My New Favorite Book

How to Sew a Button and Other Nifty Things Your Grandmother Knew

By: Erin Bried

This book is a how-to guide for doing things the simple, cheap, eco and old fashioned way. Bried interviews 10 grandmothers who survived the depression and uses their wisdom as the basis for this book. She covers everything from how to play charades to how to make dandelion wine and everywhere in between. I especially enjoyed that she built pie-making into the book, because ever since I learned to make a pie (crust and all) I have thought it is something every woman should learn to do! The sections are short and extremely funny to read. 

My grandmother is my hero and I have learned so much from her so to see someone like Bried sharing what grandmothers from across the country know with the world is a wonderful thing. You will be sure to be pleased with this book. It makes a great gift and is especially good for young people who are learning how to live on their own. This is probably why I enjoyed it so much, because as I read it I got to decide which parts I wanted to build into my life as I build it.

Just a few days after I finished reading this book I had to use it! It was amazing. A friend in my house asked me if I knew how to unclog sinks, and I began saying "no, sorry" when I remembered that was one of the many useful things covered in this book! I hobbled upstairs and grabbed the book came back and we gave it a try! And guess what? It worked! Really well. 

Here is what we did (sorry for the lack of photos).

1) I scooped the water out of the sink as best I could.

2) measured 1/2 cup of baking soda and poured it into the drain.

3) measured 1/2 cup of vinegar and poured it into the drain. 

fizzing began.

4) put a kettle of water on the stove and plugged the drain.

5) after approx. 15 minutes or the kettle whistling we poured the kettle down the drain. 

I felt like a million bucks. No draino needed. No chemicals, no plumbers. We did it ourselves and it felt great. 

Just before this incident I was wondering how I would use a lot of my new knowledge without having my own house, here is the proof that you still can!

Alexandra