RELATED: The Best Places to Buy Affordable Rugs Online Small Natural Rugs (Cotton or Wool) Wash colorfast rugs by hand with a mild detergent, using a soft brush or a sponge. Rinse thoroughly with water mixed with a small amount of white vinegar to remove residue. Roll it inside a thick towel, then stand on it to remove as much moisture as you can. Hang the rug so it dries as quickly as possible....

For a Single Slice, Zap It When you just need a salad topper or breakfast side, a microwave lets you walk away while the slice cooks. Line a microwave-safe plate with three paper towels. Add 1 slice of bacon and top with three more paper towels. Invert another microwave-safe plate on top to create a spatter-catching lid. For chewier bacon, cook on medium power for 5 minutes. For a crispy slice, microwave on high for 2 to 3 minutes....

What You Need SaucepanCouscousOlive oil or butterSaltWaterDinner forkWooden spoon Follow These Steps

To navigate the complicated world of kitchen design, we reached out to Delia Kenza, the Brooklyn-based interior designer behind the kitchen at the 2021 Real Simple Home. Here’s her best advice for avoiding common kitchen design mistakes and creating a regret-proof kitchen you’ll love. Let your lifestyle be your guide. “The kitchen layout is very personal and will vary from person to person—plan for your lifestyle,” says Kenza. Think about how you truly use this space, rather than getting aspirational or letting purely aesthetic choices guide the way....

The trick to applying flawless winged eyeliner is to reserve plenty of time for it—and to break the process down into a few simple, manageable steps. It’s less overwhelming this way and makes it easier to fix mistakes as you go along. (If you’re trying this for the first time, a slip-up is inevitable.) With our foolproof guide and a little practice, winged eyeliner will become a regular in your beauty repertoire....

Reasons Bangs Separate According to Michelle Cleveland, a hairstylist, and owner of Hair Addict Salon, when bangs part in the middle, it can be for a few reasons. The first is because you naturally have a cowlick at the hairline. “The second reason bangs separate in the middle is because they are not heavy enough,” she says. “If you do not take the bang area as far back as it should be when creating it, then this area will be light and separate more easily,” which is why she highly recommends going to a professional to cut and trim your bangs....

Sourdough is what the first bakers made. If you feel intimidated, remember this: People have made it since long before we knew what yeasts were, since before we had today’s modern advantages of packaged organic flour, digital scales, and tap water. Yes, it’s a project. But it’s something you can totally do. It just takes a little time and patience—roughly half an hour of work spread over four to seven days....

This philosophy applies to sugar cookies, too. Why spend hours piping out the most painstakingly perfect snow-dusted pine tree if it isn’t even edible? Enter tie dye icing. Enjoy decorated cookies that look more high-maintenance than they are. Bonus: They are nearly impossible to screw up. Here’s how to execute the cutest tie dye sugar cookies. After you’ve mixed the dough and rolled it out, choose any style of cookie cutter you like and cut into shapes....

You’re not alone. According to the American Psychological Association’s 2018 Stress in America survey, 74 percent of U.S. adults said they’d experienced one or more signs of stress within the last month of responding to the study. The Stress in America 2020 survey revealed 67 percent of U.S. adults noticed their stress levels had increased since the coronavirus pandemic. And in 2022, the APA stress survey found that it’s no longer merely jam-packed schedules and go-go-go mentalities weighing people down: More recently, prolonged health crises, geopolitical tensions, inflation, climate anxiety, economic uncertainty, and other major global issues—many of which the majority of us have never experienced before—have taken U....

Not only can cleaning out your photo library help you get rid of unnecessary digital clutter, but it can also make it easier for you to access and hold onto those memories you don’t want to forget. Learn how to organize photos on your iPhone using photo organizing software and apps, plus a few simple tips and tricks. How to organize photos on your iPhone: 1. Delete duplicate photos The invention of digital photography was a wonderful thing—it means we don’t have to rely on just one roll of film to capture our favorite moments and we have endless chances to get the perfect shot....

What You Need Duct tape, scissors Follow These Steps

Generally, a refrigerated stick of butter can take anywhere between 30 minutes and an hour to soften; meanwhile, frozen butter can take upwards of four hours to reach a usable consistency. If you forgot to leave the butter out ahead of time, or it just won’t thaw quickly enough, we’ve gathered a few helpful tips for achieving smooth, soft butter fast. Benefits of Softened Butter Aside from the much more malleable texture, softened butter plays an important role, especially when baking....

Read on for doctor-recommended essentials everyone should have, plus items for three kinds of families—the on-the-go sporty crew, households with young children, and empty nesters—so you’ll always be well supplied. The Absolute Essentials for Any Medicine Cabinet Start here. Every home should have these basics on hand. Acetaminophen A good first choice for treating headaches, pain, and fever, it’s gentler on the stomach than ibuprofen. Tylenol is a well-known brand....

Keep in mind that these tips for stretching shoes work better on natural materials such as canvas and leather—shoes made of polyurethane and other synthetic materials tend to shrink back to their original size over time. How to Stretch Shoes Tip: Apply a little leather conditioner after you stretch your shoes to help keep the leather in tip-top shape. RELATED: How to Make Any Type of Shoe More Comfortable To use a shoe stretcher, start by spraying the parts of the shoe you want to stretch with a shoe stretching solution, which can help relax the fibers of the leather or canvas so they can expand....

An HSA offers some serious savings potential, particularly if you and your family tend to have costly medical bills. Paired with an emergency fund or a rainy day fund, this pre-tax savings account can help you weather most any medical emergency, especially if you start funding it now. Put these personal finance tips to work, and you’ll be more financially confident when it’s time for your next round of doctors’ appointments....

But you might be less familiar with another cannabinoid, called CBG (short for cannabigerol). Like CBD, this substance is thought to provide healing benefits without altering mood or perception. Most cannabis plants only contain trace amounts of CBG—about 1 percent. But its properties are garnering attention from health professionals and consumers regardless. To better understand CBG and how it differs from CBD, we spoke with Matthew L. Mintz, MD, FACP, an internist and primary care physician practicing in Bethesda, Maryland....

Olive Oil Benefits for Skin It is true that olive oil has a slew of skincare benefits. The emollient is chock-full of monounsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants, so it has excellent moisturizing properties. If you suffer from extremely dry and/or compromised skin, olive oil might be a good option to reach for—especially during the cold winter months. “The integrity of our skin relies on the lipid barrier, which holds the individual skin cells together—when the weather is cold, we generally begin utilizing heaters which evaporate the liquid barrier of the skin and lead to dry, cracked skin,” explains Neda Mehr, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and medical director at Pure Dermatology Cosmetic & Hair Center in Newport Beach, Calif....

But first, some background on this plant’s origins. The jade plant is native to Africa and has been around for an extremely long time. “What’s really interesting about this particular plant is that it uses a process called CAM photosynthesis,” she explains. “It opens its pores only at night, which means that during the day it holds in a lot of water, allowing it to be more drought-tolerant.” The lack of surface area on its small, round, and fleshy leaves also helps to keep water in....