Tag: Spring Cleaning

The 5 best cordless vacuums for 2024
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Old-school, upright vacuums left a lot to be desired, and cordless models are here to right many of those wrongs. These types of vacuums tend to be thinner, lighter and easy to maneuver around a home, and you don’t really have to sacrifice suction power anymore to get those benefits. Dyson isn’t your only option anymore either — like the robot vacuum space, there are dozens of cordless vacuums to choose from today. Variety is great, but it can also lead to decision fatigue and confusion. We at Engadget can help make that decision a bit easier. After testing a bunch of the most popular cordless stick vacuums available today, we’ve come up with our top picks, plus loads of buying advice to help you figure out which is the best cordless stick vacuum for you.

Table of contents

Best cordless vacuums for 2024
Photo by Valentina Palladino / Engadget

Suction power: 240AW | Bin capacity: 0.2 gallon | Battery life: 60 min | Weight: 6.83 pounds

The Dyson V15 Detect is just as impressive now as it was when it first came out in 2021. It’s our top pick because it provides the best mix of features and its suction power is remarkable. Even a few years after it’s initial release, it remains one of the best vacuum cleans out there today.

One thing that was immediately apparent during my testing was that Dyson models just have superior suction, period. That’s not to say a cordless vacuum from another brand can’t get the job done, because they absolutely can. But even in auto mode, all of Dyson’s vacuums did a better job trapping even the smallest dust and debris.

The “Detect” in this model’s name refers in part to the laser “blade” on the Fluffy Optic cleaner head. It does a great job of illuminating floors to clearly show you where the mess really is, and that goes for large debris like food and granules of cat litter, as well as much smaller stuff like layers of dust on an untouched part of the floor. But it’s worth noting that this light is only present on the Fluffy Optic head, a brush roll designed to work best on hard floors. The V15 Detect comes with a few other head attachments, including a Digital Motorbar head that automatically detangles hair from the brush bar as you clean. That’ll be better for all floor types, including carpet, but you won’t get the same illumination effect.

The V15 Detect also has a piezo acoustic sensor that recognizes the size and frequency of the particles it’s sucking up. It’ll show that information on the machine’s LCD display in a neat little bar graph. Is this information useful? Not particularly, but it’s satisfying to clock this while cleaning and see the bars increase and decrease as you move throughout your home. However, this is more of a neat perk than a killer feature; it’s not going to change the way you vacuum your home. But the piezo sensor is also involved in automatically adjusting the V15 Detect’s cyclone engine to better clean particularly dirty floors.

That automatic adjustment is separate from the machine’s three power settings: Auto, Eco and Boost. I spent most of my time in Auto mode, every so often switching to Boost in rooms where I knew I needed a more thorough cleaning. Eco mode is convenient to have if you need to conserve battery life.

But the V15 Detect, like all of the other Dyson machines I tested, really stands out for its suction power. I rarely, if ever, had to go over the same spot twice because the V15 Detect captured all of the dust and debris the first time. In my one-cat household, it’s easy to see tufts of fur on our hardwood floors and tile, but they’re basically invisible on our upstairs carpet. But it didn’t matter if I could see fur or not — the V15 Detect collected all of it. After every cleaning the bin was full and I was consistently shocked by how much cat hair was hiding in my carpet.

As with most cordless vacuums, you get a number of attachments with the V15 Detect. In addition to the Fluffy Optic and Digital Motorbar cleaner heads, hair screw, combination and crevice tools are included in the box. I particularly like the hair screw tool, which is great for vacuuming chairs and couches, and the crevice tool is handy for cleaning car interiors and other tight spaces. The docking station must be mounted to a wall, but it’s separate from the vacuum’s charger, which means you can power up and use the V15 Detect before picking a permanent place for it in your home.

My biggest gripe with the V15 Detect is that it doesn’t have a single-button start like the newer and more advanced Dyson Gen 5 Detect and Dyson V15 Detect Submarine do. You must press and hold down the trigger to vacuum, which requires constant effort. However, that’s a small price to pay considering the complete package you’re getting. At $750, the V15 Detect is a machine on the higher-end of the price spectrum that’s well worth the money if you want an easy to use cordless vacuum that will provide a truly thorough clean every time.

Pros

Fantastic suction power

Includes Fluffy Optic cleaner head with illuminating blade light

Relatively lightweight

Good battery life

Cons

No single-button start

Headlight laser only on the Fluffy Optic cleaner head

$750 at Dyson
Photo by Valentina Palladino / Engadget

Suction power: 500W | Bin capacity: 0.12 gallon | Battery life: 40 min | Weight: 6.8 pounds

I reached for the Tineco Pure One S15 almost as much as I did for the Dyson V15 Detect. It’s slightly less powerful than our top pick, but it’s otherwise very similar and it even has Wi-Fi and app connectivity as well. It handled all kinds of dry messes well and didn’t choke at the first sign of pet hair. It includes Tineco’s iLoop smart sensor, which detects the amount of dirt and auto-adjusts suction power. I also appreciate that its LED display has a big ring that changes from red to blue as it sucks up all the debris in its way, and it has a battery indicator on it as well.

The Pure One S15 Pet has an unfussy design and comes with attachments that are easy to pop on and off. The main cleaning head has a headlight which does a great job of showing you exactly where the worst pockets of dirt are. And, despite its bin being a bit smaller than that on the Dyson, I never had to pause mid-cleaning to empty it.

Unlike the Dyson, though, the Pure One S15 Pet has Wi-Fi connectivity and a companion app, which is about as “smart” as any cordless vacuum gets. It’s a totally unnecessary feature, but Wi-Fi setup is pretty painless, and Tineco’s mobile app will show you things like battery level, filter status and a cleaning log. Filter status is arguably the most useful of them all, since it takes the guesswork out of figuring out when to replace it.

The $500 Tineco machine beat out the $450 Shark Detect Pro for our runner-up spot by only a hair. The Shark is a solid vacuum with a self-emptying base,in the same price range. But the Pure One S15 Pet has stronger suction and did a better job cleaning up big messes. It’s also worth noting that, while Tineco’s vacuum typically costs $500, you can often find it on sale for as low as $350 — a killer bargain.

Pros

Great suction power

Single-button start

iLoop smart sensor auto-adjusts suction power as you clean

Great value for the money

Wi-Fi and app connectivity

Cons

Small bin

Shorter battery life

$500 at Amazon
Photo by Valentina Palladino / Engadget

Suction power: 450W | Bin capacity: 0.15 gallon | Battery life: 40 min | Weight: 5.7 pounds

Tineco makes a number of cordless vacuums at various price points, but the Pure One S11 is a budget-friendly model at $300 — and it’s often on sale for less. While it was the clunkiest of the Tineco vacuums I tested, it’s still relatively lightweight. It also includes Tineco’s iLoop smart sensor, although it doesn’t have the single-button start that the Pure One S15 Pet does.

The Pure One S11 did a decent job of collecting all kinds of messes, including pet hair, but I did have to go over some spots more than once for the most thorough clean. In addition to the main cleaner head that has built-in headlights, it comes with three extra attachments that make it easy to get into small spaces.

Tineco estimates a run time of 40 minutes for this machine, and I found that to be accurate. That was just about enough time for me to clean all three floors of my house, but if you have a particularly large home, you may need to recharge at some point. Its bin size is also on the smaller side like the Pure One S15 Pet, so there’s a chance you may have to pause to empty it if you’re cleaning up big messes or you have a lot of ground to cover.

But for $300, the Pure One S11 offers a lot of value. It’s arguably best for those who live in apartments or small- to medium-sized homes, or those who just want a no-frills, easy-to-use cordless vacuum without dropping an excessive amount of money. It holds its own against pet hair as well, but that’s coming from a person who only has one cat; you’d be better off getting a stronger vacuum with a larger bin if you have a small menagerie in your home.

Pros

Affordable

Good suction for the price

iLoop smart sensor auto-adjusts suction power as you clean

Cons

No single-button start

Small bin

Shorter battery life

$300 at Amazon
Photo by Valentina Palladino / Engadget

Suction power: 240AW | Bin capacity: 0.2 gallon | Battery life: 60 min | Weight: 8.3 pounds

Overkill for most, the Dyson V15 Detect Submarine will be exactly what some are looking for: a vacuum with all of Dyson’s signatures along with the ability to wash hard floors. It’s similar to the V15 Detect in power and design, but it comes with Dyson’s “submarine” wet cleaner head that has two water reservoirs (one for clean water and one for dirty) and a brush bar that does all the scrubbing. To wash tile and other hard floors, you fill the clean reservoir with water, reattach it to the head and turn on the machine as if you were just vacuuming. The built-in motor ever so slightly propels the machine in this mop mode, and as you move it around, it sucks up spills and other wet messes into the dirty reservoir while also washing the floor.

In my testing, the V15 Detect Submarine did a great job sucking up spills and a pretty good job cleaning my hardwood and tile, even in spots where there were more persistent stains (although it did take a few passes to fully suss them out). I typically use a corded steamer to wash the hard floors in my home, and while the V15 Detect Submarine doesn’t use heat and can’t quite match up to a device that does, it’s impressive nonetheless for its abilities and convenience.

After my first go-around with the machine, I was excited to use it again primarily because the process is so easy. Instead of getting my steamer out, plugging it in and fighting with its cord as I moved around, I popped the Submarine cleaning head on the Dyson, filled the tank and off I went. It’s worth mentioning, though, that I did have to fill the clean-water reservoir twice to wash the main floor of my home (roughly 800 square feet), which added a few minutes to the process. After each session, you’ll want to empty both reservoirs, clean the brush head and let the whole attachment dry. After that, I found it was ready to go again the next day.

The V15 Detect is a solid vacuum and an above-average mop, but more than anything, it’s convenient. It’s one relatively thin and lightweight device that can clean all of the floors in your home without a ton of extra effort needed on your part and with few, if any, frustrations. But as with anything, convenience comes at a cost: you’ll pay $950 for this model, and no, you can’t just buy the Submarine head separately and use it with a standard Dyson stick vac. If you only have a little bit of tile or hard flooring in your home, it’ll be difficult to justify the cost of the Submarine — but if convenience is of utmost importance and you want one cordless vac-and-mop to rule them all, Dyson’s machine is a great option.

Pros

Great suction power

Includes Submarine cleaning head for mopping and cleaning up wet messes

Good battery life

Cons

Expensive

Water tank is a little small

No single-button start

$950 at Dyson
Photo by Valentina Palladino / Engadget

Suction power: 230W | Bin capacity: 0.8 gallon | Battery life: 60 min | Weight: 5.29 pounds

Tineco’s high-end Pure One Station FurFree deserves a nod here because it was one of the cordless vacuums I tested that I wanted to use the most, and it’s arguably the most convenient option on the list. Not only does it have strong suction power and the company’s iLoop smart sensor, but it docks and charges in a self-emptying base that cleans all parts of the machine — brush, tube and dustbin — after each use.

The freestanding base is a little intimidating when you unbox it, purely because it has more parts than that of any vacuum cleaner I tested (including the Shark Detect Pro). The whole thing, vacuum included, remains relatively svelte; it was easy for me to tuck it into a corner of a room near an outlet. The vacuum itself has a single-button start and, while not quite as strong as the Dyson V15 Detect, did a good job cleaning up all kinds of messes, pet hair included. Run time comes in at 60 minutes, more than enough to clean my whole home, and it supports Auto and Max modes along with the auto-adjusting feature provided by the iLoop sensor.

The Pure One Station FurFree also supports Wi-Fi connectivity, with its mobile app showing you battery life, dustbin capacity and self-cleaning settings. But since the small screen on the docking station gives you most of that data as well, the app is just a bonus.

The biggest selling point of this cordless vacuum is its self-emptying base, which has its own large dustbin that can hold up to 60 days worth of dirt. It’s a plastic canister that takes no garbage bags, so there’s nothing to add to the cost of ownership — simply remove the base’s dustbin to empty into your own garbage can every couple of weeks and then snap it back into place. You can customize self-cleaning settings to do a quick clean (30 seconds long) or a deep clean (60 seconds), or keep it to the auto mode (45 seconds). The machine will clean itself whenever you return the vacuum to its dock, unless you manually disable this feature. I appreciate that the base automatically empties the vacuum’s dustbin during self-cleaning, but it’s also great that it uses gusts of air to clean the vacuum’s brush and tube. Lots of little particles and hair can get stuck in those parts, and with other vacuums, you’re left to clear those out yourself.

The “FurFree” in the Pure One Station’s name refers to the extra attachments that come with the machine that basically turn it into a pet-grooming tool. This will likely be more useful for dog owners, or maybe folks with more amenable cats than mine (she hates all vacuums — cordless, robot, you name it). If you’re not a pet owner, there’s a standard Tineco Pure One Station that’s otherwise an identical machine with the same self-cleaning base, but only comes with regular vacuum attachments, and costs $200 less. FurFree or regular, though, the Pure One Station is a great cordless vacuum that’s made better by its clever and convenient self-emptying base.

Pros

Great suction power

Includes self-emptying base

Base empties bin and also cleans the vacuum’s brush and tube simultaneously

Wi-Fi and app connectivity

Cons

FurFree model is expensive

$799 at Amazon
Factors to consider before buying a cordless vacuum

Design and bin capacity

Most of the cordless vacuums you’ll find today have stick designs, with a handle at the top attached to a debris bin, which has a space to connect different attachments at one end. These designs are more versatile than old school vacuums of yesteryear because, while you may use the long stick attachment most of the time to clean your floors, many cordless vacuums come with other attachments as well. Some allow you to clean hard to reach spaces like the interior of your car, while others make it easier to vacuum furniture and clean inside crevices.

Bin volume is worth keeping in mind when you’re choosing a cordless vacuum. The larger the bin, the more debris it can hold, but it might also mean a heavier machine. All of the cordless vacuums we tested had a bin size between 0.1 and 0.8 gallons and all were able to handle cleaning an entire one-pet home (roughly 2,000 square feet) in a single run without needing to be emptied. Anything smaller and you may have to deal with more frequent emptying during each cleaning session.

Some cordless vacuums also have removable, replaceable battery packs, which is super handy. That means you can buy a replacement battery and install it easily, without needing to seek out professional assistance. Also, these extra batteries cost around $150-$200 a pop — expensive, yes, but nowhere near as costly as buying a whole new cordless vacuum.

Suction and power modes

Cordless vacuum suction power is typically measured in air wattage (AW), but you’ll see some that list the power of the motor in wattage (W) instead. Typically the higher the air or motor wattage the stronger the suction power, and often strength is proportional to price — more expensive cordless vacuums tend to have stronger suction power. A general rule of thumb is that those with precocious pets or mess-making children would benefit from a cordless vacuum cleaner with stronger-than-average suction power.

Most cordless stick vacuums will have two different power modes: a “normal” or default power mode that balances suction power with battery life, as well as a “max” or stronger mode that kicks suction strength up a notch. Some vacuums, like those from Dyson, also have an “eco” mode, or one that prioritizes run time over strength.

Separate from power modes you can select yourself, some cordless vacuums will automatically adjust motor strength depending on the detected floor type or the amount of mess in its wake. Not only is this convenient, but it also ensures that the machine is working its hardest only when you need it.

Floor type

The best cordless vacuums will be able to clean any standard floor type — hardwood, tile, carpet and everything in between. As mentioned previously, some can even detect floor type and adjust suction power accordingly. That said, it’s still worth thinking about the types of flooring you have in your home. If you primarily have carpet, you may want to consider a cordless vacuum with the most powerful suction you can afford, since there are more nooks and crannies for debris to get suck in with carpet.

Battery life

Obviously, battery life is important since you’ll probably want to clean more than one room in a shot. All of the cordless vacuums we tested had a battery life of at least 40 minutes in standard cleaning mode. I tested each by cleaning all three floors of my home (upstairs, downstairs and basement) on a single charge with the machine running in its standard (“auto”) mode and none of them ran out of juice before I could finish the third floor. That said, extra battery life can come in handy if you’re switching between power modes since “max” or high-power programs use more energy.

Base style

Most cordless stick vacuums come with some sort of base or mount where the machine lives when you’re not using it. Wall mounts are the most common, but some have free-standing bases where you dock and charge the vacuum. Consider the space in your home where you want the cordless vacuum to live, since it will have to have an outlet or another power source nearby.

Some high-end cordless vacuums come with self-emptying bases that act much like those included with expensive robot vacuums. After cleaning and returning the vacuum to the base, it will automatically empty the dustbin into a larger dustbin that you can then detach from the base when you need to empty it. This kind of base adds an extra layer of convenience into the mix, since you typically will only have to empty the larger dustbin every month or two.

“Smart” features

Yes, some cordless vacuums have “smart” features like Wi-Fi and app connectivity. But before we get into those, let’s talk about the extra perks scattered among these devices. Some models, like the latest from Dyson, include particle sensors that show you how many different sized pieces of debris it’s sucking up in real time. Dyson’s, for example, is a piezo acoustic sensor that detects particle size and frequency and displays that information on the vac’s LCD screen. Tineco’s iLoop sensor is similar, controlling its vacuums’ automatic suction power adjustment and changing a circle on the display from red to blue as you fully clean an area.

Higher-end cordless vacuums may also have companion apps that show things like battery level, filter status and cleaning logs. It’s an added level of convenience, but by no means necessary. Unlike the best robot vacuums, or even the best budget robot vacuums, which rely on their apps to set cleaning schedules, manually control the machines and more, cordless vacuums that you operate yourself really don’t need Wi-Fi or an app connectivity.

Price

Cordless stick vacuums range in price from $150 all the way up to over $1,000. The best ones for most people lie in the middle, in the $400 to $700 range. You’ll notice most of our picks land in the higher end of that range, but for good reason: More expensive machines tend to have more sucking power, which means less time wasted going over the same spots over and over. But does that mean everyone needs the most premium cordless vacuum? Definitely not. We’ve come up with top picks at various price points that should work well for people with different budgets, lifestyles, home sizes and more.

How we test cordless vacuums

Engadget doesn’t have a dedicated lab in which we can test cordless vacuums, but I used each model in my home for weeks. I ran them over hardwood and tile flooring, as well as low-pile carpet. And my first runthrough consisted of cleaning all three floors of my home on a single battery charge. I performed the same cleaning job as many times as possible, but also intermittently cleaned a single floor as needed, or sucked up isolated messes like crumbs, cat litter spills and tufts of pet fur. Over the course of many cleanings with each model, I made note of how loud the machine was, how easy it was to maneuver around my home, how easily it sucked up pieces of large debris (or if it pushed it around my floor instead) and if they got warm or hot.

Other cordless stick vacuums we tested

Dyson Gen 5 Detect

The Dyson Gen 5 Detect has a single-button start and stronger suction power than our top pick, but it’s otherwise quite similar. However, since the Gen 5 Detect is more expensive at $950 (although it does receive discounts at Dyson online), the V15 Detect still provides greater value for your money. The Gen 5 Detect is arguably best for those who want the latest Dyson, or care about getting a more future-proof machine, since it came out just last year.

Shark Detect Pro

The Shark Detect Pro provides a lot of value for the money, but it was ultimately beat by the Tineco Pure One S15 Pet for our runner-up slot thanks to the Tineco’s stronger suction power. The kicker for the Detect Pro is that it includes a self-emptying base in its $450 price, which is super handy. It’ll automatically dump the contents of the vacuum into the larger bin in the base after every cleaning, and you only need to empty the base’s container every month or so. The Detect Pro did a good job cleaning up messes across different types of flooring, and it’ll auto-adjust suction power depending on the amount of debris and whether you’re cleaning hard or carpeted floors. However, it’s not as smooth to use as any of our top picks and its main cleaner head is a bit tall, making it difficult to use to clean under low furniture.

Cordless stick vacuums FAQs

How long does the battery last on a cordless vacuum?

Most cordless vacuums will run for at least 30-40 minutes on a single charge, but you can find cordless vacuums with battery lives of up to 60 or 70 minutes. Manufacturers will outline an estimated battery life for each model, and they’re usually based on using the vacuum’s standard power mode for the entire runtime; if you switch between modes or prefer to use a higher-powered program for improved suction, you’ll drain the battery faster.

Can cordless vacuums be as powerful as corded ones?

Cordless vacuums do sacrifice a bit in overall power when compared to corded models, but that doesn’t mean they can’t handle everyday messes just as well. If suction power is your biggest concern, we recommend springing for a high-powered, high-end cordless vacuum since, typically, the more expensive a cordless vacuum is, the stronger the suction. Also, cordless vacuums have the edge over corded models when it comes to weight and convenience: cordless vacuums are much lighter than their corded counterparts, and you’ll never have to worry about placement or picking a fight with a cord while cleaning your living room.

Are cordless vacuums effective on pet hair?

Yes, cordless vacuums can handle pet hair well, but we recommend getting a model with strong suction power to get the best results. It’s also wise to get one with a larger bin, since pet hair can quickly fill up smaller bins, which may force you to stop cleaning to empty the vacuum before finishing.
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Valentina Palladino

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July 12, 2024
Spring Cleaning Your Thoughts

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I remember very clearly the first time I was told that my thoughts weren’t actually real – that my thoughts didn’t have to dictate the way I lived, what I believed or filter the reality I was living in. Now, learning that this was true and putting it into practice were two very different situations. Spring cleaning your thoughts can be challenging, and it’s something we’d benefit from if we did it on a regular basis.

Even now, after practicing yoga and having a regular meditation practice for well over a decade, the mastering of my thoughts is an everyday – every moment – practice.

Within the last month, we experienced all kinds of cosmic coolness with a total solar eclipse, intense solar flares and a couple of meteor showers. Whether you believe in cosmic shifting or not is irrelevant because all the talk about spring and newness and change has a sweet and profound affect on the collective consciousness. This shift is simple: spring is here and it’s time to hit the refresh button.

And so before you dig in to clean out your shed, your closet, your kitchen, and your winter coat pockets, why not start where it all begins – in our own minds? Let’s get started by spring cleaning our thoughts.

How are you going to spring clean the root of all that you create in your life?

We think our thoughts are actually real and true and happening. We create these wildly dire scenarios and dwell on our greatest fears. We let our thoughts poke us in our soft and vulnerable spots, mocking us where we’re the most fragile. The first step towards blowing life open is recognizing that our thoughts are not real – yet. What we’re thinking passes through layers and layers of our own filters and the result is often a mishmash of reality – our greatest hopes and our deepest fears – all rolled into one. Thoughts are not facts. When we detach from our thoughts, we see that much of what we think about has been completely fabricated by our imaginations and isn’t serving us in any positive way.

3 Steps Towards Spring Cleaning Your Thoughts

1. Schedule Thought Cleansing Into Your Day

Block out 5-10 minutes in the morning to observe your thoughts. This might also be called meditation. Focus on inhaling and exhaling. When a thought comes into your mind, recognize it as a thought, let it go and return to focusing on your breath.

2. Tune In To The Physical Response To Your Thoughts

It’s not uncommon to have a physical response to things we think about that aren’t even happening, haven’t happened and aren’t going to happen. We create scenarios in our minds, tap into our greatest fears, spin a web with our wild imagination and the next thing we know our hearts are pounding, our stomach is tied in knots, our palms are sweating and absolutely nothing in our lives has changed in any way at all.

When we can start to notice the physical response we have to the thoughts that do not serve us, we can slowly begin to unwind those habits and release the fear, guilt, sadness or frustration to situations we’ve created in our own minds.

3. Replace The Old With The New

Our intentions create our thoughts, and our thoughts create our actions and our actions create our lives. So let’s begin by putting out the best of intentions with an open heart, honouring the child within us who knows that today is the day that anything is possible. This isn’t about expecting the best, but appreciating what is.

Notice how you feel when you smile at strangers, when you’re kind, when you laugh and smile. When you catch yourself thinking the same old, dusty, unhelpful, self-defeating thoughts, take that deep breath, let it go and work your hardest to replace that thought with a new and beneficial one.

If we are so easily inclined to believe our negative thoughts that don’t serve us, can’t we shift it up, upgrade the habit to begin to believe the thoughts that actually do serve us, our greater goodness, and our ability to live fully and happily in a life of our own creating?

Yes. Yes we can. Happy Spring.

(Photo by Catherine Farquharson)

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Meghan Telpner

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May 14, 2024
Tips from a pro on getting a jump on spring cleaning – WTOP News

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This Friday will mark the beginning of spring and while the season can come with many enjoyable activities, there is one thing most of us do every year that is far from a beloved past time: spring cleaning.

Lexi Grant, operations manager of Well-Paid Maids in D.C., cleans a desk.(WTOP/Mike Murillo)

This Friday will mark the beginning of spring and while the season can come with many enjoyable activities, there is one thing most of us do every year that is far from a beloved past time: spring cleaning.

“It’s really crucial, especially with a new season. Starting fresh is incredibly important,” said Lexi Grant, operations manager of Well-Paid Maids in D.C.

So where do you begin? Grant said start with decluttering. This could be ditching the gifts that you received over the holidays that you know you’ll never use or finding a new home for those toys and books your kids no longer use.

“We like to start by just getting rid of the things we don’t use, the things that don’t serve us anymore,” Grant said.

Then, once you decide which items get to stay, tidy up by organizing the stuff that you deemed worthy of a place inside your home and finding spots for all the new things you have acquired.

Now it’s time to get after the dust that may have built up over time. Grant said to start with those high-touch surface areas, such as the refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave and counters.

She said not to forget the tech, too. Safely wipe down tablets and other electronics with a microfiber towel or anti-bacterial wipe.

Next, it’s time to tackle those other areas where, when the sun comes in, the dust is apparent.

“You can see if a window is dirty and you can see if there are handprints on those kinds of things,” she said.

Grant said one forgotten area in many homes is the bedroom. Since the bed and nightstands don’t move often, dust can easily build on them. She said often when people switch the fan directions from clockwise for winter to counterclockwise for spring and summer, the dust can get kicked up.

“Then all of the dust that we missed underneath our bed, near our nightstands, anywhere where we’re lying our head down at night gets caught into our airways,” she said.

Grant offered tips to more efficiently remove dust from your home. First, use a wet rag on dusty surfaces, then use a dry rag on those areas.

“I give it a minute to let the dust dry and then run a vacuum overtop of it just to get any excess dust that may have settled after I was finished,” Grant said.

Finally, to hit the most dusty areas, you may need to bring music into the equation. Grant said she likes to do a little dance, moving back and forth, so she can see all the areas that need her attention.

“Some of my clients are like, ‘Are you OK?’ I’m like ‘I’m just doing the cleaning dance,’” she said with a laugh.

She said professionals are ready to help, and that if you do hire a cleaning service, don’t feel like you need to pre-clean before they arrive.

“Honestly, we are here to be the pros,” she said.

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Mike Murillo

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April 15, 2024
Best spring cleaning products including vacuums, mops and more

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As a participant in multiple affiliate marketing programs, Localish will earn a commission for certain purchases. See full disclaimer below*

This week on ‘It’s a Big Deal,’ ABC anchors Sam Champion and Dani Beckstrom are exploring the best spring cleaning products you can shop online. From a Swiffer mop that can nab dust and dirt from any hard-to-reach place, or a hefty Bissell carpet cleaner for any pet accidents, here are the best spring cleaning essentials to shop now..

Note: Prices are subject to change after publication.

With its compact design and powerful performance, the bissell little green is ready to take on any mess, whether it’s pet stains, kids’ spills, or general wear and tear. From car interiors to upholstered furniture, the bissell little green makes spot cleaning effortless and efficient. Get it now for 20% off.

Say goodbye to traditional mops and buckets. The Swiffer Power Mop’s innovative technology and disposable pads make cleaning quick, easy, and mess-free. Just push the button to relase the pre-mixed cleaning solution, and clean up sticky messes with ease. You can use it to clean your hardwood floors and even use it under furniture – like to finally get that dirt under your couch. Shop it now for just $30.

Shark NV352 Navigator Lift Away Upright Vacuum

The Shark Navigator Upright Vacuum features a detatchable lift-away canister for convenient above-floor cleaning, allowing you to reach high and low areas with ease.It also has powerful suction and advanced swivel steering, allowing it to glide effortlessly across all types of flooring, from hardwood to carpet. Plus, its anti-allergen technology traps 99.9% of dust and allergens inside the vacuum, according to the brand.

Now, we have an air purifier that will help you breathe easier at the end of the day. With its sleek design and advanced filtration system, the Miko Ibuki removes airborne particles, including dust, pollen, pet dander, smoke, and odors. It also has an intelligent auto mode that adjusts the fan speed based on real-time air quality data. Plus, it’s whisper quiet and energy efficient.

* By clicking on the featured links, visitors will leave Localish.com and be directed to third-party e-commerce sites that operate under different terms and privacy policies. Although we are sharing our personal opinions of these products with you, Localish is not endorsing these products. It has not performed product safety testing on any of these products, did not manufacture them, and is not selling, or distributing them and is not making any representations about the safety or caliber of these products. Prices and availability are subject to change from the date of publication.

Copyright © 2024 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.

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KTRK

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April 3, 2024
Best Tips For A Spring Marijuana Tolerance Break

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Lent is when people give up something they love in a fast as a way to show their faith. Related activities include Dry January, Damp January, cleanses, and a sugar detox. The concept of taking a break from habits. Between 15% and 35% of drinkers overall participate in Dry January. Around 71% see it to the of people who took part in Dry January said they slept better and 67% had more energy, according to a University of Sussex study.

Daily cannabis consumers may noticed their tolerance changes. Like alcohol, it might take more to feel the same….whether it is the amount, a higher THC or a frequency. This is probably a sign you need think about a pause. And here are the best tips for a spring marijuana tolerance break.

If you use cannabis for a prolonged period of time, body becomes desensitized to its psychoactive effects. When you constantly put THC in your body, the receptors that bind to it become compromised. Think of it as giving your receptors a chance to recuperate.

Photo by Grav via Unsplash

Reducing Consumption

Does reducing consumption over a full stop make a difference? This method certainly will help, but receptors are still being activated on a semi-regular basis. Many marijuana enthusiasts prefer this halfway approach and it works for some. If you consume multiple times a day, limit it to just at the end of the evening. If used as a sleep aid, consider opting for melatonin or other remedies for a few weeks as a replacement.

RELATED: It Possible To Be Physically Addicted To Marijuana?

How long should it last

Everybody is different, but most programs last 4-6 weeks. Taking a break for one or two days isn’t going to allow your body to adjust. THC can remain in your system for 30 days. Allowing the cannabinoid to flush through your system will do your body good. Just be careful on the first time you restart.

Photo by contrastaddict/Getty Images

Negative side effects

Life a caffeine holiday, you may show symptoms of irritability, moodiness of other signs of withdrawal. This can be

What if it is for medical reasons

This is a bit tricky. If you are use cannabis as medicine, it is smart to consult with the health professional who recommended it for the ailment. If you are currently consuming it as an aid in chemotherapy, PTSD, pain relief or any other serious ailment, it is key to balance the desire to medicate with the desire to lower your tolerance.

The best advice is to stay active. Go for long walks or to the gym. Releasing endorphins may assist in preventing or lessening the negative effects.

If you find this to be a difficult task, it may be a warning sign that you are becoming dependent on the drug. But try to focus on this silver lining: If you take a protracted break from cannabis, you’ll be saving yourself a chunk of change. And who couldn’t use a few extra bucks in the bank account?

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Terry Hacienda

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March 25, 2024
Why Ayurveda Recommends Warm, Cooked Foods All Year Long

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This is why every traditional Ayurvedic recipe starts with spices being tempered in ghee. (Ghee, also known as “gut butter,” is Ayurveda’s cooking fat of choice.) Spice can also be used to enhance heat. Often, Ayurvedic recipes call for throwing in a cinnamon stick, bay leaf, cloves, or cardamom pod to foods like rice, legumes, and soup that require boiling. While sautéing, whole spices can also be tempered in oil. Using powdered spices like black pepper, cinnamon, etc., during cooking also works.

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March 25, 2024
The 5 best meditation apps for 2024
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Meditation is often touted as a mental cure-all, purported to help with stress, sleep, mood, focus and even certain medical conditions. I’ve been meditating most of my adult life. I’ve done silent retreats. I’ve been formally trained in various techniques. I’ve had someone in my contacts list who I referred to as a “guru.” So I feel I’m relatively qualified to give some bad news: Meditation won’t fix your life, despite what David Lynch says. However, there’s also some good news: Despite not actually being a cure-all for everything bad in the universe, meditation can certainly take the edge off.

This is where meditation apps can come into play. Of course, practicing mindfulness doesn’t require an app; people have been doing it for thousands of years, with nary a smartphone in sight. But mindfulness apps can be useful in a number of ways. They provide access to all kinds of guided meditations to suit different styles. Some even offer social connections, which can motivate you to keep up your practice via the magic of peer pressure. They are also particularly well-suited to beginners, with many of them offering a free trial. With all of this in mind, I downloaded some of the most popular meditation apps and set about sitting calmly on a comfortable chair to test them out. What follows is a comparison aimed at real people just looking to squeeze a bit more joy and relaxation out of daily life.

How we tested meditation apps

Every brain is different, so I did not rate these apps based on if they sync up with my preferred meditation style. First and foremost, I looked for apps that cater to various methods and those that offer guided meditations that go beyond what’s free on YouTube. All of the items on this list are available on both Android and iOS, so you won’t have to worry about something being only for iPhone owners.

Of course, there’s lots of free stuff out there, from podcasts and videos on YouTube to audio tracks on streaming services. You can even find guided breathing sessions on an Apple Watch or Fitbit, as well as meditations in Fitness+, Samsung Health or any number of workout video providers. For this guide, I focused on apps that stood out in some way. I liked apps with huge libraries of guided meditations and those that offer additional mindfulness activities, like yoga routines. I also looked for easy-to-use apps with well-designed layouts. You don’t want to start your meditation journey with a clunky app that actually increases anxiety.

The most important thing with meditation is to keep doing it, so I awarded points for clever gamification elements, simple social network integration and anything else that encourages repeat visits. Finally, I considered extra features that set an app apart from the glut of competitors out there. For example, some meditation apps offer novel ways to track your progress, access to yoga routines and a whole lot more.

At the end of the day, each of these apps has its strengths. But if installing an app or using a device is not how you prefer to meditate, you can always turn off your phone and find a quiet room or environment. For those of us who need a little help from a digital guru, though, here are our favorite apps for meditation.
Headspace

Headspace has been one of the most popular meditation apps for nearly 15 years, boasting 70 million regular users. The actual software is a joy to use. Everything’s clearly labeled, the interface is snappy and the design is colorful and pleasant. It offers much more than just meditation, with modules for sleep tools, yoga, music and more.

The main reason Headspace snagged the top spot on this list is its dedication to gradual progression. Most of the courses advance through multiple sessions, each one building off of the last. You can also pick from numerous instructors for each course, which I find really helpful. Sometimes the person leading the guided meditation is just as important as the content itself, and some brains react better to, say, deep, gravelly voices while others prefer softer coos.

Beyond the vast selection of courses, which are aimed at everything from mindful eating to increasing productivity, there are thousands of standalone guided meditations. These are all searchable as well, and you can easily save the videos and courses you like for a revisit down the line.

Headspace costs $13 per month, or $70 for the year if you pay upfront. There’s a free trial, which grants you access to everything, but you have to sign up for a plan before it kicks in. In other words, make sure you cancel if you don’t like it before the trial period runs out so you’re not charged. On the plus side, there are some well-priced group plans for families, coworkers and even friends. You can get six full subscriptions for $100 annually, which brings the price down to $16 per person each year.

Headspace may have the broadest appeal of all the apps I tried, but it’s not without its issues. You can search for meditations by length, but there aren’t that many to choose from beyond the 30-minute mark. This isn’t a huge deal for beginners, but advanced practitioners may want longer sessions. Also, there isn’t much content available for non-paying members beyond a few simple guided meditations. A free trial unlocks the entire library, but also locks you in for a charge if you don’t cancel in time. I also found that many competing apps were better than Headspace at checking in on my mood and overall mental health, but that’s a personal nitpick.

Pros

Courses include multiple sessions that build on one another

Members get access to music, yoga routines and podcasts

A search engine makes it easy to find the perfect routine

Various instructors available for each course

Aesthetically pleasing design with calming colors

Cons

Not much free content after the trial ends

Meditations are primarily for new practitioners

Rival apps are slightly better at checking in

$70/year at Headspace
Calm

If Headspace is Coca-Cola, then Calm is Pepsi. The two are extremely similar. They both record an array of relevant stats, like how often you meditate, and offer a diverse catalog of guided meditations. There are just a couple of minor nitpicks that put Calm squarely in second place. Calm’s $15 monthly fee is a bit higher, though its annual cost is the same. Also, I found that Calm’s various menus were slightly trickier to navigate than the Headspace app. Finally, Calm doesn’t offer any useful content for free users beyond the trial period.

Still, Calm is a good option for meditation beginners. There’s a lot of flexibility here, so you can try different things to see what works for you. The app offers short daily meditations, guided sessions organized around goals, philosophically minded discussions, sleep-centric content and audio clips that combine meditation with music therapy. There are also plenty of meditations for those who balk at the 20 to 30 minutes typically required for a daily practice. You can find a decent meditation even if you have just 90 seconds to spare.

Calm goes out of its way to emphasize mental health improvement and provides plenty of metrics as to the actual benefits of meditation. The app regularly asks about your mood and many of the guided meditations I tried offered actionable advice for those suffering from anxiety and depression.

A paid Calm membership also gets you plenty of perks beyond meditations. There’s a kids section with guided meditations and narrated children’s stories. There’s also a lot of sleep-focused guided meditations and bedtime stories, as well as a curated selection of music and a decent selection of philosophical discussions. Finally, there’s a section for mindful activities, which provides journaling prompts and other types of check-ins.

Pros

Great for beginners, with clearly labeled content for newbies

Dedicated kids section

Membership gets you perks like access to a music library

Many short and focused meditations

Cons

Slightly more expensive than the competition

No free content available once the trial ends

Meditations max out at 30 minutes

$70/year at Calm
Insight Timer

Most of the big meditation apps, including our top picks, are stingy when it comes to free content. That’s not true of Insight Timer. The app offers access to a massive library of around 120,000 guided meditations. That’s enough to watch two unique videos a day for roughly 165 years. These include a bevy of longer-than-average videos for experienced meditators.

As the app’s name suggests, there’s also a useful meditation timer available to free users. Most meditation apps focus exclusively on guided sessions, but a simple timer allows you to skip the “guided” part and go it alone. Sure, you could use your phone’s timer, but Insight’s timers are designed to gently pull you from a meditative state (Nothing ruins a good meditation like the iPhone’s annoying alarm.) To that end, there are all kinds of sounds to choose from, including standard fare like wood blocks, chimes and bells. You can even space out these sounds to occur throughout the session as reminders to stop thinking about nonsense and return your focus to your breath or mantra.

The app offers a premium subscription for $10 a month or $60 per year, but you can use the free stuff for as long as you like. Insight Timer isn’t pushy about leading users into a payment portal. However, a subscription unlocks thousands of multi-session courses similar to those on Calm and Headspace. Many of these courses are taught by real big-wigs in the meditation world, like Tara Brach and Kenneth Soares. You also get access to a library of calming music, podcasts, discussions and an option for offline listening. The journaling system, which is bare-bones for free users, gets a hefty upgrade as well, complete with check-ins. Finally, the eponymous timer itself gets some improvements, with the addition of hundreds of alarm sounds to choose from.

A huge caveat to Insight timer is that, while its massive library of videos is fantastic, it can be utterly baffling to navigate. There’s just so much there and the app doesn’t have a great way to sort and filter it all. It does offer a folder option to organize meditations according to personal preference, but that’s only for paying members. The app also offers some group events, like shared meditations and yoga sessions, but I found them to be fairly buggy. I experienced some stutters and sudden app shutdowns, but not to the point where I threw the phone at the wall or anything.

Pros

Plenty of free content

Includes over 120,000 guided meditations

Half of the proceeds from subscriptions go to teachers

Timer tool is great for standard meditations

Courses are led by known figures in the wellness community

Cons

Difficult to find the right video via the search bar

Multi-session courses are only for paying subscribers

Live group events can be buggy

$60/year at Insight Timer
Smiling Mind

Looking to dive into the world of meditation without putting your credit card on file somewhere? Smiling Mind has you covered. This not-for-profit app costs nothing — there aren’t any paid memberships, period, so you’ll have access to everything as soon as you sign up. On top of that, it’s good enough that I would have considered giving it a spot on this list even if it had a subscription fee.

It offers hundreds of guided meditations, which is less than a paid membership via other platforms, but still more than enough for those looking to start developing a regular practice. Smiling Mind even offers multi-course programs, just like our top picks. These programs are organized into topics like the foundations of mindfulness, sleep improvement and stress management. I found myself returning to the digital detox program on multiple occasions because, well, who couldn’t use some tech-free time?

The meditations come in a wide variety of lengths, from two minute quick-bites to 45-minute marathon runs. Like many of the apps on this list, there are only a few of those longer meditations, so advanced practitioners may want to look elsewhere. There are several unguided meditations, however, for those who want to practice at their own pace.

Beyond meditating, there isn’t a whole lot else to do on the app. Smiling Minds does offer mental health check-ins and journaling options. One big feature that’s worth mentioning is the massive amount of content for children and teens. The app was originally designed for kids, and it shows in both the interface and the content library. The child-friendly meditations are cleverly designed and separated according to several age groups. Even kids get multi-course programs that cover back to school jitters, sports, sleep improvement and, of course, studying.

Just because Smiling Minds is free doesn’t mean we can overlook its shortcomings. There’s no way to see who is hosting the meditation before you start listening to it. This is annoying for people who gravitate toward specific practitioners, forcing them to start the meditation before deciding to carry on. It also means you can’t look for your favorite teachers. There’s also no search function to speak of; you just have to scroll until you see something you like.

Pros

Absolutely free

Many useful multi-course programs

Large amount of kid-friendly content is great

Cute interface that’s easy to understand

Hundreds of guided meditations available

Cons

No search function to find a specific clip or teacher

You have to actually start a meditation to find out who is leading it

Not many lengthy session for advanced users

$0 at Smiling Mind
Sattva

Meditation is often considered a lonely pursuit, but it doesn’t have to be. Sattva knows this better than any other app on this list. It’s designed like a social media app, and uses the addictive nature of such platforms to encourage a daily meditation practice.

The app features a standard social media feed that shows you exactly when people are meditating and what type of meditation they’re doing. You can like and comment, and the app even has a global feed to keep track of all users at once. There’s plenty of gamification elements here, too, from badges for keeping streaks going to achievements for trying new meditation types. Mindfulness isn’t a competition, but the app does include a leaderboard that tracks who has meditated the most.

Gamification and competition may seem antithetical to the very concept of meditation, but social media has taught us that these can be powerful motivators. It could take a friend nudging you on the main feed or the prospect of a colorful badge to help build a daily practice. Sattva does the whole “pull your friends from Facebook” thing when you sign up, and I found someone I hadn’t talked to in years using the app. It was a neat way to catch up.

As for the actual meditations, there’s plenty to choose from, including guided audio, simple soundscapes, mantras, timers and a decent amount of content for advanced practitioners. Sattva is big on mental health tracking, so the app has journaling tools, check-ins and a wealth of statistical information. Most of these are only available to paying members, but the free version still offers access to the social feed and a whole bunch of audio clips.

Unlike other apps I tested, Sattva doesn’t have any multi-course programs that build on one another, so users have to design their own practice. There also isn’t a dedicated section for kids or teens, and the search function is bare-bones. It missed a whole lot of meditations when searching by subject and was even less useful when looking for a specific teacher.

Pros

Social features are great for those who need a little push

Plenty of different meditation styles from around the world

Games and challenges help keep things from getting stale

Free version is actually useful

Clean and easy-to-navigate user interface

Cons

Search function is limited

No multi-course sessions

No content for kids or teens

$50/year at Sattva
Other meditation gear we tested

Brain-tracking wearables have been around for years, but there are some newer devices that have been tailor-made for meditators. These gadgets track the brain during meditations and offer real-time feedback. It’s a real boon for the data-obsessed, but also a real bank account drainer, with some gadgets costing thousands of dollars. I took two of the more-popular options for a spin to see what they’d make of my brain.

Sens.ai Neurofeedback System

Sens.ai is a weird contraption that not only claims to track brainwaves, but gives real-time feedback to “teach” people how to meditate and enter a flow state. The device involves a giant headset that’s stuffed with brainwave sensors that detect beta, alpha, theta and gamma waves, in addition to heart-rate sensors. It also comes with a truly bizarre companion gadget that uses light stimulation (transcranial photobiomodulation) to keep an eye on focus and attention levels. The whole thing is combined with an app that keeps track of dozens of data metrics and allows access to various guided meditations.

I’m as surprised as you to say that this thing appears to work, with some caveats. It’s uncanny how well it monitors the brain during meditations. If I got lost in a thought spiral about lasagna at six minutes in, sure enough, there would be a dip in analytics at the six-minute mark. It’s also fairly easy to use, despite a process that involves wetting a number of electrodes. As magical as the accurate brain-tracking seems to be, however, I wasn’t as keen on the actual training portion, which often involves staring at a screen throughout the entirety of the practice. It’s also not for the financial faint of heart, as the Sens.ai device costs $1,500.

NeoRhythm Omnipemf

NeoRhythm’s Omnipemf is another wearable to help people get into that ever-elusive flow state. It doesn’t track your brain, but rather floods it with electromagnetic fields at specific frequencies to make it more susceptible to meditation and focus. This is supposed to prime your brain for the meditative state and, in theory, make it easier to capture that zen. However, I didn’t get much from it, other than a placebo-esque buzzing in my head.

To use it, you simply pop on the wearable and go about your day. You aren’t tied to an app, so you can meditate in whatever way you like. There are multiple modes that go beyond meditation, as this thing is supposed to help with focus, pain relief and sleep. I’d wait for some peer-reviewed studies, however, before buying this.
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Lawrence Bonk

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March 22, 2024
How to declutter your iOS devices

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If you’ve owned your iPhone or iPad for a long time, there’s a good chance it has files, photos, apps and other digital clutter on it that’s taking up more space than necessary. Maybe you’ve even gotten to the point where you’re getting warnings about the scant bit of free space you have left on your device. Thankfully, there are plenty of things you can do to declutter your iPhone or iPad, free up some space and otherwise make your gear feel a bit more like new again. This guide will take you through how to reclaim your notifications and your device’s storage.

Delete your unused apps

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You don’t need me to tell you to delete apps you don’t use to free up space on your iPhone, but you might not know that iOS has a dedicated tool to help you do this. You can access it by opening the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad, then tapping “General,” followed by “iPhone Storage” or “iPad Storage.” It may take a few moments for the interface to populate, but once it does, you’ll see a handy visual representation of how much of your device’s storage you’ve given over to apps, photos and other types of files. You will also see a list of every app installed on your device, as well as how much space it takes up and when you last used it – all helpful information you can use to decide what to delete.

Depending on the app, iOS will present you with at least two options when you tap on it. You can delete the app and all its related data or “offload” it. In the latter case, iOS will delete the app from your iPhone or iPad but leave your data untouched. As such, when you reinstall the app, you can pick up right where you left off. It will also remain in your App Library for easy access. From the iPhone Storage menu, you can also set your device to automatically offload unused apps when you’re running low on storage, which is useful for all, but especially those with older, low-storage devices.

Igor Bonifacic / Engadget

If you use Apple Music and Messages frequently, tap on them since they offer a few additional options for managing their footprint. The interface for Apple Music includes a list of every download on your iPhone or iPad sorted by artist and album, offering a much better way of culling your library than from within the app itself.

Messages, meanwhile, has a few handy options for serial texters. At the bottom of the interface, you will see a breakdown of all the different attachments you may have received in messaging with your friends and family. Seeing how much storage those old photos, videos and GIFs take up may be eye opening; in fact, iOS will prompt you to review large attachments. That’s a good place to start since the interface does a good job of highlighting the biggest space hogs right at the top. You can also set iOS to automatically delete messages and attachments that are more than a year old. Unless space is at an absolute premium on your device, I would recommend against turning on this option, if only because it might delete a photo or video that has sentimental value to you.

Trim your contacts list

If you’ve had an iPhone for a while, there’s a good chance your contacts list could use an edit. Unless you plan to one day call everyone on that list, why not delete contacts you don’t speak to anymore? Your iPhone will give you a head start by identifying suspected duplicate contacts. Outside of that, there’s not much to this process other than going through each contact and ensuring the information you have is up to date.

Review your notification settings

Igor Bonifacic / Engadget

Something everyone should do every so often is review their notification settings since alerts can be a drain on your device’s battery (not to mention frequently take your attention away from more important things, too). To get started, open your device’s Settings app and tap on “Notifications.” If you haven’t already, I would recommend taking advantage of iOS 15’s scheduled summary feature. Let’s be honest, most notifications don’t require your immediate attention, and you’re better off addressing them all at once instead piecemeal. The schedule feature will help you do that by allowing you to set a few times per day when your device displays some notifications all at once.

For most people, that should make their notifications more manageable, but if you want to take things a step further, you can adjust individual settings for each app. For some of the worst offenders (Instagram and Twitter come to mind), it’s worthwhile to jump into their in-app settings to limit or disable the notifications they send you.

Focus Modes

Igor Bonifacic / Engadget

Another tool you can use to get a handle on your notification is Apple’s Focus feature, which allows you to configure custom do not disturb settings for different activities. By default, your device will come with a few preconfigured ones, and it’s worth reviewing the settings for each to optimize them for your needs.

To create a new custom Focus Mode, open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad and tap “Focus,” which is located in the same subcategory as notifications. You can also create a new Focus mode directly from your device’s Control Center by long pressing on the “Do Not Disturb” icon and tapping “New Focus.”

Once you create a new Focus, customizing it is straightforward. You can specify contacts you want iOS to either silence or allow notifications from. You can do the same for apps as well. After you customize those lists to your liking, tap the “Options” prompt below your contacts and apps lists to see a few additional settings. Specifically, there’s an option to allow silenced notifications to display on your lock screen that you might find helpful.

The last thing I want to draw your attention to are the options around customizing your Home Screen for different Focus modes. By limiting the apps I can easily access, I find I’m less likely to get distracted. For instance, I’ve set my Reading Focus to limit my Home Screen to apps like Libby, Pocket and Apple Music.

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Igor Bonifacic

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March 14, 2024
Declutter Your Makeup Stash With the Help of Professionals – POPSUGAR Australia

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Spring is rapidly approaching, and it’s becoming increasingly clear that the assortment of beauty products you’ve been purchasing and hoarding over the past few months is out of control at this point. Your expanding makeup collection likely features a wide range of eyeshadow palettes, lipsticks, creams, lotions, and all sorts of potions and has started to look more like a small-scale beauty boutique than a personal collection.

Honestly, if you’re anything like us, you have products in your possession that are well past their expiration date, but the packaging is just so art deco that you can’t bear to part ways with them. You keep telling yourself that you’ll use every single blush, bronzer, and contour stick you own, but we’re here to tell you, friend, that day most likely will never come.

It’s a tough pill to swallow, but it’s about time we face the truth. Holding on to these expired and unused products is not only unhealthy but also restricts you from making space for new potential favorites. It’s time to say goodbye to these old products, clear out the clutter, and free up that much-needed space in your beauty drawer.

Don’t know where to start? No worries, as we’ve tapped a few industry experts to give top-tier insider secrets on decluttering your makeup. Keep reading for more.

Makeup Decluttering Tip 1: Process of Elimination

When you come across alluring headlines like “The Best Lipsticks of 2024,” it becomes incredibly tempting to purchase and experiment with every shade just for the sheer fun it promises. Next, you realize you’ve accumulated 100 lipsticks in the same shade.

However, renowned celebrity makeup artist Katie Jane Hughes has a trick for this: “If you’ve got over 50 lipsticks but don’t use them every day, do your full makeup but don’t do your lips and apply each shade and take a picture of each,” she tells PS. “This way, you can narrow down which lipsticks you need to give away and which ones you actually wear.”

Makeup Decluttering Tip 2: Look at the Expiration Date

One thing you don’t want to do is use expired makeup. (We’re preaching to ourselves here, as this editor is still holding onto a Marc Jacobs Beauty travel-size mascara from 2017.) Makeup artist Kasey Spickard says we all need to check the expiration date from the time we crack the seal open.

“Check the packaging for the expiration date from opening,” Spickard says. “They can range from three months to 36 months depending on the product. Get rid of any products that have passed their ‘period after opening‘ window.”

Makeup Decluttering Tip 3: Create a Love vs. Lust Pile,

When new makeup products come out, we are all instantly in lust with the promises of newness, but over time, our usage weeds out which products we’re actually in love with versus those we just had a lust for. Longtime makeup artist Theo Turner suggests splitting your makeup into these two categories when deciding what to keep and what to toss out.

“The ‘love’ pile will contain all products you currently use and need to complete your daily makeup – your ‘stranded on an island’ picks, if you will,” Turner says. “These are our keepers.” Then, turn your attention to your second pile. “The ‘lust’ pile, on the other hand, are products you thought you would love, but after purchasing, they don’t quite work for you. You may love the packaging or color, but you never reach for the product. Donate it.”

Makeup Decluttering Tip 4: Group Like With Like

Before you decide to purchase a new product, you should take inventory of what you already have. Maybe you are running out of your favorite blush, but before you restock, you should try the other 10 you have on hand.

“My first pass is to take inventory of everything I have and group items by product category,” Spickard says. “Moisturizers with moisturizers, foundations with foundations, and so on. This allows me to see where I may need to invest going forward.”

Makeup Decluttering Tip 5: Invest in Multipurpose Products

In 2024, makeup products that can pull triple duty as a lip, cheek, and eyeshadow tint are all the rage; no more buying a separate product for each part of your face. It’s not just about saving time and money – it’s about decluttering that precious vanity space.

“The best solution is to invest in products that are multipurpose such as lipstick that doubles as blush or an eyeshadow palette with versatile shades,” Atlanta-based makeup artist Marquis Glisson advises. “This helps minimize the number of products you need to keep while still allowing for creativity.”

Stixx Mathews is a New York City-based freelance beauty writer with 11 years of experience who is passionate about telling stories that merge beauty and pop culture. He enjoys sharing his expert insights about the latest trends and must-have products, with a particular focus on lipstick and fragrance.

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Stixx mathews

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March 11, 2024
The best robot vacuums on a budget for 2024
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Robot vacuums help around the house by automating a chore that, let’s face it, many of us don’t like to do. The first robot vacuums had steep price tags, and you can still find high-end robo-vacs today that are worth the money for many reasons. However, their popularity over the past couple of years has led to a surge of new robot vacuum cleaners on the market that cost much less than the firsts in the category. Gone are the days where you had to spend $500 or more just to get one of these machines home. Now, some of the best budget robot vacuums come in at $300 or less. After testing dozens of robot vacuums at all price points, we’ve decided that any machine in this price range is what we’d consider to be cheap. Here’s everything you need to know before purchasing a robot vacuum while sticking to a budget, plus our top picks.

Are robot vacuums worth it?

Since I’ve tested dozens of robot vacuums, I’m often asked if these gadgets are “worth it” and I’d say the answer is yes. The biggest thing they offer is convenience: just turn on a robot vacuum and walk away. The machine will take care of the rest. If vacuuming is one of your least favorite chores, or you just want to spend less time keeping your home tidy, semi-autonomous robotic vacuum is a great investment.

There are plenty of other good things about them, but before we dive in let’s consider the biggest trade-offs: less power, less capacity and less flexibility. Those first two go hand in hand; robot vacuum cleaners are much smaller than upright vacuums, which leads to less powerful suction. They also hold less dirt because their built-in bins are a fraction of the size of a standard vacuum canister or bag. And while robo-vacs are cord-free, that means they are slaves to their batteries and will require docking at a charging base.

When it comes to flexibility, robot vacuums do things differently than standard ones. You can control some with your smartphone, set cleaning schedules and more, but robo-vacs are primarily tasked with cleaning floors. On the flip side, their upright counterparts can come with various attachments that let you clean couches, stairs, light fixtures and other hard-to-reach places.

What to look for in a budget robot vacuum

When looking for the best cheap robot vacuum, one of the first things you should consider is the types of floors you have in your home. Do you have mostly carpet, tile, laminate, hardwood? Carpets demand vacuums with more suction power that can pick up debris pushed down into nooks and crannies. Unfortunately, there isn’t a universal metric by which suction is measured. Some companies provide Pascal (Pa) levels and generally the higher the Pa, the stronger. But other companies don’t rely on Pa levels and simply say their robots have X-times more suction power than other robot vacuums.

So how can you ensure you’re getting the best cheap robot vacuum to clean your floor type? Read the product description. Look for details about its ability to clean hard floors and carpets, and see if it has a “max” mode you can use to increase suction. If you are given a Pa measurement, look for around 2000Pa if you have mostly carpeted floors.

Size is also important for two reasons: clearance and dirt storage. Check the specs for the robot’s height to see if it can get underneath the furniture you have in your home. Most robo-vacs won’t be able to clean under a couch (unless it’s a very tall, very strange couch), but some can get under entryway tables, nightstands and the like. As for dirt storage, look out for the milliliter capacity of the robot’s dustbin — the bigger the capacity, the more dirt the vacuum cleaner can collect before you have to empty it.

You should also double check the Wi-Fi capabilities of the robo-vac you’re eyeing. While you may think that’s a given on all smart home devices, it’s not. Some of the most affordable models don’t have the option to connect to your home Wi-Fi network. If you choose a robot vac like this, you won’t be able to direct it with a smartphone app or with voice controls. Another feature that’s typically reserved for Wi-Fi-connected robots is scheduling because most of them use a mobile app to set cleaning schedules.

But Wi-Fi-incapable vacuums usually come with remote controls that have all the basic functions that companion mobile apps do, including start, stop and return to dock. And if you’re concerned about the possibility of hacking, a robot vac with no access to your Wi-Fi network is the best option.

Obstacle detection and cliff sensors are other key features to look out for. The former helps the robot vacuum navigate around furniture while it cleans, rather than mindlessly pushing its way into it. Meanwhile, cliff sensors prevent robot vacuums from tumbling down the stairs, making them the best vacuum for multi-level homes.

How we test

When we consider which robot vacuums to test, we look at each machine’s specs and feature list, as well as online reviews to get a general idea of its capabilities. With each robot vacuum we review, we set it up as per the instructions and use it for as long as possible — at minimum, we’ll use each for one week, running cleaning cycles daily. We make sure to try out any physical buttons the machine has on it, and any app-power features like scheduling, smart mapping and more.

Since we test robot vacuums in our own homes, there are obstacles already in the machine’s way like tables, chairs and other furniture — this helps us understand how capable the machine is at avoiding obstacles, and we’ll intentionally throw smaller items in their way like shoes, pet toys and more. With robot vacuums that include clean bases, we assess how loud the machine is while emptying contents into the base and roughly how long it takes for us to fill up the bag (or bagless) base with debris.

Best budget robot vacuum overall: iRobot Roomba 694
iRobot

Max mode: No | Wi-Fi capabilities: Yes | Object detection: Yes

Both iRobot and Shark impressed with their affordable robo-vacs. But we think iRobot’s Roomba 694 will be the best cheap robot vacuum cleaner for most people thanks to its good cleaning power and easy-to-use mobile app. The Roomba 694 replaced the Roomba 675 last year but, aside from an updated exterior, it has the same build quality and is fundamentally the same vacuum. It looks much sleeker now with its new all-black design, giving it an aesthetic similar to some of the more expensive Roomba models. It has three physical buttons on it — start, dock and spot — and it connects to Wi-Fi so you can control it via the iRobot app. Unfortunately, your $274 gets you the vacuum and its necessary parts only so you’ll have to pay up immediately when you need a replacement filter or brushes.

Setting up this powerful robot vacuum is straightforward: Open the companion app and follow the instructions. Once it’s connected to your home Wi-Fi network, you’re able to use the app to control the vacuum whenever you don’t feel like using the physical buttons. However, the spot-clean function is only available as a button, which is a bit of a bummer.

iRobot’s app is one of the biggest selling points for any Roomba. It’s so easy to use that even someone with no prior experience will be able to quickly master the robot’s basic functions. iRobot’s app puts most pertinent controls on the homepage, so you rarely (if ever) need to navigate through its menu to do things like set a cleaning schedule.

We recommend setting cleaning schedules to really get the most out of the device. After all, these are semi-autonomous robots, so why not make it so you rarely have to interact with them? Doing so will ensure the Roomba runs through your home on a regular basis, so you’re always left with clean floors. The Roomba 694 in particular did a good job sucking up dirt and debris on my carpets as well as the tile flooring in my kitchen and bathrooms. The only thing I try to do before a cleaning job is get charging cables off of the floor – the Roomba will stop if it sucks something like that up and it’s relatively easy to extract a cable from the machine’s brushes, but I’d rather not have to do so if I can avoid it.

When it comes to battery life, the Roomba 694 ran for around 45 minutes before needing to dock and recharge. iRobot says run times will vary based on floor surfaces, but the 694 is estimated to have a 90-minute battery life when cleaning hardwood floors. While 45 minutes may be enough time for the robot to scuttle around most rooms in my apartment, those with larger homes may have to wait for it to recharge in order to clean everywhere.

iRobot has made a name for itself in the autonomous vacuum market for good reason. Its machines are polished, dead simple to use and the accompanying app is excellent. That ease of use (and the reputation of the iRobot name) comes with a slightly higher asking price, which many will be willing to pay. But there are plenty of solid options now that didn’t exist even just three years ago.

Pros

Simple yet attractive design

Good suction power for its size

Easy to use mobile app

Cons

Cannot fit under low furniture

$210 at Amazon
Shark

Max mode: Yes | Wi-Fi capabilities: Yes | Object detection: Yes | Cliff sensors: Yes

The Shark RV765 is the updated version of the RV761 that we previously recommended. Like the Roomba 694, the Shark RV765 has a slightly different design and a longer run time than the RV761, but otherwise they’re the same vacuum. You can still find the RV761, but it’s a little difficult to do so now that the latest model is available. Although we haven’t tested the RV765, we feel comfortable recommending it since we found the previous version to be a great affordable robot vacuum.

One thing that the RV765 fixes about the previous version is the latter’s ugly bowling-shirt design. The new model nixes that and opts for a sleeker, all-black look with three buttons for docking, cleaning and max mode. You could rely just on the buttons, but it also connects to Wi-Fi so you can use the Shark Clean app. As for the longer run time, that’s just a bonus. The RV761 ran for about 90 minutes before needing to recharge, which was plenty of time for it to clean my two-bedroom apartment. The additional 30 minutes of battery life on the RV765 should allow it to clean larger spaces more efficiently.

Some other things we liked about the RV761 include its spot-clean feature; adjustable wheels, which raise and lower automatically depending on the “terrain” and the obstacles in its path; and its intuitive companion app that allows you to start and stop cleaning jobs, set schedules and more.

Pros

Sleek design

Improved battery life

Handy “spot clean” feature

Easy to use mobile app

Cons

Can be difficult to find across many retailers

$260 at Target
eufy

Max mode: Yes | Wi-Fi capabilities: No | Object detection: Yes

Anker’s $250 Eufy RoboVac 11S was one of the cheapest vacuums I tested but it also proved to be one of the most versatile. First thing to note: This robot vacuum doesn’t have Wi-Fi, but it does come with a remote that gives you most of the functions and smart features you’d find in an app (including a schedule feature). Eufy also includes additional brushes and filters in the box.

The “S” in this robot’s name stands for slim, and it’s roughly half an inch thinner than all of the other vacuums I tested. Not only does this make the 11S Max lighter, but it was the only one that could clean under my entryway table. This model has a physical on-off toggle on its underside plus one button on its top that you can press to start a cleaning. It always begins in auto mode, which optimizes the cleaning process as it putters around your home, but you can use the remote to select a specific cleaning mode like spot and edge clean.

The 11S Max has three power modes — Standard, BoostIQ and Max — and I kept mine on BoostIQ most of the time. It provided enough suction to adequately clean my carpeted floors, missing only a few crumbs or pieces of debris in corners or tight spaces around furniture. The cleaning session lasted for roughly one hour and 15 minutes when in BoostIQ mode and it has remarkable obstacle avoidance. Sure, it bumped into walls and some large pieces of furniture, but it was the only budget vac I tried that consistently avoided my cat’s play tunnel that lives in the middle of our living room floor.

As far as noise levels go, you can definitely hear the difference between BoostIQ and Max, but none of the three settings is offensively loud. In fact, I could barely hear the 11S Max when it was on the opposite end of my apartment running in BoostIQ mode. Thankfully, error alert beeps were loud enough to let me know when something went awry, like the machine accidentally getting tripped up by a rogue charging cable (which only happened a couple of times and neither robot nor cable were harmed in the process).

Overall, the Eufy RoboVac 11S Max impressed me with its smarts, despite its lack of Wi-Fi. The lack of wireless connectivity is arguably the worst thing about the robot and that’s saying a lot. At this point, though, the 11S Max is a few years old, so you could grab the RoboVac G20 if you want something comparable but a bit newer. We recommend getting the $280 G20 Hybrid if you’re just looking for a Eufy machine with some of the latest technology, but don’t want to spend a ton. It has 2500Pa of suction power, dynamic navigation and Wi-Fi connectivity with support for Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands.

Pros

Slim design lets it get under low furniture

Good suction power for its size

Long battery life

Super affordable

$140 at Amazon
TP-Link

Max mode: Yes | Wi-Fi capabilities: Yes | Object detection: Yes | Cliff sensors: Yes

TP-Link came out with the Tapo RV10 Plus vac-and-mop combo earlier this year, and while its standard price is $400, we think it’s worth a mention. It vacuums and mops, which is remarkable in itself since you don’t see many combo devices in this price range, it has a comprehensive yet fairly easy-to-use companion app and it comes with a self-emptying base. Top all of that off with the fact that you can often find this machine on sale for $300 or less and you have a robot vacuum that gives you a ton for your money.

Compared to the other cheap robot vacuums on this list, TP-Link’s did a similarly good job sucking up debris and mopping hardwood and tile floors. It also has a decent battery life as well: after one hour of cleaning, it was only down to 55 percent, so you should be able to get roughly 2-hour cleaning sessions out of this model regularly. The self-emptying base holds up to 70 days worth of debris, but note that it does use a propriety garbage bag that you’ll have to refill.

TP-Link’s companion app provides an impressive amount of control over your robot-vac, too. You can easily change the suction power level, the watering level when you’re mopping and cleaning run times. A dedicated “maintenance” page lets you know how long before you’ll have to replace parts like the main and side brushes, and extra settings like spot clean, child lock and emptying settings let you make this vacuum truly your own. Plus, the companion app is also the home for other TP-Link IoT devices, so you could build onto your ecosystem with more of the brand’s gadgets and control them all from one app.

Pros

Affordable for a robo-vac with a self-emptying base

Good suction power

Can mop floors with its pad and water reservoir

Cons

Base uses proprietary garbage bags

$354 at Amazon
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Valentina Palladino

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February 15, 2024
Apparently, No One’s Wearing These Spring Dresses Anymore—Shop These 7 Instead

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As cold as it feels outside (which, trust me, is cold), spring will eventually appear, and for most people, its arrival will come with the realization that their warm-weather wardrobes are in desperate need of a 2024 refresh. I like to think of myself as a pretty timeless dresser and shopper, and I still know for a fact that by the time the first nice day rolls around, the contents of my spring bins will feel at least slightly like old news. So rather than let spring sneak up on me like I have so many times before, I’m getting proactive about my wardrobe for the upcoming season—starting with dresses.

In an effort to distract myself from the cold this week, I cozied up inside and drew up a spring-dress plan, deciding which styles I no longer need in my closet and which I should fill those empty hangers with. After consulting friends, fellow editors, and, of course, Instagram, I came to the conclusion that the seven dress trends below are officially on the outs with the fashion crowd. Scroll down to find out which ones are getting the axe and find seven alts to buy instead.

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Eliza Huber

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January 27, 2024
I Moved and Have a Bigger Closet Now, But I Still Purged These 4 Items

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In this roller coaster year of ups and downs, I’ve sat on the news of buying and renovating my first home. The process has been eye-opening, exciting, alarmingly adult, and an exercise in gratitude (and patience) every day.

It’s also been a new, welcome creative outlet. I’ve loved picking out paint samples, tile, and sourcing furniture, and I’ve especially loved designing my closet from scratch. As someone who used to pray daily that her rotted-wood closet bar wouldn’t buckle under pressure (and relied heavily on rolling racks), I still can’t believe I have a walk-in! After installation, I’d find myself wandering in and out of the empty room, a giddy smile plastered on my face. It felt fresh and full of hope. I didn’t want to sully the space with anything that no longer brought me joy.

A new home means new beginnings, and I wanted to honor that with a well-curated wardrobe. I am deeply sentimental, so this proved to be harder than I thought it would, but I did it. I now live in a color-coded reality of tightly edited pieces (I know—who am I?) and you know what? It feels good.

Inspired to get a head start on spring cleaning? Read on for the pieces I bid adieu to.

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Perveen Singh

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December 25, 2023
Samsung July 4th Sale: $120 Off Jet 75+ Cordless Vacuum

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No matter what size your home is, dust is inevitable. These tiny particles can cause allergic reactions 1 like watery eyes, redness, a runny nose, itchy throat, and sneezing.

While some vacuums seem to push the dust around, the Samsung Jet 75+ has a five-Layer HEPA Filtration system that picks up not only large clumps of dust, but is designed to collect 99.99% of micro dust, too.

In case you’re wondering, HEPA filters are most often found in air purifier, where they are essential to removing particles from the air. Regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2, these filters remove 99.97% of particles that are 0.3 micron in diameter or larger, which is 100 times thinner than a human hair.

The vacuum’s strong suction also pulls in pet dander, pollen, and other nonliving allergens, resulting in cleaner air and a healthier home.

Oh, and it’s multipurpose, too; the Jet 75+ gets an unbelievable amount of praise for how well it works on carpets, wood floors, and even couches.

Many people point out how lightweight it is (just 6 pounds!) and how easy the 180-degree swivel head is to maneuver in awkward, hard-to-reach spaces. Your purchase even includes a long-reach crevice tool for smaller crevices and a combination tool for furniture and upholstery.

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Carleigh Ferrante

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July 1, 2023
ChomChom Pet Hair Remover Review: A Must-Have For Dog Owners

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No fabric surface is safe from the wrath of the ChomChom. Both my roommate and I use the device on our sheets, duvets, and pillows a few times a week to pick up loose fur. It gives our spaces an easy refresh without needing to wash our bedding multiple times per week. The couch also receives regular rubdowns with the ChomChom, and it’s the only reason the budget-friendly seating still looks so high-end.

The ChomChom is also a phenomenal addition for keeping clothing fur-free. We use it on our wool winter coats, dark denim, and black tops to remove any random pet hair. Similar to bedding, it needs to be held taut to prevent the brush from getting caught up on loose fabric. However, it’s far more efficient than any lint roller I’ve previously used, even if it does require some unique maneuvering.

My only complaints about the device are that it’s mostly made from plastic and it’s rather loud. But it’s worth noting the plastic is BPA-free, and the manual device is still quieter than a vacuum, even if my dog ran out of the room the first time that I tried to use it. (Now she sits patiently on the other side of the couch until my work is done, only to immediately undo it.) Plus, the durable design shows no wear or tear even after hundreds of uses over a nearly 3-year span—so I expect it to last.

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Braelyn Wood

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May 12, 2023
The Best Portable Washing Machines Of 2023, With Expert Recommendations

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Portable washing machines have, dare we say, a laundry list of pros and cons. They can be just as effective as normal washing machines, though they do require more effort on your end. You’ll need to fill and drain the machine manually, and there might be an occasional water spill from a leaking hose that’ll need cleaning up. Another pro is that it takes much less time than you’d think to thoroughly wash, spin, and hang dry your laundry.

However, a con is that maximum load capacities are around 10 pounds which equals a few shirts, a few dresses, a nightshirt, and a week’s worth of underwear. Yates told us from her personal experience, “It only takes me about an hour total to wash, spin, and hang dry a load in my machine, each load is on the smaller side. That being said, my portable washing machine really cleans my clothes well—as well as a full-size washer would—but it uses less energy, water, and detergent.” Note that not all machines can handle heavier items such as denim jeans or jackets.

Finally, we love that portable washing machines are less expensive than full-size washers but still give a quality cleaning and use less energy, water, and detergent, making this a solid choice if you’re interested in adopting a minimalist lifestyle. Amanda Klecker, a certified building biologist who assesses the overall health of homes, weighed in: “Look at how much water it uses in the wash,” she says. “The greenest option for sustainability is using water from the tap.”

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Kelsea Samson

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April 4, 2023
The Spring Cleaning Checklist A Mold Remediator Wants You To Use

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Michael Rubino, “The Mold Medic,” is an international authority on mold remediation and the author of The Mold Medic: An Expert’s Guide on Mold Removal.

As President of HomeCleanse, Rubino specializes in working with people who are immunocompromised or have acute and sustained reactions to mold exposure. He works closely with the company’s advisory team, which includes global well-being trailblazers Deepak Chopra’s The Chopra Foundation and Gwyneth Paltrow, to achieve the company’s mission to improve the quality of life for 100 million people each year by 2030. Rubino is also the founder of Change the Air Foundation, a nonprofit committed to empowering the world to achieve better health by establishing safer and healthier indoor environments.

Through collaboration with over 100 doctors globally, Rubino strives to not only raise awareness globally but also provide solutions to correctly identify and remove the pollutants causing this worldwide health crisis. Rubino specializes in working with people who are immunocompromised or have acute and sustained reactions to mold exposure and has helped heal over 1,000 families so far—including celebrities and athletes. He is a council-certified Mold Remediation Supervisor by ACACa nd IICRC and is a contributing member, sponsor, and speaker for the Indoor Air Quality Association.

Connect with Michael Rubino on Facebook @HomeCleanseCo, Instagram @TheMichaelRubino and TikTok @HomeCleanse, and visit www.homecleanse.com.

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Michael Rubino

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April 2, 2023
Welcome The Spring Season With These 6 Spring Equinox Rituals

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We are moving into the spring equinox, Passover, and Easter—all of which represent renewal and rebirth. And each one, in its own way, talks about freedom. Ask yourself, Where am I still held in bondage? Is it your own critical voice? Financial debt? Need for outside approval? Addictions to intensity including your cell phone, social media, and email? Now is the time to make changes.

Make a paper airplane. Now think of what holds you back and keeps you stuck. Symbolically place everything on this plane—you can write words, paste on stickers, or paint signs and symbols on the plane. Take your time.

Then go outside and let it go…freely releasing it to source. Say out loud, “I release and let go,” and know that it is done.

(When you finish the ritual, make sure to pick up the airplane and recycle.)

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Barbara Biziou

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March 20, 2023
I Started Spring-Cleaning My Closet—6 Trends I’m Adding and 6 I’m Donating

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Even though it’s the first days of February, I’m not going to lie, my mind is already on the first days of spring. As the year begins to approach March and April, organizing my closet is the first thing on my mind as I rotate my wardrobe from the fall and winter to spring and summer. I’m type A by nature, and nothing is more relaxing to me than spring-cleaning.

After moving into an apartment with smaller closets and turning over my wardrobe in the New Year, I’m back for round two. As a fashion editor, I try and buy so many trends to write about every month, but for every look I incorporate into my wardrobe, something else in my rotation has to give. With limited closet space, spring trends have to be good ones to stick around—and the ones that don’t are heading to the chopping block (read: my friends’ wardrobes, who love coming over and raiding mine).

Below, six spring trends I’m adding to my closet or keeping, and six that I’m gleefully saying goodbye to.

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Ana Escalante

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February 3, 2023
I Bought a CO2 Monitor and It Broke Me

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A few weeks ago, a three-inch square of plastic and metal began, slowly and steadily, to upend my life.

The culprit was my new portable carbon-dioxide monitor, a device that had been sitting in my Amazon cart for months. I’d first eyed the product around the height of the coronavirus pandemic, figuring it could help me identify unventilated public spaces where exhaled breath was left to linger and the risk for virus transmission was high. But I didn’t shell out the $250 until January 2023, when a different set of worries, over the health risks of gas stoves and indoor air pollution, reached a boiling point. It was as good a time as any to get savvy to the air in my home.

I knew from the get-go that the small, stuffy apartment in which I work remotely was bound to be an air-quality disaster. But with the help of my shiny Aranet4, the brand most indoor-air experts seem to swear by, I was sure to fix the place up. When carbon-dioxide levels increased, I’d crack a window; when I cooked on my gas stove, I’d run the range fan. What could be easier? It would basically be like living outside, with better Wi-Fi. This year, spring cleaning would be a literal breeze!

The illusion was shattered minutes after I popped the batteries into my new device. At baseline, the levels in my apartment were already dancing around 1,200 parts per million (ppm)—a concentration that, as the device’s user manual informed me, was cutting my brain’s cognitive function by 15 percent. Aghast, I flung open a window, letting in a blast of frigid New England air. Two hours later, as I shivered in my 48-degree-Fahrenheit apartment in a coat, ski pants, and wool socks, typing numbly on my icy keyboard, the Aranet still hadn’t budged below 1,000 ppm, a common safety threshold for many experts. By the evening, I’d given up on trying to hypothermia my way to clean air. But as I tried to sleep in the suffocating trap of noxious gas that I had once called my home, next to the reeking sack of respiring flesh I had once called my spouse, the Aranet let loose an ominous beep: The ppm had climbed back up, this time to above 1,400. My cognitive capacity was now down 50 percent, per the user manual, on account of self-poisoning with stagnant air.

By the next morning, I was in despair. This was not the reality I had imagined when I decided to invite the Aranet4 into my home. I had envisioned the device and myself as a team with a shared goal: clean, clean air for all! But it was becoming clear that I didn’t have the power to make the device happy. And that was making me miserable.

Read: Kill your gas stove

CO2 monitors are not designed to dictate behavior; the information they dole out is not a perfect read on air quality, indoors or out. And although carbon dioxide can pose some health risks at high levels, it’s just one of many pollutants in the air, and by no means the worst. Others, such as nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, and ozone, can cause more direct harm. Some CO2-tracking devices, including the Aranet4, don’t account for particulate matter—which means that they can’t tell when air’s been cleaned up by, say, a HEPA filter. “It gives you an indicator; it’s not the whole story,” says Linsey Marr, an environmental engineer at Virginia Tech.

Still, because CO2 builds up alongside other pollutants, the levels are “a pretty good proxy for how fresh or stale your air is,” and how badly it needs to be turned over, says Paula Olsiewski, a biochemist and an indoor-air-quality expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. The Aranet4 isn’t as accurate as, say, the $20,000 research-grade carbon-dioxide sensor in Marr’s lab, but it can get surprisingly close. When Jose-Luis Jimenez, an atmospheric chemist at the University of Colorado at Boulder, first picked one up three years ago, he was shocked that it could hold its own against the machines he used professionally. And in his personal life, “it allows you to find the terrible places and avoid them,” he told me, or to mask up when you can’t.

That rule of thumb starts to break down, though, when the terrible place turns out to be your home—or, at the very least, mine. To be fair, my apartment’s air quality has a lot working against it: two humans and two cats, all of us with an annoying penchant for breathing, crammed into 1,000 square feet; a gas stove with no outside-venting hood; a kitchen window that opens directly above a parking lot. Even so, I was flabbergasted by just how difficult it was to bring down the CO2 levels around me. Over several weeks, the best indoor reading I sustained, after keeping my window open for six hours, abstaining from cooking, and running my range fan nonstop, was in the 800s. I wondered, briefly, if my neighborhood just had terrible outdoor air quality—or if my device was broken. Within minutes of my bringing the meter outside, however, it displayed a chill 480.

Read: The plan to stop every respiratory virus at once

The meter’s cruel readings began to haunt me. Each upward tick raised my anxiety; I started to dread what I’d learn each morning when I woke up. After watching the Aranet4 flash figures in the high 2,000s when I briefly ignited my gas stove, I miserably deleted 10 wok-stir-fry recipes I’d bookmarked the month before. At least once, I told my husband to cool it with the whole “needing oxygen” thing, lest I upgrade to a more climate-friendly Plant Spouse. (I’m pretty sure I was joking, but I lacked the cognitive capacity to tell.) In more lucid moments, I understood the deeper meaning of the monitor: It was a symbol of my helplessness. I’d known I couldn’t personally clean the air at my favorite restaurant, or the post office, or my local Trader Joe’s. Now I realized that the issues in my home weren’t much more fixable. The device offered evidence of a problem, but not the means to solve it.

Upon hearing my predicament, Sally Ng, an aerosol chemist at Georgia Tech, suggested that I share my concerns with building management. Marr recommended constructing a Corsi-Rosenthal box, a DIY contraption made up of a fan lashed to filters, to suck the schmutz out of my crummy air. But they and other experts acknowledged that the most sustainable, efficient solutions to my carbon conundrum were mostly out of reach. If you don’t own your home, or have the means to outfit it with more air-quality-friendly appliances, you can only do so much. “And I mean, yeah, that is a problem,” said Jimenez, who’s currently renovating his home to include a new energy-efficient ventilation device, a make-up-air system, and multiple heat pumps.

Many Americans face much greater challenges than mine. I am not among the millions living in a city with dangerous levels of particulate matter in the air, spewed out by industrial plants, gas-powered vehicles, and wildfires, for whom an open window could risk additional peril; I don’t have to be in a crowded office or a school with poor ventilation. Since the first year of the pandemic—and even before—experts have been calling for policy changes and infrastructural overhauls that would slash indoor air pollution for large sectors of the population at once. But as concern over COVID has faded, “people have moved on,” Marr told me. Individuals are left on their own in the largely futile fight against stale air.

Read: Put your face in airplane mode

Though a CO2 monitor won’t score anyone victories on its own, it can still be informative: “It’s nice to have an objective measure, because all of this is stuff you can’t really see with the naked eye,” says Abraar Karan, an infectious-disease physician at Stanford, who’s planning to use the Aranet4 in an upcoming study on viral transmission. But he told me that he doesn’t let himself get too worked up over the readings from his monitor at home. Even Olsiewski puts hers away when she’s cooking on the gas range in her Manhattan apartment. She already knows that the levels will spike; she already knows what she needs to do to mitigate the harms. “I use the tools I have and don’t make myself crazy,” she told me. (Admittedly, she has a lot of tools, especially in her second home in Texas—among them, an induction stove and an HVAC with ultra-high-quality filters and a continuously running fan. When we spoke on the phone, her Aranet4 read 570 ppm; mine, 1,200.)

I’m now aiming for my own middle ground. Earlier this week, I dreamed of trying and failing to open a stuck window, and woke up in a cold sweat. I spent that day working with my (real-life) kitchen window cracked, but I shut it when the apartment got too chilly. More important, I placed my Aranet4 in a drawer, and didn’t pull it out again until nightfall. When my spouse came home, he marveled that our apartment, once again, felt warm.

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Katherine J. Wu

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February 3, 2023
I Just Did a Massive Closet Clean-Out—These 7 Things Aren’t Making It Into 2023

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With a mere matter of hours to go, the New Year brings a much-needed opportunity for a clean slate in all areas of life but being the style person I am, you can bet that I’m narrowing in on the chance to rid my closet of any dead weight ahead of 2023. I figured it was the perfect time to do a massive closet clean-out and purge some items that now feel outdated to me.

I confronted my bloated closet to determine once and for all what will be entering 2023 with me and I won’t lie, I was ruthless with this particular round of gutting. I’ve tried my hand at countless trends over the past few years and a number of items I was raving about not too long ago—micro bags and shackets to name a few—are on the chopping block this time around. I like to think of this end-of-year purge as a time to lean things out and refocus on what is actually working, so I can build a more long-lasting wardrobe off it.

With that, continue on to see the results of my 2023 closet clean-out and stay tuned for any future additions in the new year.

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Anna LaPlaca

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December 28, 2022