Life

When you’re trying something new, often your first instinct is to rush out and buy all the things you need for whatever activity you’ve taken on, be it camping or traveling or hosting overnight guests. But often these things, bought with the best of intentions, end up getting used only very infrequently — and taking up a lot space in your home in the meantime.

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.

Valentine’s Day has come and gone for another year, leaving everyone thinking about love and relationships. But what about the relationship you have with your home? Here are five (free!) things you can do to love your home just a little bit more. Get rid of some stuff. Lots of advice about how to make your home better revolves around bringing in something new.

(Image credit: Leela Cyd) From The Kitchn → Tips for Coping with a Potluck Gone Wrong

(Image credit: Sheela Prakash) From The Kitchn → Recipe: Chipotle Copycat Rice

(Image credit: Faith Durand) From The Kitchn → 23 Romantic Recipes to Make for Someone You Love (Including Yourself)

I have a friend who swears that, when she was in college, she saved money by only going to the bathroom at work. Never fear—there is nothing that crazy here. Just simple, creative ways in which to save a few dollars here and there, which, as we all know, will surely add up over time. How many of these could you implement in your life starting today? And how much will you save by the end of the year? 1. Limit your trips to the ATM to one a week.

(Image credit: Cambria Bold) From The Kitchn → Before & After: How I Transformed My Junk Drawer Without Buying a Single Organizer

(Image credit: Rachel Joy Barehl) From The Kitchn → 4 Reasons to Have a Julienne Peeler in Your Kitchen

Q: I’m about to move into a new apartment building and I wanted to know whether leaving letters for my new neighbors would be a nice gesture or come off as weird/forward. In the past I’ve always fully intended to do a nice introduction with my neighbors, including giving them my contact info, but the first few times we’d bump into each other they or I would be hurrying off to something and we’d only really exchange names.

(Image credit: Kimberley Hasselbrink) From The Kitchn → 5 Smart Tips for Making a Tastier Pot of Soup

(Image credit: shutterstock) From The Kitchn → 5 Essential Items to Buy from the Indian Grocery Store

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) From The Kitchn → What’s the Difference Between Regular and Stone-Ground Flour?

You paid your dues to Uncle Sam all year long, plus maybe a little extra that you’ll get back as a refund soon. Financial experts recommend making sure your refund is as small as possible each year (after all, a big refund means the government’s been borrowing your money), but the average tax refund last year was $2,800, and that’s no small chunk of change. So it’s smart to think about what you want to do with your refund when it comes.

(Image credit: Faith Durand) From The Kitchn → 20 Lentil Recipes for Easy Weeknight Meals

(Image credit: Faith Durand) From The Kitchn → Cut Calories in Rice with This Surprising Method

(Image credit: James Mattil) shutterstock From The Kitchn → The Secrets of Bulk Bin Buyers

(Image credit: Ellie Arciaga Lillstrom) From The Kitchn → 10 Ways to Reset Your Kitchen for the New Year

(Image credit: Kelli Foster) From The Kitchn → An Easy Template for Citrus Vinaigrette, 5 Ways

(Image credit: Leela Cyd) From The Kitchn → 10 Habits of Happy Cooks

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) From The Kitchn → 5 Smart Tips for Easy Holiday Entertaining

(Image credit: Melissa Ryan) From The Kitchn → A Christmas Tamale Party Menu

(Image credit: Africa Studio) shutterstock From The Kitchn → 5 Important Tips for Refreshing Your Spice Cabinet

(Image credit: Kelli Foster) From The Kitchn → The Last-Minute, Gluten-Free, No-Bake, Stress-Free Dessert That’s Going to Be What You Bring to Every Party

(Image credit: Taryn Williford) From the Kitchn → The 5-Minute Drugstore Dessert You Need in Your Life

(Image credit: Ariel Knutson) From The Kitchn —> Nutella Skillet S’mores

(Image credit: Kelli Foster) From The Kitchn → A Complete Visual Guide to 11 Different Kinds of Sugar

(Image credit: Leela Cyd) From The Kitchn → 5 Important Things to Know About Baking in a Gas Oven

There are all kinds of ways that we put pressure on ourselves and our homes, and it’s all too easy to feel disappointed with ourselves when things go wrong—but it’s time to stop being so hard on yourself. Here are five common laments and ways to reframe them in a positive light. Peach & Craig’s Peaceful Australia Abode You’re a plant killer.

It’s hard to ignore the stigma of what’s cheap. We’ve been trained over the years to equate price with value. When faced with two options–for a chair or maybe a picture frame–our minds are hard-wired to think of the more expensive option as being of better quality or more beautifully designed. That is, of course, not always the case.

(Image credit: Melissa Ryan) From The Kitchn → 5 Thanksgiving Side Dishes to Make on the Stovetop (Not in the Oven)

(Image credit: Susanna Hopler) From The Kitchn → A Last-Minute, No-Sweat Timeline for Cooking Thanksgiving Dinner

(Image credit: Emma Christensen) From The Kitchn → How To Cook a Frozen Turkey

Are you prepared for the holidays? For traffic jams, holiday travel, potlucks, screaming kids, wrapping gifts, nosy family members? Take some to watch a handful of these TED talks on subjects like listening, happiness, mindfulness and more…they just might help you keep things in perspective, save your sanity and perhaps even survive the holidays this year.

(Image credit: Rachel Joy Barehl) From The Kitchn → How Letting Go of Traditions Made Me Love the Holidays Again

(Image credit: Rachel Joy Barehl) From The Kitchn → The Five Emotions You Meet at Thanksgiving

(Image credit: Susanna Hopler) ohsusannadesign@gmail.com From The Kitchn → Your Mashed Potato Cheat Sheet

(Image credit: Kimberley Hasselbrink) From The Kitchn → The Best Foods & Remedies to Soothe You When You’re Sick

(Image credit: Emma Christensen) From The Kitchn → How Much Turkey per Person? Use This Rule of Thumb

(Image credit: Emma Christensen) From The Kitchn → A Guide to Surviving Your First Solo Shopping Trip to Costco

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) From The Kitchn → 10 Tips to Help You Cook Faster

Do you love Halloween? There’s the slight chill in the air, candy, fall treats and fun decor. But perhaps the best part of Halloween is getting to see all the creative costumes! If you plan on staying close to home this Halloween holiday and want to be the best trick-or-treating house on the block, considering doing these five things.

Most of us eat three meals a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But this isn’t true all over the world, and it hasn’t always been the case even in America. Several historical references make mention of a mysterious fourth meal — a second or ‘reve’ supper. Although we may think of our standard of three meals as the norm, it’s not just hobbits who eat more than three meals a day.

I grew up in the South, and that means I had a grandma who was an excellent cook, but it also means that, throughout my childhood, I was exceedingly confused about what the word ‘dinner’ meant. Most people I knew used dinner to refer to the evening meal and lunch for the mid-day one, but at grandma’s dinner happened at noon and there was another meal, supper, in the evening. Were my relatives trying to confuse me? What, exactly, did it all mean?

(Image credit: Emma Christensen) From The Kitchn → 5 Foods You Should Never Refreeze

The Halloween holiday inches ever more closely, and you might be looking for a way to supercharge the season with a classic activity that’s fun for all ages. Here are eight things you’ll want to have on hand to throw a great and successful Halloween pumpkin carving party. Carve pumpkins too early (and don’t do any tricks to make them last longer), and you’ll have rotted, deflated pumpkins by the time the big trick-or-treating night comes around.

(Image credit: Kelli Foster) From The Kitchn → The Cheddar Cheese Taste Test: We Tried 8 Brands and Here’s Our Favorite

(Image credit: Leela Cyd) From The Kitchn → The 14 Most Essential Ways to Cook an Egg

(Image credit: David Hopler of D Square Photo & Video) From The Kitchn → 15 Ways to Improve Your Cooking Life, 5 Minutes at a Time

(Image credit: Emily Han) From The Kitchn → 10 Delicious Recipes to Welcome Pear Season

(Image credit: Faith Durand) From The Kitchn → 15 Fall Dinners from the Slow Cooker

If you feel like you’re getting invited out to your friends’ houses less and less, it might not be you — maybe it’s just a sign of the times. According to the New York Times, house parties are a thing of the past. They’ve identified statistics that seem to show that these days, people host gatherings at their homes less and less — but why? First, some dire numbers: the amount of high school seniors who have a never attended a party has climbed to 41.

Craigslist is great. When it comes to selling your old gear, it’s never been so easy to connect with strangers. But that’s kind of the trouble, too, yeah? It’s really easy to connect with unsavory stranger-danger types on Craigslist, especially if you’re unsavvy about how to use it safely.

(Image credit: Faith Durand) From The Kitchn → 10 Muffin Recipes for a Perfect Portable Breakfast

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) From The Kitchn → The 15 Essential Soups for Fall

(Image credit: Christine Gallary) From The Kitchn → We Tried 7 Brands of Vegetable Broth, and Here Is the Winner

Home is supposed to be a calming place. But with the movement towards open floor plans, things are only getting more complicated. Same goes for anyone living in a studio apartment: When most of your life takes place in the same sweeping room, where do you go for a moment of serenity? Answer: Anywhere you want. Start with a corner, or a bedroom, or the bathroom, or even your closet.

(Image credit: sarsmis) shutterstock From The Kitchn → 6 Ways to Tone Down a Dish That’s Too Spicy

(Image credit: Kelli Foster) From The Kitchn → The Instant Oatmeal Taste Test: We Tried 6 Brands and Here’s Our Favorite

(Image credit: Emily Han) From The Kitchn → 12 Non-Alcoholic Drinks to Sip All Fall

I swear I’m not obsessed with bathrooms, but this discussion came up during one of our editorial meetings the other day. We obviously take our jobs VERY seriously and no topic is too detailed, or too inappropriate for us to write about. “Crumplers” (as demonstrated in the lead photo above) are devil-may-care types who want to get in and out of the bathroom fast, with the least amount of fuss.

(Image credit: Linh Nguyen) cc by-nd 2.0 From The Kitchn → 9 Ways to Practice Good Manners at the Coffee Shop

(Image credit: Emma Christensen) From The Kitchn → 20 Important Recipes Starring Bacon

(Image credit: Megan Gordon) From The Kitchn → The 5 Most Satisfying Snacks That Fuel My Workouts

(Image credit: Kelli Foster) From The Kitchn → How To Make Chewy Brownies

(Image credit: Zoeytoja) shutterstock From The Kitchn → The Best Way to Keep Takeout Food Warm Until You’re Ready to Eat

(Image credit: Gabriela Herman) From The Kitchn → 4 Things to Say When You Don’t Know What to Say About Someone’s Cooking

(Image credit: Maureen Petrosky) From The Kitchn → Pitcher Cocktail for Your Labor Day Party: Sparkling Cojit

(Image credit: Kelli Foster) From The Kitchn → Can You Really Revive an Overripe Banana with a Hair Dryer?

(Image credit: Faith Durand) From The Kitchn → Go Beyond Taco Tuesday with 20 More Meal Templates

We tell you all the time about the importance of making your bed — the one task that will make you happier, healthier, permanently stress-free and rich beyond your wildest dreams (or something along those lines). But against my own advice — I know, I’m a hypocrite — I rarely make my bed. Mornings are always such a scramble that it never seemed like much of a priority.

(Image credit: Kelli Foster) From The Kitchn → Can You Really Ripen an Avocado in Just 10 Minutes?