August 1970

Fun things to do for all ages

Next time your child asks "What can I do now?" you'll be ready. Here are five unusual crafts that are sure to intrigue kids. As your child works, he'll be developing creative skills. Each process is quite simple, and the materials are inexpensive and readily obtained.

Our 10 most popular outdoor projects

Here's a chance to build any of these outdoor projects we've featured over the past several years. Your response helped us select these from all the outdoor plans we've published. Build as shown, or modify to suit yourself.

Good News

Tips for traveling by plane

Most air travelers can recall the uncertainty of that first airplane trip. Today, as air travel becomes more complex, a person flying for the first time (or the person who flies only occasionally) may find the experience more bewildering than ever.

Will we bury ourselves in trash and junk?

Each of us leaves to our country a daily legacy of five pounds or more of trash and garbage, or nearly a ton a year apiece. These piles of junk are monuments to our apathy-- or to our inability-- to preserve and protect our environment.

The old approach to mortgages has to change. Here are five new plans

Today's mortgage issued on your new house is a lot like the first one your grandfather got-- except that some of the numbers have changed. Mortgages now are written for longer terms at higher interest rates. They have a few more clauses. But basically they are the same old financial instrument, offered by an industry working in the same old way.

IS THERE ANY HOPE FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT THEIR OWN HOME?

Land is running out and housing costs are becoming unbearable to most families. High-density apartment buildings or unaffordable homes are the two sad choices available to most of us. True, this is shelter, but hardly a solution for the many who want a home of their own. If things keep going as they have, only a wealthy few will own homes.

25 VERY SMART ROOMS

The best way to learn about decorating is to look at well-done rooms-- and read about how they happened. As you react to each one, analyze why certain rooms appeal to you-- while others don't. Soon you'll translate your feelings into your own decorating. So join us in a show-and-tell tour of 25 beautiful rooms, each with a lot to say.

Pocket Gardens

With small lots the norm today, there's a lot to be said for a pocket garden. It takes little space, time, and money-- and you get surprisingly big landscaping results with few plants. Added to that, every plant in the bed is easy to reach so you can breeze through the little spraying, dusting, weeding, or staking required.

Ingenious Outdoor Storage

Think of convenience when you're deciding where to build garden storage. Whether it's a freestanding unit or an addition, it should blend into the surroundings. With good design and harmonious materials, you can count on practical and attractive results.

Should you teach your teen-ager to drive?

Unconsciously, you have been teaching your teen-ager to drive for many years. Children observe driving techniques and habits long before they are old enough to take the wheel. They notice any discrepancies between posted speed limits and your speed. They watch you "coast through" stop signs. In fact, they notice just about all of your bad, as well as good, driving habits.

HOW TO ORDER Better Homes Project Plans

Choose your lilies now

If you want to beat the midsummer color lag with a show of lilies in your garden, you'd better make your plans now. August is best for planting madonna lily bulbs, a month or so later for most other kinds. Right now, decide what varieties and how many you need so you can mail in your order, or make your selections at a local garden center or nursery.

Shopping editor's choice

Discover the fun and convenience of shopping by mail! You can order with complete confidence any of the items shown: each company will refund your money if you're not delighted.

The man next door

Congressman Nick Hanfli thinks we might be better able to solve the problems of air and water pollution if we spent less time looking for someone to blame them on.