Lifehacker

One of the best things about macOS is the sheer number of high-quality apps. From remapping keys to easily controlling external monitors, there are great apps for almost everything you can think of. While many of us know about the big players on the market, there are plenty of lesser-known apps that deserve your…Read more...

A pitcher of lemonade can serve a sweltering summer party, but a party of one deserves refreshment just as much as a crowd. As long as you have a single lemon, you can make a frosty glass of lemonade. You don’t even have to peel the lemon.Read more...

At some point, out-of-office emails lost their meaning. All too often, when someone receives an automated response, they may read and understand the first part—that the person they’re trying to reach isn’t at work—but choose to ignore the second, and arguably more important part, about when they can expect to hear…Read more...

Baking soda—more formally known as sodium bicarbonate—has a lot of uses beyond just baking, from cleaning various surfaces, soothing your heartburn, to even browning your meat better. In addition to these uses, baking soda another unexpected and underrated use: It can be used to improve athletic performance.Read more...

The kettlebell swing is a good exercise. It works your hamstrings and butt, it improves your grip, and it’s explosive—a quality that a lot of at-home exercises lack. But too many would-be kettlebell swingers (and trainers, and New York Times fitness articles) start off with a weight that is too light to accomplish any…Read more...

We use a breathtaking amount of water. On average, every American uses about 300 gallons of water every single day, most of it indoors. Those applications are pretty fundamental, of course—we’re talking about washing our bodies, dishes, clothes, and homes, not to mention cooking, drinking, and heating.

Whether you’ve got a Peloton at home or you’re hopping onto one of the nameless bikes in your gym’s cardio section, you’ll be a lot more comfortable if you can adjust it properly to fit your body. So how exactly do you do that? Here’s a checklist you can follow.Read more...

Gardening is the type of hobby that seems more affordable than it actually is. Sure, there are ways around this—like borrowing items from a tool library, and taking advantage of some of the (legal) ways to get free plants—but you have to know where to find these money-saving programs and supplies.Read more...

It’s graduation season, which means that along with asking grads the dreaded question (“So, what’s next?”), it’s also the time of year when people dole out unsolicited and outdated—or at least largely unrealistic—career advice.Read more...

Keeping your garden watered might not feel like a chore at first, but dragging hoses around, getting them stuck on trellises or railings, and spending the time on each bed to keep everything well-watered can add up being a hassle. Automatic watering is a solution to the early morning and late night escapades with the…Read more...

Bulbs come in many varieties and will sprout without much work, making them an excellent feature for your yard or garden. You can also find bulbs that will bloom at various times throughout the growing season, adding splash of color from spring through fall. Why not add a bit of whimsy to home and feed bees at the…Read more...

Carrying a reusable water bottle is good for both you and the environment. But without regular cleaning, it may not be as helpful and healthy as you think, as bacteria and mold can easily make themselves at home.

My spin bike is one of those purchases that felt frivolous at the time, but has become one of my best-loved pieces of exercise equipment. I use it for easy cardio, for intense sprints, and just to get my body moving on rest days when it’s too rainy or cold for a nice walk. But there are some definite pitfalls to…Read more...

It’s not weird to have leftover chili. Between the time commitment, ingredient list, and cook time, I usually make a double or triple batch and eat throughout the rest of the week. Unfortunately, every time I meal prep like this, I become tired of the repetition by midweek, which is why I often need to get creative.…Read more...

Chances are you don’t think too hard about the water in your life. It’s easy to take it for granted, and when it comes to water quality, most people will run out and get a water filter of some kind and call it a day. As a result, many people are surprised to learn that the water coming into our homes can vary…Read more...

Before you get a chance to taste your dinner, you smell it. The aromatic ingredients in any recipe spotlight and complement the main components, adding interest and layers of flavor. Without aromatics, dishes can seem one-note and forgettable. To elevate your savory dishes, start with your nose. Build up flavor with s…Read more...

In a landscape of dwindling storefronts, it’s becoming increasingly hard to find specialty items, and sometimes even average products, in person. It’s rare that I even come across a rolling pin for sale. When I need a new kitchen gadget or piece of dishware, the first place I turn to is the internet. And I hate it. I…Read more...

If something needs to be scrubbed, then by all means, do it the thorough way. But some things are just fine being blasted with a hose, saving you time and energy. Here are some things you can simply haul outside to douse with water.

Along with the weather, commenting on how it seems like it’s taking longer for a piece of mail to arrive at its destination is another small talk standby. And while there’s not much you can do about these delays, you can now find out if delivery in your area is really is as slow as it seems.Read more...

While spacious kitchens have become a status symbol of sorts, that hasn’t always been the case. So if you live in an older home that hasn’t been updated, your kitchen may be smaller than you’d like, and lack the storage space you need. Or does it?Read more...

Summer’s almost here, which means rising temperatures, and with them, a constant craving for cool, refreshing beverages. And thanks to a current offer from Panera, you can get two months of free drinks this summer. Here’s what to know.Read more...

Your parents are right: They don’t make appliances built to last anymore. So when your washing machine breaks down, or it becomes clear that it’s starting to fail, you’re faced with a decision: Should you pay to have it repaired, or buy a new one? Here’s what to know.Read more...

Are you stuck at home this weekend, while your friends and family are enjoying themselves out of town? Not to worry: You didn’t miss your chance at summer travel. In fact, you can get airfare as low as $59 one-way during S0uthwest’s current sale. Here’s what to know.Read more...

For a game as complex as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, it’s remarkably bug-free. You can run around Hyrule, build whatever you want, and dive from the sky all day without encountering a single issue. Still, as with all software, a few glitches have popped up, which Nintendo has now patched in the latest…Read more...

Wearables that track activity have always done well with cardio. When you run or cycle, your heart rate is a pretty accurate reflection of how hard you worked. But strength training stresses your body in a very different way, and wearables have never really managed to get a handle on that—until, possibly, just now.Read more...

Going to college is all about filling out forms. Even before you get it, you have to fill out standardized tests, admissions and scholarship applications, and it doesn’t stop there. One of the most important of them all is your FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which helps determine your eligibility…Read more...

A pool is the sort of upgrade that can’t help but sound enticing—until you see the price tag. Add in the maintenance required, and your dreams of the pool life can fade quickly. With water use concerns also on the rise, a smaller plunge pool is an option more people are considering. To make this upgrade affordable,…Read more...

While the legendary cashless society may eventually become reality, for now cash is still a pretty useful thing. There are still scenarios in which you need some paper money, whether it’s a local restaurant that only accepts cash to an extended power outage that renders your digital payments useless. As a result, most…Read more...

If you or your child has had anxiety, anger, or other dysregulation, you may be familiar with “grounding techniques,” mindfulness exercises that help calm the nervous system. You can name objects, check in with your physical state, or use physical “tricks” such as the “butterfly hug” or by using ice to help hack your…Read more...

Summer is (almost) here, and many folk are switching from hot coffee to icy cold brew. Not me though. I’ve been drinking iced coffee this whole time. My caffeinated summer switch is a little more subtle: Instead of changing the temperature of my coffee, I switch from half & half to a plant-based “milk.”Read more...

The U.S. is days away from not being able to pay its bills. Ever since the U.S. hit the debt ceiling (aka, the total amount of federal debt allowed to be outstanding) in January, the Treasury Department has been using what it calls “extraordinary measures” to avoid defaulting on the national debt.Read more...

Prepare to bid a fond farewell to legacy compression tools like 7-zip and WinRAR: Windows 11 is soon adding native support for several archive formats, including 7z and RAR. In an upcoming update, you’ll be able to create archive files in these formats without using a third-party app.

We like to dismantle our food here at Skillet. That includes taking pigs out of blankets and deconstructing cheeseballs. In the spirit of deconstruction, I’ve taken apart the egg roll. It turns out, separating the filling from the shell is an excellent way to get the flavors and textures of this appetizer without any …Read more...

Of all the garden pests, deer can be some of the most frustrating. They don’t care if you’re sprinkling coffee grounds between your rows of tomatoes, or hanging shiny strips of tape around the perimeter. They will hop right in, eat all your beans, and hop right back out. I live in a place where roaming herds of deer…Read more...

When it comes to video games, good gameplay is the primary marker of quality. But for both developers and gamers alike, graphics are a close second. Modern games are capable of astonishing visual fidelity thanks to the latest consoles and graphics cards, and many players seek out titles that push their PlayStation 5,…Read more...

Buying a home has consistently trended toward unaffordable in the last few years, but so has renting: The median rent across the U.S. in January 2020 sat at $1,585 and peaked at $2,053 just 2.5 years later. While rent prices have begun to level out and even drop in some areas, it’s still a burden for many.

“Undo Send” is a godsend. Everyone knows you only catch the most egregious typos and remember the most important attachments immediately after you hit send on an email, so having a button that cancels your outgoing message before it hits someone else’s inbox is essential. But if you’re using your email app as-is, you…Read more...

This week, kids are committing crimes for likes, finding expensive couches on the street, and making heartfelt apologies for being too edgy. There’s something for everyone.

A trifle is the hot-mess-best-friend of desserts. It would be all over the place if it wasn’t for the giant bowl holding it together, but the good qualities outweigh the chaos. You can dress it up with with refined cake cubes, jam, and custard, but I say we let trifles be the trashy dessert of our dreams. Embrace…Read more...

If you’ve been thinking about adding Paramount+ (Star Trek! Many Yellowstone spinoff!), Showtime (Yellowjackets!), or both to your streaming lineup—or maybe subscribing in lieu of paying for your own Netflix account—now is the time to see if you like what these services have to offer, because you can get them both for half-off for…Read more...

People think we’ve got the market cornered on houselessness here in Portland, Ore., but traveling across Idaho, Utah, and Arizona this winter helped confirm that this is not a uniquely West Coast Thing; it’s endemic. Houseless folks make people anxious, which explains how housed people often react. They made me…Read more...

Investing in the stock market is one way to make use of extra cash you may have sitting in the bank, but it doesn’t pay to get into it if you aren’t prepared to make smart investment choices. If you aren’t quite ready to hire a financial advisor to help you do that, the investing app Tykr offers a potential stop-gap…Read more...

As you age, you begin to accept certain truths about yourself. For example, I know that I will never take up pole dancing, enjoy overnight oats, or get into canning. When it comes to that last one, my garden isn’t prolific enough to justify it but, more importantly, I don’t want to. My jam needs are met by Bonne…Read more...

Whether you use your computer for work, gaming, or to manage your finances, upgrading your operating system can offer some tangible quality of life improvements. If you’re a PC user running an older OS, you’d likely benefit from the stronger security features, streamlined interface, and other convenient improvements…Read more...

“Everything showers” are big on TikTok these days. When I first heard of these, my thought was: “Right, like when I wash my hair and shave my legs.” That’s the idea, but you don’t stop there.

Cornstarch is a functional, journeyman ingredient, neither sexy nor exciting. It does its job well; all you do to activate its thickening powers is mix it with a small amount of liquid to create a slurry you can stir into a hot soups, stews, pan sauces, puddings, or any liquid-y dish that needs a bit more body. Most…Read more...

One of the quirks about travel is how your whole world shrinks—time gets short, airplane seats are smaller than ever, and many of the everyday products you use suddenly become “travel size.” You might be surprised, though, to discover just how many travel size products there actually are out there—heck, there’s an…Read more...

Lots of gardeners seem to dislike finding mushrooms growing in their beds or on their lawns, but spotting a mushrooms isn’t a bad thing—it’s actually a sign the soil is healthy.

Sometimes, when a new food comes along, I have a jaded reaction. Especially when it’s a viral cookie recipe, which is sometimes too mediocre to warrant the hype, if I’m keeping it honest. Popular cookies sometimes crumble, and another take on a chocolate chip isn’t gonna fly in this expensive egg economy. It’s no…Read more...