Margaret Foley

Contributing Writer & Editor

Highlights

  • Specialties: Cleaning best practices, household repairs, classic house styles
  • Education: Bachelor of Arts in English from Bryn Mawr College; Master of Science in Education from Queens College
  • Other work: Home magazine (defunct); Discover magazine

About

Margaret Foley is an editor, educator, and writer based in New York City who has worked for a variety of magazines over her career. She has freelanced for BobVila.com for roughly a decade. When she isn’t sitting in front of a laptop, she spends her time keeping her family of humans, dogs, and one cat fed and healthy and trying to prevent a 100-year-old house from falling down.

Best DIY Advice

After almost 25 years of living in an old house, Margaret can say with certainty that whatever you’re DIY-ing—even if you’ve planned carefully, measured accurately, and bought everything you think you’ll need—it’s best to assume that it will take longer than you think. That fence that you were going to paint over a few weekends will take all summer; the escutcheon for that new light fixture won’t be large enough to cover the existing hole in the ceiling; the old doorbell wire won’t be long enough to reach the new bell…and then the washing machine will back up and there will be 4 inches of water in the basement.

More from Margaret Foley

How to Remove Moss From a Roof
Cleaning & Organizing

How to Remove Moss From a Roof

How to Get Rid of Flies Outside
Lawn & Garden

How to Get Rid of Flies Outside

How to Remove Rust From Tools
Cleaning & Organizing

How to Remove Rust From Tools

17 Pantry Foods That Never Expire
Interior

17 Pantry Foods That Never Expire

How to Clean Battery Corrosion in 4 Steps
Cleaning & Organizing

How to Clean Battery Corrosion in 4 Steps

How to Light a Pilot Light on Gas Appliances
Appliances

How to Light a Pilot Light on Gas Appliances

How to Get Rid of Flies in the House
Cleaning & Organizing

How to Get Rid of Flies in the House

How to Wash Shoes in a Washing Machine
DIY

How to Wash Shoes in a Washing Machine

How to Close a Pool for the Winter
Exterior

How to Close a Pool for the Winter

How to Clean a Toilet Tank
Bathrooms

How to Clean a Toilet Tank