4 Things You Should Actually Pour Down the Drain, a Pro Says

Transport yourself back to the beginning of summer. You planted a few tomato plants in the hopes you'd have a summer full of tomato sandwiches, tomato pies, and simple lunches of juicy tomato slices with a simple dressing of olive oil, salt, and cracked pepper. A few months later, and one of your tomato plants is going above and beyond. It's delivering a bounty of rich, flavorful tomatoes, and you're wondering how you can recreate this harvest next summer.

It may seem like anything and everything is fair game to display on your open shelves, but this isn't actually the case, designers say. Some items aren't meant to sit out in the open all day long, while others are only going to be frustrating to access when placed high up.

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While plenty of plant lovers will tell you about the easiest houseplants to grow, few will tell you which plants to completely avoid.

Overfeeding your herbs with fertilizers has many drawbacks, so it is important to reduce fertilizing. If you ask why—we’ve explained everything below. Read on to learn why it’s better not to feed herbs very often and what you should do instead!

If you’re a homeowner looking to update your bathroom and you’re reconsidering which bath updates are must-haves and which you can skip, read on to learn what some professional designers would skip when it comes to their own bathrooms and why.

After a long winter, it's exciting to look forward to pulling out summer furniture when the weather warms up. But it can be disappointing when you pull out your outdoor items and they've been ruined by a rough winter and poor storage.

Got pests? Encourage native ladybugs to inhabit your garden instead of buying wild-harvested ladybugs to manage unwanted insects. Purchased ladybugs are expensive and potentially disease-carrying, threatening native bug species already living in your garden and the surrounding area. Your best bet is to attract and encourage native ladybugs to thrive and flourish, which will responsibly deter unwanted pests.

Mowing may be time consuming but is a critical part of maintaining a vigorous lawn. Healthy, well-managed grass not only looks better, but is more resilient to drought and other stresses. Proper mowing practices promote lush, dense turf by stimulating shoot and root growth. Lawn mowing encourages lateral shoot growth, resulting in a thicker lawn that is better able to combat weeds. These benefits are impacted by how often you mow the lawn. Mowing at regular intervals based on plant growth makes your ongoing maintenance faster and easier and ensures your lawn remains healthy and vibrant.

There are plenty of performance interior paints and coatings for walls, trim, and furniture that are purportedly durable against scuffs and cracks, and that boast waterproof, water-resistant, or water-repellent properties. While these qualities render them suitable for spaces and surfaces that come into contact with water and cleaning agents—such as a kitchen, bath, or tabletop—they aren’t necessarily durable for painting the exterior, or any exterior component, of your home.

If you have a large load of laundry you've been procrastinating on, I get it and let's be honest: we've all been there. But before you jump in, you may not realize some items that you should actually wash with cold water instead of hot water.