Scouting For Girls, Official Handbook of the Girl Scouts Part 22

When the baby worm pokes its head out of the egg, it begins to feed upon the wool; and when some cold winter morning you get your dress you will find holes neatly cut where the little worm has gnawed, and beside the holes the little woven cradle which the tiny creature spun for itself, and in which the crawling worm changed to the flying, silvery moth.

The housekeeper must therefore, carefully brush and pack away all woolen things before the moths arrive. After the garment is cleansed and brushed it may be folded in newspapers carefully pinned at the ends, so that no crack is left for the moth to get in it, or it may be laid in a cedar box; or in any plain box with moth b.a.l.l.s or camphor. Every box should be labelled so that you know without opening it what is in it.

Watch edges of carpets and rugs for the carpet beetle and the "Buffalo bug." The last bothersome creature may eat your cotton dresses in your closet. All clothing must have care.

Make a list of the woolen things that must be taken care of if the house is closed in summer and what personal clothing must be packed away for the summer even if the house is not closed.

Storage of Food

Taking care of food so that it will "keep" well is just as important as the careful buying of food. Much waste, and therefore loss of money and labor, comes from carelessness in the storage of food. The bright Girl Scout will keep her eyes open to see how foods are taken care of in the house; which foods must be kept in the cellar; which ones must be stored on the shelves of dry closets; which ones come in sealed parcels; which in paper bags; which in boxes; which in barrels. There must be a place in the house for keeping all these things. So you need to think which foods _must_ be kept in the house and which must be bought from day to day. And in the house which you plan there must be ample s.p.a.ce for closets and shelves, for keeping properly all that must be stored. No one can say which things must be kept in the house by every family. If the Girl Scout happens to live in a crowded city where rents are high, she will have little storage s.p.a.ce, and will not keep so many things on hand. If she lives in the country, miles from a store, she must have a "store" of her own. So keep your eyes open, Girl Scout, and see what is being done in your part of the world. That is what eyes are made for.

Heating the House

A house may be heated by a furnace, by stoves, or even by open fires in the fireplace, as in old days. Heating the house makes the chimney necessary. This must be carefully arranged for in planning your house.

Heating by stoves is the most common arrangement. In the large city or town, the furnace is used. This is merely a big stove in the cellar or bas.e.m.e.nt, so planned that its heat is distributed through the house. By this means one big stove does the work of many little ones, and warms the whole house.

The furnace may use its heat to turn water into hot steam, which is sent through all the house through the iron pipes and radiators. Or the water in the boiler may be made quite hot, though not turned into steam, and sent through the house in the same way, by means of pipes. Or hot air from around this big stove or furnace may be sent through big pipes directly to the various rooms. This means dust and dirt, and we are learning to use steam and hot water instead of the hot air system.

The fireplace is almost a luxury. It is found oftenest in country houses where wood can easily be got and stored. The town or city home may have its open fire, however. Everyone loves an open fire; and when you plan your own house, you must manage to get one if you can. The hearth is the heart of the house.

Labor Saving

The housekeeper must learn how to do her work in the least possible time; she must save steps. Look at the house that you have planned and see whether everything you need to use is within easy reach. Look carefully at the closets where you keep things. Are they big enough?

Are they in the right place? Suppose your water comes from a well which is a long way from the house. What difference will it make? What would you do about it?

The Water Supply

The water supply of every home should be carefully guarded. If the water is defiled or contaminated by germs of typhoid fever, diphtheria, or other diseases, whose bacteria may be carried by water, the disease may be spread wherever the water is used.

No earth closets or human or animal waste should be in the neighborhood of the well. Water should come from high ground and clean places with no possibility of gathering infection on the way to the house. Great pains should be taken to keep drinking water absolutely clean. All drinking vessels should be washed and scalded and the rims should never be handled.

In the country every home has a private water supply and takes pains to guard it. In the city there is a common water supply and everyone is responsible for keeping it pure. Where does the water come from that supplies your city or town? How is it kept clean? Who takes care of it?

Whenever there is any question about the purity of common drinking water, the table supply should be boiled, for safety. Boiling will destroy any bacteria that could produce disease. This boiled water should be used for rinsing dishes as well as for drinking.

Girl Scouts will interest themselves in munic.i.p.al or neighborhood housekeeping, for that is a responsibility which all share together.

Learning to take care of one's own home is a good beginning, if one is to share in providing good conditions for the neighborhood.

Little Things Worth Remembering

The stove should be cleaned with crumpled newspaper whenever the kitchen is put in order. All ashes should be neatly brushed off.

In lifting ashes from the ash pan with a shovel use a newspaper to cover the pail into which the ashes are poured, so that the dust will not scatter over the room. Don't dump them and raise dust; and never put hot ashes into a wooden box or barrel.

Watch the floor of closets and see that no dusty corners are hidden out of sight.

Air and dry soiled clothing before putting it in the laundry basket. If damp clothes are hidden away they will mildew.

Learn to make out a laundry list and to check it when the laundry comes home.

Save the soap chips and use a soap shaker.

Get all the help you can from older housekeepers in your neighborhood.

Ask them how they do things and why. Your mother may know something better than anybody else does.

The Girl Scout asks questions and learns why things are done as they are. She may think out a better way some day, but first she must pay attention to the old way.

Sing at your work; it goes better so. Besides, joy belongs with housekeeping and your song helps to keep her there. Always sing if the work drags, but let it be a lively song!

Making Things Clean and Keeping Clean

Making things clean is a most important duty of the Keeper of the House.

But don't forget, Girl Scout, that keeping things clean is a constant duty. You know many a body who "cleans up" with a lot of stir once in a while, but who litters and spills and spreads dirt and lets dust collect in corners all the rest of the time.

"Keeping clean" is the housekeeper's regular business, and "cleaning up"

never need stir up the whole house.

For keeping clean, soap and water must always be had. The soap loves to wrestle with grease. The water softens and rinses away both dirt and soap. You will use a scouring soap or powder to clean stained or dirty metal or gla.s.s; and you should cover water-closets and other out-of-door places for refuse with clean slaked lime now and then to keep them clean.

Ten Ways of Removing Stains

1. When you have _raspberry_ or _blueberry_ or _strawberry_ stains on your white handkerchief or blouse or skirt, do not be too much disturbed. Hold the stained part firmly over an empty bowl, with the spot well in the centre, and ask some one to pour boiling hot water over the spot and into the bowl. The stains will disappear like magic. Then the wet spot may be dried and pressed with a hot iron, and the damage is repaired.

2. _Peach_ stains are much harder to remove, but they should be treated just as the others were treated. Often several applications of hot water are necessary for these stubborn stains. But you must not lose patience.

And you must not use soap. The stain will fade out at last under the hot water.

3. _Ink_ stains are a great bother, especially to the school girl who carries a leaky fountain pen. Do not let them get dry. They will be much harder to remove. Sometimes cold water, applied immediately, will remove the ink, if the spot is rinsed carefully. Use the cold water just as the hot water is used for the peach stain. If that does not remove it try milk. If the milk fails, let the spot soak in sour milk. Sometimes it must soak a day or two; but it will disappear in the end, with rinsing and a little rubbing.

4. _Ink_ stains on a carpet are a serious matter. Let us hope that no Girl Scout will be so unlucky as to upset an ink bottle on a friend's carpet or rug. If she does, she should know the best way to set about removing it. This should be done as quickly as possible before the ink dries, or "sets." Take cotton, or soft tissue paper or blotting paper, and absorb all that has not soaked in. You will see that the "sooner"

_is_ the "better" in this case. Try not to increase the size of the spot, for you must keep the ink from spreading. Then dip fresh cotton in milk, and carefully sop the spot. Do not use the cotton when it is inky; that will smear the carpet and spread the stain. Use fresh bits of cotton, dipped in clean milk, until the stain has disappeared. Then rinse with clean water in the same way, and dry with dry cotton.

5. The _spots_ made on silk or woolen by _acids_ may be removed by touching with ammonia or baking soda, dissolved in a little water. The bright yellow spot on a black dress will sometimes run away like lightning when touched by the wet cork of the ammonia bottle.

6. _Egg stains_ on the napkin, or sometimes, unfortunately, on a dress front, must be removed before was.h.i.+ng. Use cold water alone. The egg will dissolve and can be rinsed out. Hot water will cook the egg and it will be hard to remove.

7. _Liquid shoe blacking_ is almost worse than ink. It must be treated in the same way, _and at once_.

8. _Coffee_ and _tea stains_ will wash out with either warm water or soap and water. A black coffee stain on a fresh tablecloth may be removed like the berry stains, by the teakettle and bowl method.

9. _Grease spots_ may be removed from washable fabrics by soap and water. For silk and woolen, gasoline should be used. Use gasoline in daytime only, to avoid lamps or gas in the neighborhood; and _never_ near a fire. Use carbona instead of gasoline or benzine when possible, as it cannot burn. Remember that all grease or sugar spots should be removed before putting a woolen garment away. Moths always seek them out, and they will find them if you don't.