Dear Home-Ec 101, Now that our teen is helping with the laundry, I would like to show him to fold a fitted bedsheet. I usually just roll it up into a ball. (bad, I know) Signed, Life Skills Teacher to Growing Son Ivy says: The person who actually showed me how to fold a fitted …
Heather says: No person can be “on” all the time. Whether you’re a college student, a parent of young children, or a work-a-holic, a person must take some time to replenish themselves. Life, in all of its wonder and aggravation takes a toll that must be paid. Aside from adequate nutrition and rest, the mind …
Dear Home Ec 101: How long can an open jar of jam or jelly be kept in the fridge before it spoils? (And how do you know when it spoils?)I’m not a big jam eater, but enjoy it once in a while. However, I end up throwing out a lot of jam because I don’t …
Ivy says: Due to my own slacking, I didn’t answer Kathy T’s Stupid Questions last week. Never fear, I am doing them this week! Here we go: 1. Since they’ve recently talked about silver fish and other creepy things on their site, here’s a bug question. What’s with those giant mosquito looking things? Do they …
Dear Home Ec 101: OK ladies. I have a question for you! Our house was built in 1968 and we have the original wood cabinets in our kitchen. We bought our house in 2000 and they had just been painted white. Today? They are not so white. They are covered in a lovely “kitchen/grease/film.” Help! …
Heather says: First of all, I’d like to thank everyone for the feedback they gave regarding the recent post on strawberry jam. I’ve had several requests for lower sugar, sugar substitute, and diabetic recipes. Pickyourown.org has some fantastic tips for reducing the amount of sugar involved in the canning process. Here are some of the …
Dear Mavens of Manners and Manor Management, After a recent death in the family, we have received some very thoughtful gifts of flowers, plants, etc. As I was getting ready to handle the task of thank you notes for these items, I had a question I thought I would ask you for your advice. In …
Dear Home-Ec 101, I’m a guy, and like most guys my age, I have quite a collection of polo/collared shirts. Most of them have developed some sort of collar disease–some are flipped, some are curly, and some seem to have permanent folds. Is there some sort of laundry technique I can use to save these …
Heather says: So in addition to fruit leather, strawberry shortcake, and ripe berry goodness what does $25 and an hour at the farm yield? Why, strawberry jam, of course! There is no reason to be afraid of home preserving. We’ve all heard horror stories of the family that never got up from the table because …
Ivy says: I had such a good time at the potluck I was telling you about on Friday that I can’t even begin to form the words to express how great it was. It is very, very important that we get some time to catch up, hang with friends, let loose and just be ourselves. …