Shopify Bazaar

The ants appeared almost as soon as my husband and I moved into our first home a few summers ago. Initially, I thought the one I spotted in our bedroom was a fluke. Then I noticed a few ambling about our living room. Before long, they were seemingly everywhere. These tiny creatures were all I could think about, and keeping them out of our kitchen consumed my every thought. I panicked and put all our pantry items in Ziploc bags — even the spices. My husband begged me to talk about anything other than ants, to no avail. I felt like I could hear them mocking me. Yes, I was losing it. Yes, I knew it. No, I would not stop until they were gone. Finally, after researching several pest control options, I bought Terro T300 Liquid Ant Baits , the top pick in Wirecutter’s guide to the best ant killers , and in about three weeks, all those ants were banished from my home — and my mind. Let me tell you, this stuff really works. from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real Wor...

Some people fear heights. Some fear public speaking. I fear bugs — to the degree that I once engaged in a 20-minute stare-down with an already dead cockroach in my New York City apartment as I worked up the nerve to dispose of it. When I moved from the city to the Hudson Valley in the spring of 2021, I quickly realized my garage had some arthropod squatters in the form of cave crickets, so named because they’re drawn to dark, moist spaces. You may also know them as camel crickets (for their hump-backed bodies) or spider crickets (because their legs are so long they’re often mistaken for giant meaty spiders). Whatever you call them, they’re big, ugly, and annoying. Plus, they can chew on fabrics and cardboard, and their droppings can leave stains. Though harmless to people and pets, I found them unsettling to share space with. I tried ignoring the few invaders, keeping an eagle eye on them while I grabbed firewood or plugged in my lawn-mower battery. But over time ...

Friends are the family you choose, or so the platitude goes. It follows, then, that co-workers are the family chosen for you by the mysterious forces of capitalism. After all, you spend most of your waking hours with these people, so you end up forming deep, enduring out-of-office relationships with many of them. Whether these colleagues are in-person teammates, Slack or Microsoft Teams confidants, or admirable mentor-managers, you can show them they’re more than just “work friends” with a thoughtful gesture. The gifts below will brighten any workday or workspace, and they include excellent Swedish candies , Lego flowers , and cozy slippers . Looking for more work-appropriate gifts? Check out our white elephant finds , the best ideas for people who work from home , and our favorite food gift baskets . from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://ift.tt/7KVkNtp via IFTTT

We love a plush, thirsty bath towel , but a campsite or suitcase just isn’t the place for one — there, we want a quick-drying, packable travel towel. After putting 20 such towels through 60 hours of testing — including an intense day of sand and surf at the beach — we’ve concluded the PackTowl Personal offers the best balance of drying time, packability, and odor resistance without compromising comfort and design. A good option for nearly every towel-related scenario, it’s lightweight, extra-large, and supersoft, making it usable for both car camping and travel into the backcountry. from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://ift.tt/v6fXZy3 via IFTTT

Whether you’re buying a first or second monitor for your desktop computer or buying a big screen to use with your laptop at home, a good monitor is a wise investment. There’s no single monitor that will work best for everyone, but our monitor guides cover all different sizes, uses, and prices, from basic, 24-inch budget models to big 4K screens to high-refresh-rate gaming monitors. Here we discuss the best ones you can buy as well as what you might need them for. from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://ift.tt/Ikt9R1e via IFTTT

Unless you spot a great sale, now isn’t a great time to buy a Chromebook. Older, less expensive models have been discontinued, and newer models have seen significant price increases . Google has also announced a new line of premium Googlebooks that will launch this fall, but the company has not yet shared which Chromebooks will be eligible to upgrade to the new operating system. But for the right price, Chromebooks can still be great budget options for students or anyone who needs a basic living room computer for browser-based tasks like email, banking, and streaming video. I’ve tested most of the Chromebooks released in the past 12 years, and the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 (CX3402CVA-WS388T-GR) offers an excellent value compared with its competitors. This model offers the best combination of price and features, including fast performance, a matte touchscreen, and just enough battery life for a full day of work or classes. from Wirecutter: Reviews for th...