Here is the AP Lifestyles Digest for the week of May 18.
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SUSTAINABLE LIVING
Climate Choices-Plastic Film Recycling: Recycling plastic grocery bags can jam up machinery, but there are other ways to get rid of them. Soft, stretchy plastics like bubble wrap and bread bags are impossible to avoid and harder still to dispose of. Look for numbers 2 and 4 on the packaging, which means they can likely be brought to a grocery or convenience store for dropoff. Search recycling regulations for your area. And try to rinse and reuse plastic bags where you can. UPCOMING Wednesday, photos.
BE WELL
Zen of Cleaning: It can be easy to dismiss household cleaning as drudgery, best delegated to others if at all possible. But experts from Zen monks to psychologists say there are mental health benefits to be found in such everyday manual chores as sweeping, mopping and clearing away clutter. Here’s how to approach it. UPCOMING Tuesday, photos.
Be Well-Head Spas: Getting a scalp or face massage is often a relaxing highlight of getting a haircut or a facial. Now, head spas are popping up, particularly in California and New York, offering deep cranial and facial relaxation. UPCOMING Thursday, photos, video.
Be Well-Admin Dates: Admin dates or nights turn tedious tasks into social events where people chip away at their to-do lists and hold each other accountable. These aren’t glamorous dinner parties. Admin dates might be held for friend groups, spouses, businesses. Doing things together can make tasks less stressful and more manageable. UPCOMING Wednesday, photos.
GARDENING
Mulch: The right ways and the wrong ways to mulch your garden. By Jessica Damiano. UPCOMING Tuesday, Photos.
FOOD
Food-Voracious-Greens-Grains-Fried Egg: Eggs are better with carbs, and they’re particularly good with grains like rice, farro and quinoa, which can soak up a runny yolk. This recipe for herby-green grains, from David Tamarkin’s cookbook, “Cook90,” are good for more than just breakfast. SENT Monday, photos.
RITUALS
Kenya-Professional Mourners: Professional mourners in western Kenya play an important and common role in funerals, adding a level of intensity to collective grief in support of traditional local beliefs. UPCOMING Tuesday, photos, video.
PETS
Argentina-Adopting-Rodents: Team Ratas, an Argentine organization, finds homes for laboratory rodents. SENT Sunday, photos.
TRAVEL
Argentina-Hantavirus-Tourism Fears: Remote Ushuaia, known as the southernmost city on earth, has found itself at the center of a global media storm involving the deadly hantavirus outbreak. Local tourism operators and officials are scrambling to stem the reputational fallout. SENT Monday, photos, video.
US Budget Airlines: American travelers are heading into the busy summer season confronting a rapidly shifting landscape. Spirit Airlines is gone, and rising jet fuel costs tied to the Iran war have pushed up airfares and associated fees. Two of the remaining U.S. budget carriers just finalized a merger. UPCOMING Monday, photos.
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In case you missed it:
SUMMER: Be Well-Adult Music Camps.
GARDENING: Small Spaces.
FOOD: Delaware-Grocery Concerts; Voracious-Pork Ribs-Slaw.
BE WELL: Mammograms; Working Well-Virtual First.
SCHOOL: Recess-Recommendation; Education-Test Scores.
AMERICA 250 OBJECTS: Comic Books; Dog Tags; Balikbayan-Box; iPhone; Whites-Only Sign; The Pill.
RURAL: Rural Delivery Wars.
WORKING: Polling-Job Optimism; Neonatal Leave.
MONEY: Money Matters-Emergency Cash.
TRAVEL: Hantavirus-Cruise Travel Demand.
GRAB BAG: Tour of the Tall; Zimbabwe-Colorful Names.
The AP
