Time Activities in Homemaking
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Mississippi State University Scholars Junction Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Bulletins Experiment Station (MAFES) 10-1-1945 Time activities in homemaking Dorothy Dickins Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/mafes-bulletins Recommended Citation Dickins, Dorothy, "Time activities in homemaking" (1945). Bulletins. 863. https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/mafes-bulletins/863 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES) at Scholars Junction. It has been accepted for inclusion in Bulletins by an authorized administrator of Scholars Junction. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BULLETIN 424 OCTOBER 1945 Time Activities in Homemaking By Dorothy Dickins MISSISSIPPI STATE COLLEGE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION CLARENCE DORMAN, Director STATE COLLEGE MISSISSIPPI TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Time expenditure records 3 Description of families and schooling of homemakers 3 How homemakers used their time 4 Homemaking activities of homemakers 8 Food homemaking activities of homemakers 9 Other homemaking activities of homemakers 10 Effect of gainful work on homemaker's use of time 12 Set time for doing tasks 13 Assistance received by homemakers in homemaking activities 15 Assistance received by homemakers in food production for home use 19 Total time on homemaking activities 20 Number of hours spent on various homemaking activities by Mississip'pi white and Negro town families and by families in two other studies 22 Summary and conclusions 24 Planning use of time 26 TIME EXPENDITURES IN HOMEMAKING ACTIVITIES BY WHITE AND NEGRO TOWN FAMILIES By DOROTHY DICKINS Head, Home Economics Department In the summer of 1943, 160 white and ed from families included in a survev Negro homemakers residing in Mississip- made in Ackerman, Eupora, and Marks, pi towns, kept records for one week of Mississippi, [The survey included all fam- how they used their time and the assist- ilies in the towns (a) eating meals at 'ance they received in homemaking activ- home, (b) with a female homemaker, ities, in connection with a food prepara- (c) no more than one boarder. Informa- tion study to be reported in other bul- tion was secured from 94 percent of the letins of the Mississippi Agricultural Ex- eligible families.] Two groups each of periment Station. It is the purpose of white and Negro families were taken: this report to show time spent in various 80 white families with monthly rent or homemaking activities by the homemak- rental value of house, apartment, or ers and in the families included in this rooms (unfurnished) of $20.00 or less study. To what extent was homemaking and of $20.01 to $40.00; 80 Negro fam- a part time job^for these groups? What ilies with monthly rent or rental value of were time costs of various homemaking house, apartment, or rooms (unfurnish- activities? What are the possibilities for ed) of $7.50 or less and of $7.51 to reducing time spent? These are ques- $20.00. Families with higher housing tions with which this report will be con- values were not included in this record cerned- sample, since such families comorised only 8 percent of the white and 0.2 per- The large group of young women mar- cent of the Negro families in the survey ried during the war and with husbands from which the sample was taken. now returning might profit by studying time expenditures of these homemaker?^ About 40 families in each of the four and their famiHes. Such data may as- groups were selected, since the purpose sist in helping to decide whether gain- of the record study was to determine ful work shoujd be continued now that some of the factors causing variation in the new job of homemaking has been as- activities, such as socioeconomic status sumed. and race. In the survey, 44 percent of the white families had housing values of Time Expenditure Records $20.00 or less, and 48 percent of $20.01 Each homemaker was asked to keep a to $40.00, while 62 percent of the Negro record of activities and assistance in home families had housing values of $7.50 or making activities during the week in less, and 38 percent of $7.51 to $20.00. which food preparation records were be- The families of white homemakers of ing kept. White and Negro home eco- this study averaged 3.5 members, of Neg- nomics teachers supervised record keep- roes 3.6 members. Median size of fam- ing. The same type of schedule and the ily (the size half way between the larg- methods of classification of time develop- est and smallest) for both whites and ed by the Bureau of Economics Home Negroes was 3 members. Thirty-nine (now the Bureau of Human Nutrition percent of the families in both white and and Home Economics) in their time Negro groups were families in which all studies were used in this study. members were over 15 years of age. Description of Families and Thirty-five percent of the white families Schooling of Homemakers and 28 percent of the Negro families had The families in this study were select- one or more children 5 years and under. 4 MISSISSIPPI AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 424 while 26 percent of the white families and homemaking applies to activities connect- 33 percent of the Negro famiHes had no ed with housekeeping and management child 5 years or under, but had children of the homemaker's own household and 6 to 15 years of age. Eight white fam- the care of its members, together with go- ilies and seven Negro families had chil- ing to places and returning home in con- dren under a year of age. The presence nection with homemaking activities. Food of children, as well as their age, is, of production included activities done for course, an important factor in time ex- homemaker's own household use, such as penditures in homemaking activities. milking, care of milk, making butter, Twenty-six of the 80 white homemak- care of poultry, care of garden, gathering vegetables. Food preservation, such as ers and six of the 80 Negro homemakers canning, preserving, and pickling, was had had college training. Eighteen of classified as a homemaking activity, not the Negro homemakers and one of the as food production. Gainful work was white homemakers had had six grades work for which the homemaker received of schooling or less. The fact that there pay and help which the homemaker gave were 19 women with such limited school- to members of her household in work ing willing to cooperate in this study for which they received pay. Some of was because other members of their fam- the gainful work engaged in by home- ilies with more schooling were willing makers during the week of the study to keep the records for ihem or because was clerical work, cleaning work, teach- they had continued their education by ing music, laundry work, sewing, help- reading. The median grade completed ing husband at store, milking, picking by the white homemakers of this study cotton, and beauty parlor work. was the twelfth, and by Negro home- All homemakers of this study spent makers the eighth. Median grade of some time in homemaking activities. All school completed by white homemakers white homemakers except 17 (9 in the in the survey was likewise the twelfth. $20.00 and under housing group and 8 However, Negro homemakers in the sur- in the $20.01 to $40.00 housing group), vey had completed a median of only the and all Negro homemakers except 13 sixth grade. (7 in the $7.50 and under housing group How Homemakers Used Their Time and 6 in the $7.51 to $*20.00 housing In table 1 is shown the average time group), spent sometime in food produc- during one week given to work and to tion. Of those homemakers engaging in personal activities by white and Negro food production, time spent per week • homemakers in families of varying hous- varied from 15 minutes to 29 hours. ing values. The most interesting thing Twenty-nine percent of the white about this table is not the differences in homemakers and 53 percent of the Negro the use of time (white homemakers av- homemakers spent some time in gainful eraged somewhat less time in work ac- activities during the study week. Time tivities, more time in personal activities spent in this way ranged from 30 min- than did Negro homemakers), but the utes to 47 hours and 45 minutes. Two similarities in the use of time. About homemakers, one white and one Negro, one-third of the 168-hour week was de- spent this maximum amount of time in voted to work by all four groups, about gainful work. four-tenths to sleep ajid rest, and the re- Homemakers in all four groups spent mainder to other personal activities- more time in food homemaking activi- Work included homemaking, food pro- ties than in any other type of woik ac- duction for home use, and gainful work. tivities (table 1). There was litde dif- As used in this discussion, the term ference in time expenditure for food TIME EXPENDITURES IN HOMEMAKING BY WHITE AND NEGRO TOWN FAMILIES 5 Table 1. How 160 white and Negro town homemakers in Mississippi used their time during the study week classified by housing value.* White homemakers Negro homemakers In families with In families with In families with Tn families with housing value housinir value housing value housing value S20.00 and under $20.01 to $40.00 $7.50 and under $7.51 to $20.00 Item Av.