Homelife
From creative interior design tricks that can improve your wellbeing to strategic plant arrangements that help you reap the most benefits from your leafy friends, this is the place to find everything you need to know to make your house feel like a home.
8 low-cost hobbies that add hours of joy to your week
Image alt text: Hands carefully pressing colorful flowers between the pages of an open book on a wooden table surrounded by dried botanicals and greenery Research has put a number on the value of a good hobby: eight hours. That is how much joy, defined as deep satisfaction, gratification, and Read More...
The gardening window most people miss: late summer and early fall weed control
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM A single dandelion, left to finish its summer in the garden, can drop thousands of seeds. Those seeds can lie dormant in the soil for a long, long time. Basically, the weed you let go in August doesn’t represent just one weed; it is next spring's problem, Read More...
8 clever ways to reuse spice jars around the house
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Most spice jars get rinsed and recycled. A few get left on the counter until someone throws them away. Almost none get a second life, and professional organizers say that's worth reconsidering. Clean them first. Professional eco-friendly organizer Marie Read More...
Back-to-school shopping without the meltdown: How to keep trends and budgets in check
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM For parents of tweens and teens, August often brings the same showdown: a wish list brimming with the latest must-have styles and a budget that’s not budging. That water bottle your kid swears will change their life? The wide-leg jeans that cost more than Read More...
The physical effects of heavy phone use (aka tech neck) and how to address them
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Cervical spine surgeon K. Daniel Riew at Och Spine at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center has started seeing patients in their 20s. That age group rarely appeared in his practice before. Americans now average about seven hours a day on screens, Read More...
Children learn to be alone through love, not distance
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM There is something that makes adults uneasy about a child playing alone. A kid absorbed in something private at a playground edge, a bedroom door closed for an afternoon. These scenes have a way of triggering concern. Are they OK? Do they need something? Read More...
The ultimate guide to drying and storing fresh garden herbs for year-round homegrown flavor
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM There's nothing quite like wandering around your garden with scissors in hand, ready to cut fresh herbs to season your meals. The aromatic scents and flavors are unparalleled. However, as any gardener knows, the growing season is limited, and those lush Read More...
The case for clearing your calendar one weekend a month
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Summer has a way of sneaking up on you. In May, you were excited about everything: the outdoor concert, the friend’s rooftop birthday, the weekend trip to the coast. Now it’s the end of July, you’ve been to all of it, and you’re still waking up Monday Read More...
Three signs your garden is overheating and what to do about each one
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM It's usually around this time of the summer season when you find out which plants you’ve been taking for granted. You stroll through your garden, and there it is: your favorite leafy friend, drooping like it’s given up. The instinct is to reach for the Read More...
Soft decluttering: the low-pressure method for a tidier home
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM You know the feeling: you walk toward the hall closet with good intentions, reach for the handle, and stop. The coats are in there, somewhere. So are the shoes that were trendy two seasons ago, a bag you haven’t opened in months, and something that might be Read More...