Tausi Insider

Photo : iravgustin ( Shutterstock ) Whether you’re drinking or cooking with wine, you may not go through the entire bottle at one time. Sure, you could use a wine stopper to keep your wine fresh(ish) until you’re ready to finish it, but what if you don’t have one? As it turns out, there is a proper way to recork a bottle of wine. Here’s what to know. How long does a bottle of wine last after it’s open? Once a bottle of wine has been opened, if it is stored properly, it typically remains drinkable for between two and five more days , depending on the type of wine. Sparkling wine is a bit different: Though it will likely be flat by the next day, it can stay fresh enough to drink for up to three days, if recorked correctly. How to recork wine First, let’s start with what not to do. If you have any intention of drinking the leftover wine, don’t leave the bottle open. Even if you threw away the cork and don’t have a wine stopper, covering the top of the bottle with a piece of cling w...

About 10,500 units of stainless steel cups and bottles have been voluntarily recalled by Green Sprouts , a manufacturer of reusable baby products, over a possible lead poisoning hazard. The recalled Green Sprouts bottles have been sold at major retailers, including Whole Foods stores nationwide, and online at Amazon, Target, Buy Buy Baby , and Bed Bath & Beyond from January 2020 through September 2022 for between $14 and $19. Lead is poisonous to anyone who handles it and touches their eyes, nose, or mouth, or if it is ingested. The metal is especially harmful to children, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences . The poisonous metal exposure can cause a range of adverse health effects, including developmental delays and learning disabilities in children. What is the recall for? According to the alert from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the bottom base of the products can break off, exposing a solder dot that contains lead...

Photo : Christian Delbert ( Shutterstock ) You’re on vacation and stop by a liquor store to get some wine before you head back to the hotel room. You’re hanging out with your friends late into the night and decide to open a bottle of the good stuff. You have a first date at a BYOB restaurant and pick up a bottle on the way. Any of these could seem like a dreamy scenario, until it turns into a nightmare: There’s no corkscrew to be found . It’s OK. T here are actually several ways to open a wine bottle without a corkscrew—and some of them are pretty fun. Here are some tactics you can try to get that bottle open and keep your night moving along more smoothly than a long pour. https://www.tausiinsider.com/7-ways-to-open-a-bottle-of-wine-without-a-corkscrew/?feed_id=330322&_unique_id=644a322ef17ce

Photo : Mila Rachmania ( Shutterstock ) The holidays are a season of giving to others, but it’s also an opportunity to give a little something to yourself—that is, the freedom from your insurmountable pile of reusable totes. The thing is, no one else wants more totes, so you have to be sneaky-sweet about it. The best way is to present it as part of an otherwise generous gift. I first started gifting totes because I needed extra packing material for the Christmas cookie tins I was shipping to friends and family. I was running low on paper bags and spotted my bag of bags. Perhaps you have one of these too: a reusable tote bag full of simply more reusable tote bags. I have my favorites, but the rest just take up space. Maybe some of them are even lovely and sturdy, but sadly, never used. It turns out, though, that they do keep cookie tins from sliding around. Neatly folded, or bundled around the main present, they looked like part of the package, and provided a buffer when getting to...

Photo : Golubovy ( Shutterstock ) While wrapped presents are a big part of the joy of holiday gifting, all that disposable wrapping paper can seem pretty wasteful, not to mention expensive. Bringing in some reusable alternatives that actually look nice can add some sustainable and cost-effective beauty to your holiday gift-giving routine. The best alternatives to paper can even be a part of the gift itself. Here are some of the best ways to upgrade your wrapping skills with a sustainable twist. Towels Using cloth napkins, dish towels, or tea towels as wrapping can be both festive and reusable. During the Christmas shopping season, you can often find good bargains on these, and you might be surprised at how little you’ll spend on something that it’s hard to imagine anyone having too many of. Dish towels can be found in sets, as well as cloth napkins, making this practical, multi-use “wrapping” even more cost effective. Leftover fabric If you’re a crafter, you probably have leftover...

Photo : Svetlana Mechonoschina ( Shutterstock ) Glass may be recyclable, but sometimes it’s tempting to keep old wine bottles around for the aesthetic, the memories, or a little of both. If you have a tendency to hang onto your empty wine bottles, they don’t have to sit around collecting dust—they’re actually incredibly useful for watering your houseplants. Here’s how to put your old bottles to work. Whenever you water your houseplants, you should always try to get as much water to the roots as possible. Although plants can absorb small amounts of water through their leaves, the roots are much better at it; dumping water on the leaves and letting it trickle down isn’t very efficient, and depending on the type of plant, could even damage the leaves. This is why most watering cans have such long, narrow necks—they make it easy to get at the roots. As luck would have it, wine bottles also have long, narrow necks that make it easy to pour water right where you want it. Another bonus: ...

Photo : namaki ( Shutterstock ) Single-use plastic is a plague upon the Earth that the more environmentally conscious among us try in vain to avoid. No matter how careful you are to bring your re useable tote and buy stuff in recyclable and compostable packaging, eventually y ou’ll need to go to the grocery store for produce, which means you’ll become responsible for at least one more single-use plastic bag. There are plenty of ways to reuse plastic bags outside the kitchen , but plastic is annoyingly useful for certain kinds of food storage, and that’s mostly what I keep mine around for. Usually, reusing a bag is as simple as shaking it out and stuffing it in the “extra bags” drawer with its siblings, but every now and then, I run into a situation that requires actual cleaning. Washing and drying plastic bags might sound like a hassle, but with the right technique, it’s pretty simple—and an excellent way to get as much use out of them as possible. Here’s how to do it. How to cl...

Photo : RightFramePhotoVideo ( Shutterstock ) Most folks who have ever purchased something from an online retailer or meal kit service have probably experienced—or at least feared —package theft. Even if you’re extra careful about tracking your packages and you’ve never had a package stolen from your front steps or porch, you’ve probably gone through the anxiety of getting a delivery confirmation when you know you won’t be home for some time, leaving your valuable package exposed to Porch Pirates. Because it’s a relatively low-risk and low-effort crime, package theft is pretty rampant. A study concluded that in 2022 14% of us have had a package stolen at least once, with an average value of about $112—which is nothing to sneeze at. As more and more shopping is being done online, this problem isn’t going away any time soon. While it’s pretty clear what to do after your package is gone , you’re also going to need to figure out a way to stop—or at least slow down—the jolly Porch Pi...