Setting Up Your Home Office

We may earn a commission from links on this page. As we appear to be living in an age of perpetually rising grocery prices, we're all looking for ways to lower our food bills. Considering the average spend on groceriesis over $500 every month, I'm all open to suggestions. Extreme couponing? Tell me more. Intermittent fasting? Sounds doable. Ugly produce? Bring it on! Spending money to save money? How does that work? Kitchen tools like bread makers or chest freezers tend to pay for themselves over time, but often come with a hefty upfront cost. Yet there are some inexpensive gadgets that don’t require a big investment but which can trim your grocery bills significantly. He…

DIY fixes around the house can save you a lot of money and headaches—with few basic skills and a few basic tools, you can tackle a wide range of home projects while other folks pay professionals enormous amounts of money to get the same work done. But sometimes, you get what you pay for. Professionals may be pricey, but they bring with them a wealth of experience and knowledge that helps them avoid simple mistakes that can lead to real trouble—including code violations. A lot of DIYers tend to skip steps like pulling permits and inspections on the assumption that they’re not necessary for minor fixes, but hacks that seem like clever solutions when you’re DIY-ing can actu…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. For a property owner, paint is an incredibly powerful tool. It’s a cheap and effective renovation in a can, a fun way to add some personality to your home, and a project that can be wrapped up in a weekend. Best of all, if you mess up your paint job, you can just paint over your mistakes. But the power of paint goes way beyond aesthetics. Paint can be formulated in different ways, with different effects, making it an easy, low-cost solution to a host of problems you might experience in your home—and I'm not talking about covering them up to pretend they aren't there. Choosing the right kind of paint can often be the most a…

2024 was the hottest summer ever recorded, and there’s a good chance that future summers will be even warmer. For most people, planning for those future summers involves upgrading their air-conditioning systems and taking other steps to turn the interior of their homes into cool, dark caves. But what happens if you want to get outside for some fresh air? If your yard is too hot to enjoy during the summer, you might as well not have a yard at all. You can’t air condition the outdoors—but you can lower the temperature with some thoughtful landscaping decisions. If you hesitate to throw a cookout in your outdoor space because you feel like you’re on a grill when you’re out t…

Buying a house is a stressful, expensive project—something most people understand. That's why they do their diligence. The research the property and the area, they hire a home inspector, they pay a lot of money for title insurance, and they ask questions. Lots and lots of questions. Most of those questions are common sense, concerning the history of the house, the age and condition of the roof or the HVAC system, and the neighborhood. But there are some not-so-common questions that are also worth asking. These eight questions might seem a bit random, but they can alert you to big problems before you sign your life away. Was the home ever used as a business?A lot of people…

There are a whole host of decluttering methods you can try, but no matter which one you choose, at some point, you'll you'll be faced with the difficult task of picking up and considering every single item in your space to determine whether it should stay or go. Ideally, you'll do this with a particular criteria in mind, and for a lot of people, that means following the KonMari principle of pondering whether the thing you're looking at "sparks joy." But that doesn't work for everybody, or every object. Maybe you're less sentimental, and more practical. Maybe you already did a round of decluttering and found that too many things "sparked joy," so you're still overladen w…

The average total consumer household debt last year was $105,056—a 13% increase over the past five years, according to the most recent data. When it comes to researching strategies and tips for paying off your balances, it’s easy to get lost down a rabbit hole. And that rabbit hole can distract you from the real work of getting organized and tackling your debt. Taking the first steps toward a clear plan and system in place—even just reading this article—can help you feel more in control and start to make some progress toward being debt-free. If you're worried and feeling overwhelmed by debt, here are initial steps to take so you can get organized and make some real progr…

If you’ve tried to buy or sell a house, you probably worked with a licensed real estate professional—there are more than 3 million of them in the U.S., and their advice and assistance are often invaluable. Real estate agents know the properties in their area and can help you locate them (and weed out deceptive listings) and guide you through every step of the process. A good real estate agent who has your best interests at heart is worth their commission and then some. But not everyone who has a real estate license is a good agent—or an ethical one. Sometimes the red flags around an agent are big and obvious, but sometimes real estate pros engage in subtle little scams th…

As anyone who has ever tried to design their home knows all too well, neutral always works. Beige, white, and various subtle shades of gray are the safe choices in any room—they may not be exciting, but they also won’t irritate you over time or cause your guests to whisper about your choices behind your back. That safety combined with a long-running trend toward minimalist and uncluttered spaces has led to the color “pop”—a blast of vibrant color as an accent to add a dash of drama to your otherwise bland spaces. But as concepts like “unexpected red” demonstrate, you aren’t confined to painting an accent wall or buying a big red sofa when you want that pop of color. While…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. There is a moment during every big move where it hits you: Moving is really freaking expensive. The expenses—from packing supplies and the truck itself to the costs related to cleaning, painting, and utility deposits—will pile up. And I'm not even including the costs of furniture that better fits your new space. Budget—and cushion your budgetI spoke to a number of moving experts—especially people who work at moving companies and have been in the business for years—and most of them emphasized budget before your move—and overestimating what you think you'll spend. Both Shannon Beller, CEO and co-founder of Wall-Russ, and Ro…

When you need to access data like contacts, calendar events, and photos across all your devices, iCloud is your best friend. And yet, it’s often our best friends who frustrate us the most, right? I know the frustration of an iCloud backup taking so long that I end up canceling it. Or worse, I try logging out and back in, only to discover I lost some files in the process. In perfect conditions, the iCloud sync process should only take a few seconds. If it feels like it’s taking forever, though—or you’re simply as impatient as I am—here are a few simple steps to get things running efficiently. Why iCloud sync might be slowIf you have iCloud backups turned on automatically,…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Amazon Big Deal Days is coming October 7-8, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it's over. Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox. New to Prime Day? We have a primer on everything you need to know. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change. If you’re like I used to be and your house is stocked with old, dull, and possibly mysteriously sticky pairs of scissors, I’m abo…

Wikipedia is a treasured online resource that, despite massive changes across the web, has managed to remained truly great to this day. I, alongside millions of other users, visit the site daily to learn something new or double-check existing knowledge. In an age of non-stop AI slop, Wikipedia is something of an antidote. If you look at Wikipedia and think "this is alright, but an AI version would be a lot better," you might just be Elon Musk. Musk's AI company, xAI, just launched Grokipedia—yes, that really is its name—an online encyclopedia that closely resembles Wikipedia in name and surface-level appearance. But under the hood, the two could hardly be any more differe…

The Gboard interface can be a lot. In addition to the keyboard, there are so many features stuffed inside this little utility that there's a whole customizable toolbar on top of the keyboard to help you navigate them. And this kind of maximalist interface applies to the Emoji keyboard as well... or at least, it used to. Now, Google is finally doing something about it. Google has starting rolling out a new beta redesign to the Emoji menu that makes it simpler to use, with a more categorized layout. Gone is the old "All" screen that showed all of your recently used emojis, customized Emoji Kitchen stickers, and GIFs all in one long, confusing list. And, with a little bit …

There are a lot of trends in generative AI right now. There are the reasoning models like OpenAI's o3, that "think" through each step of a problem before it answers. There are also "deep research" features that can compile information from across the web to generate reports for you. But perhaps the trend that is most "futuristic" of all is Voice Mode. This is the future 2013's Her promised: a chatbot that you can talk to like any other person. The chatbot doesn't say anything differently than it would if you were chatting over text; however, it responds in a "realistic" and "natural" voice, which could create the illusion that you're talking to a person, not a robot. I'v…

Smart glasses maker Even Realities today released its latest model, the Even G2 Display Smart Glasses. Featuring a monochrome display, stylish frames, and a unique ring controller, G2s are available now for $599. In contrast to Meta Ray-Ban Displays' "do-everything" approach, G2s are designed to do one specific thing: provide a smart display that only the wearer can see. Instead of a camera and speaker, the G2s feature a suite of basic apps, like a teleprompter and a map that you can see with a tilt of your head or a touch of your ring, packed into a pair of light, slick-looking designer frames. The idea is to create cool-looking everyday glasses that are useful instead …

Scammers are getting increasingly clever about injecting apps with malware. Certainly it's nothing new that malicious apps are littered across the internet, but lately they've been popping up with alarming frequency even in theoretically safe spots like the Google Play Store and even Apple's App Store. Malware is even showing up on Steam, serving as a reminder that we all need to be careful with each and every app (or game) we choose to download onto our devices. As reported by GameRant, Valve recently removed a title called PirateFi from Steam. Created by developer Seaworth Interactive, the game was free to play, and was advertised as a survival adventure that let playe…

The user-generated video industry is worth over $4 billion, reflecting how tastes have evolved away from reading articles and watching television punditry and toward scrolling vertical video feeds and watching live streams. As a reader, a writer, and the editor of an article-driven tech site, the rise of user-generated video and streaming can be a tough reality to accept. But as a longtime fan of live streaming, a part of me is thrilled to see the media landscape begin to take it more seriously. For example: On Jan. 16, Bluesky announced the rollout of a feature that more seamlessly connects its users to live streams—a feature that may catch on more broadly. The latest B…

April is when gardeners need to start being mathematicians and professional organizers, trying to find space for all the seedlings that need to get into trays on time. It’s also the first time this year you’ll start succession seeding, both indoors and out. Succession seeding is one of the real benefits of growing your own seeds: It means you can grow one or two of a variety instead of needing the space for a whole six pack you’d pick up at the nursery. Grow a mixed tray of vegetables or herbs now, and start another one in a few weeks. This will also help alleviate some strain on square footage in your growing space. Even if you haven’t started your seed growing yet, the…

Good news: Spring is around the corner. By the time the ground is warm enough to receive your flower, vegetable, and herb starts, it’s a race to see how much production you can get from these plants before the season is over. The bigger the plant you start with, the better. That’s why I give my plants a head start by growing seedlings inside. Here's everything I'm starting indoors this month, and a few seeds you can direct sow outside, too. (If you've never grown from seed indoors before, don't be intimidated. It's incredibly rewarding, saves money, and will give you the gardening high you need while the weather is still terrible.) Start long-germinating flowers todayIt…

While a lot of May gardening is dedicated to moving plants into the ground, there is still plenty of seeding to be done. Inside, I'm starting late-planted vegetables like cucumbers, and a second round of annual flowers, like stock and celosia. Outside, I'm beginning to direct seed vegetables like corn and beans, and annuals like sunflowers. It's important to remember to stay on top of your succession planting during this busy time. And finally, there's no better time to start, reseed, or overseed your eco lawn. Lawns A clover lawn before being cut Credi…

The first Pixel Drop of 2025 is here—quarterly upgrades coming to Google's phones, tablets, and watches include improvements to Gemini Live and other AI-powered functionality (like scam detection for calls and texts), health and safety features, and camera and connectivity updates. Here's everything in the March drop, rolling out now. Gemini upgradesAs with the December Pixel Drop, much of what's new for Pixel this month is powered by Google Gemini. Gemini Live is getting smarter with the ability to automatically switch between 45 languages in conversation without having to change your language settings. Multimodal capabilities for adding images, files, and YouTube vide…

After teasing the device in January at Unpacked 2025, Samsung is ready to make the Galaxy S25 Edge official. The company revealed latest device in the S25 series during a special Monday night event. While there are many similarities between the Edge and the other S25 devices, what makes this particular model stand out from the rest is how slim it is: The S25 Edge is just 5.8mm thick, 1.4mm thinner than the standard S25, and Samsung's thinnest phone yet. Everything Samsung revealed about the S25 EdgeJust like the rest of the S25 phones, the new Galaxy S25 Edge is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chip. That SoC (system on a chip) brings a number of imp…

The Department of Labor (DOL) is a critical federal agency that protects workers' rights, ensures workplace safety, and promotes employment opportunities across the United States. Around since 1913, the DOL is the latest government entity currently facing scrutiny from the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). On Friday, a federal judge declined to limit DOGE—which is not an official government department, but a task force led by Elon Musk—from accessing the DOL's systems and sensitive information. Not everyone is happy about that, because they are worried Musk might gut the agency in similar fashion to what is being done with USAID. But what does the…