Today’s Solutions: January 18, 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.

Attractive woman in red dress dancing on the beach with sun glasses on.

4 simple ways to feel at your absolute best this summer

The sunshine of summer is enough to make you feel better than you usually do throughout the year. But with a few changes to your daily habits, you can feel at your absolute best throughout the summer. Without further ado, here are four simple ways to optimize your health during the hottest months Read More...

Side view of young mixed race woman applying sunscreen on shoulders in backyard of home on a sunny day

6 Reef-safe sunscreens to protect you and marine life

This summer’s record-breaking temperatures have us all searching for the best activities to beat the heat. One of our recent articles touts the brain benefits of swimming, which is a great way to keep cool and physically fit. If you do opt to take a dip, it’s important to protect yourself from Read More...

Rattlesnake

How to keep your garden snake-free

We decided to dust off this older story which offers some great solutions.  In many parts of the world, the summer is also snake season, and now is the time to be wary. There are plenty of different kinds of snakes. Some are harmless and actually help out their hosts by providing free pest Read More...

4 things that keep Canadian tr

4 things that keep Canadian traffic fatalities lower than the US

While traffic-related fatalities increased in the United States by 19 percent between 2010 and 2020, Canadian rates declined by about the same amount in that time. Many consider Canada culturally very similar to the US, but when it comes to traffic safety, they have more European attitudes. Here Read More...

Woman Buying Cereals And Grains In Sustainable Plastic Free Grocery Store

7 tips to kickstart your Plastic Free July

The Plastic Free July initiative first began in 2011, and since then the campaign has grown so much that in 2017, the founder of the movement, Rebecca Prince-Ruiz, set up the Plastic Free Foundation Ltd. This foundation is an independent non-profit charity striving for a future that is free of Read More...

Plastic straws replaced with glass, bamboo, steel metal straws

How to give your reusable straws a proper clean

Buying a set of reusable straws feels good. You bought this shiny set of reusable straws because you care about the environment and it's Plastic Free July. You’re on your way to reducing your contribution to landfill trash and saving the turtles. However, what they don’t tell you is that Read More...

Houseplants next to large window

5 more reasons to have houseplants under your roof

From making your home more aesthetically pleasing to generally improving your wellbeing, the benefits of houseplants have been documented all too well. Here are five of the most important reasons for living together with these green companions: They give an assist in breathing While we breathe Read More...

Clothes washing in the washing machine

Here’s why you should wash your clothes with cold water

Washing your clothes with hot water may be an effective way to remove stains, but doing so with every laundry batch takes its toll on the environment. About 90 percent of a laundry machine's energy use goes towards heating up the water. As a result, home laundries in the US are responsible for Read More...

Uvalde, TexasUnited States - June 5, 2022: Texans visit the memorial at Robb elementary school dedicated to the victims of the May shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

5 ways to reduce school shootings

School shootings are a problem that really shouldn’t be a problem. That said, the grim reality is that they happen far too often, especially in the United States. In the wake of a string of deadly and gruesome mass shootings, psychology professor Paul Boxer revisits his research on how to prevent Read More...

Lazy office worker playing mobile game with smartphone during work hours.

Boost your productivity with a not-to-do list

There are a lot of distractions at our fingertips these days that can persuade us out of our productivity groove. You might feel like you’ve tried it all—from setting alarms and reminders to leaving yourself encouraging messages on post-it notes. You may even have tried the classic to-do list Read More...