May 1974

Understanding new car warranties

Contrary to what you might have been led to believe, the warranty that you receive with a new car serves mainly to limit the manufacturer's liability in assembling that car's 15,000-plus pieces --not to assure your complete satisfaction with your new purchase. ...

Where does your food dollar go?

Editor's note: Higher grocery prices no longer allow us to eat as well as we once did for the same amount of money we once spent. Thus, we must change either the way we spend or the way we eat, or both.

Ten projects to help you get organized all around the house

If you've just moved into a new home, some storage problems probably sneaked in as the movers went out. The problem can be mind-boggling since worldly goods seem to expand mysteriously in transit. To help you solve your most pressing storage shortages, we've designed ten easy-to-build projects. All can be adapted to your home, whether it's new or not.

How to cut your child's hair

Uncomplicated hairstyles are in. Longer hair is popular with both boys and girls. And the parent who can master basic techniques of haircutting can get professional-looking results-- and justifiably regard the savings as "found money" for the family budget.

A 15-minute car inspection that pays

Do you know for sure that none of your car's tires needs to be replaced or that the radiator hoses will last through the summer? If you can't answer without looking, you're probably among the hundreds of thousands of motorists each year who pay premium prices for on-the-road repairs because they didn't know what condition their cars were in until it became painfully obvious.

Child-resistant packaging: how far does it go?

In almost any given year, ... 75,000 children under five ... of age are accidentally ... by drugs, medicines, and ... toxic materials. Approximate 250 children in this age ... died in 1971 as a result of ... dental poisoning.

How to finance a small home improvement job

When you need just a few extra hundred dollars to complete a home improvement job --and you don't want to dip into savings-- look into the ready sources of cash cited here. The interest rates given may change from time to time, of course, and lending rules vary from one locale to another and one institution to another.

Does your insurance guard against inflation?

With the cost of everything rising so rapidly, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that inflation means not only that things cost more, but that it takes more money to replace them. In other words, you have more to protect. It's important to see that all your insurance keeps up with the realities of inflation, as well as with your family's changing needs.

Step-by-step designing

The key to a successful home improvement project is advance planning. The simple steps explained here will help you map out your project, and visualize how it will fit your space.

How to get along with your veterinarian

Sooner or later your dog or cat will have to visit a veterinarian. Even if your pet is never sick a day in his life, he needs vaccinations and periodic checkups. Here are a few hints that will help make the next visit as pleasant as possible for you, your pet, and the staff at the veterinary hospital.

THE EASIEST FLOWERS YOU CAN GROW

Beauty without bother. That's the goal, and these great annuals and perennials can help you achieve it. They'll bloom reliably-- often all summer-- and require only routine care in return for continuous garden color. A special care note: water plants in pots more often than those growing directly in the ground. However you use them, put one or more of these performers in your plans-- you'll be glad you did when the annuals blaze color for months this summer and the perennials return unprompted next season.

GOOD NEWS

Keep cool this summer without over-consuming energy. This lightweight portable air conditioner features a rotary compressor that makes the most of the electric power required to cool and dehumidify hot, humid summer air.

HOUSEPLANT HOW-TO

Bored with your all-green plants? Why not introduce some zip with one or two plants that offer variegated foliage. The choice is wide --too wide if you happen to be an overenthusiastic plant buyer. Restraint is the key to a satisfying collection of variegated plants.

How to start a co-op nursery school

If you want to send your child to nursery school, but there isn't one in your area or the cost is too high, you should consider starting your own cooperative nursery school. It's not as difficult as you might expect.

GARDENING IN MAY

Garden fever runs high in May. Blooming trees, shrubs, and perennials make you want at least one of each-- and, of course, the bare spots in borders beg for planting. Now that longer days are on your side, you can act on your garden plans.

Progress report on HMO

Beginning this summer, ... more Americans will have ... to a new type of health care system, the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO).

Small scale remodelings: Great effects at low cost

A home improvement doesn't have to be big and expensive to be great, and the 19 projects we show here prove it. You can glamorize a room, make it function better, scoop in light and air, and even gain extra space with these low-budget ideas.

HOW TO STRETCH A SMALL ROOM

The size of a room and the space within it are two different things. Short of remodeling, there's nothing you can do to increase the size of a room. But space is more flexible. There are many ways you can make a small room seem bigger, simply by stretching the space you have.

How to make a small kitchen measure up

Don't let an undersized kitchen cramp your style! Try thinking positive. After all, there are some definite advantages to a small kitchen. For one thing, it conserves energy-- yours. You can reach everything you need with minimum physical exertion and runaround, and that's important when you're busy.

3M COMPANY

A wrap-it-up storage area

ARTS & CRAFTS FAIRS: A WEALTH OF AMERICANA

To celebrate the virtues of an earlier era --a simpler and in some ways richer age of American history, before homemade apple butter and hand-cranked ice cream were replaced on kitchen counters by frozen TV dinners, and before blacksmiths and basket makers and weavers and wood-carvers were outnumbered by media managers and systems analysts and computer programmers-- scores of arts and crafts fairs of assorted kinds and sizes are flourishing across the country, coast to coast, all summer long.

How to store more in the same space

Can you revamp your kitchen within the existing space and still solve your storage problems? This family did, with the help of kitchen cabinets and custom-made units to make the most of all available space. To separate the kitchen from pantry and stairways, they extended the counter top to an L-shaped peninsula that also serves as a planning-eating area.

Can you speak campers' language?

If you're a camper of the old school, a weekend at your favorite tent site may leave you with an earful of new jargon. Camping has evolved and expanded to include more than a half dozen types of recreational vehicles produced by several hundred manufacturers.

Evergreen spring bouquets

High-rise grouping of daffodils and pine is arranged in two layers in a footed oriental container. When you're working with containers that have an open area in the base, you can utilize the space with a small secondary arrangement. Wire daffodils together in a straight line and place them in a V-shape in the upper part of the bowl.

Shopping editor's choice

Discover the ease and pleasure of shopping by mail. Order from the convenience of your own home with complete confidence. If not delighted, each company will happily refund your money.

The man next door

Sandy Giben, a new bank teller, says she doesn't like those fancy checks with the colorful pictures on them. "Last month," she said, "I almost cashed a postcard."