THE HOME BUDGET

Wairarapa Times-Age, 31 August 1940, Page 10

THE HOME BUDGET

COULD YOU MAKE IT SMALLER?

ECONOMIES POSSIBLE ON WASHING DAY.

Tips and ideas for saving are beginning to come thick and fast to every woman who has the task of balancing the household budget these days. But it is pleasant and neighbourly to share tips, writes “Mrs Neighbour.” In case I've thought of something that you have not, I propose to pass on my ideas to you just as they come. Here's a beginning:—■ Those of us for whom fuel is not actually rationed are finding that purses are rationing it even more effectively. Thinking about this, I decided there was lots of room for cutting doWh in the home laundry department.

In future, my washing day is once a fortnight. No more heating water for just a few things, or putting on the gas wash copper for one bed coverlet or blanket just because it looked a good drying day. All soap ends are collected and rubbed down on a small vegetable grater, kept specially for the purpose, and used for working up a lather on wash day. Softened water washes better than hard. A good pinch of borax or a teaspoonful of ammonia to each gallon of water will make the soap go further—and get the dirt out quicker! Dusters and tea cloths are saved up and washed in the hot rinsing water. The gas cooker oven gets its special cleaning on wash day when there is hot soapy water available. Other times it is rubbed well with clean newspapc-' or a paper bag. I used to keep the iron waiting while I smoothed lace edges and pulled garments into shape on the ironing board. Now all articles except silk woven' ones are put through the wringer once or twice to make them easier to iron. Everything is smoothed out ready to lay on the board before I begin. Lingerie of woven silk and wool, night clothes of cotton and wool mixture I do not iron at all. The crinkly nature of the one does not really call for ironing; the smooth material of the other responds very well to the wringer.

On my washing and ironing days now I reckon to have many cubic feet of gas as well as soap powder and soap flakes. And. incidentally, by organising the work I plan to save myself a lot of time.