Life

(Image credit: Emma Christensen) From Kitchn → 3 Reasons You Probably Shouldn’t Throw Out Your Old Baking Sheets

Meeting new people should be a fun experience, but making small talk feels more like a chore than anything. Going to parties, seeing distant family over the holidays, talking to new people at bars—they all can become daunting and super emotionally draining after a while. Sometimes it’s so hard to know what to say, you just don’t want to say anything.

(Image credit: Mariyana Misaleva/Shutterstock) From Kitchn → 5 Things to Know About Red Wine Stains

Despite what it might feel like to a five-year-old, we know that the holidays are about more than just exchanging presents. If you’d like to instill that important lesson in your own family—or maybe just simplify your gift-giving this season with a clever little game that can also help save some money—we’ve got a gameplan for you. Instead of going hog wild at the mall this year, implement this four-word rubric to guide your gifting: Want, Wear, Need, Read.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) From Kitchn → Steal This Smart Way to Display Your Holiday Cards

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) From Kitchn → Sweet Holiday Gift Idea: DIY Apple Cider Caramels

When it comes to doing gift exchanges, you know the standard options—Secret Santa and White Elephant exchanges are fun ways to celebrate the holidays with friends, coworkers and family, but you’ve probably done them dozens of times. If you’re in want of a more creative way to give gifts this year, here are a few ways you can liven things up a little, while still giving fun, thoughtful gifts to your friends and loved ones.

(Image credit: Sabra Krock) From Kitchn → 10 Snacks We Love for Last-Minute Guests

Because sometimes you're overbooked or just don't want to go.

Bullet journals (or BuJos for short) are definitely having a moment right now. Everywhere you look—Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest—there’s bullet journal fever. If the cult-favorite organizational system has piqued your curiosity but you are not quite sure if it’s for you, we’re walking you through a few key things you need to know before you decide to BuJo or not to BuJo. First off, don’t let the word journal fool you.

(Image credit: Susanna Hopler) From Kitchn → 10 Gifts for the Coffee-Obsessed

(Image credit: jakkapan) shutterstock From Kitchn → Is It Really OK to Not Wash Your Coffee Cup?

"Decorating for the holidays" often feels like an expensive and time-consuming undertaking, but there's another way to do Christmas.

(Image credit: Morgan Childs) From Kitchn → How I Hosted Thanksgiving in My 195-Square-Foot Apartment

The holidays can be a truly lovely time of year, with parties, delicious dinners, and family and friend reunions—but they can also be super stressful (travel and fundamental differences among family members can all lead to disaster). The dynamics change even more when you’re in a brand new relationship, especially if it happens to be the first time you’re meeting your partner’s family. Of course, you want to make a stellar first impression and have a great time.

(Image credit: Leela Cyd) From Kitchn → 6 Tips for Setting Up a Thanksgiving Buffet

Oh, bless the nosy relatives and awkward acquaintances that we see this time of year. They mean well, right? They don’t want to hurt our feelings. They don’t mean to pry. And yet, oooof— navigating the holiday table can feel like House of the Flying Daggers, but instead of daggers it’s questions about jobs and housing and love interests and income and life goals and babies, all zinged at us over mashed potatoes and Nana’s famous dinner rolls.

When Amelia, who runs the design business Urban Cottage NYC, moved into her 490 square foot Hell’s Kitchen studio apartment, she was ready to live small. What she wasn’t willing to do was give up the feeling of having different rooms. “I still wanted to feel like I had a real dining room, where friends could hang out, or where I could write or sew or do projects while watching TV,” she writes. As you can see from her house tour, she totally aced the furniture placement.

(Image credit: Leela Cyd) From Kitchn → 10 Ways to Be the Best Thanksgiving Guest

(Image credit: Lauren Volo ) From Kitchn → A Stranger Things Thanksgiving from the Upside Down

We’re all familiar with Say What You’re Thankful For, Break The Wishbone, and Eat Way Too Much Pie, but these 10 new traditions might lively up your annual family feast—for many years to come. Encourage your guests to bring canned/boxed goods to donate to a soup kitchen or homeless shelter. For every item they bring, they get one ticket for a raffle.

Navigating a party doesn’t require a map—just a little bit of charm. And know this: If you’re not born with social finesse, it’s certainly something you can borrow. The next time you find yourself in a conversation that you need to dip out of—for a drink, a bathroom break, or just to take a breath—use one of these lines. We tapped a panel of entertaining experts in order to lend you some of their secrets for making a graceful exit from a tight circle.

(Image credit: Lauren Volo) From Kitchn → 5 Things You Should Know About Sponges

(Image credit: Lauren Volo) From Kitchn → Turn One Bouquet into a Bunch of Arrangements

A “signature cocktail” sounds like the stuff of a fussy wedding reception, not a simple Sunday dinner party. But as a host at home, having a signature drink just means that you have a delicious and easy-to-mix recipe at the ready to whip up a tasty, boozy sip for anyone who needs it. So what will your signature drink be? It should be something that, first of all, you like to drink.

(Image credit: Leela Cyd) From Kitchn → 5 Things You Should Always Keep Within Arm’s Reach of the Stove

Whether you’re hosting a dinner party, a small pre-bar-hopping cocktail hour or even ordering in some take out for a lazy sunday with friends, there’s a simple secret to making the most of the day: Have a snack on the table as soon as the first guest arrives. It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate—even just a small bowl of chips or nuts will get the job done.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) From Kitchn → 3 Lessons You Can Steal from This Fancy-Pants Butler’s Pantry

(Image credit: Anne Wolfe Postic) From Kitchn → What Separates an Expensive Dishwasher from a Cheap One?

(Image credit: Erin Wengrovius) From Kitchn → 12 Ways to Make Washing Dishes Better, Faster, and More Fun

(Image credit: Lauren Volo) From Kitchn → The One Thing I Always Do After I Do the Dishes

(Image credit: Anna Hoychuk) shutterstock From Kitchn → 5 Ways You Can Use Leftover Coffee Grounds Around the Home

(Image credit: Brent Hofacke) shutterstock From Kitchn → Here’s What You Can Prep Now for Thanksgiving Dinner

(Image credit: Leela Cyd) From Kitchn → The Thanksgiving Side Dish Personality Quiz: What Does Your Favorite Thanksgiving Side Say About You?

The short answer? Yes—Millennials do make the worst houseguests, according to a recent study from HomeAdvisor. But the reality behind it is a little more nuanced than it seems. In the study, 2,000 people in the U.S. were asked to confess both their biggest pet peeves and their worst houseguest habits, from a list of 27 bad behaviors. Each generation—Millennials, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers—had a slightly different take on what bothered them most.

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it’s the perfect time to kick your gratitude practice up a notch. Gratitude is a super tool for living a happy life, and the modern way to do it is nothing like the gradeschool-style hand turkeys marked with notions like “I’m thankful for my mom and Lego.

(Image credit: Michaela Cisney) From Kitchn → 5 Things I Learned the First Time I Went to Trader Joe’s

Finding the words to convey sentimental feelings can be hard sometimes. Yet, the opposite is true when it comes to the Danish term “hygge.” Although there is literally no single translation for the concept (pronounced hoo-gah or hue-gah) the Danes use hygge to describe the warm feelings of happiness, comfort, and coziness—not unlike our idea of holiday spirit—they strive to achieve during the cold weather season.

(Image credit: Emma Christensen) From Kitchn → Tips for Taking Better Care of Your Nonstick Cookware

Going out on Halloween night is always a good time, but if you live in a neighborhood or apartment complex where kids go trick-or-treating on Halloween, sometimes it’s fun to stay home and pass out candy instead. And if you have kids or want to have some fun with your nieces and nephews, taking them around to go trick-or-treating can be a good time too, if you really get into the spirit.

(Image credit: World Market) From Kitchn → 10 Cool Containers for Passing Out Halloween Candy

(Image credit: Gina Eykemans) From Kitchn → What Is Vinegar and What Makes It a Good Cleaner?

(Image credit: Amazon) From Kitchn → What Is Castile Soap and How Does It Work?

(Image credit: Quentin Bacon) From Kitchn → Ina Garten’s 5 Tips for a Better Date Night In

(Image credit: David Hopler of D Square Photo & Video) From Kitchn → 15 Ways to Improve Your Cooking Life, 5 Minutes at a Time

(Image credit: Lauren Volo) From Kitchn → 8 Rules for Bringing Food to Friends

(Image credit: Faith Durand) From Kitchn → 3 Reasons Salt Is a Smart Cleaning Choice

890 square feet isn’t exactly tiny, but with the lack of walls or doors, this high-rise jungle paradise in downtown LA has the potential to be a too-small leopard-print jail cell when two people share this space. Chris and Rory’s home is definitely giving off studio apartment vibes and is PACKED with personality, color, pattern and clothes. So how do two people with big personalities fit into a one-room home?

When you move into a new apartment building or a new neighborhood, do you try to make friends with your neighbors, or do you just go about your business? Sometimes, it makes sense to keep to yourself, but if your neighbors seem like the kind of people you’d like to get to know, it might be worth it to put yourself out there a little bit.

This month we’ll be sharing solutions that are so simple and easy—and at times, automated—that they feel like magic. Hocus Pocus celebrates all the small ways you can trick yourself into living a better life. There are a lot of ways to spend less money at the grocery stores. Couponing or buying cheaper food are two that come to mind, though neither are always ideal for our sanity or our health.

We all know that living in a small space has its benefits — cheaper rent, better locations and more — but sharing that small space with another person…well that can get a little tricky. Sure, there are downsides, but let’s choose to focus on the positive! These five real couples revealed what they think the best thing about sharing a small space with someone else is.

(Image credit: Anjali Prasertong) From Kitchn → The Best Way to Remove Old Coffee Stains from Mugs & Carafes

Newlyweds Franke and Jason, and their dog and cat, share a studio apartment in a Chicago high-rise. They love the location — and the views are killer — but as anyone who’s ever shared a small space knows, it’s not always sunshine and rainbows. In fact, there are three challenges that can be a bummer for small space dwellers in particular: Pets, Parties and Possessions.

(Image credit: Emma Christensen) From Kitchn → How To Clean Your Microwave Naturally with Just a Lemon

(Image credit: l i g h t p o e t) shutterstock From Kitchn → 10 Tips to Help the Dishwasher Run Better

I don’t know about all of you, but the highlight of my Halloween was always the moment we got back from trick-or-treating: My friends and I would dump our pillowcases out on my living room floor and start to wheel and deal with our candies. Trading just like we were on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange. You see, not all treats are created equal.

(Image credit: Emma Christensen) From Kitchn → Food Gifts to Start Preparing Now for the Holidays

Collecting your coins and spare bills is a great way to save money, because over time, all that change adds up. But emptying your pockets into a jar or a piggy bank when you walk in the door? Not exactly the most fun or inspired way to do things. If you need a little extra motivation to save—whether it’s to pay for something special, or to curb your bad money habits—try one of these takes on the traditional coin jar or piggy bank.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever been dumped and heard the words “just friends.” We’ve all been there—and we’ve probably all used the same lame excuse to break up with someone, too. “Just friends” is such a common way to let someone down gently, but when you really think about it, it doesn’t make much sense.

You love your apartment, but there’s one thing you would change if you could—your roommate. It could be that your roommate is actually the worst, but maybe it’s not about them—maybe, it’s you. Maybe it’s that, deep down, you know you’d rather live alone. Whether you daydream about your perfect studio or you dread spending any time around your roommates, these might be signs that it’s time to get your own place.

Halloween-related household spending is expected to hit a record high this year, according to the National Retail Federation: $8.4 billion dollars overall in the U.S., with $2.5 billion of that spent just on candy. That’s a whole lot of Snickers bars, y’all. No doubt, with stats like those looming on the horizon, you want to do your homework and avoid over-spending on Halloween candy this year.

(Image credit: Devon Jarvis) From Kitchn → The IKEA RÅSKOG Cart as Coffee Station

(Image credit: Leela Cyd) From Kitchn → The 12 Worst Offenders for Kitchen Clutter and How to Deal with Them

Say you’re at a soiree with pink champagne cocktails and more guacamole than you know what to do with, and you find yourself yawning between all the mingling. Or maybe you’re standing in front of your bathroom mirror — applying the night’s lipstick — and it dawns on you that getting into a taxi cab and legging it across town is the last thing you want to be doing that night.

Concerts and movies are great group activities, sure, but they don’t have to be group outings. It seems like most people wouldn’t (or at least, haven’t) gone to to a concert or to see a movie by themselves—and if you haven’t, you’re missing out. It may sound weird, but giving myself permission to go to things like that alone was one of the best things I could have ever done for myself.

(Image credit: Leela Cyd) From Kitchn → 10 of the Best Movies to Watch on a Date Night In with Friends

(Image credit: Restoration Hardware) From Kitchn → 6 Dinnerware Sets That Will Outlast Your Design Whims

Globe-traveling, curio-collecting, working professionals by day and co-creators of an animated series by night. They’re building a life together rooted in a love of travel and exploration, fueled by intellectual curiosity and creativity. They’re smart and warm and possess Jedi-level cocktail making skills. Here’s life with Mark and Noelle… Mark and Noelle live in a flat in Chicago’s Avondale/Logan Square neighborhood.

(Image credit: Sarah Copeland) From Kitchn → 8 Tips for Hosting a FEED Supper

(Image credit: Christine Han) From Kitchn → How To Sharpen a Knife: The Video

Never sure what to snatch up when you’re out thrifting? Or what to put back down? With so much STUFF to see (and potentially purchase) when you’re out second-hand shopping, it can be tough to make the best buying decisions. While everyone’s decor needs are different, it never hurts to hear what the experts are always on the hunt for (and what they would never take home).

(Image credit: Christine ) From Kitchn → 5 Important Things to Know About Cutting Boards