This post was updated on March 19, 2022. Lisa says: Now’s a good time to get your spring cleaning started, particularly if you have minions children on spring break. I’m extra lucky, my son is in college, and his spring break was last week, so I’m a little ahead of the game. Luckily, my mom …
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 …
Ivy says: Dangit all, have a few days of confusion, sickness, meetings, and general disarray, and you wake up to what I woke up to this morning: a house that would undoubtedly earn the Home Ec 101 Seal Of Disapproval. Yes, my darling Home Eccers, while I do generally keep my home in some semblance …
Ivy says: It’s interesting how many people I know that had problems with their house getting piley over the holidays and now they’re scrambling to catch up on their household chores and routines. I’m included in that group- I’ve been doing a ton of laundry since this weekend and I still have laundry to do. …
Ivy says: Yesterday, my mom came over because she had a little time to kill before going to work. There wasn’t any time to clean up because she called me as she turned onto my street. Thanks, mom. “Ah, Ivy,” she said, “Your home is a bastion of cleanliness.” We both laughed because, to be …
Dear Home Ec 101, How can I make my husband help around the house? Signed, Nags Head, NC Heather says: I moved out quite young and lived with an interesting variety of roommates until I married. Different people have different standards of cleanliness and tolerance. If you are the Felix of your relationship, odds are …
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 …
Alternate title: In which Ivy loses very important directions and has to wing it, and it all could have been avoided by keeping all her stuff in one neat place instead of keeping her stuff flung all over the house. Ivy says: Darling Home Eccers, I do stupid things to help you learn from my …
Ivy says: Here’s a really good reason to start decluttering your house right now. Eventually, someday, you’re going to die. It’s unpleasant to think about, but it’s one of the only sure things about life- eventually, you’ll die. And when you do, someone you love is going to have to go through your stuff and …
Ivy says: I remember when I was in college, I didn’t feel like I had time or energy to deal with cleaning, so my house was constantly messy. My mom was constantly on me about making sure my house was clean. I’d get depressed for long stretches of time, and she told me if I’d …