Photo: Aleksey Khoruzhenko (Shutterstock)

Even before the pandemic kept us locked in our homes for weeks, the delivery and take-away business was booming thanks to apps that make it easy to see restaurant deals, select a few, and get them delivered in less than an hour.

The convenience is astronomical, but so is the cost. If you’re thinking of deleting Uber Eats and Seamless from your phone to keep your habits in check, don’t do it yet. There are a couple of ways you can save money and still consume delicious restaurant food.

Put on your walking shoes

There are many costs associated with grocery delivery that have nothing to do with the price of your bagel on Friday morning or the price of your pizza on Saturday night. You pay tax and a delivery fee along with your tip.

The tip and delivery fee both depend on how much effort a third party takes to physically deliver your order to you. You travel long distances, sometimes through snow or rain, so always – always – tip when you order a delivery.

However, you can avoid the delivery fee by simply picking up the food yourself. It is still very convenient to see all menu items in one place, to choose one in peace and to pay at the push of a button. The only slightly inconvenient part of this method is walking, but it’s inexpensive and healthy, so it’s not all bad. Sure, spring birth when you’re sick or gross outside, but if it’s a nice night and you’re in good health, take a little walk! Most delivery apps allow you to easily switch between delivery and pick-up options. So make sure you tap the correct button.

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Leave push notifications turned on

Push notifications can be annoying, but they can also be helpful. There’s a reason they are, and when it comes to delivery and take-away apps, part of that reason is to save you money.

Uber Eats and Postmates are notorious for their frequent, limited-time discounts that they advertise via email and push notifications. Make sure your notifications are turned on for these apps and always provide a real email address, even if it’s your spam email, so you don’t miss a coupon.

You can earn one-time coupons for most apps by sharing your referral code with your friends, but of course it’s 2021 and the majority of your friends already have all of the apps too. It still doesn’t hurt to try.

to take advantage

Some apps, like Uber Eats, have different types of rewards programs and constantly changing specials. They usually appear instantly when you open your apps, and they can range from restaurant-specific discounts once you hit a certain cost threshold, or monies if you choose to have takeaway delivery.

In some cases, you may need to spend money to save money. For example, for $ 9.99 per month on Grubhub, you can sign up for Grubhub +, which gives you unlimited free delivery when you order food over $ 12 at a time, as well as other membership benefits specific to certain restaurants. If you order once a week or more, the cost of this membership is less than what you might have to pay for your delivery fees, which can range from $ 0.50 to several dollars.

Use money-saving apps

There are a few apps out there that are designed not only to feed you, but also to save you money. Take Too Good to Go for example: this app addresses the problem of food waste by working with restaurants to bring you the unsold groceries that would otherwise be thrown away. You order a “surprise bag” from one of the participating restaurants and are given a set time to pick up your food, which can range from a whole meal to a large bag of bagels or pastries, depending on the restaurant. You don’t get to choose what you get, but you are getting a lot for your money as most surprise bags range from $ 4 to $ 6. Also, you have a good feeling about preventing goods from being wasted, which the app does Creators say happens to ⅓ the world food.

If you want to save money and still get delivery, there is Club Feast which is something of a bulk grocery shopping system. You buy your credits in bulk upfront and then spend them on discounted meals throughout the week.

Laura Phillips, director of growth and marketing at Club Feast, explained the concept as follows: “Delivery to the restaurant is only $ 6.99 per dish. Plan ahead and spend less on the same meals you would get on any other platform. Note that there is a delivery charge of between $ 0.49 and $ 2.49 and a small order charge of $ 1 if you only order one dish. “

The program never charges or takes any commission from restaurants, which is noteworthy as many of these third-party apps withhold a portion of each restaurant’s revenue. Phillips said the company aims to help restaurants make more money and help users save.

“With the pre-planning and our lower price, you don’t have to feel guilty when ordering. It is our mission to change the way people eat by democratizing access to the luxury of food delivery while allowing your favorite local restaurants to thrive, ”she said. “Food delivery is becoming an integral part of modern life. I see its use as a daily service everywhere as the way we work and the way we eat is constantly evolving. “

Food apps got really big, really fast – taking your money and your restaurant revenues with them. With new disruptors like these, you can feel a little better about the whole thing.

The last option might not save you a lot of money in the long run, but it can save you a little bit of guilt: give it a try order directly from restaurants if possible to save them the money they pay for the big apps.

Photo: Oleksandr_U (Shutterstock)

When the season changes and your summer plants are gone, your soil will ask for shelter from the coming cold. High winds, freezing temperatures, sleet, and snow can damage the ground without most of us realizing.

Instead of covering it with a tarp, however, try a natural protector that can enrich your soil even in the colder months. Here’s how to plant your cover crop to protect your soil from the harsh winter.

What is a cover crop?

The name is a simple giveaway, but it’s a crop that covers the land for protection. Research and education for sustainable agriculture (SARE) defines a cover crop as “a plant that is primarily used to slow erosion, improve soil health, improve water availability, stifle weeds, help control pests and diseases, increase biodiversity and a To bring a multitude of other advantages ”. While SARE refers to cover crops for farmers and larger arable land, planting a protective plant over your home garden is not a bad idea.

When the growing season is over, the backyard area of ​​your yard will likely be left bare, and planting a cover crop will prevent soil erosion from rain and snow and store nutrients in the soil through the winter. This method also benefits warmer climates by protecting the land from intense droughts. The USDA and the Conservation Service Report, “[o]Over time, a cover crop treatment will increase the soil organic matter, resulting in an improvement in soil structure, stability and increased moisture and nutrient holding capacity for plant growth. ”

Basically, with a catch crop, you have stronger soil for the following spring.

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What types of catch crops to plant for autumn

There is a various ground cover plants that do a lot of things. For general coverage protection, Ryegrass is a good choice. It is planted in the cool months to grow thick and strong, but dies in winter; the grass provides a protective blanket against the cold, and when the warmer months roll in, your soil is ready for planting.

Winter rye reproduces quickly and adapts to any type of soil. The plant’s extensive roots inhibit weed germination, and vegetable and berry specialist Vern Grubinger reports that the “deep roots of winter rye help prevent compaction in fields that are tilled annually”. However, these are aggressive winter plants, so plant them on ours just before the first frost of autumn. Otherwise, they could take root a little too quickly and overtake your entire yard before you want to.

Purple clover is another great option with beautiful clusters of red cone-shaped flowers. The purple clover is a nitrogen-rich legume plant that No-till farmer Reports produced “70-150 N [nitrogen] Pounds on average. ”This catch crop is perfect for suppressing weeds and attracting pollinators to your yard. However, you can easily sow seeds so be sure to mow them before they reach full bloom. The catch crop dies in colder temperatures, so these are ideal for those who live in warmer climates.

And if you really want to do soil operations on your compacted soil, use Oil radish. Its roots can break through the toughest clay and naturally aerate your soil, making it ready for future planting.

This is how you plant bottomless catch crops

the No-till is a recommended method for planting catch crops. Start by raking the area lightly to stir up the topsoil. Next, spread your seeds over the area as if you were sowing a new lawn. Old World Garden Farms suggests sprinkling half a pound to a full pound per 40 square feet. After you drop the seed, lightly rake it again to aid the germination process. Then put half an inch of straw over the seed and soil, and you’re done. The catch crop should start sprouting in seven to ten days and you are protected for the season.

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People tend to have strong opinions about snakes – usually they find them either fascinating (enough to keep one as a pet in some cases) or absolutely terrifying and off-putting, until they get chills (badly) just by taking a photo of one sees. But feelings aside, for some people with yards, snakes are a reality.

Of course, there are different types of snakes on different missions. Some are harmless and offer free pest control. Others are poisonous and probably not something you want to wiggle around your home. Here’s a quick look at why you can find snakes in your garden and how to keep the potentially harmful ones away.

Find out what type of snake (s) you are dealing with

Snakes are quick and sneaky, which makes them difficult to identify. So how can you tell the difference between a harmless one and a potentially toxic one? Unless you’re a snake expert yourself, it’s best to leave this to professionals.

If you can take a picture of the snake at a safe distance, do this, and then contact your state wildlife authority. Someone will help you identify the snake and provide further instructions on what to do next. But please don’t get too close to the snake or try to pick it up or touch it.

Why snakes are attracted to your garden

According to a guide on how to deal with snakes ThisOldHouse.com, Snakes are usually in your yard in search of food and / or shelter. Some of their favorite foods are:

• Rats
• Mice
• moles
• fish
• frogs
• Small farm animals
• Snails
• Snails
• Locusts

So if you have any of these animals or other critters in, around, or near your property, they can all bring snakes into your yard. They can also provide shelter for snakes, including:

• Thick brush
• Dense compost piles or piles of leaves
• Bodies of water
• Broken gutters
• Firewood container

This is how you will keep potentially harmful snakes out of your garden

If, after consulting with a local wildlife authority, you find that the snakes hanging around your yard are some kind of threat – and not just the harmless species that are part of your local ecosystem and food chain – here are some ways to Keeping them from sliding onto your property, courtesy of the editorial team at ThisOldHouse.com:

Stop giving them shelter

Snakes have predators too and like to hide from them in warm, sheltered places like piled hoses, open areas under sheds, storage areas, and the locations listed above. Remove, block, or take other steps necessary to clear their hiding spots.

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Get rid of areas of standing water

Some species of snakes nest near stagnant water. So, if you have areas of poor drainage where water has accumulated, find a way to remove them. The stagnant water isn’t necessarily outdoors, so check around coiled hoses and in your yard as well.

Feed your pets indoors

Your dog may like to eat outside, but don’t let their food sit outside when they’re not eating it. Their food attracts rodents and insects, which then become food for snakes.

Photo: Leena Robinson (Shutterstock)

So you had to cancel your summer vacation for the second year in a row because of the pandemic. For a while this year looked really good – what with the vaccine rollout and the falling cases and everything else – but the Delta variant had other plans (to ruin ours).

Perhaps you are now considering a fall road trip to admire the colorful foliage and stay in a cozy, secluded vacation rental. Well, if that’s the case, you’re not alone and someone else might be keeping an eye on that booth you favored on VRBO months ago.

But when fall foliage is an integral part of your trip, it can be hard to know when a particular area is at its vibrant peak. Fortunately there is one Interactive map uses the data to predict when different parts of the country will be most colorful. Here’s what you should know.

How to use the autumn foliage forecast map 2021

Once again, this interactive map comes courtesy David Angotti, a statistician and founder of the website SmokyMountains.com. It uses historical temperature and rainfall data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as well as this year’s forecast temperatures and rainfall, and historical leaf tip trends to predict when fall foliage will reach its most colorful peak anywhere in the continental United States in 2021.

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The map is intuitive: use the slider at the bottom of the map to select a date and see where the foliage peaks that week. For example, if you select September 6th, you will see the leaf forecast for the week of September 6th to 12th.

Of course, like any weather-based forecast, the blade tip predictions will never be entirely accurate, but Angotti and his team have been doing this for nearly a decade, so they’ve been able to refine their algorithm over the years.

As you can imagine, Angotti says the vast majority of people who use the map do so to plan a fall getaway or to check when the leaves are peaking near their home – but some people are special got creative.

“Some of our favorites [uses of the map] These include a bride in the northeast changing her outdoor wedding date, a director planning a film shoot on location based on our predictions, and even an elementary school teacher planning a trip to a nearby state forest, ”he tells Lifehacker via E-mail.

Photo: Appz Dreamer (Shutterstock)

In the two weeks since the Taliban captured the Afghan capital Kabul about 105,000 people were evacuated in one of the largest airlifts in US history. During a estimated 5,100 The evacuees are American citizens, the rest are Afghan individuals and families, many of whom are now facing housing insecurity.

If you are looking for ways to help – and you have space in your home – you should consider temporarily admitting Afghan refugees. One way to do this is through Airbnb. But you don’t have to be an established host on the site to volunteer. Here’s what you should know about the process.

How to accommodate Afghan refugees through Airbnb

Last week, Airbnb announced that it would be offering free temporary accommodation for 20,000 Afghan refugees worldwide. Since then, says the company That has received inquiries from hosts, as well as people who have never used the vacation rental website before, asking how they can provide space in their homes for the people displaced by the humanitarian crisis. If you are one of them there is there are a couple of answers now.

To start with, if you can not yet an Airbnb host, You must Create an account and a listing which are used exclusively for the provision of free stays for disaster relief. Existing hosts have the option to advertise their properties either for free or at a discount. As usual it is Hosts have the opportunity to decide whether or not you accept someone’s request to stay.

Once a booking is made, the host must provide their guests with basic needs, including:

• Toilet paper
• soap
• Bed linen / sheets
• At least 1 towel per booked guest
• At least 1 pillow per booked guest

After all, according to Airbnb, that’s the Company will provide Host with community support and nonprofit resources to navigate through the experience as well Up to $ 1,000,000 in property damage protection in case something happened. You can find more about the program on the company’s website.

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