Recommendations Ideas, Tips & Guides

As you’re getting ready to tackle your cleaning checklist, it can be difficult to know where and how to start (especially if it's been a while since you last cleaned). To help you get started, we talked to Sharon Garcia, a popular TikTok cleaning expert. On the social media platform, she's known for her videos and tips for creating a spotless home, so we asked her to share her favorite cleaning hacks that will be worth your time.

Meet the Black Dragon Snake Plant: With its striking appearance and easy care, this plant is perfect for both beginners and enthusiasts.

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When the housing market slows down, it's common to look for anything to make your home outshine the competition. We asked some experts to share their best tips for instantly increasing your home's value and their answers may shock you with how easy it is.

Your snake plant, the way of your dreams. Learn about snake plants and their drainage options. No more holes, no more worries, just happy, healthy plants. Is that true? Do Snake Plants Need Drainage Holes? And how can you care for these tough beauties in different potting systems? Read on to find out.

A well kept, manicured lawn is a point of pride for gardeners and maintaining it should be one of the easiest tasks in the garden. There’s a huge choice of different mowers on the market but electric corded mowers are the most common and one of the easiest to use. They’re quiet, light and easy to manoeuvre plus they’re clean with no fuel fumes or regular servicing needed. They’re also the cheapest, but do you get what you pay for? To find out if paying less means you lose out on features or performance our gardening experts tested a range of corded electric lawn mowers that won’t break the bank.

A hose can be an essential bit of kit for a gardener, making the task of watering your garden much easier than heaving a heavy watering can back and forth from the tap. Choosing the right hose will depend on the size of your garden, how much time you spend watering and, of course, your budget. We researched the most popular garden hoses on the market and rigorously tested them to bring you our list of the 10 best garden hoses, including bare hoses, expandable hoses and garden hose reels.

Every time you clean your toilet, be grateful we no longer hang toilet brushes on a hook on the wall. Now you can store it in a toilet brush holder (that is, once you're done using it to clean your toilet from a safe distance away). You can even find a sleek one that matches your bathroom's design style and enjoy displaying that caddy in the corner. But before you wrap up your next toilet cleaning—don’t be in such a rush to stow that wet brush back in its container.

If you desire a Snake Plant that is not just any ordinary one but the tallest, boldest, and largest that can be grown, with a cluster of healthy leaves that reach towards the sky, then we will provide you with our top tips on How to Grow Big and Tall Snake Plant!

Love them or hate them, there's no denying that throw pillows make a sofa look inviting. But exactly where is the line between a cozy number of throw pillows and an inconvenient, excessive amount?

There are plenty of budget-friendly tips for decorating your space for fall, and we chatted with designers to find out which tips work the best.

It doesn’t matter how spotless your kitchen is. If you have a counter full of appliances and a whatever, wherever tactic for food storage, your kitchen will inevitably look cluttered.  We tapped two organizational experts—Danielle Dorn, design director of mDesign, and Morgan Ovens, founder of Haven Home Wellness—for their top tips for reducing kitchen clutter. Read on for six quick and easy tasks you can complete today. Clean, clutter-free kitchen, here you come. 

Mirrors work for more than checking your look before you head out the door—they are also a key component in interior design and can complete a room when used correctly. However, sometimes mirrors can actually detract from your decor if not used properly. We spoke with design experts to find out how to avoid missteps with mirrors.

Storing amaryllis bulbs for the winter is simple, and saving them means you can enjoy them again year after year.

Want to refresh your space—but don’t have the budget (or the desire) for a shopping spree? A primpover might be overdue.

If there’s one DIY recipe that’s simple, fun, and makes a house feel (and smell) like a home, it’s a simmer pot. All you have to do is cut some fruit into slices, add it to a pot with some spices, cover the ingredients with water, and simmer it on the stove for a few hours, and voila—you have a warm, inviting home. It’s such a lovely trick that you might consider bringing part of the routine into the rest of your household duties. Like, perhaps, cleaning your pillows?

Have you ever found yourself wondering if you should break out the mop to clean your walls? 

BHG / Ana Cadena

Back in May, Lex Madden, bar manager at Point Easy in Denver, Colorado, told BHG that “the spritz is absolutely the drink of summer!” 

One of nature's most unique plants, the monkey puzzle tree (also known as araucaria araucana) is a bit of a mystery. Due to their unusual, thorny branches, it's a great option for plant lovers looking to add a dose of flair to their space. «There isn't a tree out there like the monkey puzzle, especially compared to native choices within the United States,» says Tamara Hogan, resident plant expert at Fast Growing Trees, an online nursery. «Its blade-like leaves and branch structure are unlike any other conifer trees. It's also an evergreen that can handle some cooler, humid environments since the southern areas of Chile is where this tree comes from.» Another benefit of growing one? You can live with a monkey puzzle tree for a long time. It can grow up to 90 feet tall and survive for thousands of years if it isn't cut down. However, since a monkey puzzle tree is so rare, many people aren't sure how to make one thrive indoors or outdoors. To help you out, we've consulted with experts at Fast Growing Trees to share everything you need to know about caring for a monkey puzzle tree.

Fall is the peak time to properly evaluate your home, so you know what to fix before winter approaches. From gardening to HVAC and plumbing, it's important to make sure your home is in good condition especially if you're hoping for a stress-free year ahead.

There’s a new interior design trend in town, and it may be one of the coziest yet. Marshmallow decor is taking the internet by storm, and we’re not talking about the sweet treat. This aesthetic is characterized by plush, overstuffed, and (often) white couches, ottomans, and lounge chairs paired with sleek and modern furnishings. The result is chic, cozy, and effortlessly luxurious—like you stepped into your favorite spa or luxury hotel.

Even with our best-laid meal prep plans, we’re sometimes left lunchless on the busiest of workdays. Yes, we know it’s almost always healthier and more affordable to assemble something ourselves rather than resort to fast food when the clock strikes noon—but sometimes we forget or run out of time. When this situation arises, we’ll gladly take a grab-and-go option over skipping a meal any day.

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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.

Philodendron Tortum – a mesmerizing plant that breaks all traditional notions of indoor foliage. With its strikingly twisted leaves that spiral like an unfurling fern, this rare Philodendron variety promises to turn your living space into a tropical paradise.

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Here are key autumn garden tips plus 7 top suggestions of plants to plant now.

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Reblooming Thanksgiving cactus is easier than you may think and it is possible to encourage them to flower every year.

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If your home is currently for sale and you're wondering what major to-do's you should prioritize before hosting an open house, you won't want to miss out on these six useful tips from experienced real estate agents.

With its striking, umbrella-shaped leaves and the ability to thrive in various lighting conditions, this plant offers the perfect blend of beauty and ease of care. Step into a world where lush foliage meets elegant design, all within the comfort of your home. Meet the Schefflera Plant – a stunning indoor shrub that promises all this and more. Keep scrolling to discover everything about Growing Umbrella Plant Indoors!

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.

Do you feel as though your space is jam-packed with too much extra stuff? You're certainly not alone.

As Alliums flower over a couple of seasons, this makes them the perfect flower companion to your late spring/early summer flowering plants! If you’re at a loss for knowing what to plant with your alliums, then here are some of our top plants to pair them with for a long-lasting display. Salvia Also known as Ornamental Sage, Salvias are a magnet for pollinators. The juxtaposition between the large globes and spire-shaped flowers is highly attractive. They also help bridge the gap between spring and autumn, as at least one of them will be flowering between this time. Geum Geums are hardy perennials, and as such, make for a perfect partner to the allium. As they can grow to roughly 50cm in height (depending on the variety), the similarity there makes a more cohesive display while offering different colours and shapes. Verbascum Verbascum is a summer-flowering perennial that produces spires of blooms, similar in shape to a hollyhock. They look superb in any seasonal display, and we highly recommend growing them with any of your intended alliums — especially if you're after the classic cottage garden aesthetic!  Carex Carex grasses are often evergreen, producing a range of tufted leaves and varying colours. Carex grasses are ornamental, and look superb in the flower bed, in a container, or even along a walkway. Carex comes in a range of heights, but many will look amazing with your new alliums. Euphorbia Euphorbia, also known as Spurges, is a summer garden staple, adding vibrancy to the display. Their vivid shades look perfect with a selection of alliums and add colour to the summer garden for months on end. Late Spring Flowering Bulbs Many spring bulbs can flower later in the spring months, just like alliums do.