Our freezer was an archaeological site. Things went in, nothing came out, and about twice a year I would excavate something unidentifiable in a bag with no label and throw it away feeling guilty. The fix was not a bigger…
The Diary
The Smooth Legs Situation: Shaving, Ingrowns and Everything After
I shave in about ninety seconds now, usually with somebody shouting from the next room, and for a while the results showed it. Razor bumps, ingrowns, that rough patchy feeling two days later. The fix was not a fancier razor….
Baby Laundry: What Finally Got the Stains Out
Nobody prepares you for the laundry. Not the amount of it, which is obviously enormous, but the specific chemistry of it — the yellow spit-up marks that appear after washing, the socks that vanish between hamper and drawer, the sleeper…
The Corner That Fixed How Our House Feels in the Fall
Every year around the end of September this house turns dry and a little stale at the same time. The windows close, the heat comes on, and suddenly everybody has a scratchy throat and the baby’s nose is stuffy for…
The Wash-Day Prep That Takes the Fight Out of Detangling
Most of the fight on wash day happens before the water comes on. Pre-poo on dry hair, section and clip, mist, fingers, then brush, and save the steam for the deep conditioner.
The Five-Minute De-Puff: What I Do to My Face Before Anything Else
My face holds water now. Nobody warned me about that part. I wake up and the first ten minutes are spent looking faintly like I have been crying, whether or not I have. Makeup does not fix puffiness, it just…