Can one direct others in matters she does not thor- oughly understand herself, or make a fair, just schedule for work if she knows nothing about the time and effort it takes to do the work properly ? No ; one should know the exact time necessary to do each task about the house properly and well. What is a great help in housekeeping? To have a reg- ular order of work for things that have to be done every day, and one for the extra things that come each day. What amount of work is it right to expect of a maid? That depends upon the size of the family ; whether there is much company and entertaining; whether the home is large or small ; whether the rooms are sensibly furnished, or cluttered up; whether there is much answering the door bell ; whether there are many steps to take in ans- wering it; whether the refrigerator is in the kitchen, and everything so arranged that few steps are necessary in preparing a meal ; how elaborate the meals are, whether there are several maids ; whether the maid has to help with the children; whether there is an invalid to be waited on ; whether personal service is required ; whether some members of the family are irregular at meals. So we can see that it is impossible to standardize the work in various homes, when such a wide range of conditions prevail. What will help in keeping the household machinery running smoothly? Being thoroughly skilled yourself. Try as far as possible, to carry out the Golden Rule. Try 40 Efficiency in Home Making to put yourself in the other one's place, and ask what you would think fair and right. Require the work done prop- erly, but be just, fair, and considerate. See that your maid's work is planned with intelligence ; that she has the necessary tools to do it properly and well ; that she has a comfortable room, and a couple of hours to rest each afternoon. That on her afternoon out she gets out in good season, and dinner might be put a little later that day, and be made simple, if she is to return to prepare it. That she has only the necessary work to do on Sun- day, and a dinner that does not require a lot of extra work. That she has each Sunday afternoon off after the "early dinner" work is over, not returning for supper, if she is required to return from her regular weekly after- noon off, to get dinner. Is it any economy not to furnish some of the labor saving devices ? No ; for they are a saving of time. Where there is a maid of all work ; or in a large family, where the housemaid has much to do, or is a long dis- tance off, or has to go up or down one or more flights of stairs, in answering the door bell, what should the mis- tress do? Always carry her own latchkey. It is helpful sometimes for the family to have a special ring ; as three short taps ; then if the maid is busy, she need not wait to change her apron. This saves her time and that of the family as well. Should the kitchen be made attractive? Yes; for it is much easier to work in pleasant surroundings. It reacts on the feelings and disposition. To be shut up all day in a dingy, unattractive kitchen, is trying to the health and nerves. If much overtime has been necessary, should special recognition be made of it? Yes; either by extra pay, or extra time off.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Can one direct others in matters she does not thoroughly understand herself, or make a fair, just schedule for work if she knows nothing about the time and effort it takes to do the work properly ? No ; one should know the exact time necessary to do each task about the house properly and well. What is a great help in housekeeping? To have a regular order of work for things that have to be done every day, and one for the extra things that come each day. What amount of work is it right to expect of a maid? That depends upon the size of the family ; whether there is much company and entertaining; whether the home is large or small ; whether the rooms are sensibly furnished, or cluttered up; whether there is much answering the door bell ; whether there are many steps to take in answering it; whether the refrigerator is in the kitchen, and everything so arranged that few steps are necessary in preparing a meal ; how elaborate the meals are, whether there are several maids ; whether the maid has to help with the children; whether there is an invalid to be waited on ; whether personal service is required ; whether some members of the family are irregular at meals. So we can see that it is impossible to standardize the work in various homes, when such a wide range of conditions prevail. What will help in keeping the household machinery running smoothly? Being thoroughly skilled yourself. Try as far as possible, to carry out the Golden Rule. Try 40 Efficiency in Home Making to put yourself in the other one's place, and ask what you would think fair and right. Require the work done properly, but be just, fair, and considerate. See that your maid's work is planned with intelligence ; that she has the necessary tools to do it properly and well ; that she has a comfortable room, and a couple of hours to rest each afternoon. That on her afternoon out she gets out in good season, and dinner might be put a little later that day, and be made simple, if she is to return to prepare it. That she has only the necessary work to do on Sunday, and a dinner that does not require a lot of extra work. That she has each Sunday afternoon off after the "early dinner" work is over, not returning for supper, if she is required to return from her regular weekly afternoon off, to get dinner. Is it any economy not to furnish some of the labor saving devices ? No ; for they are a saving of time. Where there is a maid of all work ; or in a large family, where the housemaid has much to do, or is a long distance off, or has to go up or down one or more flights of stairs, in answering the door bell, what should the mistress do? Always carry her own latchkey. It is helpful sometimes for the family to have a special ring ; as three short taps ; then if the maid is busy, she need not wait to change her apron. This saves her time and that of the family as well. Should the kitchen be made attractive? Yes; for it is much easier to work in pleasant surroundings. It reacts on the feelings and disposition. To be shut up all day in a dingy, unattractive kitchen, is trying to the health and nerves. If much overtime has been necessary, should special recognition be made of it? Yes; either by extra pay, or extra time off.

Efficiency in home-making and first-aid to good cooking