House Outlook

We are fortunate to live in a time and place with efficient cleaning appliances, and there’s arguably no better labor-saver than the dishwasher. Dishwashers, which first became commercially available in the 1950s, save untold hours of handwashing and use significantly less water. But there’s one area where dishwasher protocol remains unclear: What do you do…

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Before leaving for vacation, you might walk around the house unplugging appliances to keep energy costs down. But there’s one appliance you should never turn off: the refrigerator. Of course, sometimes it’ll shut down on its own due to circumstances beyond your control. For example, a neighborhood power outage could occur while you’re away, and if…

A Hack That...

There’s nothing quite like garden tomatoes, vine-ripened and eaten while still warm from the sun. That goes double for heirloom varieties, preserved over generations by growers who prize flavor above all. Supermarket tomatoes, on the other hand, are bred to withstand rough handling and long-distance shipping. Plus, even the best tomatoes will lack flavor if…

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Dusting is a tedious task to begin with, but it’s made all the more challenging when it’s time to get down on your hands and knees to tackle the baseboards. Baseboards seem to attract dust like moths to a flame, and electrostatic charges can make it even harder to wipe away without putting in extra…

A Tip You Shouldn’t Gloss Over

Coating baseboards in a glossy e...

New doesn’t necessarily mean clean. From the factory floor to the packaging line — and however many hands touch a product along the way — plenty of everyday items pick up dust, chemical residue, or bacteria before they reach your home. A quick wash before using a product for the first time takes care of most…

1. Reusable Water Bottles

The inside of a bra...