Season a Cast Iron Skillet the Foolproof Way
I ruined my first cast iron pan. Not “kind of messed it up” — full-on rust bucket, crusty black flakes […]
Repair Cracked Grout in Your Shower Before It Leaks
I noticed a thin crack in my shower grout and thought “I will get to that next weekend.” Three months […]
Holiday Gift Budget — Spend Less Without Looking Cheap
One December I spent nine hundred dollars on gifts and could not tell you by February what any of them […]
Hang Curtain Rods Without Making a Mess of Your Wall
The first curtain rod I ever hung came crashing down at 3 AM. Sounded like someone threw a chair through […]
Used Tea Bags Have Surprising Second Lives
My partner drinks four cups of green tea a day. That is four tea bags in the trash, every single […]
Adult Lunch Boxes That Are Not Embarrassing
I carried my lunch to work in a plastic grocery bag for an embarrassing number of years. The bag would […]
Clean Jewelry at Home Until It Sparkles
I once took a silver necklace to a jeweler for cleaning and got charged eighteen dollars. It came back looking […]
Graduation Party on a Budget — Celebrate Without Debt
My cousin threw a graduation party that cost more than her first semester of community college. Catered food, rented tent, […]
Use Up a Bushel of Apples Before They Go Bad
Every September, my neighbor’s apple tree drops more fruit than three families can eat. For years, half of it rotted […]
Lower Your Car Insurance Bill With One Phone Call
I paid the same car insurance rate for four years without thinking about it. The bill auto-debited, I never looked […]