It has been more than six years ago since Mrs. Helene Barker’s book “Wanted a Young Woman to Do Housework” was published.

This gave the working plan to the idea.  Women in Boston, Providence, New York, Cleveland, and in many other cities have become so enthusiastic over their success in running their homes with the Home Assistants that a number are giving their time to lecturing and talking to groups of women about it.

Let me give two concrete illustrations of the practical application of housework on a business basis.

Mrs. A. lives in a small city in the Middle West.  Her household consists of herself, her husband, and her twelve year old son.  She had had the usual string of impossible maids or none at all until she tried the new system.  Through a girls’ club in a factory in the city, she secured a young woman to work for her at factory hours and wages.  Her assistant came at seven-thirty in the morning.  By having the breakfast cereal prepared the night before, breakfast could be served promptly at eight, a plan which was necessary in order that the boy get to school on time.  Each morning’s work was written out and hung up in the kitchen so that the assistant wasted no time in waiting to know what she had to do.  Lunch was at twelve-fifteen, and at one o’clock the Home Assistant went home.

She came back on regular duty at five-thirty to prepare and serve the dinner.  Except for times when there were guests for dinner she was through her work by eight.  When she worked overtime, there was the extra pay to compensate.  Mrs. A. paid her thirteen dollars a week and felt that she saved money by the new plan.  The assistant was off duty every other Sunday, and on alternate weeks was given all day Tuesday off instead of Sunday.  Tuesday was the day the heavy washing was done and the laundress was there to help with any work which Mrs. A. did not feel equal to doing.  Even though there are times in the day when she is alone, Mrs. A. says she would not go back to the old system for anything.

Mrs. B. lives in a city apartment.  There are four grown people in the family.  She formerly kept two maids, a cook-laundress, and a waitress-chambermaid.  She often had a great deal of trouble finding a cook who would do the washing.  As her apartment had only one maid’s room, she had to give one of the guestrooms to the second maid.  She paid these girls forty dollars apiece and provided them with room and board.  Her apartment cost her one hundred and fifteen dollars a month for seven rooms, two of which were occupied by maids.

Mrs. B. decided to put her household on the new business basis last Fall.  She moved into a five-room apartment which cost her ninety dollars, but she had larger rooms and a newer building with more up-to-date improvements than she had had before.  She saved twenty-five dollars a month on rent plus eighty dollars wages and about thirty dollars on her former maids’ food.  All together she had one hundred and thirty-five dollars which could be used for Home Assistants.  This is the way the money was spent: