My 12-year-old and her beach sunset. As summer shifts to fall, my back-to-school-organizing energy is ratcheting up.

This time of year, I have a visceral urge to get the house in order so we can jump into fall routines with a clear head—almost like spring cleaning. I want to lighten up, to scrub crevices, and get organized.

I’ve donated items, prepared the front entryway for school bags, and tried to instill order room by room and cabinet by cabinet. If you feel the same, we’ve got plenty of sound advice to offer, like these expert picks of smart storage options and clever strategies for taming particularly challenging areas.

Still, there’s one category I’m stymied by: my children’s artwork.

When I became a parent, I knew there would be kids’ art. I looked forward to it! I loved it (and still do). Creating things comes so naturally to kids, and it’s an important part of their development. But I’m not sure it had occurred to me how much art there would be.

The sheer volume is impressive: self-portraits, clay sculptures, drawing after drawing, painted rocks, painted seashells, collages, the very clever “iPad” my younger daughter just made out of cardboard with hand-drawn apps. And I’m not even including beaded bracelets, potions, or handwritten notes.

The ipad. Quite different than the tablets my colleagues test. I kind of love it.

My children are 12 and 8, and I have to admit that I often feel overwhelmed by the art, including the pieces I love. I look at pictures taken in our house from just a few years back, and I can see how many fewer items there were on mantels, tabletops, or tucked in corners. It makes total sense, of course, that a growing family has more stuff than before. And gosh, what a privilege to have an increasing number of books, toys, art supplies, and, yes, homemade art.

But after a while, completed art projects become part of the clutter and the backlog of decision-making over what to do with them. I’m constantly coaching my kids that art is often about the creative act, not the finished product. “It’s about the process!” I say, more or less convinced.

I need some help. So, naturally, I reach out to Marie Kondo. Yes, that Marie Kondo. She offers the world ultimate decluttering expertise, but she also has young children, ages 11, 9, and 5. That’s prime homemade art territory.

“There are definitely times when I find it hard to let go of my children’s creations,” Kondo says over email. “Especially large pieces or those that include their photos.”

It’s comforting to hear this from the person who helps people plan “tidying festivals” and who sold 14 million copies of a book on deciding what to keep or toss.

Kondo famously had a shift in mindset after her third child was born: With three kids, tidying less on any given day may actually be the thing that sparks more joy.

But of course she has strategies. One is to be deliberate about enjoying your kids’ art. She has a designated area in the living room set aside for this purpose.

“I’ve found that displaying children’s artwork—even for a limited time—can make a big difference. When you truly enjoy and appreciate it while it’s on display, both you and your child naturally come to feel, after some time, ‘It’s okay to let this go now.’”

I get it. Right now, I have a pencil drawing from my older daughter displayed on my nightstand. It’s based on a scene in a book that we both love and read together recently. I know it’s not a permanent fixture. Enjoying it for a while feels right, and eventually it will go in the recycling bin.

Adorable ceramic mushroom house. This one stays forever.

Favorites get a permanent place in Kondo’s home. “In our bathroom, I’ve hung a picture of blue flowers drawn by my eldest daughter—it’s there because I genuinely find it beautiful as a piece of art.”

I feel the same about my own daughter’s mushroom house. It’s a keeper, proudly displayed in the living room, sitting atop a doily crocheted by a great-aunt. Art across generations.

But what we keep, and even display, can’t be entirely up to the adults in the house. Kondo says her children have a say in what they hold onto, but they also have to understand that there’s a finite amount of space.

“Each of my three children has their own temporary space to store their creations,” Kondo says. “Rather than deciding right away whether to keep or let go of something, we usually place it there first. Then, when that space starts to get full, we go through it and tidy up together.”

She adds: “It’s not about feeling like you ‘have to throw things away,’ but rather about choosing to keep what brings you joy. So even if you feel you have a lot of your children’s artwork, it’s perfectly fine to hold onto the pieces that genuinely spark joy for you.”

I do understand that in the economy of your own kids’ art, the fewer things you keep, the more valuable each piece becomes. But there’s a lot of emotional energy that goes into the decision-making.

There’s the art, the moment, the kid, and what it will feel like to have this piece (or not) in the future to turn over in my hands. I do this knowing there’s nothing I can do, really, to hold onto my kids’ childhood. Instead, I have to be in it for the process.

That’s what I tell myself, more or less convinced—and what I hope to teach my kids about their art, and about life: It’s the process that sparks the joy.

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1977: When blow-dryers could suck your hair into the intake vent, CR was on the case.

As an editor of Home and Tech content, I spend much of my day immersed in the intricacies of smartphones, laptops, printers, air purifiers, grills, and ranges (electric, gas, and pro style). You get the picture.

But every now and then, I get pulled into a discussion with the CR product safety team: If you want to witness the wonder of CR—fly straight to the heart of what makes the place truly special—spy on this group’s weekly meeting.

In the span of an hour, the conversation jumps from blenders that can expose your family to lead poisoning to carbon monoxide detectors that fail to sound (after CR’s recent story, a government warning was issued) to squishy toys that can burst, scorching the skin of defenseless children—all of which seems mighty grim, until you watch how skillfully the team responds to these nightmares, channeling their outrage into gripping investigative reports and impassioned outreach to legislators and retailers.

This tough but tender-hearted band of watchdogs combs through the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s massive database to identify public hazards, calculate the toll of their faulty design, and demand change.

Here’s a quick list of recent CR work in the realm of product safety. Click through for more:

• Hundreds of consumer complaints about oven doors shattering without warning led to a story by Allen St. John.

• Consumer Reports tested toddler towers and found that many posed stability risks, entrapment risks, or both. In the months that followed CR’s investigation, written by Lauren Kirschner, more than 400,000 toddler towers were recalled.

• Certain Toshiba microwaves have turned on by themselves or added cooking time, sometimes resulting in sparks, smoke, and fire. Althea Chang-Cook reports.

• Dozens of prepared foods have been recalled because they contain jalapenos that may present a risk of salmonella. Paris Martineau investigates.

We have ongoing coverage of recalls on baby products, a car recall tracker that helps you keep tabs on the vehicles you and your loved ones drive, and robust food safety content, too.

I can see where a list like that might keep some folks up at night. But, as a husband and the father of two boys, I sleep a little better just knowing that CR has people birddogging these things. If anything above can be helpful to the people in your life, please share this post.

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Lisa and her labradoodle Blake, an unwitting accomplice in our stain remover tests.

As a home and trends reporter at CR, I’ve spent years writing about everyday goods, beauty and fitness products, baby gear, and more. I’ve washed, rinsed, brushed, and applied, over and over. Not too long ago I spent more hours than I can count on vibration plates in a quest to find the best for our members. But I’m here to tell you it’s not all glamour.

One morning a few months ago, I found myself with my dog’s leash in one hand and a Tupperware container in the other. The sun had barely risen, and I was on a mission.

In rubber gloves, I trailed Blake from one patch of grass to the next. My goal: to collect a fresh urine sample for a test of odor-removing enzyme cleaners (yes, I hear it now—crazy).

This was my second attempt. The day before, Blake had caught on mid-stream and spun around so quickly that my sneakers got the sample instead. This time I was successful, and we headed home.

Imagine the look on my kids’ faces when they stepped outside to see their mom hunched over the patio table, syringe in hand, carefully applying measured drops of dog urine to fabric swatches. It seemed clear I’d finally snapped.

Look, we take our work seriously here at CR. And if we’re going to tell you that certain enzyme cleaners effectively remove stubborn stains and odors, sometimes we need to get our hands (or shoes) dirty.

Behind every product evaluation at CR is a team of dedicated staffers who go the extra mile to ensure our science-based research is conducted with integrity and fairness. Sometimes it looks like an ordinary day at the office—but often it involves some shenanigans.

I reached out to my colleagues to ask about their weird and wild testing experiences over the years. Here’s a peek behind the curtain.

Tikka Masala Overload

Consistency is crucial when we test products. Even the smallest change to our testing controls can influence the results. So just as we use the exact same chocolate chip cookie recipe to test the baking prowess of different ranges, we create uniform “gunk” when testing cleansers. When home and trends writer Jodhaira Rodriguez tested dish soaps, she used a specific chicken tikka masala sauce to create matching messes on plates: “I had to eat that dish every day for about a week so that I would have enough sauce to dirty plates for each of the products tested. I don’t think I’ve eaten chicken tikka masala once since then.”

Into the Abyss

Pro that he is, test project leader Jose Amézquita manages to cope well with the essential repetition of our work—even when it plunges him into darkness: “When I tested motion-activated night lights,” José says, “I worked in a dark room for over two weeks, walking back and forth on a 26-foot stretch. I walked more than half a mile.”

Patience, precision, skill: José Amézquita at work.

To evaluate the effectiveness of furniture anchoring kits (above), José built (and built and built) mini walls: 80 of them! And recently, during his tests of charcoal brands, he counted every single piece in multiple bags, in order to determine how much usable charcoal each bag contained, versus debris: “Days of counting, thousands of pieces per bag.”

Water, Water Everywhere

When we evaluate everyday products, we want feedback from the people who use those products: “I volunteered to be one of the evaluators for swim caps,” says Pang-Chieh Ho, who writes about vacuums, dishwashers, and more for CR. “At the time, I wasn’t going to a regular pool [note: we had other testers trying the caps in pools], so I had to make do with my bathtub, submerging myself and simulating strokes. I tested 8 caps, and due to the sloshing and splashing I ended up flooding my downstairs neighbor’s bathroom ceiling!”

Smell Test

Jodhaira Rodriguez offers up another: “To test cat litter”—specifically its ability to mask odor—“I grated onions, squeezed out the juice, and dipped pieces of rolled-up paper towel into the onion juice, to mimic smelly cat poops. Then I placed the onion-soaked pieces in the litter boxes. I should have worn goggles to protect my eyes from the onions because I spent the entire day crying.”

Cat litter is an emotional topic for everyone.

Gobble, Gobble

Sometimes the demands of a particular project create a comically perfect storm. “I needed to test a setting on a GE oven designed to roast a turkey perfectly,” says deputy editor Paul Hope, who is also a classically trained chef. “The test called for making multiple subsequent turkeys in the same oven, in a single day, with time in between to let the oven cool. At 6 in the morning I showed up at our headquarters with contractor bags full of giant, thawed turkeys, packed in ice—no cooler was big enough to hold them. A morbid detail: Once I got the first batch of turkeys into the building, I ran back to the parking lot to get something from my car and saw a giant flock of wild turkeys on the grass. It felt like they were staring me down, as if they knew exactly what I was up to.”

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• 11 great fitness trackers and smartwatches from our tests.

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I’m molding my children into packing cube enthusiasts. Here’s my 12-year-old loading up her cubes for sleepaway camp.

I’m not exaggerating when I say there was life before packing cubes, and then life after.

Things changed about five years ago, when my mother-in-law handed off a spare set of orange packing cubes. They were cheerful, with mesh tops and good zippers, four large, two small. I accepted with a shrug.

It took only one trip to turn me into a complete convert. How had I gone all this time with my socks floating freely in one big bag?

If you happen to be someone who doesn’t use packing cubes, or never imagined reading this many words about packing cubes, let me explain their virtues.

Packing cubes let you compartmentalize and contain your stuff. That means you don’t have underwear spilling out of your carry-on at the airport, should you need to open it for something.

When you get to your destination, you can unpack easily because you have like items together. Or, if you’ll be living out of your suitcase, then, my goodness—packing cubes will prevent you from needing to turn over all your clothes in order to find that one thing you know you packed. Functionally, it’s like having dresser drawers, right there in your suitcase.

For me, packing cubes also help calm the actual packing process, which can feel overwhelming (especially when I’m packing for a long trip for me and my family).

Cubes are also great for keeping supplies together for specific activities. I put all of my exercise clothes in one cube: t-shirt, shorts, sports bra, and athletic socks. I do this for my daughters’ things, too: bathing suits and goggles and any little diver toys for the pool, all in one cube.

My children have obviously caught on. Just a few weeks ago, when my daughters were preparing for sleepaway camp, they both asked for their own packing cubes. A parenting win. A travel win. A summer camp win.

My Deep Feelings around packing cubes found a home when my colleague Anna Kocharian, a writer and reporter who specializes in shopping and organizing, asked staffers here at CR for their travel must-haves. Anna’s piece is full of great products to make trips smoother and easier. Here are a couple of my favorite suggestions:

A power bank suggested by Joe Novotny (who is an integral part of Bread & Butter—we could not do it without him). Joe says, “As my phone battery has gotten worse over time, having this on hand has been a game-changer for making sure I have enough power for directions, entertainment, and photos.”

A shoulder bag beloved by Jessica D’Argenio Waller, who writes about baby and health products for CR. Jessica appreciates the fact that “the super durable nylon fabric is sturdy enough to withstand long-haul travel (and airplane floors), but still lightweight enough to fold up into its own case when not in use.”

And these noise canceling headphones from Romy Vreeland, CR’s associate director of board relations. “They work really well on noisy planes,” Romy says, “and also when I’m vacuuming and still want to hear my podcast.”

Check out Anna’s full article on travel essentials for more ideas from the CR staff—and feel free to share your own must-haves in the comments. We’d love to hear from you.

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• Colorful luggage that’s easy to spot on the baggage carousel.

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My idea of a perfectly acceptable summer meal.

Summer is my favorite season. I like hot weather and doing hot-weather things, like swimming, eating loads of watermelon, and generally lazing about. I was born in the summer, and in the South, no less. So I am wired for heat and humidity. But even I have my limits. And when it comes to meals, that limit is this: no standing over a grill in extreme heat.

An elevated summer salad made by my colleague Paul, whose ideas are heavily featured in this post—and who has not yet invited me over for dinner.

Summer yields such tasty produce that often food doesn’t need to be cooked. I made three batches of gazpacho in July. I love a good salad for dinner. And honestly, I don’t even need to fuss with a salad. I could just eat a pint of tomatoes and a piece of cheese and call it a night. (And yes, there is an outbreak of cyclosporiasis that is sickening people, so it is important to take care and be informed. But you can still eat your favorite summer produce.)

But two big handfuls of tomatoes won’t work as a meal for my kids, who are even more active in summer and need more fuel than usual, not to mention protein. So, summer still calls for cooking—even if we prepare food to eat cold later. I also want to minimize the heat I create indoors while doing so, especially since I live in an old house where window air conditioners are working hard to keep things cool.

What are the best strategies for taking summer cooking indoors without overheating your home—or yourself? I quizzed my CR colleagues for their tips and tricks.

Quick-cook in a wok.

Cooking everything in one pan means you don’t have to have multiple burners going. A good ol’ stir-fry can be done on one burner, relatively quickly, says Paul Hope, a CR editor who is also a trained chef (see salad above). A good-sized wok is large enough to hold all the elements, but a stainless steel pan works too, since stainless pans usually have an aluminum core or base that heats quickly, Paul tells me.

Also key to not overheating: On an electric stove, match the pan to the size of the burner—a small pan on a large burner means more heat escaping into your kitchen. And use the exhaust fan; it can pull some of the heat from the stove out of the kitchen.

Do a whole meal in the air fryer or toaster oven.

Air fryers cook quickly and do a good job of containing heat within the appliance, says Breann Chai, who leads air fryer testing at CR. You can even cook a whole meal in it, from start to finish (including dessert).

As you probably know, air fryers aren’t actually frying food. They’re mini convection ovens that circulate air quickly. So yes, they are great for crisping things up, if you want a little crunch to your Brussels sprouts or are heating up a samosa. But you can cook most anything you want in there, and even just use it to keep food warm: chicken thighs, corn on the cob, fish, asparagus.

Something to be mindful of: Many air fryers have a small capacity, says Breann, “so you might have to do multiple rounds of cooking”—but also check out large models that score well in CR’s tests.

Tomato-corn galette made in my toaster oven: We ate the whole thing in one night.

If you don’t have an air fryer, you can use other small appliances. A multi-cooker can be useful on a hot day—especially on the pressure-cooker setting—because it can be faster than cooking on the stove. Paul makes brown rice in large batches in his pressure cooker, reducing the cooking time by more than half; then he vacuum-seals and freezes family-size portions to defrost when he needs them.

I use my toaster oven for roasting and baking. So does my colleague Althea Chang-Cook, who covers toaster ovens for CR. True to her last name, Althea loves to cook. She’ll make her own pizza, brownies, and fish in the toaster oven, she says.

Toaster ovens still give off some heat, but nowhere near as much as a regular oven, says Althea. I used mine recently to make the summer galette above.

Now’s the time to use that portable induction burner.

Paul has one, and it comes in handy. “I don’t think I would send somebody out to buy a plug-in induction burner just because it was hot outside for a few days, but I think it’s a great thing to have,” he says.

Paul often finds himself cooking for a crowd, so this extra burner earns its keep.

An induction cooktop, whether it’s a portable burner like Paul’s or your basic four-burner stove, doesn’t throw off as much heat as a gas burner, and it won’t stay warm for as long as an electric radiant burner, which continues to shed heat long after cooking.

“These portable burners are great for this particular purpose, of cooking on a hot day, but it’s also just nice to have for, say, Thanksgiving because you can literally boil potatoes for mashed potatoes and have it right next to your sink,” Paul says. “You don’t have to take up one of the burners on your stove with one gigantic pot, or—god forbid—cook on the back left burner of your range, which nobody ever wants to do.”

Exactly. Forget about that no-man’s-land of cooking and plug that burner in where it’s convenient.

Cook in the early morning, when it’s cool.

“It’s not that you can’t use your oven at all, just don’t do it during the hottest part of the day when everyone’s home from work and school and camp,” Paul says. He’ll roast a chicken or grill early in the morning, then the family will eat delicious cold chicken later with his homemade peanut dipping sauce.

Same thing with cooking pasta. Cook the pasta early in the day, then serve it later with pesto or as a pasta salad. Paul also mentions noodles that cook in just a few minutes, like Asian wheat noodles. Rice noodles also need only a couple of minutes of cooking time (if you soak them first). And I’m reminded that the summer months are a good time to splurge on fresh pasta at the Italian place near us, because it only needs a few minutes in boiling water.

And it’s not that you absolutely shouldn’t grill on a hot day, especially if you have a gas grill, which makes the whole endeavor go faster. Just stick to the same philosophy you’d use indoors, choosing quick-cooking ingredients and grilling early in the day when it’s cool.

A bonus, pointed out by Paul: “It’s lovely for the cook if you can make things ahead. That leaves more time for hanging out with an ice-cold drink when people are starting to gather for meals.”

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• The 10 best gas grills.

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• And the single best cooler we’ve found for summer road trips.

The essentials, including my wallet (AirTagged, as God intended), all fit in my Lululemon Belt Bag. If you’re looking for a clear bag, as some venues require, check out our picks.

In my early twenties, I moved from Philly to Los Angeles. Some probably thought it reckless: a self-involved choice that wouldn’t lead anywhere (by “some,” of course, I mean “my mother”).

But the truth—always more boring than fiction—is that a friend of mine was moving to LA for a job, and she wanted me to join her. Back then, I was easily influenced by people with more conviction than I had.

That’s a lot of words to say that I was once young and wandering. I ended up in LA with something of a splat, and my first real grounding force was live music. I remember walking into the Troubadour on Santa Monica Boulevard for the first time in 2013: its dark wood-paneled walls, its expansive stage that seemed to take up more ground than the floor there was to watch from, and a large, overhanging balcony. That was when I first fell in love with live shows.

That love traveled with me from LA to Seattle, from Seattle to LA, and from LA to New York, where I now live. Not only has concert-going continued to fill my calendar, but it has also helped shape my personal and interpersonal life: how I document my adventures, how I present myself on social media, and how I bring along the people I love.

Clockwise from top left: Joyce Manor in Asbury Park, NJ; Wet at Central Park, in New York; Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour, in Chicago; Lucy Dacus, Central Park.

This time of year, a lot of the shows I see are outside. While I was once happy to stand under the sun during a heat wave, risking life, limb, and skin—those days are no more. I’m not even willing to risk running out of charge on my phone.

The products below have helped me to optimize my concert-going experiences—maybe they’ll help you enjoy yours, too.

1. Aquaphor Healing Balm Stick
It’s sort of like the chicken and the egg: Do I need lip balm because my lips are chapped, or are my lips chapped because I keep applying lip balm? I’m not here to debate the science of my body—I’m not smart enough for that conversation. What I can tell you is that I always have a lip balm with me for comfort. I’ve tried a lot of them, but my preference is for Aquaphor, which is long-lasting and keeps your lips hydrated. I recommend the Lip Repair Stick, too, which comes in a smaller (and more easily storeable) form.

2. Trader Joe’s Daily Facial Sunscreen SPF 40
Often thought of as a dupe for Supergoop’s Unseen Sunscreen (which costs $22 per ounce), Trader Joe’s Sunscreen has served me well for outdoor shows, while coming in at $5 per ounce. It goes on smoothly and, most importantly, doesn’t leave a white cast, so you don’t need a mirror to apply it. (For outdoor daytime events, I also recommend a pair of Kent Wang sunglasses, which offer polarization, UV protection, and sturdy spring hinges for only $55.)

3. Belkin Boost Charge Plus
There’s nothing worse than being out and realizing your phone is dead. Especially if you’re in the middle of recording a favorite song. This portable charger is slim but powerful enough to juice up your phone (and a friend’s) a handful of times.

4. Mack’s Slim Fit Soft Foam Earplugs
I never really thought to protect my hearing until I turned 30. But since I usually stand so close to the stage—to enjoy the best view—I’ve begun wearing the comfy Mack’s Slim Fit Soft Foam Earplugs at concerts. (I also use these earplugs to help me sleep after a harrowing experience living in my studio apartment in Brooklyn Heights. Don’t worry; I moved.)

That’s me (left) with my friends Kevin and Matthew at a Banks show. Skin: Protected. Lips: Balmed. Ears: Plugged.

5. Apple AirTag
I’m kind of a freak about AirTags. Maybe because I’m obsessed with the possibility of losing things. I have a wallet with an AirTag slot, and an AirTag holder attached to my keys. If you feel the way I do, you probably already own a handful of AirTags. If not, why not enjoy the peace of mind that only tagging can provide?

6. Apple AirPods Pro 3
If you’re early to a show, listening to music or a podcast through your AirPods is a good way to pass the time. Plus, your AirPods can double as earplugs if you’re saving space or don’t feel like buying a pair of Mack’s. Another time-killing tip: the Kindle app (for iOS and Android). I have a Kindle Paperwhite that I love, but the app is a great companion when I don’t have space for a full e-book reader. When I’m by myself and waiting for a show to start, reading a book on my phone feels like a cheat code.

7. iPhone 17 Pro Max
My iPhone is an important part of my concert-going experience. It helps me record my favorite performances, find my friends, and check the setlist. (Life hack: Check Setlist.fm to see which songs will likely be performed at your show.) I especially love the Pro Max for its incredible video quality—but any iPhone will do. And the others are smaller and easier to store.

8. Owala FreeSip
Sometimes you can bring your own reusable water bottle inside concert venues, saving a decent chunk of money that you might spend on a $10 bottled water (in plastic). Usually, there are rules around specific shows at specific venues (for instance, at the Boygenius show at Madison Square Garden, they allowed empty reusable, non-breakable water bottles that were not larger than 32 ounces), so be sure to check; I don’t want your reusable water bottle to be thrown away. The Owala and Takeya have been great companions for me.

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• Magnetic screen doors to keep the bugs out.

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Which was the better deal: the Whole Foods dinner (left) or Brian’s dupe (right)?

I save money wherever I can so I can spend money wherever I want. If a store has a loyalty program, I join it; when my doctor writes a prescription, I go generic. My phone is full of savings apps, and I even used a Groupon for LASIK surgery. So when social media started going wild for the $35 Whole Foods Family Meal, my thrifty senses tingled.

The promise was almost too good to be true: Dinner for four, custom-packed and ready for reheating, including one protein and two sides (all of my choosing) for just $35—only slightly more than the cost of two steak burritos and a side of guac from Chipotle.

Cut to me heading to Whole Foods convinced there must be a catch.

At the store, a huge array of options for the Family Meal are on display: entrees like Italian meatballs, rosemary lemon chicken, and paleo grilled salmon, plus sides including green beans, roasted fingerling potatoes, and spinach feta orzo salad.

Everything is prepared on-site, and it all looks fresh and appetizing.

Entree options include meatballs, salmon, and tofu. Brian goes with London broil.

Instead of pondering how “Whole Paycheck” could possibly pull off this pricing, I focus on making selections. Six minutes later, I’m exiting the store with my aluminum pan. It’s filled with chimichurri London broil (1.5 pounds), herb-roasted Brussels sprouts, and sesame orange beets (.75 pounds of each).

At home, three grown men with healthy appetites stand by as the steak and sprouts reheat. The beets, while promising sesame and orange, are giving bland and blah, so I doctor them up with yogurt, lime zest, and mint.

With the plates composed, we sit down to eat.

Four high-protein, well-proportioned meals…but something was missing.

The meal is a little heavy on the meat. But in these protein-maxing times that makes it feel like more of a value. The Brussels sprouts and beets are a nice balance and everyone feels they’ve had just enough food to be satisfied. There are no leftovers.

But just because we ate it all doesn’t mean it all “ate.” The flavor was lacking. When you anticipate the parsley, garlic, oregano, oil, and vinegar taste explosion that is chimichurri, but all you get is green stuff stuck between your teeth, that’s a disappointment.

The reviews are unanimous: Reasonably satisfying but underwhelming.

So I give myself a challenge: Stick to the same budget, $35, and recreate the family meal with more flavor.

Step 1: Shopping. I walk to the nearby Stop & Shop, where I’m able to score a two-pound top round London broil for $15.90, just over a pound of beets for $2.21, and a two-pound bag of Brussels sprouts for $6.49. Grand total: $24.60.

Yes, I’ve bested the Whole Foods price by $10.40—but I’m standing here with a bagful of raw meat, untrimmed sprouts, and dusty beets, and an afternoon of cooking ahead. We all know convenience costs, but I’m about to learn just how much.

Step 2: Prep. As a cook, I’d put myself about midway between “Worst Cooks in America” and “Iron Chef.” Average. I know my way around a kitchen but don’t know how to make London broil—or that it’s a tough cut that requires a long marinade. Luckily, one of my colleagues saves me from serving shoe leather by hipping me to the marinade step.

So first thing the next morning, I grate garlic and an onion into oil and vinegar spiced with seasoned salt and cracked pepper, add the meat, and stick the bowl in the fridge, where it will remain for six hours.

Please appreciate how long it took to clean, trim, and cut these vegetables.

The beets take about two and a half minutes to scrub, cut, and toss in oil, with garlic and seasoning. Brussels sprouts are another story. I spend 23 minutes trimming and halving them, then toss them with oil and lemon pepper.

Step 3: Cooking. The beets need to roast for nearly an hour at 400 degrees; the sprouts cook for 25 minutes. After marinating for six hours, the meat rests on the counter for 30 minutes while I heat up the outdoor grill. When the grill hits 300 degrees, the propane runs out—proving that home cooking can humble you, making you long for the set-it-and-forget-it ease of a custom-packed meal.

I heat a skillet, sear the meat for three minutes on each side, then I put the skillet under the broiler for 13 minutes. When it’s done, I let the meat rest for 10 minutes before slicing it against the grain.

We sit down to eat.

The Brussels sprouts labor was appreciated: More veggies made this meal more filling.

The reviews: Delicious. The flavor that was missing from the Whole Foods meal—depth, zest, and actual seasoning—is fully present in the home-cooked meal. Everyone at the table assures me that they’re properly full, and if they’d eaten any more food they’d likely need a nap.

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Step 4: Clean-up. Three sheet pans, two knives, a saucepan, a skillet, and a set of tongs need to be dealt with after the meal (compare that with one foil tray that holds an entire Whole Foods meal). I also had to clean the inside of the oven—oil from the pan spattered as the meat cooked under the broiler. This was a task I definitely didn’t anticipate.

The Verdict

Whole Foods won for convenience, hands down. I spent just a few minutes in the store. And heating up the meal at home, including preheating the oven, took around 30 minutes.

For the home-cooked version, although the hands-on prep and cooking time wasn’t bad, the full process—including the marinade time—was nearly eight and a half hours.

It hurts my deal-seeking heart to admit it, but saving $10 by forfeiting 8.5 hours of your life when you’ve got to get dinner on the table is just not worth it. Still, there is a trade-off: The Whole Foods meal was bland, while my home-cooked version was flavorful and filled my place with the aroma of garlic, herbs, and roasting vegetables.

Would I buy the $35 Family Meal again? Yes, if I’m pressed for time, I’d gladly pony up $8.75 per serving—with a plan to spend a few minutes amping up the dishes, as I did with the beets.

But when I have the bandwidth to make it myself for $6.15 a plate, I’ll do that—and then invest the savings into a few pints of ice cream for dessert.

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One way to beat the heat, circa 1937.

With a large part of the U.S. under a heat dome, we’re sending help the best way we know how: with expert advice on staying safe, cooling off, and protecting against power outages. If you’re in an affected area, we feel you; during the July Fourth heat wave, temps at our headquarters in Yonkers, NY, reached triple digits.

So in addition to the best fans and air conditioners, top cooling blankets and cooling pillows, plus a whole slew of items to make summer more comfortable (including misting fans), we have insights on the most efficient way to cool your home, how to make sure your generator is ready for action, and how to keep your energy bills under control.

We also want to point you to a comprehensive article by CR writers Janet Siroto and Justin Krajeski on handling just about every aspect of extreme heat. It starts with a warning that when it comes to temperature, numbers are not the whole picture (aka, “it’s not the heat—it’s the humidity”):

According to the National Weather Service, a temperature of 90° F at 75 percent humidity will feel like 109° F on the heat index, an estimate of how hot it feels when air temperature and relative humidity are combined.

The story covers all the basics, like how best to utilize your air conditioner, and what tweaks to make to your living space to maximize performance. But it also delivers unexpected insights, like the value of an air purifier in extreme weather:

High heat can diminish indoor air quality, increasing particulate pollution. An air purifier can significantly reduce such compounds. Also, be aware that a KF94 or KN95 mask may not be your best friend in hot weather when air quality is poor during events like wildfires…. Wear a surgical mask instead.

There’s expert advice on managing spotty power (including a list for a suggested Power Outage Supply Kit you can assemble yourself). A sampling:

During a brownout, unplug. Minimize electrical use by unplugging nonessential items (computers not in use, TVs) and using the AC as little as possible.

If the power goes out, follow these tips. Stay on the lowest level of your home because heat rises. Keep the shades or curtains closed during the day to block the sun’s warming rays, and position battery-operated fans near cooler, shaded sides of your home. Keep your fridge and freezer shut as much as possible. (The refrigerator will keep food cold for only about 4 hours; a full freezer will maintain its temperature for about 48 hours.)

Your mom or your super-responsible friend has already nagged you about drinking plenty of water in a heat wave; our reporters get specific:

You’ll want to drink about a cup every 90 minutes. (Ramp that up to a cup every half-hour if you’re working or exercising outside.) Remember that thirst isn’t the best indicator of when to drink; by the time you get thirsty, you’re already dehydrated…. Skip caffeine and alcohol, which are diuretics that draw moisture from the body. If you find it hard to hydrate as much as you should, set phone alerts to remind you.

The article gets into car safety and efficiency, too, warning against taking your car’s cooling system for granted:

When the AC is pumped to the max, your car can feel like a chilly oasis. But if something goes wrong, the interior temperature can climb to dangerous levels very quickly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, temperatures can rise almost 20° F in the first 10 minutes, even with a window cracked.

Also covered are signs of heat-related illnesses. This article is definitely not all fun and games. But that’s the point. A heat wave is no joke. Preparation and responsible choices are key. Thank you for coming to our TED Talk.

Read the full article, free to all, for details. And check out our stories on weather-related emergencies for more.

Stay safe out there!

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So much to do, so little time (and money).

At 127 years old, my house could benefit from any number of projects. Several windows need replacing. At any moment, the electrical wiring will need a top-to-bottom refresh. And I’d love to wallpaper the drab front vestibule. But one project we are seriously considering right now is renovating the small downstairs bathroom.

We want to make the room bigger; take out the old, small tub and put in a standing shower; and install a vanity with storage space in place of the pedestal sink. Some stylish tiles would be a bonus.

With this project, as with every potential project, I’m paralyzed by the question: Can we afford it?

If I spend a big chunk of my savings on this project, what if we need that money for something else? How long will it take me to replenish those savings so I can relax?

We want to make this bathroom bigger and update the fixtures.

Just when I think I’m in a position to squirrel away part of my paycheck, new, sizable expenses pop up, like camp tuition or the kids’ sports for next year. These expenditures are signs of a good life, and I’m happy to have them. But everything’s a tradeoff.

So maybe the question is partly about budget and partly about building confidence in how to spend wisely.

Instead of going in circles, I turned to personal finance expert Jean Chatzky, host of the HerMoney podcast and New York Times bestselling author of the forthcoming book The Forever Paycheck. The book focuses on retirement (and planning for it), but it specifically delves into the idea of learning to actually use the money you’ve saved—responsibly and without stress.

Here are five tips from my conversation with Chatzky that should help any homeowner gain financial clarity on reno dreams.

1. Create a roadmap for house projects.

Chatzky urged me to make a list of foreseeable home improvement projects and a timeline for when we might need to complete them. If we know we will definitely need to replace those windows within two years and that we need a new roof in, say, seven, that helps clarify whether spending a hefty sum on a bathroom renovation this year makes sense.

This exercise forced me to organize my thoughts around projects and consider wants versus needs. It also motivated me to get some numbers on paper.

“Once you know what all these other things are going to cost and when they’re likely to hit, then you probably will be able to figure out how much you want to spend on this bathroom—and if it’s worth it,” Chatzky says.

I’m not gonna lie, my roadmap is a little frightening. It includes five big-ticket repairs or replacements (plus less pressing projects). At least two of these should be done within the next year or so.

2. Remind yourself that you must spend money on your home.

There is something liberating about Chatzky telling me that homeowners actually should expect to spend about 1 to 2 percent of their home’s value per year on repairs and upkeep. “Your house is an asset that has to be kept up,” Chatzky says.

She pointed to a report from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies on the importance of upkeep and warned that if I don’t spend that 2 percent or so one year, the costs will catch up to me. Now, my potential bathroom renovation falls into the optional category at this particular moment. I’m not making an urgent repair. But the principle is the same: Our house is an important asset that needs continual investment.

3. Get a bird’s-eye view of your financial life.

Contemplating a bathroom renovation (or a big vacation, or any other large expenditure) starts with taking the pulse of your overall financial situation, Chatzky says: “When you look at where the money for [a project] might come from, the question to ask yourself is, ‘Where are we right now in terms of what’s coming in, what’s going out, and where it’s going? As we move month to month in our financial life, are we saving or are we spending?’” Are you accumulating assets at the rate you want, or are you adding debt?

4. Set up a “house fund.”

Chatzky recommends a separate savings account just for home upkeep. “Having a designated house fund is really important because it gives you license to spend that money on your house.”

I have savings that I keep telling myself are for sprucing up our home, but I haven’t actually set an intention for this pot of money (because I also tell myself we might use it for other things). Which brings me to an important point from Chatzky: “I think the question [to ask yourself] is, if I don’t do this, then what am I doing with the money? Because, whether you’re conscious of it or not, you’re making a choice.”

5. Think carefully when considering a home equity loan or a home equity line of credit.

With a HELOC (home equity line of credit), you borrow what you need, when you need it. A home equity loan, on the other hand, is fixed; you generally get the money all at once, explains Chatzky—and you start paying interest on all of it all at once. “Most people these days use HELOCs and not home equity loans,” she says. “Shop around, because rates vary pretty widely.”

Chatzky recommends that if you have the savings to pay for the project, you should use it and not borrow, unless you can earn more by keeping that money invested or in savings than you would pay in interest.

I did the math, and it makes sense for me to pay for the bathroom renovation with savings. For other circumstances where paying out of pocket is not possible, I could consider a HELOC.

After talking to Chatzky, I’m still not sure if the bathroom renovation is a go. But I have some clarity on how to wrap my head around it. I also feel like I have starting points for how my husband and I can talk through our priorities for the house and our family life. I like thinking more concretely about how to be a good steward of this old house of ours.

Maybe we’ll put a stamp on it with an updated bathroom. Maybe we’ll decide new front windows are just the right way to spruce her up. Or maybe she’ll tell us we need to update the electrical sooner than we thought, and we’ll have no choice but to follow her lead.

After all, she’s the boss.

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Bemotrizinol protects against both UVA and UVB rays and doesn’t break down in sunlight.

Summer has arrived, and with it the joys—and occasional concerns—of outdoor living. Among the latter, one of the biggies is sun protection.

Some recent news covered by CR’s Catherine Roberts is likely to make a difference—maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of our lives (Casablanca reference for drama). Drumroll please: The FDA recently approved a new active ingredient for sunscreen called bemotrizinol.

It’s kind of a big deal—this ingredient is the first UV filter the FDA has approved in more than 25 years.

In her story Catherine breaks it down:

“Bemotrizinol is a chemical sunscreen active ingredient that protects against both UVA and UVB rays. UVB rays cause sunburn. UVA rays primarily cause skin aging, and both types contribute to skin cancer risk.”

While bemotrizinol is new to the U.S., it’s old-hat elsewhere:

“[It] has long been used in sunscreens in Europe and other parts of the world, where sunscreens are regulated as cosmetics. (It was first approved in Europe in 1999.) In the U.S., the FDA considers sunscreen a drug, and there are far fewer approved UV filters than in other countries.”

Catherine points out that bemotrizinol, which provides broad protection, has advantages over some other broad-spectrum sunscreen ingredients commonly found in the sunscreens we’re used to in the U.S.:

“For example, avobenzone, a chemical active ingredient, is photounstable, meaning that it breaks down in sunlight, which limits how long its protection lasts. Another, zinc oxide, is a mineral active ingredient that works well against UVA radiation and is stable in the sun, but it gives a white cast to the skin when applied.”

Bemotrizinol may have a leg up in terms of safety as well:

“... because of its large molecule size, [bemotrizinol] is absorbed into the bloodstream through the skin at lower rates than other chemical sunscreen active ingredients.”

The safety section of Catherine’s article delves into questions and concerns around existing sunscreen ingredients as well.

Read the full story to learn more and to find out when bemotrizinol might show up in products on shelves (actually, sooner than you think). Also check out our top-rated lab-tested sunscreens to find perfect picks available now.

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Editor’s note. A couple of weeks back, we excerpted CR’s investigative piece on Uber and Lyft pricing practices, which included testing conducted with the help of volunteers. We want to share an update on that content: On June 25, 2026, Uber wrote to CR saying that it used the anonymized test data CR provided to re-identify our volunteers and their quoted prices and found three specific data-collection user errors among the hundreds of Uber prices recorded in screenshots by our 174 volunteers. After investigating those cases, we amended the article to say the median difference between the highest and lowest price groups across all 30 virtual routes for both Uber and Lyft changed from 49.8 percent to 42.4 percent as a result. These changes also resulted in the percentage of fictitious discounts we observed increasing from 10.8 percent to 12.4 percent.

CR’s ratings, reviews, and recommendations cut through the FOMO of Prime Day.

Like a lot of people who strive for work-life balance, I’ve had many jobs where I’ve resisted bringing my work home. Being the managing editor of Consumer Reports Shopping is not one of those jobs.

Whether I’m at book club, meeting new friends for a drink, or making conversation with the receptionist at my doctor’s office, if someone mentions that they’re shopping for something, my CR mode automatically activates, and I start with the questions.

“Tell me more—what kind of vacuum do you need? Cordless or are you okay with a cord? How big is your space? Do you have pets? Have you checked CR’s ratings?”

It’s not that I want anyone to spend money unnecessarily—I am a huge fan of utilizing local Buy Nothing groups or inheriting items from friends and family—but if you’re going to fork over your hard-earned cash for something new, you should get the lowest possible price on that product, and it should do a great job, for a good long while.

That’s how the CR Shopping team approaches Prime Day: How can we help people find the perfect product for their individual needs, at the best possible price? With thousands of products to choose from in our tests, multiple retailers holding massive sales at the same time, and prices fluctuating throughout, the real trick is to pinpoint truly stellar discounts.

To start, we dig into the prices of CR top-rated products at Amazon (as well as its competitors). We look at current pricing and look back at pricing during the last few major sales. This helps us identify what’s actually a great deal, and what may have been marked up recently (only to be “marked down” for Prime Day) or is always “on sale.”

My intrepid partner in this pursuit is CR deals editor Samantha Gordon, who has been uncovering deep discounts on top-rated products daily for CR members for more than six years.

We work closely with our colleagues who are experts on everything from toasters to vibration plates to make sure we’ve got the latest intel on the best and most popular products, so that we’re ready to spring into action—and notify CR members—when the deals drop.

But because none of us has managed to invent a crystal ball yet (our lab technicians are creative and brilliant, but even they have their limits), we can’t know with absolute certainty whether a specific product will be on sale until the moment it goes on sale.

So our small but strong team is actively checking prices throughout the sale, handpicking great products to make sure the deals we bring you are actually good deals. We’re on it till Prime Day wraps Friday night, so check back often.

Right now, here are some of the best deals we’re seeing on products that are recommended by Consumer Reports—those that really impressed in our lab tests. (Prices are accurate as of Wednesday):

• This Shark cordless stick vac that expertly handles pet hair, down from $450 to just $230 (featured in Best Amazon Prime Deals on Vacuums).

• CR’s top-rated pillow, on sale for $71 from $89—and it’s adjustable (featured in Best Amazon Prime Deals on Bedding).

• This BlueAir air purifier that’s nearly 45% off, down to $196 (featured in Best Amazon Prime Deals on Home Products).

• The number-one blender in our ratings, the Vitamix Propel 750, down to $375 from $630 (featured in Best Amazon Prime Day Kitchen Deals).

• These Bose noise cancelling headphones at just $209—more than 40% off (featured in Best Amazon Prime Deals on Tech Products).

• CR’s top-rated ceramic kamado grill, at $300 off—down to $1,200 (featured in Best Amazon Prime Deals on Outdoor Essentials).

• The latest Apple AirPods, on sale for $99 from $129 (featured in Best Amazon Prime Deals Under $100).

All the best Prime Day discounts, including deals on…

• …kitchen goods, from air fryers and toaster ovens to coffee makers and cookware.

• …tech products, including laptops, smartwatches, headphones, and more.

• …beauty & health products, from hair dryers to sleep masks.

• …pet products, like dog beds, cat toys, and automatic feeders.

• …outdoor-entertaining gear, including solar lights, patio umbrellas, grills, and even sunscreen.

In our study, different users received dramatically different prices for the same ride at the same time.

CR investigative reporter Derek Kravitz just published the findings of an extensive CR study into the pricing practices of Uber and Lyft—which reveals that the apps routinely charge different customers significantly different prices for the same rides. We define the same ride as a trip from the same starting point to the same ending point priced at almost the same time—generally within a few minutes of one another and, in many cases, within the same minute.

In Derek’s words:

Across the routes we tested, the median difference between the lowest and highest price groupings was 42.4 percent.

Both apps also regularly entice customers to book rides by offering supposed discounts on what appeared to be inflated original prices, a practice that experts say not only is deceptive and manipulative but also may violate several states’ consumer-protection laws.

A bit about our methodology:

CR’s testing was conducted in March and April and consisted of both “virtual” testing, in which volunteers checked the prices of 30 select routes (15 for Uber and 15 for Lyft) across 17 states, and 12 in-person tests in which volunteer riders purchased the same rides at the same time in Portland, [OR]. The CR tests examined advertised offers and promotions for both Uber and Lyft before rides were ordered and paid for.

Experts who reviewed our findings said that, while they expected to see evidence of dynamic pricing, they didn’t expect to see such large price differences between the highest and lowest fares. “The magnitude of the high/low price differentials is astonishing,” says Len Sherman, an executive-in-residence at Columbia Business School in New York City who has written several papers on the economics of the rideshare industry.

Derek, who also broke the important story about CR’s investigation into Instacart’s AI pricing back in December—which prompted the company to change its practices—explains how this information fits into the bigger picture of Uber and Lyft’s profit strategies, referencing the work of quoted expert Len Sherman:

Starting around September 2022, Uber began gradually increasing passenger prices and decreasing driver pay, resulting in the company taking a larger share of fares—from 32 percent in 2022 to 42 percent by the end of 2024, Sherman has found.

As a result, Uber’s profits from its ride-hailing services (excluding its food-delivery business) have nearly quadrupled in just six years.

CR’s story also cites other studies that have found that Uber charges higher prices for rides to and from more expensive hotels and to and from low-income neighborhoods.

Uber and Lyft challenged our methodology and conclusions and stated that they do not personalize base fares for individual consumers or engage in behavioral or surveillance pricing. CR is not disputing this; rather, it is questioning whether the price differences observed are based only on market forces.

Read the full story here—it’s available to all—and if there’s someone in your life who would want to know what Uber and Lyft are up to, please share this post.

Correction: On June 25, 2026, Uber wrote to CR saying that it used the anonymized test data CR provided to re-identify our volunteers and their quoted prices and found three specific data-collection user errors among the hundreds of Uber prices recorded in screenshots by our 174 volunteers. After investigating those cases, we are amending the article to say the median difference between the highest and lowest price groups across all 30 virtual routes for both Uber and Lyft changed from 49.8 percent to 42.4 percent as a result. These changes also resulted in the percentage of fictitious discounts we observed increasing from 10.8 percent to 12.4 percent.

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So many photos, so little time (to review and delete them). There are apps for that.

The sheer volume of digital detritus on my phone sends shivers up my spine. My phone holds tens of thousands of photos and hundreds of miscellaneous notes, many now indecipherable.

Across social media, I’ve saved thousands of book recommendations, recipes, and restaurants (let’s not do the math on how much scrolling this all required.) I’m drowning in a sea of content, which makes it virtually impossible to find or use anything on my phone.

As a tech reporter at CR, writing about smartphones and more, I know I’m not alone. A lot of us are struggling to manage an increasingly unwieldy digital life. To that end, I thought I’d gather some tips and tools from CR colleagues—and from my own research—that really work.

Dealing With Photos

My photo album is overflowing. Alongside years of memories, it contains blurry and duplicate shots and an eye-watering 10,000 screenshots—a chaotic grab bag of everything from hiking boots I saw recommended on a blog to curtains I’d like to sew to QR-code tickets for a show.

There are apps that promise to speed the process of clearing out this sort of junk. Slidebox isn’t the only one around, but it’s the one I liked most during my cleaning spree—and it’s free.

Connect it to your photo app, and it lets you delete images faster by swiping, dating app-style, and quickly organize the keepers into albums. It’s available for both iOS and Android. It turned reviewing my photos into a (somewhat) fun, nostalgic game. I shaved about 1,500 photos off my library in an hour.

Another simple tip: I searched for today’s date in my photo app to bring up everything taken on that day over the years. I figure if I take a few minutes to sort this way each day, my collection will slowly but surely shrink.

Cataloging Recipes

My colleague Jessica likes the app Paprika. She scrolls through her recently saved recipes at the beginning of each week for inspiration.

Like most people, I’ve saved scores of recipes to my phone, only to wonder hours later what to make for dinner. My fellow CR reporter Jessica D’Argenio Waller raves about the recipe-management app Paprika, which she says solved this problem and changed her relationship with cooking.

Like many comparable apps, Paprika turns recipes from various sources into a searchable catalog with standardized formatting. Before, Jessica was losing track of online recipes, as well as photos she’d taken of cookbook pages and handwritten index cards.

I tried a similar option, Recipe Keeper, and was impressed. I pasted in a URL and voilà—the zucchini and halloumi salad I’ve wanted to try, listed cleanly in the “Springtime” collection I’d created. The app can import recipes from social media posts, but, in my experience, sometimes imperfectly if recipe directions are in a video rather than in caption text. I did like that I could add notes to each dish, like substitutions that worked well, and rate recipes once I’ve tried them.

Saving Favorite Places

I have hundreds of recommendations for places to visit scattered across my phone. Trails, breakfast spots, used bookstores, you name it. I decided to pin these within Google Maps, so I could actually see them.

I create “lists” and organize them by category—like craft stores and places to take my mom when she’s in town. (Apple Maps offers a similar feature, called “guides.”)

I keep the lists private, but they can be shared, which is handy when trip-planning or when a visiting friend asks for local favorites. (Look for “Sharing Options” to change a list’s privacy settings.)

You can set a unique icon for each list—so my favorite coffee shops appear as little mugs on the map—and add notes, like a reminder to try the mango sticky rice sundae when I finally brave the line at the trendy ice cream store in my neighborhood.

Bookmarking for Later

My browser tabs tend to accumulate recklessly until, dozens of tabs deep, I eventually close the whole window at once and call it a wash.

I searched for a simple tool for saving links to everything I hope to read and watch later—a list of the best hikes across Asia, a video on how to hem a skirt, a podcast episode featuring an author I love. For me, the popular bookmarking tool Raindrop.io does the trick.

It’s customizable without being complicated and makes it easy to save articles, videos, and social media posts from wherever you happen to be scrolling.

Honorable mentions from CR staffers include other multi-tasking systems like Notion and Obsidian. But the idea stays the same: Find something that catches all the “for-later” miscellanea that otherwise get lost in the crevices of your phone.

Getting Off Your Phone

I also recently cleaned out my closet (I’m on a tear!) and was delighted by everything I discovered stashed away. The summer dresses! The half-finished crochet projects! That portable hammock that ties to trees in the park!

Organizing my phone felt similar. I’m now motivated to go do more, lest all that scrolling be in vain.

I want to bake that sourdough bread, try the ice cream place, and read that book (the one that languished as a screenshot for months). I hope you feel similarly—a little lighter and inspired to go enjoy the warm weather and long days.

To that end, we have recent stories on ice cream scoops, beach gear, and grilling better barbecue that just might help you lean into life off your phone and with your people.

If part of your easy, breezy summer is a plan to simplify dinner prep, consider this sleek air fryer, currently 50 percent off at Amazon. A solid pick that gets the job done, it has intuitive controls and an easy-to-clean interior. Our labs find that its basket is smaller than the manufacturer claims (it’s actually 3 quarts, not 4), but the square design makes it easy to fit a small dish or baking pan inside. Bonus: It’s quiet.

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Dinner’s on dad: This well-priced grill is one of dozens of great picks in CR’s gift guide.

When I think about picking a Father’s Day present for my dad, the first thing that comes to mind are the kinds of gifts he’s given me over the decades. Here’s a sampling:

• A tire gauge

• A sun shade for my windshield

• A subscription to…Consumer Reports

• A truly excellent umbrella

• A copy of his favorite book, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, by Dale Carnegie

• A very sturdy ice cream scoop

My husband and I each brought an ice cream scoop to our marriage, both gifted to us by our dads.

What’s remarkable about this list of practical gifts is how they contrast with my dad’s true desire of dadding; he wanted his daughters to have everything, while also making sure we could recognize when we didn’t need anything.

It occurs to me now that the tire gauge my dad gave me when I was in college, with instructions to keep it in the glove compartment, was less about its specific application than it was about an idea: This is how you care for something. Okay, I see what you did there, dad.

Dad and me out to dinner, around the time he gifted me a subscription to Consumer Reports.

Practical gifts can be, in some ways, the most loving gifts. They say, I want you to be safe, I want you to be ready for anything, I want you to back up important files with an external hard drive. They are gestures of thoughtfulness and care.

CR’s shopping team, headed up by Mary Beth Quirk, has put together a Father’s Day gift guide with something special for every type of dad. I pulled up some of my favorite practical picks that say all the things practical gifts can say. They’re for dads who might approve of a bit of indulgence, but also, for example, show up at your new place with a housewarming gift of a fire extinguisher. You know: Those types of dads.

A chef’s knife that cuts like butter

This Henckels knife has a contoured handle that makes it extremely comfortable to hold. In our tests it excels at “force transmission” from handle to blade (translation: you don’t need to exert as much effort when cutting).
Shop: Henckels Premio 8” Chef’s Knife, from $39

A fitness-focused smartwatch

With built-in GPS, sensors for stress-monitoring, and a claimed battery life of 6 days—better than that of most smartwatches, including popular Apple and Samsung models—this watch scores 5 out of 5 in our tests for water resistance.
Shop: Fitbit Versa 4, from $146

A great duffle

Lightweight, affordable, and available in an array of handsome color combos, this generous (45 liter) nylon bag has faux-leather handles and comes with a padded crossbody strap.
Shop: Herschel Novel Duffle Bag, $110

A lightweight drill

With a brushless motor, this well-priced drill makes it easier to, say, swap out an overhead light fixture—but it’s still forceful enough to bore holes in hardwood without bogging down.
Shop: DeWalt DCD701F2, from $118

A super-slim wallet

A sleek, simple cardholder that stood out in CR’s evaluations in this category, this cleverly designed wallet has a slot on the outside for high-use items like commuter cards. And it’s packaged in a beautiful box.
Shop: Ekster Senate Cardholder, $76

A sleek grill

This mid-sized stainless steel grill—which preheats quickly and scores well for even heating across its surface—gets the job done at a great price.
Shop: Monument Grills 24367, from $450

An adjustable pillow

Made of shredded memory foam, and scoring “excellent” in our tests for support, this top-rated pillow comes with extra foam so it can be customized for height and comfort.
Shop: Coop Home Goods Premium Adjustable Loft, $89

A smart thermostat

Easy to operate—both manually and via its smart features—this thermostat works with Amazon Alexa, Apple Home/Siri, Google Home/Assistant, and Samsung SmartThings.
Shop: Ecobee Smart Thermostat Enhanced EB-STATE6L-01, from $168

An electric toothbrush

With a timer, pressure sensor, and battery-level indicator, CR’s top-rated toothbrush checks all the boxes—and for techy types, it can connect to a smartphone app.
Shop: Oral-B iO7 Series, from $220

A smart carry-on

In our tests of impact resistance and construction quality, this hard-shell suitcase definitely impresses. And based on our member surveys, Away is a top brand for carry-on luggage. It has an unusually generous limited lifetime warranty (dads love that) and a 100-day trial period.
Shop: Away The Carry-On, $275

For more Father’s Day gifts—practical, indulgent, and in between—check out our full list of recommendations.

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• Need a new cooler for picnics, the beach, or backyard parties? See the winners in our lab tests, plus a BTS video that offers a peek into our methods.

• Amazon Prime Day is coming up. Our shopping experts tell you what to expect.

Tanya’s serene sleep space: the stuff that dreams are made of.

I was in kindergarten when Macy’s first launched its One-Day Sale. Now, whenever I see this iconic department-store promotion, a childhood memory unlocks.

You see, my parents had a thing for nice bedding. Charge it to my dad’s days as an employee at a high-end Antigua resort. Whatever the reason, he and my mom were fixated on quality sheets—Egyptian cotton, high thread count. And the Macy’s One-Day Sale was where we got the goods.

Those formative years, pulling comforters and sheets from The Cellar’s bargain bins, are what honed my eye for quality and construction. They still feed my enthusiasm for the products I write about today—mattresses, sheets, pillows, and more—and my perpetual search for anything that can bring a five-star-hotel feeling home.

My job has taught me that thread count matters much less than I once thought (my dad is still taking that news pretty hard). It’s also shown me that it can be worthwhile to level up to a great pillow, rather than choosing one simply based on price, as I used to do.

These learnings have led me to a pretty sweet sleep setup. My curation is ruthless. Every item in my space has undergone rigorous vetting by me, my significant other, and my dog, Duke, who has joined in on the family tradition of evaluating bedding. He enjoys “helping me” make the bed, and is never afraid to hit me with a judgy side-eye (doodle owners know the look) when his comfort is compromised. Here are the items I swear (and sleep) by.

My Soft, Cool Sheets

For somebody who sleeps hot, finding comfortable bedding can be tough. I love my Boll & Branch percale sheets, which are smooth to the touch, with a cool, crisp feel.

Boll & Branch also happens to be one of only a handful of brands that sells the split-top sheets needed for my adjustable bed. These sheets provide the kind of comfort that helps me sink into sleep. Beyond softness, at CR, we test sheets for strength, fit, shrinkage and wrinkling. And while I could do with fewer wrinkles—Boll & Branch scores only a 3 out of 5 on our wrinkle test—I love the way these sheets fit my mattress (they get a 5 out of 5 for fit). And they’ve held up well to regular washing for four-plus years.

My Smart Mattress

When I moved into my new home with my significant other, we opted for a Sleep Number mattress with a coordinating adjustable bed frame.

While my exact bed is not in CR’s current ratings (I made the purchase before CR started testing adjustable bed frames), the Sleep Number i10 Smart Bed (above) is very close to mine—and all Sleep Number mattresses in our tests receive CR’s recommendation.

As I often tell people, you don’t have to spend a fortune to get a good mattress—our ratings have plenty of solid picks under $1,000—but I will wax poetic about my mattress, which was an investment; in fact, I did just that on a recent episode of Talking Carts, the CR podcast I cohost.

With the adjustable frame, it makes up a smart system that lets me track my sleep, tweak the angles of the bed for comfort, and independently raise or lower my partner’s side of the bed to interrupt his snoring. That’s right—I can control his side (as well as my own), and the snoring stops.

This is true of similar systems from other brands, such as Saatva’s Solaire mattress and adjustable base. And speaking of adjustable….

My Adjustable Pillow

It just so happens that my pillow and mattress come from the same company. What I love about this Sleep Number pillow is that you can easily add or remove filling—and I’ve done just that to get the perfect loft (aka pillow height) for my body.

Since customizing my pillow, I’ve never woken up with a crick or ache—something I couldn’t say before. This pillow ranks high in CR’s lab tests, but at the very top of the ratings are a couple of other adjustable options, including the Coop pillow and the Plank, by Brooklyn Bedding.

My Lightweight Summer Duvet

I’ve cycled through more duvet inserts than I care to admit. That experience put me on the hunt for the best duvet for every kind of sleeper. Truth is, not all duvets are created equal. Some will keep you too hot, some aren’t warm enough, and others are so flimsy they’ll never give you much comfort at all. For someone like me who sleeps hot, the Utopia Bedding duvet is the perfect lightweight comforter for summer.

If you’re concerned about allergens—and you like a cozier comforter—the Clean Design Home comforter (currently on my guest room bed) is fluffy, warm, and gets rave reviews from overnight guests.

My Trusty Air Purifier

As someone who cares deeply about aesthetics, I appreciate that I can have an air purifier that not only works well but blends in with my decor. The sleek Blue Pure 311i Max, from Blueair, is an important element in my sleep sanctuary.

Designed for rooms up to 650 square feet, it’s great at cleansing the air of dust, pollen, smoke, and Duke’s dander (I love him, but I can smell him sometimes). The white noise it emits is a small trade-off for the pristine environment it creates.

Duke’s (Mostly Decorative) Dog Bed

For the same reason I chose an attractive air purifier, I picked a dog bed that matches my palette. It has upholstery-grade fabric, memory foam filling, and gray channel tufting (hidden by Duke), like my own tufted headboard.

But Duke is a very posh pooch, and even though his bed provides a cozy sleep surface, it’s basically just a place for his things. He prefers to spend his nights on the big bed.

Once in a while, though, I catch a glimpse of him making use of his own well-appointed bed, a moment so rare and special, it needs to be captured—just so I can remember that it happened.

Elsewhere This Week

Hi! Yasmeen here, again. Catch me on Jean Chatzky’s HerMoney podcast—we talked with listeners about their grocery costs, including CR’s best advice for saving on groceries.

Listen Now

Deals, Actually: Best Sales on Pillows, Duvets, and More Sleep Essentials

CR Deals Editor Samantha Gordon gathered sleep products from our tests that are marked down this week.

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• The best mattresses from our newly updated ratings—innerspring, foam, and more.

• The five best pillows from our tests.

• How to find the perfect sheets for you and your family.

• Maybe you need a massage mat (it’s a thing!).

• Sleep like a baby with top-tested blackout curtains (one brand nabbed a perfect score in our labs).

The sitting area under the pergola is one of the more adult spots in our yard, but it still boasts a view of the Slip ’N Slide.

I have always dreamed of owning a summer house. Not the fancy kind, overlooking a bay or a beach, or even a nice pool. I mean the much more attainable variety. The kind with a deck, and a grill, and a yard. Where kids play endlessly and never complain that they’re bored, where every meal is grilled and served on paper plates, and where string lights seem to click on automatically at dusk to keep the magic alive for a few more hours.

As a kid growing up in New York City, this kind of summer house seemed second to none. Sure, summering in Nantucket sounds lovely, but my dreams were modest. All I wanted was to summer in the suburbs.

I’m happiest when our yearly mulch delivery arrives, according to my wife, Theresa.

As an adult, I summer (and winter, spring, and fall) in Brewster, N.Y., a town about an hour north of New York City. And I’m delighted to report that I’ve largely been able to create the summer house of my dreams.

Weekend days are spent planting, mulching, and mowing—chores that I secretly love. Evenings are spent grilling and holding round-robin badminton tournaments with our three kids, Jack (9), Catherine (20), and Arthur (22), and a rotating mix of their friends and significant others. Watermelon slices abound, nobody is wearing shoes, and the yard is illuminated with a mix of fireflies and string lights.

Cousins Jack, Olivia, and Summer enjoying a (supervised) bounce.

When it’s dark, fires are lit, and marshmallows toasted. If there’s no camp or work the next day, we break out the outdoor projector and portable speaker to stream episodes of The Simpsons against the side of the garage. I’m so much happier than I’ve ever been at a beach.

I won’t pretend this all comes easy. Even if these moments feel magical, their success is not a function of magic, but of hard, yet rewarding work. Here, I’ve compiled a few tips to more easily transform your yard, and your thinking, to create a dreamy summer house relatively free from stress.

Design With Your Family (and Life) in Mind

I love seeing a photo of an aspirational yard in a magazine or on Instagram, but remember that those curated shots should provide inspiration for design, not a blueprint. You don’t need a $30,000 bluestone patio to appreciate your outdoor space, and frankly, we are not a bluestone patio family. We are, at best, an entry-level Trex deck family, which is why that’s the material I chose when I built our deck during the pandemic. It has withstood countless spilled drinks and dropped ice cream cones, and I’ve never once worried about a stain.

We scrapped plans for a pricey patio and went with Trex instead. We’ve never regretted it.

Separately, we got years of enjoyment from a 15-foot trampoline, pawned off on our oldest son (then 13) by a neighbor who was moving and didn’t want to deal with it. He rolled it into the yard with a gang of neighborhood kids, and it lived there for nearly a decade before it was retired due to a litany of safety concerns. Hardly an IG-worthy feature, but a boundless source of fun and exercise nonetheless.

Buy (and Cook) in Bulk

Making summer memories is expensive, and it’s only getting worse. To combat the costs of feeding an army of kids, I shop at Costco and pack the fridge, not to mention the basement freezer.

A broad variety of fresh fruit, meat and veggies for the grill, and every type of potato chip sets me up to feed anyone who might stop by, without a pricey last-minute run to a local supermarket. My stuffed fridge and freezer also, frankly, keep me calm. Even an unexpected visit from a hungry vegan won’t throw me for a loop. I take the same approach with gardening supplies, with an annual mulch delivery (above), and enough wildflower seeds to fill a field (which I plant in May).

I cook in bulk too, often making a pork butt or two on the Big Green Egg (my beloved kamado grill) or a pile of drumsticks on my gas Weber.

Pork butts smoking on the Big Green Egg—enough to feed a crowd. Chicken legs (right) are inexpensive and can be wolfed down, even during a water gun fight.

Embrace Technology

I’m far from an early adopter, but I’ve used tech in a few ways to automate or enhance the magic. Over the past four years, I’ve installed roughly 300 feet of string lights to illuminate different parts of the yard.

Catherine, staying outside just a little longer in the lit-up yard.

I leave them up year-round, but for summer, I plug them into a single smart outlet (purchased for about $8) connected to our Alexa. It lets anyone, even young kids, turn them on or off with a voice command. By default, I’ve programmed them to come on automatically at sunset.

We also bought a cheap outdoor projector and JBL Flip 4 speaker. Together, they let us stream movies or TV shows into the wee hours, and the speaker does double duty by providing the soundtrack for other outdoor fun.

Involve Kids, But Don’t Force the Fun

I often feel pressure as a parent to curate and create fun. But I do best when I remember to involve kids in ways they want to be involved, and leave it at that. Case in point, making pizza in an outdoor pizza oven. It’s one of those activities that’s supposed to provide “fun for the whole family,” but which, in actuality, is fun for nobody when kids are forced to participate.

Pizza, made solo by an adult who has learned to embrace letting kids do their own thing.

My younger son does not particularly like rolling out dough, ladling sauce, or plucking basil. But you know what he does love? Yelling out his preferred toppings while he runs through a sprinkler, and using my digital laser thermometer to check the temperature of a preheating pizza oven. Mostly, he likes using it as a toy gun. So I let him. And guess what? I get to make pizza, largely undistracted, and without worrying that he’ll crash into a 900-degree oven. And when it’s ready we both get to enjoy it, together in our yard.

Jack wielding the infrared thermometer.

Have Something for Everyone

Fun looks different to everyone. For some of us, it’s a mountain of mulch that needs to be spread. For others, it’s a swing, or a kiddie pool, or a hammock. Having a healthy mix of activities draws people in, or rather, out.

Jack on the treehouse swing, with cousins Josie and Victoria. (Right) Arthur and Jack shooting baskets.

For our older son, Arthur, the basketball hoop in our dusty driveway is enough (we’ve never added more gravel to the driveway because it would prevent the kids from dribbling).

Our daughter Catherine loves hanging in a hammock or having a picnic, so a hammock, plus a basket and blanket, fit the bill. Our youngest, Jack, loves water and is drenched from May to September, so the kiddie pool, sprinkler, and Slip ’N Slide are what get him outside.

Theresa potting plants at our outdoor sink. Jack (right) in his natural summer state: wet and covered in yard debris.

Then there are the yard games that truly are for everyone. Badminton is the fan favorite, and I put up the net right after mowing the lawn each week. But we’ve also got footballs, frisbees, baseballs, and mitts, plus a bocce set gifted by Theresa’s parents. I’ll strategically leave a mix out on the lawn and simply let the magic happen. And speaking of magic, here’s a shot of Catherine and Theresa sharing a hammock, strung above a recently mulched garden bed.

Be still my heart.

A summer steal spotted by CR’s Deals Editor, Samantha Gordon.

The Kamado Joe Classic is our top-rated ceramic kamado grill (it scores better than Paul Hope’s beloved Big Green Egg, mentioned above). Made from heavy-duty ceramic, it excels at trapping heat and moisture, allowing you to smoke, bake, roast, and sear with incredible precision. In our labs, this model got top marks for cooking pizza at a high temperature and cooking a pork shoulder low and slow. It’s also easy to move around. Right now you can save about $250 on this summer statement piece, while considerably expanding your summer menu.

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• The best patio umbrellas.

• Our staff’s favorite backyard games.

• The best Memorial Day sales.

• Grilling secrets from a master chef.

• The latest on tick protection (more important than ever)—plus the best insect repellents from our labs.

• Advice and ratings on pressure washers, lawn mowers, string trimmers, and more to make this the greatest summer yet.

The name may have changed (slightly), but the mission remains the same.

When I started working at Consumer Reports, I was given a copy of CR’s very first issue, from May 1936.

Volume 1, No. 1 of “Consumers Union Reports,” as it was called then, examined milk (Grade A versus Grade B), the “high cost of octanes,” and toothbrushes, among other things. But before all that, on page 1, it clarified the newly formed organization’s identity and mission:

“…The main efforts of its staff, the main use of its funds, will be to conduct research and tests on consumer goods and to provide consumers with information which will permit them to buy their food, their clothing, their household supplies and other products most intelligently. With many families’ incomes far too low to permit the purchase even of many necessities, the need for such information is immeasurably great.”

Issue #1 was published as the country weathered the Great Depression. When I look at the mission statement now, I admire its tunnel vision on helping people make the most of every purchase.

This first issue shows that early CR was by turns technical and irreverent. The skepticism jumps off the page, as writers take aim at advertising claims. Plus, it’s clear that CR won’t allow readers to be bystanders to this process. Instead, it enlists consumers in a joint project.

I had noticed three circles on the left side of the front cover but had assumed this copy was perhaps hole-punched long ago to archive. How wrong I was! Yes, the early magazine actually arrived hole-punched, so members could dutifully maintain a portfolio of product reviews and research.

Here are some questions raised in that first issue. Ninety years later, they’re still shockingly relevant.

Shouldn’t There Be More Cereal In Here?

A cutaway on the front of a Corn Flakes box reveals lots of empty space.

To warn readers about what is now known as slack-fill* (the difference between the capacity of a container and the actual volume of product inside it), the article features a striking image—a sort of analog x-ray view that shows the bag inside is just three-quarters full.

This arresting photograph takes up about a third of the page, nestled within an economic analysis of how much it might cost a family of five to eat breakfast cereal for a month (the range is vast, depending upon the specific product: between 45 cents and $3.85 monthly, according to the report).

*As it happens, a 2009 issue of the magazine took on slack-fill again. And if you’re someone who’s into the technical details (welcome to the family), you can read the federal regulations of slack-fill.

Is Alka-Seltzer Any Better Than Aspirin?

CR did not accept advertising (and still doesn’t). This strip was part of an article that called out the “gymnastics of modern advertising.”

In an article framed as a “medical view” on the value of Alka-Seltzer, the reader first sees the charming advert above. Then we get a little Roman history on the perceived health benefits of bubbling natural spring water (including how “an adventurous soldier who accompanied Caesar in his invasion of Gaul drank some of the bubbling waters of the natural springs”). There’s real storytelling going on here, about the “ailing well-to-do” and the waters at world-famous resorts.

“The chief appeal of Alka-Seltzer to the unwary public is the noisy fizz that it produces and the pain-relieving effects of aspirin. When its claims are soberly analyzed, they vanish like the gas bubbles in the air.”

Case closed!

Are All Soaps the Same?

Irreverence was not off limits. Please note the snarky headline.

In this review of bath soaps (then called “toilet” soaps), CR challenges manufacturer claims—and asks us to bring a critical eye to the breadth of options.

“There are oatmeal soaps, buttermilk soaps, and cucumber soaps, glycerine soaps and tar soaps, and now even vitamin D soaps…. If you read the advertising for soaps in the magazines, you discover that they are endowed with almost magical properties which will work miracles with your complexion, increase your popularity, and help you get a wife, a husband, or a job.”

Then, the knockout punch.

“Practically all of the added ingredients in soaps are useless, and the claims of special complexion benefits are entirely without substance.”

Hm. I’m thinking this over by today’s standards. On the one hand, a lot still holds true—so many soap options, so many claims of what they can do. On the other, not all bar soaps are the same, and neither are skin types.

The article goes on to recommend some good buys, and provides a healthy three pages of technical analysis on how soaps are made (love that part, and I wonder what 1936 Consumer Reports would have to say about body wash).

As I pore over this first issue, I recognize guiding principles: Dig into the details. Impart practical and precise knowledge, backed by research. Question everything.

They show up in the review of hosiery, which instructs readers to “get out a few pairs of silk stockings and a ruler or a tape measure” (remember, no bystanders) so they can measure the ankle width and knee width against the standards CR has developed for assessing quality. They’re in the section on toothbrushes, and the “tomfoolery” deployed by manufacturers.

Early CR had good things to say about inexpensive toothbrushes with a straight handle. Current CR finds that certain low-cost (electric) toothbrushes beat out pricy options.

Issue #1 was CR putting a stake in the ground as watchdog, and bringing consumers along in the effort.

Ninety years later, we still review thousands of products, sometimes identifying problems in our labs that get those products pulled for safety. We investigate questionable pricing tactics for groceries and dangerous chemicals in beauty products. Some categories we’ve been testing for 90 years, like cars, and others are new, like laptops and solar panels.

But over the decades, we’ve remained who we are: technical, detail-oriented, and mission-driven. We’re a little obsessed with how products hold up over time. We still enlist our readers’ help.

And we very much want to help people save money and spend it on worthwhile products. We might throw in some side-eye every now and again, too. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Another great find from CR Deals Editor Samantha Gordon.

With excellent scores in our lab tests of ice-crushing (we try it 45 times over a two-day period) and pureeing, this Cuisinart blender is at your service for frozen drinks, morning smoothies, and chilled summer soups. Currently down from $450 to a stunning $150 on the Cuisinart site, it’s a steal. Keep it in mind if you’ve got June weddings on the calendar; it makes an impressive gift.

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• We shopped Amazon Pet Days—happening through Friday, May 15—and pulled together the best deals.

• Imagine how easy outdoor entertaining will be with a standing cooler. We’ve got a couple of great ones.

• In our labs, we tested resistance bands (who knew there were so many?) and found a range of excellent options.

• Our shopping editors offer a raft of sales on summer products to help you prep for Memorial Day and beyond.

This is my second baby, and that is my husband (and those are my husband’s records, just below the baby).

When I had my first child, I was determined not to clutter up our apartment with too much stuff. I didn’t get a traditional stroller, planning instead to use a carrier most of the time and, when I needed to push something, snap the car seat into an inexpensive stroller base.

The carrier worked great but the car-seat-on-a-basic-stroller-frame? It just didn’t make sense as a primary means of transport for where we live. It couldn’t handle uneven Brooklyn sidewalks, and steering was effortful—a two-handed job. When I went for walks with other moms, they would glide elegantly on mottled park pathways while I rumbled along, like I was pushing my baby in a shopping cart across a parking lot.

I told this story to Siobhan Adcock, CR’s director of baby content, who listened with a sympathetic ear, then said, “There’s no prize for suffering.”

Rest assured, I learned that long ago. Baby #2 rode the streets in a nice stroller, the latest version of which is one of CR’s top-rated models. I could maneuver it with one hand, allowing me to open a shop door and easily get us inside, unassisted. Game-changer.

Which is to say, there’s a reason parents buy a lot of gear for babies. It makes life easier and safer. But we want to make the right choices, and that’s where CR comes in.

No one out there tests baby gear like CR—our team of scientists, engineers, technicians, and researchers (many of whom are also parents) is singularly focused on helping parents find the best baby gear.

Our labs ensure that high chairs can hold more than their stated weight limits.

We’ve just released our 2026 Top Picks for Baby, the very best among thousands of tested products, including strollers, car seats, high chairs, cribs, bassinets, and diapers.

CR’s technicians get in the weeds with products, conducting braking and stability tests on strollers and assessing the structural integrity of their frames.

They bend into the back seats of five carefully selected cars (two sedans, two SUVs, and a minivan) to determine how well a car seat installs from both sides of the car, and in the middle seat. Every car seat in our tests goes through 30 to 40 installations.

“We want to make sure products meet and exceed parents’ expectations, in terms of ease of use and quality,” says Siobhan. So in addition to conducting thorough safety tests, we also check that, for example, high chairs (which are destined for mess) are easy to clean.

CR experts are diligent about each detail, Siobhan says: “The little things that tick you off, tick them off first.” In other words, our testers spot the glitches you’d notice in day-to-day use, and they include those nuances in their data.

Joan Muratore, who has been testing strollers for more than 20 years at CR, adjusts the harness around a 17.5 pound “baby” in our labs.

If you feel like the number of baby products out there can be overwhelming, I get it. And if you’re wondering, Is this all really necessary?, believe me, I get that too. I’m the person who tried to avoid buying a stroller, remember? So I don’t have all the answers.

But here’s what I do know: You don’t actually have to overthink it—because we have definitely overthought it for you.

We have guides that dive deep on strollers, cribs, car seats, infant formula, and more, to help you find what works for your family, your space, and your budget. We also have short answers—ratings that tell you at a glance all you need to know.

And as of this week, we also have a fresh, thorough list of Top Picks for Baby. Consider it a cheat sheet of parenting—use it well.

Another steal spotted by CR deals editor Samantha Gordon.

If really good audio, a secure fit, and a great sale price are the most important factors to you when it comes to earbuds, check out the Beats Fit Pro, which are 25 percent off right now. With soft silicone ear tips in three sizes, plus wingtips that fit into the exterior of the ear (for anatomy nerds, that area of the ear is called the pinna), these buds offer an exceptional fit. Another plus: They have actual buttons rather than touch-sensitive controls, which can make them easier to operate on the go.

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• Our full array of Top Picks for Baby.

• All sorts of products on deep discount in May, from fitness trackers to wood stains.

• The best pillows from our tests.

• A silky sleep mask, an iPad Mini, and more great gifts for Mother’s Day.

The mad rush to catch a bargain never goes out of style.

On CR’s Price Tracker, where our team follows a number of products—Tide detergent, Huggies diapers, Bose earbuds—the price of Folgers Classic Roast coffee is at its highest since February. Other items on the price tracker are up too: a stroller, a laptop, a blender.

But the coffee stands out, because coffee is an essential everyday item—a humble friend to all. Coffee is one of the few things I buy in bulk, 10 pounds of beans at a time. I love coffee.

Like everyone, I’ve been more conscious at the store and adjusting my shopping habits a bit (if it’s not on the list, don’t buy it!) but can’t help wondering if there’s more I could be doing.

Since many of my colleagues are paying close attention to this issue—they’ve investigated pricing tactics at Instacart, examined how Kroger overcharged customers, and compiled a list of the most and least expensive supermarkets—I decided to dig into their findings and pull up their great tips—both for you, and for me. Here are the tips.

1. Sign Up for a Loyalty Program

As you probably know, most grocery chains have special deals for loyalty customers. What you may not know is how much they can save you. Sometimes I find the difference in price so significant that it feels absurd to buy an item without a loyalty card. In fact, if my family is visiting a town for just a week of summer vacation, I’ll join the supermarket’s loyalty program because it feels ridiculous to pay $3.99 per pound for peaches when I could pay $1.99 (not bitter about this, I swear). Joining a loyalty program can also mean receiving special digital-only coupons or other rewards.

2. Get into Digital Couponing

Yes, coupons are still a thing. Isn’t that so reassuring? But as my colleague Brian Vines, co-host of CR’s video podcast on budgeting, Talking Carts, reports, the new way to coupon is digital. It’s likely you’ll need to join a store’s loyalty program to access digital coupons and deals; it also may mean downloading an app or creating an online account. I signed up for an account for the market on my corner, a Key Food. I was able to “clip” coupons to show at the register. And my online account alerted me to sales for the week, too. Brian notes that you also may be able to find coupons directly on manufacturers’ websites or by joining their mailing lists.

3. Check Out Independent Shopping Apps

Look into options like Ibotta, a cash-back rewards app. When you download the app, you can add certain items to your “list” for cash back after you buy them. You upload your receipt to Ibotta and can get the cash delivered directly to your bank account (if you feel comfortable linking your bank info to the app), to a PayPal account, or as a gift card. Of course, there are downsides to going digital. It takes time to scroll through the products on these apps. And, as Brian points out, you’re sharing contact details and information about your shopping behavior. So some of this is about personal comfort level.

4. Rethink Store Brands

Increasingly, store brands (or “private label” brands, as they’re called) are making a range of high-quality foods, which tend to be less expensive than familiar brand names. CR has an upcoming deep-dive into this topic by writer Tobie Stanger, who told me that some of these private label products have a serious fan base (like Wegmans Spicy Tomato Oil or Aldi’s Specially Selected chocolate cashews).

I’m partial—actually, I’m fully devoted—to 365 brand peanut butter from Whole Foods. A few years back, our panel of taste-testers blind-tested leading name-brand staples like yogurt, salad dressing, and cereal, along with store-brand products. The findings might surprise you—all I’ll say is there’s plenty of good news for folks trying to save money.

5. Buy in Bulk If You Can

Not a shocker, but larger packages tend to have lower per-unit pricing. If you’ve got the storage space, it makes sense to buy in bulk. As someone without much space, I need to make choices about what I buy in bulk. I can’t accommodate 36 rolls of paper towels. But I can take advantage of the lower-cost bulk bins for things like dried fruit, nuts, and grains. We also buy giant tins of olive oil, from which we fill a smaller, manageable bottle. And, of course, I do manage to make cabinet space for all that coffee I buy.

6. Do the Math on Grocery Delivery

If you’re someone who gets groceries delivered to your door, it makes sense to take a look at how the fees (or annual memberships that offer free delivery) are adding up; don’t forget to include in your equation tips for the shopper or driver. If the numbers make sense in the context of how much you use the service, great. If not, maybe there are some savings to be had if you make a change.

7. Use Every Last Thing You Buy

Food waste costs you money. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, a family of four tends to lose about $3,000 a year to food waste. I have to pay close attention to this during the summer months, when we often get an abundance of lettuces and other greens from our CSA (community-supported agriculture) farm share. I’ve learned that in order to use all the greens before they go bad, I have to wash everything right away, spin it out until it’s very dry, and store it in the crisper drawer (sometimes I throw a paper towel in the bag of lettuce to absorb moisture). Once I’m done with this chore (and to me, it does feel like a chore), meal prep for the rest of the week becomes a lot easier. So, in addition to not wasting food, I have the reward of convenience.

CR has lots of ideas for how to optimize the food you buy, like the best food storage containers and where to place certain items in your fridge. My colleague Paul Hope wrote about how his vacuum sealer helps him store food and keep it fresh.

I’ll be on the lookout for more great money-saving tips from my colleagues at CR—meanwhile, if you have any tricks on saving money on groceries, chime in!

Another stunning steal spotted by CR Deals Editor Samantha Gordon.

If you’re thinking of investing in your outdoor entertaining setup, now’s the time. Currently, the Pi pizza oven is down to $320 from $589, at Walmart. It’s the top pick in our test of outdoor pizza ovens—solidly constructed, thoughtfully designed, and easy to use. It gives you the option of cooking with gas or charcoal and—perhaps most important—it reliably turns out crisp, delicious pizza. If you calculate the cost per use (or cost per bite?), it might just turn out to be your smartest summer spend ever.

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He sheds, she cleans: Frank the cat with his personal queen of clean, CR’s Jodhaira Rodriguez.

Cleaning was a non-negotiable in my house growing up. My mom would let me sleep in on Saturday mornings, but it wasn’t like I ever really got to sleep in. By 9 AM, the sounds of vibrant bachata music, furniture being moved, and a broom swishing along the floor would pull me from even the deepest sleep. I hated it.

I didn’t understand why, every week like clockwork, we had to clean the same house we had cleaned the week before. But all that training paid off: Ultimately, it led me to my current job at CR, where I’ve covered everything from glass cleaners to dish soaps to a TikTok–trendy drain declogger. And sometimes, if I’m lucky, I can even convince my mom that yes, I really am a cleaning expert.

I no longer dedicate my Saturday mornings to cleaning like my mom still does (sorry, mami, but I have places to be and people to see). Instead, I opt to get one or two chores done each day.

I learned from my years at home that an intense spring cleaning isn’t really necessary if you clean throughout the week, every week of the year.

So, aside from a deep clean of my closets, my spring cleaning looks pretty much like every other cleaning day of the year. I wipe hard surfaces, remove as much cat hair as I can from soft surfaces, vacuum and mop the floors, and give the bathroom a good scrub.

Because of the work I do with CR, I’m trying new cleaning products and tools all the time, and I’m generally not loyal to any specific products. But there are a few exceptions:

The Fab(uloso) Five, ready for action in Jodhaira’s apartment.

Miele Triflex HX2 Stick Vacuum

The first, and most often used, of these products is my trusty vacuum from Miele. Both my cat, Frank, and I are heavy shedders year-round, and if you know anything about cats, you know that in the spring they shed even more than usual. The Triflex HX2 picks up our hair like nobody’s business, and balls it up into wads that don’t get stuck in the dustbin or around the brush roll. I vacuum the kitchen and bathroom every single day before bed to avoid stepping on the litter that Frank kicks out of his litter box and any crumbs I drop during dinner prep.

ChomChom Pet Hair Roller

Sticking with the cat-hair theme, the second product I pick up nearly every day is the ChomChom Roller Pet Hair Remover. It’s a reusable lint roller with a sturdy handle that gathers up pet hair from soft surfaces. I use it very frequently to clean my sofa, my dining room chairs, and the many beds I have set up for Frank around my tiny New York City apartment.

Mr. Siga Microfiber Cloths

If there was such a thing as the peanut butter and jelly of cleaning, microfiber cloths and a concentrated multipurpose cleaner would be it. I own a stack of multicolored microfiber cloths that I use for nearly everything. I reserve a color for each room—white for the kitchen, yellow for the bedroom, blue for the bathroom—and wash a load of them every week when I do laundry.

Fabuloso Concentrate

I pair my microfiber cloths almost exclusively with my favorite cleaner from Fabuloso—the 2X concentrated formula. I was loyal to the nostalgic lavender scent for years but recently tried watermelon and am obsessed. Under my sink is a spray bottle containing a mixture of water and Fabuloso that I use to wipe down hard surfaces. I use the undiluted cleaner straight from the bottle to clean the toilet, tub, and sink.

O-Cedar Mop & Bucket

Last but not least is my trusty mop and bucket from O-Cedar, which was tested in our labs by my colleague BJ, below, who has reviewed her share of cleaning products too, including vacuums, dishwashers, and grout cleaners.

The O-Cedar mop wiped up a mix of honey and Coca-Cola in four strokes.

With the limited storage space in my apartment, I debated for a long time whether I really needed this particular setup—a two-bucket system that keeps clean and dirty water separate, with a foot-activated wringer. I very quickly learned that I did. It’s a game-changer. Once every few weeks, I pour some Fabuloso and warm water into the bucket and restore my floors to a squeaky-clean shine.

If you take only one thing from my post, make it this: Keep your cleaning simple! You don’t need 20 different products, and you don’t have to sacrifice multiple spring days, unless—and I get this—that’s your idea of a great weekend.

Another great buy from CR Deals Editor Samantha Gordon.

Speaking of spring transformations, if you’re looking to clean up your leftovers game—or elevate meal prep—we’ve got the gear right here. This glass food-storage set from Rubbermaid lands a stellar overall score of 93 in CR’s evaluations. Seal quality, durability, ease of use—it aces every test. Snap-and-lock closures keep food protected, and the 9 containers are oven-safe, so you can warm up a meal without creating extra dirty dishes. Save almost 20 percent right now, and enjoy the satisfaction of having a place for everything and everything in its place…at least inside the fridge.

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