Home Management

There are many household activities in which the women are involved and get much drudgery. Some of the examples of major household works that involves drudgery are:

  • Cooking in a smoky environment
  • Fetching water from a long distance
  • Collecting fuel wood from a long distance
  • Use of traditional utensils and equipments in the kitchen
  • Preparing cow dung cake for future use
  • Improper working environment in the kitchen
  • Involvement in post harvest operations in a traditional way
  • Cleaning and maintenance of the home and surroundings.

Now a days, different modern devices have been generated which can reduce our drudgery in house hold activities. Some of the major work simplification devices are:

  • Solar cooker,
  • Use of smokeless chullah
  • Time and labour saving equipments like pressure cooker, improved chullah, rural refrigerator, fireless cooking device (hay box) etc.
  • Bio-gas technology.

The income generating activities are classified into two as agro-based and non-agro-based. The agro-based income generating activities for rural women are:

  • Poultry/duckery rearing
  • Dairy keeping
  • Pig rearing
  • Goat/sheep rearing
  • Mushroom cultivation
  • Fish cultivation
  • Fry production
  • Vegetable cultivation
  • Flower cultivation
  • Bee keeping
  • Vermin compost
  • Value addition to agro-produces

Likewise, the non-agro-based activities are:

  • Incense stick making
  • Candle making
  • Chalk making

Home budgeting is one of the important house hold chores for a woman. It enables her to know the source of total income and to take an overview for its effective use. It facilitates to save for rainy days. As per saying, she can cut her coat according to her cloth. Budget making also helps to meet the basic requirements and encourages conscious decision making to achieve long term goals. It helps to identify and check wasteful expenditure. Indirectly it determines the judicious use of other resources of family.

They are:

  • Post office
  • Bank
  • LIC
  • UTI
  • PPF etc.

Some of the major programmes are:

  • IRDP
  • CAPART
  • ICDS
  • MSY
  • JRY
  • PRY
  • IAY
  • ANP (Applied Nutrition Programme)
  • SNP (Special Nutrition programme) etc.

The bio-gas plant has certain advantages over open chullah as:

  • Keeps the surroundings and clothes clean
  • Maintains smoke free kitchen
  • Helps for non-deposition of dirt on utensils as a result cleaning becomes easy
  • Saves time and energy
  • Supplies efficient fuel
  • Supplies good manure
  • Helps in recycling of waste
  • Reduces health problems

The housewife should be more conscious for fuel conservation by adopting the methods like:

  • Use of solar cooker
  • Use of required amount of water for cooking
  • Using covers while cooking
  • Soaking of pulses and grains before cooking
  • Boiling through pressure cooker
  • Cooking by simmering
  • Work and kitchen organization

The smoke can be prevented while cooking by:

  • using a smokeless chula
  • by using improved cooker stove
  • by using solar cooker

The forest resources such as fire and charcoal are depleting year after year. Hence it is advisable to use eco-friendly chullahs such as solar-cooker, bio-gas chullah, smokeless chullah etc. to overcome these difficulties.

The different types of chullahs available in the market are:

  • Cement built chullah
  • Saw dust chullah
  • wick stove
  • Electric stove
  • Pressure stove
  • Gas stove
  • Solar cooker
  • Smokeless chullah
  • Bio-gas stove

Solar cooker does not require any fuel and smokeless chullah requires less fuel. One should follow the various fuel conservation methods {mentioned earlier} while using any type of chullah.

As budget is the financial plan for future expenditure, certain factors should be taken into account while planning a family budget. The factors are:

  • Income of the family
  • Size and composition of the family
  • Occupation of the family members
  • Stages of the family life cycles
  • Family goals
  • Socio-economic status of the family

Steps in making the budget for a family are:

  • Prepare a list of all the services needed by the family members during budget period
  • Estimate the list of desired items
  • Estimate the total expected income from all sources
  • Set the emergency fund as well as for goal oriented savings
  • Bring expected income and expenditure in balance
  • Budget should be flexible by allowing sufficient margin on certain items

Due to monotonous repetitive works, boredom fatigue arises. To overcome this type of fatigue, the housewife should:

  • Divide the works among family members
  • Not do the repetitive job every day
  • In case of the house wife being alone in family should change time and perform the same duties in different times than previous day.

Decision making is a logical thoughtful process. We have to choice among the alternatives to solve a problem. Therefore, decision making process involves so many steps as:

  • Defining the problem
  • Identifying the alternatives
  • Analyzing the alternatives
  • Selecting an alternative
  • Action in carrying out the plan and bearing responsibility for the consequence.

During emergency or accident, first-aid is provided to an injured person. It is the skilled local assistance given to the patient at home atmosphere before taking to hospital. But first-aid has its limitations for treatment as the first-aider is not a doctor. The role of the first aider ends after the arrival of the doctor or after taking to the hospital.

If after swallowing of poison, the farm woman is conscious, try to make her vomiting. For vomiting, a solution consisting of two table spoon of salt with a glass of water may be given. But if the person is unconscious, neutralize the poison by giving an antidote. An antidote is a substance, which react the poison and makes it harmless e.g. when acid has been swallowed; an alkali such as chalk or milk of magnesia should be taken. Dilute the poison by giving copious draught of water. This will help to lessen the irritating effect and to delay absorption in strong concentration.

The steps to follow are:

  • Immediately the farm woman should cover the patient with a rug, blanket, coat or other heavy materials to extinguish the flame quickly.
  • When she is alone, if her clothing catches fire, she should roll on the floor, smothering the flames with the nearest available wrap and call for assistance. She should not rush in to the open air.
  • Cleaned hands must be used.
  • Do not apply lotions, cream or oil of any types.
  • Cover the area with a dry sterile dressing If possible, otherwise clean linen.
  • Bandage firmly except when blisters are present or suspected.
  • Cover the patient with a blanket but it must not come in contact with the burnt area, as it may cause contamination.
  • But in major case, the patient should be shifted to the hospital immediately.

The household pests include a number of insect pests like cockroaches, ants, book lices, termites, etc. It is very difficult to eradicate all the pests in total. It is better to maintain neat and cleanliness of the house. Besides, different methods should be adopted as periodic check for different insects.

The cockroach inhibit in damp and moist places and cracks in the house. Keeping house cleaned is very essential for checking the insect. Beygon bait or Baygon spray is very effective in controlling it. Baygon may be sprayed in cracks and crevices. Malathion 0.2% (4 ml in 1 lit of water) spray also kills the cockroaches.

Different methods are there for different stains as following:

  • Blood: The cloth should be rinsed immediately in cold water and then ammonia is applied to the stained area and cloth is rinsed. Sometimes soaking in salted cold water helps to remove the total stain clearly.
  • Pan: solvent soap is tried for removal of pan stain.
  • Ink: Clean with cold water, then lemon or tomato with salt may be applied to the affected area by gentle rubbing.
  • Tea: If the stain is fresh, apply boiled water on it, if old one, then apply borax and then boiled water through. But if it remains then affected area may be dipped in glycerin until stain is removed.
  • Curry: After washing, treat the cloth with soap and water dry under sun light.
  • Fruit: Treat the washed stained cloth with ammonia or hydrogen peroxide and rinse well. In case of strong stain, pour boiled water over it and after drying rub lemon juice to remove it.
  • Oil/ghee: Wash with hot water and soap. If remains solvent (petrol/turpentine) may be applied and then washed with soap and hot water.
  • Rust: A solution of 3 tbsp of hot water and 1 tbsp of oxalic acid may be applied to the stain and then rinsed with water.
  • Grass: Rub the stained cloth and then wash with hot water and soap. If stain persists, hydrogen peroxide as a milk bleaching may be applied.
  • Mud: Let the mud be dried and then brush it. If necessary the stain is sponged with alcohol for final removal.
  • Paint: Turpentine oil or ammonia may be treated for removal of stains of various paints.
  • Nail polish: Nail polish remover or acetone may be treated and then wash with soap and water.

  • Silk and woolen: These clothes should be washed with mild detergents like easy, genteel, etc. Lukewarm and warm water may be used for silk and woolen respectively. these non-fast colours should not be soaked. In case of silk, final rinse is done in cold water with addition of few drops of lemon juice to clear the colour and stiffness.
  • Cotton: Hot water may be used for washing with soaps. Strong cotton may be boiled with soap and water for 5 to 10 minutes. Long boiling may be avoided for white fabrics which make it discolour.
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