Parents have a great responsibility to raise their kids to the best of their ability. Here are seven things that parents who raise successful children have in common. iStock
Adopting some of these practices may help to ensure the growth and success of your children now and in the future.
They make their kids do chores.
If you never teach your kid to do their laundry because they aren’t great at sorting, you aren’t doing them any favors. They’ll go off to college and, as actual adults in the world, will not know how to do their own laundry. And that’s pretty insane.
The most important thing to realize with chores is that you’re teaching your kids responsibility (not to mention that if they don’t do these things, someone else will have to). iStock
Julie Lythcott-Haims, former dean of freshmen at Stanford University and author of How to Raise an Adult, said, “If kids aren’t doing the dishes, it means someone else is doing that for them, and so they’re absolved of not only the work, but of learning that work has to be done and that each one of us must contribute for the betterment of the whole.” iStock
Lythcott-Haims goes on to elaborate about how teaching your kids when they’re young to do chores and have responsibility will most likely shape them into better employees, teammates, and people of empathy because they’ll have more understanding of independence and hard work.
They teach their kids social skills.
There was a 20-year study done on kids beginning in kindergarten and following them until they were 25 years old. The research found a huge correlation between kids learning social skills in kindergarten and going on to become successful adults versus those who did not learn the proper social skills. iStock
As summarized here, “The 20-year study showed that socially competent children who could cooperate with their peers without prompting, be helpful to others, understand their feelings, and resolve problems on their own, were far more likely to earn a college degree and have a full-time job by age 25 than those with limited social skills.”
This theory is more important than ever today because of the constant use of iPads and phones as a means of distracting a child while adults enjoy their meal or socialize. iStock
It’s incredibly important to teach young kids proper social behavior as well as emotional behavior and tools to deal with everyday situations.
The family gets along.
We understand this may not always be an achievable situation, but hopefully the parents are willing to try. iStock
It may be common knowledge that kids whose parents get along tend to do better emotionally than kids who grow up in a house with parents who fight, but it’s also proven true that kids tend to do better with a single, happy parent over two parents who do not get along.
Conflict prior to a divorce can have a major negative impact on the child. What is also key to a child’s well-being is how the parents get along after the divorce. iStock Business Insider says, “One study found that, after divorce, when a father without custody has frequent contact with his kids and there is minimal conflict, children fare better. But when there is conflict, frequent visits from the father are related to poorer adjustment of children.” iStock
The study goes on to explain how kids in their twenties still report pain and distress over the conflict from their parents divorcing from when they were children.
The parents have attended higher education and have good jobs.
This idea goes along with the theory that kids want not just to follow in their parents’ footsteps, but they frequently want to achieve more than their parents. There is a mentality that kids want to make their parents proud. iStock
By doing so, they often feel the desire to earn more money or build a better business in an effort to do something that builds on the foundation of what their parents did and goes one step further.
In one study researchers found that “Pulling from a group of over 14,000 children who entered kindergarten in 1998 to 2007, children born to teen moms (18 years old or younger) were less likely to finish high school or go to college than their counterparts.” iStock
Parents who went to college are more likely to [linkbuilder id=”6668″ text=”raise kids”] who will go to college, and furthermore, when children are young, their parents’ educational level seemed to have a direct effect of the child’s desire for education and occupation well into their forties.
Parents teach conflict and resolution.
E. Mark Cummings, a developmental psychologist at the University of Notre Dame said, “When kids witness mild to moderate conflict that involves support, compromise, and positive emotions at home, they learn better social skills, self-esteem, and emotional security, which can help parent–child relations and how well they do in school.” iStock
An example of this is a kid who witnesses his parents fight and then come to a resolution (and make up happily) or solve another problem together. In these instances, when the child sees the comforting conclusion to the fight, he or she will be happier and more emotionally secure afterward when the tension from before the fight has been released.
Therefore, the child will learn to have more of an open mind about constructive arguments and trust in the process to talk about certain feelings, emotions, and things that may be causing problems. Cummings goes on to say, “Our studies have shown that the long-term effects of parental withdrawal are actually more disturbing to kids’ adjustment than open conflict.” iStock
This is because the children will feel stress but won’t know exactly why, which could lead to further developmental and behavior problems.
Quality Time Over Quantity
There is a social stigma that parents—especially mothers—should be around their young children as much as possible. But a recent study found that “In fact, it appears the sheer amount of time parents spend with their kids between the ages of 3 and 11 has virtually no relationship to how children turn out, and a minimal effect on adolescents.” iStock
The research goes to explain how helicopter parenting or forced parent/child time could actually have a negative effect on the child because the parent is stressed during their time together.
Whether it’s because of work, marital problems, or any other reason, the stress is passed on to the child. This is called “emotional contagion,” which is the psychological phenomenon in which people “catch” feelings from one another like they would a cold. iStock
The most important factor was the focus on quality time with children versus quantity. It’s not so much about the number of hours, but what goes on during those hours. Talking, going outdoors, exploring are all examples of quality time; doing activities together benefits the child more than just sitting around and watching television.
Valuing Effort Over Focusing on Failure
There is an ancient proverb that says, “Fall down seven times, get up eight.” There are countless other adages that explain the idea that much more emphasis should be placed on trying, failing, and trying again versus the notion of succeeding or not succeeding. This article about “fixed mindsets” and “growth mindsets” further explain this concept, which is summarized here:
A “fixed mindset” says that our character, intelligence, and creative ability are predestined traits that we can’t change. Essentially, if you fail, you are never going to learn. You’ll always fail. iStock
A “growth mindset,” on the other hand, thrives on challenge and sees failure not as evidence of a lack of intelligence but as a platform for growth and for stretching our existing abilities. iStock
Therefore we must teach our children the importance of learning from failure and using what they’ve learned to try again—only this time with more knowledge.
One way to look at this that many kids can relate to is if you’re playing a video game and you die at a certain point, you don’t give up. You play again, and now that you know there is someone hiding behind that wall, you’ll be prepared. You have learned from your first time and will use that knowledge to advance further in the game—just as you do in life.
When you absolutely need to look your best, you have to pay attention to the little things.
It’s always the little things—not dramatic changes—that really make all the difference. No matter your body type, profession, personal taste, or preference, it is possible to look and feel good without having to change your entire style, much less who you are at your core.
With that said, certain types of faux pas can be especially damaging. Avoid becoming a victim to these sneaky saboteurs by following these tips.
1. Leaving Bits of Lint and Animal Fur on Your Clothes
People notice details, and a single piece of lint can stand out, especially if it doesn’t match your clothing. iStock
Rather than color-coordinating your lint, we’d recommend getting rid of it entirely. Lint rollers are amazing, but if you don’t have one handy, some tape will do just fine.
If you’ve got animals, you should have several lint rollers and put them where you can find them easily. Keep one in your car, one in your bag, and one in the bathroom.
There’s nothing worse than running late for a job interview only to realize that your shirt looks like you rolled around on the carpet.
2. See-through Fabrics
To be clear: thin, gauzy skirts can be a great addition to your wardrobe. Do yourself a favor, though, and make sure that they don’t go totally transparent when you end up backlit.
Some fabrics will do their best to trick you. They look totally opaque in the dim light of morning. By the time you’re headed out for lunch, though, the light shines right through them, treating all of your coworkers to a glimpse of what’s underneath.
If you’re totally in love with a thin skirt, be sure to wear leggings underneath. You want to preserve a little mystery.
3. Wearing Clothes With Tiny Rips, Frays, and Other Minor Damage
These types of issues sneak up on you. You’ll wear the same jeans every day, and you won’t notice as they start to fray. Or you’ll ignore the missing button on your favorite shirt simply because you’ve worn it so many times. iStock
Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever, and that includes clothes. Small rips, holes, frays, and tears can go from a minor flaw to a deal breaker when it comes to clothing.
A tailor may be able to help you with hems and holes. Cute patches can conceal minor tears and rips. Consider donating any clothes that are still wearable. Although it may be hard to let go, just think of the new items you can replace these with.
4. Not Breaking out the Iron
We get it. You’re busy. It’s difficult to fit in that ironing time when you’ve got so much going on. But your wardrobe, and possibly even your image, won’t be taken seriously if you look like you just grabbed your shirt from the bottom of the hamper. Preventing wrinkles can save you precious time with a little bit of effort. Read the care tag on your clothing to learn how to wash it best: The water and dryer temperatures you use could have a huge effect on the condition of your clothing. Also, hang your clothes up immediately after they are dry. If you’re against ironing, you can use the dryer to your advantage in the fight against wrinkles. Wrap the garment around an ice cube, then throw them in the dryer. The ice dissolves and turns into steam, thereby creating the perfect anti-wrinkle environment. But sometimes, wrinkles are inevitable. Got a big trip coming up and don’t feel like packing your iron? Learn a wrinkle-free packing method instead.
5. Rolling up Your Sleeves Incorrectly
When the seasons change, you might find yourself rolling up your sleeves to stay cool. It’s actually quite a fashionable look, provided that you take the time to do a double-roll. iStock
That technique uses two simple folds, leaving your cuffs looking clean and precise. The “classic” method leaves you looking like you’re not concerned with your appearance, and it’s sloppy, to say the least.
6. Too Many Accessories
Accessories are essential to your look. A single necklace can make a great statement piece, for instance, or a scarf can pull your entire outfit together. The ideal accessory will be eye catching and (this is important) appropriate for the occasion. Alex Zivatar
Where you’ll get into trouble is if you start piling on the gaudy accessories to cover up a simple outfit.
Don’t worry about being too plain; that’s a much better option than going overboard and risking looking tacky.
7. Worn-out Clothing
Looking to make a bad impression? An easy way to do this is by wearing a shirt that was white in a former life. It’s inevitable that the whitest of whites start to discolor, and once they do, it’s time to either put them in the discard pile or do something about them. Prevent your whites from becoming former versions of themselves by making whites a separate load. Mixing them with colors can cause them to become dingy and gray.
8. Wearing Hair Ties as Bracelets
You’re not a teenager anymore (well, actually, we don’t know—you might be, in which case, disregard that sentence). While you’ve been wearing hair ties on your wrists for years, it’s never really been okay. iStock
Hair tie bracelets look tacky, and they’re simply not necessary. Keep a few hair ties in your car, your bag, and anywhere else you might need them.
9. Pants That Are Too Long
There are many things in life that would classify as being a drag, but your pants shouldn’t be one of them. Hem lines that flirt with the floor are just fine, but you’ve gone too far when they make contact. Along with carrying around dirt and other grime, long pants can become damaged from their trip.. Improvemant.com/YouTube
Prevent this fashion faux pas by visiting the tailor. Bring the shoes you like to wear with them the most along so the tailor has an idea of how much to remove.
10. Wearing Athletic Shoes in Non-athletic Situations
Sure, your tennis shoes are comfortable, but unless you’re on a tennis court, they look out of place. Athletic shoes stick out like a sore thumb and can make you look like a teenager (and not in a good way). iStock
Guys make this mistake more often than women, in our experience, but we’ve all done it on occasion.
11. While We’re at It: Not Cleaning Your Shoes
You wouldn’t leave the house in mud-covered clothing, so why would you walk outside with dirty shoes? A pair of less-than-clean kicks can ruin your outfit faster than you can click your heels together.
A quick swipe when you walk through the door can prevent buildup on heels and boots, but your sneakers are often a different story. Their material can make stains difficult to erase. Fortunately, you can usually rid shoes of unsightly marks by tossing them in the washer. Alex Zivatar According to USAToday.com, you’ll need to sprinkle the insides of each sneaker with 3 tablespoons of baking soda, and leave them overnight. Shake the soda out in the morning.
Remove the laces from your sneakers and place them in a pillowcase to stop them from getting tangled in the wash. Wipe as much dirt and debris from your shoes as you can with a scrubbing brush, then toss the laces and the shoes in the washer. Protect your shoes, and your washer, by throwing four to six towels in, as well. This will keep your shoes protected and stop them from banging against the washer.
Use liquid detergent and wash the shoes in a cold, delicate cycle. Allow the shoes to air-dry once they are clean. Avoid putting them in the dryer, as its heat can damage your sneakers.
12. Wearing Clothes That Don’t Fit Correctly
Nothing can kill your style quite as quickly as an oversized shirt or too-tight pants. Even if the clothes feel comfortable, if they don’t fit, don’t wear them.
However, falling in love with a piece of clothing that doesn’t exactly fit is a common tragedy. You can likely fix it, however, by taking the garment to a tailor. iStock
Do remember that different clothing manufacturers size their garments quite differently. If you’re a size 2 at one store, you might be a size 6 somewhere else, so trust the fit, not the tag. Always take the time to try on clothes before you buy them.
13. That Applies to the Shoes, Too
Shoes that are too large or too tight create an interesting effect, and not in a good way. Oversized shoes make you look like you’ve got a bit role in the upcoming IT remake, whereas small shoes can make your feet look like they’re planning a prison break. iStock
Again, try shoes on before you buy them, and if you’re not sure if you’re wearing the right size, get a second opinion before you head somewhere important.
14. Wearing White Clothing That Isn’t White Anymore
Alas, even the whitest whites will eventually start to turn a pale yellow color. The good news is that you can usually restore your whites with a simple bleach bath, and if you’ve got an aversion to bleach, baking soda or hydrogen peroxide can work wonders. iStock
Whatever you use to whiten your clothes, use it consistently. A t-shirt with a vaguely straw-colored hue doesn’t have the same look as a crisp white top.
15. Not Taking Care of Your Nails
A manicure can turn nails from cute to cringe-worthy in a matter of minutes and all it takes is a single chip in the polish. Although keeping a perfect manicure for more than a week or two is just about impossible, you can increase its lifespan by following these simple steps.
First, apply an even and thin base coat. Allow the layer to completely dry, which usually takes at least two minutes, before you put on another coat. Use a gel-finish top coat or an at-home LED lamp to help your nails dry.
If you want a professional manicure, ask them to skip the top coat and apply the gel finishing coat when you get home.
16. Carrying a Massive Bag
Sure, it’s great to have a bag that can carry your laptop, makeup kit, car keys, and body cream while still leaving enough room for a full-grown chihuahua, but a big bag can easily throw off the rest of your outfit. After all, a bag is an accessory.
Opt for a smaller bag for job interviews and other important events (if you carry a bag at all—a briefcase might be more appropriate). And make sure that your bag’s in good condition. As with other elements of your look, you’ll need to call in a ringer when your bag falls into disrepair.
17. Missing a Belt Loop (and Other Minor Mistakes)
Pay attention to the little things. You can have a perfectly put together outfit, only to sabotage yourself by missing a belt loop or leaving a visible zipper.
We’re not saying that every inch of your outfit has to be absolutely perfect, but do a quick ocular pat down of yourself before you leave the house; if you don’t have a decent-sized mirror, now’s the time to get one. Make sure that you’re not making any obvious mistakes.
18. Making Too Many Adjustments to Your Outfit
On the other hand, once you leave the house, try to stop worrying. Don’t constantly pick at your clothes or mess with your sleeves; guys, leave the tie alone. Fidgeting with your clothing is a sure way to look messy, even if there’s nothing actually wrong with your look.
If you really can’t stop fidgeting, recognize that you’re a little stressed out. Take a moment to collect yourself, squeeze a tennis ball, or do whatever else you have to do to stop picking your outfit apart.
19. Clothes That Are Pilling
It happens to the best of ‘em. A few times into wearing, you notice that certain spots on your garment are a little rougher than others. The next thing you know, a bunch of tiny little balls join the party and take up space on those rough patches, which are most likely in the armpit or thigh areas. These clothing-crashers are called pills and are formed when fabric rubs together.
Blended fabrics are usually the most susceptible to becoming pilling victims, saysGood Housekeeping magazine. Fiber blends that contain three or more fabrics have a higher incidence of pilling, especially those that contain both natural and synthetic fibers. iStock
To prevent damage, turn your garment inside out before washing. Doing so prevents the fabric from rubbing against other clothes in the wash, stopping the pills before they wreak havoc.
The gold standard for pill-prone garments is hand-washing. Placing your washer on the gentle or delicate setting is second best. Air-drying your clothing can also help to keep it safe. Once everything is washed and dried, store or hang your garments inside out.
20. Not Getting Your Favorite Pair of Shoes Repaired
We get it; you love your shoes, even if the soles are fading away and the leather is scuffed. The good news is that a talented cobbler can perform those much-needed repairs, restoring your favorite kicks to their former glory.
The bad news is that the longer you wait, the more you’ll pay—and the worse you’ll look. If you’re going to keep that old pair of shoes, take care of them.
21. For Guys: Unkempt Facial Hair
The beard is back, folks. Facial hair hasn’t been this fashionable since the Old West. With a great beard comes great responsibility, though, and too many of us are forgetting that beard maintenance takes work. A neat, masculine face-mane is one thing. Grizzly Adams is another. Splash News Online
To keep from looking sloppy, make sure that you keep your beard neat and trimmed. That means shaving your neck, and probably your cheeks as well. There should be clear lines demarcating “beard” and “non-beard.” Otherwise, you’re not just Brooklyn hip. You’re mountain-man messy.
22. For Women: Visible Bra Straps
There’s a war going down in our culture today, and internet comments threads are the battlefields. That war is over the appropriateness of visible bra straps.
“Adult women wear bras, and people should deal with it,” say the pro-bra-strap ladies who just don’t care. Pinterest
“Bra straps are never, ever appropriate in a professional setting,” say the human resource managers.
Given the controversy, it’s safest to keep your straps covered up. You might not look like you’re making a point; you might just look like you got dressed in the dark. This is not to take a side in the debate. We’re just saying that the smart money is always on covering undergarments. The same goes for your high-waisted thong, by the way. These clips work great, or go with a strapless bra.
23. Wearing Oversized Clothes to Hide Your Figure
Oversized clothing is “in” right now, but don’t play into the trend just to hide your figure when you’re feeling bloated or self conscious. Tuck in those oversized tops or add a belt; make sure that your figure’s visible. iStock
You rock, and there’s no reason to sink into your clothing. If you want to go a few sizes up, have a plan and make an effort to balance your outfit’s proportions.
24. Excessively Long Sleeves
Long sleeves can easily make you look like a little kid. Unfortunately, your favorite shirt might flatter the rest of your figure perfectly; if you’ve got short arms, we feel your pain. A Love Is Blind
If you don’t want to roll up, go ahead and give your tailor a call—and if you don’t have a tailor, get one. For a few bucks, you can get a perfectly crafted look, provided that you’re on a tailor’s good side, and you’ll never go back to straight off-the-rack clothes again. That applies for both men and women (and guys, having a tailor will instantly put you way ahead of your competition).
25. Going Really Retro (Without Any Sort of Twist)
We’re fine with retro looks, to be absolutely clear. You just need to have some sort of a modern update, or you’ll end up looking like you got stranded in a 1980s (or earlier!) department store. iStock
Modern accessories can provide a great, easy update. Your shoes and bottoms can also be modernized to complement a vintage top. Just take it easy on the nostalgic items, and you’ll be fine; otherwise, you’ll look like you didn’t spend enough time thinking this through.
26. Taking the Term “Boyfriend Blazer” Too Literally
There are some great boyfriend blazers in the boutiques these days, but you can’t literally lift a boyfriend’s jacket and expect to look chic. What the designers call a “boyfriend blazer” is actually cut to strike a very feminine figure. Blazers designed for men, meanwhile, will make you look like David Byrne during his big-suit era. iStock
No matter how romantic you think it is to snuggle in your boyfriend’s clothes, doing so likely gives you a sloppy appearance. If you like the idea of donning garments that have that boyfriend-type style, look for boyfriend-cut clothes. Despite the name, this type of clothing is cut for feminine figures, and looks amazing.
27. Showing up With Wet Hair
Nothing says “I overslept” like going out with wet hair. You get a pass if it’s raining, but otherwise, put that blow dryer to work. You want your look to be complete before you show up at an important work function or, God forbid, a hot date.
Wet hair sends the message that you were rushing to get out of the house, which suggests general sloppiness. We get it, though—you totally were rushing out of the house.
28. Leggings as Pants
This fashion faux pas has taken the nation by storm. We blame the rise of the yoga pant. iStock Leggings can be a key ingredient in a super cute outfit, but don’t mistake them for fully formed bottoms in themselves. Throw on a short skirt or wear a dress if your shirt is belly-grazing; the key is to keep your backside from hitting people in the face. That’s just sloppy (even if it’s incredibly comfortable).
29. Day-old Eye Makeup
It can be tempting to leave yesterday’s mascara and eyeliner on rather than going through the arduous process of removing and re-applying. Don’t give into temptation; people can totally tell, and you’re really not saving that much time in the long run. Gorunway
On day two, mascara gets clumpy. Old eyeliner fades unevenly, leaving you looking like a Picasso painting. There’s only one way to keep your eye-makeup game going strong, and that’s to clean and re-apply daily. Sorry to break the bad news.
30. Smudges on Your Glasses
A cute pair of frames is great, but you’ll spoil the effect if you let lenses get smudged and greasy. iStock
Keep a microfiber cloth handy at all times, and be sure to rub down your glasses before an important encounter. You definitely want to look your best if you’re getting close enough for someone to see your glasses in such detail.
Men and women both do gross things sometimes. The difference between men and women is that men are often more inclined to admit to their “gross doings.”
Women tend to keep it covert, like they’re getting away with something. What many women don’t realize, though, is that some of their covert, gross habits could actually be harming their health.
Think you’re clean and this doesn’t apply to you? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that over 50 percent of healthy people have the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus living in or on their noses, throats, hair, or skin. Researchers in London report that if everyone routinely washed their hands, a million deaths a year could be prevented. iStock
Check out the list of gross things that all women do…and what happens when they do them.
Use Samples in the Shop
Is this you?
You’re in the department store and it’s a makeup sample smorgasbord. You go crazy trying the newest mascara, lipstick, and powder—without taking the time to clean everything (like you know you should). iStock Why it’s bad:
When you use a personal product that has been shared with other people, you’re exposing yourself to all the bacteria or viruses that they have or were carrying. Rowan University researchers tracked makeup testers over a two-year period and found staph, strep, and E. coli bacteria, as well as the viruses responsible for cold sores and pinkeye on the makeup testers. iStock What you should do:
If you want to try on makeup at a counter, stick with disposable applicators. Also, try to sanitize all products that are able to be cleaned, like lipsticks and eye shadows. It’s also helpful to shave down any eye or lip pencils.
Never Clean Makeup Brushes
Is this you?
Do you continue to use the same makeup brushes over and over without cleaning them? Do your makeup brushes feel stiff and hard? Are they often wet or stored in moist conditions, like in your bathroom? iStock Why it’s bad:
Bacteria, dust, and dirt can collect on brushes, allowing for the perfect environment for colonies of bacteria to live and reproduce. Every time you dip your uncleaned brush in your makeup, you can be reinfecting it and your face—over and over. This can cause irritation, breakouts, skin infections, and clogged pores. iStock What you should do:
We know it’s a pain, but it’s worth the trouble! Professionals recommend that you clean your makeup brushes at least once a month.
Never Clean Their Hairbrushes
Is this you?
Does your hairbrush have a life of its own? Is there so much hair on your brush that you can hardly see the stem of the brush? Do you remember the last time you cleaned your brush? Have you ever cleaned your brush? iStock Why it’s bad:
Product residue, dead skin cells from your scalp, and oil can sit on your brush and act as a host for bacteria and yeast to colonize. This can leave your brush not only sticky and smelly, but also bad for your health. iStock What you should do instead:
Professionals say that your course of action really depends on how much you wash your hair. The less that you wash and the more you use styling products and stuff in your hair, the more often you should clean it. They recommend that you thoroughly clean your brush at least once a month and keep up with a spray cleaning once a week.
Put Makeup Back in the Container When You Take out Too Much
Is this you?
You poured out too much concealer, so what do you do? You pour the excess back in and scrape your hand to make sure you get everything. How bad could it be? iStock Why it’s bad:
Your hands are a petri dish of dirty stuff. Product that gets on your hands is contaminated with the bacteria and dirt and gets put back in the container to reproduce.
British doctor Chris van Tulleken and Queen Mary University of London microbiologist Ron Cutler did a study that involved swabbing the hands of 50 people on the streets of London to determine how much bacteria is on the the average person’s hands. The results were quite disgusting. Everyone had bacteria on their hands, and 26 to 30 percent of the people had fecal matter. One quarter of the people were “heavily contaminated” (three times more than the average), and 10 percent were “grossly contaminated,” carrying 10 to 50 times more than the average person. iStock What you should do:
Never, ever put product back in a container. Use it or lose it.
Try on Bathing Suits or Lingerie Without Underwear
Is this you?
It happens more often than you think. Layers of underwear are bulky and don’t give you the exact appearance of the bathing suit or underwear that you’re trying on—so you take it off and figure “I’ll just wear it for 3 minutes. It can’t be that bad.” iStock Why it’s bad:
A study done by the microbiology and pathology department of the New York University School of Medicine found that underwear and bathing suits in department stores possessed an alarming amount of microflora (bacteria from your large intestine) and also skin, fecal bacteria, yeast, and even salmonella. Think those sticky strips will save your precious parts? Think again! The researchers found that they don’t help much at all. iStock What you should do:
Always, ALWAYS try on bathing suits or underwear over your underwear. Be sure to wash your new clothing as soon as you get home. Also, try to wash your hands after trying on the clothes.
Share Your Bed With Your Pets
We all have a soft spot for our furry companions, making it hard to say no when they just want to be close to you. Is it really that bad? Watch the video below to find out the gross reasons why you should rethink letting Scruffy share your bed.
Not Wash Your Hair and Live on Dry Shampoo
Is This You?
For the fifth day in a row you’ve gotten up late and have no time to shower! You spray your entire head with dry shampoo(again), brush, and hope for the best. iStock Why it’s bad:
Washing your hair not only makes your hair look and smell good, it’s actually good for your health! Your scalp should be thought of as an extension of the skin on your face. When you clean your head and your scalp, you remove dead skin, germs, and bacteria. iStock What you should do:
The CDC reports that within the first 15 minutes of bathing, the average person sheds 6 x 106 colony forming units (CFU) of Staphylococcus aureus. Professionals recommend that you wash your hair every other day (with a twice-a-week washing being an absolute must).
You know that couple (or those besties)…the ones who share everything. And we mean everything. Not normal things like clothing, blankets, or coffee cups. But things you think shouldn’t be shared. Disgusting, potentially germ-growing, virus-breeding, fungus-festering things. iStock
Some people believe that routinely exposing yourself to bacteria and germs makes your immune system stronger. Others are so grossed out by germs that it causes them to be obsessively, maniacally clean.
Most of us fall in the middle somewhere. We basically like things clean and keep stuff to ourselves, but sometimes we venture into “we know we shouldn’t borrow this, but how bad can it be?” zones. Did you ever find yourself wondering just how many germs you share with your boyfriend when you slurp out of his soda can? Or how gross it really is when you swipe your pits with your sister’s deodorant—even just once? Unfortunately, it’s worse than we thought. Grab your garbage can and bravely read below.
1. Earbuds
Your friend wants you to listen to her new song, so she pulls out her earbuds and jams them in your ears so you can listen. You would think that sharing them would be benign, but it’s not. The ears normally contain bacteria like pseudomonas, staphylococcus, and strep, which you’re used to and typically don’t cause any health problems. iStock
It’s when you start swapping bacteria with other people that you get in trouble. Add in the moist environment of sweating and working out, and you have the perfect breeding ground for an overload of bacteria that can cause infections, pimples, boils, ear fungus, or swimmer’s ear.
Over-the-ear listening devices prove to be even more troublesome because they transmit not only germs and wax, but they can also transmit lice. The best thing to do is to tell your bestie to buy her own earbuds. If you must share, wipe the earbuds down with alcohol.
2. Towels
You jump out of the shower, see a towel, grab it, and use it. What you don’t realize is that towel may be covered in bacteria, fungi, and mildew. Towels are the perfect breeding ground for germs because they hang in dark, wet places and never really get a chance to dry out. iStock
Small amounts of bacteria are always present on a used towel, but if you notice a funky smell, you can be sure there are colonies of things you don’t want on there—things that can cause acne, pink eye, cold sores, bacterial infections, or even chlamydia.
The best practice is to not share towels at all and to wash them after one use. If you have to reuse them, make sure that they hang in a well-ventilated, bright place and that they dry out completely. Having trouble figuring out whose towel is whose? Try color coding them so everyone has their own, or use a waterproof marker to label them.
3. Bar of Soap
Soap cleans your body, so it must clean itself after each use, right? Unfortunately it doesn’t. Each time someone uses a bar of soap, the “slime” on it gets covered in organisms from that person’s skin—everything from harmless germs to serious pathogens like norovirus (which causes the stomach “flu”) and staph (MRSA). iStock
You might think that antibacterial soap would be better and save you from the harmful stuff, but it won’t. Antibacterial properties don’t kill germs the way alcohol does.
If you’re sharing the bar with just your family members, you really have little to worry about because you share many of the same microorganisms anyway. But if you’re out and about and there’s no liquid soap in sight, the best thing to do is rinse the bar off in running water to wash away the slime. It’s always good practice to store soap out of water and allow it to dry completely between uses.
4. Razors
You forgot your razor, so you’re just going to use your friend’s. Not so fast! It may not be worth it. When you shave, your skin’s dead cells mix with bacteria, which can cause a host of issues. iStock
Even if you don’t cut yourself, shaving can cause tiny nicks in the skin where viruses and bacteria can enter the blood quickly. It’s probably better to have a little stubble and wait until you get home to use your own razor.
5. Water Bottles
You’re dying because you forgot your water and your friend kindly offers hers. You take a swig, praying that she doesn’t have any germs that you can catch. Bad news! She does. We all do. iStock
Some can be as harmless as the common cold, or as menacing as strep, mono, herpes, mumps, and meningitis. You won’t always get sick if you share a beverage with someone, but in this case, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
6. Keyboards/Cellphones
Your cubicle mate eats a ham sandwich and then jumps on your computer to look something up. Your friend comes back from a quick trip to the bathroom, then grabs your phone and heads to Instagram. You’re hoping that the germs you know they deposited aren’t that bad. The truth is that keyboards and cellphones can have more bacteria than a toilet. iStock
And the more people you share your things with, the worse it becomes. If you can’t insist that people wash their hands before they put them on your tech stuff, then make a regular practice of wiping down your screens with alcohol wipes.
7. Underwear/Swimwear
Hopefully you know better about this, but just in case, we’ll come out very strongly against this one: you should NEVER, EVER wear someone else’s underclothes next to your private parts. iStock
Damp, dark places are the perfect breeding ground for bacteria, fungi, or viruses. Even though the clothes may be washed before you wear them, studies have shown that washing them in even in the cleanest conditions doesn’t always get rid of the intruders.
8. Deodorant
We doubt anyone thinks it’s okay to share a product that’s intended to combat sweat and smell from under the armpits, but are you wondering (if, heaven forbid, you were in a pinch) just how bad it may be? Eh, it’s not great. The odor that comes from under your pits is from bacteria that breaks down the sweat on your skin. iStock
If you’re sharing deodorant it’s not too bad, because it normally has some antibacterial properties—unless it’s organic. Most organic deodorants just mask the smell and don’t contain powerful enough (or any) ingredients that can fight bacteria.
If you’re using a roll-on antiperspirant, it’s even worse. Antiperspirants only decrease perspiration and don’t have any germ-killing stuff that deodorants have. You could be sharing someone else’s germs, bacteria, fungi, and yeast—or at the very least, their skin cells and hair. Switch to a spray, and you’re all good!
9. Pumice Stones
The job of pumice stones is to scrape dead skin from the heels and soles of feet. When you borrow someone else’s stone, you’re not only getting all of that gross personal debris, but you can also catch any foot fungus or plantar warts that they may have. iStock
HPV, the virus responsible for foot warts, is highly contagious, and unfortunately the warts are really hard to get rid of.
10. Tweezers
How harmful can borrowing someone’s tweezers be? You pluck a couple of hairs and everything is fine and dandy. It’s okay if you don’t dig around, but start prodding and puncturing your skin and things can get messy. iStock
As with sharing a razor, you can transfer blood-borne diseases. Soak tweezers in a jar of alcohol if you think they may have come in contact with blood.
You want to believe that they work. You spend so much money on them and invest so much time in using them. But sadly, most of the beauty products that we rely on to make us [linkbuilder id=”6645″ text=”look younger”], prettier, and like we’ve slept for 10 hours don’t do what they promise. iStock The Huffington Post and YouGov calculated that about 60 percent of American women use at least one beauty product every day, more than 35 percent of women use one or two daily, 17 percent use three or four products daily, and 7 percent use six or more products every day. Over the course of a lifetime, the average woman spends $15,000 on beauty products.
That’s a whole lot of your hard-earned money being wasted on products that may or may not work. We’re here to help you save time and money! We’ve compiled a list of the 14 most popular products that really don’t do a thing for you (except drain your bank account).
Split End Remedies
Those pricey creams, lotions, and serums promise to mend split ends and make them look healthy again. Truth is, nothing can bind hair permanently together. iStock
Split end products may temporarily stick your hair together, giving the illusion that the problem is fixed, but take a shower or brush your hair, and your splits are back again. Save your cash and invest in a great haircut (the only thing known to actually fix split ends).
Hand Cream, Body Lotion, Foot Cream
Ever notice that eye cream costs an arm and a leg, next to foot cream, then hand cream…with body lotion being the most reasonable? This is marketing mania at its best. iStock
The reality is, all cream is created equal, just the packaging differs. Typically the more expensive creams are placed in more expensive-looking packaging. But despite their facades, all moisturizing creams work the same way, and you can use the same one on all parts of your body.
Facial Toner
Toners are meant to mop up the oil on your face, but unfortunately they often end up doing the opposite. Most toners are primarily alcohol, which overly dries your face. iStock
When your face is too dry, it signals your body to produce even more oil, making the product counterproductive. Dermatologists recommend cleaning your face with cleansing cream because it’s less harsh and will maintain your skin’s proper pH.
Lip Balm
Some balms are okay and will nourish the precious skin on your lips, but most contain camphor, phenol, and menthol, all of which dry your skin. In the case of lip balm, you end up getting caught in a vicious cycle. The more you use it, the drier your lips get. The drier your lips are, the more you feel the need to use it. iStock
Some experts recommend using Vaseline or beeswax with an olive or coconut oil. Check the ingredients on the product that you want to use and make sure it contains no harmful ingredients.
Cellulite Cream
Oh, we really, really want cellulite cream to work. Really we do. But all studies point to it being a hoax. iStock
Creams can soften the skin and give a short-term plumped effect, but the only two things that can fight cellulite are exercise and a healthy diet. (And even then, exercise can reduce cellulite, but it can’t spot-treat it. Your genes are your genes, folks.)
Bust Cream
After cellulite cream, this is the next product we hoped and prayed was a keeper. Alas, studies show it’s not(sigh). Here’s what U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientists have to say about bust-enhancing products: “For decades, millions of dollars have been spent on devices, creams, and lotions advertised as breast developers, all wasted. There is no device or system of exercise that will increase the size of the breasts. iStock
“At best, devices promoted as breast developers merely strengthen and develop the muscles that support the breasts, and exercising these muscles will not really increase breast size.”
Anti-Aging/Age-Reversal Serums
Look around and you’ll notice that practically every cosmetic company has some sort of anti-aging/age-reversal product. Marketing companies prey on the insecurities of women and can make false claims without many consequences. They know that they are able to make a lot of money on these products because women are willing to pay a lot for a chance to look younger without surgery. iStock
The only proven product that can reduce the signs of aging is retinoic acid, and the only product that will keep your skin from wrinkling as quickly is sunscreen (and a big ol’ hat).
Tissue Masks
These amusing-looking face dressings are fun to use (especially with friends or for an awesome FB profile pic) but at $5 or more per mask, they’re really unnecessary. iStock
Most tissue masks moisturize your face or absorb oil just like simple cream masks, which are half the price.
Lip Plumpers
We smear on lip plumpers in hopes of looking like Angelina Jolie in a matter of minutes. The problem is, most lip plumpers work by irritating the lips with harsh products. Your lips react to the acid and they blow up…temporarily. iStock
Want bigger-looking lips? Makeup artists suggest a painless act of extending your lipstick or lip pencil above your natural lip line and adding a dab of shiny gloss to your bottom lip.
Makeup With SPF Protection
As much as we love two-in-one products, the truth is that you can’t get enough protection with SPF-infused makeup. Dermatologists warn that you must apply sun protection over the entire face to effectively protect your skin from the sun. iStock
Unfortunately, most women don’t want to cover their whole face with makeup, so they often miss spots or don’t put enough on for it to work. Save your money on this one and buy a separate, reasonably priced sunscreen.
Shaving Cream
Way back when, shaving cream was a necessary expense. It served to soften hair follicles and help the razor blade glide over the skin, thus eliminating nicks and cuts. The problem was, shaving cream was pretty expensive. iStock
Enter shower gel! Today, most gels are quite cheap and contain the key ingredient glycerol, which is an effective emollient that’s perfect for shaving.
Stretch Mark Cream
Ahh, dreaded stretch marks…a female’s war wounds that tell silent tales of childbirth or becoming a woman. Most women would do anything to eliminate them, and the [linkbuilder id=”6646″ text=”beauty industry”] knows this. iStock
Cosmetic companies claim that their creams stimulate the production of collagen and erase stretch marks, but unfortunately, studies show that stretch mark creams are ineffective and serve to only temporarily moisturize and tighten the skin surrounding the area. Some studies show that bitter almond oil may help, and further research surrounding laser therapy has shown to be promising at reducing stretch marks.
Expensive Cleansers
Take a walk down the aisles of your beauty store of choice, and you can find yourself spending anywhere from $5 to over $100 on a daily facial cleanser. Most dermatologists think that spending an excessive amount on something that is on your face for such a short period is a waste and view it as throwing money down the drain. A cleanser is meant to remove makeup, oil, and dirt. That’s it. iStock
Any claims of doing more are false and a waste. Some dermatologists do recommend spending the money that you save on cleansers and investing in an electronic cleansing brush, which uses ultrasonic vibration to gently and deeply clean your skin.
Pore-Shrinking Products
As the old saying goes, “You get what you get, and you don’t get upset.” Your pore size is predetermined by your genes, and no product has ever been proven to diminish the size of them. iStock
Products simply unclog them or temporarily fill them with silicone so they appear to disappear.
A hospital isn’t somewhere you typically want to go, but if you’re going to be there, it’s best to be in the know. In the know about what, though? The fallibility of hospitals and everyone within them.
You may have already had this realization, particularly if you’re around the age when the peers you went to high school with have started to become doctors and nurses—but medical professionals are human beings, not gods, and they do make mistakes. Sometimes big ones. Hospitals, of course, won’t go out of their way to advertise this fact to you, a patient. Read on for eight secrets hospitals aren’t telling you, but that you should nevertheless be aware of.
You still need to sanitize everything.
We tend to place a lot of faith in the benevolence, authority, and effectiveness of institutions, but the frightening reality is that they’re just as prone to mistakes as individual people. Like the entirety of the human population, hospitals vary in their propensity for making mistakes. Some have consistently great surgeons. Some have high incidences of surgeries gone awry. Undoubtedly, though, all of them have germs, and you shouldn’t assume that the routine cleaning performed in hospitals is all you need to protect yourself. iStock
As Karen Curtiss, author of Safe & Sound in the Hospital: Must-Have Checklists and Tools for Your Loved One’s Care, tellsReader’s Digest:
Superbugs live everywhere, and they can travel. Even if your doctor washed his hands, that sparkling white coat brushing against your bed can easily transfer a dangerous germ from someone else’s room. Ask for bleach and alcohol wipes to clean bed rails, remotes, doorknobs, phones, call buttons, and toilet flush levers. Wash your hands before you eat.
Your doctors may be practicing on you.
Would it be cool with you if, say, you had to have a spinal tap and you learned that a fresh-faced doctor would be performing the procedure on you for the first time, and in fact they had just come from watching—wait for it—a YouTube video about how to do it? iStock
Yeah, we wouldn’t be cool with that either. But apparently, there isn’t much choice, according to an anonymous ER doctor who tellsCracked that this exact series of events happens with frequency. She says:
“It might be a nurse doing an IV, a physical therapist getting you out of bed, or it might be your doctor. In the good old days, medical students got more of this hands-on training before they graduated, but due to changes in medical education, brand-new doctors often have to learn on the job. iStock
“As a senior resident, I’ve walked interns through everything from a pelvic exam to a lumbar puncture to a central line placement (that last one might not sound too bad, until you realize a ‘central line’ is a large IV usually inserted directly into your jugular).”
Know your meds.
Some hospitals have nurses who consistently give the appropriate dosages. Others have nurses who are more prone to making mistakes. Certainly, there are both kinds of nurse in every hospital, but the right organizational habits can help guard against the more serious flubs. iStock
Whatever the case is in the hospital you’re visiting, it’s always smart to educate yourself as much as possible about the medicines you’re supposed to take and the proper way for taking them. How much? When? Why? And another important one that many forget to ask: What should I take it with?
As Evan Levine, MD, a cardiologist and the author of What Your Doctor Can’t (or Won’t) Tell You, says in Reader’s Digest: iStock
“Don’t assume the food is what you should be eating. There’s no communication between dietary and pharmacy, and that can be a problem when you’re on certain meds. I’ve had patients on drugs for hypertension or heart failure (which raises potassium levels), and the hospital is delivering (potassium-rich) bananas and orange juice. Then their potassium goes sky high, and I have to stop the meds. Ask your doctor whether there are foods you should avoid.”
Hospitals see their fair share of violence.
We don’t just mean people coming in after being attacked, either. As hospital security consultant John M. White tells Reader’s Digest: iStock
“There is more violence than ever before. Nurses have been attacked, bitten, spit on, and choked. It’s partly because hospitals are no longer prescribing pain meds to addicts, and addicts can get very aggressive. It’s also because our mental health system is broken, so some of those people are coming into the hospital and acting out.”
But sometimes the physical aggression happens among the medical professionals themselves. RN Ricky Lake (not to be confused with Ricki Lake) at Parallon Nurses Network tells author Missy Wilkinson that the high tension between staff members can get violent: iStock
“My charge nurse warned me about one of the surgeons who actually physically assaulted a nurse once. Grabbed her by her scrub top, in front of the patient and family, and dragged her out of the room because he was upset about some replacement potassium being administered through a peripheral line instead of a central line (which is still OK as long as the concentration and rate are adjusted appropriately). They aren’t all like that, of course. But I do not socialize much with [people] that I work with.”
Hospital rooms aren’t like hotel rooms for a reason, but that may be changing.
If being in your barren hospital room reminds you of your freshman year in your college dorm room that you never bothered to decorate (because what was the point of anything?), that’s not just because hospitals want to remind you of the most depressing semester of your life. iStock
A New Orleans nurse tells Wilkinson, “The bare-bones decor of rooms is so it’s easier to clean and thereby sterilize. It’s cold for a reason—to kill bacteria. It can’t survive in cold temperatures.” (Really though, about the bacteria? Seems more like it’d just be harder for it to grow.)
However, all of this may be subject to change. Healthcare IT consultant Bill Balderaz tells Reader’s Digest: Courtesy of Florida Hospital Celebration Health
“Hospitals worry about losing revenue to retail clinics, urgent-care centers, and private surgery centers. To attract patients, they try to appear like hotels. They have waterfalls, pianos, and big windows. Instead of hiring people with backgrounds in health care, they’re bringing in people with experience in retail and five-star hotels.”
We’ll take the folks with backgrounds in healthcare. Thanks!
Give your nurses a break—it could save your life.
This may not come as a surprise to anyone who personally knows a nurse, but: nurses are overworked. “Hospitals are understaffed,” the New Orleans nurse tells Wilkinson. “I have yet to see a hospital that wasn’t.” iStock
Deborah Burger, RN and co-president of National Nurses United, tells Reader’s Digest:
“Hospitals often force nurses to handle more patients than they should—even though studies show if your nurse is responsible for fewer patients, they have better outcomes. California is the only state with hospital-wide minimum nurse-patient staffing ratios. Researcher Linda Aiken at the University of Pennsylvania found that each extra patient a nurse has above an established nurse-patient ratio made it 7 percent more likely that one of those patients would die.” iStock
For this reason, you should be extra-vigilant about your care, and speak up to ask questions or make clarifications. Unless, that is, your nurse is right in the middle of certain important tasks.
Don’t interrupt the nurse when he’s preparing your medications, Sally Rafie, a hospital pharmacist with the UC San Diego Health System, advises in Reader’s Digest. “One study found that the more times you distract him, the greater the likelihood of error.”
Schedule your surgery for early in the week…and at a teaching hospital.
According to Roy Benaroch, MD, a pediatrician and the author of A Guide to Getting the Best Healthcare for Your Child, you can count on better surgical procedures at certain times of the week. He tells Reader’s Digest: iStock
“On weekends and holidays, hospitals typically have lighter staffing and less experienced doctors and nurses. Some lab tests and other diagnostic services may be unavailable. If you’re having a major elective surgery, try to schedule it for early in the week so you won’t be in the hospital over the weekend.”
Oh also, you may want to opt for that surgery at a teaching hospital. Dr. Levine says, “For complex surgical procedures, you’re generally better off at teaching hospitals, which usually stay at the forefront of health research. Medical students and residents ask questions, providing more eyes and ears to pay attention and prevent errors. Teaching hospitals have lower complication rates and better outcomes.” iStock
It sounds counterintuitive, but when you consider that an atmosphere of more transparency and less fear around asking questions is usually a better one for virtually everything, it makes sense.
Yeah, the healthcare system is broken.
You know how literally everyone is like, “Our healthcare system is broken”? That’s because it is. There’s a lot of inefficiency going on, for example, in emergency rooms. iStock
One ER nurse in New Orleans tells Wilkinson, “It shocks me sometimes the things people go to ER for. Basic medication refills, people bringing in elders with dementia who have no change in condition, back and tooth pain, chronic but stable conditions, ‘I felt bad and had a sore throat, but I feel better now’—things urgent care can handle without the outrageous bill.”
And then there are the addicts that doctors have to deal with, as the anonymous ER doctor tellsCracked: “They’ll claim, ‘I’m allergic to everything but one [… ]it starts with a D?’ That’s the […] painkiller Dilaudid, and they damn well know the real name. But every […]seeker seems to follow the same script: they’ll come in claiming some legitimate, recurring problem, and then act as if the name of the only pain [medicine] that works for them (which just happens to be a[n opiate], every time) is some half-remembered riddle.”
Of course, some of this would be mitigated if there were healthcare for all, including mental health and substance abuse rehabilitation programs. iStock
Lake says: “The reason people go to the ER with vague, non-urgent symptoms is usually because they are uninsured and do not have a primary healthcare provider. I’m currently in the ER and, yes, that can be exasperating. But you have to look at the systemic reasons that it’s happening. One reason: lack of access to care. And we just lost the fight in Louisiana that would have allowed more nurse practitioners to be able to practice without the overly burdening collaborative practice agreements in place with physicians. There is a shortage of primary care providers across the country.”
So, you’re ready to do some spring (or fall, or winter) cleaning. That’s certainly a good impulse; according to a study from the National Association of Professional Organizers, 54 percent of Americans feel overwhelmed by their clutter. 78 percent of respondents said that they had no idea what to do with their junk, so they let it build up. If you’re actually willing to sit down and sort through your cabinets and get rid of some stuff, you’re ahead of the curve. We’d start with the items that could potentially endanger your health. Here are eight items that you definitely shouldn’t be keeping around.
1. Pancake Mix
Pancake mix can actually become somewhat dangerous under the right circumstances. According to Snopes, packaged pancake mixes (along with many other cake mixes) can attract mold, ruining the taste of the pancake—oh, and potentially threatening your life. Alex Zivatar Of course, for a pancake to constitute a real threat, you’d have to have a mold allergy, and the mix must be in a plain box, not in a pouch made of wax paper, foil, or plastic. Technically, the age of the mix doesn’t matter, since mold spores can get into the box right away, but older mix is more likely to be compromised (since older mixes spend more time exposed to the air). Most people who eat mold-infested pancake mix will just taste something strange without experiencing symptoms. One person compared the flavor to rubbing alcohol—we’re guessing a few tablespoons of maple syrup didn’t help. Hero Images There’s another good reason to throw out the pancake mix, however: It’s incredibly easy to make at home, since it’s just baking soda, baking powder, sugar, salt, and flour. Plus, homemade pancakes easily beat the “just add water” stuff. Check out these recipes below:
2. Potatoes
Let’s get this out of the way: Green potatoes probably won’t kill you. However, they don’t taste great, and they’re not great for you. Alex Zivatar Those old, sprouting potatoes in your pantry do pose some health risks. What happens to potatoes as they age? Watch the video below to find out:
Potatoes can be deadly in extreme circumstances. In 2013, the Daily Mail reported on a family that died after being poisoned by fumes from rotten potatoes, noting that the family had stored hundreds of spuds for the winter in a damp cellar. If your potatoes have turned green and sprouted, it’s time to get rid of them (or plant them—potatoes are incredibly easy to grow).
3. Off-Brand Cell Phone Chargers
All phone chargers are the same, right? After all, they all have the same basic plugs and cords. Plus, the generic chargers cost much less than their name-brand counterparts; where Apple might charge $30 for a Lightning cable, some other brands cost less than $10. Alex Zivatar Well, you get what you paid for—in some cases, anyway. Ken Shirriff of How-To Geek took a dozen chargers and put them to the test. He found that some of the off-brand chargers didn’t provide consistent power, which could potentially lead to battery damage for your expensive smartphone.
https://twitter.com/iomoo/status/620403378917486592 Some generic chargers can even create a safety risk, as an unfortunate 26-year-old woman learned when her charger “shot out like a firework.” (More info here, but be warned: The link contains some graphic content). The good news is that some third-party charger brands like Belkin and Monopricefared well in Ken Shirriff’s tests. As a general rule, try to choose electronic chargers from brands that you recognize and avoid the $3 value deals. To repair fraying cords and extend the life of all your chargers, check out these tips!
4. Some (But Not All) Expired Medications
Contrary to popular belief, most expired medications aren’t dangerous. Pharmaceutical companies only guarantee the full potency of medications up to the date of expiration; past that point, the medicine will probably become slightly less effective, but it won’t suddenly become toxic. Alex Zivatar Still, there are exceptions. Tetracycline, epinephrine, insulin, anticonvulsants, and many psychiatric drugs have strict expiration dates and should be immediately discarded when they’re expired. Eye drops should also be discarded, since bacteria can form very quickly past the expiration date—and yes, that applies to contact lens solutions and other over-the-counter eye drops. Getty Images News / Will Russell Don’t just toss your expired medicines into the trash, however, as you could be breaking the law in the process. The FDA recommends taking medications to medical take-back sites when possible.
5. Expired Makeup and Skin Products
For some skin products, active ingredients can stop functioning after a while. That could be a big deal if, say, the product is sunscreen—as the SPF degrades, so does your protection from harmful UV rays. If you’re counting on that protection, you could end up with a sunburn (and getting a sunburn once every 2 years can triple your risk of melanoma). Getty Images News / Joe Raedle Likewise, some acne treatments may actually end up doing more harm than good if they’re expired, as bacteria can start to grow in the solution as the active ingredients weaken. That means that instead of rubbing an antimicrobial on your pores, you’re covering them with the bacteria from your bathroom. Getty Images News / William Thomas Cain We couldn’t get a hold of a dermatologist for this story, but we’re fairly sure that “rub a bunch of germs on your face every morning” isn’t an effective treatment for acne.
6. Old Toothbrushes
Brushing your teeth is about as basic as you can get with health and hygiene. The process takes very little effort, and you don’t need a specific formula in order to see results. However, as the video below shows, we may need to pay a bit more attention to what we use to clean our teeth.
According to the American Dental Association, we should replace our toothbrushes every three to four months, but if you notice your brush’s bristles fraying and changing color, it’s time to get a new one. Old brushes might feel like they’re working, but they’re not doing a great job of keeping your teeth clean.
7. Old Phones and Laptops
There’s a really, really good reason to recycle old electronics: If you don’t, your house might explode. Getty Images News / Matt Cardy Okay, forgive us for being a little hyperbolic there; your entire house may not explode, but the lithium batteries in old electronics can burst, creating a serious injury risk and, occasionally, a fire risk. If a battery begins to bulge, pushing apart the case of your electronic device, get rid of it as quickly (and safely) as possible. The good news is that modern manufacturing methods should eliminate this problem eventually, and currently, it’s a pretty remote risk—but it’s still a good reason to clear the clutter. http://istock.com/DebbiSmirnoff So, what should you do with old electronics? Ideally, you’ll recycle them. Companies like Amazon, Best Buy, and HP offer programs to buy older electronic devices, and you can check with your local recycling center for more options. Getty Images News / Tim Boyle If the electronics are out of date but still usable, you can also donate them to a charity for a hefty tax deduction (just be sure to securely wipe the device’s memory before doing so).
8. Old Shoes
Practically, you’re never going to wear your old shoes again, and that should be reason enough to throw them out. However, they also pose a minor health risk. Alex Zivatar No, we’re not talking about the smell (thank you, we’re here all week). We’re talking about orthopedics—well, podiatrics, if you want to get technical. As your shoes wear down, they don’t degrade evenly. The midsoles wear out, so the shoe becomes worse at absorbing shocks. Your shoe won’t be able to correct errors in your stride, which is especially important if we’re talking about athletic shoes. Eventually, you’ll either risk injury or develop bad habits that you won’t be able to break easily. Getty Images Sport / Michael Dodge The American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine recommends replacing any shoe that “shows signs of unevenness when placed on a flat surface” or “display[s] noticeable creasing.” In general, this means you’ll get about 300 to 500 miles of running or walking from a typical pair of shoes.
9. Non-Stick Pots and Pans
When should you finally get rid of that old non-stick cookware? The quick answer: When things start sticking to them. Yeah, we know, duh, but follow us for a minute. Non-stick pots and pans are typically coated with Teflon or a similar perfluoroalkyl substance (PFAs, in case you’re like us and you don’t find that the phrase “perfluoroalkyl substance” rolls off your tongue). Contrary to popular belief, those substances can last for years without wearing off, provided that you cook over moderate heat and clean your cookware by hand. Kevin McCutcheon However, if you scratch the pan, you scratch off the coating—and food starts sticking. If you notice your pan’s coating coming off in sections or if you’re having trouble using it normally, it’s definitely time for a change. There’s some controversy as to whether the coating on nonstick pans poses a health threat. While a statement posted in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives indicated that Teflon and similar materials can cause health problems, proponents of non-stick technologies claim that the risk is overstated, since pans shed a tiny amount of their PFA coating with typical use. Still, if you’ve got old non-stick pots laying around, you might consider upgrading to stainless steel or cast iron. If you prefer non-stick, look for heavier pans, which typically hold heat better and keep their coating for longer, according to a report from The Los Angeles Times.
10. Space Heaters
We’re really trying not to fear monger here, but space heaters are remarkably dangerous. According to the National Fire Protection Association, portable and stationary space heaters accounted for 43 percent of home heating fires from 2011 to 2015. If you insist on using a space heater, make sure to keep its heating components clean. If you notice any damage—either to the heater or its electrical supply—throw it out immediately. Don’t leave your heater running unattended, and keep all combustible substances at least three feet away. Don’t risk a fire just because you’re feeling a bit chilly. istock.com/Manuel-F-O Consider alternatives that use less electricity. Heated floor mats, for instance, work great in a home office, while electric blankets (ideally equipped with an auto-shutoff feature) should keep you toasty through long winter nights.
11. Old (Or Cheap) Wire Hangers
We know, we know; it’s really hard to throw out clothes hangers when you never seem to have enough of them in the first place. However, cheap hangers you get from the dry cleaner can actually damage your clothes over time. “Wire hangers truly, are too thin,” home organization expert Maeve Richmond toldWell and Good. “Not only can they cause awkward stretch marks on clothes, but they will bend over time, causing unsightly bunch-ups in our closets, and our clothing to hang at funny angles.” Lauren Fleischmann High-quality hangers mimic the shape of your body, and they’re less likely to warp fabrics over time. You can always use those old hangers for crafts—or, if they’re taking up too much closet space, you can simply recycle them. These days, high-quality wood hangers are fairly inexpensive (here’s a 16-pack on Amazon for less than $20), and if you’re not looking to replace your wardrobe anytime soon, they’re well worth the investment.
12. Grocery Bags
We try to reuse plastic grocery bags wherever possible (they make great doggy cleanup bags, although we’d recommend double-bagging after we…well, nevermind). Unfortunately, that’s not common practice; per the Environmental Protection Agency, only 2 percent of plastic bags are recycled in the United States. That’s a problem since we use about 100 billion plastic bags per year. While you’re getting rid of junk from around your houses, consider finally upgrading to reusable shopping bags. They’re ultimately more convenient—you won’t find yourself stuffing plastic bags under your sink after every single shopping trip—and they eliminate a huge source of waste. istock.com/Debbie Ann Powell We found a great set of reusable bags on Amazon for under $14 (link here), but if you’re looking to cut costs, consider reaching out to local recycling organizations. Many of them will be happy to give you a free or low-cost hookup (and while you’re there, you can go ahead and recycle those old plastic bags).
Some experiences are pretty much universal. We’ve all stubbed our toes in the middle of the night, argued with our parents, and left food in the oven just a bit too long. These experiences present themselves to people regardless of biological makeup. But the sexes (and genders) experience some things quite differently due to distinct social structures, psychology, and physiology. Science backs that up; while we’re very alike in some ways, we couldn’t be more different in others. Don’t worry, we’ve got plenty of examples. For instance… Note: We’ll use the terms “male” and “female” when discussing matters of biological sex. When discussing gender matters, we’ll use “men” and “women.” When the line blurs between gender and biological sex, as it often does, we’ll use “men” and “women.”
1. Females are much more likely to feel cold in office buildings.
If you’ve ever listened to your male and female coworkers argue about the thermostat day in and day out, we’ve got some news: Science says they’re both right. Getty Images Entertainment / Pascal Le Segretain In a Nature Climate Changestudy from 2015, researchers Boris Kingma and Wouter van Marken Lichtenbelt said that females feel colder than males due to differences in metabolic rates. Unfortunately, indoor climate regulations “are based on an empirical thermal comfort model that was developed in the 1960s. Standard values for one of its primary variables—metabolic rate—are based on an average male, and may overestimate female metabolic rate by up to 35%.” Females generally have higher core body temperatures than males, and as counterintuitive as it might sound, a higher body temperature makes changes in room temperature more noticeable. One study also suggested that oral contraceptives could raise body temperatures for young women. For females, that means that it’s hard to simply “adjust” your body to the ambient temperature of a chilly office environment. Your biology is working against you—you’d better dress in layers (or figure out how to lock the thermostat). AFP / JOHANNES EISELE “This may cause buildings to be intrinsically non-energy-efficient in providing comfort to females,” wrote Kingma and Lichtenbelt, arguing that by forgoing the one-sex, antiquated model in favor of using actual metabolic rates, we can save some money.
2. Women sleep more than men.
Jim Horne, a sleep neuroscientist from the United Kingdom, wrote a book called Sleepfaring that explains the science of sleep (although several Amazon reviewssuggest that the book’s dry tone tends to make readers drift off). Getty Images Entertainment / Lisa Maree Williams One of Horne’s revelations: On average, women sleep about 20 minutes longer than men do. Since 2010, numerous websites have quoted him as saying that women “need” more sleep than men, but that’s not quite true; he simply said that they tend to take more sleep. In 1995, researchers polled 400 adults and found that females fell asleep earlier than males and slept longer on average. They also reported more sleep disturbances, however, which is concerning, since a Duke University Medical Center study showed that poor sleep is significantly more dangerous for females. In that study, females who slept poorly reported greater feelings of depression, anger, and hostility than men. Women were also more likely to develop health issues as a result of their sleep disturbances. Getty Images Entertainment / Scott Wintrow “Interestingly, it appears that it’s not so much the overall poor sleep quality that was associated with greater risk, but rather the length of time it takes a person to [linkbuilder id=”6716″ text=”fall asleep”] that takes the highest toll,” said associate professor Edward Suarez, one of the authors of the study. “Women who reported taking a half an hour or more to fall asleep showed the worst risk profile.”
3. Men see fewer colors than women (on average).
Women often get a bad rap for being picky with colors—I said to bring me my ocean-blue dress, not the sky-blue one—but there might be a biological reason behind ladies’ choosiness. Getty Images Entertainment / Fulvio De Filippi Some scientists believe that in early hunter-gatherer societies, women took on the latter role. As a result, they had to be attuned to minor variations in color, since a bright-red berry might be dangerous, while a pale-red berry could be perfectly edible. Males are also more likely to be colorblind. Most forms of colorblindness are carried on the X chromosome. Females have a two X chromosomes, so they can carry the gene for colorblindness on one X but have it cancelled out by the other. Males have an X and a Y, leaving them defenseless if they get the gene—as a result, 8 percent of males with Northern European ancestry are colorblind. AFP / KAREN BLEIER Of course, that doesn’t mean that males can’t distinguish between shades of a color; social conditioning certainly plays a role. Still, females often have a genetic advantage in this department.
4. Women aren’t as capable of seeing rapidly moving objects.
A study published in the Biology of Sex Differences found that men are generally better at picking out moving objects from a distance. The Arndtist Brooklyn College psychology professor Israel Abramov led the study, and he believes that it supports the idea that males and females built separate evolutionary advantages for their roles as hunters and gatherers, respectively. Males who could see fast-moving objects could be better hunters, just as females who could discern between shades of color could be better gatherers. From birth, males have more development in the visual cortexes of their brains than women, partially due to the fact that they have more testosterone. As a result, they often have better evolutionary makeup for developing skills like hand-eye coordination. Once again, we’re talking about averages—some women are just as good as men at seeing details and rapidly moving stimuli.
5. Women are more likely to be religious than men.
Gallup polls show that women are generally more religious than men and that they “practice their faith more consistently … and work more vigorously for the congregation.” Getty Images News / Mario Tama Gallup goes on to note: “In fact, gender-based differences in responses to religious questions are far more pronounced than those between any other demographic categories, such as age, education level, or geographic region. “The tendency toward higher religiosity among women has manifested over seven decades of scientific polling, and church membership figures indicate that it probably existed for many decades prior to the advent of survey research in the mid-1930s.” Getty Images News / Alex Wong George H. Gallup, Jr., a senior staff writer at the polling organization, posited that societal differences between men and women might be responsible for the difference. Women are expected to be caregivers, he said, and they may feel more responsible for their children’s moral development.
6. Yes, males are affected by the flu (and certain other illnesses) more than females.
The whole “man flu” phenomenon probably isn’t just guys acting. Research shows that male and female bodies react to viruses differently. Studies on rats showed that males often have more fevers, more fluctuations in their body temperatures, more inflammation, and longer recovery times. AFP / FILIPPO MONTEFORTE Of course, humans aren’t rats—well, most of us, anyway—but studies with human cells tend to back up these results. Oddly enough, men might react poorly to viruses because their immune systems overreact. “It isn’t always the presence of the microbe or the presence of the virus that makes us sick,” said Sabra Klein, associate professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in an interview with Time. “It’s our immune response, and the research shows that males have a heightened response that summons cells to the site of infection, which contributes to the overall feeling of sickness.” Getty Images News / Sean Gallup So, what’s the biological reason for the “man flu”? The research isn’t clear, but many scientists believe it’s a function of different levels of testosterone and estrogen. According to the theory, women need to be able to recover more quickly in order to care for children. Another theory suggests that men simply don’t wash their hands as often. In any case, it’s worth noting that this effect doesn’t extend to all illnesses, as women are significantly more likely to develop autoimmune disorders.
7. Women are more likely to donate to charity than men.
This seems to be true across all age groups, although it’s especially notable among older individuals.One study showed that “baby-boomer and older women gave 89 percent more to charity than men their age, and women in the top 25 percent of permanent income gave 156 percent more than men in that same category.” Getty Images News / Handout If you’d like to bring the whole “nurturer” angle into play, you could say that this is because women see themselves as caregivers and feel more of an incentive to give. However, Debra Mesch of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at Indiana University believes that women are more predisposed—socially or biologically—towards altruism. “Our research has found that women tend to be more altruistic and empathetic than men,” Mesch wrote in The Wall Street Journal, “partly because of the way men and women are socialized regarding caring, self-sacrifice and the well-being of others.” She also found that women and men donate for different reasons. Men, Mesch wrote, are more likely to respond to an appeal that is “in the man’s self interest,” while women “tend to give to promote social change or help others who are less fortunate.” Again, that likely goes back to cultural expectations and gender roles, not biology—an important distinction when we’re discussing gender differences.
8. Women tend to talk more (under certain circumstances).
Here’s where we have to be really careful about enforcing stereotypes. Women don’t necessarily speak more than men, contrary to popular belief (and several websites quoting this same study), but they do tend to talk to coworkers more frequently. A study published in Scientific Reports looked at 37 women and 42 men, all master’s students. The women talked more with their fellow students when trying to complete a project. However, they didn’t talk more than their male counterparts during their lunch break, perhaps because the break was a more casual situation. When the study was expanded to a larger group, women tended to talk more in both situations, but not by a large margin. So, does it mean anything that women are more talkative in certain social scenarios? Possibly, but it’s important not to make broad generalizations, according to the researchers who ran the study. The main conclusion of the study is that context matters, especially in science.
Girl meets boy, boy meets boy, girl meets girl, soul meets soul—it’s that simple, right? Well, not exactly. Dozens of factors affect attraction, and while we’d love to believe that we choose our romantic partners discerningly, research shows that certain superficial factors play a much bigger role than others. If you’re finding yourself having trouble meeting people or you’re striking out over and over on your dates, you may be unintentionally sending out a vibe that’s actually making you appear less attractive. That’s the bad news; the good news is that by understanding how attraction works, you can improve your chances of impressing that special someone. iStock.com/vladans Here are a few of the surprising things that make you less attractive to others, according to the experts. Remember, take this advice with a grain of salt—these statistics don’t apply to absolutely everyone (that’s why they’re, uh, statistics), but they’re still fascinating.
1. Bad Grammar
Yup, that’s right. A bad grasp of the English language—or maybe whatever language you’re using to woo a potential mate—can be a turn-off to a romantic interest, especially if you’re active in the online dating arena. One study found that the majority of men and women admitted that they reject online suitors solely because of bad grammar and misspellings in their dating profiles. Seventy-five percent of a whopping 9,000 online daters polled in the study also said that they would most definitely reject a suitor who failed to pass a fifth-grade spelling bee. iStock.com/RSMcLeod (For the record, my oldest is in fourth grade, and I’m willing to testify that some of those spelling words are harder than you would think…) So what exactly is it about bad grammar that turns people off? Apparently, aside from the fact that it shows a lack of education, bad grammar and things like lazy spelling and a lack of punctuation (yes, for real, periods are a big deal) signify a lack of interest. iStock.com/millann After all, if you’re not committed enough to close out the sentences in your dating profile or Tinder text with periods, are you really committed enough to have an adult relationship? You don’t have to write like Shakespeare, but if you’re trying to impress, brush up on basic grammar before you start swiping right.
2. Your Youthful Looks
While you may think that appearing youthful is an advantage in the dating world, it turns out that isn’t always the case. One study found that when individuals are born to parents who are over the age of 30, they are less likely to be attracted to people with “young faces” and tend to be more attracted to potential partners whose faces show signs of aging. iStock.com/South_agency To put that another way, a distinguished look trumps youth (at least in this case). The preference for older faces may win out as the population becomes more saturated with people born to so-called older parents. For the first time ever, more women in their thirties are having babies than their 20-something counterparts are. You do the math.
3. The Shirt on Your Back
That’s right, folks. If you’re a man looking to attract a woman, you may want to consider donning a red shirt. This study shows that women perceive men in red as more powerful and attractive, and those are two important characteristics when choosing a mate. iStock.com/MStudioImages This apparently only applies to heterosexual couples, but it seems effective across cultures. As the studies’ authors write, “people … link red to love and passion, and red often appears as a symbol of eros, lust, and fertility in ancient mythology, folklore, and ritual.” In the experiment, researchers showed participants a photo of a “moderately attractive man” (we’re guessing Vince Vaughn) for a period of five seconds. The color of the man’s shirt was digitally manipulated; some participants saw the man in a red shirt, while others saw a white or blue shirt. The red-shirted man consistently scored higher than his other-shirted counterpart—but his shirt color was the only thing that changed. iStock.com/DMEPhotography Interestingly, the effect didn’t work when the genders were flipped; men slightly preferred the female models in white shirts over any of the other colors.
4. Cake-up
It seems everyone wants a natural look, but is that backed up by any sort of science? The video below explains the findings of two studies regarding the makeup looks men find attractive. Spoiler alert: Less is more.
5. Your Appetite
One study found that hungry men perceived women with higher body weights as being more attractive. Once those men had something to eat and no longer reported being hungry, they no longer reported finding those same women quite as attractive. iStock.com/monkeybusinessimages I’m not sure what lesson to take away from this fact, however, as I’m a big advocate for 1) looking however you want to look and 2) not being hungry. But go ahead and book that dinner date—if you don’t feel a spark after you’ve cleaned your plate, maybe it’s this effect at work.
6. Your Table Manners
Speaking of hunger, watch what you do when you’re scarfing down food in front of a potential romantic interest. Sujeiry Gonzalez, 39, founder of Love Sujeiry and on-air reVolver Podcasts host, recounts a story of being completely grossed out by the man she was on a date with. iStock.com/filadendron “I was instantly turned off by a man I briefly dated (and was secretly in love with) after a revealing lunch date,” she confesses. “And by revealing, I mean he exposed the food in his mouth. The man I thought was ‘the one’ chewed like a horse, mouth all open and teeth exposed. Eek!” And we really, really, really shouldn’t have to say this, but phone etiquette is an important component of modern table manners. If you’re out to eat with someone, go ahead and put your phone away; if you keep glancing at the screen and typing messages, you’re sending the clear signal that you don’t find your date interesting. It’s important to look up every once in a while.
7. A Smidge of Stubble Versus a Boast-Worthy Beard
While both gay men and straight women prefer men whose faces appear more masculine, guys don’t have much control over whether they’re blessed with prominent brows and strong jawlines or not. What they do have control over: the type of facial hair they choose to sport. iStock.com/Sidekick Studies have shown that heterosexual women prefer men with one very specific type of facial hair. Unfortunately, it’s not the mountain-man megabeard—and it’s not the clean-shaven look, either. One study of Australian women found that they all considered men with heavy stubble more attractive than men without facial hair or those with heavy facial hair. There’s a silver lining: If you’ve got a full beard, you’re more likely to be seen as more masculine and as a good parent. iStock.com/supersizer That’s not to say that you should rush to the bathroom and trim your powerful beard back to its patchy roots. The key, of course, is to maintain a nice, even amount of facial hair. If you prefer a full beard, go ahead and grow one; eventually, you’ll find someone who can appreciate the time and effort that goes into a truly massive beard.
8. Flashing a Smile (or Not)
In what winds up being a rather confusing study, men rated smiling women as more attractive, while women rated smiling men as less attractive. Women reported finding men more attractive when they displayed signs of “pride,” like a slight smile and a raised fist, instead of flashing their pearly whites. Regardless of these findings, keeping your teeth bright and white is never a bad idea.
9. Your Attitude
When it comes to dating, there is no such thing as “fake it ’til you make it,” says Gonzalez. “Whether you’re online dating or meet someone through a friend or at a bar, people can smell fakeness,” she explains. iStock.com/Ridofranz “The more you try, the more you’ll pretend to be someone you’re not and the more people will see right through your bluff. And, of course, when I advise others to be confident, I don’t mean to be arrogant and aloof. You must be open to finding love. You must be open to attracting a mate. Be confident in your skin and honest about who you are while smiling a dazzling smile and remaining positive and hopeful [about] the possibilities.”
10. Too Much Personality
Although it may seem like dating means putting your best foot (or face?) forward and showing off your assets, don’t discount the importance of humility. “The most attractive thing to me is humility, so when a guy I went on a first date years ago bragged about his six-figure salary and BMW, I threw up a little in my mouth,” admits Gonzalez. iStock.com/MaboHH “Mr. Bravado, as I like to call him, truly believed that fancy cars and piles of money would woo me. Instead, I slurped my spaghetti with meat sauce … and hightailed [it out] the door.” Rachel Needle, a licensed psychologist at the Center for Marital and Sexual Health of South Florida, also believes in the power of humility. “Confidence is a trait that is often attractive [but] so is being humble,” she explains. “Appear confident but humble.”
11. Your Undiscovered Hobby
While physical features and even things that we aren’t really aware of—like our bodies’ pheromones—have a direct impact on how attractive we are to people, true attraction to another human is much more complex than grooming habits or skeletal structure. In fact, one study found that the single most attractive trait about an individual is actually their creativity. Test subjects were more likely to rate people portrayed as having creative pursuits and passions as attractive. iStock.com/JGalione The study also showed that was more true for women seeking men, meaning women found men depicted as creative significantly more attractive, whereas men did not necessarily rate creative women as more attractive. Either way, creativity and a passion for something other than yourself—or even your mate—is definitely sexy. “Oftentimes people are more attracted to those who are passionate about something,” Needle explains. “When people are excited and passionate about their interests, it can be attractive.”
Here’s what you need to know about yourself in order to share your true appeal with others.
Fortunately, there are ways that you can make yourself more attractive—and in some instances, they have nothing to do with your appearance. According to Gonzalez, two non-physical traits that instantly make someone more attractive are also two of the most surprising: humor and grammar (which we already touched on). That’s right, the ability to make your partner laugh will go a long way when the good looks fade. However, even humor is very individualized. iStock.com/aldomurillo “Some studies have found that women are more attracted to those who make them laugh,” Needle says. “But remember that sense of humor is also based on an individual. So what one person finds funny, another may not.” And when those inevitable fights happen down the line, your partner may be angry with you, but he or she might still find you irresistible if you use your semicolons properly or crack a perfectly timed joke. It’s the little things that count in a relationship, right? Perhaps most importantly, you should put your best self forward and have confidence when seeking a partner or romantic match, no matter what the scientific studies may tell you. iStock.com/gpointstudio “Be confident, says Gonzalez. “Whatever your momma gave you, be proud of it and work on it. We can all get plastic surgery to have the ‘perfect’ face and body, but then we’d be clones and seek out what’s different. Just because a study discovered that a woman with long hair or a man with great abs is most attractive, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t someone who isn’t going to love your bob or dad bod.” “If you’re confident in who you are inside and out, and what you contribute to a relationship, plus know you’re worthy of all that is good and loving, suitors will flock to you like bees to honey.”
We ask a lot of our pillows. They’re supposed to take buckets of our face-sweat and drool every night, with nothing but a thin sheet of cloth to guard them, and yet we expect them to remain fresh-off-the-shelf clean? Please. Alex Zivatar
When your pillows start to show their fatigue (usually by turning a queasy shade of yellow), use this special recipe to get them gleaming white again.
First, fill your washing machine about a third of the way with hot water. Throw in one cup each of liquid laundry detergent, powdered laundry detergent. Then wash the pillows on the hottest water your washing machine can pump out.
When you’re done, dry them on low heat. If they’re actual feather pillows, use the air cycle instead.
2. Rust Stains on the Porcelain
As if bathrooms weren’t already gross enough, faucets tend to leave streaking rust stains. Luckily, there’s an easy, gentle way to scrub those stains clean. You may even have these ingredients sitting around in your kitchen. Here’s what you do: Alex Zivatar
Cut a lemon in half. Rub the cut end over the worst of your offending rust stains. You might even want to squeeze a bit; the more lemon juice you transfer to the surface, the less elbow grease you’ll have to apply later.
Next, go find a book to read. You need to let the lemon do its terrible work for at least three hours. Amazon
Finally, pour a fourth of a cup of salt onto a nylon brush and attack the stains. The acid in the lemon combines with the abrasiveness of the salt to blast those stains into the void.
3. Stovetops
Gas stoves are totally superior; we’re not disputing that. But everyone who’s ever worked on a gas range knows that it’s impossible to prevent little nuggets of food from falling down among the burners. There, the heat slowly turns them into the kitchen equivalent of a barnacle.
Don’t despair. Just remove the grills, grab some baking soda, and follow these directions:
Pour a healthy heap of baking soda on all caked surfaces of the range top. Then soak some kitchen rags in hot, hot water. Wring out the rags and lay them over your filthy burners, fully covering the lumpy, charred area.
Leave the rags and come back 15 or 20 minutes later. Now try scrubbing the surface with a rag and a little dish soap. Pretty soon, your stove will be cleaner than ever, and you won’t even have to break out the hammer and chisel.
Baking soda is also a good option for ceramic stovetops. Use a damp scrubber to create a paste and apply to the surface, then wipe clean with a soft cloth. For burned on residue, pour a few tablespoons of olive oil on the substance and let sit for a few minutes. Scrape with a stainless steel spoon (don’t press too hard!) and wipe away particles with a soapy sponge or Magic Eraser. YouTube
4. Coffee Makers
Over time, you might start to notice your morning Folgers developing a skunky edge. That’s because the inside of your coffee machine is filthy, which is gross and upsetting, but probably not enough to break your caffeine addiction.
Here’s what you do:
Grab a bottle of white vinegar. You probably have one under the sink. If it’s not there, get some here or hit up a Dollar General. You know how you put water into a coffee maker? This time, fill that space up halfway with vinegar. Then turn your machine on. Let it pretend it’s making coffee; joke’s on the machine. It is actually brewing cleanliness.
Warning: This step will make your whole house smell like vinegar. Alex Zivatar
Once that brewing cycle is done, empty the vinegar. Fill the coffee maker up with water—all the way up this time. Run another brewing cycle.
Repeat the water cycle at least three times, and get ready to enjoy your morning pick-me-up again.
5. Mildewy Shower Curtains
Those vinyl shower curtains or, curtain “liners”may look like disposable placemats, but they’re actually designed for continuous, ongoing use. You just have to get the mildew off every now and again.
Here’s how you do that:
Unsurprisingly your washing machine plays into this pretty heavily. Be sure to bring two or three towels that you don’t mind bleaching later. Alex Zivatar
Drop one towel into your washer first. Then layer the shower curtain over that towel. Then put in the other towel.
Pour in your favorite laundry detergent and start the washer. A few minutes into the cycle, pour in a little bleach.
Run the whole mess through an extra spin cycle or two to avoid puddles on the floor. But when you’re done, just hang up your newly clean shower curtain and let it dry the rest of the way. Oh, and wash those towels again before using them.
6. Water Rings on the Coffee Table
This is why we can’t have nice things. You get a spiffy wooden coffee table, and next thing you know, it’s covered in rings from all those beverages you drink while watching Netflix.
That’s okay! Just head to the kitchen and get ready to enjoy a new finish on that wooden furniture.
Mix roughly equal parts of olive oil and salt together. The goal is to create a thick paste. Take your miracle paste and rub it over the rings on your coffee table. In fact, coat the rings and let it sit there.
Half an hour later, wipe away the oil and salt, and be amazed: No more stains.
7. Mold on the Shower Caulk
You can scrub mold off tile. Try that on the caulk lining your shower seams and you’ll end up with a much more annoying DIY job ahead of you.
There is an easy way to get those annoying black spots off of bathroom caulk. It might require a trip to the beauty shop (or—who are we kidding?—Amazon), but it’s totally worth it in the end.
This trick requires a product called “cotton coil.” Soak that cotton coil in bleach, then lay it gingerly across the offending caulk. It needs to sit overnight, so plan your showers accordingly.
By the time you remove the bleached cotton, though, you’ll see that all that mold is finished. Homes and Hues
Even better, it’s not likely to come back for quite a while.
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