The New Homemaker | Bringing You the Domestic Renaissance

Diary of a New Homemaker

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Jul 8

Top 5 Reasons I'm Choosing Sleeveless This Summer (Despite My Arms)

I've never liked my upper arms. I've been overweight most of my life, and I've always been ashamed of my body.

Jun 1

Soot Sprites, Blackberries, Illnesses

The garden was finished about a month ago.

Newest Article

10 Truly Multi-Purpose Kitchen Tools For A Clutter-Free Kitchen

If you're looking around and wondering how you wound up with 15 spatulas, 12 wooden spoons, eight or so ladles and six kitchen electronics (half of which you have no idea what they do), then it's time to break open some drawers, clear off some shelves and take your kitchen down to its useful and clutter-free basics.

In our kitchen, which is comfortable for one person but a tight squeeze for two, we've narrowed it down to tools -- outside of essentials like pots, pans and mixing bowls, of course -- that are not only used on a regular basis, but serve at least two purposes, if not more.

All TNH Departments

Summer

From House to Home Second Week of June

Hand paint the cement or wood floor of a screened-in porch to look like a faux rug with diamond-shaped pattern and a squiggly border in favorite colors. Get young family members involved and ask them to splatter the paint like Jackson Pollack once did.
Buy fresh herbs and plant them outside. Liven up your meals by adding fresh herbs from your own garden.
Organize a special Father's Day (June 17) and invite dads who might be forgotten (whose children have grown and moved away, whose spouses have died, or who may be divorced). Make the food simple such as bratwurst, corn on the cob, and blueberry pie.

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From House to Home Second Week of August

Right at Home Daily

From House to Home Second Week of July

Right at Home Daily

Lavender Wands

Intricate-looking, easy to make

From Our Archives

Extreme Dryer Maintenance!

With all the clothesline gabble around here you may be surprised to hear we have a dryer and have even used it from time to time. We had a rainy spell here this week and when we went to use the dryer to finish up a load we had had hanging, it wasn't working.

Luckily, John is a whiz with fixing appliances, and he's been up to his elbows in washer and dryer guts more than once.

He even manufactured a part for our old washer out of an annealed clotheshanger once. I was so proud. sniff.

But when we went downstairs this morning to swap out what he thought was a busted heating coil (this dryer's most common problem), we found it was working fine. The problem was much more mundane.