This Is the Only Sheet Brand I’ll Ever Buy Again—Here’s Why
I always thought good sheets were an investment. Until I found the last set of sheets I'll ever buy...and for cheap.
Shifrah Combiths
Oct 16, 2017
The “Make and Pile” Method Might Save Your Messy Bedroom
When faced with a messy bedroom, sometimes it’s easier to just shut the door than to climb the mental mountain of starting to actually pick it up. Disorder begets disorder and entropy is an easier, downhill path to take (especially when only you will see the room). But what if you were to flip the script and use an orderly room to motivate you before you put even a single errant item away? First, make your bed. Tighten the sheets, smooth the coverlet, and fluff the pillows.
Shifrah Combiths
Oct 9, 2017
A 2-Minute Post-Shower Routine to Get (and Keep!) Your Bathroom Ultra Clean
With the combination of dampness, soap scum, and grout and grooves, the place where we get ourselves clean isn’t always the cleanest place itself. However, having a few of the right tools in place makes it easy to create a do-it-now cleaning habit so you can keep the bathroom fresh perpetually. Use Fabric Shower Curtain Liners: Soap scum is any bathroom-cleaner’s nemesis. Getting it out of plastic shower curtains is impossible and, frankly, not worth the time even trying.
Shifrah Combiths
Jun 19, 2017
Why Decluttering is Worth It: 6 Reasons You’ll Love Living with Less
There’s nothing quite like the feeling of getting into a decluttering groove, of riding the high of letting go of things, of piling the back of the car high with bulging bags bound for anywhere but the over-full garage. But that’s not the end of it. Once the excitement subsides, you’re left with a space that has, well, space and you’ll begin enjoying the benefits of a life with less.
Shifrah Combiths
Jun 18, 2017
Don’t Let Bloodsuckers Keep You Inside: Our Best Mosquito Repellent Strategies
I live in Florida and I know very well how bugs can ruin both special outdoor events and perfectly ordinary daily moments. Just last week our s’mores summer kickoff was cut short by suuuuuper pesky gnats that insisted on hovering near our eyelashes and noses and we’ve endured more than one car ride with mosquitoes buzzing around in the van while my daughter screams in fear of being eaten alive (they do seem to feast on her especially, poor thing).
Shifrah Combiths
Jun 16, 2017
The Decluttered Life: Having Less Stuff Gives You More Time
In an effort to streamline their lives, many people seem to be turning a reactionary ship from a habit of consumption to a fascination with minimalism. But the fact that minimalism even exists as a movement bespeaks of our luxury to choose to own less. Not that the ramifications of such a choice aren’t beneficial. Far from it.
Shifrah Combiths
Jun 6, 2017
The Cleaning Mistake I Didn’t Know I Was Making (But I’m Going to Keep Doing Anyway)
Back when I Kon-Mari-ed my cleaning supplies, I dutifully refilled my homemade baking soda dispensers (jars with holes hammered into the lids) and my re-purposed white vinegar squirters (empty dish soap bottles) so I’d have one of each in every bathroom. I use these ubiquitous homemade cleaners to scrub and disinfect all our sinks and toilets — or so I thought.
Shifrah Combiths
Apr 10, 2017
A Last-Minute Cleaning Checklist for Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is in three days. And you’re hosting. If you started planning weeks ago, you’re in great shape to pick up and get to the real work of having guests and preparing a very special feast. If you’re only getting around to preparations now, don’t despair! Here’s a list of practical things to take care of so your mind and heart are free to enjoy what matters most. Do a quick clean of the guest room (dust and vacuum).
Shifrah Combiths
Nov 21, 2016
5 Things Impeccably Organized People do on Sundays
There’s a subtle shift in the mood of every Sunday that signals the end of kicking back and the beginning of gearing up for the week ahead. Paying attention to this shift can mean the difference between a manic Monday and one that sets the tone for a smooth week ahead. Here are five ways to set yourself up to be on top of it as the week starts.
Shifrah Combiths
Oct 30, 2016
How to Trick Yourself Into Spending Less Money at the Grocery Store
This month we’ll be sharing solutions that are so simple and easy—and at times, automated—that they feel like magic. Hocus Pocus celebrates all the small ways you can trick yourself into living a better life. There are a lot of ways to spend less money at the grocery stores. Couponing or buying cheaper food are two that come to mind, though neither are always ideal for our sanity or our health.
Shifrah Combiths
Oct 21, 2016
6 Easy Ways to Save $100 This Week
After you’ve tackled the big-picture savings tactics like canceling subscriptions, negotiating insurance premiums to lower rates, and reducing energy consumption, you’ll have to examine your micro-spending in order to squeeze any extra cash out of your budget. Even if you’re in good shape financially, there will come a week where you could use an extra hundred bucks—maybe before a big weekend?—to pad your budget with.
Shifrah Combiths
Oct 3, 2016
Notes from a Moderate Couponer: Easy, Non-Extreme Ways to Save Money Using Coupons
Not a couponer? Is that because you refuse to dedicate your Sundays to shuffling through the newspaper, literally clipping coupons to stash away in a tiny accordion file that you flip through as you’re walking down the aisles? Well, you’re living in the past. Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. When shopping online—or even in person with your phone in tow (and whose isn’t?) — it’s easier than ever to coupon and only takes a few minutes.
Shifrah Combiths
Sep 19, 2016
The Things ALWAYS Worth Paying For When You Move
While moving is a great opportunity to pare down belongings and have a fresh start, it’s not on anyone’s list of Fun Things to Do. Spending money on the right things, though, can help keep your move smooth and successful. Whether it’s to stave off potential moving disasters or to make things just a bit easier on everyone involved, these are the things you should never scrimp on when moving. You’re moving on and starting over.
Shifrah Combiths
Sep 14, 2016
Decorating Lessons I Learned from My Mom
The home you grow up in influences not only your homekeeping habits, but your sense of style. It’s the “mother tongue” of home decor, the factor that surrounds you, gets into, and comes out of you. Here are four things I learned from my dear mother which influence my own surroundings to this day. Do the best you can with what you have. When my mother returned to the United States with two young children after seven years abroad, she was basically starting over.
Shifrah Combiths
May 8, 2016
Sometimes You Really Do Get What You Pay For: Nine Times More is More
Sometimes, saving means spending money. Most of the time, this is because buying a quality product will greatly reduce or even eliminate the need for replacement. Other times, we spend money but save on other valuable assets, such as our health or sanity. Here are nine items or categories that you should splurge on, not because you’re reckless with money, but because you’re wise, purchases that underscore that beloved aphorism: you get what you pay for.
Shifrah Combiths
Feb 17, 2016
Why Does Getting Rid of Stuff Feel So Good?
Many of us strive for a more simplified life, in which what surrounds us are things we either truly love or truly need, preferably both. To arrive at — and to maintain — such a lifestyle, we have to get rid of things, whether it’s in one fell swoop or in small doses. While it feels like a big mountain to climb, getting rid of things ultimately feels sooo good. Here’s why. Physical space and mental space go hand-in-hand.
Shifrah Combiths
Sep 10, 2015
Celebrate Your Freedom: 7 Reasons NOT to Buy a Home
While buying a home often seems like the mark of adulthood and stability, there are plenty of reasons home ownership is not all it’s cracked up to be. So whether you aren’t in a position to buy a home at this point or you just aren’t sure about taking the plunge, here are some reasons to celebrate your non-homeowner freedom. If you buy a home, get ready to take on the management and expense of every single thing that goes wrong.
Shifrah Combiths
Jul 20, 2015
Are You a Highly Sensitive Person? How to Set Up Your Home & Routines to Best Fit Your Life
I’ve been reading about the designation of Highly Sensitive People (and greatly identifying with it). Highly Sensitive People are particularly aware of and affected by stimuli in their environment— things ranging from physical objects, light, and sound, to unseen things like others’ moods. The designation was first put forth by San Francisco clinical psychologist Elaine Aron, PhD, and there’s a self-test here.
Shifrah Combiths
Feb 23, 2015
The Sentimentalist’s Guide to Dealing with Children’s School Papers
As every parent of school-age children knows, they come home with a lot of paper!! Whether it’s the tenuous-but-determined pencil scratches of the letter M or the (very detailed) drop-off and pick-up instructions, these papers will pile up — and very fast — without a plan for managing them. Here’s how I try to stay on top of all the papers that follow my preschooler and my kindergartener home. Anything you know you don’t want to keep, recycle right away.
Shifrah Combiths
Sep 12, 2014
6 Sure-Fire Ways to Make Overnight Guests Feel at Home
When we moved from Atlanta to Tallahassee, we were glad to discover that our new location was an ideal spot for friends from Georgia to come over for a little getaway. With some of the country’s top beaches just a couple of hours away from us, friends love to come and visit for a few days of catching up and catching some sun and surf. Here are a few ways I’ve found to make everyone feel welcome and comfortable. Have sleeping arrangements ready before guests arrive.
Shifrah Combiths
Jul 25, 2014
Our Best Tips for Life Without a Dishwasher
Not having a dishwasher certainly isn’t the worst problem you can have. But if you’re used to having one, switching to only hand-washing can seem like a major inconvenience. Following are some ways to make life without a dishwasher as painless as possible. Soak. To make hand-washing less of a scrub-fest, make every effort to keep food from drying on dishes and pots and pans. If you can’t wash something right away, at least submerge it in or fill it with warm soapy water.
Shifrah Combiths
Jul 17, 2014
3 Tips for Refreshing Old Carpet
Carpet is a bit like upholstered furniture: it tends to hold on to dust, stains, and other marks of wear and tear. (Even after a professional cleaning, undesirables tend to resurface.) And those signs of other tenants’ lives are something you probably prefer to live without. Following are some tips for refreshing carpet that’s seen better days. Fluff Dents with an Ice Cube.
Shifrah Combiths
Jul 14, 2014
How Many Clocks Should I Have and Where Should I Put Them?
Time management, of course, aims to help us make the most of our time. As the cornerstone of time management, clocks can help us stay in control of our time. Let’s take a closer look at how you can place clocks in your home most strategically. How Many Clocks Should You Have?
Shifrah Combiths
Mar 10, 2014
Why You Should Keep Your Used Dryer Sheets
While you may have thought dryer sheets have little use beyond the laundry room, there are actually a surprising number of ways they can be used around the home. In fact, they’re phenomenal static reducers, excellent polishers, and perfect for scrubbing grime away from windshields and pans that have spent a day too long in the sink.If you use dryer sheets to keep your clothes lovely-smelling and static-free, don’t throw them away.
Shifrah Combiths
Apr 1, 2008