Most emergencies don’t come with advance warning, which is why it’s best to do some basic preparation ahead of time. You can check out tips for extremely specific emergencies and create an ‘If I Go Missing’ file, but don’t forget the one useful lifesaving tool you undoubtedly have with you at all times: you phone.…
Who among us has not binge-watched The Great British Bake Off and thought, “I could do that, easy!” only to find yourself sitting on the floor of your kitchen five hours later, weeping and holding a black disc that’s supposed to be a bundt cake while your smoke detector blares in the background?
Just as fan placement is key to keeping your home cool in the summer, heater placement is a major strategy to consider for winter. Space heaters can be dangerous, of course, so the first thing you need to do is familiarize yourself with some safety tips to avoid accidentally starting a fire.
The millennial dog parent may be a meme, but it’s certainly based in reality. And it turns out that, just like raising children, how we parent our pups has a significant impact on their wellbeing and our relationship.
We’re used to checking the expiration dates on food (even though many of them are bullshit), but other household items expire, too. Read on for a list of things that you shouldn’t expect to be able to use forever—and how often you’ll need to replace them.
It is autumn, which means you can find fancy little packets of fancy little mulling spices at fancy little grocery stores. They’re convenient, especially if you’re the type of person who goes through gallons of mulled wine and cider, but they’re kind of redundant, especially if you have a well-stocked spice cabinet.
Over the past few years, air purifiers have become common household appliances, thanks not only to COVID-19 and smoke from wildfires, but also a better understanding of exactly how dirty the air we breathe can get. In addition to the air quality inside our home, we should also think about what we’re breathing in when…
Even when bathrooms are renovated, the mirror is often overlooked. Outdated tiles and fixtures may be replaced, but the plain-yet-functional builder-grade mirror frequently remains. Here are a few ways to upgrade your boring mirror without spending a lot of time or money on the project.
Even before the pandemic made everything worse, air travel was already harder than it needed to be. One of the most frustrating parts is that as a passenger, you could do everything right—following all the rules, getting there with ample of time before your flight, always having your ticket and ID ready to go—and…
It can be hard to keep up with the ever-changing housing market. With so many factors at play—like the pandemic, rising interest rates, and housing in short supply—the process of buying and selling homes has gotten more complicated. And, in many situations, it has become more expensive.
When summer begins to wind down, there are a few telltale retail signs that fall is approaching: Halloween costumes, candy, and decorations take over the seasonal aisles in supermarkets and big-box stores; pumpkin spice flavored or scented products are everywhere; and customers are welcomed to retail establishments…
Whether it was driving up a winding mountain road, riding in a skyscraper’s high-speed elevator, or a traveling on a plane, you’ve probably experienced a feeling of pressure in your ears that you want to get rid of immediately. Sometimes, the situation will resolve on its own. But other times, you’ll need to do…
Imagine your car alerting you about an issue and telling you to pull over as soon as possible in the next 20 to 30 seconds before the transmission disengages and renders your car unable to move. That is the reality 122,000 Hyundai and Kia owners could be facing at any moment.
You’ve just washed some glasses, and you’re putting them away in the cabinet. How do you set them down—upside down or right side up? While this is the subject of much debate, there’s a simple series of questions that will help you find the right answer. (And yes, you need to ask, because the only universal answer is …
November is a great month for traveling, with lots of fun festivals and events happening all over the world. If you want to plan a short-notice vacation this year, or just fantasize about where you could be going, here are some of the best places to travel in November.
One perk of moving from the Northeast to Texas was learning to add a little spice to things, like sprinkling Tajín on watermelon or enjoying a mangonada on a hot day. The same is true for candy: You should try the luxury of eating dulces enchilados—candies covered in a tangy, sweet, sour, and spicy mixture. Dulces…
Newer DIY enthusiasts often approach hardware stores like a kid in a candy store: Everything is interesting and all the cool tools are on display. Isles upon isles of materials beckon as they load their cart with goodies...but while the tool aisle is exciting, there are some things you should never do in the hardware…
I am a Halloween-scholar with a PhD. in witchology from Virginia Tech*, and I want to share my knowledge with you.
These 12 Halloween facts and “didya knows?” cover everything you ever wanted to know about the holiday: pumpkins, black cats, and novelty music. Isn’t that what Halloween is all about?
For such a simple condiment, cranberry sauce is quite the lightening rod. I have never been able to serve a Thanksgiving meal without including at least two types (usually homemade and canned, with the ridges), but riffing on the standard is one of my favorite holiday pastimes. Besides the usual modifications to the…
Halloween is almost here, and you forgot to decorate. Maybe you didn’t have time or didn’t think anyone would come over, but suddenly plans are in motion and you need to make your house festive. You can upcycle stuff you already have into cheap, easy decor to get it done fast, then recycle it all when you’re done so…
Putting secrets in texts is risky business. An email is almost certainly a no-go, as is a traditional SMS. Encrypted texting, like iMessage, is better, since only your device and the recipient’s can read the messages, but you never know who’s looking at the other end. (Sure, your friend might be alone, but they also…
It’s hard to keep track of the many ways malware can infect your devices, but “typosquatting” is one of the sneakiest. As the name implies, hackers create websites, download links, and other legit-looking but malicious URLs including slight misspellings that can be easy to overlook.
Apple has seen a lot of success with its M series chips. These SoCs now power nearly the company’s entire suite of Mac computers, ranging from the original and capable M1 to the overpowered M1 Ultra. But Apple isn’t the only company eyeing hardware based on Arm architecture. Microsoft also wants in, and wants to push…
Welp, Apple Music and Apple TV+ suddenly got more expensive this week. As of Oct. 24, Apple Music now costs $11/month for an individual subscription (previously $10) and $17 for a family plan (up from $15). Apple TV+ is now $7/month (up from $5/month).
Storage units can be a temporary fix during a move, or help keep your clutter—holiday decorations, out-of-season clothes, sporting equipment, and so on—to a minimum. But there are some items that shouldn’t be kept in this kind of space. While a storage unit might seem similar to a garage or basement, there are…
Your monthly mortgage payment isn’t the only expense to consider when you own a home. Your budget should also include—at the least—insurance, utilities, maintenance, and property taxes, all of which can add up to a hefty sum and make homeownership a little less affordable.
If you love finding new ways to wake up and set your mouth on fire, salsa macha eggs are sure to be your next stop. Although salsa macha is commonly used as a flavorful topping, its high oil content makes it a great lubricant and heat conductor for your scrambled eggs. Add a sprinkle of salty cheese, and this dish…
About twice a month, my boyfriend and I order doughnuts on Saturday evening, usually around 10 p.m., almost always while watching Italian horror movies. We order a dozen, which is too many doughnuts for two people to eat in an evening. My boyfriend does not take any doughnuts with him when he goes back to his place on…
Heating pads can offer comfort when you’re sore, sick, or just really cold. But for those who own one of the half a million heating pads recalled for safety risks, they could have the opposite effect. Here’s what to know about the massive recall, including what to do if you’ve purchased one of the faulty products.
For some people, “just use eyedrops” is a simple recommendation, like “take a pill” or “use this lotion.” But some of us can’t “just” use eyedrops; our eyes involuntarily twitch or blink, or we flinch and pull away entirely. I’m one of those people, and I’m happy to report there’s a way to get the drops in anyway.
I’ve played a ton of survival horror games, and while I love the genre, I sometimes want something scary in a different way. After all, we should not limit ourselves to only one type of spooky entertainment, especially this time of year. The 17 games listed here provide a wide variety of video-game horror through…
With Halloween rapidly approaching, your costume might be in need of some quick, last-minute bloody gore—and it’s actually easier to make your own “blood” than you might think. Here are some simple recipes to try that are fast, cheap, and as realistic as you need for the spookiest of days.
Marcona almonds are sometimes called the “Queen of almonds” by those who believe there are nut kingdoms. They’re a Spanish variety of almond, a little flatter and squatter than the more narrow Californian almond you might be familiar with. Many of us have been teased by these sumptuous and outrageously priced nuts.…
I rarely dive into the discourse, but last week I had to, because the discourse was centered around salad dressing. Specifically the “special” salad dressing that Olivia Wilde allegedly made for Harry Styles. The dressing turned out to be the fairly standard vinaigrette (called it) from Nora Ephron’s Heartburn, but it…
No one wants to be the friend who always has to miss dinners, concerts, and vacations because of their strict budget. Maybe you’re unexpectedly tight on cash all of a sudden, or maybe your friend group has slowly but surely fallen victim to lifestyle creep. Whatever your reasons, saying “no” to well-intentioned…
Arches are a good way to give any room an eye-catching focal point, but having an arched door installed or building an arched alcove is time-consuming and potentially expensive. Instead, add a painted arch or two, netting some of the same curvy appeal without breaking the bank. Here are some tips on how to paint one,…
Doing your own home improvement projects and maintenance can be rewarding: In addition to saving money, there’s a sense of accomplishment that comes with completing a task yourself. But accident rates for DIY enthusiasts might be higher than you think, so practicing some basic safety precautions when you’re using…
Scrolling through social media, with its carefully curated images of beautiful, clutter-free living spaces, often has the effect of making you feel inadequate about your own home. Whether it’s the dishes in the kitchen sink, the piles of laundry you can never quite find the time to put away, or the scattered toys you…
Honey is good. Fermented honey is double plus good. Fermented honey is also one of the easiest, surest bets for fermentation out there, if you’ve been waiting to try it for yourself. You don’t need your own hive, either. You can grab raw honey at your regular grocery store, and in most cases, it’s not more expensive…
You are grocery shopping all wrong. Sadly, I can’t personally accompany you to the Piggly Wiggly and force you to navigate the supermarket correctly. I mean, I’m working on an army of atomic super-robots will be able to handle that, but until a naive venture capitalist shows up with first round of funding, you’ll have…
Today, cookbooks are a dime a dozen, with every celebrity chef—and celebrity-turned-home-chef—coming out with their own (usually accompanied by a line of kitchen-related products). But we only have to go back a generation or two to get to a time when cookbooks had an indispensable role in most American households—not…
In most homes, the kitchen’s clearly the kitchen, bathrooms are identifiable by the presence of a toilet, and bedrooms are places to sleep. But what do you call the room with couches and chairs, meant for sitting, lounging, or entertaining? The living room? The family room? The den? The great room? The sitting room?…
No matter where you live, you’re likely feeling the pinch of the rising costs of energy, gas, and water. Those who own their home may opt to invest in upgrades like new windows, appliances, or insulation to help save money on utility bills.
Unintentionally falling asleep on the couch isn’t hard. Whether you nod off while watching TV, or sit down to rest your eyes for a moment and wake up two hours later, the couch feels like the most comfortable spot on earth, and whatever blanket you have on top of you is perfect.
People prone to manipulation tend to fall into one of two categories, according to Karen Donaldson, a communication and body-language expert. First, there are those who understand what they’re doing is wrong, but don’t care—as long as they get what they want. And then there are those who are convinced that they’re in…
Even with all their bells and whistles, most modern televisions are prone to at least some type of glare. Whether it’s caused by sunlight streaming through a window, or various light fixtures in the room, there are certain times of day when the color of at least part of the screen appears distorted.
The cost of heating your home is always top-of-mind as the cold weather settles in, but with energy prices soaring this year, it’s more pressing than ever. There are ways around this and you can cut costs—even without shivering and suffering all winter. Here are a few ways to reduce your heating bill without freezing…
Thanks to science, we know a lot of things that our ancestors did not. How diseases spread, for example, and why the continents are shaped like that, and that there actually isn’t a tiny man in every sperm.
At some point in their career, almost every member of the workforce comes to the realization that “dream jobs” don’t exist. Even those that look perfect on paper, and appear to be the ideal culmination of your education and work experience up to this point often fall short of our expectations. In other cases, the role…
