EXERCISES
1. Of what value is business equipment in household management?
2. Suggest ways in which a card file might be used in the household.
3. Suggest a system for filing household letters; bills.
4. What should be one"s aim in keeping household accounts?
5. Estimate the cost of your clothing for the last year.
6. Name different methods of payment of bills. Which do you consider the best for the family with $1200 income?
7. Describe fully payment by check.
8. How should a check be indorsed?
9. How can one deposit checks by mail?
CHAPTER XXI
HOW TO BUY
The first rule in good buying is to know standard quality in your intended purchase, for then you need not be dependent upon the salesman. The second is to know your own needs, that you may not be beguiled by the clever advertis.e.m.e.nt in the daily paper, or the well-displayed bargain, and will not need to ask the salesman"s advice about quant.i.ty. Keep lists of articles needed in the card file, and make your shopping lists from these.
The third rule is to apportion your purchases to your income and the divisions of your budget.
=Where to buy.=--Patronize reliable firms. There are in any community shops of different grades, and you will not find the best return for your money always at those houses where there is the greatest parade of cut prices and bargains. In the end the reliable places are the cheapest.
Sometimes a firm trades on its reputation and a degree of fashion it has attained, but on the whole it is true that if one house has goods uniformly cheaper than another, it is because the quality is inferior.
One fact that a good shopper learns is this--that certain articles may be purchased to greater advantage at one place than another. One firm excels in silks, another in household linen, another in coffee, and so on.
Almost every community now has a "white list" and a branch of the Consumers" League, the significance of which was explained in "Shelter and Clothing," p. 202.
=How to shop.=--Know the shops you patronize, first by personal inspection, unless, of course, you are ordering from a distance.
Mail orders and the telephone are helps to the buyer. These should not entirely take the place of personal visits to the shops, but, if well used, save many weary hours. The parcel post makes possible buying by mail even perishable articles direct from the producer. Many country dwellers do a large part of their shopping even for clothing and furniture by mail, and there are reputable firms who cater largely to this trade, and send out well-ill.u.s.trated price lists as guides. However, this method should be used very cautiously, and it may be unsatisfactory for articles where the aesthetic element is important, as well as the quality.
_Bargains, sales, and advertis.e.m.e.nts._--Here the buyer matches her wit against the wiles of the seller. Bargain sales may be made up of sweat shop goods. Many women ignorant of textile production, flock to the sales of materials and garments, helping the storekeeper to dispose of silk which is rotting on his shelves, or garments which have been poorly or cheaply constructed and which go to pieces the first time laundered.
Remnants are often cut from materials on the regular shelves, and sometimes are offered at an advance in price at the so-called bargain sales. In reliable shops one can sometimes find bargains during clearance sales. It pays to wait and buy out of season, as much can be saved in this way. A "best" hat in January, or a white dress in August, may often be purchased to advantage. In order to do this, one must plan the wardrobe systematically.
_Trading stamps and prizes._--Remember that nothing is given away, and that you pay for everything that you receive. It is well to deal with a firm that sells standard goods at standard prices. A discount is sometimes allowed for cash.
_Buying on installments._--Methods of payment are discussed in Chapter XX.
The installment plan is important to consider, since it is so common for people of small means. How tempting for a young couple, who have no savings, to furnish the new home in this way? It is a "gambling on futures," however, as much as are some methods in the Stock Exchange. If the income stops, because the position is lost, or if sickness comes, and the installments cannot be paid, the whole outfit may be lost. There have been real household tragedies of this kind. The better way is to save until a small amount of simple furniture can be purchased outright. The installment method is also used by established firms of sound reputation to tempt one to buy the latest encyclopaedia, or the new musical instrument, or some other much-desired possession. This is safe if one is absolutely sure of a fixed future income; but here again it is better to save first and buy outright. You may say that the installment plan gives the use of the encyclopaedia at once, and this is true. But if you have the saving habit, there will already be a fund on which to draw.
=The ethics of shopping.=--There is no greater test of good breeding and kindness than the tour of a crowded shop; and sometimes the silken thread is strained to the snapping point. Remember that tired human beings are at the counter.
Time your shopping that you may not help to crowd business at the closing hour. If the shop closes at five, leave several minutes before the hour.
As a matter of fact it is only to the shopper that the shop closes at the stated hour; some of the hardest work of the day comes after hours. Avoid shopping at the luncheon hour, and on Sat.u.r.day afternoon at the time of the week when the salespeople are most tired. This is also a hard time for delivery men and boys. Consult here the pamphlets of the Consumers"
League.
In times of stress, the shopkeeper asks you to carry small bundles home with you, and this you should cheerfully do. Some women carry the C.O.D.
privilege to an extreme, ordering in this way with the intention of sending certain articles back, thus creating much unnecessary labor.
=Purchasing of clothing and household textiles.=--Experience is a good teacher, but knowledge so gained is often paid for at high price. It seems an easier way, with much saving of time, money, and energy, for girls to learn beforehand what to guard against in purchasing their household textiles for both clothing and furnishings. Our great-grandmothers were sure their household textiles would wear, for they followed every step of their manufacture and knew they were durable and honest. Conditions changed with the factory system of manufacture, and to-day women know very little about textile fabrics or the making of garments. This ignorance of manufacturing processes results in the increased cost of living by the wasteful expenditures made for household textiles. Women rely on the information given by clerks in stores, often to their sad disadvantage. As we have learned, about 15 to 20 per cent of the family income is usually spent on clothing and household furnishings for a family of four. Is it not necessary then that girls should learn to make the dollars earned buy just as much as possible?
There is need of a pure textile law in order that the adulterations of textiles may be defined. Some of us cannot afford to buy pure linen or all wool, but we do wish to know the percentage of adulterant in order that we may judge whether the materials will meet our needs. It is beyond the power of women now to control the making of fabrics, and the government, therefore, must help to maintain standards and proper supervision of textile labeling. Women can, however, study this problem, and with a knowledge of the manufacture and composition of textiles will come the power to choose wisely, for manufacturers have been able to perpetuate these frauds chiefly because of ignorance. (See the companion volume, "Shelter and Clothing.")
_Some things to remember in purchasing household linens._
1. Design is important. French designs are the most beautiful in damasks, Scotch and Irish are good, and German patterns perhaps the least attractive. Weave often affects the wearing quality of linen as well as the appearance. The satin stripes and long threads on surface are apt to wear off quickly and they are sometimes introduced to cover defects beneath. They cannot stand heavy ironing as the closer, more even, weaves.
2. Linen is sometimes adulterated with cotton; if bought as union goods one may expect it. If bought for pure linen, ravel the material and untwist warp and woof threads. Do the threads appear long and l.u.s.trous?
The round threads are best. If cotton has been used, the ends will fly apart and fuzz, if linen they will appear more parallel and pointed at the ends when separated. The cheaper "all linens" are sometimes made from the tow or short refuse. If the fiber is short, it will not last as well as the long. Moistening with the finger was an old-fashioned test. A better one is to use a drop of olive oil. This test must be made at home. Water spreads more rapidly on linen than on cotton. The oil makes the linen fibers more translucent than cotton.
3. Cost is a guide. Linen is expensive. Is the price that which should insure a good article? If cheap, beware.
4. Feel the cloth. Is it cold and does it feel rather heavy when crushed in the hand? Many buyers in department stores judge by weight. In purchasing table linen less than 4-1/2 oz. to the square yard is not worth buying. Above that it improves. Reliable firms will tell the weight.
Custom house inspectors judge by the picks or throws of woof to the inch.
5. Notice the finish. Is it full of starch and sizing which can be picked off? If so, in washing that will all disappear, leaving a loosely woven instead of a smooth satiny surface. Calendering and beetling make the material smooth and l.u.s.trous and reduce the thickness. Do not be deceived.
It is better to buy a soft linen than one stiff with starch which will crack.
6. In buying table linen the goods received in December and January are apt to be the bleach of the previous summer. Remember that poor bleaching affects the wearing quality. One can sometimes tell by tearing a sample.
For quality, beauty, and variety of patterns, Scotch, French, and Irish linens are the best. German damask is excellent. The unbleached will wear much longer, is less expensive, and is bought by many housewives and bleached as used.
Damask by the yard for tablecloths is slightly cheaper. Tablecloths from 2-1/2 to 3 yards are good size for a medium family of five or six. One dollar a yard is a fair price for everyday linen. The cloth should about equal 1 dozen napkins in cost, and a cloth will usually wear as long as 1-1/2 to 2 dozen napkins. Napkins come in three sizes, 5/8, 17-22 inches; 3/4, 23-27 inches; 7/8, 29-31 inches.
7. For family towels, huckaback is the most serviceable, although damask is used a great deal (see Fig. 78). Linen towels vary in price from three dollars a dozen up, according to size and quality. Dish towels of linen crash are very serviceable.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 78.--Huckaback towels. _Courtesy of J. McCutcheon Co._]
8. Bedding. Sheets can be purchased ready made in linen or cotton in various sizes. If they are to be made at home, buy sheeting that can be obtained for single, two thirds, or full-sized bed. If cotton, buy in bleached or unbleached condition. Purchase sheets which are long enough to fold over at the top and protect the blankets. There are several good brands of cotton sheeting. "Fruit of the Loom" is one of the best known.
Tubing for pillow cases may also be bought. It has no seams, and comes in several widths.
9. It is better to purchase a certain amount of new linen annually and gradually supplement that worn than to wait and have all wear out at once.
_Some things to remember in purchasing silk._
1. That pure silk is seldom manufactured. It is nearly always weighted, and a large proportion of weighting is to be guarded against, as it weakens the wearing quality. Up to 30 per cent is not harmful and helps the silk to take the dye. The fact that it is heavy in the hand does not always mean that it is a good piece of material and will wear well--the weight may be due to artificial "weighting" and not silk. Choose rather a softer pliable silk.
2. Try the test for strength with the thumb (see "Shelter and Clothing,"