I write freelance essays, features and articles, branded blog content, email newsletters and website copy, on lifestyle topics like food, parenting & wellness. Background in digital, content & SEO
Carifit+ baby carrier Review
The Carifit+ is a baby carrier and app that combines the benefits of babywearing with the benefits of movement. When you buy the carrier, you get 12 months’ access to the app, or you can use the app with a carrier you already own.
The benefits of babywearing are well-established. “Babywearing is truly quite an amazing tool as a parent,” Carifit’s founder Vern Hill, told me at the carrier’s launch event. “Babywearing helps build caregiver responsiveness. We understand our baby because they're ...
I Tried a “Traffic Light” System for My Daily Cleaning Tasks
Cleaning routines can be a really helpful framework for structuring the time and energy you dedicate to cleaning your home, but routines that rely on a daily, weekly, or monthly calendar are often missing an important element: real life.
I worry about how my child will be affected by AI assistants. I'm teaching her how to fact-check their answers.
AI voice assistants are changing the way we speak and interact with the world.
I worry about how exposure to these will affect my child's communication skills as she gets older.
To counteract this, I'm talking with her about how to effectively communicate with them.
My daughter is only a year old and already she is accustomed to the stilted tones of the Alexa in my mom's kitchen. She looks around with interest when we use it to set a timer or check the weather forecast. But how will growing u...
The One Ingredient I Use to Get Rid of Sweat Smells in Clothes
I live in Yorkshire, England, so having sweaty clothes isn’t a problem I normally have to worry much about. However, we’re in the midst of a heatwave here, and everything is sweaty: My clothes are sweaty, my sheets are sweaty, and my running gear is especially sweaty....
This Ingenious Car Seat Is the Answer to Safe Cab Travel with an Infant
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
I discovered Nuna’s new Pipa Urbn infant car seat a few months ago at a press event when my daughter was 10 months old. I know that the phrase “game-changer” is tossed around a lot, but this car seat truly does change the game — if your game is maneuvering car seats in and out of vehicles!
The Pipa Urbn car seat is the only baseless infant car ...
This Engineer Mom’s Ingenious Way to Sort Laundry Using the IKEA TROFAST
Anyone with kids will understand industrial engineer (and mom) Başak Anil’s despair at the sheer volume of laundry they create: “After our second baby, the laundry situation in our home went crazy. There were piles of unsorted laundry everywhere.”
See How I Used Soda Crystals to Remove Moss and Algae on My Patio
I recently moved to a home with a garden for the first time, which means that I’ve got a little patch of patio in the back. I’m looking forward to getting the patio furniture out and enjoying al fresco dining this summer — but my new patio needed a bit of work before it was ready for hosting.
I Tried 4 Different IKEA Baskets for Toy Storage, and Found a Clear Winner
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
IKEA’s toy storage is legendary. From the classic pull-out TROFAST system to the hidden storage of the DUNDRA activity table to a BILLY bookcase hack for small toys, IKEA is a Cubby favorite for easy, accessible ways to organize toys and tame kid clutter.
But what about IKEA baskets? Baskets can be a great way to store toys, but they can also b...
An Appliance Repair Pro Shares the Reasons Why Washing Machines Break
When I was pregnant, I returned home from an appointment with my midwife and opened the door to our apartment and stepped onto a wet floor. The washer had leaked and, worse than that, we’d just replaced the vinyl floor that was ruined the last time the washer broke. As the water reached my poor, pregnancy-swollen ankles, I started to cry...
I co-sleep with my baby and refuse to be shamed for it
This morning, I woke up feeling well-rested after a full night’s sleep – which wouldn’t be so impressive if I didn’t have a 10-month-old daughter.
See, my daughter Vivian* has been sleeping in the same bed as me since she was four weeks old.
And, for us, it works.
We both get a better night’s sleep and, as a very clingy baby, it reassures Vivian that I’m always there if she needs me.
I don’t know when it’ll end and, quite frankly, I don’t care.
Yet, I am far from alone in co-sleeping with my ...
I Took a “Cleaning Vacation” for a Week — Here’s How It Went
I am the primary housekeeper in my home, just like many other women in dual-income heterosexual relationships. I never minded so much when it was just me and my husband in our tiny apartment. But since becoming parents and moving to a bigger property, the cycle of cleaning and chores seems never-ending...
How to Really Get Your Glassware Sparkling Clean, According to a Bartender
I recently moved from a small apartment in the city to a house in the suburbs, and the top three things I was most excited about having were a yard, a bedroom for my daughter, and a dining table to host dinner parties...
This Is How You Can Organize Your Home Without Plastic, According to a Pro Organizer
Using containers around my home lets me at least look as though I live in a neatly organized space (even if they’re mostly just hiding my clutter). A lot of home organizing content relies on sorting things into bins or containers. From acrylic dividers in my fridge, to lidded boxes inside the cupboards, to plastic baskets on the counter, I can see tons of non-recyclable plastic when I look around my home. It isn’t great for the environment — and honestly, a lot of it isn’t great for my home aesthetic, either....
How Having a “Catch-All Day” Completely Transformed My Cleaning Routine
When my husband and I were looking at houses, trying to find one we could imagine raising our children in, we got to tour a four-story Victorian mid-terrace house. Honestly, it was beautiful. Huge rooms, high ceilings, and views across the valley. My husband was in love, but I wasn’t so sure. “When are we going to find time to clean it all?” was all I could ask...
Do You Have “Cleaning Burnout”? Here’s How to Recover When You’re Overwhelmed by Mess
America is experiencing unprecedented levels of burnout — from employment to parenting and even in cleaning. While burnout is commonly applied to a work setting, it’s not the only place you can feel overwhelmed, exhausted, and unable to keep up...