Home-Ec Guest Ivy says: I’ve been wanting to touch on this for awhile, but have been unsure of how to bring it up. It’s a multi-faceted discussion, so this post might get long. Or, it might not, since I’m the queen of conciseness. Sort of. Anyway, one of the things people say to me when they first …
Ivy says: So much I wanted to write about, but alas, I’ve been spending all night dealing with a crayon in the dryer disaster. Anyway, my loss is your gain, since I’m sure you’ll remember this and make sure to apply the lesson I learned: always check the pockets of every item that goes in …
Dear Home-Ec 101, I bought some new jeans and they smell strongly of chemicals? Could you please tell me what that awful chemical smell is on some new jeans? Also, how can I get rid of that chemical smell? I tried adding 1 cup of vinegar to wash with laundry detergent 3 times, and they …
Ivy says: I don’t know about y’all, but it’s HOT here. It got up to 110 degrees today. It’s ridiculous. My air conditioner can’t keep up. I’ve been taking about 100 showers a day (okay, I took three today), loading up on water and lemonade slushes, and sitting in front of a fan. Here’s a …
Ivy says: Heather had her baby today at 5:29 PM Eastern time. It’s a GIRL! She weighed 8 pounds, 5 ounces, and her name is Elizabeth Suzanne. Everybody welcome her to the world, we’re sure excited she’s here. (And Heather’s sure excited to not be pregnant anymore, I bet, ha!)
Dear Home-Ec 101, We have two dogs and two cats, all dark-haired. Our house is COVERED in pet hair-hardwood floors, carpeted floors, tiled floors and counters. Even the back of our television collects HUGE fur-balls. Help! How do I keep this under control without having to spend 2 hours a day sweeping, vacuuming, dusting, and washing? Our animals are taking …
Ivy says: It’s HOT! As I type this, it’s 100 degrees, and it’s 7:11 PM. You shall be reading this sometime in the future, but it’s forecasted to still be miserably hot, so this lemonade slush recipe should still be appropos. So let’s stop with the witty banter and just get to the recipe, it’s …
Dear Home-Ec 101, Ok, so I’ve noticed that I continue to get a build up of either laundry soap or fabric softener on inside top of my washer, the actual drum thing..I don’t know what its called. How do I keep that to a minimum… It seems like I need to wipe it down every …
Ivy says: I have been using online banking to help me with my budgeting for years now. My bank now offers something called “My Portfolio” where I can see how much money I have been spending in certain categories. I know I could do this in Quicken or MS Money, but I’ve been remiss and …
Dear Home-Ec 101, I clean houses part time to bring in some additional income. . My newest client has severe allergies, no strong chemicals can be used in her home. Currently I’m using soap and water or a vinegar mix for most of the jobs, but her tub and shower combo are quite grungy, (not …