Order in work and diyision of labor. — This depends so largely upon the number of workers, and upon the equip- ment of the house that no definite plan can be made for all. The question must be differently answered for the woman who has a helper one day a week, or with one or two, or with a large staff of workers. However, there should be some definite plan for the days of the week and the hours of the day, and some division of work among the members of the family or between the family and paid helpers. The young people of the family should each have some regular piece of work, at least in their own rooms ; and the paid helpers should have a definite plan given them, including some hours to themselves, as regular as possible. There are emergen- cies that upset even the most perfect system, and these must be met as they come, but a fair amount of work at regular times should be the system. " Domestic service " is too large a social and economic problem to discuss at length here. Miss Jane Addams calls it " belated industry," meaning that in domestic work we are far behind the productive industries of commerce in organization. We are trying experiments in putting work out, and having helpers come in, and in time we may bring order out of chaos when employers and employees are all properly trained and have the right relation to each other. Processes of housewifery. — Good working equipment, including labor-saving apparatus, is an essential; and we must have knowledge of the effect of different cleansing materials on fabrics, wood, paint, glass, and metal. Equipment. — Brooms should be made of pliable straw (broom com), be evenly made, with a light and comfortable handle. HOUSEWIFERY 355 Brushes may include the whisk broom, soft brush of bristles both short and long handled for floors, a long handled brush of wool or soft material for walls, ceilings, and cornices, a soft brush for furniture, a thin brush for radiators, a silver brush, and stiff scrubbing brush. The variety of brushes at a fui'nishing shop is very large, and interesting to study. It is economy to buy good quality when you can, and if cleaned and not abused they last a long time. Wash the brushes in soapsuds and water, drain and dry before putting away. A bamboo beater is convenient. The dustpan should have a narrow cover at the handle side, and a strong handle. Carpet sweepers prevent dust from flying ^nd are easy to use, but inclined to wear off the pile of the carpet. Vacuum cleaners are a necessity in crowded city quarters, where we cannot beat and shake dusty carpets and rugs out of windows, on the roof, or in the street, on account of our neighbors. That we cannot all have them does not make them less necessary. While they may involve no less mus- cular exertion they remove dust and old dirt in a remarkable way from fabrics, and are very useful for taking dirt from cracks in the floor and woodwork and from upholstered fur- nitm'e. The principle of operation differs with different makes, and some are less effective than others, but there are several patterns that do good work and are not expensive. Experiment with one at the first opportunity. A room cleaned in this way is markedly different in odor from a room that has been swept with a broom, even when this is well done.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Order in work and diyision of labor. — This depends so largely upon the number of workers, and upon the equipment of the house that no definite plan can be made for all. The question must be differently answered for the woman who has a helper one day a week, or with one or two, or with a large staff of workers. However, there should be some definite plan for the days of the week and the hours of the day, and some division of work among the members of the family or between the family and paid helpers. The young people of the family should each have some regular piece of work, at least in their own rooms ; and the paid helpers should have a definite plan given them, including some hours to themselves, as regular as possible. There are emergencies that upset even the most perfect system, and these must be met as they come, but a fair amount of work at regular times should be the system. " Domestic service " is too large a social and economic problem to discuss at length here. Miss Jane Addams calls it " belated industry," meaning that in domestic work we are far behind the productive industries of commerce in organization. We are trying experiments in putting work out, and having helpers come in, and in time we may bring order out of chaos when employers and employees are all properly trained and have the right relation to each other. Processes of housewifery. — Good working equipment, including labor-saving apparatus, is an essential; and we must have knowledge of the effect of different cleansing materials on fabrics, wood, paint, glass, and metal. Equipment. — Brooms should be made of pliable straw (broom com), be evenly made, with a light and comfortable handle. Brushes may include the whisk broom, soft brush of bristles both short and long handled for floors, a long handled brush of wool or soft material for walls, ceilings, and cornices, a soft brush for furniture, a thin brush for radiators, a silver brush, and stiff scrubbing brush. The variety of brushes at a fui'nishing shop is very large, and interesting to study. It is economy to buy good quality when you can, and if cleaned and not abused they last a long time. Wash the brushes in soapsuds and water, drain and dry before putting away. A bamboo beater is convenient. The dustpan should have a narrow cover at the handle side, and a strong handle. Carpet sweepers prevent dust from flying ^nd are easy to use, but inclined to wear off the pile of the carpet. Vacuum cleaners are a necessity in crowded city quarters, where we cannot beat and shake dusty carpets and rugs out of windows, on the roof, or in the street, on account of our neighbors. That we cannot all have them does not make them less necessary. While they may involve no less muscular exertion they remove dust and old dirt in a remarkable way from fabrics, and are very useful for taking dirt from cracks in the floor and woodwork and from upholstered furniture. The principle of operation differs with different makes, and some are less effective than others, but there are several patterns that do good work and are not expensive. Experiment with one at the first opportunity. A room cleaned in this way is markedly different in odor from a room that has been swept with a broom, even when this is well done.

Foods and household management