Andrea Barnes

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Andrea Barnes

A night on Broadway can be dazzling. But behind the scenes, it’s often a chaotic storm of wardrobe menaces: oily stage makeup, sweat-inducing spotlights, and a dimly lit backstage that lends itself to lost jewelry and torn costumes. Broadway dresser Michelina Evans deals with this almost every day. So she comes to work equipped to fix anything: a stain, a rip, a snapped shoe strap, or a broken heel. And she does it all nearly in the dark. Evans’s latest job?

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Andrea Barnes

Before microfiber cloths became ubiquitous cleaning tools, humble household rags reigned supreme. Rags could be anything: old cotton undershirts, accidentally bleached towels, or a holey (and embarrassing) pair of tighty-whities. When I was growing up, my family’s favored rags were plump, cotton cloths, which we used for everything from dusting furniture to polishing brass. These cloths also happened to be diapers — reusable cloth diapers, to be specific.

2 months ago | nytimes.com | Andrea Barnes

A quick stroll through your grocery store’s cleaning aisle or a scroll through #CleanTok might have you considering a switch to laundry detergent sheets. Yes, there’s a lot to like about them. Laundry detergent sheets are solid, lightweight, and easy to use, and they come in recyclable, cardboard packaging. Unfortunately, our testing revealed a pretty major downside: They suck at removing stains, and they’re even worse at removing odor, especially in cold water.

2 months ago | nytimes.com | Andrea Barnes

Whether you regularly face serious stains or simply want your grubby laundry fresh and clean, a good laundry detergent can do it all—without irritating your skin or your fabrics. We pitted more than 35 detergents against a slew of stains and odors (on all kinds of laundry, from stained T-shirts to smelly socks). Tide Ultra Oxi Powder Laundry Detergent and Tide Free & Gentle Liquid Laundry Detergent consistently and effectively removed a wider variety of stains than the competition.

Mar 28, 2025 | nytimes.com | Andrea Barnes

We hand-washed vintage linens, cashmere sweaters, and delicates in a variety of detergents and soaps, and Soak came out on top.