May 1973

What's happening to the American family?

The sense of disquietude and concern on the one hand-- and of hope and progress on the other-- is seen nowhere more clearly than when one takes a close look at America's attitudes about its children.

A very special family trip

This is the fourth in a series of occasional essays that express a uniquely personal view of home or family. Readers are invited to submit manuscripts for consideration in the series.

Should you sell your house yourself?

Far and away the biggest single expense item in selling a house is the commission you'll pay the real estate broker for his services. These fees, amounting to six or seven percent of the sale price (depending on where you live), cost Americans close to six billion dollars last year.

Could you be color blind

Is there any doubt in your mind about what is meant by a "red stoplight" or "yellow cab"? Do you have much trouble selecting matching pieces of clothing, or tastefully decorating a room? If not, you're probably batting a thousand on your color-vision perception.

Look out for those home improvement FRAUDS

In Pennsylvania, two hundred homeowners were recently defrauded by a roofing concern for a total of over $42,000. An Oregon widow lost $51,000 to a dishonest exterminating firm, and an elderly Midwesterner paid $8,000 to criminals posing as sewer inspectors.

GETTING ALONG WITH YOUR 1973 CAR

Customer complaints in the automobile industry have always been considered a part of the business, but in the last year or two the kinds of complaints have changed. Terrible gas mileage, hard starting, stalling, engine "dieseling" or running-on, and expensive tune-ups every few thousand miles are irritations replacing the traditional gripes of assembly-line goofs.

Some friendly financial advice for newlyweds

Once a couple ties the knot, financial matters take on new meaning. Suddenly, there's the responsibility for a new family unit, and planning for the future becomes an important concern. It's time to start thinking about providing security for your spouse, building a nest egg for your children, and buying a house.

Family sport vehicles: do you have the right insurance?

Do you have your eye on a runabout or a yacht? A motor home? Travel trailer? Or maybe something less conventional-- like a motorcycle, dune buggy, or an all terrain vehicle (sometimes called an "ATV")?

Circuit safeguard

You need more than a three-prong plug to protect your family from dangerous electric shocks. A Ground Fault Interrupter, or GFI, is good insurance for electric circuits in laundry rooms, bathrooms, workshop areas, and outdoor outlets.

Instantly adjustable wrench

Face-changing refrigerator

Mortarless bonding agent

Work-saving wall system

In the time you'd normally take to install a gypsum wallboard wall, you can now put up a wall complete with a durable vinyl-coated fabric covering. Here's how.

Kitchens-new & renewed

Like every dwelling from cottage to castle, your house probably has its fair share of built-in problems. Granted you can't solve them all at once, but you can start to beat the ones that bug you most. And to help you along, we've filled 22 pages with idea-packed solutions to the toughest problems any house can have-- from cramped kitchens and blah room schemes to less-than-scenic landscapes and those dreary not-that-again dinners. Since so much everyday family living revolves around the kitchen and eating area, let's start there.

KITCHEN BUYMANSHIP

Shopping for a new kitchen range can be as confusing as shopping for a new car. If you haven't looked at the new models for a while, you're in for a surprise. Enough different varieties of ranges are available to fill an entire parking lot, so do a considerable amount of thinking before you make the investment.

Come alive with COLOR

Call on color if you're looking for fast, fast relief for an ailing room. By using paint or fabric as "home remedies," you can easily and inexpensively minimize a room's defects or maximize its assets. Color can lend distinction to a nondescript room, create illusions of space and depth, camouflage or conceal architectural shortcomings, unify a cluttered room, even reshape walls.

Dealing with eyesore areas

Bare walls, plain patios, unpleasant views, sloping backyards, insufficient parking space, poor screening, shady places where nothing grows, lack of play space for children-- do any of these landscape headaches plague you? If so, now is a fine time to take positive action. To smooth the way, we've taken some of the most common home landscape problems and suggested solutions you can duplicate or adapt to your yard situation.

How do you score on food safety?

Grandma may have qualified as an expert on good eating, but when it came to safe eating, she often played a chancy game. Which is about the best that could be expected from anyone who had little but hearsay to guide her. Listed below are some common beliefs about food safety that were handed down to us. Are they valid? Or merely old wives' tales? In trying to decide, don't underestimate Grandma. She wasn't always wrong.

Smart shopping: what the new food labels really tell you

Both industry and legislators respond these days when the consumer wants to know. His demand for information has met with greatest success in the food field, especially in four areas-- unit pricing, open dating, nutrient labeling, and ingredient labeling.

Should you take your dog on vacation?

Before you decide to take a pet along on your family vacation this year, decide whether or not traveling with him really will be a vacation. In almost every situation, separate vacations for family and pets are more enjoyable for both.

Family vacation treasures in Mid-America

America's midland is often visualized in stereotyped images. Endless fields of corn and wheat. Great open stretches of prairie land. Farther north, vast forests of pine and oak interlaced with placid lakes and streams. And much of Mid-America does conform to that picture. But there are also some surprises tucked away in the Great Plains that enhance this region's unique appeal and provide first-rate vacation spots.

Ten common myths about college

Two million young Americans-- and their families-- this year will face The Great College Question. Where to go, whether to go, what to study, when to apply, how much it will all cost-- such topics will consume vast amounts of time, energy, and emotion in households all over America.

What can you do about dandruff?

Dandruff is so common it's almost considered normal, although it definitely is an abnormal condition of the scalp. On the dermatologist's list of most common diseases, dandruff ranks number two, right after acne. The majority of Americans have it at one time or another.

GARDENING IN MAY

Picture an expanse of rich green, elegantly textured, easy-to-care-for lawn grass. Imagine that it's resistant to disease, insects, and drought, that it stands up to everyday use, and that it requires mowing only once in awhile. A pipe dream?

A penthouse suite from attic space

A simple skylight idea helped transform this once dark attic into an airy master bedroom suite. By extending the left side of the roof four feet beyond the ridge line, the architect was able to install two large windows to serve as skylights (top picture).

Feeding-time facts

A praiseworthy palm

A velvety plant

Better Homes 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

The moving-out-of-town party the Henderson's gave the other night was a roaring success. Made Tod Henderson realize how nice people can be once they know you're leaving town.