Julie Sprankles

Between a down payment, closing costs and that hefty movers fee, there's not a lot of dough left over for all the first-home extras.

Is it true? Have fake plants turned the corner from faux pas to fashionable? We think so.

So you’re moving into a new place—how exciting! Sure, the whole packing and unpacking routine gets old quick, but few things can fill you with a sense of renewal more than rolling out a fresh welcome mat. What’s not nearly as fun, of course, is getting an irate phone call from your landlord somewhere down the line. Or, worse yet, being evicted. Most of us file such a dramatic possibility under the “that could never happen to me” column.

If you’re in the market for a house, first of all, congrats! Buying a home is one of the most rewarding—albeit at times exasperating—things you’ll do in your life. By the time you’re ready to buy, you likely have a sufficient grasp on the basic necessities: a solid foundation, a roof that doesn’t leak, wiring that won’t cause your new home to spontaneously combust, and so on. But what about the other stuff you should be mindful of?

Why bring that negative energy into your new home?

While buying a home is one of the most exciting and rewarding things you’ll do in your life, it can also undoubtedly be one of the most stressful. This is due in no small part to the mortgage approval process which, at its best, is tricky and, at its worst, downright perplexing. When I purchased my first home, I felt like I had sufficiently done my research.

The days are short and the world is wide, my friends—there’s so much to see out there and seemingly so little time to do it, which is perhaps why some of us (read: me) have an incurable case of wanderlust. And, hey, it’s not exactly a bad habit to have. After all, they say travel is the best teacher. Still, there will be days when you can’t afford to satiate your thirst for someplace new, and that’s OK too. There’s nothing wrong with pacing yourself!

Have you ever wondered where your money disappears to each month? You work hard; you know you make it—yet it seems as though you never have any, or at least not as much as you think you should after you pay your bills (and Uncle Sam takes his portion). It’s like it goes into some giant universal dryer that only spits out part of what you put in—obviously stashing the rest of it away in that secret place where the matches to all of your socks are sent.

A microbiologist pointed out there's a 4-minute rule printed right on the package.

More nights than I care to admit, I work into the wee hours of the morning, slinging words so I can pay for important things like Netflix and magnetic eyelashes. When I finally drag my tired body toward the bedroom, I have just enough energy left to brush my teeth before crashing. But as I fall asleep to the symphonic range of my husband’s snoring, I often wonder just how bad it is for me to skip washing my face. Is the good skincare fairy going to come down and bop me on the head?

You know you should wear gloves to clean, but knowing and doing are two very different things.

People, let’s talk undergarments. We’re all on the same page when it comes to underwear—and that page most certainly says they should be washed after each use. But have you ever stopped for a minute to consider how often you should wash your bra? If your answer is no, well, you’re definitely not doing it enough. And if your answer is yes, you’re probably still not doing it enough.

Oh yes, there is a wrong and a right way to wash laundry, and you're probably doing it wrong. No more lazy laundering, y'all.

Modern mattresses are a different breed, and in this case, Grandma doesn't know best.

Waking up with linen lines imprinted on your face is no fun, but it’s hard to resist the urge to snuggle into a soft, cozy pillow at night. Especially since you’re, you know, asleep. But sleep-you doesn’t necessarily know what’s best, which is why she needs awake-you to be the voice of reason. And for both your sakes, it’s time to pull out those satin pillowcases you stuffed inside the closet long ago.

Who among us hasn’t snatched a tiny hotel toiletry (or 10) in our time? Let she without blame cast the first miniature moisturizer bottle. For the record, though, why would they leave them out if they didn’t want you to take them? We say keep growing your collection. And while you’re at it, make you don’t forget the most underrated of items: the humble hotel shower cap. You may be wondering, “But, why? Like, why?

You know the drill. You order Chinese takeout, it arrives, and you pull everything out of the brown paper grocery sack in preparation to chow down on some chow mein. But when you reach the bottom of the bag, you’re distracted by a question nagging your brain: How could one person possibly use all of these sauce packets? How many people do they think you were ordering for? And why is the number of sauce packets so disproportionate to the number of fortune cookies?

Do you have cleaning wipes at the ready at all times? Does sweeping make you feel Zen? Have you been taking flak from your friends for years for being a quote-unquote neat freak? Well then do we have some good news for you. People who like to clean are supposedly happier, according to research recently conducted by The Clorox Company (who, of course, it deserves to be noted might have a vested interest).

Let’s preface this by stating clearly that there is absolutely nothing wrong with sex or TV. They’re both fantastic when enjoyed with a loving partner (or by yourself). But whether your relationship is brand new or you’ve been together so long you’re inadvertently starting to dress the same, building intimacy as a couple is important. And real intimacy, well, that can sometimes take more than just a little Netflix and chill.

For such an unassuming object, kitchen sponges are kind of rock stars. In addition to being responsible for getting our dishes and utensils clean, these thirsty squares can be repurposed in ways we haven’t even thought of yet. But, rest assured, the ways we do know of prove pretty darn ingenious.

Growing up, you couldn’t have put a dollar sign on my Polly Pocket collection – those tiny plastic people and their tiny plastic pastel furniture were priceless to me. But now, I’ve got bills to pay. And truth be told, I’d sell Polly and her whole tiny plastic family down the river for a tidy chunk of cold hard cash.

Ever since news broke that the husband-wife hosting duo of HGTV’s Fixer Upper would be welcoming another little farm hand into their impeccably shiplapped home, one pressing curiosity has intrigued fans: when is Joanna Gaines’ due date? Aside from the official announcement, she and Chip haven’t offered up any more intel on their fifth child. So, naturally, that leaves one option — playing the ol’ due date guessing game.

It’s the end of the day, and you crawl beneath the sheets next to your significant other with a *certain* expectation (cue bedroom eyes). Then, something happens — and, spoiler alert, it’s not sex. You get distracted. Or your partner does. Long story short? The only things going down in that bedroom are libidos. If your bedroom is more fizzle than sizzle lately, it might be time to re-examine the source.

We’ve all been there. Just after the ceremonial un-robing that occurs prior to hopping in the shower and closely following the forthcoming cascade of water from the shower head — your bladder beckons. But it seems like a lot of work to get out of the shower, grab a towel, dry off, and make your way back to the commode. So you ask yourself the age-old question, “To pee or not to pee?” Yep, we’re going there. Don’t worry; we’re all friends here.

When it comes time to choose bedding for your home, you’ll find plenty of options. From solids to prints, synthetics to natural materials, designer brands to bed-in-a-bag sets — but before you make any of those decisions, you must first figure out which type of bedding you want. And this is where we delve into one of life’s little mysteries: the difference between coverlets and other kinds of bedding.

If you’ve ever considered going into business with family, look no further for role models than Jonathan and Drew Scott. Having found fame as hosts of the hit HGTV reality series Property Brothers, the pair really brings home the bacon. And by bacon, we mean money. And by money, we mean a combined net worth in the millions. Property Brothers Drew Scott and Jonathan Scott have flipped their way to a combined net worth of $20 million according to CelebrityNetWorth.com.

Considering computers aren't exactly chump change, they're not an investment you want to ruin.

Adult life is full of difficult decisions. Like which vocation to choose as your profession. Or where to settle down. Or this classic conundrum: what you do when the pile of dirty clothes currently taking up residence in the corner of your room isn’t big enough to wash yet? For many of us, that means tossing the pile into the washing machine to lay in wait until enough clothes accrue to run a cycle — hamper be damned. I mean, it’s a perfectly logical step, right?

If reality TV held a prom, Chip and Joanna Gaines would undoubtedly be crowned king and queen. Since the down-to-earth (and downright hilarious) couple exploded onto the scene with their HGTV series Fixer Upper, they’ve become household names — and those names are everywhere now. From collaborating on designer home decor lines for popular shopping haunts like Target, to penning books about their life together, the Gaineses have their hands in plenty of honey pots.

By now, you’ve probably realized how much of a life-saver a budget can be when it comes to effectively allocating (read: stretching) your funds. When you have one, you’re inherently more aware of where your money is going, which helps to curb the number of times per month you have to rely on Top Ramen to meet your caloric needs. But have you ever pored over your budget with a truly critical eye, asking yourself how much of what you earmark your earnings for is actually necessary?

A little hack that lets you quite literally squeeze your sponge for all it's worth.

If you ask a feng shui expert about the space under a bed, they’re going to tell you to keep it clear — that putting anything in that space will block energy from circulating around your body when you sleep. So, basically, they’re going to tell you the exact opposite of what I’m about to suggest. But as a mother of two little ones, I find the space under kids’ beds to be prime real estate.

Before they were our favorite home and design gurus, HGTV stars were normal people, too. In fact, they were so normal that they, like the rest of us, couldn’t escape particularly cringe-worthy moments of growing up. And, thanks to the stars’ senses of humor and #tbt, we get a glimpse into those days. Here’s a look back at some of the most adorable (and awkward) moments captured in time by HGTV hosts like Chip and Joanna Gaines and Genevieve Gorder.

You know how it goes — it’s been a minute since you did a load of laundry, so you roam the house scooping up soiled clothes. When you happen upon the moist dish rags in the sink and the cleaning cloths you recently used to wipe down the counters, you toss those in, too. Hey, we’ve all done it. But is it even OK to wash your cleaning supplies and clothes together? The question, of course, isn’t whether you can. It’s whether you should.

If you’re looking for advice on buying your first home, you’ll find no shortage of it. And for good reason, sure–buying your first home is a big deal. But, you know, so is selling your first home, and there seems to be far less insight about that equally important and just as stressful process. Will selling your home be riddled with anxiety no matter what? Yeah, probably.

If you had told me a year ago that, today, I’d be smack dab in the middle of selling my home, I would never have believed you. If you’d told me I was selling my home to uproot my family, buy an RV, and roam the country for an indefinite amount of time, I may very well have asked you if you’d recently suffered a hard knock to the head. And yet, here I am.