As a journalist for general interest and trade publications, Nadia Oehlsen has published many how-to articles over the years, including how to process chemicals, how to fix bicycles, how to clean body parts from crime scenes, and the various methods one might employ to pay for goods and services. She prefers explaining how not to pay. As a freelancer, she has developed the critical career skill of living in stylish comfort by acquiring other people's trash. She lives and works in Chicago.