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³ CHRISTIAN ASSEMBLIES EUROPE ³
P.O. BOX 1022
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EDINBURGH EH5 7AE
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SCOTLAND
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HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES
FOR
C.A.E./I.
WOMEN
"The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh
holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good
things; that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their
husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at
home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be
not blasphemed."
TITUS 2:3-5
As we live in the last days, and times are not as they used to be - where
the daughters were taught by their mothers how to cook and wash, raise
children, look after the house, serve guests and so on. The idea was put
forward to collect all the advice and instructions given by the overseer to
some of the women here in Scotland, thus enabling every woman saved in these
assemblies to gain a complete understanding of her role in the Lord.
This file has been divided into several sections to make it easier to refer to.
Present yourself
Make sure you look nice,
blouse or a nice dress).
visitors feel welcome.
clean
Adopt
and tidy. Dress like a woman (i.e. skirt &
a friendly way of speaking and smile. Make
Present the house/flat
Keep things tidy and in order in the house. People should feel warm, welcome
and cosy at your place. Have some flowers in the living-room, for example.
Do not have clothes lying about, heaps of dirty dishes or rubbish piled up etc.
Children
If you have children - they mirror you.
Children have to be clean and be used to certain routines like tablemanners,
washing hands, not touching everything etc.
When you have guests, the children should not be hanging around them but should
be kept in the background. They can come and talk for a short time if
convenient and say good night. (The duration of conversation with and presence
of the children depends on the familiarity of the guests.)
"HOUSEHOLD
MANAGEMENT
GUIDELINES
FOR
C.A.E./I.
WOMEN"
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
Some general guidelines for cleaning and presenting the house
- Remember that everything you have or do is NOT YOUR OWN, but has been given
to you to use by the LORD. Take the example of Ree's kettle and toaster which
still look immaculate and without a scratch after many many years of use.
They still look like NEW.
- One thing that is generally VERY IMPORTANT is that you learn to OBSERVE, i.e.
you might come into a room just to dust a table, but you should always have
your eyes open to see other things that are out of place or dusty/dirty, like
a smudge on the glass where you open the window, or cobwebs around the lamp,
a picture that is not straight etc. Basically, you should be able to notice
IMMEDIATELY when something is not right in a room. You have to train yourself
to do this.
- Have a regular routine of doing things (i.e. clean the bathroom twice a week,
wash the kitchen floor once a week, etc.). Always leave a room as you found
it.
- It is important to set priorities - do not try to do everything at once! Do
not be too proud to ask for help if you need a hand. Make it an opportunity
to teach a younger saved woman, for example, or to have some
fellowship at the same time.
- Always wash your hands when coming in from the outside.
- Never walk around in the house with your outside jacket on; take it off when
you first come into the house.
- Heating is also an important point. The house should always be nice and warm,
especially when you have guests coming, so think of heating it up in time. It
is easier to air if it gets too warm than to heat it up when it is too cold.
- Close/open the curtains at dusk/dawn making sure they fall nicely, i.e. no
gaps and not overlapping too much in the middle.
- Air the house regularly, but never on windy days (dust!). Open the windows
when the heating is off so as not to waste energy. Always pull the netcurtain
open when you open the window, in order to keep the curtain clean.
- When dusting tables or other delicate surfaces always remove all objects
first, then clean the surface and thereafter replace the items. This way you
cannot knock anything over accidentally.
- Dust around the ceilings, corners, lamps etc. with a feather duster from time
to time (depending on how quickly the house gets dusty).
- Clean door handles, lightswitches (areas where people touch with their hands)
regularly, e.g. after meetings.
- Change
bedsheets
every 2 weeks (for guests change every week).
In the kitchen:
- Use potstands (cork or wooden board etc.) for hot pots; never place hot items
on the worktop.
- Be careful
dropped.
with whatever you handle that nothing gets scratched, chipped or
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"HOUSEHOLD
MANAGEMENT
GUIDELINES
FOR
C.A.E./I.
WOMEN"
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- When doing the dishes, remove scraps of food from dishes (with kitchen towel
if necessary) then clean thoroughly in a sink with plenty of hot water and
plenty of detergent. Never try to clean the dishes just under running water,
without actually filling the sink with water.
- First, wash glasses, then plates and cutlery and then pots. (Wash the most
greasy things last). Rinse in hot water.
- Dry things thoroughly, including the inside of teapots, jugs etc. Use a
separate tea towel (dish towel) for drying your nice glasses or cutlery etc.
- Never put anything onto a stainless steel sink surface as it will scratch have a rack to put the wet dishes on. Be careful not to drop things into the
sink.
- Make sure that no food scraps go down the drain of the sink. Also, never pour
fat down the drain as it will block it. Wipe greasy trays with kitchen towel
first. Always have a strainer over the plughole.
- Always wipe the sink and the sink surface dry after use.
- Make sure tea towels (dish towels) and hand towels are clean.
- Concerning cookers: Always ensure that pots are clean underneath before
placing them on the hob; also wipe the hob to ensure that there is no dust or
crumbs. NEVER PLACE ANYTHING OTHER THAN POTS on the hob - no trays from the
oven, no plastic items or any such things!!! Also, never slide pots around on
the surface, but lift them straight on or off.
- Use oven gloves to take things in and out of the oven, not dish towels. They
are for clean things and look very unsightly after handling a greasy oven
tray.
- Do not over fill pots, as they might overflow and stain the rings.
- Do not leave the cooker on when you have to leave the room. You may get
caught up in something else and forget all about the kitchen. Always switch
off the rings!
- Always clean the hob and oven after each use. You may need different cleaning
material depending what kind of hob/oven you have, i.e. a glass hob requires
a special cleaner etc.
- Open a window when you cook so that cooking vapours can escape.
- Get used to touching everything by the handles, i.e. when opening or closing
kitchen cupboards, doors etc.
- Empty the bin every night before going to bed. This way, there will not be
any unpleasant smells spreading throughout the house.
- Tidy the kitchen back to its original state after use - this way you never
waste time having to clean up just as you need to use things again. Sweep the
kitchen floor after each meal.
In the bathroom:
- Have separate cloths for cleaning the toilet and the sink etc. Clean the
toilet lid, seat and outside of the toilet with some warm water from a
bucket. Clean the inside of the toilet with the toilet brush. Remember to
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"HOUSEHOLD
MANAGEMENT
GUIDELINES
FOR
C.A.E./I.
WOMEN"
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clean the brush stand also. Wipe everything dry with a soft cotton cloth. Put
some toilet cleaner around the inside of the toilet and leave for a few
minutes but not too long as the chemicals might stain the toilet. Flush the
toilet and remove all the toilet cleaner with the brush. Now and again, use
disinfectant to clean the seat, lid, brush etc. Wipe toilet seat and lid with
disinfectant.
- Clean the sink and tiles with some cream cleanser, rinse and wipe dry with a
soft cotton cloth.
Check where water could splash when people wash and dry their hands, i.e.
clean the tiles above the sink and around the towel rail, hook or whatever.
- When having a shower or bath, have a mat to put on the carpet/tiles to
prevent them from getting damp. Dry yourself inside the shower and rinse down
the shower once with clear water after use.
Always have the window open while showering and air the bathroom after use so
that there is no dampness left in the room.
- Change towels every 3-4 days, (guests every 2 days).
Food Preparation
- Keep the fridge clean and tidy.
- Store things at the right temperature. Meat, especially, should be stored
safely, i.e. no meat juices touching anything else or dripping onto other
foods. Keep vegetables in the drawers.
- Store leftovers
the stove.
in
tupperware containers in the fridge, NOT in the pots on
- Watch out for "Use by"/"Best before" dates.
- Do not use the same board/knife for meat and vegetables without washing it in
hot soapy water (salmonella!).
- Prepare a shopping
accordingly.
list.
Decide what
you want to cook beforehand and buy
- Go shopping once a week and maybe just before the weekend for the meeting and
for fresh things (depends on the size of the family).
- Try to have homemade biscuits or slices/cakes to offer your guests.
Washing instructions
- Always read the manufacturer's instructions on the clothing.
- Make sure you wash the clothes at the correct temperature; wash dark colours
separately. Some colours run more easily than others e.g. red clothes. Wash
them separately if necessary.
- Offer to wash for guests - BUT take extra care!!! Read the manufacturer's
labels very carefully!!!
Other helpful material to study is e.g. Beeton's Book of Household Management
and the Spring Cleaning File (HQ-CLEAN.TXT).
These pages are prepared to help you with some of the tasks that will present
themselves to you as a Christian woman. They are, however, not just a set of
laws - see PROVERBS 31:25-30.
as at March 1996
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