For Kitchen and Pantry.
There should be a generous supply of kitchen and pantry towels. Nothing is more satisfactory for glassware than the plaid linen towels. These should be kept for silver, glass, and fine china. Goods of this same character come in stripes, and cost from twelve and a half to thirty-seven and a half cents per yard. Fine Russian crash, when softened by a little wear, makes the best kitchen dish towel. It grows finer and whiter with each week’s use, whereas the very coarse fabric really never softens. Every kitchen should be supplied with half a dozen stove towels. Get twilled brown cotton crash; cut it into yard-and-a-half lengths and hem it. Keep but two of these towels in the kitchen, and have one washed each day. They are to use in handling the pots and pans about the stove and oven. There should be a generous allowance of crash towels in the kitchen, as every utensil should be carefully wiped with one that is clean and dry.
The hand towels in the kitchen should be soft and smooth. Frequent wiping on the rough Russian crash will soon make the hands red and rough, as this hard fabric scratches and does not wipe dry. A twilled crash of cotton and linen, which may be bought from twelve and a half to fifteen cents a yard, makes satisfactory hand towels. There are many varieties.
CHAPTER III.
DIVISION OF THE HOUSEHOLD WORK.
It is a perplexing task for young housekeepers to divide properly the weekly work of the household. Even when I start to write on the subject, many difficulties present themselves, as no two houses are conducted on exactly the same plan. What would be the right thing for one home would be entirely impracticable in another. The woman who does her own work, or keeps but one servant, must, of course, plan her work quite differently from the woman who keeps two or more servants. Then, too, the place and mode of living will influence the arrangement of household work. For example, in the country the style of living is much simpler than in the city; the hours are more regular, there are fewer stairs to go over, less dirt and dust accumulate, and, in short, practically all the work is done on two floors. This makes the duties of mistress and maid lighter than in the city house. The pure air, quiet surroundings, and long, uninterrupted hours make it possible for a woman to accomplish a great deal of housework in a day, and yet have leisure for reading, sewing, and quiet thinking.
But, on the other hand, the city housekeeper has her advantages, such as the house fitted with all modern conveniences; stores and markets close at hand; and, if extra or heavy work is to be done, easy means of getting men and women to do it. The changing scenes in the city take woman out of herself and the narrowing cares of home life, and keep her interested and in touch with the world, thus making her duties less irksome than they might be in a regular and monotonous life.
Yet, no matter where one resides, there are certain daily duties that must be attended to if people would live decently and in order. I will try to map out programmes of these duties, so that the inexperienced housekeeper will be able to outline her daily work by them. It is not to be expected that these programmes will be followed exactly; they are simply suggestions which each housekeeper may adapt to the exigencies of her own household.