Today’s topic has several meanings. First, know your literal, next-door neighbors. Know their names and phone numbers. Yes, this means you might have to introduce yourself after having lived in your neighborhood or apartment complex for several years. (If your neighbors are a little weird, maybe use a Google Voice number so you don’t have […]
Fix It
Emergency Preparedness 101: How to Evacuate Safely
Two things before we start this basic how to evacuate safely discussion. Please note that this is a beginner look at emergency preparedness. It’s for those who are just beginning to think about how they or they and their families will handle an emergency and isn’t the place to show off how awesomely prepared you […]
Emergency Preparedness 101: The Very Basics
I live in a part of the country where our usual emergency preparedness includes being ready for hurricanes from June until the end of November, small tornadoes in the spring, and extremely rare earthquakes. 2020, of course, threw in plague and civil unrest. Your home may have other risks, including some that you didn’t expect—looking […]
How to Remove Smoke Stains from My Cupboards
Hi Home-Ec 101I had a candle burning under the edge of my cabinet, and it got hot enough to burn it. Some of it is light, and some a pretty dark burn. I have attached pictures. I tried baking soda and water, didn’t work. The furniture markers and crayons did not work. I’ve read about a super fine 0000 steel […]
How to Remove Sticky Residue From Furniture
Dear Home-Ec 101,My furniture has become very sticky after years of polishing it. Sticky to the point of having to give it a little pull to lift it off the furniture. Googling for a solution, I have used a mixture of water and vinegar. It helped a little but not much. What next?Signed,Sticky in Stockton […]
The Microwave Glass is Broken, Can I Still Use It?
Dear Home-Ec 101, Not Me and I Didn’t Do It struck again. Do they ever visit your house? This time Not Me threw a ball in the kitchen and I Didn’t Do It Either batted it with the broom handle into the microwave or the broom handle itself hit the microwave. I didn’t get the […]
Why Do I Have Fruit Flies With no Fruit?
This week’s random pest question comes from Twitter: Calling @HeatherSolos and her @HomeEc101 knowledge: How do you get rid of fruit flies? Note: There’s no fruit in the house. Twitter If I had suspected my friend had fruit flies, I would have suggested the following. (I didn’t) Fruit Flies in the House Generally, when you […]
How to Clean Hardwood After a Toilet Overflow
Q: How do I clean up my hardwood floors after a toilet overflows. This question appeared as a comment on How to Clean Up After a Toilet Overflows The difference between cleaning up toilet water on your typical bathroom flooring e.g. vinyl or tile and cleaning up hardwood is the hardwood is porous. The advice […]
Bad Disaster Advice
I’ve been paying a lot of attention to the information being spread with regard to how to prepare for a disaster, like a hurricane. Bad Advice I’ve Seen Circulating Hotels must take your pets in due to a law passed after Hurricane Katrina. No. This is patently false. Hotels and motels are private businesses and not […]
Why Is the Ice in my Ice Machine Melting?
Dear Home-Ec 101, I have a fairly new ice machine at the beach, a house we use roughly every other weekend. Lately, the ice machine does not seem to be cold enough to keep the ice it makes frozen. I have vacuumed the coils, ran a “Clean cycle” with the cleanser, turned it off and […]
Help, how do I get rid of drain flies?
Dear Home-Ec 101, I have three window wells in my finished basement. I am forever finding little black dead flies. I have sprayed, thrown gallons of bleach and ammonia down the window wells. In the window wells I found something like yellow cocoons that I think they have built. There were several in each well. […]
Pantry Moths in Pasta
Dear Home-Ec 101, I put my pasta in a new container to store in my pantry and still found moths. What did I do wrong and how can I prevent pantry moths in the first place? Sincerely, Bugged in Buckhead Heather says Unfortunately, pantry moths are a part of life. We can take a lot […]
Hurricane Matthew – What We Learned
Heather says I hope everyone is doing as well or better than can be expected. Last week, starting on Tuesday, it became readily apparent that Hurricane Matthew was coming for a visit. It was Thursday before we had a good idea of the type of visit he’d be paying. We spent the week debating whether […]
Help Washing the Walls – A reader question that wasn’t what I thought
Hello. My name is [redacted]. I need some people, maybe 2 or 3 to help me wash my walls before we paint them and I’m wondering where I could look for someone who needs a bit of cash. The walls are dirty and need cleaning. I got some good ideas of what to wash them […]
Let’s Talk Life Skills
Heather says: Over on the Home-Ec 101 Facebook fanpage someone asked: What would be on your list of skills to know for a homemaker and adult in 2015? This list is by no means complete: Prepare a meal without setting fire to the kitchen or poisoning guests. Keep a living space clean. Encourage a guest […]