Ivy says: Okay, Home Eccers, let’s tap into your sources of wisdom. I want to know how you make things last longer. I’ll give a couple of examples: laundry detergent caps always have three lines to tell you how much to put in, and the bottom one is usually sufficient, but hard to see. So …
Heather says: Homemade guacamole is very easy and a healthier alternative to the mutant storebought guacamole. This simple recipe for guacamole has no additional oil, you only get the natural healthy fat contained in the avocado itself. Do not buy those vibrantly green, Florida travesties masquerading as avocadoes. I don’t care if they are buy one …
Ivy says: Yes, my post title does require that many exclamation points. I was away this weekend and it appears my husband and kids decided to trash the house beyond the limits of what I can stand. Awesome. Luckily, this year my youngest son goes to kindergarten so I’ll now have the house to myself …
Heather says: We all see those lists of amazing household tips that circulate via e-mail. Usually they are full of decent, useful household advice, but a few suspect bits get thrown in for good measure. I comb the Internets looking for bad advice, mostly through my own misadventure. So, here’s this week public service announcement. …
Heather says: *Edit 8/16/09 The promotion is now over.* Welcome to a rare moment at Home-Ec 101. I don’t track deals or announce coupons as I don’t have the time or interest in most of the products. Today, August 15, 2009 Woot.com is offering a refurbished Hoover FloorMate Spinscrub for $59.99 + $5 shipping. Refurbished …
Heather says: Another week another kitchen challenge. This week I experimented with making noodles from scratch. I’ve made rolled dumplings in the past, so I knew it couldn’t be too difficult, but I was prepared for a starchy mess. Ready for the Fearless Friday Spiel? Fearless Fridays are an exercise in kitchen bravery. It’s not …
How do you stay on top of what needs to be done? It’s a very reasonable question. In our house, we use a weekly chore schedule to keep our house clean. Home-Ec101.com gets many requests for help figuring out how to get and keep a house clean. There’s no big secret here; it’s just …
Heather says: We learn these tricks the hard way so you don’t have to. When given a gift card* immediately put it in a safe place. Don’t assume you’ll get to use it in the near future. This way when the magical I-get-to-leave-the-house-and-enjoy-my-gift-card-in-peace day actually arrives, you don’t have to spend half the day looking …
Ivy says: As I’ve said here about 50 million times, Mr. Ivy is a restaurant manager. One of the common themes in our conversations is how other people manage the restaurant and how it meshes (or doesn’t mesh) with his own management style. Within your own household, you and your significant other will have different …
Heather says: Nothing says weekend indulgence like a pancake and nothing tastes better than a pancake served up by someone else. But what happens when you’ve moved out and a weekly trip to IHOP just isn’t in the budget? You learn how to do it yourself. This recipe is simple and a great starting point …