Wellness

Beanbag beds, ottomans, faux mink sleeping bags, and more.

We found clocks for people who always need more sleep and people who are always raring to go (so annoying!).

It’s all too easy to squash the best intentions of working out at home once you decide to chill in your favorite chair. So here are some chair exercises you can do any time, from any chair—seated, standing, and even without equipment!

Smoking doesn't just ruin a smoker's health—it's ruining their home, too.

Unzip your furniture covers and skinny dip straight into the couch pillows, cosmic voyagers. July’s cosmic medicine is a wet and wild cocktail of deep feels, as Cancer’s turquoise aquatics flood the skies.

I put so much pressure on myself to love New York and to be a “city” person that I didn’t even let myself consider if another, smaller city would make me happier.

If you want to get even more out of your personal rhythms, try writing them down.

The holidays are over and 2018 is upon us, which means the nonstop parade of food, drinks, days off, and parties is in the past. You’re likely back home and back to work, but something isn’t right. You feel sad, tired, and uninspired—and you don’t know why. This experience is known as the post-holiday blues, and it’s a feeling that often crops up during the month of January. “Post-holiday blues is usually a malaise,” says Elaine Rodino, Ph.

You’re mid-dream when the alarm starts blaring on your bedside table. You slowly open your eyes and see two options: stop or snooze. A few stolen minutes in your warm bed sounds heavenly—and hitting snooze couldn’t hurt, right? But then the alarm goes off again—and again—and you realize you’re running late before the day has even officially started. Sound familiar? If it does, you’re not alone.

According to a survey of 1,000 people, those who claimed to have a consistent set of morning habits earned an average of $12,500 per year more than those who didn’t.

You might be surprised to learn that flowers are much more than a beautiful part of nature and a lovely home accent.

Who thought social media would actually help you get your to-do list done?

We've all been there. It's pushing dinnertime and you've barely touched the work assignment that's due by end-of-day. Fret not, my fellow procrastinators, there's hope to be had.

In case you're trying to outsmart a nosy partner, or just want to make sure Amazon understands that cat lady tote was a one-time gag gift.

At some point, we’ve all tried to make a comfortable resting spot out a tiny airplane seat—a place that simply couldn’t measure up to the coziness of a bed. From using a rolled up jacket as a pillow to turning a long sweater into makeshift comforter, none of these temporary fixes quite compare to this multi-functional travel blanket known as The Layover, a new product currently funding on Kickstarter.

Although the official start date of summer isn’t until June 21, the hot seasonal vibes are well under way! And with the thoughts of summer comes thoughts of vacationing, which is probably why you clicked on this article. In reality, though, most of can’t just jet off to our dream destination without a care as to how much it would cost. That’s why we decided to search for the cheapest weekends to travel this summer, plus where you should be jetting off to for said cheap price.

Like politics, finances, and religion, sock-sleeping is one of those topics you want to avoid at the dinner table, unless you're ready for a heated debate.

This is not a drill: IKEA is sending one lucky winner to Copenhagen for two weeks in September to find out if home is the source of happiness.IKEA Denmark is looking for a happiness hunter to uncover just what makes Danes some of the happiest people in the world. They will be sharing their experiences on IKEAHomeView.com and followed by a camera crew, who will be producing a mini documentary on their two week pursuit of happiness in Denmark.

I decided to majorly thin out my book collection—but to my surprise, it wasn't something that made me sad. Instead, I loved the library I was left with.

If your daily routine could use a little optimizing, here’s a science-backed template.

Imagine it’s 2:30 p.m. on a Friday and your flight is at 5 p.m. It usually takes about an hour to get to the airport, but it just dawned on you that you’re going to hit rush hour traffic. You get into your Uber and the GPS ETA says 4:10. Is your initial reaction a.) hands are getting clammy, anxiety is at an all-time high, you regret not leaving earlier; OR b.) you feel adrenaline pulsing through your veins and the pressure is exhilarating.

In honor of National Composting Day on May 29, we spoke to some experts to help break down common myths about composting, including how to do it in an apartment.

There's more than one way to create a home that feels comfortable and content—and a lot of it happens outside your own four walls.

What happens to your body during barre class doesn't seem to make sense, but that's part of the charm—and it totally works.

Name: Andrea Bellamy and Ben Garfinkel, their daughter Lila, and Schnoopette the cat Location: Vancouver, British ColumbiaYears lived in: 5 yearsAndrea Bellamy and Ben Garfinkel grow plants in every nook and cranny they can find around their urban townhouse. Potted tomatoes and herbs grace their balcony and front patio, the couple share raised beds with their neighbors above their parking garage, and they planted a woodland garden in their cozy back patio area.

My generation grew up being told things likethere’s only one you. But I have to admit that it’s been jarring to discover—through astrology, enneagram types, and other fun personality quizzes—how much parts of me can be so eerily similar to everyone else.And isn’t that the value of personality frameworks? They give us parameters for understanding how we tick and help us navigate life with others and life in general.

It’s finally happened. We’ve got a garbage bag hanging from our front door knob. This is a sure sign of slipping into real urban slackerdom and more decay. We’ve become one of THEM.One of my pet peeves in NYC is the ubiquitous use of plastic shopping bags for easy garbage disposal instead of using the actual garbage bin. You know what I mean. It’s done all over town because its EASY. We’ve even been in SUPER fancy apartments and seen the same thing.

You might remember my argument for going back to the basics last year, which is why I fought the idea of a bread machine. But my boyfriend gave me one as a gift and in the last week I’ve been converted. Sure, you can accomplish some of this list by making bread the old-fashioned (or no-knead way), or by purchasing a fresh loaf at your local bakery.

Flying (at least for us common folk in economy class) is perhaps one of the least glamorous parts of travel. Fighting for overhead bin space, cramped quarters, and an overall lack of personal space only scratch the surface of plane travel woes.So when we heard that even the ice served in drinks is a no-go (is nothing sacred anymore?!), it got us thinking about what other ways we could be inadvertently introducing germs into our system during air travel.

Name: Marcella de Boom Occupation: ArtistLocation: Cullinan, South AfricaType: Cob houseSize: 970 sq.ft.Years lived in: 9 >> Marcella de Boom is no ordinary woman, she has built her entire home with her own two hands. The inspiration was “creative poverty”, a wild dream of building a home, without spending more than $5000! The dream started to materialize when she met Interior Architect and Cob lover; Dawn McAdam by coincidence.

Name: Samuel and Barbara DavidsonLocation: Mercer Island, WashingtonSize: 260 square feetYears lived in: 30 years In the middle of beautiful Lake Washington, nestled amid four acres of wooded land, sits a tiny red caboose from 1949. Colorfully out of place among the giant evergreen trees and sprawling rhododendron, it’s a small jewel full of light and warmth.

Bricor claims they are the only manufacturer to create a truly “low flow” showerhead without sacrificing water pressure. Their Ultra Max 100 showerhead has only a 0.5 GPM, yet it has the highest performance value rating of any showerhead tested—more than Oxygenics or Delta. See here for Bricor’s assessment of their FIT rating (Flow Impact Intensity)Technically, “low-flow” is anything under 2.5 GPM, so 0.5 GPM is pretty astounding. How does it work?

You can make your own all-purpose cleaner using three basic, inexpensive, non-toxic ingredients. You can use this cleaner for everything — from streak-free mirrors to wiping out the cat litter box. I keep it pre-mixed in a reused windex spray bottle for easy access. Ingedients 2 cups water 1 cup hydrogen peroxide ¼ cup lemon juice Mix and adjust to suit your needs. Hydrogen peroxide is the key to this cleaner. It’s inexpensive, non-toxic, and readily available.

It should come as no surprise that fabric softeners have a long list of artificial ingredients and chemicals in them. So if you want that cozy, soft feeling without the headache-inducing scent, you can try one of these natural alternatives:1 Baking Soda: Add a 1/2 cup of baking soda to the water in your washer and let it dissolve. Add your clothes.2 Vinegar: Add 3/4 – 1 cup of vinegar to either the wash or the rinse cycle.

As I shared yesterday, last week I got on a plane and flew to Minneapolis to tour the Mrs. Meyer’s headquarters and meet the fabulous 79-year-old Mrs. Meyer in person.

I used to have an older neighbor who was charming and friendly at first, but became very needy and intrusive later. Because at first I saw his frequent visits as friendly behavior, I never set boundaries for what is acceptable. I paid the price later and he got into a routine of invading my privacy in every way possible. Everyone has a different definition of privacy and appropriate neighbor relations.I learned my lesson with my unfortunate neighbor experience.

Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castile Soap claims 18 cleaning uses in one bottle. One of those is laundry soap. Want to know how to make your own using only a cup of Dr. Bronner’s per 64 loads? Check it out: This laundry soap doesn’t create suds, but it doesn’t need to in order to get your laundry clean. 1 cup Dr. Bronner’s pure castile liquid soap1 cup baking soda2 cups water1/3 cup salt Warm the water and mix with salt and baking soda until dissolved.

It can be difficult to muster up the willpower to say “no” when you’re compelled to drop some cash.It doesn’t matter what speaks to you—boozy brunch, a new rug for the living room, a limited edition sneaker drop—the siren call to spend can be deafening. But if you’re serious about saving money for the long haul, you’re going to have to learn how and when to say “no” when shopping.

Growing up I remember family and friends adding all sorts of things to their Christmas tree water. Some added crushed up Asprin, others a fizzy, sugary soda, even bleach and lemon juice. Does this really help? We’ve got answers!The long and the short of the question, “Should I add anything to my Christmas tree water?” is that you don’t have to. If you have hard water, you especially don’t have to.

Beautifully organized spaces are very inspirational for me. Often, I think, if I only had more space, but these rooms make it clear that space is not the issue. In fact, we know that it’s more environmentally-friendly to live small; you just need to know the secrets to making a small space work. Creative solutions, lovely placement, and only having what you use and love make a room clean and simple.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of keeping 3-year-old Tuli company while her mother worked. She’s a darling girl, but has been in a few tree collisions lately while sledding. A simple request to remove a band-aid that was “owie” looked ready to turn into a scream fest – lucky for Tuli, I came armed with this simple trick.Ok, so it’s not so much a trick as it is an appliance.

Perfect Night In is a series where we ask actors, artists, entrepreneurs, and beyond how they’d spend the ultimate luxury—a blissful evening at home.Whether you know her best as shrimp-loving Eleanor on “The Good Place,” spirited younger sister Anna in “Frozen,” or from her total Mom status on Instagram, one thing is for certain: We love Kristen Bell almost as much as she loves sloths.

No matter where you live, capturing rain to water landscaping or wash cars is a good way to use less potable water. However, depending on where you live, your rain water catchment system should be sized accordingly. Here are five questions to help you decide how big your rain barrel should be.If you can collect rain water from 1000 square feet of roof and a typical rainfall is one inch then a 623 gallon barrel will capture most of the typical rainfall. (1000SF x 1/12 feet = 83.

Whether you’re a renter or city dweller, living with a yard can come at a premium. The absence of a yard can also seemingly make life for your pet unpleasant, but after six years I can attest that not only can living without a yard be fine, but even fun! For the past six years my husband and I have lived in Chicago — a city notorious for its lack of yard space. But for each of those years, we’ve lived with a cat, and most recently added a dog to our family.

Mindfulness is being embraced everywhere these days, from the Kindergarten classroom to company retreats. What is mindfulness, exactly? Susan Smalley, Ph.D., and Diana Winston, co-authors of Fully Present, say that mindfulness is “an accepting and kind attitude toward yourself and your present moment experience.” One that will change your relationship to life. Sounds enticing, huh? Here are a few tips on how to integrate the practice of mindfulness into your home. 1.

The day before Thanksgiving I slipped on my front steps and broke my foot. Suddenly, life became a lot more challenging. Hopefully you’ll never break anything, but if you happen to come home from that holiday skiing trip with a souvenir, here are some of the things I’ve learned that will make your life a lot easier.Roll Up The Rugs: Rugs, especially those without a rug pad under them, can slow down a wheelchair or slip under a crutch. Roll them up or remove them.

I was at Target the other day, and standing in front of me in line was a gentleman buying a plunger. That’s it. A plunger. While I really should have been feeling bad for him, because after all, the poor guy was out on a plunger run, I found myself staring at him in wonder, dazzled by his ability to get out of Target with only one darn thing.

That pristine wool carpet you just installed looks great. Keep it looking that way for years with these straightforward, easy tips. Vacuum regularly. Loop carpets like Berbers are more delicate and should be vacuumed only with suction. Pile carpets, like Saxony pile and textured pile, can withstand heavier cleaning and should be cleaned with a beater bar. Natural wool has a wax coating that keeps dirt on the surface, making it easy to keep clean by vacuuming. Stain treat immediately.