THE ART OF "MANAGING."

Otago Witness, Issue 3396, 16 April 1919, Page 56

THE ART OF "MANAGING."

The war has certainly given us all the chance of learning one eminently useful lesson —the art of "managing." And it will be a great pity if easier conditions cause us to forget the lesson. > There can be no doubt but that in - "managing" lies the secret of domestic prosperity—and makes all the difference between housekeeping bills paid promptly and delayed, or perhaps not paid at all. . How astonishingly easy it is, especially in town, with plenty of shops "at the door," to get into the habit of running out for something or other all day long, when, as a matter of fact, there are articles already in the house which, with a little contriving, could be made to serve. In some homes you may see people run out for a reel of cotton or card of darning, because it is less trouble than to look for it in cupboards and drawers. That is a trifling example, but it serves to illustrate the way m which a • habit of wastefulness and carelessness can creep into a household. In cookery, too, the careful manager can save pounds a year on details, while preparing better meals than one who makes no effort to save on the small items. But it is in buying more than m anything else that the art of management makes itself felt. The housewife who is an expert buyer, has the current price of everything at her finger ends. She buys dry goods that keen well in larger quantities—and carefully avoids expensive items which disappear in a .single meal. Her meat purchases are specially well thought out beforehand, so that every scrap of fat and bone may be turned to good account. Hasty buying is_ at the root of many failures in housekeepmg.