Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 January 1875 — Housekeeping vs. Boarding. [ARTICLE]

Housekeeping vs. Boarding.

Is it better to keen house or board? is a question which is raised every day in society. Let anyone consider the facts, and judge accordingly. In keeping house one’s actual expenses are possibly a fourth greater than when boarding. This’ difference in expenditure, however, is balanced by the pleasure and incalculable benefits connected with housekeeping. There is, in the first place, privacy and quiet. One avoids i the scrutiny of scandal-mongers and the gaze of gossips. The wife escapes the contaminating influences of boardinghouse surroundings, and finds pleasant occupation in daily house superintendence. This is a source both of physical, and moral health. The result is energy rather than ennui, and a lively interest in other things than the petty trifles which would otherwise absorb the attention. The home is permanent, and hence becomes a basis for accumulating for the future. The boarding-house is a wayside stopping-place, and leads to unrest and waste of energy. The very aspect of the two places shows their vital difference, and is in favor of the home. In conclusion, housekeeping, with all its trials and discomforts, is infinitely superior to boarding, and the difference in the cost is not to be considered in comparison with the difference in benefits. — The Housekeeper.