Something that really works for me in cold weather is putting layers on my bed, just the way I put layers on my body. I'm one of those people who's easily chilled and very bothered by feeling cold, especially when I'm tired, so having a cozy bed is very important to me. Daniel and I … Continue reading Layered Bedding
Habitation
Line-drying Laundry
I already wrote about clotheslines, but that article is ancient now; I wrote it for a college class in magazine writing in 1995 and later put it online. Line-drying all my laundry is something that still works for me, and now that I have 20 years of experience, I have even more to say about … Continue reading Line-drying Laundry
Diminishing Dishwashing Drudgery
I'm the dishwasher in our household. We have a mechanical dishwasher, but it's about 50 years old. It looks really neat--straight out of The Kitchen of Tomorrow, Yesterday!--but we're afraid to use it because the rubber gasket around the door is hard as a rock, so probably the water would pour out onto the floor. … Continue reading Diminishing Dishwashing Drudgery
The Guest Nest that was the Best Nest
I have a home-improvement book that poses an important, well-worded question in its section on one-room apartments: "Do you want to sleep in your living room or live in your bedroom?" In other words, do you want your one room to look and function primarily like a daytime living room but also have a place to sleep, or do … Continue reading The Guest Nest that was the Best Nest
Hand Towels for a Crowd
Here's a way to use washable cloth hand towels for a group too large and/or germy to share a towel hanging on a rack: Get a bunch of small cloth towels or terry washcloths. Stack the towels in a box or basket near the sink. Hang a laundry bag or place a laundry basket or hamper … Continue reading Hand Towels for a Crowd
Our pets protect us from identity theft!
Here's an idea that works for me this Earth Day: We have two pet gerbils. The conventional wisdom is that you're supposed to give your gerbils lots of wood-chips to nest in (I always want to say, "to munk in," but that's chipmunks, isn't it?) and you have to buy these wood-chips at the pet … Continue reading Our pets protect us from identity theft!
The Five-Part Furniture-Finding Plan
It's Works-for-Me Wednesday, so here's the system by which Daniel and I have furnished our home: When there's a piece of furniture you'd like to have, Wait for it to come along. When you can wait no longer, See what you can scrounge from what other people are discarding. Go to yard sales. Go to … Continue reading The Five-Part Furniture-Finding Plan
Family Bed in the Kid’s Room
It's Works-for-Me Wednesday! Before our child was born, we decided to have the family bed in his room and keep the master bedroom as our couple space. We'd read a lot about co-sleeping and thought it sounded like a great way to minimize the disruptions of night nursing and give our baby a loving, secure … Continue reading Family Bed in the Kid’s Room
Tips from The Lightbulb Ninja
When I was about 12 years old, I became quite a stickler about shutting off unnecessary lights. Suddenly all the adult nagging and public-service announcements I'd ever heard got through to me (I can't recall why) and I began to see how amazingly wasteful it is to leave a bunch of extra lights on, just … Continue reading Tips from The Lightbulb Ninja
What Do You Reuse?
This question was posted on a discussion board recently. Not only do I reuse many physical objects, but I can reuse the list I made for that discussion as an article on my own Website! I love reusing glass jars so much that my ravings on the subject got too long for this article and … Continue reading What Do You Reuse?
Packing for a Picnic or Potluck: Reusable Gear!
Picnic/barbecue season is here, with mounds of disposable tableware: soggy paper, bendy plastic, skidgy foam, spoons that scratch our mouths and melt in our coffee, forks whose tines snap off, knives that won't cut anything, cups that are too cold or hot to hold without adding a layer of cardboard. Everybody's cup is identical, so we have to write our names on them. What convenience! What convenience? We've started bringing our own dishes, utensils, and napkins when we go to picnics and some potlucks.
Spreadable Butter
This isn't a recipe, exactly, but more of a food-related tip: I grew up seeing that butter or margarine was always stored in the refrigerator. Therefore, I assumed that it would spoil quickly if left out. Shortly after I moved up to Pennsylvania for college, a friend who'd grown up nearby invited me home for the weekend. I was astonished to see that … Continue reading Spreadable Butter
How the Cabana Bench Got Its Name
A tale of my childhood, retold in celebration of Mother's Day. When I was in first grade, my mother became annoyed that she kept finding my shoes in the middle of the floor in various public rooms of the house. At first, she dealt with this the way most parents--trying to teach orderly living skills and … Continue reading How the Cabana Bench Got Its Name
Slaying the Snooze-button Sloth
I had some trouble deciding what to do for Lent this year. We gave up meat in 2002, but since then we've eaten so much less meat that giving it up completely wouldn't make a noticeable daily difference. I toyed with several ideas and started into Lent by reading selections from the Gospel aloud to … Continue reading Slaying the Snooze-button Sloth
The Horror of the Porch!
One of the people to whom I e-mailed this story in 1998 requested that I post it. At the time this was written, Daniel and I were sharing a house with two friends, Bill and Steph. Lest any of you may be feeling that your housekeeping skills are deficient, here's a story to demonstrate that … Continue reading The Horror of the Porch!
Pittsburgh: A Love Letter
As of last August, I've lived in Pittsburgh longer than in any other town. Sixteen years, and I still love it! Pittsburgh is the #1 most livable city in America. I grew up in Oklahoma, so that's my basis for comparison, and Pittsburgh wins in many ways: I like walkable neighborhoods, not spread-out ranch houses and strip … Continue reading Pittsburgh: A Love Letter
It beautifies your complexion AND scrubs your tub!
A paste made of baking soda and liquid soap, that is. It's a versatile wonder-cleaner worthy of one of those over-blown TV commercials about the many many uses and the amazing value...except that it's so basic and inexpensive that nobody would buy it as a commercial product. (Oh. Wait. People will pay $1.50 for a pint of tap water … Continue reading It beautifies your complexion AND scrubs your tub!
Household Hints
Add a slosh of white vinegar--about a tablespoon--to the sinkful of hot soapy water when washing dishes. I started doing this last spring, when we'd all been sick, because vinegar kills germs. I found out that it also cuts grease and makes the dishes really squeaky clean! (Vinegar has many other uses, too!) Here's some … Continue reading Household Hints
Children as Household Helpers
Projects that benefit the whole family, done by parent(s) and child(ren) working together, give a child a sense of being useful in the family. Feeling that he can do valuable work may help him to focus more on the needs of the family than his own needs and wants. We've found that Nicholas tends to be very calm … Continue reading Children as Household Helpers
Don’t take out the trash!
Here's an idea for reducing your garbage output: Don't take out the trash until the collection day. Store all of your trash inside your living space. Is it taking up too much room? That motivates you to throw away less stuff. Does it stink? That motivates you to think about better ways to dispose of … Continue reading Don’t take out the trash!
The Earthling's Handbook 