great article in the paper today

The return of Home Economics

Lessons from grandma resonate as Americans cut back spending

By Amy Hoak, MarketWatch



Last update: 7:53 p.m. EDT March 26, 2009CHICAGO (MarketWatch)



The series "Depression Cooking with Clara" has become something of an Internet sensation, as Americans pinch pennies at home.



In the videos, 93-year-old Clara Cannucciari demonstrates how to make meager meals she enjoyed as a child. One family favorite is "Poorman's Meal," consisting of fried potatoes, onions and cut-up hot dogs -- "one of the meals we always asked for as kids," said Chris Cannucciari, her grandson who works with her on the show. Videos are posted on YouTube.



The duo is now working on a cookbook.



At the International Home and Housewares Show in Chicago , MarketWatch's Jennifer Waters finds a slew of environmentally-friendly products, including a system for growing herbs indoors. Then, there's the coffee maker you can talk to.It's a sign of the times when survival tales from the Great Depression resonate strongly with Americans. People are losing jobs and coping with the loss of wealth. Some are losing their homes to foreclosure, or are dangerously close.



Household budget cuts have to be made, and for some the newfound frugality is harkening back to lessons learned at grandma's house. For instance:



Home meal preparation is on the rise

Some Americans are investing in standalone freezers so they can buy in bulk when sales are good



Home gardens are increasingly popular

People aren't throwing things out, they're fixing what they have -- preferably on their own, from repairing clothes to repairing plumbing problems



Some of the notable products at this year's International Home and Housewares Show, held in Chicago this week, spoke to people's desire to roll up their sleeves and do more household tasks themselves. Products tended to be affordable and practical. It's a switch from past shows, when high-end electronics often took center stage, said Lisa Casey Weiss, spokeswoman for the International Housewares Association. Read about the top 5 trends in home living for 2010.



"There's definitely a return to what we might call 'home arts,'" said Tom Mirabile, vice president of global trend and design for Lifetime Brands and a speaker at the show. "Now, home economics is about -- economics."



In fact, there's "almost a prideful resurgence of 'I can do it,'" he said.



The general appeal of do-it-yourself is very American, and is in some ways built into our "cultural DNA," said Robin Avni, senior director and consumer strategist for Iconoculture, a cultural trend research firm. And these days, we're looking to the past for pointers.



"What 'Depression Cooking' speaks to is tradition," Avni said. An older generation is saying: "We did it, and here's how we got through it."



Many cooks in the kitchen



In some ways, we can thank celebrity chefs and the rise of the Food Network for making cooking cool again. Even before eating at home was a financial necessity, cooking started becoming a trendy form of entertainment for many Americans, Mirabile said.



A recent survey by BIGresearch found that many consumers consider fine dining expendable today, while expenses including Internet and cable TV are untouchable. Separate research from Nielsen found that 41% surveyed would eat out less and 39% would stay home more in order to respond to economic challenges, Mirabile said.



Consumers are showing newfound love for the potluck dinner, not only because it saves the host time in the kitchen but also because it helps divvy up the cost of a meal, Avni said.



And Mirabile is seeing an upswing in the demand for pressure cookers and slow cookers, as people try to make less expensive cuts of meat taste better. Cuisinart showed off its newest programmable slow cooker at the show, one designed with digital technology and touchpad controls. Delicae

Gourmet sampled slow cooker meals -- bundled ingredients that can be combined with meat and a can of tomatoes to create an inexpensive dinner.



"Even Emeril has a slow cooker," said David Elsner, a representative at the Delicae booth.

Saving even more on food



Consumers are doing more than just cooking at home to trim their food budgets.

They're investing in freezers to stock up on sale items and to buy in bulk at warehouse clubs. In a generally poor year for big-ticket purchases, shipments of home freezers were up 5% in 2008, according to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers.

People may also be making greater efforts to not waste food they buy. New products at the show included vacuum storage systems such as one from Widgeteer, which displayed its Vac-it vacuum seal system, promoted as "a low-cost, revolutionary vacuum seal system ... to create vacuum sealed storage from any airtight, self-sealing or zipper tight bag."



Fox Run Craftsmen showed off colorful containers in the shapes of onions, tomatoes, lemons and limes -- flashy compartments to seal leftovers not only to preserve them but to make them stand out in the refrigerator and remind family cooks to use them before they spoil.



To get the freshest produce at a low cost, Americans are planting more gardens too.

According to the National Gardening Association, seven million more households plan to grow fruits, vegetables, herbs or berries in 2009 compared with 2008. That's a 19% increase in participation and almost double the 10% growth in vegetable gardening from 2007 to 2008. Even the First Family is growing food on the White House grounds.



The gardening trend has also created more demand for canning supplies, Mirabile said.

That said, gardening could become more expensive than anticipated. "People spend a couple hundred on seeds, and it blows me away," said Mary Webber, author of "The Frugal Family Kitchen Book."



Only order the seeds you'll use, she said. For a small garden, go with companies that sell small seed packets, because that's likely all you'll need. "Instead of spending $2 for a packet of seeds, these packets are going to be 85 cents to $1.25."



And while a freezer can be used to keep costs down, people still need to be smart about buying only what they'll use, she said. Keeping a freezer inventory sheet helps people make sure food is used before it must be thrown away, Webber added.



Crafty consumers



Grandma's sensibilities aren't only being found in the kitchen. Over the past several years, there has been a return to crafting, from knitting to scrapbooking, Avni said. So far, that trend isn't showing signs of slowing in the recession, she added.



But the reasons behind people's craftiness might become more utilitarian.



In recent years, "people were doing it [knitting] as more of an artistic expression," Webber said. "They would use these wonderful yarns. Now they're back to serious yarns."



"I'm waiting for the resurgence of sewing," she added.



Or at least clothing repair. Attendees at the International Home and Housewares show saw the fabric glue Mighty Mendit on display. The struggling economy has caused a bump in sales, as people repair the clothes they have instead of throwing them away, its promoters said.



Other items at the show included FlexiSnake, a simple disposable tool that removes hair clogs from drains using Velcro -- and might save consumers a call to their plumber. For super savers, a home haircutting system by Wahl was on display; video demonstrations for popular haircuts can be found on the company's Web site.



Amy Hoak is a MarketWatch reporter based in Chicago .