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Red-berried dogwoods and the mystery street trees
Our garden dogwood puts on white flowers in spring and red berries in fall. I wondered what the similar street trees were—and fell down a botany rabbit hole.
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Washing bath towels daily feels impossible? Go smaller.
I was dreading the smell from bath towels I didn’t wash every day. Switching to compact bath towels made washing easy and also solved mildew and stink.
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I tried buffing scratches out of my glasses and learned a lot about lenses
Tempted to polish micro-scratches off plastic lenses? I tested plastic polish and Pikal on old lenses and dug into coatings, heat damage, and proper cleaning.
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Hunting for a bread knife that stays sharp and slices clean
Our freebie bread knife shredded crusty loaves. I looked into price tiers, blade shapes, steels, and brands to find a cleaner-cut upgrade.
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White specks in my tea pitcher weren’t mold—they were limescale
Water-brewed tea left white bumps on the pitcher walls. Turns out it’s mineral scale from tap water sticking to micro-scratches in plastic, not mold.
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Killing tea stains in a Thermos: the melamine-sponge bottle brush that finally worked
Big brushes splashed everywhere, bead brushes loosened, but a ¥100 melamine-sponge brush scrubbed my Thermos clean without drama.
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Why does toilet dust pile up so fast?
Toilet tanks and corners get fluffy dust even with the door shut. It’s mostly toilet-paper lint and clothing fibers—and a bit of splashback.
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Cheap Uniqlo pack tees and the fight against pilling
I bought the 500 yen Uniqlo Dry Color pack tees, they pilled fast, and I tried razors, sponges, and a Tescom lint remover to rescue them.