baby Oarmants. Washing, 263
Babies, Schedules with. 76. 403
Baked Dinner, All, 201
Baking Temperatures, S07
Balanced Diet. Calories in, 331

Meals, 131, 4S4
Balancing Household Accouni

392
Bank Checks. Advantages

Using, 295
Bargains, Lure of, 388

Seasonal, In Clothing. 368
Bath Room, Care of. 1E3
Bath Booms, 461. 463

Bibliography, B17

Bins and Drawers. Kitchen, 48

Kitchen ^ulpment. E4
Parcel Post. 328
Seasonable. 827
Staples, 325

Cabinet Closets. 465

Kitchen, 28, ISfi
Calories. Composition of F

of Food, by Measure. 335
of Food, Coat of 1000, 33:
per Pound. 331

:, Average, 332

Card Cookbook, 305

Care of House Heaters. 473

of Laundry Eaulpment, 25!
Cash and Carry Stor™ '"'

Breakttut Alcove, 4G3

HOUSEHOLD ENGINEERING

Change ot Shift, U»

ChBrse Accounts, Cost ol, IZl

Checks. Uae ol. Z9G

Clilldren as an laveatment, 2S2

Cost of, ZSi

Co-operation ot In Servantlesa
Houa-'--" "" '""

Children's CtothlnB, 4ST
China Buying, 871
Cleaning Closet, IGE

In aervantleas HouaeboM. S9S

Methods of, 14G-ieT

of Elqulpnient. lOS

OutBt, List of, ni

KooniH, Order of, 74

Standard Practice In, ISS

Standard Icing, SI

Suromary of, 172

Vacuum, I "

1,21. 2.

Walls, lis
CleaDHerB. List of, 171
Clearing away ProceB*
CUpplDga, Filing, JOT
ClosetB. 4«1

Cabinet. 1E&

Cleaning. IBS

Laundry. 232
Clothes Dryei*». !*1
Clothing and Efficiency, MB

Budget, see

for Cleaning. 167

Home -Made. IBS

Purchasing. 359

Heady -to -Wear, 367

Seasonal Reduction In. BES
Cold Mangles. 210
Color In Kitchen, IE

plans of House, 457
Colored Clothe a. Washing. 262
Combined Living- Dining Room,

159
CompOBltlon ot Food by Calories,

331
Confusion and Fatigue, 495
Constipation, Evils of. 4SG
ConHtructlon ot Eqiiipraent, 101
Consumer. Trained, 318

Woman aa a, 166, SIB
Contrast In Meals, lEl
Cookboolt. Card, 305

In Casserole, 202 -

Co-operative BimngL327

Comer, Business, 111

Sewing, 369
Corse ta. 1»9
Cost of Children. 281

ot Cleaning Outfit. 170

of Cooking Utenails. SO

ot DlBlributlon. S2D

ot Fuels, 121

of Laundry Ekiulpment, SSI

of Laundry Tubs. 230

of 1000 Calories, Table of. :

of Operating Hlectrloal E^
tnent. 129

of Operating Irons, 239

of Paper Producta, 113
ot Service. 113, 131
Cotton Fiber, 212

Testing, 361
Country Home, What to Do WttI

out Servics, 403
Country Houses, Convenlenc

178
Country Laundry, 229
Country Schedules, 90
Cut-price, Lnre. 168

Dally Schedule, The, Vf
Deep Breathing, 190
Delivery, Cost of, 121
Den tor Father, 493, 4E9
Despatching. 11. 66. iSS
Dining Booms, 1G9
Disappearing Beds. 104
DiBhwaahlDg, Hand, 113

In ServaBtlCHB Household. MS

Machines. Tests ot, 110

Standardizing, 79

Time Study of, 79
Dish Drainers, l"'

Warn

I, SI

Distribution. Coat of. 120
Division of Income, Typical, ZTl

Laws at, ITS
Domestic Servlcs, Objections to.

120
Draft Regulators, 1T2
Drawers, lOS

Kitchen, 18
Drawing House-Plans. ITt
Dress and ElBolency, 196

Budget. How to MaJu. 36S

Standards of, 197

Working, 1«
Dressing, Bfndoncy In, 197
Dressniaklng. Records. 370

Room or Comer. 369

Scresn. 169

Standard Practice In, 171
Dryers. Clothes. 231

Dish. 109
Drying, Clothes. 221
Dumb Walters. 164
Dusting, 131

Tools. 170
Duatlesa Duster, 1G8
Dust Pan. Long Handled, ISB

Shuts, 111

Duties of Special Servanta, US

Efflciency, Personal, 431-E15

Reward, the, 431
Efficient Home, FlannltUT, 143-4

Requlrementa of. 15Q
Electric Cooking. 393

Bquipment, 123

Irons, 237

Light Plants, Individual. ITS

Power. 127

Vacuum Cleaners, US

Washing; K"- -"' "'"

. Inea, 219

Sleotrical Appliances In Servant-

lesH Houaeliold, 393

Devices, Cost of Operating, 129

MeasurementB, 124
Elevator Ice-boi. 133
Elevators. 464
Employera, Women as. 435
Employment Agencies. 441
Enameled Iron Fixtures. 467
Engaging House workers. 443
Entry, the, 4fj0
Equipment and Family Needs. 102

as an Investment, 101

Business, 63

™-inlnB. 170
ining of. 10!

atruotlon of. ._,

Cooking, List, 60

for Horoe-Sewlng, 370

Qrouping of, SI, 29, 22E

hi Servantless Household, 391

Kitchen. 66

Laundry, Grouping. 22 1>

Laundry, List of, 263

Relation of Schedules to. 88

Size of. lOG
Bsercise, Dally, 493

of Mind. 600
Expansion Tank, 470
Eipoaure, ot the House, 4E2

Pair Deal for Houseworkers, 443
Family Financing and Record

Keeping'. 266-312
Farm House. Conveniences for,

477

Laundrjr In. 229
Father's Share In Servantless

Household, 334
Patlgua. 4B2, 439

and Confusion, 4BG

In Cleanlngr, 143
Fibers, Textile. Testing. 360

In Laundry Work, 212
financing. Family, 266
Financial Records. SO 4
Files, Card for Hecords, 29S
Filing. Methods of, SOS

- ._t Feet. C

Flies and Mosquitoes, t£i
Floors, Kitchen, 42

Coat of, 47

Cleaning, 174
Food Adulteration, 140

Buying, Refuse, in. 336

Buying by Nutrltiva Value. 330

Expense in Division of Income,
280

Habits, Efficient. 485

Planning, 179-20S

Pure, Defined, 341

Sanitary Standards for, 339

Units per pound. Table of, 332

Units Required Daily, 331
Frying, Disadvantages of, 204
Fuel Saving Devices, 130

Saving in CooklnK, 194. 206

Savins in House Heating. 471

Value

Value of Foods by Measure, ;
Fuels. Coat of. 124
Foels. Time Saving. 117
Furnaces. 470
Furniture, Buying, 873
FurniahingB, Simplifying, 39 B

Garbage Disposal, G5, 479

Gasoline, Irons. 239
Stoves. 121

Gloves for Cleaning. 163

Grouping Food Supplies, 31
Kitchen Equipment. 21, 29
Laundry Equipment, 226

Halls, 460

Hands. Care of, 169

Handkerchiefs. Washing. 219

Heating Apparatus,

Heat Regulators. 472

Health ot the Homemaker, 431-493

of the Mother, 104
Height, Correct, of Ironing Board,
237

of Laundry Tubs, 230

of Shelves, 37

of Sink, 37

of Stool. 39

of Stove, 38

of Tables, 39
Home-Made Clothing. Iflg
Hot Water Supply, 61

Heating, 47*
House Heating, 467

Week, anrtnc; Ml

■ft o««n. ise, W«

lg^^g^b~^(. B03, BOS

CMt or Oamt&Wi *»
Electrie, nT

Iron SUilH. C»tiM of. n4

Ca.lilnetB.13S
Chain. S9. «!

BQUlproent. List of, 60
doors and Walls. «

Improving the, ^«
Lighting the, «■ '"
Tcible, Metal, loT
Table Tops, *»

VknnaLE
llatutate

tn Honae Buildios, 46S

Heats. Burlng, 191. 336

Chopper. 107

Wholesale Prices of, SJT
Medical Record File. 803
Medical Supplies, BuylnK. IT*
Medicine Closets, 4Ee
Mental Attitude of Housekeepc

15. 604, BIS
Menus for a Week. 187
Mercerised c— ■— "■"

Moisture. Addlnc t<

Mopping Tools, 171
Mosquitoes and Files. «0
Moth era' Helpera, 11!
Munlclpid HousekeeplnK. tlZ

Naptha Soap, Washing with. 260
Nationality of HouseworkcrH, 447
Nerves, How to Prevent, 492
Net Weight Law, 34T

Obtaining Household Help, 440
Offlce Worlt vs. Housework, 92
OperBting Eipcnses, ESI
Order of House wortt, 66
Organizing the Home, B07
Oven Temperatures. ZOT
Ovens, Fireleas Cooker, 120, 12S,

131
Overlapping Meals, 2(IK
Over Weight, Reducing, 4S3

Pantries. SQ

Paper Pniducts, 143

Parafflna Boll in Washing, 260

Parcel Post Buying, 328

I^rt-tlma Service, 408

CoBt of, 412
Path of the Sum. 4S4
Peak -load in House work, 493
Personal Efficiency, 4S1-51E
Picking up, 383, 399
Planned-over Meals, 194, 20B
Planning the Home, 449-480
Plans for Houseworlt, 6E-95
Plata Warmers, El
Play-Eoom, 400, 449, 459

In Country Home. 403
Plumbing, 4flT

for lanndry, 227
Polish, Furniture, 174
Polishing Tools, ni
Porcelain, Flitures, 467

Preparing Procesaes, 21, 24

Pressure Cookers, 134

Price vs. Value, 319

FrlnclpleB of Emciancy Engineer-

Calories, Hi

Quantity Buying, 193. 324, 8S7

Household, iK

Reliable, 11
Receipts, Filing, 307
Heolpes, Cooking, Card Pile of,

308
Reducing Overweight, 486
Refrigerator Drain, 468
Refrlserators, G4

Elevator, 138

Iceless, 479
Relaxation, 491

Rent, In Dlvlalon o( Income, 279
Rest Periods, 69, 494

for Servants. 425
Retailing, Cost of, 323
Rights of Houseworkera. 420
Rinsing Clothes, 220

Tray, 259
Rough-Dry Laundry Work, 402
Routing. Cleaning Work, 73

Kitchen Work, 21. 26

Laundry Work, 227
Rugs, Cleaning. 163

.„ -sundry Work,
Saving Steps, 388
Savings, Proportion ot.
Scales, 141

Faulty. 343
Schedule for a. 'Waek, 70

Minor Taeks In. 75

of Meals, 190

Timing in, 83

with Plreless Cooker, S9
Schedules. 65, 96

Advantages of, S3

Country. 90

Dally, 67

Examples of, 69

for Servants, 86, 4ZS

Dressmaking, 37l

in ServantlesB Household, 389

Records of, 94

Seasonable, 390

Special, 76
Scheduling, II
Scientific Managenient, 8
Seasonable Buying, 327
Seasonal Buying of Clothing, 368
Seconds. Buying. 69
Septic Tanks, 479
Servant Problem, the, 377, 419

Solution of, 422
Servantless Household. The, 177-

281

yivTjTr

tsssfssnr

itatiMMnr Tub*. £IS
VMWini Cleancri, ISt. 4»

•uMm Cooki'is. in
lumf •, ClothM, 102

VcMaW Pm.

I^eparsUoD. Ttme Srott «(. N

PreparinR Table, SS
Veotilatlon, Houao, *tX

Kitchen. 4t
Vdltfl, MuDlnff of. 114

^Vksh Dar, Tuesday, 73
WashluB CIothM, nt

HachlneB, 24*

PlMWInc the, tit

Powaep, ill

Soda. Use of, S14
Waste In Food Buylnr. S30
Water in Laundry, 213

Soften Ins, 211

Supply, Hot, Bl

SyatemB for Country Houses, Vi
Waste, Foqd, Preventing, 205
Walts. Meaning o(. 121

ligata and Heasi
ilffhta per Bushe

lOleaale Price, S!

Price «C Beet, StT
WlndoiTS. 4BI

Cleaning, ITl
Women, as Purchaelng: Axente,

ao7
Wool Flbera. Ill

Teste of. MS
WCKilens, Washlns, Standard

Practice. 2G1
Wortted Fehrlcs, SSO

HOME-STUDY COURSES IN HOME ECONOMICS

For Home MakcTi, Mothera, Houieworken, etc. ProfeMiOnal
Course*, (or Teachers, Dietitians, Institution Managers. Nurae^ J
Demonstration Agents, etc. 1 00-page Bulletin on request. ■

THE LIBRARY OF HOME ECONOMICS 1

12 Volumes — 3,000 Page»— 1,000 ItlUBtratloQa

FOOD SUBJECTS

PBrNCIPLES OP COOKEKT. by CHEMISTRY OP THE HOUSE-
Anca BarrowB, Columbia Cnl- HOLD, bj MacBSret B. Dodd. S.

versitT. B. Uaea. lastitate of Technology.

FOOD AND DIETETICS, by Prof. HOUSEUOLD MANAGEMENT. Vv
Alice P. NoPtUB. M. A., formerly Prot. Bertha M. Terrlll, M. All

Cniveralty ol Chicago, Editor Univeralty Ol Vermont ■

JoumiLl of Homo liiconoinlcs.

Prof. S. Maria Elliott, SlmmoDa Bosquet, S. B., Dire

CoIleBO. HOME CARE OF THE SICK, bj

HOOSEHOLD HYGIENE, by Prof. Ami E. pope, Presbrterian Ho*

fi. Maria Elliott, SimmouB College. pltal, New York City.

HOUSEHOLD ARTS

THE HOUSE: ITS PLAN, DECO- TEXTILES AND CLOTHING, b»i

RATION AND CARE, by Prot. Kate M. Watson, formerly -*■

Isabpl Bevler, Ph. M., CnlTetsit; Leirla Institute sua UiilTeFBlty

of Illlnola. ChlcasD.

CHILDREN

CAEE OP CHILDREN, by Prof. A. STUDY OP CHILD LIFE,
C. Cotton, M. D., formerly Rush Marlon Foster Wnshbuccc, ^

Medical College, University of Mothers' MagaslQe.

Chicago.

Price }1.G0 per Volume. Textbook edition, special rate to schools

THE DOMESTIC SCIENCE LIBRARY

a VolumeB— 4,000 Pages — X,200 IIlUBtrntlona
(I) Handbook of Food and (2) Handbook o[ House-
Diet keeping
Chemistry of the Housphold: The House: Its Plan, Decoration
Principles of Cookery ; Food Bud and Care ; Household Hyglfne :
DlBtetlca. Household MoDaBOmeat.
(3) Handbook of Heahli and (4) Handbook of Dreas and
Nursing Ckildkood
Household Bacteriology; Per- TeitlleB and Clothlcg; Care of
Bonal Hygiene ; Home Caro of Sick. Children ; Study of Child LUa.

Price, ^ Leather Style, J2.S0 per Volume. Teitbook edltloo, special rate
(S) Lessons in Cooking, Through Preparation of Meals

By pEor. Eva E. Robiksok, B.B., University of South Dakota, and
HiLEN Q. HAUUBr., Farmers' Institute, L*cturer, etc

Price, % Leather Style, $2.25. Textbook edition, special rate,
(6) Household Engineering, Scientific Management in the He

By CHniSTiNB Pbedehick, Consulting Editor, Ladles' Home .'—
Price, % Leather Style, (2.25; Cloth, $2.00. Tcit edition, special

LOW COST COOKING— Nesblt, lO.BO ; HOUSEHOLD ACCOUNT BOO]

lO.SO.
BULLETINS— Free-Han d Cooking. 10c ; Food Valaes, 10c ; Plve-Cent Ml

10c; Wheatless-MeatlesB Meals, 10c.

American School of Home Economics, Chicago

rn*I.^j

1

3 hiD5 OID 552 StS

STANFORD UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

STANFORD AUXILIARY LIBRARY

STANFORD, CALIFORNIA 94305-6004

(415) 723-9201

All books may be recoiled oftet 7 days

MAR f g-iOOO
NARtolPIII

DATE DUE