Dear Home Ec 101, How long does food keep in the freezer, after the expiration date? When should it be tossed in the garbage? Thank you, Chillier in Chicago Heather says: Thank you for your cool question in these dog days of summer. It’s so hot that. . . no, I won’t go there. Your question …
Dear Home Ec 101, I need to get our food budget under control. We spend a ton of money eating out. It’s starting to cause fights. I can’t cook, I can’t plan, and even if I could, I wouldn’t know where to start. Signed, Hopeless in Hopeswell Welcome to the third installment of our first …
Dear Home Ec 101, I need to get our food budget under control, and we spend a ton of money eating out. It’s starting to cause fights. I can’t cook. I can’t plan, and even if I could, I would just quit. Can you teach me how to menu plan? Can you teach me to follow …
Dear Home Ec 101, Hi. I have a dilemma with my dishes. Whenever I cook or use a strong smelling condiment, my dishes always pick up the smell I can never get the odor out. A small dab of bleach in the water was suggested but after trying this my stepson told me the dishes …
Dear Home Ec 101, We bought our older house six years ago, and knew then that the backyard had a bit of an ant problem. Fast forward to this year, when I’ve decided that I can’t stand it anymore! What is a good, non-toxic way to get rid of a majority of ant hills? So …
Dear Home Ec 101,I admit I wanted one of those – a bagless vacuum cleaner! What an amazing idea! No thought was given to what I was going to do with the container full of dust and debris. I’ve figured out that dumping out the junk is fairly easy – although many people including myself …
Dear Home Ec 101, No matter what I do, the hardwater spots on my shower and tub keep coming back? What am I doing wrong? Signed, Speckled in Spencerton Heather says: Well there are a couple of options. You could invest in a water softener or be super diligent and use a squeegee after every …
Dear Home Ec 101, How do you get stuck on hairspray off walls and a cheap linoleum bathroom floor? Signed, Tacky in Texas Heather says: Oh it’s the dreaded hairspray overspray! The answer is deceptively simple. You’ll need hot water and elbow grease. Use an old rag and water as hot as you can stand …
Dear Home Ec 101, Where I live we have to pay for trash disposal. The trash disposal company we use gives us great big trash cans that most of us around here call dumpsters. Today, I was so embarassed when I got this note from the trash disposal guys: “Could you please clean out your …
Dear Home Ec 101, My food pantry is completely full of weevils, I tried fog bombs, insecticide, you name it, I took out the flour and pasta packages and put them in the fridge, I also put the rice and beans in air tight containers, but still the little buggers are there. What else needs …