1068 
THE RURAti NEW-YORKER 
August 29, 
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:: Household Management :: 
How Busy Women Plan 
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How Busy Women Plan, 
TANDARDIZING THE WORK.— 
Not being very strong and having a 
great deal to do, with four children from 
one to nine years old to care for, besides 
the regular work of a farmer’s wife, it 
has been necessary for me to arrange my 
work so as to get it done as quickly as 
possible with the least amount of effort. 
I have my work systematized, for that 
is the only way to accomplish a good 
deal in a little time, I think, having cer¬ 
tain days for doing certain things. Of 
course sometimes sickness or other things 
prevent certain work being done at the 
time planned, but usually it only takes 
a little time to get caught up to the old 
schedule. 
How It Is Planned. —In order to 
show you how I plan my day’s work I 
will have to begin with the night before. 
I put the two younger children to bed 
right after supper, which we have at half 
past live, wash the supper dishes, put 
the other two to bed at seven o’clock 
(they have been taught to undress them¬ 
selves since they were four years old, 
with mother unbuttoning them down the 
back) so it only takes a few minutes to 
listen to their prayers and tuck them in 
bed. I then set the table for breakfast, 
putting the cereal on to cook in fireless 
cooker, if it is in the Summer-time (for 
all raw cereals are better for being 
cooked over night as my doctor told me 
when I first began to feed my children). 
We burn wood in Summer; if it is in the 
Winter cereal is put in tin* double boiler 
on back of kitchen range and is all ready 
to use in the morning. The coffee is 
measured and put into the coffee pot with 
cold water, and when my husband goes 
down in the morning he opens the draft, 
if it is a coal fire, starts a wood fire, as 
the case may be. and sets the coffee on 
to boil. The children generally wake up 
about the time we do and all are dressed 
before breakfast, except baby, who has a 
little wrapper slipped on over his night 
clothes, until after breakfast. 
Tiik Breakfast. —I do not bother with 
meat and potatoes for breakfast, but gen¬ 
erally have bread rolls heated in the 
oven, or toast, with soft boiled or poached 
eggs— these being good for the children 
and quick to fix—the two important con¬ 
siderations, for as everybody knows, an 
hour in the morning seems worth two in 
rlie afternoon to get things done. 
Wasii-day. —Monday, as soon as I go 
downstairs, I fill boiler with cold water 
and a full bar of borax soap shaved up 
fine and put in the clothes. By the time 
breakfast is cleared away, dishes washed 
and baby attended to, the clothes have 
boiled enough and are about ready to 
put into rinsing water. Clothes done 
this way require practically no rubbing, 
as I poke them well while boiling. They 
are put into washing machine, which is 
turned three minutes, then the water 
drained off and the machine filled with 
clean water. There is a wringer attached 
to machine, so that it does not take long 
to finish the washing. Doing it this way 
white clothes are easier to wash than col¬ 
ored, so the children and I wear white 
ripplette nightdresses and petticoats in 
Summer, and white outing flannel in Win¬ 
ter. The other underwear for myself and 
the girls is gauze and the boys and my 
husband balbriggan, as that is the cheap¬ 
est and the easiest to wash. I say “cheap¬ 
est” because I think it gives the most 
comfort and wears the longest. Of course 
underwear made at home might cost less, 
but I would rather take the time it 
would take to make the underwear to 
work in the garden and with my chick¬ 
ens, for the returns are greater both in 
money and in health. 
We use bath towels (Turkish towel¬ 
ing) upstairs and for the kitchen brown 
homespun linen (that is the name they 
go by and they are only 12 cents apiece 
and last longer than any other towel I 
ever had) as they don’t require any 
ironing, but are folded as taken from the 
line. 
Other Labor Savers. —I use sheets 
instead of spreads for the beds, as they 
are so much lighter to wash. So many 
people use a colored quilt instead of a 
spread, but I do not like to do this, as 
I think it is much healthier to have all 
the bedclothes as clean as possible, and 
of course spreads are much easier to 
wash than quilts. For six or seven 
months in the year I do my washing on 
back porch, which is toward the south. 
I have a large tin funnel (costing 10 
cents) fastened to the end of a piece 
of garden hose with wire, which I tie 
to the pump at kitchen sink, so that 1 
can fill the tubs without carrying the 
cold water. The two older children think 
it great fun to fill the tubs with water, 
which helps me quite a little. The drain 
for emptying the water is put at the end 
of the porch. My cooking I make as 
simple and easy as possible by using my 
fireless cooker and in the Summer an oil 
stove. 
Caring For The Babies. —Except in 
the coldest Winter weather I give the 
two younger children their nap out of 
doors, one in the hammock and the other 
in what I call his daytime crib, which is 
really a big packing box on castors, lined 
with denim, with a folded heavy quilt in 
the bottom. This crib saves more steps 
and time than any other one thing, for 
the baby spends practically all his time 
in it. Two sides of the box have window 
screening set into it so that when he is 
sitting up he can watch the other children 
playing. I also give him a few things 
to play with. This keeps the house from 
being cluttered up so, as well as keeping 
the baby’s clothes much cleaner than if 
he was creeping around the floor. Then 
when I have a few minutes to spare I 
can run up and make the beds, which 
always have a good airing. 
The Children Help. —Another thing, 
I have always insisted on the children 
helping me in the house, the boy as well 
as the girl, and it certainly is surprising 
how many steps they save mother. It is 
all done for love, and sometimes when 
they grumble about having to do so much 
more than some of the neighbors’ children 
a little talk about the part they can 
take in the world when they are big, and 
about some of the well-known men who 
started in as farmers’ boys, will renew 
their interest and make the work go 
easier. The two older children help in 
the garden and with the chickens, these 
latter being very little trouble except for 
the first two months, and even then I 
have everything arranged in the most 
convenient way so that it does not take 
long. I have always had good luck with 
my chickens, and make considerable 
money from the few I have, but I will not 
go into my methods here, as it would 
take too much space. mbs. f. b. t. 
A Few Good Stews. 
HAT delectable vegetable stew.— 
Did you ever eat one? Then you 
don’t know what you have missed, for 
they are certainly delicious as well as 
wholesome, and will help reduce your 
meat bills, for if you have one of those 
stews for dinner you will not need any 
meat. There are a great many combin¬ 
ations that can be made, depending 
chiefly upon what you have in the gar¬ 
den or can get. I will give some of the 
combinations which I have tried: Pota¬ 
toes, onions, carrots, tomatoes, parsley, 
string beans, thyme and peas. Out all 
but the last named vegetable in small 
pieces and put them together in one 
large kettle, covering them with hot 
water, allowing the usual time for cook¬ 
ing the various vegetables, so that they 
will be properly cooked at the end. Fif¬ 
teen minutes before dinner time put in 
salt and pepper and a large lump of but¬ 
ter, and then thicken the water (which 
should have slightly boiled down) in the 
pot with flour, so that it makes a rather 
thick gravy. This is then served on a 
large platter. 
Other combinations are as follows: 
Tomatoes, onions, Lima beaus, peas, pars¬ 
ley. corn (cut off the cob—that left from 
the previous dinner will do), lettuce and 
a little sage and rice—this latter, of 
course, being first cooked in a double 
boiler until soft, and then added to the 
other vegetables when you add the butter 
and flour. 
Another is cabbage, beets (these are 
Cooked separately and added at the last) 
tomatoes, onions, corn, turnips, celery 
and barley—this latter is cooked the same 
as the rice. Sometimes I add a couple of 
teaspoonfuls of Worcestershire sauce to 
the stew to give a little different flavor 
to it, and nearly always I put a greater 
portion of tomatoes to that of any other 
vegetable. 
Occasionally I make dumplings to go 
with the stew, or put in noodles or mac¬ 
aroni. The former are made as follows: 
Two cups flour, two teaspoons baking 
powder, one-half teaspoon salt sifted to¬ 
gether; then add enough milk to make a 
stiff batter, x^rop a tablespoonful at a 
time on the top of the vegetables, put on 
the cover and let cook without raising the 
cover for 20 minutes or half an hour. Of 
course, when you make the dumplings 
you have to put the butter and flour in 
half an hour before dinner, so as to allow 
time for the dumplings to cook. I always 
put an asbestos mat under the kettle so 
that the vegetables will not burn while 
the dumplings are cooking. 
If it is desired to make the stews more 
hearty a little meat can also be used. Ba¬ 
con or salt pork cut in small pieces and 
fried, then put into the stew and their 
grease used instead of butter is very 
good. Beef may be used. but. of course, 
should be put on in hot water over a slow 
fire, for at least two hours before the 
vegetables are put in. 
While on the subject of stews I might 
toll you about macaroni stew, of which 
my husband and children are very fond, 
as I have never met anyone who made it 
exactly as we do. I get two pounds of 
beef, soup meat, as in our town that is 
three or four cents cheaper than stew¬ 
ing meat and answers the. purpose' just 
as well, and put it on in hot water where 
it will cook slowly for two or three hours 
(I always do the latter as it makes the 
meat more tender). Cut up three or four 
onions and a few sprigs of parsley if you 
have it and put in with the meat. Cook 
half a package of macaroni in salt water 
for 20 minutes, drain, and half an hour 
before dinnertime put in with the meat, 
also adding half a can of tomatoes. Let 
this all cook together for a short time; 
then thicken the gravy with flour. Serve 
all together on a large platter. 
MRS. A. E. T. 
A Woman’s Home Management. 
RS. W. B.’s problem is mine also; 
to manage the home successfully, 
care for a family of small children and 
find time for poultry and garden. I have 
not solved the problem—has anyone?— 
but there are “short cuts” I have learned 
from trying and will suggest these while 
I wait to hear from others. 
My greatest saving of time and labor 
comes on the ironing. Every garment 
possible is taken from the line, folded 
and put directly away. This includes 
towels, sheets, pillow slips, nightgowns, 
stockings, knit underwear, etc. Only 
such as cannot be used without are 
ironed. They are very sweet and clean 
this way, and need offend no one. Most 
especially is this a saving with the wee 
folks who get soiled so remarkably often. 
My next greatest saving is on hand 
sewing. Garments are made and mend¬ 
ed just as far as possible on the machine. 
Children’s underwear can be marie en¬ 
tirely without hand sewing. Measure the 
band and pin in three or four places. 
Lay tiny pleats in the garment and hold 
with one hand, stitch the baud first on 
the wrong side and then turn and stitch 
down neatly on the right. For button¬ 
holes. stitch around three times and cut 
through the center. They will outlast the 
band. Several small garments can be 
made in this way in a short time. Choose 
simple patterns, they are always pret¬ 
tiest. and simple trimmings. Here again 
one saves on the ironing. 
Sweeping and dusting can be cut in half 
by having painted floors with small rugs 
and by packing away unnecessary dust 
catchers. A chicken wing is nice to dust 
with and works faster than a cloth. 
For cooking choose simple recipes that 
are liked by all the family. Save the 
more elaborate dishes for holidays, birth¬ 
days. etc. They will be much better en¬ 
joyed too, if served only occasionally. 
I find it best to do my sewing as far 
as possible in the Winter months when 
gardens cannot be worked and poultry 
does not need so much care. On rainy 
days through (he busy season I mend and 
bake, on very hot days I “go slowly,” 
and bright, cool days which stir one’s 
ambition, I devote to outdoor work. 
There are a few things we must learn to 
overlook. One is the housekeeping of our 
neighbor who has no wee folk. Let us 
not take it to heart because her house 
is so “spick and span,” her work always 
done up early and herself cleaned up and 
working eyelets on the porch. If we can 
keep our little ones well, our home com¬ 
fortable and every one happy and help 
a little with the income, we need not 
worry. Let the children play on the 
floor, the cat lie in the chair, and “John’s” 
wet boots and mittens repose in peace 
on the kitchen stove. 
New York. mbs. niles grovek. 
Sewing on a Button. —It seems that 
science has crawled through the button 
hole. Miss Annabell Turner, instructor 
in home economics at Wisconsin tells 
hows to do it. “Take a small stitch, 
bringing the knot on the right side. Run 
up through one hole of the button and 
draw it down just over the knot. Lay a 
pin across the button and work the 
stitches over the pin. When the button 
is firmly sewed on remove the pin. Bull 
the button out from the material and 
wind the thread around the threads be¬ 
tween the button and the cloth several 
times to form a shank. Pass the needle 
through to the wrong side and fasten the 
thread with several small stitches. The 
shank formed makes buttoning easier and 
lessens the strain on the cloth. The knot 
is brought up on the right side and under 
the button to keep it from being worn 
off.” 
