Blog Posts by Good Housekeeping

Tips for Tip-Top TowelsDo your towels smell musty? Are they shedding? Check out my 8 tips to solve these and other after-the shower issues.

1. Smell musty? Wash, using the hottest water the towels can tolerate along with one to two cups of vinegar. Then wash again with your regular laundry detergent.

2. Don't get you dry? Washing and drying 5 times or more may help increase absorbency. Laundering will remove some of the coating manufacturers put on their towels to make them feel soft in the store and some of the dye, both of which interfere with the towel's absorption.

Related: Terrific Bath Towels

3. Shedding little bits of lint all over the bathroom or on your skin? Laundering them a few times will remove loose fibers.

4. Want to keep the color on your new towels? Put vinegar in the first time washing towels with your detergent which may help reduce color loss. Dry them according to the manufacturer's instructions.

5. Feel like sandpaper? Dry your towels with a fabric softener

Feeling sexy often has little to do with, well, sex. In fact, building your confidence in bed doesn't even have to take place in the bedroom. Whether it's tossing your old, unflattering underwear, finding the right lighting, or taking a yoga class, there are plenty of easy (and fun!) ways to feel hotter than ever. Here are 10 ideas to get you started.

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Tips for Booking a Last-Minute TripSometimes you just need a vacation -- NOW! Tips and resources for finding a last-second trip:

Think off-season The deepest discounts on travel will be for places that are "off-season"-say, wintertime in Chicago, or late summer in the Caribbean. If a getaway for you isn't about escaping the weather, you'll be rife with options.

Be flexible with your days A weekend trip that leaves Saturday and comes back Monday or Tuesday will be cheaper than one that leaves Friday and comes back Sunday, and a weeklong trip that leaves Wednesday and returns Tuesday will be a lot cheaper than a trip that starts and ends on the weekend.

Related: Travel Sites that Minimize Planning Time

Sign up for e-newsletters that offer great last-minute deals. Travelzoo.com and airfarewatchdog.com (two of my favorite travel sites), as well as all the sites listed below, send out deal-packed e-mails that may set your travel bug buzzing.

To find discounts on...

Flights: Check out your fave airline sites (these usually

Nothing's sweeter in summertime than whipping up your own ice cream. An ice cream maker lets you control the quality of the ingredients - and experiment with recipes. You can forget the old-fashioned hand-cranked rock-salt-and-ice machines. The latest ice cream makers rely on a bowl-like insert (stashed in the freezer for up to 24 hours before you use it) and the flip of a switch; dessert is ready in about a half hour. Pricier ones have built-in compressors - like a refrigerator's - which eliminate the need to plan ahead.

Cuisinart ICE-30BC Ice Cream MakerTop-Choice Churner

Test winner Cuisinart ICE-30BC ($80, amazon.com) makes up to two quarts of thick, velvety-smooth ice cream or sorbet in about 45 minutes. Drop fruit or candy in through the top; the machine mixes it in. The base's cord compartment makes for tidy storage.

Related: Tastiest Low-Calorie Frozen Treats

Cuisinart ICE-50BC Ice Cream MakerPrep-Free (But Pricey)

Cuisinart's ICE-50BC, a large, compressor-equipped machine ($300, amazon.com), hogs counter space but

Grilling on gas grill Cooking Perfection: Secrets to the Best Steaks, Chicken, Hamburgers, and Kabobs

1. Steaks: Steaks that are at least 3/4-inch to 1-inch thick won't dry out easily during grilling. Trim off excess fat and slash the fat edges at 1-inch intervals to prevent curling.

Turn your steak with tongs once, halfway through cooking (don't use a fork - it will pierce the meat and let the natural juices escape). Many factors can influence cooking time - including the weather, especially wind, when you're using charcoal - so test for doneness by cutting into the thickest part of the steak and checking its color.

2. Hamburgers: Make ground-beef patties about 1-inch thick - they're juicer than thinner patties. Ground meat is very susceptible to bacterial contamination, so be sure to cook your meat until it's at least medium-well done (160 degrees F on a meat thermometer inserted horizontally into the burger).

Related Link: How To Grill Vegetables

3. Poultry: Whether you're

Expired Makeup Do a quick check of any woman's bathroom, and chances are you'll find jars of rarely used face cream, the dregs of a favorite powder blush, and at least one tube of lip gloss squeezed within an inch of its life. Whether unused, or consumed to the last drop, squeeze, or swipe, these cosmetics are taking up shelf (and makeup-bag) space because we want to get every penny out of the precious dollars we spent on them. But this hoarding habit has a catch: Beauty products do go bad. At best, they stop performing as well as they used to; at worst, they can cause irritations or infections.

"Unopened, well-formulated cosmetics can remain stable for a couple of years at room temperature," says Ni'Kita Wilson, a cosmetic chemist at Cosmetech Laboratories in Fairfield, NJ. "But the clock starts once you bring a product home and open it. When air hits the formula, certain ingredients start to oxidize and degrade." What's more, every time you touch your makeup or skin-care lotions and potions, you

Picnic TipsPacking a picnic is a summer tradition I look forward to every year. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when taking your meal outside to keep it safe and scrumptious:

• Freeze fruit ahead of time in quart-sized baggies. When you pile them up in your cooler, they'll double as ice packs. Plus, they're delicious whether they stay frozen or thaw out. Try: grapes, diced pineapple, watermelon, or mango

• Cover plastic containers of food (particularly saucy ones) with a layer or two of plastic wrap before putting the lid on. For even more protection against leaks, use a wide rubber band to secure the lid to the container. Try: GHRI fave, Rubbermaid Lock-Its

• MuffulettaBring foods and snacks that get better after sitting around, like grain salads, hearty sandwiches, antipasti, and dips. Try: A barley salad, muffuletta, a turkey wrap, olives, hummus, or salsa

• Pack drinks in a separate cooler than the one your main foods are in. The more a cooler

multi generational family Author Rachel L. Swarns's new book, American Tapestry, about the multi-racial ancestry of First Lady Michelle Obama includes a major revelation: the identity of Mrs. Obama's white great-great-great grandfather, a man who remained hidden for more than a century in the First Lady's family tree. While the book's focus is on the ancestry of Mrs. Obama, Swarns says it's also a reminder to start researching your own roots. "You should do it for yourself, your children, your parents," she says. "It gives you a sense of your place and your family's place in America's history. You never know what you'll find." Here, Swarns shares her tips for the best place to start uncovering the details of your own family tree.

1. Get started by interviewing your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles - all of your oldest relatives. With their help, you can start to put together what is known about your family tree. Important details to ask about? Names (including maiden names of female relatives), dates