The Art of Housekeeping
By Birdie Bohna
THE question may arise, "Is housekeeping an art?" And I answer, Yes; I verily believe that any one who can really keep a house, and keep it as it should be, so that it may be a fit place for our loved ones to dwell, and proudly call "home," has achieved an accomplishment that is worthy to be called "art." But how many look at it in this light? Instead of thinking of it as an "art," how many think of it as a duty to be daily gone through with week after week, month after month, year after year, a monotonous routine, with but few variations! It is because we look at it from this standpoint, that it is or becomes a monotony. Now the question is, how to avoid this, and make housekeeping a real pleasure, something to afford us a satisfaction not always attained in other occupations. We will commence at the culinary department. If the one who has charge of the cooking would plan ahead at least a day, and even better, prepare a menu for a week, she will find the work of getting the meals lessened to no small extent. I think every mother who does her own work will agree with me, that the planning of a meal is a harder task than the work of getting it after it has been planned. Breakfast is, or should be, a simple meal, and yet it should consist of such food as shall be wholesome, and of a nature to give each member of the family the requisite amount of nourishment for the day's duties. Imagine, if you can, one having a clear brain, steady hand, and sweet disposition, after partaking of a hurried breakfast of greasy hot cakes, hard fried eggs, strong coffee, hot biscuits, soggy mush, or any of like dishes that so often go to make up the breakfasts of our American children, who are expected to do good work at school, and be sweet-tempered through the day. How much better to sit down to a table whereon is a plate of nicely browned and slightly buttered or creamed toast, a poached egg perhaps, a bowl of breakfast flakes, and some fresh fruit — something each member of the family, including the invalid or the very small child, can eat without any bad results. For dinner, which should be served in the old-fashioned way, at the noon hour, a bowl of soup, or a plain salad, one or two vegetables, and a simple dessert, is quite enough for any one. This, of course, can be varied by a vegetarian roast, beans, or lentils, in place of the vegetables, and in other ways. But to spend one's whole forenoon in making pies, cakes, or cookies, and seven or eight dishes besides, for our loved ones to partake of, and then wonder why Mary has such headaches, and why Johnnie is so cross, and why husband is so worried over business matters, and does not seem to be so successful as once, is a folly we should avoid being guilty of. Instead, let us sit down, take our Bible, and read and ponder well 1 Cor. 10:31; then, asking God to direct us, prepare a menu that shall be simple, wholesome, nutritious, and worthy of the blessing we ask upon it. As to the third meal of the day, that is a matter that circumstances and dispositions must govern. However, if one feels the need of refreshment, let it be eaten at least three hours before retiring, and consist of a bowl of good milk and a slice of graham bread, an apple, a bowl of rice, a dish of fruit, or something equally simple, and not a piece of mince pie or rich fruit-cake, or a hearty meal of vegetables. For fear some may think this a starvation diet, let him or her try it, and see if the brain is not clearer, the disposition sweeter, and an extra amount of time given in which to follow out the instructions and receive the blessings found in Isa. 58:6-11. As to the housework, let it not be neglected. God is a God of order, and is not well pleased with a home where dirt and untidiness abound. Can one ask or expect the presence of the holy angels of God where confusion and slovenliness are? Nor is it wise or profitable or well-pleasing to God to spend one's whole time in cleaning and working to keep things tidy. So now for a plan whereby one may keep things neat and attractive, and still have time left for missionary work, at home or abroad. To begin with, let us go through the house and see how many things we can find that are wholly unnecessary, that are just "dirt-catchers," or have lost their beauty or appropriateness, and therefore ceased to be attractive — old pictures, out-of-date calendars, worn-out sofa pillow tops, bric-a-brac of every description, broken toys, etc. Why not have a bonfire now, and not keep them for the fires of the last day? Let us confine our furnishings to the wholly necessary things to make home comfortable, pleasant, and neat. "A place for everything, and everything in its place," is a motto which, if put into daily practise, will save an endless amount of worry, searching for misplaced articles, confusion, and fatigue; for nothing is so tiresome, or wastes so much time, as to need an article, and even tho in a hurry, be obliged to search for it for perhaps hours. Habit is our master; and we will find that it is an easy matter, if habitually resorted to, to put each article in its place when we have finished with it. And there is a great amount of satisfaction in being able to find the article there when it is next needed. Teach the children this, and thus save yourself many steps. And now, to go back to the kitchen — and dishwashing. There was a splendid article in the Review and Herald on this subject recently. I wish every one could have read it. How few there are who like to wash dishes! It is the bugbear of the kitchen — and no wonder! A pan of greasy water, foul smelling dish-cloth, black, stiff drying towel, and a sink full of a conglomeration of dirty pots, pans, glassware, tinware, china, silver, scraps from table, etc.—this is the sight that so often meets our eyes as we arise from a well-cooked and much appreciated meal. It is no wonder the sight nauseates, and brings forth the oft repeated expression: "O, these horrid dishes! I just hate to wash them." Let us visit another kitchen, where the dishes have been carefully cleared of scraps, and neatly piled in a clean sink, where a pan of hot suds, and a clean white cloth, await them. A kettle of boiling water stands on the stove, ready to pour over them when taken from the suds bath. See how they shine! Isn't it a real pleasure to make them shine, and then set them neatly away, with the satisfaction that they are really ready for the next meal, and clean enough for any one to eat from? By the time the dishes are all put away, the beds have sufficiently aired to be made up, if the covers were thrown back, and the windows left wide open, on leaving the bedroom. Then with a dampened broom, each room may be swept with comparatively no dust. Very few know how to sweep properly, but will, with dry broom, go about it as if their life depended on getting it done quickly, and throw the dirt to right and left, while clouds of dust fill the room as well as the lungs. And so sweeping becomes a burden, while if done properly, it is not tiresome or unpleasant. To keep house does not mean spasmodic cleaning, but to keep clean; and one will find it much easier and far more satisfactory to do this. If one does her own laundry work, she should have a special day for it. If done on Monday, the week is left free for ironing, mending, baking, etc. In short, be systematic and thoro in all your work, and it not only pays in the results shown, but is more satisfactory in every way, and housekeeping becomes a pleasure instead of a task.