Lauren Sieben

Many of us are spending more time at home than ever before. While this comes with some silver linings—um, more time to bake bread?—it also means we’re seeing (and hearing) our neighbors more than usual. And this leads to all kinds of discoveries. Did you really need to know all about your upstairs neighbor’s love of high-impact workouts?
“Being home more under such stressful times, there has been increased day-to-day contact, which isn't always easy,” says Myka Meier, author of “Modern Etique...

The country is starting to reopen, but we’re still living in a pandemic—and the CDC’s official guidance is that staying home is the best way to keep yourself and others safe.
But after months of being cooped up at home, you and your loved ones may be dealing with a serious case of cabin fever.
If you’re desperate for a change of scenery but not ready to leave home, there are plenty of ways to add novelty to your space and create an appealing "staycation."
“With less traveling occurring due to...

What’s a homeowner to do during a pandemic? Whether you started a renovation project before social distancing went into effect or you urgently need a plumber today, you may need to bring contractors into your home at some point.
Fortunately, many contractors and home renovation professionals are continuing to work, including Docia Boylen’s team at Handyman Connection of Golden.
“Don’t panic,” she says. “Our craftsmen want to work, and they want to be safe.”
That said, if you decide to move fo...

Over the years, I’ve tried every non-pharmaceutical trick in the book to overcome my insomnia: White noise. Room-darkening shades. No caffeine after noon. No screen time before bed. Meditation. Yoga. Journaling. Melatonin. CBD. And on and on, ad nauseum.
Sleep has always been elusive for me. At its worst, five years ago, I was getting by on just a few hours of shuteye each night. For months, I was running on fumes, and I needed help, which led me to an online insomnia treatment program that t...

By now, you may have heard that the novel coronavirus can live up to three days on some surfaces. But what about in your swimming pool? Is there any way you could get the virus from your afternoon dip?
The short answer: You probably won’t get the virus from pool water. But a pool is still a risky environment as far as social distancing and person-to-person transmission are concerned.
So before you head for a swim in your backyard or community pool, read on for expert advice on how to keep you...

Getting a mortgage, paying your mortgage, refinancing your mortgage: These are all major undertakings, but during a pandemic, all of it becomes more complicated. Sometimes a lot more complicated.
But make no mistake, home buyers are still taking out and paying down mortgages during the current global health crisis. There have, in fact, been some silver linings amid the economic uncertainty—hello, record-low interest rates—but also plenty of changes to keep up with. Mortgage lending looks much...

By now, you may have spent months working in a makeshift home office after the COVID-19 pandemic required many employees to take their work home and shelter in place. And even as states allow restaurants, bars, and retail stores to reopen, many employees are planning to keep working from home for the foreseeable future.
Those who may initially have expected their slapdash home office to be a short-term solution may be starting to notice some discomfort from sitting in an unsupportive chair or...

Quarantine means spending way more time at home—and for some people, that also means noticing everything you want to change about your space. But is now a good time to take on a major renovation project?
Probably not, experts say.
“If you’re not already in the middle of a renovation, I don’t think right now is the time to start a big project,” says Katie Kurtz, a real estate agent in Minneapolis and home design blogger at Adorned Homes. “You could get into the middle of it and realize you nee...

Delivery workers at restaurants, grocery stores, and other essential businesses provide a lifeline to homebound shoppers while the highly infectious and deadly coronavirus circulates, so you might be wondering: When do I need to leave a tip? And how much gratuity is enough?
From curbside pickup to alcohol delivery, there are many services that could warrant a tip, but the etiquette on tipping during a pandemic isn’t obvious.
“This is the time when we should be generous if we can, but there is...

Facebook recently announced a slew of new tools and features designed to help foster virtual connections, and these updates could have major implications for event planners as they move more events online.
From a new option to monetize Facebook Live events to a group video chat that rivals Zoom, here are some of the changes coming to Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, along with tips for how event planners can make the most of the new features.
New ways to monetize live content on Facebook
Fa...

If your social media feeds are flooded with advice on how to kill or contain the novel coronavirus, it can start to become difficult to separate fact from fiction: Can you really catch COVID-19 from your beloved family pet? Should you microwave your mail to kill the virus? (Spoiler alert: "Mail is not food, and you can't cook it.")
If you're feeling as overwhelmed as we are by all the noise out there, don't despair: We spoke with experts to shed light on several common coronavirus myths and h...

Faculty innovator Dr. Corinne Bloch-Mullins sparked a major and research program bringing together disciplines to explore human cognition
When Dr. Corinne Bloch-Mullins was working toward her doctorate in biology in Israel, she fell down a scientific rabbit hole that would change the course of her career and, eventually, lead to the first cognitive science major at Marquette.
She was reading about intercellular connections, called gap junctions, between certain types of animal cells, when she...

As hospitals and clinics focus all their resources on the COVID-19 pandemic, now may not be the best time to go to the doctor, if you can avoid it. It’s probably a good idea to put together a robust emergency kit, just so that you can be prepared at home in case you have to deal with illness or injuries.
“I encourage people to have a basic kit, and the items within it are going to be different for different people,” says Dr. Petrina Craine, an emergency medicine physician in New York City.
Wh...

Those who are fortunate enough to still be collecting a paycheck while quarantined or sheltering in place might expect to build up some serious savings. While you work from home, you're avoiding your usual commuting expenses, and you're probably saving money by not going to bars, restaurants, and movies, or skipping that vacation to Fiji.
But as spending decreases in some areas during self-isolation, it can creep up in others. To brace yourself and your budget, keep an eye on these expenses w...