John Cox

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www.reonomy.com

How To Find Land For Sale - Off-Market & With Listings | Reonomy Resources

This guide distinguishes between finding land through active listings on platforms like LoopNet, LandWatch, and Lands of America versus sourcing off-market parcels using ownership and parcel data to identify unmotivated sellers unlikely to list publicly. It reviews 12+ listing platforms organized by land type (commercial, rural, agricultural) and explains how to use property records and ownership tenure analysis to find vacant land, wholesale opportunities, and unlisted parcels, then contact owners directly. The article emphasizes that off-market searching is more powerful for repeat investors or sourcing scarce properties, since most U.S. parcels—especially those held long-term by estates, LLCs, or family owners—never appear on listing sites.

Permalink real estate

www.veteransbenefitskb.com

States with Property Tax Exemptions for Veterans — Veterans Benefits Knowledge Base

This comprehensive reference guide catalogues property tax exemptions available to veterans across all U.S. states, territories, and the District of Columbia, with exemptions varying by disability rating, service-connected conditions, and residency requirements. Most exemptions apply only to primary residences and range from modest reductions (like New Jersey's $250 deduction) to substantial ones (Minnesota's $300,000 exemption for totally disabled veterans), with many states offering full exemptions for veterans rated 100% disabled or with total disability/individual unemployability status. The guide excludes exemptions based solely on age or income and those with outdated provisions, noting that individual counties may levy additional taxes and readers should verify details with local assessors.

Permalink real estatepersonal financeveteransva

www.rd.com

How to Make a Vinegar Fruit Wash That Really Cleans Your Produce

A vinegar fruit wash—made by mixing one part vinegar with three parts water—effectively removes bacteria, mold spores, and pesticides from produce because vinegar's 5-6% acetic acid kills pathogens and prevents mold growth, extending freshness longer than plain water rinsing alone. The article explains when and how to use the wash (spray method for smooth fruits, soaking for small or textured produce), emphasizing the importance of washing all produce immediately upon purchase and drying thoroughly before storage to prevent cross-contamination in the fridge.

Permalink fooddiystoragecleaning

www.rd.com

How to Clean a Grill Quickly and Easily

Cleaning a grill regularly improves food taste, extends equipment life, and needn't be complicated once you know the proper steps. For charcoal grills, the process involves scraping hot grates immediately after cooking, waiting 48 hours for ashes to cool, deep-cleaning the interior with degreaser and a brush, then wiping down the exterior. Gas grills follow a similar initial grate-cleaning step but require disconnecting gas lines and disassembling components before using warm soapy water and a vacuum to clean the interior and exterior, with preventative maintenance like oiling grates and using a grill cover helping maintain both types year-round.

Permalink diygrillingappliancescleaning

www.pinterest.com

www.outsideonline.com

How to Score the Best National Park Campsites for Summer

National Park Service campgrounds have become increasingly difficult to book, with camping visits exceeding 13 million overnight stays in 2022, so advance planning is essential. The piece details eight of the most coveted and hard-to-reserve campgrounds across the system—from Yellowstone's Slough Creek to Acadia's remote Duck Harbor—providing specific booking windows, fees, best sites, and nearby hiking or outdoor activities for each. The takeaway is practical: start reservations six months in advance through Recreation.gov on a rolling basis, or risk ending up at an RV park instead of your dream national park campsite.

Permalink summerhikingcampingnational parks

www.outsideonline.com

The Best Trails Around Asheville, According to a Local Hiker

Sandra Aguirre founded Latinos Aventureros, a 7,000-member bilingual hiking group in western North Carolina, after discovering that mountain hiking helped her recover from depression following her divorce. What began as personal hikes with her three children evolved into weekly group outings focused on introducing the BIPOC community to outdoor recreation across the Blue Ridge Mountains region. The piece includes Aguirre's personalized guide to Asheville, featuring her favorite spots for coffee, swimming holes, sunsets, restaurants, and breweries.

Permalink hikingnorth carolinatravelwaterfalls

www.outsideonline.com

Highway 19E Is the Most Underrated Road Trip

Highway 19E, a 60-mile stretch of North Carolina and Tennessee backroad north of Asheville, connects eight major outdoor destinations within 25 minutes of the main road, including Mount Mitchell (the highest point east of the Mississippi), Linville Gorge, Grandfather Mountain, and sections of the Appalachian Trail known for exceptional hiking and scenery. The piece details each attraction—from strenuous mountain hikes and wilderness camping to waterfalls, mysterious Brown Mountain Lights, and world-class trout fishing—with practical information about trailheads, difficulty levels, permits, and seasonal considerations for planning a multi-stop adventure through southern Appalachia.

Permalink hikingcampingnorth carolinaroad trips

www.outsideonline.com

The Best Hike in Every State

This is a state-by-state guide to the best single hike in each of the 50 United States, selected by the publication's writers and editors based on considerations like scenic beauty, terrain variety, and distinctive features. Each entry includes a brief description of the hike's route, elevation gain, length, and what makes it noteworthy—whether that's waterfalls, alpine views, cultural landmarks, or wildlife encounters. The selections range from accessible short walks like Michigan's Pyramid Point (easy family-friendly dune views) to challenging multi-day backpacking routes like Maine's 100-Mile Wilderness and the John Muir Trail in California.

Permalink hikingtraveladventurenational parks

www.outdoorlife.com

Backpacking Checklist: Don’t Forget These Must-Have Items

This is a comprehensive backpacking gear checklist with product recommendations across multiple categories—shelter, sleep systems, clothing, cooking equipment, and safety gear—organized by price point and use case. The guide includes specific product picks like the Osprey Exos backpack and MSR PocketRocket stove, along with an extensive FAQ addressing common questions about weight limits, packing duration, water treatment, and what experienced backpackers actually need versus what beginners unnecessarily carry. It emphasizes that the "Big 3" items (backpack, tent, sleep system) are the heaviest components and suggests beginners should aim for 25-35 pounds total load.

Permalink hikingcampinggearsafety

www.outdoorlife.com

25 Best Camping Food Ideas

This comprehensive guide offers practical camping meal recipes for every daypart, organized by cooking method (simple prep, gas stove, or campfire cooking) and ranging from quick breakfasts like bagels to elaborate dishes like chicken and waffles or foil-packet Reuben dinners. The article includes detailed ingredient lists and instructions for several complete recipes, along with shorter suggestions for lunch, dinner, desserts, and snacks that can be adapted to different skill levels and available time. Beyond recipes, it addresses food safety concerns like not storing food in tents and offers practical advice on meal planning based on how much time you want to spend cooking versus exploring.

Permalink campingfoodrecipescooking

www.nytimes.com

The Best Gear for Your Go Bag

While preassembled emergency bags offer convenience, they typically contain low-quality items, limited customization options, and incomplete gear selections that create a false sense of security. The guide reviews six popular preassembled kits—from Judy, Uncharted Supply Company, American Red Cross, Echo-Sigma, Emergency Zone, and Preppi—finding that all fall short due to poor construction quality, inadequate first aid supplies, unreliable electronics, and minimal room for personalization. Building your own go bag from scratch, though time-intensive and costing around $550 initially, remains superior because it allows you to select durable, high-quality items tailored to your specific location and needs while maintaining the knowledge and familiarity with your supplies that matters in an actual emergency.

Permalink gearsafetywatersurvival

www.nytimes.com

How to Fold a Suit, According to King Charles’s Former Suit Maker

Frequent travelers should choose suits made from wrinkle-resistant fabrics like hopsack or high-twist wool rather than delicate linens, and fold them carefully using soft garments like rolled socks and sweaters for padding to maintain structure. The proper packing technique involves laying the suit flat, positioning padded items at stress points like shoulders and the jacket waist, and folding methodically to create a compact parcel. Contrary to popular travel advice, steaming or hanging suits in humid bathrooms damages the internal construction and finish; instead, simply hanging a suit in a dry, warm room for 12 hours should allow wrinkles to fall out naturally.

Permalink travelclothingpackingtips

www.nytimes.com

How to Clean a Toilet the Right Way

This Wirecutter guide provides practical instructions for cleaning a toilet thoroughly, covering essential tools (toilet brush, bowl cleaner, gloves, bucket, and disinfectant wipes), step-by-step cleaning procedures, and specific product recommendations for each task. It emphasizes draining the bowl before applying cleaner to ensure the disinfectant works undiluted, and warns against common mistakes like mixing bleach with acidic cleaners or using tank additives that can damage toilet mechanisms and void warranties.

Permalink bathroomcleaningwirecutterhome

www.nytimes.com

How to Clean Birkenstocks

Birkenstocks can last generations with proper maintenance because their three components—sole, footbed, and straps—can be cleaned and repaired independently. The guide breaks down material-specific cleaning methods for suede, nubuck, and leather straps; cork and suede footbeds; and rubber soles, while emphasizing that protective sealing every 2-4 months prevents water damage. The article debunks the viral TikTok trend of using baking soda to clean footbeds, demonstrating that this abrasive method damages the suede and requires excessive scrubbing time compared to gentler alternatives.

Permalink footweardiycleaningmaintenance

www.nytimes.com

The 22 Best Alcohol Gifts for Cocktail Lovers

This is a curated gift guide featuring approximately 20 cocktail-related products and books, ranging from barware and spirits to garnishes and cocktail recipe collections. Each item includes recommendations from industry experts like bartenders and spirits specialists, along with details about quality, design, and specific use cases. The selections emphasize craft, aesthetic appeal, and thoughtful curation rather than gimmicky bar accessories.

Permalink holidaycocktailswhiskeygifts

www.nytimes.com

I Saved More Than 2,000 Pounds of Food Waste From the Landfill With This Simple Composter

The author describes six years of effortless composting using a simple plastic bin that requires no turning, watering, or maintenance—just dumping kitchen scraps inside and occasionally harvesting the resulting material from a bottom hatch. Despite deliberately doing nothing to manage the pile and ignoring conventional composting wisdom, the bin's insulated black plastic sides and ventilation have successfully broken down roughly 1,900 pounds of organic matter (including substantial coffee grounds) without attracting rodents or producing odors. Even the imperfect final product, which still contains visible eggshells and plant fragments, qualifies as a usable soil amendment, proving that passive composting can work for the truly lazy gardener.

Permalink sustainabilitybackyardgardeninghome

www.nytimes.com

Outgrown Your Starter Record Player? Here’s How to Shop for a Quality Turntable.

Belt-drive turntables are cheaper and isolate the platter from motor vibration but require periodic belt replacement, while direct-drive systems offer consistent speed and superior reliability at higher cost, with DJs favoring them for their precision. Beyond motor type, buyers should consider whether they need a built-in phono preamp (convenient for beginners, but external preamps offer more flexibility), the quality of the phono cartridge (which significantly affects sound and is replaceable), and optional features like Bluetooth connectivity (which digitizes the signal but adds flexibility) and USB digitization capability. Ease-of-use factors like speed adjustment, tonearm tracking force adjustment, cue levers, and auto-return functions vary by model and should match your priorities and listening habits.

Permalink audioaccessoriesturntablevinyl

www.nytimes.com

How to Decorate Your Christmas Tree Like a Pro

Rather than discussing holiday magic philosophically, this practical guide offers specific strategies for making Christmas tree setup and takedown easier, from investing in a quality tree stand like the Krinner (which one person can operate alone) to stringing lights vertically for better coverage and leaving the back of the tree undecorated if it's against a wall. It also includes concrete storage solutions such as using winders for lights and keeping ornament hooks attached, plus a surprisingly effective hack of wrapping the tree in a fitted sheet before removing it to contain needle mess. The piece combines product recommendations with time-saving tricks to reduce the genuine frustration involved in holiday decorating.

Permalink holidaychristmassmart homehome

www.nytimes.com

How to Connect Your New Turntable to Any Audio System

Connecting a modern turntable to contemporary audio systems requires understanding the phono preamp, a specialized component that processes the turntable's signal before it reaches speakers or headphones. The specific connection method depends on your equipment: receivers and some powered speakers have built-in phono preamps for direct connection, while Bluetooth turntables offer wireless streaming, and Wi-Fi speakers require either analog connections or additional devices like music streamers to avoid costly intermediaries. The article walks through each scenario—from traditional receivers to wireless headphones to Sonos systems—explaining which components you need and where potential bottlenecks occur, such as needing a standalone phono preamp when neither your turntable nor speakers have one built in.

Permalink audioturntablewi‑fiphono preamp