ART OF LIVING ELECTRICALLY

NZ Truth, Issue 1302, 27 November 1930, Page 16

ART OF LIVING ELECTRICALLY

HJiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiimiiiitiiii'H 1 The correct method of holding | | the Electrolux when cleaning | | curtains or draperies. - ; § | (Electrolux by courtesy of | | Electrolux, Ltd., Wellington). I niiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiniin

QNCE upon a time, when • a girl married and took over the busin ess of running'a house, it was a cas e 'pf "giving up work to carry bricks" and, m most cases, the "carrying bricks"' proved the harder job, arid' a lifelong.' one at that! She wept, poor soul, over her ugly hands and ragged nails ; she missed her tennis and had no time to play golf; was too

fagged at the end of a day to bother about dances and parties. She slaved, over her washing and cleaning and cooking, was caught ori the wheel of the daily round— wearing monotonous, dull — and m a year or two she. was no longer a girl; she had dropped out of everything and a had become "an old married woman" with few ideas outside her family and the running of her home.No, the picture is not overdrawn, it is perfectly true!, ■ „ • But nowadays ! Well, of course, the young matron is an alert,

charming woman and a serious rival to the flappers and the bright young people at the parties and cabarets, If she wishes, she can outshine them all with ease, for she has time and to

EQUIPPING MODERN HOMES _ "*~ — Day Not Far Distant When Science Will Give Us rMatilda," The Electric "Maid" FANTASTIC, BUT QUITE POSSIBLE

'-'iiimiimiiiiifiiiiiiiiiiiiiimim HiimiiiiiiHHiiinimiimiiiiniinmHiimimiiiiimnmmmmuimiumiiiHnmmtmHtmnito \ ' What next! Perhaps we will shortly have on the market an electric ap- j I pliance for rocking the baby to sleep, peeling the vegetables and potatoes, making | | the beds, mowing the front lawn — all those odd jobs around the house! Why j 1 f not? This is the day of electricity and the most modern homes . are equipped J , j throughout with these labor-saving, clean and efficient electrical appliances. | I Verily, we shall see before long, "Matilda," the electric "maid." j. fj mnm miiHiiiutiiii iiiiiiiiiiuiitiiiiiiiiiiitiiHiiiiimiiriiiififniiii«iiHiHfii»«HiiiiriiiiiHr«tMii«H«i«tiHiiiiiiiniiiiiHiJHiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiH miiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiif. ■ •''''i■■ . '■ ' . .

spare to give attention to her looks, to entertain prettily, to dress with care; she is gay and young and her home ia an attractive background. Dangerous women, .these pretty young married things I The business of housekeeping has? been amazingly simplified I There i's the electric kettle, the griller arid the toaster for breakfast — m a jiffy and without any fuss, the meal : is on the table. No getting up m a rush, lighting the fire and snatching a cup of tea and a mouthful of toast at the last moment. Then the housework! There is no sweeping and cleaning and polishing and dusting and beating carpets, these times. Out from the cupboard comes the "Electrolux," the current i's switched on, and without effort the dirt is chased and nosed out of all the nooks

Without Regrets

and crannies; the floor is polished; the carpet looks like new; even the walls and the ceilings come m for their share m this new cleanness. Again, take the work and the bother with wood and coal fires! Now there is no gathering of chips, and "chopping of wood, that is all eliminated by the electric radiators and grates. And so with every department m the running of the home. The cooking is done by the electric stove; the water

for the Hath is heated hy electricity; the washing — that bugbear of the average housewife — is now a mere detail. Think of those old days with thc rubbing and the scrubbing, the heavy lifting, the smoke and steam and smuts! How could a girl keep her youth and beauty when she had to work like the proverbial navvy? Even the dishes are -washed and the

ironing done . to-day with the invaluable assistance of this electricity, and there are refrigerators, fans, sewing machines arid other electric devices without number. And it's all so clean, so easy, and. so thoroughly satisfying! And the future? What has it m store? Progress has made such leaps and bounds during the last century that our grandmothers would be dumbfounded with shock if they could know of the marvellous changes; and perhaps the next generations will look back at our very up-to-date methods and label them "old-fashioned."

The day cannot be very far ..distant when every home will be a wholly "electric" home! Probably one that will just about automatically run itself. Getting back to that electric "maid" idea. Just imagine a contrivance that could be set (like an alarum clock) to do certain household duties at certain hours! Fantastic! maybe/ but quite possible I Anyhow, with economic conditions becoming more and more complicated and with women m their thousands invading the commercial ahd professional worlds, the accustomed standards of ordinary living are m the melting pot. To-day there are women surgeons, dentists, solicitors, m fact they arc m

every avenue that was considered the sacred precincts of the sterner sex, and, on the other -hand it is not uncommon to find men dress-designers, milliners, houaeboys, chefs and the like. Surely this indicates the possibility that the future may see a complete reversal of the parts, and : "Eve" may leave "Adam" at home to mend- arid cook whilst she stamps forth\to earn the daily crust. "For men must ' work and ' women must weep" perhaps held true m the days of old, but m this

year of 1930, it is a very different ; matter. However, there is one consolation for the men should such a state of things eventuate, they will never have to get down and scrub and clean and polish — housekeeping will be quite a "manly" occupation with electrical appliances and. devices m every direction.