53 + 2 = 55... and Operating Expenses

Another week, another weigh-in. And a successful one at that. I weighed in at 139 this morning for a loss of 2 lbs. during the past week and a total loss of 55 lbs. since April 2009. It's time to set a new mini-goal! How 'bout this: by Saturday, February 20, I want to weigh in at 134. Now, on to the fun stuff:

Operating expenses - 10-15 per cent of income

Operating Expenses is a wide category. From electricity to toilet paper, it covers all of the basic utilities and supplies - with the exception of food - that it takes to keep a household running smoothly. I may have a tough time estimating how much I'm spending for some of the items listed under Operating Expenses, but I'm going to give it a whirl. I'll know more as the new year progresses and I'm tracking my actual expenditures every month.

Electricity
I logged on to my electric company website and can see that during that last 12 months I've spent $682.83 for electricity (Yikes!) or an average of $56.90 per month.

Gas
I suspect they're not referring to automobile gas here, but natural gas piped into a home. None used here.

Fuel
This category covers any alternative sources of energy. In the '40s, coal, wood, and kerosene might typically have shown up here.

Telephone
Here's another place where those online accounts come in very handy. During the last 12 months, I've spent $664.48 for telephone service (Double yikes! That's for just a single land line!!!) or an average of $55.37 per month.

Garbage Collection
My rent includes garbage collection, so nothing extra here.

Water
My rent also includes water, so nothing here.

Ice
This item made me giggle at first, but I suppose it was a very real expense for homeowners of the '40s who still owned an icebox.

Service and Repairs
I'm not sure what kind of subtle differences the authors of The Manual might have intended between "service" and "repairs." Any ideas? At any rate, most of my household repairs are taken care of by the landlord at no expense to me.

Furnishings
Can't wait to spend some cash on furnishings during 2010! My expenditures in this category have been few and far between, so it's hard to hazard even a guess here...

Household Supplies
I've saved my supermarket receipts for the past two weeks, so I've got a little something to go on. My purchases in 2010 that have fallen under this category include toilet paper, dishwasher detergent, a refill for my hand soap dispenser in the bathroom, garbage bags for the kitchen, a box of envelopes, and some of those one-time-only mini loaf pans I used to make up the rest of my holiday quick breads. I seem to be spending an average of $14.60 per week on household supplies - which works out to about $58.40 per month.

Laundry
I spend $4 per week (or $16 per month) to do my wash in the laundromat in my apartment complex. Haven't bought any new detergent yet this year, but that'll also fall under this category. As would any other items somebody might regularly use, like dryer sheets or spray starch. Do you send anything to the dry cleaners? Better include that expense here...

So my best guess is that I spend about $186.67 per month on Operating Expenses. That's 5% of my gross monthly income of $3666.67. I'm sure once I start indulging in some of the new furnishings I have in mind for 2010, I'll have no problem spending something more like the 10-15% figure recommended in the "pattern" household budget! They were planning for the expenses needed for the average family, though. One income split six ways - where I'm only splitting one income one way. The authors of The Manual also have some suggestions when it comes assessing your expenditures on Operating Expenses:

Are you amazed at the present cost of running your house? Which items seem too high? Can you cut them? Don't sacrifice good lighting, but don't keep lights on in empty rooms. Learn to operate your kitchen range and electrical appliances economically. Keep track of telephone calls so that you won't exceed the limit unless absolutely necessary. Operate your heating plant efficiently. Buy furnishings with an eye to wearing qualities and cleaning ability. Don't waste water by letting faucets drip. As you see, there are many ways to cut operating costs if you are determined to do so.

45 + 2 = 47

My scale and I are friends again. 2 more lbs. are gone and I weighed in this morning at 147 for a total weight loss of 47 lbs. since April. Can I make my mini goal of 145 by November 7? I'm sure going to try! I've been beating off the cravings for comfort food like crazy this week. Every time I worried about the lump in my breast and the tests coming up on Monday, my thoughts turned right to food. And the richest, fattiest, sweetest, most carb-laden foods you can imagine. None of those things is going to fix the problem that's worrying me, though. I know the same problem will be there still when I've cleaned my plate and digested all those calories --- and where will that get me! There's nothing I hate more than wasting hours of exercise on a snack that doesn't do me any good.

I've made it through six days now without caffeine. Almost. I slipped up last night during happy hour with some friends. I've gotten used to sipping a diet cola while they drink their beers and panicked at the last minute when I remembered that the diet cola would have caffeine in it. What's left to order besides a glass of water? I doubt most bars or restaurants stock any caffeine-free sodas. Maybe I should've tried ordering a sparkling water. This place we frequent is kind of a dive, so I'm not even sure if they'd have even that! I'll have to come up with a new solution for next time.

My special focus for the last few days has been getting my morning housekeeping routine back up to par and that's going well, too. I have to be a little extra disciplined with myself, but it feels good to be back in charge. Of something, anyway!

So there's my progress report on the last few days. Now on to something more exciting... One of my new tasks when I'm giving the living room its weekly cleaning is the care of any upholstered furniture:

Brush upholstery if necessary. Straighten covers. Plump up pillows.

The only brushes I've been using in my housekeeping are the brush attachment on my vacuum - for weekly cleaning of AC/heat registers - and the little brush I use to clean out the tray under my toaster. I do have one upholstered piece in my living room, though, that needs some care. It's a big club chair (with matching ottoman) upholstered in a wine-colored velveteen. This sounds like a topic I'd better do some brushing up on. What does America's Housekeeping Book (1940) have to teach me?

It is an expensive mistake to allow upholstered furniture to become badly soiled. Light surface soil which does accumulate slowly, despite regular cleaning, can be removed from certain fabrics by home methods, but deep soil calls for professional care. Greasy soil and perspiration, if allowed to remain on the fabric, will affect the dye, and there is no remedy except reupholstering or slip-covering to hide the damage.

The necessity for shampooing can be staved off for long intervals by regular care. It is sometimes necessary to brush the exposed surfaces every day with a whisk broom or upholstery brush. At least once a week the correct attachment of the vacuum cleaner should be run slowly over all exposed surfaces. Use the brush attachment for napped upholstery and the suction tool for smooth fabrics. Once a month, or oftener if necessary, a thorough cleaning is in order:

1. Remove all cushions. Clean them on all sides, using the correct attachment of the vacuum cleaner unless they are down-filled (the suction is apt to pull the down through the fabric).

2. Run the vacuum attachment slowly over the entire surface of the chair or davenport, not neglecting the backs, or fabric underneath.

3. Use the slender suction nozzle to get down into all crevices.

4. Replace the cushions.

This sounds like a doable plan. Once a week, I'll hit the "exposed surfaces" of that chair and ottoman with my brush attachment. When the living room moves into my rotation for a more intensive cleaning once a month, I'll give the chair a more thorough cleaning with both vacuum attachments. I can look at things like shampooing the upholstery once I start adding some seasonal chores to my housekeeping.

It occurs to me how bummed the 1940s housewife without a vacuum cleaner must have been as she read this portion of The Manual. There's such a focus in this section on vacuuming technique. The authors just seem to take it for granted that everyone knew exactly how to use a whisk broom or upholstery brush in caring for furniture. If those were the only tools a housewife had at her disposal, she must've felt like she was being left behind as the world on every side of her rushed pell mell into an electric future. Even today, sixty years later, just reading this piece makes me want to go out and invest in a more powerful vacuum cleaner. My little bagless stick vac might be okay for a little light carpet cleaning, but it's certainly not sturdy enough to do any serious damage to dust.

Something to Dust

Dust high objects if necessary: mantels, high shelves, window frames and sills, tops of bookcases, secretary, highboys, etc.

In the living room - just as in the bedroom - cleaning is a top-to-bottom kind of business. The Manual advises starting by cleaning the hearth and laying a new fire. It's the messiest job of the day by far. The housewife works from the top down --- dusting the highest objects in the room on which dust might settle, dealing next with upholstered and other "low" furnishings, then finally the carpet. For now, I don't have a stitch of high furnishings to dust. The only item on my list here is the frame around my living room window. Everything else is shorter than I am!

As much as I love having one less thing to do, I'm hoping this won't be the case for long. I've been feeling nest-y lately and my apartment badly needs some redecorating. I should make that "decorating," because I've been just kinda perched here since moving to the Southwest two years ago. My sister had recently gotten married and had some older furniture she needed temporary storage for - so it's worked out nicely for us both. I got a few pieces to fill my little place with and she got some space she so desperately needed with a baby on the way. Ever since then, I've been unsure how long I'd stay here, so didn't want to stock up on fabulous furnishings and things that I'd have a hard time moving cross-country again. Fast forward two years... My parents have just purchased a small home here where they're planning on coming for the winters. (Can't resist those grandbabies!) So I guess I'm here for awhile.

One nice thing about living in a city this size is that there are lots of places to shop vintage. Including at least three large-ish vintage furniture stores within a fifteen-minute drive. I've got some shopping to do! In the meantime, how 'bout a little furniture porn. I'm aiming for a late Art Deco/moderne look when it comes to my living room. Here's some of the inspiration that makes me weak in the knees...


Pair of Skyscraper End Tables (1928)
Dynamique Creations, Grand Rapids, Michigan




Coffee Table (1930s)
Modernage Furniture Company, New York City




French Reclining Club Chairs (1930s)




Danish Secretary





American Club Chair and Sofa Set (1930s)



...and since money isn't an object while I'm fantasizing - check out this piece of cheesecake!


French Cabinet (1930s)

29 + 4 = 33

The halfway mark (155 lbs.) is finally in sight! Just close enough that - barring disaster - I can glimpse it at a few weeks' distance. I weighed in at 161 this morning, with a loss of 4 lbs. this past week. I was pretty nervous during those first few days when I'd worked my abs too hard and couldn't do most of my limbering and stretching exercises, but I was super stringent about my eating to try and compensate - and it paid off handsomely. (My abdomen is feeling back to normal again, thank goodness.) Here's to cracking into the 150s when I step on that scale next Saturday morning!

One of the areas in my kitchen that isn't really addressed in The Manual's daily or weekly housekeeping routines is the breakfast table.

Here at Casa Jitterbug, mine is also a lunch and dinner table. I don't have a separate dining room, so my only table sits at one end of my kitchen. It's a round wooden table that seats four --- though the leaves that make it round can be dropped when not in use, making it more of a rectangle. Most of the time I leave a vintage tablecloth on top. It adds such a punch of color to my kitchen! I'd like to purchase a few more of these cloths so that I can rotate them seasonally and give the kitchen a different look from time to time. Since there's usually only one person seated at my table, I have it positioned against one wall with a 1950 Zenith radio opposite my chair. A small blue footed stand holds whatever fruit I've got in the house which doesn't need refrigeration. These days, I leave my vitamins and blood pressure medication sitting right there at the middle of the table. It isn't ideal. I'd love to keep them in the cupboard or something, but it keeps me from forgetting to take 'em if they're right there in front of me when I sit down to eat my breakfast.

It's a lovely spot. A cozy, cheery place for a meal I've worked hard to prepare. But my current kitchen cleaning routines don't include any kind of maintenance for this part of the kitchen. I've been sweeping the floor underneath the table on a weekly basis and washing it on a monthly basis, but what about the table and chairs? What about the tablecloth? How about the items I leave on my table? Every breakfast nook needs a little attention... I took a look at The Manual's routines for care of the dining room, but they were so focused on care of upholstery, furnishings, carpets, and "buffet appointments" that they didn't seem to apply very well to this particular situation.

So let's break it down. My kitchen table, first and foremost, is not just a dining table. It's a work surface. Tuesday evenings find me folding the cloth back so that I can set up my tabletop ironing board and work my way through a basket of clothes. (That table's the perfect height for ironing!) On Fridays or Saturdays, I fold the cloth back while I'm cleaning the kitchen so that I can store small items there while I'm cleaning the range and counter tops. If I have any baking to do that involves kneading or rolling or cutting, my tablecloth is whisked away to a safe place while I use the table as my breadboard.

Well, I guess this answers one of my questions. One of my weekly duties in the kitchen has long been to "Wipe... all work surfaces in need of cleaning." If my kitchen table is just as important a work surface as my counters and range top, it too needs a weekly washing. Here are some instructions on the care of wooden furniture which might be of help:

Make a light lather, using mild soap and lukewarm water. Wring a soft cloth out of this lather and go over a small area. Rinse with a cloth wrung out of clear water. Dry with a soft cloth.

The Manual goes on with instructions on polishing wooden furniture, but I'm not going to use any polish which might damage the tablecloth. The table has a good sturdy finish, so a weekly washing should suffice. I think that'll do for now. I'm headed into the kitchen in a few minutes to begin my work in there for the week. Next week, I'll add another step in the care of my breakfast nook to my housekeeping routine.

Damp Dusting

Since I began giving my bedroom a thorough weekly cleaning, I've been gradually adding more and more of the "if necessary" and "when necessary" tasks to my list of chores. What started out as a barebones type of routine has become quite fleshed out, and these days I'm down to the last few of these optional items. One of the missing pieces to the puzzle was the housekeeping required for my only piece of wooden furniture in the bedroom - a white painted wooden nightstand. The manual recommends that housewives "apply wax or polish when necessary," but should painted furniture be waxed or polished? I didn't think so. I've been dusting it every week --- are there any extra steps I can take to keep it in good condition? It took some hunting, but I finally found a brief passage on the care of painted furniture.

Wood or metal furniture that is finished with good quality washable paint is easy to care for. Of course it must be dusted regularly with a clean, soft untreated duster, and occasionally it will benefit by damp dusting with a soft cloth wrung almost dry of clear lukewarm water.

Excessive soil may be removed with mild scouring powder... or with a good commercial paint cleaner.

I'm not sure how durable the coat of paint on this piece is, but it is flaking off a bit on the drawer knobs. So I'm thinking it's probably not the sturdiest of paint jobs! I think I'll make that "damp dusting" a seasonal job rather than trying to do it on even a monthly basis... Here's another of the chores recommended on an as needed basis for bedroom furnishings:

Polish metal hardware if necessary.

While I tie on an apron and scurry off to work, I'll leave you with some pictures of American bedrooms of the era.





This last is a 1944 photograph of a bedroom in an Indianapolis home lovingly cared for by the mother of a gunner's mate in the Navy, gone to war. How carefully she must have worked as she moved about this one room - dusting, polishing, plumping the pillows...