Hand holding a red marker, checking off three boxes on a vertical checklist.
I Can Get You Addicted to Cleaning: Dopamine and the Checklist
Maybe I’m an addict. Like many list-makers, crossing things off my list makes me feel really good and makes me want to cross the next thing off my list, and the next. What’s really going on here? More specifically, how can we harness this reaction to make the sometimes arduous task of cleaning not only less irritating, but even downright tempting?
Shifrah Combiths
May 4, 2019
2 Completely Disgusting Reasons to Wash Before You Wear
A kids’ epidemiology book, its cover depicting an ominous microscope surrounded by an eerie sci-fi green haze, confirmed what my mother always told me: Wash your clothes before you wear them — or else. Or else what? Well, poisoning for starters. Seriously. In the medical mysteries book I read, a boy was slowly poisoned through his skin by his new jeans.
Shifrah Combiths
May 4, 2019
How To Avoid Bringing Bedbugs Home from Hotels, Thrift Stores and More
Although they aren’t actually dangerous unless you’re allergic to their bites, bedbugs are pretty revolting. And, as we all probably know, infestations have been on the rise. Following are some ways to help ensure that these very unwanted guests don’t end up in your home. Here are a few ways you could unintentionally bring bedbugs home — and how to avoid them.
Shifrah Combiths
May 4, 2019
How To Make Your Own Lavender Laundry Detergent
Homemade laundry detergent isn’t just about saving you money (although it’s definitely a budget friendly move). In this day and age, when most of us are so far removed from the process of how our necessities are made, there’s something thrilling about making something that you need. If you’d like to try your hand at it, here’s how I made mine.
Shifrah Combiths
May 4, 2019
How To Keep the Laundry Mountain Monster from Eating You Alive
Anyone else at war with piles upon piles of laundry? It never occurred to me how much motherhood and laundry go together, but here we are! While it’s still an uphill battle, I have learned that some things (when I actually do them) help keep the relentless laundry situation under control.
Shifrah Combiths
May 4, 2019
Implement a One-In-One-Out Policy — Now
Once the joy of giving and receiving has died down, we often find ourselves with, shall we say…more things than we had last month. While you may not be ready to do an all-out purge, it’s the perfect time for a mini-purge through implementing a one-in-one-or-more-out plan.
Shifrah Combiths
May 4, 2019
The Best Cleaning & Organizing Rules I Learned from My Mother
Now that I have my own home and family to care for, the things my mother taught me about cleaning are not only valuable because they came from her, but because they are nuggets of wisdom probably passed down through more than two generations. They’ve stood the test of time and they sure make my life easier and my home cleaner. From my home and family to yours, here are the best cleaning and organizing rules I learned from my mother.
Shifrah Combiths
May 4, 2019
4 Household Management Apps I Can’t Live Without
Using technology to help manage the household can add up to a good amount of time and money saved—not to mention a significant reduction in things (paper calendars and planners) and clutter (all those papers!). Here are the top four apps I’d hate to live without. YNAB stands for “you need a budget.” And let me just say: You do. You can read more of my thoughts in Basics of a Household Budget that Works.
Shifrah Combiths
May 4, 2019
The Great Big, Real-Life Pantry Cleanup (& How To Do Your Own)
Try as I might to achieve that perfect pantry look (you all know what I’m talking about), I still have errant boxes of cake mix and plastic bags of who-knows-what-anymore from the bulk bin. Recently, the hodge-podge of things I knew I had but couldn’t find and the creeping lack of space drove me to the point of yet another Great Big, Real-Life Pantry Cleanup.
Shifrah Combiths
May 4, 2019
The Great Debate: Cloth or Paper Towels?
Newcomers to my home can’t ever find my paper towels. That’s because they’re hidden in the pantry so the cloth towels and rags I have are the first line of defense against spills and messes that need to be wiped. Here’s how I use cloth and when even I reach for a paper towel. When and Why I Use Cloth I use a rag for wiping off the kitchen counters and the table.
Shifrah Combiths
May 4, 2019
The Absolute Best Way to Clean Grout
I vacillate, when it comes to grout. Sometimes it’s que sera, sera, and sometimes it’s all-out war: baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, OxiClean, toothbrushes, grout brushes, elbow grease, and five million moppings to clean the residue with fans to speed drying times in between rounds. But ever since I’ve discovered this completely awesome way of cleaning grout, I almost look forward to doing it, and really, it’s another kind of life-changing magic.
Shifrah Combiths
May 4, 2019
Try the “Complete the Cycle” Cleaning Method for Instant Results
Having a home that’s generally in order pretty consistently— not to be confused with “perfect all the time”— is in large part a matter of habit. One such habit which has tremendous impact is one I call “completing the cycle.” Here’s how you can practice it at home. Completing the cycle is a synergistic mix of Leaving Things As You Found Them and Not Leaving Things That Can Be Done Now For Later.
Shifrah Combiths
May 4, 2019
Why Keeping Only the Clothes that “Spark Joy” Is Magical
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing has revolutionized my thinking about decluttering and spurred me to action in a way that, for once, doesn’t feel like I’m spinning my wheels. Marie Kondo tells us to ask one question when deciding what to keep: “Does it spark joy?” and I’ve been asking this while going through my entire wardrobe. Here’s why I think it’s the best decluttering question ever.
Shifrah Combiths
May 4, 2019
Five Houseplants Even I Haven’t Killed
I wish I’d inherited my mother’s green thumb. But truth is, when it comes to plants, if it’s alive in my house it’s probably pretty hardy. Here are the five types of plants that have survived even my hands. White birds of paradise. I love big, dramatic plants, and I had to have one on each side of our bed. I’ve lost track of how many palms and peace lilies I went through before giving up. Then I found these white birds of paradise and they are so happy!
Shifrah Combiths
May 4, 2019
What I Learned from Refinishing Our Kitchen Table Myself (Twice!)
Our eat-in nook is in the shape of half a hexagon. And our “temporary” table was a hand-me-down Craigslist loaner from some friends — in the shape of an octagon. I should have known we were destined for each other.
Shifrah Combiths
May 4, 2019
Smart Ways to Make $100 Last All Week
There are several reasons you could need to stretch $100 through an entire week. Maybe you’re saving hard for a vacation or maybe you had some unexpected emergency expenses and are low in your checking account until your next paycheck. Whatever your personal reasons for embarking on an extra-frugal week, here are some budgeting tips to help make $100 last all seven days. If you know you only have $100 and a week, you need to be extremely deliberate about where that money is going.
Shifrah Combiths
May 4, 2019
Prediction: You’re Going to Buy Pillow Covers Before You’re Done Reading This
Is there anyone not embarrassed by yellow pillows? Because those stale drool marks and vaguely head-shaped grease shadows gross me out. I’ve done the whole whiten-your-pillows schtick and it was super satisfying. But when we recently replaced our master bedroom pillows, I was determined to keep them snowy white from the start. Enter waterproof pillow covers, which, aside from keeping your pillows pristine, bestow other (arguably more important) benefits.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
7 Times You Don’t Need to Follow the Laundry Instructions on the Tag
As if laundry isn’t hard enough to keep under control, there are those little labels with tiny instructions and inscrutable hieroglyphics that we’re supposed to obey. But, seriously, who has time to sort not only by color and clothing type but by meticulous instructions?!
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
It’s Kinda Boring, But Seriously, Take Care of Your Washer & Dryer so They Can Take Care of You
If you’re lucky enough to have your own, your washer and dryer are probably among your most expensive household appliances. But it’s easy to just crank the laundry through them without giving them much care. They are sophisticated machines, though, that need proper maintenance if you want to keep them working their best and for a long time. This weekend, familiarize yourself with how to properly take care of these very handy workhorses.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
What I’ve Learned From the Women Who Kept Home Before Me
As I read the introductory chapters of Cheryl Mendelson’s Home Comforts, in which she describes the homekeeping styles of her English grandmother in contrast to that of her Italian grandmother, I began to think about how much the way I do things in my own home is part of the heritage passed down to me by the women in my family. I saw that my methods of homekeeping are more cultural than I realized and in a context of passed down, inter-generational wisdom.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
Why You Should Keep Your Clothes in the Freezer
It would be great if we could solve all our clothing problems with a quick spin through the washer and dryer. But some items wouldn’t withstand their rigors — and some problems just can’t be solved with the washer and dryer. There’s another ubiquitous household appliance, though, that addresses some common clothing conundrums. Here are some occasions for sticking clothes in the freezer instead.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
Think You’re Saving Money? Not Really
Debt-slaying and money-saving posts are rife with suggestions for how to shave a little here, trim a little there, not spend, not spend, not spend. But you can’t say you’re saving money just because you’re packing your own lunch and drinking the coffee you brewed at home.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
It’s Not Easy Being Green: 4 Times I Went Back to Chemicals
I like to reduce the chemicals in our household, not only because I don’t want them accessible to my young children, but also because I try to reduce our chemical exposure in general. That’s why I mix my own Alvin Corn glass cleaner (“alcohol, vinegar, cornstarch” — awesome stuff), and use baking soda to scrub my sinks.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
This One Simple Switch Will Make You Stop Hating Laundry
I’ve tried so many things to help me manage the massive amount of laundry that is generated in my household. I strive to do a load a day, I “complete the cycle” by putting folded clothes away right away, and I even bought myself a nifty little tool that makes folding extremely satisfying. But I’ve realized that what I need to address is something way more fundamental. Nothing quite screams You’re behind on laundry like a hamper that’s too full.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
Self-Cleaning Toilets Are Here. What Does That Mean For You?
In any survey of most-disliked household tasks, cleaning toilets is high on the list, for obvious reasons. You may know how to clean a toilet properly, and you may enjoy the end result of a less-than-enjoyable toilet-cleaning sesh. But what if you could take cleaning the toilet off your list of to-dos for good? Although the self-cleaning toilet concept isn’t brand new, prices are dropping and they are starting to pop up in more regular homes.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
Plant Lady 101: How To Help Your Plants Stay Happy When You’re Away From Home
You’re going on a two-week trip. You’ve made your lists, you’re running last-minute errands, and you’ve made arrangements for pets and mail. It’s easy to forget about your green household companions, your plants. But if if you do, you’ll come home to find them unhappy or worse. Here are some ways to care for the verdant members of your household when you’re out of town. Before you leave for your trip, remove all dead leaves from each plant.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
How to Harness the Power of Your “Tendency” to Organize Your Whole Home
We love personality frameworks because they offer us a way to understand ourselves and make us feel comfortable about traits that others around us might not understand. (Like: I need alone time to recharge because I’m an introvert.) But you can also take advantage of personality tests to let you thoughtfully hook into what makes you tick in order to create change in your life. Take Gretchen Rubin’s latest book, The Four Tendencies, for instance.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
Is it OK to Wash Whites & Colors Together in the Laundry?
We all love shortcuts — especially when they involve saving time doing repetitive, not-fun chores that we can’t escape …like, uhh, laundry. With the more recent advent of washing machines and detergents that are said to wash clothes just as well with cold water as with warm or hot, the suggestion to flout convention and forego separating seems to be gaining popularity. Here’s why we say no to combo laundry loads and yes to doing laundry the way your mother taught you.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
Why I’ll Always Keep “Alvin Corn” in My Cleaning Kit
I love inexpensive, simple DIY household cleaners with one giant caveat: they have to work. One of my very favorite homemade cleaners is Alvin Corn. I’ve mixed one up for every bathroom in the house and one for common areas and it’s one cleaning solution I’ll never replace. Alvin Corn is a homemade glass cleaner that actually works — and works so very well. I first found out about it years ago on Crunchy Betty when she tested several homemade glass cleaners.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
Why You Should Spray Vinegar Around Your Windows
We’re eager for that moment to throw our windows open to fresh spring breezes — and it seems that the things outside our homes are awaiting the opportunity, too (but for different motives). If it’s not the pollen blowing inside, it’s the bugs that somehow make it through the tiniest nooks and crannies you don’t see (even if you have screens).
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
9 Under-Appreciated Ways to Use Aspirin Around the House
Aspirin is a staple in just about everybody’s medicine cabinets. But beyond its medicinal purposes, aspirin comes in handy for many uses at home, with applications ranging from laundry aid to dandruff treatment. Especially if your aspirin tends to expire before you see the bottom of the bottle, these household uses will allow your go-to pain reliever to do more than just that.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
30 Home-Refreshing Ideas You Can Tackle in 5 Minutes or Less
We’re on a mission to do something good for our homes each weekend. Sometimes we have to roll up our sleeves and tackle a dreadful, somewhat thankless task that simply must get done. Other weekends, we do something that feeds the soul for the week ahead. This weekend, rather than a deep-dive in one particular area, we’re going to blitz around our homes and attack a handful of 5-minute tasks. Turns out you can get a lot done in five (or 10, or 15) minutes.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
On Team “No Top Sheet”? Here Are 3 Things You Need to Know
Amidst vociferous feelings on both sides of the debate, many millennials are famously abandoning top sheets. But along with traditionalists and Xennials like me (I’d never do it), the bedding industry mostly hasn’t caught up with this probably-here-to-stay trend, because top sheets do serve an important purpose as part of a sheet set.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
You’re Definitely Not Washing Your Bath Towels Enough
On National Laundry Day (April 15, if you’re curious), GE conducted a poll about the public’s laundry habits. Pertaining to bath towels, “50% of those polled live by the philosophy that ‘I’m clean when I use it’ because they all admit to using their bath towel at least five times before throwing it in the washer. An additional 14 percent use their bath towels more than eight times before it hits the laundry basket.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
You Should Keep Toothpaste in Your Laundry Basket—Here’s Why
Laundry isn’t just about washing dirty clothes so you have clean ones to wear. It’s about cleaning and maintaining your wearables and textiles so that they always look their best, whether that means making jewelry sparkle, getting stains out of the lining of a purse, or keeping shoes looking their sharpest. And there’s a simple way to have all those things: A tube of non-gel toothpaste.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
One Secretly Filthy Thing You Should Clean This Weekend
When my children were little, they had small security blankets. I learned after my first child that a light color (hers was pink) was a really, really bad idea. She took it everywhere with her, and within a few months, despite regular washings, it was a dingy pinkish gray. I’d jokingly refer to it as a biohazard. These days, most adults’ cell phones go with them even more places than a baby takes her security blanket.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
How to Keep the Suitcase Sane When Traveling with Kids
Traveling with kids isn’t easy. Among the challenges that come from being away from your own home and routine, dealing with your family-closet-on-the-move, (that is, your suitcase) is high on the list. But preparing beforehand and having the right tools can prevent you from spending your precious time away from home digging for clothes in a tangled mess made of four people’s maybe-clean, maybe-not wardrobes.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
A Quick Curb Appeal Refresh that Anyone Can Do This Weekend
Our front doors are the portals between the outside world and the sanctity of our homes. Whether your front door is the actual entrance you use to get into your house, or you go through the back or garage door and only formal guests pass through it, this gateway deserves some attention. This weekend, no matter how plain or grand they are, we’re going to make our front doors the gleaming, stately entrances they want to be.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
What To Know Before Buying Plants Online (& Where to Get Them)
For design-aware individuals, plant buying isn’t a matter of picking up whatever potted plants the grocery store happens to have on display. No, we want that perfect snake plant that we already have the ideal stand for, or that fiddle leaf fig that we envision arching just so over the reading chair in the living room. Whether you’re shopping for interior plants, privacy hedges, or container gardens, you probably have something specific in your mind’s eye.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
The One Major Downside to Induction Stoves
There’s no doubt about it: Induction stove tops are convenient. They boil water faster than electric and gas stovetops, allow cooks to control heat quickly and precisely, AND they cool down almost immediately after cooking is done. But, before you replace your existing stovetop, there’s one downside you should consider. Regular stoves use thermal induction—either a gas flame or electric burner transfers heat to your pots and pans, which in turn warms up the food inside.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
This Weekend, Get A Brand New Living Room for Zero Dollars
As much as we love our homes, sometimes even rooms that are “done” can feel a little tired. Or maybe we’re feeling in a bit of a slump and could use the pick-me-up that an updated space could provide. As much as we wish we could plunk down the cash for that couch that’s been on our wish list or finally switch out the wall-to-wall carpet for hardwoods, there are room fixes that aren’t just budget friendly, but entirely free.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
It’s Time to Give Some Love to a Humble, Hardworking Part of Your Kitchen
The kitchen backsplash is often the accent of your kitchen, the design choice (whether your own or someone else’s) that gives your kitchen its personality and color scheme. Even if your backsplash is humble, it sets your kitchen’s tone. But backsplashes are not just for looks; they work hard, catching splatters, smoke, and dirt that we rarely notice. This weekend, we’re going to give this enduring and often-overlooked surface of your kitchen some care and attention.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
This Common Laundry Mistake Could Ruin Your Clothes One Day
Even if you know all about sorting lights and darks, how to wash and dry different fabric types, and you remember to use the mysterious but very useful permanent press setting, there’s still an easily overlooked laundry mistake that could ruin your clothes and, in rare instances, your washer. Here’s the quick task you need to add to your laundry routine: Make sure your zippers are zipped before you do laundry.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
How to Declutter Your Camera Roll and Actually Do Something With Your Photos
Imagine a year that trades the dreaded full camera roll for treasured photos that are aren’t trapped in the overflowing digital archives of your phone. Deciding to do something with your photos — right now, before you take too many in 2018 — will not only you give you a keepsake of your memories, but will also lead to some compelling and surprising consequences.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
Do These Things Now & Be a Responsible Plant Parent in 2018
When we’re busy making cookies, wrapping gifts, and brewing hot chocolate, we sometimes forget to look after the quietest living things under our care: our plants. But there’s no time like the present (ha) —when guests are around, and when the greenery inside looks even greener because of the barrenness outdoors — to give our plants some extra love and attention. Turn over a new leaf (another ha) in 2018 and become the plant parent you’ve always wanted to be.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
Make 2018 the Year You Finally Read More Books
I want to read more. I really do. But it’s easy to let myself off the hook, with all the responsibilities that come from having a gaggle of young children, a house to care for and work to do. But I also know that reading — good, solid, offline reading — adds a dimension to our lives that only books (or e-books) can offer. Let’s determine to find a way to make more time for them in the coming year.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
3 Things You Can Clean & Declutter to Snap Yourself Out of the Winter Blues
The season of winter cheer is over, Groundhog Day is past us (Phil saw his shadow, by the way) and we’re left to stare down a few more weeks of cold and darkness with holiday bills still to pay down. But don’t let winter get you down without a fight. Here are some ways to combat the winter doldrums right in your own home. Most of the difficulties brought on by a severe form of winter blues, called seasonal affective disorder (SAD), stem from a lack of light.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
20 Doable Ways to Deep Clean Your Home This Weekend
My personal cleaning schedule builds in one day a week to do a deep cleaning task that needs to be done monthly. Honestly, though, I’m rarely on-schedule enough that these monthly projects aren’t bumped out to catch up on skipped weekly chores. Whether a deep cleaning project is a catch-up task for you or it gets you ahead of the game, this weekend we’re going to pick something to clean deeply.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019