How to Clean Stained Bathroom Tile

Dear Home-Ec101, Hi Home-Eccers! Love the site – thanks so much for a return to the basics (that I should have learned LONG ago). My husband and I have been in our new home for about a year and a half, and we’ve never been happy with the cleanliness of the tiles in our shower. …

Read more

Let’s do it all imperfectly*: a manifesto

Dear Home-Ec101, I’m going crazy; my house is a wreck, my kids are a mess, my job is in shambles, and I’m broke. I feel like I’m failing adulthood miserably. Can you help? Signed, Imperfect Dear Imperfect, Boy, do I ever hear ya. I’ve been exactly where you’re at. We women have so many hats …

Read more

Benefits of a Well Stocked Pantry

pantry

Dear Home-ec 101: I hate going to the grocery store each week and spending so much money. I’ve heard that I need to have a stocked pantry, but I don’t understand how that will help me. If I buy twice as much food so that I have some in the pantry for next week, won’t …

Read more

Natural Ways to Decrease Pet Shedding

Dear Home-Ec 101, How do you control the dog hair in the house and keep the little ones from turning into little puppies themselves? Vacuuming does not seem to be enough. Signed, Buried in dog hair Ivy says: I have 2 cats and a dog, so I feel your pain. We’ve had times where we brushed so …

Read more

How to clean and care for a coffee maker

Dear Home-ec 101: I just discovered your site – very, very cool – and wondered about easy ways to clean coffee makers. I have been doing a cycle with a few tablespoons of vinegar and the rest of the pot water about once every month or so. I have also heard you can use a …

Read more

Quick tips: shiny sink redux

I got this in the mailbag this morning and wanted to share with you readers: Dear Ivy, You know there’s more than one way to shine a sink. 🙂 I use the FlyLady method, which although time consuming, produces a wonderful shine on my stainless steel sink. First, you fill the sink with warm (not …

Read more

How to remove grease stains from clothes

Dear Home-Ec 101, Okay dames, got a good one for you…how on EARTH do you get those little grease splatter stains off of your favorite shirt?!? I’ve tried everything, but my fave sweater still sits shelved…waiting to be worn…poor sweater. Thanks. Signed, Swearing at my Splattered Sweater We face the grease splatter dilemma all the …

Read more

How to Clean Corian

Dear Home-Ec 101: I have Corian counter tops and sink. The sink is stained because my family never cleans it. I try to clean it, but even with a special Corian cleaner or bleach, I cannot get the stains out after several cleanings. The counter tops are clean, but dull. I tried a counter top …

Read more