Who Decided Pillows Needed a Karate Chop?
At some point, somebody looked at a perfectly good square pillow and decided it needed to be hit. One firm whack to the top center, two little peaks, and the…
Why Do Clean Sheets Feel So Good?
Clean sheets aren’t new sheets. They aren’t expensive sheets. They’re the same sheets that were on the bed before. You washed them, dried them, wrestled the fitted sheet back onto…
Who Put a Window Over the Kitchen Sink?
I moved into an apartment with no window over the sink and discovered I'd been taking one for granted my whole life. So I went looking for who put it there.
Touching My Toilet Paper
The folded point tells me somebody touched it. The flower tells me they touched it a lot.
The Things We Leave Out on Purpose
IKEA says 38 percent of us leave things out hoping someone else will deal with them. They call it a protest. I think it's a test, and the other person doesn't know they're taking it.
The Fizz Is Not the Cleaning
There may be no cleaning combination with better public relations than vinegar and baking soda. Pour one on top of the other and your sink suddenly puts on a show. It fizzes. It foams. It hisses. Something is very clearly happening.
The Hardest Part of Cleaning Is Waiting
One of the hardest things to do while cleaning is nothing. Spray the shower wall and wait. Spray the stovetop and wait. Put cleaner in the toilet and walk away.
Why Do Houses Have Baseboards?
I think about baseboards all the time, but mostly because of cleaning. They collect dust. They get scuffed. Vacuums bang into them. A room can look clean until you notice…
Whatever Happened to Potpourri?
There was a time when a perfectly respectable bowl in a perfectly respectable living room might contain pinecones, wood shavings, dried rosebuds, curls of orange peel and several other things…
Bleach Makes Things Disappear
By Robin Murphy Bleach has a reputation. I’ve had plenty of people ask whether we use it, and the question usually comes up when they’re talking about something they consider…