We put 34 of the best beach towels to the test in our lab in Des Moines, Iowa, testing each towel’s quality, absorbency, softness, and durability after repeated washes. We also took detailed notes on how comfortable each towel was to lie on, its dimensions, and how much sand remained on the towel after being shaken out. After two days of testing, we chose the Clowood Plush Bamboo Cotton beach towel as the all-around best beach towel because of its thick, luxurious cushioning and how easily it absorbed water....

Editor-Loved Black Friday Deals Adidas Women’s Three-Stripe Crew Socks, $7 (was $14) Anrabess Women’s Oversized Turtleneck Sweater, $42 (was $60) Olay Regenerist Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizer, $30 with coupon (was $35) Mrs. Meyer’s Birchwood Hand Soap Set, $10 (was $15) Koolaburra by Ugg Women’s Koola Fashion Boot, $65 (was $90) Hydro Flask Wide Mouth Straw Lid Water Bottle, $30 (was $40) The House That Pinterest Built, $32 (was $65) To buy: $65 (was $90); amazon....

“The two most important features when looking for a vacuum to clean up after your pets are suction power and filtration,” says Ollie Toogood, senior design engineer at Dyson. We put 37 of the best vacuums for pet hair to the test in our lab in Des Moines, Iowa, to see which ones picked up fur from hard floors and carpets alike while remaining maneuverable and easy to operate. Our team of experts spent an entire day running each vacuum on different flooring types covered in pet hair, dust, dirt, and more....

To find the best bath towels, we spent two days testing 31 towels in our Lab and assessed them based on their quality, texture, absorbency, durability, and overall value. For expert tips on buying and using bath towels, we turned to Whitney Thornburg, design director at Coyuchi, and Sarah Smith, product education and customer experience manager at Serena & Lily. We also received insights from Elana Frosk, account executive at Hohenstein Institute, the U....

“Hand sanitizer functions by containing antiseptic ingredients that kill or inactivate many types of germs,” says Dr. Courtney Rubin, board-certified dermatologist and co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Fig.1, a skincare brand. “Hand sanitizers are regulated in the United States by the FDA as an OTC (over-the-counter) drug, meaning that hand sanitizers must meet a higher threshold for safety and effectiveness before they can be brought to market and sold to consumers....

Test Garden Tip: Build your raised beds so they’re at least 12 inches tall. If the walls are slightly below waist level, you can sit on the edges to work the soil and harvest your bounty without having to bend over. Test Garden Tip: Choose cold-tolerant vegetables in early spring or late fall for successful garden beds. To extend the gardening season, fashion hoops like the ones pictured, then drape plastic over them....

That being said, cooking can be the most glorious and essential escape. And we’ve got plenty of time on our hands to work on our skills. That’s why we asked the pros—nine expert chefs from restaurants around the country—to share their own personal favorite canned and frozen foods for cooking. We hope you’ll find them as helpful, surprising (Spam!), and inspiring as we do. I always have chicken stock in my pantry....

Staying toasty with the Eheyciga Heated Blanket is easy and quick thanks to the blanket’s five heating levels. The fleece-lined blanket heats up in as quick as 10-minutes, and the attached remote customizes how warm you want it to be. With a throw size of 50 by 60 inches and a twin size option (62 by 84 inches), the blanket works to warm up one to two people at a time....

At less than 5 inches wide and 12.1 inches high (16.8 inches tall when it’s open), this petite coffee machine will fit just about anywhere in your kitchen, so don’t worry about committing to countertop space. Not only is the machine perfectly-sized for tight kitchens, but many reviewers also vouch that it’s a great portable option for travelers as well—it’s even equipped with a convenient pocket for cord storage. The reservoir can hold enough water for a 6 to 12-ounce mug of coffee, tea, or hot beverage with the Keurig K-Cup pods or reusable K-Cup coffee filters for your own ground coffee....

To buy: $16 (was $20); amazon.com At 5.2 by 8.6 inches, the compact warmer has a big enough surface to fit all kinds of mugs and is thin enough to fit easily into your bag. With 17 watts of power, the compact beverage warmer perfectly heats a single mug, so gone are the days of drinking lukewarm forgotten coffee amidst a hectic schedule. One shopper who has used the mug warmer almost daily for four years titled their review, “My favorite thing I own....

As a shopping editor for Real Simple, hunting down the best products to make life easier is part of my job. So naturally, I’ve spent the past few months testing out various organizing solutions to see what actually works. And since I have so many hair, skincare, and beauty products, I knew the bathroom was one of the first places to tackle in my new home. By far the best bathroom organizer I’ve come across is the iDesign Affixx Adhesive Organizer Bin....

And then there’s the most puzzling part of yawning: It seems to spread. Although the science isn’t conclusive, there are plenty of studies into this involuntary phenomena that we can create a fairly well-rounded picture of why we yawn when we see others yawn. Let’s dive into the psychology. Why do we yawn? It’s easy to assume that we yawn to try and bring inhale more oxygen, which is actually what scientists believed until 30 years ago....

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To buy: $33 with coupon (was $40); amazon.com. The best-selling hand blender measures at just 2.55 inches wide and 16.9 inches tall, so you can store it comfortably in most drawers and leave space on your counter for preparing and cooking food. The 500W copper motor was engineered for continuous use; one reviewer even pointed out that the stainless steel handheld blender lasted them two years of daily commercial kitchen use....

If only I had access to a viral TikTok potato peeling hack back then. Now that I have discovered a potentially finger-saving method, it was time I tested it out to see if it would improve my current technique. I may not be ready to start my own cooking TikTok, but here’s how this experiment went. Viral Potato Peeling Hack According to a recent TikTok video, this mundane kitchen task shouldn’t be as slow-going and, more importantly, as dangerous as it often becomes....

What Are Flavonoids? Flavonoids are compounds that exist in most fruits and vegetables. “Flavonoids prevent free radical damage with their antioxidant activity and scavenge for free radicals throughout the body. [They also] block the formation of cancer-causing chemicals,” explains Abbie Gellman, MS, RD, CDN, a member of the Jenny Craig Science Advisory Board. “They also prevent the synthesis and release of compounds that may promote inflammation.” Additionally, Gellman notes some flavonoids can benefit collagen production, your most abundant protein....

When it comes down to it, though, nutrition is built on three main macronutrients that pretty much everyone is at least somewhat familiar with: protein, fat, and carbohydrates. Consuming these important macronutrients in their proper ratios is one of the simplest ways to ensure you’re getting adequate nutrition to fuel your body and mind, and keep you energized for life’s daily activities. What Are Macronutrients? So what exactly is a macronutrient (sometimes referred to as a “macro”) and how much of each should we be eating?...

As financial therapist and licensed professional counselor Kathy Haines, LPC explains, conflict over finances is among the top three reasons couples fight—or ultimately get divorced. Because everyone has a different experience with money and varied emotions tied to it, talking about money feels personal and can make us uneasy, fast. “Being vulnerable enough to have open and honest communication around money creates financial intimacy. This in turn creates safety within the relationship,” Haines says....

Not only will staying active and adapting your physical activity improve mental health and physical health, but it will also cut down on your risk of developing life-threatening illnesses or having a fall that results in injury. As Dania Valdes, ACE-certified personal trainer and fitness specialist at Mindbody, explains, we should all actively be working to improve posture and flexibility. By doing so, we can develop and maintain good movement patterns and also avoid musculoskeletal injuries....

What is the Difference Between a Kitchen Range, Stove, Oven, and Cooktop? Many kitchen stove parts are used interchangeably in reference to the same appliance, so knowing the difference can be confusing. Kitchen ranges, often used interchangeably with stove, generally combine both burners (a cooktop or stovetop) and an oven in one appliance. Cooktops break out the burners, or cooking surface, into its own appliance. An oven is simply the inner chamber in which food is heated....