Deciding what to keep

Dear Home Ec 101, I need a strong person to help me resolve to get rid of old shoes, belts, purses and scarves, even though I don’t use any of them. Some of the scarves and bags are really nice ones (if a little bit old lady-ish) inherited from my m-i-l. Some I bought in …

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Greasy Grimy Oven Glass

Dear Home Ec 101,Ladies, we have a self-cleaning oven. However, we like to roast meats in the oven after searing them on the stove, using a frying pan. Consequently, we have serious grease stains on the inside of the door and the oven glass. The stains are very difficult to remove. Do you have an …

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Laminate Lament

Dear Home-Ec 101, Hi! I hope you lovely gals can help me… My husband and I are remodeling a house, and we installed laminate, faux wood floors. We probably did it backwards, because since installing the floors, we’ve had plumbers and tilers in…and now the floors are filthy! We need advice on how to clean …

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Did I Stain My Stainless?

Dear Home Ec 101, I have a stainless steel pan that has acquired a brownish/bronzish color all over the bottom of the inside of the pan. What is this, is it bad, and can it be gotten rid of? I like shiny things. Signed, ~Maggie Magpie Heather says: I love my stainless steel, the only …

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Spring Cleaning: Bedrooms

We’re going to talk about spring cleaning your bedrooms. A clean bedroom is a place of rest, where we go after a long day to allow our bodies to reset and refresh themselves. Sleep hygiene is one of the most important things we can do for ourselves, and taking care of the bedroom, and all …

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I felt “pressured” to answer this question ;)

Dear Home Ec 101, My husband has finally agreed to have our house and granny annex professionally pressure-washed. There’s quite a bit of pale green mildew on the vinyl siding. Is good ole’ bleach and water the best cleaning solution? Should soap be added? If so, what kind (dish? dishwasher? laundry? hand?)? Any other tips …

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Spring Cleaning: Room-by-Room

You are not alone, we promise. There are plenty of people with super messy houses; it happens. Now you’ve just got to get it clean, and we know you can do it! There were a couple of questions in the comments we wanted to address. Angela wrote, “I always have the problem of once it …

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Spring cleaning for disastrously messy homes

Ivy says: Recently, I ran into a friend who asked me when I was going to write about spring cleaning here on Home-Ec 101. Well, normally I do my spring cleaning right after Easter so I can find any rogue Easter eggs running around my house. (Because it always rains here on Easter, always.) Then my …

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Humidifier Cleaning 101

Dear Home-Ec 101, I would like to know the best way to clean a humidifier. I live in Colorado and it is for my son who is 1 years old. He has croup, RSV, and bronchiolitis at different times so we are always running his humidifier. Thus far I have run vinegar and water to …

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