She's a Keeper Solution:

• Be a Discard Diehard! (pdf file)
  Treasures await you! In this issue, you’ll find ideas and instructions for lots of make-do, can-do, re-do projects!
  • “BeTogether” and celebrate with handmade pinkeepers, picnic fare, and games ...
  • “BeGuiled” by pretty pillows, curtains, doilies, aprons, and more ...
  • “BeDecked” with outdoor planters, and wind chimes and more made from discarded silverware ...
  • “BeJeweled” with button bouquets and jewelry ideas ...
  • “BeLoved” when you adopt or make a hand-did doll ...

Artists in Aprons Solution:

• Rags to Riches (pdf file)
  If you don’t have a bag, basket, or bin set aside exclusively for rags, it’s never too late to discover their many uses—everything from holding up your up-do to piecing together an heirloom quilt. Had you asked my mother about her stash of rags, she would have told you it was akin to having money in the bank. Taught to value rags by my mother, I never feel poor when I can dip into a bin of rags ... oh, the textures, the colors, the possibilities!! ... a little something for my hair, a “ribbon” for a jar of flowers, a tiny bit of yellow for a daffodil. Once you decide to value and collect rags, you’ve entered the soul-satisfying world of farmer-girl make-do!

Farm Kitchen Solution:

• Mother of Invention
  For rural women, necessity is the mother of invention. Being imaginative and making-do is just part of the job. Actually, it is the job. It comes with the territory. Not only are stores sometimes hours away, but frittering away money on things you can make yourself will most certainly run a farm short of money.

No Place Like Home Solution:

• Root Cellars
  My root cellar was built around 1910. In it now are potatoes, beets, parsnips, sunchokes, carrots and cabbage. It’s an easy, “free” way to refrigerate food.

Handful Solution:

• Hand Pumps
  Last summer, I contacted the original 1800s company that made hand water pumps. They were about to quit when Y2K brought them a surge of orders. If the eletricity goes out, I can walk to my pump and with 15 easy strokes, a stream of water from 400 feet underground spews out of the spout.

Plateful Solution:

• Sauerkraut and Kimchi
  Sauerkraut and kimchi (pickled cabbage) are family staples. I make them in five-gallon crocks. I chop or shred vegetables, add a bit of dry salt and cover them for six weeks. Fermented vegetables aid in digestion, and they’re very tasty.

Shoulder to the Wheel Solution:

• Lawn Alternatives
  As an adult, I’ve never had a lawn. Americans spend about a billion hours a year caring for lawns, and apply 67 million pounds of pesticides. When my grandpa moved to the city, he amused his neighbors by turning his front yard into a vegetable and flower garden. Early one morning, when he was around 85, he fell over while picking beans and died in his beloved patch of food and flowers. What a nicer way to go than behind a gas mower!

The Art of the Egg Issue Solution:

• Hand-Powered Kitchen Duty
  I use a hand vegetable mill to grate or slice all of our cheese, potatoes, carrots — even shelled walnuts. It’s permanently mounted in my kitchen and has four different attachments. It’s faster and easier than an electric grinder. And it’s a great way to involve kids in the kitchen.

Backcountry Food Issue Solution:

• Treadle Sewing Machines
  I come from a family of seamstresses. When I left home, my mother purchased a new electric sewing machine for me. Within a year, I sold it and switched to a Singer treadle machine. I’ve reupholstered couches with my treadle, sewn sleeping bags, made car seat covers and, of course, clothes. You can’t beat the stitch and reliability of a treadle.

Premiére Issue Solution:

• Wooden Drying Racks
  I’ve never owned an electric or gas clothes dryer. But I have a beautiful collection of wooden racks. Over the years I’ve found them in antique stores, or purchased them new from an Amish catalogue. Laundry is a religion for me. I love it when I’m all caught up. I love it when I have a bunch to do. I love the smell and repetitive reward of laundry.