Trump just made these ordinary things more expensive

I feel lucky to have escaped Hurricane Dorian in Miami this week and absolutely heartbroken for the Bahamas, which suffered just about the worst storm conditions possible. If you can help the recovery efforts, consider the Bahamas Red Cross; World Central Kitchen, which is working to feed people in both the Bahamas and in shelters in the United States; or collection drives in your area for items like toiletries, canned goods and bedding.

Meanwhile, here’s a roundup of practical advice and helpful information, from laundry to tariffs to tech to credit. There are a lot of household goods you might want to buy now before tariffs drive up prices!

Janie

Take back your life

Is there any cleaning issue more irksome than seeing “hand wash only” on a clothing tag? As manufacturers try to cut costs, they are often choosing lightweight fabrics that are especially susceptible to pilling. This means that, no, you probably can’t just toss those items in on the gentle cycle. But wait! Turns out handwashing doesn’t have to be the swirling, wringing chore of yesteryear. We got an expert’s instructions, and it turns out time —not agitation — is the factor that matters.

THIS is how to handwash clothes

Deal with it

President Trump’s trade war with China is probably going to cost you some money. His newest round of tariffs targets consumer goods like clothes, shoes, video games, computers and toys. “Trump wrongly claimed that China would be absorbing the costs, but American companies are the ones who end up paying for tariffs imposed by Trump on products imported from China,” HuffPost’s Carla Herreria reports. “The companies then typically add the cost of those tariffs onto the prices that customers pay.”

You can find a full list of items at ustr.gov, but here are a few of the things you’ll soon pay more for:

Starting in September:

Clothes including suits, coats, jackets, pants, dresses, accessories and underwear
Umbrellas
Ovens and stoves
Beef and chicken
Ketchup
Cheese
Chocolate
Bed linen
Blankets
Curtains

Starting in December:

Cellphones, laptops, computer monitors, keyboards, headphones and speakers
Athletic shoes, boots and waterproof shoes
Christmas decorations
Handbags
Picture frames
Toys
Fishing rods and poles
Diapers
Combs
Umbrellas
Video games and consoles

Pro Tip:

Ever come back from vacation and see a bunch of emails from people that should have known you were gone? Prevent unwanted clog with Gmail’s new feature for business users: It displays a yellow banner that lets your coworkers know you’re on vacation before they even click send.