Amanda Blum

Oregon, Portland

Writer at Lifehacker

Featured in: Favicon

lifehacker.com Favicon

slideshare.net Favicon

msn.com

flipboard.com Favicon

gizmodo.com.au Favicon

goodhousekeeping.com Favicon

delish.com Favicon

prevention.com Favicon

countryliving.com Favicon

lifehacker.com.au + 7 more

Articles

Everything I'm Seeding in May

6 days ago | au.lifehacker.com | Amanda Blum

While a lot of May gardening is dedicated to moving plants into the ground, there is still plenty of seeding to be done. Inside, I'm starting late-planted vegetables like cucumbers, and a second round of annual flowers, like stock and celosia. Outside, I'm beginning to direct seed vegetables like corn and beans, and annuals like sunflowers. It's important to remember to stay on top of your succession planting during this busy time.
All the Gardening Tasks I’m Tackling in May

1 week ago | au.lifehacker.com | Amanda Blum

There is no place more joyous than a garden center in May. The shelves are full of annuals, vegetables, and perennials ready to go home with you. Gardeners everywhere are waiting with bated breath, trying to find the perfect day to get plants in the ground. Pops of color are emerging as tulips, irises, peonies, and lilacs fill yards. What you do this month will determine how successful your summer garden is, so strap into your overalls, grab your sunhat and spade, and get outside.
All the Gardening Tasks I’m Tackling in May

1 week ago | yahoo.com | Amanda Blum

There is no place more joyous than a garden center in May. The shelves are full of annuals, vegetables, and perennials ready to go home with you. Gardeners everywhere are waiting with bated breath, trying to find the perfect day to get plants in the ground. Pops of color are emerging as tulips, irises, peonies, and lilacs fill yards. What you do this month will determine how successful your summer garden is, so strap into your overalls, grab your sunhat and spade, and get outside.
10 Gifts for Under $50 That Tech-Savvy Teachers Will Appreciate

1 week ago | lifehacker.com | Amanda Blum

Stuck for ideas on how to show your kids' teachers the depth of your gratitude? We're in the midst of Teacher Appreciate Week, which is a great time to thank them for all their work this year—or at least get a jump on picking out an end-of-school-year gift. If your favorite teacher is tech-inclined, they will likely appreciate one of the gadgets on this list, all of which are under $50.
Review: The Roomba 205 Combo Disappoints on All Fronts

1 week ago | lifehacker.com | Amanda Blum

To start on a positive note, I love a robot that comes in a small box, and the 205's box is light and briefcase-sized. This makes sense, since the 205 doesn't come with an auto-emptying tower. This means all the debris and water is stored on the robot itself. But robots that don't have self-cleaning towers still at least have charging docks they return to, and the 205 comes with a small, black plastic dock. The robot struggled to dock.
Which Is Better: The 3i S10 Ultra Robot Vacuum vs. the Roborock Saros 10R

3 weeks ago | lifehacker.com | Amanda Blum

Sleek and subtle vs. large and showy on the right, the Saros tower is sleek and looks expensive. The S10 Ultra on the left escaped from the set of Back to the Future II. Credit: Amanda Blum Robot vacuum towers are a pain worth living with—they're large but spare you the manual labor of emptying and cleaning out your robot every day or two. That said, some towers make the living easier, and on this point, Roborock has the upper hand.
Seven Strategies for Making the Most Out of Your Small Garden

3 weeks ago | au.lifehacker.com | Amanda Blum

As the prices on groceries continue to rise, many people might be thinking of growing a vegetable garden for the first time. It can be a great idea, not just because groceries are expensive, but because getting to the store includes soft costs like gas, grocery bags, and time—to say nothing of how wildly empowering it can be to simply walk into your backyard and collect the food you grew yourself. The key to your success here is maximizing the space you have, because gardening has soft costs, too.
Review: This Is the Most Hands-Off Robot Vacuum and Mop I've Ever Used

4 weeks ago | lifehacker.com | Amanda Blum

While the mop may still be a smidge off from perfection, that shouldn’t be a deterrent to getting the S10. Even if you have a truly great robovac, you still need a regular vacuum too, or a broom. There are just areas your robot won’t reach under. You also need a mop, because to get ground in grime and dirt gone, you need manual power to scrub. However, expecting your robot to be a complete cleaning solution is a recipe for disappointment.
How to Choose the Right Tomato for Your Garden

4 weeks ago | au.lifehacker.com | Amanda Blum

If you grow vegetables in the summer, you probably grow tomatoes, and they’re often the first vegetable a budding gardener tries to grow. It's not a bad call—there’s nothing like eating a vine-ripened tomato you grew yourself. But not all tomatoes are created equally, and it can be confusing to decide which tomatoes to grow.
Five Features I'd Look For in a Robot Vacuum Right Now

1 month ago | lifehacker.com | Amanda Blum

I’m frequently asked for recommendations on what robot vacuum to get. While I’ve got favorites, I usually respond with a list of features I’d look for. Each year, robots get so much more advanced that these features change. But if I were buying a robot vacuum tomorrow (or in the next big sale), here’s what I’d look for. Unless you’ve got wall-to-wall carpet, get a vacuum/mop comboGenerally, people shy away from combo products because each new functionality is an additional feature that can break.