All - Home-Ec 101

Saving Your Personal Economy By Sharing Collective Knowledge

Ivy says: Even though I’ve been avoiding the news like the plague to keep from being worried about the economy, I’m still hit with reminders nearly every day that the recession is here in full force. Friends and family are losing jobs, having hours and/or pay cut, you name it. Seems like everyone is struggling …

Revive Cilantro and Parsley

Heather says: If you have a wilting bunch of cilantro or parsley you can perk it back up by cutting 1/2″ off the stems and placing the bunch in a glass of water, just like a bouquet of flowers. Place the glass in the fridge and please, try not to knock it over. Alternately, you …

How To Get Your Stubborn Kid To Clean Up

Dear Home Ec 101, My 4 year old son absolutely refuses to clean up his toys! I’ve tried making it a game, I’ve also tried taking his toys away when he doesn’t clean them up. He still refuses to clean. Any ideas for getting him to clean up after himself? Signed, Messy In Muncie Ivy …

Before I took the training wheels off my Internet, I used to hang out on AOL’s Kitchen Frugality message board. This soup recipe came from one of those fine ladies and has become a standard in our home. Even if you think you can’t boil water, I promise you can make this soup while standing …

Retro Saturday: A Guide to Thrifting

Retro Saturdays give us a chance to spend time with our families. Enjoy this blast from the Home Ec 101 past, originally published in January of 2008. Ivy says: If you’re trying to live on less money and you are not yet acquainted with the joy of thrift store shopping, let me introduce you. Reader, …

I’m All Alone With My Musty Drawers

Dear Home Ec 101,An old roommate of mine borrowed a dresser from me and used it while we lived together. After she gave it back, the drawers had a musty smell that I couldn’t get rid of. If I put any clothes in the drawers, they come out smelling funky and musty too. What should …

Frozen Fingers

Dear Home Ec 101, We scored a great deal on a 7 cubic ft freezer. Since our family gardens and we have a teenager, it’s great to have the extra storage space, but the storage part of that is a problem. It only has one lone basket on the top where I keep bread. Otherwise, …

Knifty Knitter Long Loom Tutorial

Ivy says:

You must congratulate us, this is our thousandth post here on Home Ec 101! So, y’all will get something special, a fab tutorial! Sorry it’s late, I was showing my mom how to “delete all” on my camera (she and I both have the same model) and I deleted everything instead of cancelling the delete. Whoops. Well, these pictures are better than the first ones I did anyway.

So, anyone that has ever bought a Knifty Knitter long loom set knows the instructions appear to have been written by a drunk sock monkey. They just don’t make that much sense. When I went online looking for help with it, I found one tutorial and a few youtube videos, but I had to go looking for all I needed. I figured I’d do a tutorial here so both starting and casting off can be found all in one place.

To see the full tutorial, just click the jump.

Keep Evaporated Milk on Hand: Quick tip

Heather says: Always keep several cans of evaporated milk in the pantry. It has an incredibly long shelf life and can prevent an “Oh crap, we’re out of milk” trip to the store. To use a substitute for fresh milk, dilute the evaporated milk with an equal amount of water. Evaporated milk can also be …

Retro Saturday: Free Bulk Food Storage

Retro Saturdays give Ivy and I a chance to hang out with our families and gives our newer readers a peek at what’s in our archives. Please thank Ivy for holding down the fort while I took a much needed vacation with the kiddos. Heather says: My family goes through oatmeal at an amazing rate. …