How to Freeze a Month of Soup Dinners in One Afternoon

One Sunday in October I made four pots of soup in a row and froze them all. That single afternoon […]

How to Store Holiday Decorations Without the Tangled Mess

Last January I swore I would do it right. I stood in the living room surrounded by dead pine needles […]

Why Your Smoke Alarm Chirps in Fall and How to Stop It

The smoke alarm started chirping at 2:47 in the morning. Not the full blaring siren, just the polite single chirp […]

Winter Walking Safety: How to Stay Visible on Short Dark Days

The sun sets at 4:30 in December, and every evening I see the same thing on my street: walkers in […]

The Right Way to Store Potatoes So They Do Not Sprout or Rot

I bought a 10 pound bag of potatoes in March and by April half of them had sprouted into little […]

Winter Dry Air: How to Protect Your Skin and Your House at the Same Time

Every January my skin turns into sandpaper and the wood floor starts creaking like a haunted house. Both problems have […]

How to Store Winter Squash So It Lasts Until Spring

Every fall I buy way too many squashes at the farmers market because they look beautiful and I have no […]

How to Keep Your Christmas Cactus Blooming Year After Year

My grandmother had a Christmas cactus that bloomed like clockwork every December, and she never seemed to do anything to […]

The Bug Spray Trick That Keeps Mosquitoes Off Your Patio

I gave up on my patio for two summers because the mosquitoes owned it. Every evening I would go out […]

How to Store Summer Outdoor Gear So It Survives the Winter

Last October I hung my bike in the garage and shoved the kayak against the wall, figuring I would deal […]