Mattresses don’t come cheap, so it’s in your best interest to take care of them. In addition to covering them with a mattress protector and removing dirt and dust by vacuuming them regularly, it also means quickly cleaning up spills before they turn into stains. Here’s how to do that.
You’re in the shower shampooing your hair, and suddenly you catch a whiff of something unpleasant. Something that smells like sewage. Your first instinct is that it’s coming from the toilet. That might be true, but it could also be coming from your shower drain. Here are a few examples of what could be behind the…
In addition to using less energy, part of the appeal of tankless hot water heaters is that they take up less space than traditional models. So, unless you have a sprawling basement where storage space isn’t an issue, your hot water heater with a tank is occupying valuable real estate.
If your home was constructed out of wood, its structural integrity depends on the natural material remaining intact and sturdy. So if you happen to notice that wood in your walls, floors, or support beams is losing its shape, changing color, crumbling, or looks like it’s beginning to collapse, it’s important to take…
I love my Roomba, and I hate my Roomba. The endearing little beeps and boops, the hypnotic but inexplicable path it takes across my floor, the possibility of training woodland animals to ride it across the floor…there’s a lot to like. But, three years into its use, I have some bones to pick. Here are all the things…
Webcams, especially the ones built-into computers, haven’t always been that great. The priority was convenience, not necessarily quality, when it came to powering video calls on your mobile machine. But times have changed: Not only can you buy high-quality webcams to connect to your computer, but some now ship with…
Email is old. In its earliest incarnation, email dates back to 1965—a time when computers were the size of elephants and only a small number of nerds had regular access to them—and the kind of email we recognize today dates back to the early 1970s.
We didn’t need the cinematic corporate bipoic Air to remind us of the indelible mark Michael Jordan has made not just on basketball, but on the shoe game. The birth of the Air Jordans in 1985 meant big things for the company, but it also blew the starting whistle on an entire culture built around sneakers. Kicks…
I’m going to admit upfront that I’m a big Windex girl. It’s cheap, it’s always available, and it’s easy to spray on everything from mirrors (normal!) to tabletops (nor normal!) for a quick rubdown. It turns out, though, that you’re really not supposed to use the specialty glass cleaner for everything, as it can cause…
The food distributor Lipari Foods has issued a voluntary recall after a specific lot of Lipari Branded Ground Cumin Tubs was found to potentially have been contaminated with Salmonella and was distributed to 16 states. Salmonella can cause serious or fatal infections to young children, elderly people, or those with a…
We live in a divided world, but one thing most people can agree on right now is that the cost of housing is way too high. Home prices have slipped a bit, but home prices, mortgage rates, and rents remain sky-high in a lot of places, and a lot of people—especially younger folks—are despairing of ever owning a home.…
As tick populations grow (thanks, climate change) and tickborne diseases like Lyme become more widespread, tick checks have become routine for a lot of us. But do you really know what it means to “check yourself for ticks”? Chances are, you’re missing some important parts of the process.
Life doesn’t always go your way. This is one of the hardest and most universal lessons we learn as we move out of toddlerhood and into childhood and later adulthood. While it’s normal for a small child to throw a tantrum when they don’t get what they want when they want it, as kids get bigger, the ability to tolerate…
Last Wednesday, I was trudging up a hill barely able to breathe. Something was constricting my chest, and I wasn’t sure whether to blame a too-tight sports bra, the heart rate monitor I had wedged underneath it, my spring allergies, or my asthma acting up. (In hindsight: probably all four.) That wasn’t my only source…
Our new friends over at Mashable recently published this interesting article about how people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder might benefit from using artificial intelligence tools. It’s a timely topic, given that ADHD medication is still in short supply, and I wanted to add to the conversation with some…
There’s a lot of hype for chewy brownies, fudgy, and even the cakey type, but what about wet brownies, huh? (Still working on the name.) It’s more like chocolate pudding meets devil’s food cake, and I guarantee if there isn’t a cult following for this simple, decadent brownie pudding, there will be soon. Other than…
The internet is losing its mind over using your drill in your garden. In short, you put a really long drill bit on and create holes to drop your bulbs into. But it gets even better: They make drill bits specifically for this—they’re called augers—and they’re even better than regular drill bit and you can do a lot more…
Cruciferous vegetables, like the Brussels sprout, are hearty, bitter, and tough. Roasting them in a hot oven is an excellent hands-off way to imbue them with flavor and soften them up without losing that distinctive chew. Typically, roasting Brussels sprouts involves halving them, and placing them cut-side down to…
Many teachers aren’t happy about the AI revolution, and it’s tough to blame them: ChatGPT has proven you can feed AI a prompt, say for a high school essay, and the AI can spit out a result in seconds. Of course, that essay might be riddled with errors, but, hey, the homework’s done. So, when AI checkers advertise…
Mrs. Davis is a genre-bending new take on artificial intelligence: Here is a TV series in which an action hero nun takes on an AI with dream of world domination. (If this is the first you’re hearing of it, well, it’s on Peacock, so.)
The show kinda pits faith against technology, though it’s not nearly that pedantic. …
Around here, we love pool noodles. What makes them so special and versatile is the padding they offer and the delicate hole down their center—both of which are key to their functionality in your planters this summer, too.
My fridge cannot possibly contain the organizational hopes and dreams I have as a home cook and hoarder of Better Than Bouillon. But the winter is long (and I had a lot of pickles), so I found myself ordering bins, bins, and more bins as close to the specs of my fridge as possible. Out came the mustards and the eggs,…
Viruses and funguses are among the worst gardening concerns, and we’re often to blame. I spoke with Meg Cowden, fearless leader of The Modern Garden Guild and author of Plant, Grow, Harvest, Repeat about how she manages disease in her garden.
In daylight, my garden is a beacon of color and texture, but when the sun sets, the yard becomes a black hole. Delivery drivers struggle to see the house numbers or find the footpath, and I hold my phone flashlight awkwardly to avoid tripping as I take out the trash. Sure, lighting would help, but I didn’t have in-…
Like storytelling, cooking skills are often passed down from family. You mosey into the kitchen as a kid and watch your parents cut, stir, cook, and bake a few times a day, and that’s how you do it yourself later in life. While there’s nothing necessarily wrong with the knife techniques you grew up with, there’s a…
It can happen innocently enough. One child is a determined rule-follower, the other is a risk-taker. The oldest is a leader, the youngest is a clown, and the middle child is insecure. You slyly refer to one as a “princess” and the other as a “daredevil.” Before you know it, the stereotypes and labels have stuck,…
The Food Disgust Test is the latest silly way to waste time online, and like any good test, it reveals things about ourselves we may never have thought to question. Is it gross to be served a fish with its head on? Do you eat bananas with black spots on the peel?
One struggle shared by just about every adult is buying clothes. It comes in different forms. Some folks are very fashion-forward but struggle with their clothing budget; others developed a personal style during four inebriated years of high school and have no clue how to actually dress as an adult. But whatever your…
Short-term rental platforms are here to stay—and when you think of short-term renting, you think of Airbnb. But there are a growing number of reasons to avoid Airbnb like the plague. Aside from rising prices and poor customer service, Airbnb has been accused of destroying neighborhoods and not respecting your privacy…
Mother’s Day can be a particularly tough holiday for some people, for a variety of different reasons. But if your family does celebrate, and wants to spend at least part of the day at a large home improvement chain store, you could get some free flowers out of it. Here’s what to know.
Even if you’re one of the lucky few who truly love their job, you probably don’t want your identity to be defined solely by what you currently do for a living. Jobs and careers change, but there are some core skills and characteristics that you utilize—or at least have in your possession—regardless of what you do to…
With the exception of a few pungent cheeses, mold isn’t something you want anywhere in or on your home. It tends to be the sign of a larger structural or ventilation problem, and not only is it often accompanied by that damp, musty smell, it’s also not great for our health.
With buying an existing home being financially out of reach for so many, some people are considering going a different route: Purchasing land and constructing a new house. But when you factor in the cost of the property, labor, and materials—which have also gone up in price, thanks to supply chain issues and…
As children, most people were taught to memorize certain dialogue in order to be considered polite in everyday situations. Along with saying “please,” “thank you,” and “nice to meet you,” we were instructed to ask someone how they’re doing—either immediately after, or as part of an initial greeting like “hello” or…
Gardening season is finally upon us, which is reason for celebration—even though the first time you head out to work in your yard or garden, you’ll quickly be reminded how physically demanding it can be. Tending the soil involves a variety of movements and body positions—a lot of bending, lifting, and carrying heavy…
More than two years after we first heard about the “Benadryl Challenge” on TikTok, it is unfortunately back in the news—this time because of the death a 13-year-old Ohio boy who overdosed after taking more than a dozen Benadryl pills as part of the challenge. His friends recorded him attempting the challenge until his…
Do you ever feel like crap when your period starts, or perhaps in the week or so before your period? Social media has dubbed this the “period flu,” and places like TikTok are full of tips about why it happens and how to deal with it. Unfortunately, a lot of those posts are full of misinformation, so let’s straighten…
The crows started it. I noticed that they often played in the puddle that formed in a rock garden next door when it rained. I like the crows; they’ve rewarded my frequent conversation attempts with keeping my roof moss and twig free, and when they’re feeling really social, they bring me dead things.
Twitter ain’t what it used to be. If you’re tired of seeing your “For you” feed fall apart, and you want to get away from the latest blue check drama, Twitter clones await your membership. One of those clones, however, is actually a bit like Twitter’s cousin: Bluesky, created by co-founder and former CEO of Twitter,…
Those little cardboard drink holders you get when you make a coffee run for the office are so convenient in the moment for exactly what you need them for—but as soon as you pull the cups out, they too quickly seem to have fulfilled their destiny. But before you toss them into the garbage or recycling bin, consider…
No matter how hard you try to manage your time, you will probably end up being late on an assignment at some point in your academic (or professional) career. In times of stress and panic, your initial reaction may be to lie or go one the defense. It might seem reasonable to claim you had an emergency or swear you sent…
Last weekend was a very social one. I met my gym friends for lunch, then walked to one of Portland’s bougiest grocers (Providore) to pick up snacks for my next engagement. My original plan was to make Russian nachos with plain potato chips, caviar, and crème fraîche, but there was no caviar to be found. I had to…
When you think about the expensive vegetables at the store, you know, the really sexy ones that have “a season,” you’re usually thinking of perennial vegetables. Somewhat ironically, they’re the most chill. Plant them once, kick back, and wait for them to pop up on their own, year after year.
We may earn a commission from links on this page. Music documentaries are having a moment. In the last month, talking heads (as opposed to ...
