WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP CONSTANCE JOHNSON Class Rook J 6 Gopyii^ht]^^__ COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP Mending WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP MANY PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS TO LITTLE FOLK WHO WANT TO BE USEFUL ABOUT THE HOUSE—WITH SEVERAL IMPORTANT RULES IN RHYME Bij CONSTANCE JOHNSON Author of " When Mother Lets Us Cook " Illustrated by Ada Budell NEW YORK MOFFAT, YARD AND CO:\IPANY 1909 Copyright. 1909. by MOFFAT, YARD AND COMPANY All Rights Resened Published, TSovember, 1909 1^ ^1^^ ©CI.A252tr>H TO HELEN AND FAY PREFACE There are many cliildren who want to help about the house but do not know how to begin. This book is meant for them. A number of important duties have been pur- posely omitted from this book, as not suited to little folks ; but even so a mother would do well to mark out such matters as she thinks unwise for her children to undertake until they are at least fifteen, — such as the care of lamps, lighting fires and washing windows. Now just one word to the young folks them- selves. It is better to be a happy home-keeper than a perfect housekeeper ; and if you find that you cannot be bright and happy and at the same time have your house spotless and in applepie order, then let the housekeeping go, and attend to the more important matter of making your home cheery and contented. The author hopes that this book may prove a foundation for much good housekeeping in the future. CONTENTS PAGE IMaking the Bed 3 Tidying the Bed Room 8 Getting Ready for Cleaning 11 Sweeping 13 Picking up Down Stairs 14 Arranging Flowers 18 Setting the Tabi.e 19 Care op^ Cut Flowers 23 Care of House Plants 25 Waiting on the Table . 29 Care op Silver 32 Afternoon Tea 34 The Invaud's Tray 37 The Sick Room 39 Washing Dishes 45 Pots and Pans 48 The Sink 49 The Ice Box 51 Care of the Stove 52 The Grate Fire 55 The Piazza 57 Places for Things 59 Washing Windows 61 Closets and Shelves 62 Putting Away Clothes 65 CONTEXTS PAGE Giving Away and Throwing Away 68 Mending 70 Taking Out Spots 72 Flies 75 Preparing for Guests 76 When You are Visiting , , . 81 RHYMED RULES Things to Remember Every Day 1 Airing Rule 2 Dusting Rule 7 Sweeping Rule 12 Flower Rule 16 Waiting Rule • .28 Sick Room Rule , . . 38 Dish Washing Rule 44 Ice Box Rule 50 Making a Fire 54 Rule of Order 58 Giving Away 67 Spots 71 Politeness 80 THINGS TO REMEMBER EVERY DAY Air your room well, every day, Tidy it before you play; Always put your things away. Don't be late for meals or school, Keeping time keeps tempers cool; Prompt in all things, be your rule. Never act, when not in view. As you'd be ashamed to do If your mother looked at you. 1 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP AIRING RULE Don 't be afraid of the air and the sun ; Wide open windows prove days well begun. Sunbeams and breezes will frighten off gloom, But nothing can thrive in a hot stuffy room. Q WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP 6 KAKING THE BED The first thing to do when you have left your bed in the morning is to pull back all the bed clothes, under-sheet as well. Have a chair at the foot of the bed so that the sheets and blank- ets will not touch the floor. Be sure to pull the sheets away from under the foot board so that the bottom will be aired as well as the top. Do this carefully so as not to tear the sheet. Turn the mattress back, — unless it is too heavy, when you will have to get someone to help. Put the pillows on chairs or in the middle of the bed. When you are dressed and ready to go down to breakfast see that the windows are wide open. Hang your night gow^i over a chair in front of the window. If it is winter, shut the register and the bedroom door so that the rest of the house will not be chilled. After breakfast when your room and bed are thoroughly aired, shut the window, if it is cold, and make up the bed. Be sure that your hands are clean; if you have on a dark dress, it is neater to wear an apron. Put the mattress in place first. Lay the lower sheet over this, being careful to have it straight and even, with the right side uppermost and 4 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP the end with the large hem towards the head. Tuck the sides and ends in neatly and tightly, smoothing the surface. Then lay the upper sheet over with the wrong side uppermost, so that the two right sides come together. (The wrong side of a sheet is the side with the hem turned over upon it.) The wide hem goes to- wards the head as before. It is not necessary to change both sheets every week. When you make the bed on Saturday put the under sheet in the wash, using the top sheet in its place, and put a fresh sheet over it. But the pillow cover should be changed weekly. On Saturday too, the bedstead should be thor- oughly wiped and dusted. Over the top sheet put the blankets ; fold the head-end of the sheet back over the blankets so that these will not touch your face, then tuck in sheet and blankets together. Over all lay the spread. This should be tucked in at the bottom but not at the sides. Be sure it is smooth and even, that it covers the blankets and that the sides that hang down are of the same width. Now shake your pillows well and lay them in place at the head of th0 bed. Smooth them carefully and if the case is large fold back the end that overhangs. If there are separate pil- low shams lay them on. Pillows should not lie ^^ I Making the Bed b WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP flat, but rest against the head of the bed. Hang your nightgown in the closet. Before the evening meal it is a good thing to ** strip" the bed, especially if you have friends staying with you. They will be sure to appre- ciate the courtesy. This means, — take the spread and pillow sham off and fold them care- fully in the same places they have been folded before so that you will not have any new creases. Lay them on a chair. Turn back one comer of the sheet and blanket at the head of the bed. This is supposed to make it easier to get in. Fold the nightgo^vn and lay it over the turned corner. If it is a double bed, turn back both the corners at the head. If it is cold and there are extra blankets, lay these at the foot of the bed. WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP DUSTING RULE Use a cloth that's soft and clean, Almost anything will do; Dust the place that its not seen, Just as if it were in view. Dust beneath, behind, around. Till no speck of dust is found. 8 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP TIDYING THE BED ROOM When you have made your bed, hang up your night go^Yn and wrapper on the proper hook in the ek^set. If you have a shoe bag, put your slippers in it ; if not, stand them on the tloor of the closet or on a shelf. Do not leave them un- der the bed. If there is a wash stand in your room, there are probably many things to be done in connection with setting it to rights which you cannot do without help, but you ought to know how things should be done, for some day you may have to see to it. Empty the wash bowl and rinse this out. Then emj^ty the slop jar, etc. Einse them out and wash off the covers. Fill the water pitcher with clean water and wash it out two or three times a week. Clean the soap dish carefully with hot water. If there are any soiled towels put them in the soiled-clothes basket unless they are very wet. Wet towels and wash cloths must be hung on the towel rack to dry. See that the bowls are set straight. Do not ever set the }utcher on the floor. The bottom of it becomes dirty if you do and that soils the wash bowl. Put away the dresses worn the evening before and left on a chair to air overnight. Straighten out the things on your bureau. See that there WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP 9 is no liair left on the brush or comb, and if there is any, put it in a dish kept for that purpose. Do not throw it in the scrap basket unless wrapped carefully in paper. Xow take your duster, which may be of cheese cloth or any soft ma- terial, and dust the tables and chairs and bureau. Dust oif the pictures and be sure that they hang straight. It is well to have at least one window open while you are dusting. If you use candles in your room, see that they are long enough to burn during the next evening, and if the candle holders are dirty take them downstairs to be cleaned with the lamps. Make your desk tidy and dust it. Never put any scraps or burnt matches or odds and ends into the slop jar or water-closet bowl. Beside being untidy it is very bad for the plumbing. WHEN MOTHER LETS rs HELP 11 GETTING READY FOR CLEANING It is very jDOSsible that you may not be allowed to do the actual cleaning of your own bedroom, but you can know how it should be done and can certainly help in many ways. First open your windows wide, then clear out the closets so that the shelves and corners can be cleaned. If the closets are not to be cleaned shut their doors the very first thing. It is not necessary to clean your closets every time the room is cleaned. The bed must be covered with a clean old sheet or cloth to protect it from dust during sweeping. Cover your bureau in the same way. Shut your desk and put all ornaments on the table, and cover them. If the room is to be done very thoroughly, the rugs must be taken out to be beaten and the floors they covered wiped thoroughly. All the furniture that is easily moved should be put out in the hall or at any rate in a different place from usual so that no corner or sj^ot in the room may be overlooked. If there are long window curtains, tie them up out of the way. Then the room is really ready for a good cleaning. 12 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP SWEEPING RULE Hold the handle of your broom At the middle and the top ; Don't sweep dust from room to room, Or your work will never stop, Put it in a pan to burn, Then it never can return. WHEN MOTHER EETS US HELP 13 SWEEPING When you sweej) a room, the object is to get it clean, and to get all the dust and dirt out of the house. So open your windows and have a dust pan to sweep the dirt into. Don't sweep the dust from one room into another; shut the door of the room you are cleaning. Hold the broom firmly with one hand high, and the other half way down the handle, and sweep away from you, with short strokes. Don't sweep too hard, for it does no good and is bad for the carpet and rugs. Moisten your broom a little, or better still, scatter wet bits of paper around, before you sweep. This keeps the dust from flying so much. In winter put snow on your rugs and sweep it over them. This cleans them very suc- cessfully. Hang up your broom when you are through. You should have one good one for the carpets and another for the woodwork, and a third for the piazza and cellar. A carpet sweeper is use- ful, as it wears out the rugs less than a broom. When you want to brush cobwebs and dust from ceilings and tops of doors and pictures, it is a good plan to tie a soft cloth around the broom bristles. 14 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP 'TICKING UP" DOWNSTAIRS It is a good thing to leave things ^'picked uj)" before going to bed ; but when tliis is not done, the first one down in the morning should get to work at once. A very good way to begin is to open a win- dow or two. Fresh air is always good. In summer, however, the windows are generally left open during the night to let in the cool night air and you will do well to shut them by nine o'clock in the morning and darken the rooms. This keeps away flies and heat. We all of us know how comfortable it feels to come into a cool dark house on a hot day. This is true of bedrooms as well as down stairs. You Avill probably find the center table in dis- order. Begin b}^ putting away all books which may have been taken out the day before. Then pile up magazines carefully, putting those of one month together, with the larger ones under- neath. If there are papers, pile them up neatly, put any pencils or pens or pads where the}" be- long, and throw away any odds and ends of paper or string that are not worth saving. If the table has been pushed out of place, put it back again and set the chairs to rights. This does not mean pushing them stiffly against the WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP 15 walls. Try to have a room look lived-in as well as tidy. Set the pictures straight and put where they belong any ornaments that may have tum- bled down or gotten disarranged. Straighten out the rugs, sofa covers and table covers. You can dust the room either before or after breakfast, and when you dust be sure to clean under and behind things as well as over them, and don't neglect the chairs. They need dusting as well as the pictures or the clock. 16 WHEN MOTHER LETS Ub HELP FLOWER RULE Flowers and plants, like a baby, need care ; Wash them and feed them and give them fresh air. Let them have sun-light and plenty of room. Tend them with love and they'll flourish and bloom. If 3'ou neglect them for even a day, Soon they will fade and quite wither away. Arranoino- Flowers 18 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP ARRANGING FLOWERS It is always pleasant to have flowers on the din- ing table, but do not have too many. A low bowl with a few flowers, or a tall vase with a single rose in it, is much lorettier among the dishes than a great bouquet, and takes up less room. When arranging flowers in a shallow bowl, place a piece of wire netting over the top and stick the stems through the netting. This keeps them upright and a little apart. Flowers with a strong ]3erfume are undesir- able on the dining table or in a bedroom. Long stemmed flowers should always be put in tall vases, and small flowers, like pansies, nastur- tiums, etc., in low bowls or silver dishes. Do not fill your vase or bowl so full that the flowers are crowded together. Put them in one at a time and stop when you have plenty of room left, so that each blossom will show to advantage. Flowers of very different kinds and colors sel- dom look well together, and such flowers as roses, lilies and tulips should be put by themselves. Wild flowers are different, however, and a large bouquet of daisies and clover, or golden-rod and asters, looks well if carefully arranged. Glass dishes are best for the table ; china, if not too highly colored, earthen-ware, and silver are attractive in the parlor and halls. WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP 19 SETTING THE TABLE First cover your table with a felt cover and then put the table cloth on. Any well-polished wood must be thoroughly protected from hot dishes, and this is the best way. The knives, forks and spoons should be laid at each place as if they Avere three sides of a square ; the knife on the right side, with the sharp edge turned in, the fork on the left side, and the spoon across the top. Often the spoons are brought in at the time they are to be used, and are not laid on the table beforehand. Be sure and have as many f orlvs and knives as will be needed for the food that is to be served. A small plate for butter and bread is placed at the left of the fork, with a silver knife on it. Do not use steel knives for bread and butter. Put the glass for drinking water at the right of the knife. A plate with freshly cut bread should be on the table, a pitcher of fresh water and a plate with butter and a butter knife. Do not forget to put on salt and pepper also. At breakfast you can also place a dish of fruit on the table, and fruit plates with finger bowls should be waiting when people sit down. Use silver knives for fruit. 20 WHEAT MOTHER LETS US HELP Fresh flowers make a 23retty decoration, placed either in the middle or at one side of the table. If you want to have a bare table, or small breakfast cloth, and so cannot use a felt cover to protect the table from hot dishes, something in the way of a mat should be used under each hot plate. As these are not pretty, they must be covered by a doily, or by the small breakfast cloth. It is always attractive to have all the tea or coffee service on a tray. This should be put in front of your mother, or whoever serves the tea or coffee, and a little to the right of the server. Cups and saucei's are put to the left of the server and the spoons beside them or on the saucers. Sugar and cream are placed with the cups. Setting the table for sup]3er or lunch is much the same, only fruit is not put on. Many people do not care for butter with their dinner, but it is perfectly proper to have it on the table at all meals. Candles are pretty on the dinner table; and the best places for them, on a small table, are at the four corners ; in the center of the table they are very likely to shine in some one's eyes. Shades, of course, are often used, but the candles always seem prettier without them, and shades are so likely to catch on fire. Setting- the Table 22 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP Napkins are placed in the middle of the square made by the knife, fork and spoon, and should be laid flat. It is no longer the custom to have them folded in odd shapes. If a bell is used to call the servant into the room, put this beside your mother's place. If there is to be a jelly with the meat, it can be on the table from the beginning of dinner, in some pretty dish. One important thing, in setting an attractive table, is to have the dishes go well together and be of the same general color and shape. Another is to set them where they will balance each other. Do not put the bread and butter and jelly on one side of the table and nothing on the other side. At a formal dinner or lunch, have nuts and candies in little dishes, one dish for each person. A square piece of bread, about as large as a vis- iting card, and quite thick, or a roll, can be put at each place, folded into the napkin; or better still, placed on the bread-and-butter plate. In a good many houses, a clean napkin is laid in front of the carver, so that the table cloth will be protected, in ease of accidents in carving. Wine glasses are put beside the water glass. Always be careful to have your cups and saucers match, and have as few different kinds of china on the table as possible. WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP 23 CARE OF CUT FLOWERS When a buneli of flowers comes to the house, or you have brought in wild flowers from the fields, the first thing to do is to cut off a bit from the end of each stem with a sharp pair of scissors; this new sharp cut will let them drink up water more easily. If the flowers seem faded at all, put them into fresh, cool water, u]3 to their noses, so that they may have a drink and a bath as well. When they are thoroughly freshened up, arrange them in their vases, but do not crowd them so that each cannot get a good share of water. Always fill your vases and bowls full of water, and change this every day if possible. The wa- ter keeps fresh longer if all leaves are stripped from that part of the stem which is below the sur- face. Flowers should be put in a cool place at night, not left in the dining room or bedroom. They need fresh air and a change. Unfortunately, no flowers or plants thrive very well in gas-lighted houses. If flowers seem inclined to droop on the second day, cut their stems again. If they have been nipped by the frost, keep them in cold water in a cold room for a while. Sometimes they will 24 AVHEX MOTHER LETS IIS HELP freshen up again. Never put them at once in a -warm place. It is well to keep a pair of scissors especially for cutting flowers, and be sure to wipe them carefully after using them. Do not throw stems into the sink or bathroom bowl. Spread a new^spaper on the table before you begin your work, and gather up the bits of stem, leaves, and faded blossoms in this. They can then be burned all together in the Are. WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP 25 CARE OF HOUSE PLANTS Potted plants must often take the place of cut flowers in winter. These need as much care but are treated somewhat differently. They do not require as much water, for they have earth as well to live on. Plants that grow from bulbs, such as tulips, narcissus, hyacinths, cyclamen, do better if they are not watered from above. Let them stand in the bathtub or in a pan over night, with the water reaching half way up their pots; the roots will then suck up the water from below and the plant will be thoroughly refreshed and bathed. A plant should be allowed to get dry between waterings. Its roots become mouldy if always wet. Ferns and palms should be w^ell watered from above and all large-leaved ones should be w^ashed twice a week with a soft cloth dipped in warm water ; and remember that flowering plants need a good deal of sun, but ferns very little. Do not put a flowering plant into too large a pot; this encourages a growth of roots rather than of flowers. Every year or so plants should be repotted and the earth changed, although with a big plant this is not always possible. Be sure that your pot or bowl has a hole in the bottom of 26 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP it to insure good drainage, and if the earth be- comes caked or hard and dry, break it up with a knife or pointed stick before you water it. Give the plants as much fresh air as you can, and when the weather is warm enough, put them out on the stooj) or on a window-sill for a part of each day. If it is rainy, so much the better, — let them have a good rain bath, which is after all the best way to water them. The Invalid's Tray 28 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP WAITING RULE Where there's a choice, when you're j^assing a dish, Ask, at the left, what a person may wish: When the food's served and they take what they get, Down from the right plates are carefully set. AVHEX MOTHER LETS US HELP 29 WAITING ON THE TABLE Maybe some time your mother will want you to wait on the table, rather than just help to pass things. Try to move about as q^uietly as possible, and not knock things over. If you are passing a dish from w^hich people are to help themselves, take it to the left of the person to be served ; but if you are simply passing a plate upon which food has already been served, go to the right hand of the person and set the plate down in front of him. At breakfast, your mother probably makes the tea or coffee herself, at the table; so the tea or coft'ee service should be put in front of her. The other things to be served, such as cereal, or hash or eggs, should be put in front of your father, unless he has to hurry away, when your older sister may do the serving. Watch people's plates to see when they are empty. Then either pass more food, or take away the plates. Keep the glasses filled with water, and pass the bread and butter frequently. When you are taking away soiled plates and dishes, take only one at a time, unless you have a tray. In this case, you may put a few plates 30 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP of the same sort on top of each other, but never very many. In clearing the table for another course, first take off such food as will not be wanted later; then soiled dishes and silver, and last, such clean dishes as will not be used. Never scrape food off one dirty plate on to another, when clearing the table. When clearing the table for dessert at dinner or lunch, you should remove everything but the glasses and such silver as will he needed. Brush off the crumbs onto a plate with a clean napkin. Be very careful not to spill anything, and if you do, wipe up the spot quickh^, with a clean, moist cloth. Never use a table napkin. When you finally clear off the table after a meal is over, put things on a tray, taking first the food, then soiled dishes and last the clean things which you can put away at once. Never leave butter or milk standing in the din- ing room or kitchen. Both spoil very quickly and absorb odors and taste of things near them. Don't brush the crumbs onto the floor. Brush them onto a tray. If any crumbs have fallen on the floor, clean them up before you leave the dining room. Never throw scraps of food to the dog or cat WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP 31 while you are Availing on the table, and don't help yourself to anything as you pass it. Serve your mother first, then whoever sits at her right, and so on round the table. There are several reasons for this ; one is, that the hostess is supposed to know best which knife and fork, etc., to use; another reason is, that some things are hard to help yourself to, if you are the first one served. In pouring out wine, however, always put a little in your father's glass first, and then fill the glass of the guest of honor, and so round the table, filling up your father's glass at the end. This is an old custom and dates back to the time when guests were afraid they might be poisoned, and wanted their host to share the danger. 32 WHEN" MOTHER LETS US HELP CARE OF SILVER Once a week you ought to polish the silver, though there are people who simply wash it with white soap and rub it well. It is the rubbing after all that counts ; but if silver has once been polished, you will have to use something beside soap. On the day set apart for this work, collect all your silver ; see that it is clean, and then rub on it with a soft cloth some electro silicon or any one of the good silver polishes ; you can get them at the grocer's or jeweler's. Next take a clean cloth and polish the pieces and rub them with a piece of chamois. Last of all, wash them carefully with hot wa- ter. Then rub them dry. Be very sure that none of the powder or polish which you used is sticking to the silver. This is especially import- ant with table silver. Sometimes an old tooth brush is a great help in getting the silver clean. If you have an old pair of gloves you can weai*, they will save your hands and nails from getting dirty. or burned with the hot water. Cleaninj:>' Silver 34 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP AFTERNOON TEA It is always polite to offer your friends tea if they come to see you in the afternoon. It is so easy to get it ready and so pleasant for your friends. The hot water kettle should stand on a tray or cloth which will prevent any possible accidents to the table underneath. Before you bring it in be sure that there is alcohol in the little lamp under the kettle. If your guests are unexpected or if your mother wants to make things as simple as pos- sible, she will undoubtedly use a tea ball instead of making tea in the tea pot. Tea is never as good when made by the cook in the kitchen and brought in already made. On your table you will want a small glass or china dish with slices of lemon on it, a bowl of sugar, and a little pitcher of cream or milk ; also a plate covered by a napkin or doily, with crackers or cookies or thin slices of bread and butter upon it, tea cups and spoons, a china or silver dish to hold the tea ball, and a bowl in which you can rinse out the cups. Before making your tea pour a little hot water into each cup, to get it warm. Always ask how your guests like their tea, how much sugar, A Teaparty 36 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP ereain or lemon, or liow weak or strong, and be careful to give the right cup to the right person. Then pass whatever you have to eat. Watch to see when the cups are empty and ask j^our friends if they will have more ; if this is refused, take away the empty cup. If you are preparing for exj^ected guests, or a little party, you should have a few flowers on the table, cakes and sandwiches, and perhaps some candy. Plates and napkins or finger- doilies should be offered. If the cakes are very soft, forks should be provided. If you use a tea pot and make the tea on the table, have an extra pot on hand so that you can pour the tea off the grounds when it has stood long enough. The hot water kettle should be placed on the table where it can be easily reached, the cups at the left side and the spoons beside them. On the other side put your cream, sugar, etc., the tea pot or tea ball. Back of the kettle put the plates, sandwiches, etc. The flowers, if you have them, are prettiest in the middle. A few high flowers look best. Do not have any- thing on the tea table that is not necessary, and avoid crowding things. If you have not room for all the things mentioned, put some of them on another table, on a trav. whp:x :mother lets us help 37 THE INVALID'S TRAY Put a clean cloth or napkin on your tray and i f the cloth is too large tuck the corners under. If there is more than one course to be taken up to the sickroom, do not put all the food on at once, but take a few dishes at a time so that the food will keep hot and the tray not look crowded. Invalids must be tempted to eat, and often the sight of a great deal of food or a crowded tray destroys what little appetite they may have. Try to have the dishes of the same set so that they will look well together. On every tray there should be a clean napkin, enough knives, forks and spoons, salt and pepj^er, butter and sugar, and a glass of water. A sick person often would rather go without something she wants than have to send for things not on the tray. Be careful not to spill anything on the way; and if the tea or coif ee should run over into the saucer, empty it before carrying in the tray. Hot water plates keep food warm and are very satisfactory. They can be bought at any of the large china stores. Things that are meant to be hot should be very hot and cold things quite cold. Luke-warm things are always unpleasant. Take the tray away as soon as your invalid has finished eating. 38 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP SICK ROOM RULE In the room where some one's ill, Try to keep it calm and still ; Don't move noisily or sit On the bed, or joggle it. Don't ask questions. Never saj^ '^You are not so well to-day"; Do things promptly when you're told ; Never argue, never scold; Don't look gloomy; never stay Till folks wish you'd go away. WHE>7 MOTHER LETS TS HELP 39 THE SICK ROOM Whenever you go into a room where some one is sick try to act as naturally as possible, but more important still, try to move about quietly. Do not knock things over and do not hit against the bed or sit on it. Stay only a short time, talk of pleasant things and never get into a discus- sion with the sick person or anyone else in the room. If the room is darkened, don't pull up the shades unless asked to do so, and if you bring in a light or make a light in the room, leave it dimmed for a while. Do not put a lamp where the direct light will shine in the sick person's eyes. If the room is to be aired open the windows wide for a few moments, but cover the invalid well first. If it is very close and warm you can get a good current of air by swinging the door rapidly to and fro, but be careful not to let it slam. A good way to i>YeYent this from hap- pening in a sick room is to tie a handkerchief or cloth around the front of the door, fastening an end to each of the door handles. Do not keep asking the sick person how she feels, and never ask her what her sickness is. If it is your mother try not to ask her questions 40 WHEX MOTHER LETS US HELP about household matters and do not tell her of little things that have gone wrong. Keep the younger children out of the room (if you have brothers and sisters) unless they are especially asked for, and keep them from being noisy on the stairs and in the hall. Do not let them play in the room directly overhead and if you hap- 23en to have that room, be careful not to drop your shoes or anything heavy. If you are old enough to give medicines or for any reason have to do so, be sure to read the directions on the outside of the bottle three times before you give the dose. Follow the di- rections and go very slowly. Never give medi- cines in the dark. If it is necessary to have the room dark, take the bottle into another room and make up the proper dose there. If medi- cine has been prepared and left for you to give, be sure you know exactly where it is and what it looks like before you are left in charge. Med- icines cannot be marked too carefully. When you have given the medicine, wash out the glass and spoon at once and wash your hands, so that if there has been any j^oison in the mix- ture you will run no risk. You might easily get some on your hands and without thinking touch them to your lips. It is very restful to a person lying in bed to 41 The Sick Room 42 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP have a pillow put under the knees; and if the invalid's head is hot, a hot water bag, filled half full of cold water makes a very pleasant and cooling thing to put under the head. Never leave flowers in a sick room over night. Washing Dishes 44 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELi' DISH WASHING RULE Glass and dainty china first In ivarm water are immersed; Next the silver, — this won't break, So hot water you can take. Use it hot for all the rest. Dishes, plates that aren't the best. Pots and pans and knives come last, Scour them well and dry them fast. WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP 45 WASHING DISHES It is very important to remember that differ- ent kinds of dishes, like different kinds of peo- ple, have to be treated in different ways. Before you begin to wash your dishes, see that you have enough hot water, soap, dish rags, soft towels for glass and rough crash towels. It is a good thing, too, to have some small shot or clean sand in a jar, to help wash the pitchers and tall vases. Start by scraping off all the remnants of food from the dishes and emptying the glasses and cups. Don't let bits of food or scrapings fall into the sink. You should have a pail for the scraps that are not burnable. The next step is to rinse out with cold water any glasses or cups or pitchers that have had milk or cream in them. This makes them easier to clean. Indeed, it is always w^ell to put cold Avater into an empty glass that has contained milk. It is very hard to clean such glasses properly, if they have stood for a while without cold water in them. Put your dish pan in the sink, or on a table right by the sink ; fill it half full of warm water, and then shake your soai3 in it. Do not leave 46 WHEX MOTHER LETS US HELP the soap in the water, but take it out when there is plenty of suds. Wash your glass first, using a dish rag, and then your best china cups and dishes, etc. Do not use hot water or they will crack. Be sure that each dish is clean before you wipe it, and have plenty of glass towels so that you can dry everything thoroughly. Take fresh water, and hotter, for your other dishes ; a teaspoonf ul of ammonia is a good ad- dition to the water, beside the soap. Alwa3^s rinse off the dishes with clean, warm water, before drying; and change the water in the dish pan as often as it gets dirty. You can- not get dishes clean with dirty water. Do not put too many dishes in your pan at one time. It is no saving of time in the end, and you are so likely to chip or crack the china and glass and scratch the silver. Wash the same kind of dishes together, for the same reason, and so that the sets w^ill come together when you put them away. Dry everything but the glass and fine china with your coarse towels and have a table or tray ready to put the clean things on, so that they will not knock against the dirty things or be spattered while you are washing. N6ver put the ivory handles of your dinner WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP 47 knives into hot water; it spoils them. Steel knives should be scoured with Bon Ami, never with sapolio. You cannot clean a tall vase well with a dish rag. Fill it partly full of warm, soapy water and put in some clean sand or shot. Now shake it well and you will be surprised to see how clean it gets. 48 AVHEX MOTHER LETS ITS HELP POTS AND PANS Pots and pans are greasy things to deal with, and some one else could better attend to them. But if it is your duty to scour them, do it with a stiff brush; a common wire sink brush is a very good thing to use. Take about one tea- spoonful of washing soda to one pint of hot wa- ter to clean them with, scrub them well, and rinse out and dry them carefully. Put them at the back of the stove for a few minutes, to dry them thoroughly. Pans which are only used for cake or bread, if they are carefvdly scraped and wiped, need not be washed very often. If you have to clean a meat chopper, first put in a piece of stale bread and let it go through the chopper. This carries away the grease and makes the chopper easier to clean. WHKX MOTHER LETS US HELP 49 THE SINK The kitchen sink, like the rest of the phmib- ing, must be Ivept spotless and neat; never u.se it as a 23lace to throw rubbish and scraps of food. To take proper care of your sink, it is a good plan to have a bit of wire netting to put over the hole where the water flows out. This catches any bits of food that may come from your dish washing. Use a sink brush to brush the scraps together ; you can burn these or put them in the garbage pail. When any greasy water has gone through the sink, pour after it some boiling water with a little washing soda dissolved in it, to soften the grease. The sink should be scrubbed with sapolio, whenever it is dirty. Be sure to keep the w^ater faucets clean and bright; they should be polished with some suit- able metal polish. 50 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP ICE BOX RULE Keep your ice box clean and neat, For it holds the things you eat; Milk and butter, to be nice, Must be kept against the ice; As they quickly spoil and smell, You must have them covered well ; Fruit and vegetables should go With the meat, on shelves below. 4> WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP 51 THE ICE BOX It is not probable that you will be allowed to scrub the ice box yourself, but it should be done thoroughly twice a week. Everything, includ- ing the ice, must be taken out, and the inside of the box cleaned carefully with cool water and soda. The washing soda should be dissolved in a little boiling water first. Boiling water should be poured down the drain pipe, but not used otherwise. It seems to make the ice box smell. When you start to put the things back, remem- ber that nothing but milk and butter should be kept in the compartment with the ice. Milk must be cared for particularly, as it spoils very quickly and easily absorbs the smells of other food. See that the place where your milk is kept is always below 50 degrees Fahrenheit in tem- perature. Never put handsome china or silver into the ice box. If you have meat or pudding to keep there, put it in bowls or kitchen dishes. 02 AVHEX MOTHER LETS I^S HELP THE CARE OF THE STOVE Probably you will not have to make the kitchen fire ; but there are a few things for you to remember about the stove. You cannot get a clear fire or a hot oven in a dirty stove. It is much easier and more economical to watch the fire and add a little coal from time to time, instead of letting the fire get so low that you practically have to make a new one, two or three times a day. A little salt thrown on the fire will sometimes brighten it up, if yovi find that it has very nearly gone out. Many people never let their kitchen fires go out, even at night, except in very hot weather; this saves kindling wood and a good deal of trouble, and it really does not cost any more in the end. To do this, shake the fire down, in the evening, put on a lot of coal and open the lower opening or draft until the coal has caught. Then shut everything, and leave it for the night. Opening the lower drafts in a stove or fur- nace brightens the fire and makes it hotter; opening the top draft, cools it. When you are cooking, try not to drop grease or milk or food of anv sort on the stove. It WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP 53 isn't pleasant to go into a kitclien and see a dirty, greasy stove. It should be kept clean and black, and polished on the outside, like a good pair of shoes ; and clean inside also. You have to clean it when the fire is very low or entirely out. Some people say a damp newspaper is the best thing for stove cleaning. A stove full of ashes will not heat properly, and if your oven will not get hot, send for a plumber to clean the range thoroughly. 54 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP MAKING A FIRE Fires, to burn well, need plenty of air, 80 build up your wood and your paper with care ; Leave lots of cracks for the air to come through ; And never put oil on, whatever you do. WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP 55 THE GRATE EIRE A wood fire is easier to make if a good bed of ashes has been left beneath it, in the grate. Take some newspaper, one sheet should be enough, and crush it loosely together. Do not try to light a fire with a folded paper, for you won't succeed. Lay one large stick flat and far back in the fire-place, for a 'M)ack log." Against this lay the crumpled paper. Then make a sort of tent with your kindling wood, standing it against the paper, far apart at the bottom and close touch- ing on top. Kindling wood should be small and dry. Old wooden boxes, chopped up, are perfectly satis- factory. Lay your larger pieces of wood on top, care- fully, so as to avoid crushing kindling and paper into a flat mass. Three pieces are best, two side by side and one on top. Have them touch but not lie so close together that there is no air space in between. The back-log will help support them. Sometimes when a fire will not burn well, a piece of lighted paper placed on top, will help ; or blow the fire at the bottom, with a pair of bellows. 56 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP Never light a fire with kerosene — use plenty of kindlings. Don't try to make a fire burn by kicking it. It is dangerous, and besides, you can coax a fire better than you can force it. Sometimes the chimney will not draw well be- cause it needs cleaning. Then send for the chimney sweep. Sometimes the soot in a dirty chimney will catch fire. If you live in a stone house, this is not very serious. Put something up in front of the fire-place to protect your room — something that will not catch fire, — and pour table salt down the chimney from the roof. WHEX MOTHER LETS US HELP 57 THE PIAZZA If you live in the country, your piazza is one of the most important places to keep in order. Nothing makes a house look so untidy as a dirty piazza. Every day this should be swept, and once a week, at least, it should be thoroughly washed and swept afterwards. It is great fun to use the hose to wash it. If anything is spilled on the piazza, wash the spot off at once. It is almost impossible to keep a piazza look- ing neat if you have a dog ; the only thing to do is to try your best. In winter, sweep the new-fallen snow before it has time to freeze. This makes the sweeping much easier, otherwise you will have to use hot water or rock salt to melt it, or wait for the sun. The piazza chairs and rugs should receive as much care as the house furniture. Sometimes the chairs are washal)le, which makes it easier. The hammocks should be taken dowai when it rains, unless your piazza is enclosed. A brush with a long handle is a great help when you have no hose. You can then reach up to clean the tops of the doors and the piazza roof. 58 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP RULE OF ORDER Choose places for things where they always can stay; When they've been used put them neatly away, Then you will know where they are the next day. WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP 59 PLACES FOR THINGS When you know the place where a thing be- longs, you are much more likely to put that thing back ; and then you are much more likely to find it again, when you want it. There are certain things that seem to belong together, and, of course, they ought to be kept together. A good place for the match box is with the candle stick or gas jet; you can tie it on, or, in the case of the gas, fasten it directly below, on the wall. Every household ought to have two stout bags, in which to keep bits of old dresses, linen and so forth; one bag for rags and one for nicer bits. Pieces of the same goods should be j)inned neatly together, and woolen pieces wrapt in newspaper. These bags can be kept in the hall closet, or the attic. Save good pieces of string and large untorn pieces of wrapping paper. Keep them together in a large box, in some closet. Tissue paper you can always use for packing or polishing, even if it is crumpled, so keep that. Untorn news- papers are useful when packing away clothes for the winter; keep a few of these with the other papers. Have a drawer, or cupboard, in which you 60 AVHEX MOTHER LETS US HELP keep your games, and don't use it for an^^thing else, even if the games do not fill it. One reason things very easily get out of order is because one often keeps too many kinds of things in one place. Keep your medicines and some clean bits of linen on a shelf, or in a cabinet in the bath room. It is a good plan to have several good sized glass stoppered bottles always on hand, for com- mon remedies. Label them neatly and have them filled when they are empty, — things no household should be without, such as witch hazel, castor oil, pure alcohol, listerine and so forth. In your own room, keep your writing materi- als neatly on your desk. Don't let your bureau drawers get into dis- order. Keej) your underclothes in neat piles in the drawers and use the top drawer for rib- bons, collars and little things for your toilet. Don't have the top of your bureau covered with a lot of fuss}^ things. The fewer things on a bureau the better. Your comb and brush, nail file, scissors, etc., pin cushion and possibly a couple of photographs are enough. WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP (51 WASHING WINDOWS Spots will get on windows, even on the inside, and must be cleaned. A dirty window is as bad as dirty linen; though sometimes, in winter, it is hard to wash them on the outside. Never use soap on the cloth with which you wash your window. Bon Ami is a very good thing to use and is easy to get. It is a powder which you put on a moist cloth. Rub it on the windows and then leave them a while to diy. After a few minutes wipe them carefully with a clean cloth and finally polish them with tissue paper. In summer, hot water with a little ammonia is a good thing to use. Wash the windows with it and dry and polish them as you did when using Bon Ami. 62 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP CLOSETS AND SHELVES It is very easy to get into the habit of think- ing that because a closet lias doors to shut, it doesn't matter whether you keep it tidy or not. But how unpleasant it is to open a door and find a heap of shoes and clothes all piled up in disorder; or the shelves dusty and dirt in the corners. Before you put anything at all in your closet, see that it is clean ; then cut out pieces of paper to fit, and lay them on the shelves. You should get white paper for dress closets and bathroom shelves. In the kitchen, brown paper will do. Some people like white table oilcloth for kitchen use, for the shelves as well as tables. Pantry shelves are for table china and glass. Kitchen shelves are for kitchen china, pots and pans, etc. Try to arrange things so that they will look nice, and put together the kinds of things that belong together ; spices in one place, sets of dishes together, cups in their proper saucers, pots with their own covers. Then when anyone is in a hurry to get a dish, she need not have a long hunt for it. On your own closet shelf you can keep your hats, or if you have a broad shelf, you can use it for your summer dresses. Closets and Shelves 64 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP Thin dress skirts must be kept lying flat, not hung up. Hang your waists and coats on clothes hang- ers. Every closet should have a pole to use for clothes hangers, they take up so much less room this way. It can be fastened fairly high up in your closet and go from one side to the other. You can cover your best light waists with a square of thin muslin to keep them from getting dusty; make a button hole in the center of the square and stick the hook end of your clothes- hanger through this ; the muslin will then hang down all around the waist. Shoes can be put in shoe bags, hanging on the door, or placed in pairs neatly, at one end of the closet floor. It is better to have a special place for rubbers in the downstairs hall closet. A camphor or cedar closet is a very convenient thing to have, in case you have a closet to spare. Here you can put away all the things that have to be protected from moths, etc. The closet gets to smelling so camphory that not even the tough- est moth would go near it. WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP 65 PUTTING AWAY CLOTHES Good housekeepers have a busy time twice a year putting away clothes. This is especially necessary in the spring, for then any woolen things left unprotected in closets or drawers are sure to be eaten by moths. Clothes, before they are put away, should be hung out in the air and sun for a day or so and then beaten or brushed. Spots must be removed and the pockets cleaned out. Then fold the things carefully and lay all woolen things or furs or feathers in newspaper and put in plenty of camphor or moth balls. There is a very good preparation of cedar and camphor which leaves no unpleasant smell and is therefore good to use. Be generous with your newspaper and leave no unprotected corners. Tie up the packages and glue the edges of the paper. Mark each one carefully. If you have a garret with trunks or drawers in it, this is a good place to keep your winter things; otherwise the things belonging to each room can be stored away on shelves of the ad- joining closet. Always mend things before putting away, and have them clean. Summer things may be put away *^ rough dry," that is, without being ironed. 66 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP Suimiier garments do not need to be done up in paper but should be laid in trunks or di'awers, out of reach of the dust. It is a good thing to write on a piece of paper Avhich trunks or drawers contain your various clothes, so that you may find them easily when you want them. Then do not lose the piece of paper ! WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP 67 GIVING AWAY When YOU give away, be sure That the gift is whole and mended; Gifts will never help the poor Where no trouble is expended. Never give away in spring Clothes which can't be worn till fall; If folks cannot use the thing You had best not give at all. 68 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP GIVING AWAY AND THROWING AWAY Don't get into the habit of keeping every- thing. When you have kept a thing a long while, you almost always grow so fond of it that you do not want to part with it. Make it a rule to give away, or throw away, the things you are not likely to need again. If you are tired of some toy or book or dress, don't tuck it away in the back of a drawer or closet, but give it to some one you think will enjoy it. There are always poor children who would like any toys you have outgrown, and the clothes will surely be very useful to some one, if you have not kept them too long. Of course you must ask your mother before giving away clothes. It is a good plan to have a general * booking over" once in a while, and get rid of all your needless old treasures and trash. Don't be afraid to throw things away. The ash-men may find a treasure once in a while in the rubbish heap, and be very grateful to you for not having kept it yourself. When you give anything away, try to have it look as neat as possible. If your old coat or dress has a tear or a spot, mend and clean it as well as you can. Poor people have less time than you to keep their clothes in order. WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP 69 Don't give anything away that is very soiled or hopelessly broken. When you have decided what you want to give away, be sure you find the right person to whom you can give them. Don't send a heavy winter coat in a missionary box to the South, and don't send toys to a poor old man without any chil- dren. Don't give away your spring clothes in the fall and your winter things in svnnmer. It is a little more trouble, but much better to wait until the proper season of the year. Don't keep all your letters; a few now and then are really worth preserving, but most let- ters should be thrown away when answered. 70 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP MENDING The time to mend clothes is either just before or just after they are washed. If there is a big tear or rip in a soiled garment, it is often made worse in the wash, and should be mended first. But usually it is more pleasant to mend clean things. When the clean clothes come up from the wash look them over carefully and put to one side everything that needs attention. Put the other things away at once. Never try to darn stockings or sew anything black at night. It saves time to sew buttons on with a double thread, and if you sew them over a pin or bit of a match you can make a neater piece of work, for then you can sew the bvitton tight, draw out the match, and have the button loose enough to make buttoning easy. When you darn stockings do not pull the darn- ing cotton tight, for it shrinks in the wash more than the stocking itself. Always have thread which matches the thing you are sewing, and above all, never darn a black stocking with white thread ! It is a good rule to use as small a needle as possible and not very heavy thread. No. 60 cotton is a useful size for WHEX MOTHER LETS US HELP 71 most common white mending, and be sure that your thread is not too long. As a general thing one does not use black cotton thread, but black silk, for mending dark clothes. Always use a thimble and don't take too long stitches. SPOTS Take out spots before they're dry; If you wait till by and by You will have to take more pains; Sometimes, too, the spot remains. 72 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP TAKING OUT SPOTS The best time to get out a spot is when you first see it. Most spots will come out easily if YOU do not let them dry in. In taking out spots, remember that many remedies can be used on white materials that would take the color out of colored goods. The commonest kind of a spot is an ink spot. If you spill any ink on a white dress or cloth, there are two ways to take it out, if you start right away before the spot dries. One way is to hold the part of the cloth that has the spot in it tightly over a bowl and get some one to pour boiling water over it. This is better than dipping the whole cloth in hot water, as that would make the spot spread. Another thing you can do is to wash out the spot with a paste of lemon juice and salt. In- deed it is always a good plan to put a little salt on any fresh ink stain. It takes up the ink. If the spot is small you can often take it out with blotting paper. Use milk instead of lemon in taking stains out of colored cloth — making a paste with the salt and rubbing it well. Grass stains are another common cause for sorrow. When they are on colored cloth, use a little pure alcohol and rub the spot from the WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP 73 outside to the inside with a cloth. Grass stains will usually come out of white goods when they are boiled in the wash. Paint stains are hard to get out successfully. The best advice is not to get them in. But if you have done so, try to get them out with a rag dipped in turpentine, benzene or kerosene. The trouble with all of these things is that un- less you use them carefully they are almost as bad as the paint. They are very apt to leave a circle in the cloth. Also you have to be care- ful because they catch fire easily. Old paint stains can be taken out in this way. Soak the spot in sweet oil for a short time — then dip it in chloroform and wash it with your hands — then take a cloth dipped in chloroform and rub out the stain. Some one must help you do this as chloroform should never be handled by children. It is very dangerous. Iron rust can generally be gotten out with lemon juice and salt. Soak the spotted cloth well and put it in the sun for a while. Do this again and rub it hard. The stain will be pretty sure to come out. If you drop some wax on your clothes ask some one to iron the spot on a piece of blotting paper. Grease spots can be taken out in much the same way. Put the spotty cloth between 74 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP sheets of common wrapping paper and iron it. Fruit stains require some patience to take out. Pour boiling water over a white cloth that has just had fruit juice or tea spilled on it. If this is not successful, be very rash and try whiskey. Another way is to tie up some cream of tartar in the spot, put the cloth in a pot of cold water and let it come to a boil. Where hot water would injure the colors of colored goods, of course you cannot use this method. Try a little milk and salt. Soak the spot well for some time, even until the milk gets sour. If the sour milk hurts the color, use water with a very little ammonia — it generally tells on the bottle how much to use. In order to find out whether something will hurt the color of a dress, rub a little on one of the seams in the inside. Alcohol or ammonia and water are very good things for taking dirt spots out of cloth, spots that came without your knowing it ! Also when the cat has tipped over the fly paper, alco- hol will remove the stain. When you have taken a sjoot out of cloth, let it air for a while if you can. A great many spot remedies have most unpleasant smells. One thing more — lemon juice is a fine thing for taking fruit stains oif your hands and from under your finger nails. WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP 75 FLIES The best way to be free of flies is not to let them into the house in the first place. Keep things clean, screen the doors and windows, and see that the screens are in place and kept shut. But if flies get in you must start at once to destroy them. There are several kinds of **fly ribbon" on the market now which are much bet- ter than the old-fashioned sticky fly-paper. Hang these ribbons in a light place and darken the rest of the room. Flies always go to the light; they are also attracted b}^ smells; and if you put some bits of food with a decided odor near your fly ribbons the traps will be complete. You can sometimes get rid of flies by darken- ing a room and leaving one window open. Then with cloths and newspapers drive the flies to- ward the open window. Do not leave crumbs or bits of food or faded flowers around to attract insects. Eemember that flies and mosquitoes breed by thousands in puddles and in stagnant water at the bottom of barrels and old dishes. Do not let the rain col- lect in this way near the house. Remember that flies and mosquitoes are dirty and go into dirty places. They frequently bring sickness, so do not be careless about them. 76 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP PREPARING FOR GUESTS If you have a bed room that is always kept ready for guests, your work will be much easier. Wipe out the bureau and washstand drawers, and clean the room and closet thoroughly, if nec- essary, but at any rate dust them. Put a clean scarf on the bureau and wipe out the wash bowl and pitcher if the room has a wash stand. Hang up fresh towels, — one bath towel, one face towel and a wash cloth. Be sure that the soap dish is clean and filled with a generous cake of soap. Put a small pitcher of drinking water and a glass on the table or washstand. Always have on the bureau or dressing table a pincushion with unrusted pins in it, safety pins and plain pins, a hair brush and comb which should be washed after each guest, a clothes brush, a hand glass, nail scissors and file. These last are not so necessary, as most people prefer to use their o^^al. If there is an open fire place, have a fire laid in winter and in summer have a clean hearth. Never use the fire place as a dump for scraps and rubbish. See that the waste paper basket is empty. Be sure that there is a box of matches in the room and a lamp ready for use, if you use lamps. Preparing for Guests 78 AVHEX MOTHER LETS US HELP On the desk or table there should be note 23aper, ink, pens, post cards, postage stamps, a pad and pencils. If any family clothes or other things are kept in the guest room, be sure to remove them or tuck them into a corner if there is plenty of room, and cover them with a sheet. It is nice to have a wrapper and slippers kept in the closet for guests. Of course the beds must be freshh^ made up and plenty of blankets pro- vided. There should be a clock in the room, also some books and a coj)y of the Bible or New Testament. If there is no washstand and guests are ex- pected to use the bath room, be sure that there are fresh towels there and that the guest knows which they are. If the windows or window cur- tains are dirty, see that these are cleaned and that the ribbons or cords for the curtains are fresh. Do not let the dog or cat form the habit of going into any room used for guests. It is very annoying to some people. In case you have no separate guest room and the family has to 'Mouble up" when there is company, take particular pains to clear things out of at least two bureau drawers. Take your own things away from the top of the bureau and replace them by the toilet articles reserved WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP 79 for guests. Clear out a generous place in the closet. Be sure to take from the room anything that you yourself will need. Be doubly careful to see that everything is clean and that no soiled things are in the closets or on the bureau. Of course the bed must be freshly made up and fresh towels provided. Always have a hot water bag for elderly giiests in case they want it, and be sure to ask them if they like the bed warmed in winter. You cannot be too generous with extra blank- ets in cold weather. Do not forget to tell your guests the hours for meals and if possible find out what they like for breakfast. Many people are very particular as to what they eat at the morning meal. 80 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP POLITENESS ** Politeness is to do and say The kindest thing in the kindest way. >» WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP 81 WHEN YOTJ ARE VISITING Air your bedroom in the morning. Always be prompt at meals. Don't be fussy about your food. Never say *'I don't like this or that," but accept what is put before you. Always rinse out the bath-tub and wash-bowl after you have used them, and rinse off the soap. Don't leave clothes and things in disorder in your room, but put every thing awa}^ neatly be- fore you go down stairs. If you take books or magazines from the shelves put them back when you have finished reading them. Do not ask questions about the personal af- fairs of your host and^hostess. Tell your hostess if %ou spill or break any- thing. Say nothing ill-natured about people who have entertained you. 82 WHEN MOTHER LETS US HELP The End BtSl^ .^9^^ >C0PY np TO c«T oiv. DEC b t909 D0D173T373A