Yes, spring is here and things are starting to bloom. At last. It’s been a long, dark winter. April may not seem like a big month for shopping, but you’ll find a lot of categories that have good deals. They tend to be for more practical items, so you may... Read more →

Some consumers have been stock piling food and other items for months in anticipation of prices going up due to Trump’s tariffs and other policies. With 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico and 10 percent on China, it will begin Saturday. When I went grocery shopping this week, I... Read more →

Every week, I write about a recall. I get dozens of emails announcing them. I saw the one about carrots last week, but I didn’t think much about it. As more was being written about the recall, I thought I’d look at a bag of carrots I’d had for a... Read more →

Recently, I stayed with my daughter and her family at an Airbnb in Seattle. After we were there a while, I saw a big safety hazard: dishwasher pods were stored in an attractive glass container and placed on the kitchen counter. Dishwasher pods are dangerous for children and seniors who may think that they’re candy or some treat to eat. Read more →

Proctor & Gamble is recalling about 8.2 million Tide Pods, Gain Flings, Ace Pods, and Ariel Pods liquid laundry detergent packets packaged in plastic bags. The outer packaging can split open near the zipper track, posing a risk of serious injury to children and other vulnerable people if the contents of the packets are eaten, as well as posing a risk of skin or eye injuries. Read more →

One of the most tragic things I learned in my journalism career is about a child whose esophagus was destroyed when they swallowed lye that was being used to make soap. So every year, I write about National Poison Prevention Week, which is the third full week in March. More than 2 million poisonings are reported each year to the nation’s poison control centers. Read more →

March isn’t one of the hottest months for finding deals, but you may be able to score great savings on several items in March as long as you know what to shop for. DealNews.com offers the following suggestions: Pi Day – March 14 is Pi Day because it’s 3-14 and it celebrates the mathematical constant pi, 3.14159. Look for restaurants that offer deals for $3.14. Read more →

Although I’ve written a number of times about how to eat less plastic, it’s time to take a look at it again. Recent research offers more information for your consideration. Consumer Reports recent research showed that in addition to plastic leaching from containers into food, there’s actually chemicals from plastic in food. Read more →

On Saturday, I wrote about One Health Day. I hadn’t heard of it before, but it’s a global campaign that recognizes the close connection between the health of people, animals, and the environment and the role this connection plays in the spread of diseases. Several times, I’ve written that people shouldn’t allow pets to sleep in bed with them. Read more →

After one of my yard work helpers scolded me for having dirty yard waste, garbage, and recycling containers, because there were ants on the lids of a couple of them, I decided I’d clean them. Here are my tips: Use the jet function on your hose nozzle to clean the inside and outside of the containers. Tip the containers over on the grass. Read more →