THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 3212, 6 October 1915, Page 70

THE WEEK.

I hope yon were not bored by my homily on the virtue of economy last week, because I intend to return to the charge again this week, though in quite another direction. One thing that always annoys me just as much as waste of material things is waste of time, and at present T have particularly in mind the amount of time that we women spend over household duties which are really unnecessary, and which is therefore time wasted. We are

such oreatu ‘2s of habit, we human beings, tA/it, we are apt to go on year after year i*» the same old routine without stopping every now and then to take stock, as it were, and see whether wo are getting a due return for our labour. If we did wo should nrobably find that there is a great deal in our homes that could easily be dispensed with, thus reducing the necessary cleaning to a minimum. Just try to count up how many times you have lifted that vase on the corner of the drawingroom mantelpiece, dusted it, and put it down again; and then look at it with an appraising eye, and consider whether it is worth the trouble. The chances are 10 to one that you will wander why on earth you have had it standing there all these years. Then there arc all those brackets and odds and ends hanging on walls, and those heavy curtains at the windows which are such a bother to take down and put up again at spring-cleaning time. Are they really necessary to your existence? If you think about it you will find that your rooms will be lighter and airier and yourself happier and healthier without a great deal of the household stuff which you have accumulated in the course of years, and continued to take care of merely from force of habit. This is a time for cutting out the superfluities of life and getting down to essentials, and you will bo surprised to find, in tbis question of household furnishings as in other matters, how much that you once thought necessary can quite easily be dispensed with. Even before the war there was a great tendency to simplify all matters of household decoration, as you could tell by looking at any

book on the subject or glancing through any of the art magazines. You will find plain-coloured wails, simple woodwork that does not harbour dust, as little furniture as possible, and very few pictures or other ornaments, just enough to give a touch of colour and pei-sonality to the rooms. If this state of things was considered desirable then, how much more so now, when time and energy are so precious ! This spring-cleaning period of the year is a very good time for the “stock-taking” that I have referred to. Once you have got all your possessions down from the ■walls and shelves, just see how few you can manage to put back again. It may cause you a pang to ’'art with some old friends, but once they are gone you will never miss them. Clear away most of the little knicknacks that filled up your tables and shelves, and made the “doing out’’ of your drawing-room such a bugbear. You will then find that some of the tables could go too, and that means fewer pieces of furniture to polish and to move about when you are sweeping. -A Iso, why keep so many photographs of your relatives in various stages of their respective careers all over the, place? Leave out one or two of the latest ones, hut put the others away in boxes if you do not care to destroy them altogether, rather than have them filling no space and collecting dust. There is no need, either, to. have one’s walls hnn.g with pictures almost from floor to ceiling. They only spoil, each other, and some are hardly seen at all. Go through your collection critically, and weed out those yon reallv do not care for, keeping only the family’s favourites. Sell or give away or burn" the others, whichever you prefer. Then hang the precious ones so that the centre of each picture is on a level with your eye, and see if you are not nleased with the result. You say that this rearrangement will leave patchy-looking wallpapers, for it will show the faded marks. Well, why not do the whole thing and have your rooms renapered while yon are about it? Yes, I know I was talking about economy last week, but it is such a chance to correct previous mistakes in the way of papering and other decorations and, if the result is a fresh, cheerful, and

labour-saving house, tho initial cost will be worth your while. Besides, if you could get an experienced friend to help

you. you might- be able to tackle the work of paperhaiiging yourself, though I do not advise you to do it unless you can get this fairly expert assistance, or the result will not bo a success. Suppose you do decide to have your rooms clone, then the first thing I would say is : if you have a high picture-rail, get it moved down to the level of the top of the door. Yon have no idea until you try it how much easier it is to hang the pictures on a rail like this. A strong stool is all you need to stand on instead of the cumbersome step-ladder. And the second thing is to think of your lighting bill when you are choosing papers. A light paper is much more economical in this way than a dark one, especially with electric light, which seems to need a certain amount of reflection from the walls to make it light the whole room. Experiment shows that a white paper reflects about 50 per cent, of the light cast upon it, and a light yellow 45 per cent., while red and dark green reflect only 15 per cent. So great is the difference that a light-papered room will need one light less in it than a darkpapered one of the same size. Plain papers, too, reflect more light than muchpatterned ones, besides making a better background for pictures. Another suggestion I would make is that you banish as many rugs and mats as possible without interfering with comfort. During the summer months at least we should not need many of the draperies and so on that we deem necessary in the draughts of

winter, and there will be so much less to sweep and shake every day. Then, with a vacuum sweeper for the carpets that you have, and a du.stless polishing mop for the flooring, and a dustless duster for the furniture, you will find your daily cleaning done in the twinkling of an eye, and you yourself soared much care and trouble. ELIZABETH.