If you've been thinking about taking a class but money has been stopping you, there are plenty of free online classes available:
-- Yale offers free introductory courses at oyc.yale.edu.
-- Open Courseware Consortium is a collaborative effort by colleges and universities to share courses and lectures online. Check out ocwconsortium.org.
-- "Learn almost anything for free" at KhanAcademy.org.
-- Search for almost any how-to instruction that you're interested in and you're sure to find a few tutorials on YouTube.
The first reader shares another suggestion:

Free Disaster Preparedness Class:

Coursera.org offers a wide variety of free courses, including a Disaster Preparedness Class (coursera.org/course/disasterprep).
I have taken several Coursera classes, and they are fantastic! No gimmicks, no hidden agendas, nothing. Just sign up and start taking a class. You can also add classes to your watchlist, which means that if you can't take the class this time around, Coursera will notify you when it comes up again. Very handy feature!
Note: Classes with the "Signature Track" button below the start date are not free. -- Debbie, Minnesota

Liquid Hand Soap Recipe:

I keep a mason jar under my bathroom sink, and when the shower soap starts to break up, I throw it in the jar. When the jar is full, I throw the soap in my food processor to grate and make this for the kitchen and bathroom sinks:
Grate a bar of soap or soap pieces to equal 4 ounces. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Turn off the heat and add the soap. Stir. Continue stirring until the mixture is fully combined. Allow the mixture to cool, then stir again. Allow to cool overnight. Stir to check the consistency. If it seems too thin, reheat and add more soap. If it seems too thick, reheat and add more water. Add a few drops of essential oil. Then pour soap mixture into dispensers. If you want to make more or less liquid soap, use equal parts of soap and water. -- Rhonda, Michigan

Homemade Fabric Softener:

4 cups Epsom salt
20 drops essential oil
Put in jar and mix well. Add 1/4 cup to washer with laundry detergent as it fills. This works in hot or cold water. I use 10 drops lavender and 10 drops lemon essential oil. It smells so good! -- N.G., North Carolina

All-Purpose Cleaner:

Put orange peels in a jar, then fill with vinegar. Let soak for 10 days, then pour the liquid into a spray bottle and use for cleaning. I've been using the same jar of orange peels for over a month now, just refilling with the vinegar as needed. It's a nice scent! I was pretty stunned to see that the rinds didn't rot, but I'm guessing the vinegar preserves them. -- Theresa, Florida

photo by caswell_tom