Today’s Solutions: January 16, 2025

Lifestyle

Alongside taking care of other people and the planet, make sure you take good care of yourself. The Lifestyle section at the Optimist Daily has solutions for everyday wellbeing on topics like food, beauty, fashion, and the latest trends. Curious about caring for houseplants, eating plant-based, or parenting tips? It’s all in there.

A guide to reducing holiday pa

A guide to reducing holiday packaging waste

Despite the joy of giving gifts over the holidays, the excessive amount of packaging trash is a growing problem, particularly considering the recycling catastrophe in the United States. Before China banned the import of plastic waste back in 2018, it had taken 70 percent of the United States' Read More...

Attention all stargazers! Gem

Attention all stargazers! Geminid meteor shower is set to dazzle tonight's night sky 

In the heart of the holiday season and the festive buzz of December, there is yet another event to look forward to: the annual extravaganza, the celestial spectacle—the Geminid meteor shower. A glittering display The skies promise a thrilling show tonight, Wednesday, December 13, through Read More...

Move Afrika: elevating African

Move Afrika: elevating African music on a global scale starting with concert in Rwanda

Two decades after Nelson Mandela's legendary 46664 concerts, a new movement, Move Afrika, developed on the African continent. Inspired by Mandela's vision, his grandson Kweku Mandela launched this five-year project to create an annual music tour to promote Africa's artistic environment while Read More...

Sesame Workshop introduces too

Sesame Workshop introduces tools to help kids understand addiction in families

Tevis Simon's childhood was fraught with uncertainty. She grew up in West Baltimore in the 1980s, a community that received little attention from the city and government investment, and her existence was overshadowed by her mother's opioid addiction. She never knew which version of her mother she Read More...

Greenery, berries, and creativ

Greenery, berries, and creative accents: elevate your holiday décor with native plants

During the holidays, the timeless charm of beautifying our spaces with fresh greenery, vivid fruits, and berries resonates strongly, reflecting customs established in millennia past. Magnolia branches, interwoven pine garlands, and the scented whispers of rosemary represent not only festive Read More...

Happy friends celebrating with sparklers fireworks and drinking cocktails

7 ways to support your sober/non-drinking friends this holiday season

Holiday celebrations often involve alcohol. This can make things difficult for non-drinkers, whether they're sober for life or are pursuing sobriety for health or other reasons. Even if you plan to drink at holiday parties, supporting sober friends and family can make everyone feel comfortable and Read More...

Revolutionizing roadway power:

Revolutionizing roadway power: Detroit pioneers wireless EV charging

Detroit proudly reveals the nation's trailblazing innovation: a length of road that wirelessly charges electric vehicles (EVs) on the move or at rest, signaling a big step forward in automotive evolution. Eliminating EV charging challenges The introduction of wireless charging on highways Read More...

The vegan advantage: proven he

The vegan advantage: proven health benefits revealed in a rare identical twin study

While the health benefits of a plant-based diet are well known, a recent pioneering study on identical twins has confirmed these advantages. Stanford University's groundbreaking study, which included 22 sets of identical twins, highlighted the outstanding benefits of adopting a vegan diet over a Read More...

How West African hairdressers

How West African hairdressers offer mental health support and a pathway to healing

DECEMBER 21ST, 2023 UPDATE: This solution is a Reader's Choice selection of 2023! Here's why one of our fellow optimists nominated this story: "A few days before [this article was published], I was at my favorite salon getting my hair done. As she was conditioning my hair and massaging my scalp Read More...

four friends sip on hot beverage and celebrate the holidays

Want to declutter your holidays? Here's how to ask for no gifts this year

The saying “less is more” has never rung truer than during these unpredictable and tumultuous times. If our collective concern for the environment isn’t enough to encourage us to minimize our carbon footprints by rejecting consumerism, then the financial stress and/or job instability that the Read More...