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HOUSEKEEPING

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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 8, 1900

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 77, No. 19.

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HOUSEKEEPING

By Sadie Cassell

SADIE CASSELL.
The main object in keeping house is to have a place for everything, and then keep it there. I find that it does not take half so much work to put things in their places as it does to throw them here and there, and when you want things, you will have to hunt for them, and then may not be able to find them.
When I was but a child, my mother made one impression on my mind, that has stayed with me all my life; that was in putting everything in order before going to bed at night. What a nice thing it is to get up in the morning with everything in order! But if we retire at night with everything thrown here and there, we find in the morning there is so much to do,—the house is in such a bad shape,—we can not invite Jesus in; so we do not have family worship.
Some persons say, If I had but one child, as you have, I could keep my house straight too. But the child should be taught to have a place for everything, and to keep his things in order as well as the older ones. A child ought to have a certain room for his own, and to keep it clean and straight. If there is no room that can be spared for this purpose, give him at least a corner in a room, and teach him to keep it clean and in order. If we “train up a child in the way he should go: . . . when he is old, he will not depart from it.” My little girl, four years old, will not go to sleep at night until all her playthings are put in their proper place. I believe our homes should be the places for us to let our light shine the most.
When we get the house in order, let us look outside, and see how our yards look,—not only the front part, but the back yard as well. The angels are as likely to come in the back way as the front; but I have seen some yards I fear the holy angels would hardly pass through.
Although I am a lover of the health reform, I believe we should be just as careful in keeping our bodies clean, and our surroundings neat and in order. ‘Filth is a breeder of disease.’—‘Healthful Living,’ page 66. ‘Fresh air, exercise, pure water, and clean, sweet premises, are within the reach of all with but little expense.’—‘Testimony for the Church,’ No. 32, page 199.