Experts Ideas, Tips & Guides

Most people think being a minimalist requires you to pare down how much you own and give away your belongings. But that idea is an antiquated one, at least according to home organizing expert Shira Gill.

Whether you’re hiking, picnicking, or working in your garden, ticks are a year-round risk in the South. These blood suckersfind a host by sensing odors, heat, vibrations, and shadows or by “questing” on the tips of grasses with their front legs extended—waiting for a person or animal to brush by them.

Whether you're a longtime plant parent or are just beginning to introduce some green friends into your home, it's worth knowing which indoor houseplants deserve your attention.

It seems like mixing and matching patterns in your home is surely only achievable by a designer. Surely, their expert eye could avoid any pattern-clashing catastrophe. But, thanks to the following insights from designers, you're just a few short steps from understanding how to better weave together different materials in a stylish, sophisticated manner.

Plenty of things stand out in every beautiful interior design photo: a well-styled room, gorgeous furniture, and cohesive color palettes. But if you scroll through the living room, sitting room, and even bedroom photos, you might notice one common thing that is missing: a television.

While spring cleaning gets all the glory, here at The Spruce, we believe in consistent decluttering sessions. It’s much easier to keep on top of clutter with regular cleanouts, and this is especially true if your primary goal is to maintain a minimalist aesthetic at home.

As part of your Premium access, you can send your gardening questions to our horticultural experts each month. They will then answer a selection of the questions they receive, and share the advice at the end of the month.

This year was a whirlwind of earthy colors, TikTok micro-aesthetics, moody spaces, and bold and innovative design choices. And while summer is only just barely behind us, the design world already has its sights set on the New Year and the trends we can expect to see in 2024.

If you've been thinking about converting your well-used tub into a complete shower, it may be helpful to do some proper research and get some experts' advice before you fully throw yourself into the long-term project.

Japanese garden tools are known for their quality and precision and can be a reliable addition to your gardening toolkit. Japanese-style tools and brands often stand out when our experts review gardening products, and they are often scored highly for their performance.

Bleach is a valuable part of many cleaning arsenals. It’s a powerful oxidizing agent that is commonly used to treat stains, brighten white fabrics, and disinfect and sanitize surfaces. 

If your collection of outdoor power tools doesn't include a pressure washer, your home's exterior isn't as spiffy as it could be — and you're definitely working harder than you need to at whatever cleaning tasks you're tackling by hand.

When was the last time you replaced the air filters in your home? With poor air quality becoming a growing concern across the United States and Canada, you are probably more aware of your home’s air filters than ever before. Air filters help keep our home’s air clean and free of dust, dander, and pollutants. This not only helps us breathe easier, but it also keeps the HVAC systems in good shape and prevents them from experiencing potential damage due to the buildup of airborne particulates.

It may feel like a cliché to say that kitchens are the heart of the home, but there’s an undeniable truth to that statement. Kitchens are where we gather with friends and family and where we whip up delicious meals and refreshing drinks—they’re a central location around which our home lives revolve. 

Netflix

Landlords, listen up! 

When it comes to outdoor maintenance, consider the elements and the critters. To fully tackle all your yard, patio, and garden space, break it up into sections a make a to-do list.

A backyard shed is often used by homeowners to store any lawn or garden items or it's used as extra storage for items that no longer fit inside the house. Although it may be easy to throw any spare items into the shed, it also isn’t the right place for everything.

We may not think much about the trees outside our homes, but if we heed the words of FDR, who famously said, “Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people,” it’s time we should. After all, urban forests—the ecosystems that make up our communities, including the trees planted on our residential properties, in parks, and along streets—are vital to our health and the health of the environment.

Outdoor entertaining season has already started to kick off—if you're wondering what types of trends will be big when it comes to hostingal fresco in 2023, read on for insight from a variety of experts.

When it comes to cleaning our homes, everyone has their own preferred system. There are those who love to do a little bit every day and others who prefer to tackle one big weekly deep clean. Then, there are the people who are on a strict as-needed basis, only cleaning things when there’s a true mess to handle.

Learning from the Experts Visiting a famous garden is not just (generally) a delightful experience – it can also be a masterclass in good gardening techniques. On my recent visit to Sissinghurst I was particularly impressed by the way that the evergreen Magnolia remained tight to the wall that it was growing against.

When it's time to organize, decluttering can take a turn into throwing away too much. Yes, it is possible to go overboard even when you're trying to do something good for your home.

Keeping houseplants alive can be a strenuous task. You need to place them in the proper location to make sure they get the right amount of light, and you have to water them correctly — because there is such a thing as overwatering your plants. Although water is, thankfully, easy to find in most places, proper lighting may not be. You might live in a place that doesn't face the sun, your home may not have a lot of windows or perhaps putting your plants in a certain place in your house doesn't fit your aesthetic. That's where indoor grow lights come in: You can use them to properly care for your plants no matter your lighting situation.