Lifehacker

Staying physically active during the pandemic has been a struggle for many of us. Gyms are shut down, bikes are sold out; even strolling through a park seemed like too much of a gamble for a while. But I have seen how it has been especially hard for the tweens who suddenly lost all their team sports, their recess…Read more...

For a long time, collecting was considered just another hobby. The question on the playground wasn’t if you collected something, it was what you collected. And it wasn’t limited to scratch-and-sniff stickers, unusual-looking rocks, and coins that grown-ups told you would be valuable one day—adults were in on it too.…Read more...

I’ll be honest with you: I do not do core exercises. No crunches, no planks; I’m sure my abs could handle them, but my brain is just not interested. (And as you’ll know, I’m a big believer in not doing any exercise you truly hate.) But something that makes your core work hard while you’re doing something else? When I…Read more...

Another hurricane season is underway, and it’s likely to be a bad one. Wildfires are also raging across California, and the pandemic means the rest of us are spending more time than ever at home, increasing the likelihood of house fires and other accidents leading to property damage. If you’ve been thinking lately…Read more...

Even under normal circumstances, early planning for major events is critical to their success. This year, of course, we are in far from ordinary circumstances, which makes it that much more important for writers to begin planning for National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo, for short—NaNo, for even shorter) right…Read more...

There’s nothing we haven’t learned from TikTok.

If watching Barack and Michelle Obama at the virtual Democratic National Convention this week has you feeling a certain kind of nostalgia, you’ll be pleased to know that there are plenty of ways to keep up with what the former First Family is up to now, particularly through media.

If you have interior doors that lock, and if you have small children, at some point, someone in your family will be either locked in a room or locked out of one. This is an inevitability and is, therefore, something you should prepare for ahead of time.Read more...

A Samsung microSD card Gold Box, a Govee LED light strip price drop, a discount on select Nintendo Switch games (digital), a BlendTec Blender, a Uniqlo End of summer sale, an Ella Paradis couples’ bundle, and a Sunday Scaries CBD save & subscribe offer lead Friday’s best deals.Read more...

With COVID-19 continuing. to force many of us to work and socialize from home, most of the big camera brands have released official software that turns your DSLR into a webcam that can be used with Zoom, OBS, Facebook Messenger and other apps.

If you’re one of the many Americans still waiting for a stimulus check, the constant media updates about a possible second payment can be particularly frustrating. While it’s possible to track the status of your stimulus payment through the IRS online portal, many complain it’s still missing information. And the…Read more...

The no-carb craze has taken many forms over at least two decades—there’s Atkins, Paleo, the carnivore diet, Whole 30—all special in their own way, but with a shared distrust and dislike of bread. To keep up with the times, sandwich places commonly offer their wares in the form of salads, with fillings ripped from buns…Read more...

I will never fault someone for asking a tech question that feels “basic,” because we all had to get our start somewhere. Few of us popped out of the womb knowing how to access a network share in Windows, what a workgroup was, or how to map a network drive.Read more...

As a lifelong asthmatic, I am the least-likely person to win a breath-holding contest (which is fine because it means I am also the most likely to win the “coolest person you know” contest, because there is nothing more badass than getting winded after a light jog on a cold day). But thanks to a method of breathing…Read more...

As college students return to school, many are bracing for the possibility of campus closures. Some schools—like the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and Michigan State University—have already moved fall classes online. These changes have left students wondering about getting their money back—and it turns out,…Read more...

It’s time for another installment of Burning Questions, the column where I answer the health questions that you maybe don’t want in your google history. As a reminder, this is not medical advice and I’m not a doctor. Today, we’re talking tonsil stones.

Desperate times bring out the worst in people—from those who hoarded toilet paper and sold individual rolls for more than $50 each at the start of the COVID-19 quarantine, to those who are now trying to sell crappy iPhones with the Fortnite game installed on them for thousands of dollars.

Forest fires are a necessary and natural part of a forest’s lifecycle, but recent years have seen a drastic increase in the number and severity of uncontrolled wildfires during the summer months—ask any Californian about that. Thankfully, new tools in Google Search and Google Maps can keep you up-to-date on the status…Read more...

When the COVID-19 pandemic was really kicking off in the United States back in March and April, we were still figuring everything out. We were in lockdown. Everything was weird and scary (especially in New York and other parts of the east coast). And we just wanted some toilet paper. As we moved into May, it became…Read more...

If anyone knows the daily frustration of lost marker caps strewn across the floor—and, consequently, dried-out markers left in their wake—it is a kindergarten teacher. But one such teacher has a trick that worked in her classroom last year and can also work for parents at home this year: Duct tape them all together.

In my pre-Lifehacker days, I was a content creator for the nation’s largest bookstore chain—I’m sure you know the one—and coming to the office each day was like Book Nerd Christmas: My mailbox was constantly overflowing with packages from publishers containing advance reading copies (or “ARCs”) of books that weren’t…Read more...

I pulled my hand from the bag gracefully—the kind where you manage to reach in and pull out without touching the bag itself, or any chip other than the single one you were aiming for. I relished the small rush of pride that comes with any minor accomplishment, and maybe that’s what prompted me to take it a step…Read more...

Cheese grits is a simple, humble dish—you make grits, and then you put cheese in those grits. You eat them, and then you are happy. This sequence of actions will never fail you. But, if you want to give your cheese grits seriously creamy body and cheesy flavor throughout the entire bowl, consider supplementing your…Read more...

It’s late summer, and that means wasp season. In a sense, these stinging friends are a lot like us: they love barbecue and lemonade and hanging out at backyard picnics. But why now?Read more...

Getting engaged is a big milestone for any couple. You may envision lavish plans for your wedding day—a massive booze-filled celebration with loved ones—along with your future life together. While things may change as the big day approaches, you may not have been prepared for this year’s curveball: the coronavirus…Read more...

If your kids are interested in learning more about money—or if you want to teach them about earning, saving and spending but aren’t sure where to start—a new podcast from Marketplace can get those conversations started. Million Bazillion launched in July and with just five episodes so far, it’s already tackling a wide…Read more...

A Sony portable Bluetooth speaker, a Team Group 1TB NVMe SSD, a Crash Team Racing controller for Nintendo Switch, a Shark UpLight vacuum, a KN95 mask set, and a Satsifyer Pro 2 oral sex simulator lead Thursday’s. best deals.Read more...

The Apple tax is no joke, but neither is a typical Apple owner’s fear of popping open their systems and feeding their Mac some extra-delicious low-cost memory. But here’s the thing: If you pay Apple for RAM that you can install yourself, you’re wasting money. Full stop.Read more...

KN95 Masks (20 Pack) | $48 | N95maskco | Promo code KINJA20

I cook a lot of bacon. Sometimes I fry it (starting in a cold pan, of course), but most of the time I bake it on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. It lays flat, crisps evenly from end to end, and I never have to worry about grease splattering on my pale, sensitive skin. This hands-off approach is safer and…Read more...

Google Assistant lets you do tons of stuff on your Android Phone completely hands-free, and a recent update adds recording and sending voice messages over text to that list.

Disney no doubt wants me to use this free advertising space to promote the digital premiere of Mulan, that spring blockbuster that wasn’t—and sure, if you want to spend $30 on top of your existing monthly Disney+ subscription to “own” (if only in the 2020 “no one actually owns media anymore” sense) this…Read more...

Milk Makeup CBD Body Oil Stick | $50 | Milk Makeup

As the coronavirus pandemic drags on, millions of Americans are still grappling with company layoffs and the loss of employee benefits. If you recently lost your job, you may be eager to replace some of these benefits—including your group life insurance policy. Here are some things to consider as you start to explore…Read more...

Right now we’re navigating staycations and road trips. The parents and students among us are planning for those chaotic first few weeks of school, whether they be in-person or remote. But soon we’ll be in the thick of fall, and after fall comes winter. And COVID-19 isn’t going anywhere.Read more...

Google Play Music is on its way out, to be replaced by YouTube Music in the coming weeks. Google has made the transition easy for anyone who has ever used Google Play Music by offering multiple tools for migrating over your library, playlists and other data. But what about your subscription?

It can feel like there is very little to celebrate: We can’t throw birthday parties or wedding receptions or even go out to see a movie on a Friday night. Our kids haven’t been within six feet of their friends in five months, sports are weird, and we’ve got a long, dark winter looming ahead of us. But! Patrick Stewart…Read more...

When I was growing up, September meant something. Cooler fall weather (nope), going back to school (nope), and new TV shows premiering across all the networks (well, kinda). Even if everything about the ninth month of 2020 is terrible, at least we’ll have a few things to watch on Hulu, which is premiering an…Read more...

Just because I am capable of cooking most things from scratch does not mean I always want to. I am also not immune to the charms of boxed, canned, frozen, or otherwise processed and prepared convenience foods, particularly when they possess certain qualities that just can’t be replicated outside of an industrial…Read more...

It is only mid-August, and several major tropical storms and hurricanes have already hit different parts of the United States. In fact, we’ve already set a record for the highest number of named storms occurring by early August (nine). While there’s been some action in the usual spots in the southeast, the northern…Read more...

The dog days of August are ending, and with them the summer streaming doldrums. Netflix is preparing to debut a September slate packed with intriguing new series and original films featuring top-tier talent, and in order to help you sort through the morass—and in recognition of These Times—I’m highlighting a few of…Read more...

Many parents are trying to figure out how to create a learning space at home for their kids, and there are several complicating factors to consider. If you’re working from home, they need to be close enough to you that you’re not trekking across the house every time they have a question or difficulty; but they can’t…Read more...

An Amazon Echo Dot with LED clock and Echo Dot Kids Edition, a Fire TV Stick 4K, a discount on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, a Tacklife T8 jump starter, a 67 oz. bottle of hand sanitizer, a Star Wars beach ball set, and a MysteryVibe Crescendo bendable vibrator lead Wednesday’s best…Read more...

As students prepare for a return to in-person classes—or a hybrid of in-person and remote learning options—one question lingers on nearly every parent’s mind: What happens if schools and daycares shut down? Many parents worry about how to balance their jobs and childcare if schools shift to online only.Read more...

You wouldn’t catch me at an Apple retail store unless smoke was pouring out of my Mac. And even in the best of pandemic times, waiting at the Genius Bar to get some appointment-less help with your laptop (or worse, your desktop) isn’t the most fun experience.Read more...

All meals deserve a finishing touch of something, and soup is no different. Flakey salt, a squeeze of lemon juice, or a smattering of fresh herbs are all welcome first-tier finishers, but the most luxurious of them all is a touch of fat, specifically butter or olive oil. It’s particularly special when used added to a…Read more...

An upcoming SwiftKey Android update finally adds a long-requested sliding cursor control, and it makes us once again question our Gboard allegiance. Before we get to the pros and cons of these two major Android keyboards, let’s quickly go over this new SwiftKey feature.Read more...

Solimo Hand Sanitizer 67oz | $12 | AmazonRead more...

As the pandemic continues, President Trump quietly launched another attack on the Affordable Care Act: The Treasury Department has proposed a new regulation to define healthcare sharing ministries as health insurance. As the Los Angeles Times reports, the new rule could boost the appeal of these faith-based…Read more...

Do you have a routine on garbage night? My husband likes to make the rounds, collecting every bit of garbage in the house; I just wheel the bins to the curb and call the chore done. Whichever your approach, I’d like you to add one step: take a peek in the fridge while you’re at it.Read more...