内容摘要：Keeping pests away from crops, especially edible crops like vegetables, is one of the most popular reasons people try companion growing. According to Rekola, choosing fragrant companion plants will help deter pests from your crops. “Adding strong-smelling onions and herbs like sage and oregano to a veggie garden repels pests and protects the other plants,” she explains.

Keeping pests away from crops, especially edible crops like vegetables, is one of the most popular reasons people try companion growing. According to Rekola, choosing fragrant companion plants will help deter pests from your crops. “Adding strong-smelling onions and herbs like sage and oregano to a veggie garden repels pests and protects the other plants,” she explains.

Until then, we had no real system, just vague expectations and mounting resentment. We both worked full-time, so the plan was just to "," but in practice, it felt like I was always chasing dishes while he was obsessing over perfectly aligned couch cushions. We argued about the little things: who forgot to take the trash out, who left wet laundry in the machine, and why the sink was still full. It wasn't toxic, but it was tiring.

After that night, we decided to experiment. Instead of pretending we were equally good at (or interested in) every task, we leaned into what came naturally. I'm a textbook Sagittarius and tend to crave freedom and spontaneity, so monotonous tasks like folding towels bore me. I need room to improvise, and tasks that feel more like play than work, so I took over the cooking and big, messy projects, likeLiam, a classic Virgo, loves order and finds peace in tidiness. He claimed the tasks that provided structure, like laundry and tackling the budget. Suddenly, our division of labor wasn't a battleground, it was a custom-built peace treaty, drafted in the stars.Of course, we still encountered our share of challenges. Even though laundry was technically Liam's domain, one week, he was swamped with work, and I forgot I'd agreed to take it on. I got caught up in a last-minute dinner with friends and came home to find him ironing at midnight. That's when we realized that astrology was a great baseline, but we still needed to communicate better when things didn't go according to plan.

We realized we needed more than just a cute system, we needed flexibility. Now, when one of us is too tired, overwhelmed, or sick, we'll swap chores or do the task together, no questions asked.As we continued to embrace our zodiac-inspired chore system, we noticed a significant reduction in resentment. Though it's unconventional, assigning everything that needs to get done based on our personalities allowed us to both

What feels mundane to him feels fun to me, and vice versa, so not only are we no longer stuck with so many dreary to-dos, but we also are more deeply connected; we appreciate each other more for doing what we don't want to spend energy on. With this system, I no longer feel overwhelmed by the thought of

, while Liam has found satisfaction in his laundry rituals.in Richmond, Virginia, shares expert tips on how to reuse your clippings so they don’t just head to the waste pile but, instead find a second purpose adding nutrients and aiding in the overall health of your lawn.

Allowing your grass clippings to remain on your lawn has benefits that go far beyond time savings. The trimmings left behind can provide free nutrients and get your grass growing in the right direction—full and lush with blades for days. “Grass clippings are a great source of free fertilizer for your lawn,” says Licklider. “They break down very quickly in Southern climates and add nutrients and organic matter back to the soil.” This process can benefit overall turf health, reduce the need for chemical fertilizers, and aid in moisture retention.Utilizing your grass clippings will require certain considerations like mow height and frequency that should be based on your grass type. Licklider says a general rule for mow height is to use a higher cut for cool-season grasses like fescue and opt for a shorter cut for warm-season grasses like Bermuda and zoysia.

“If you think you can’t leave [grass clippings on your lawn] because it leaves large clumps on the cut grass, then you aren’t mowing your lawn frequently enough,” he says. Licklider advises only trimming off the top 15% to 30% of the grass blades. This amount should be small enough to easily fall down to the soil. “If you’re seeing large hay clumps when you cut, you’re probably waiting too long between cuts and taking off closer to 50% or more of the plant,” he says. Licklider warns this can not only stress the grass, but the large clumps also have the potential to smother the grass below.“The overall name of the game, regardless of grass type, is sharp mower blades,” he adds. “They will mulch the clipping better as you cut and create a cleaner cut of grass itself, which is better for the grass.”