Leila Shah 🥉

This is the right order of operations. One nuance: extra payments on federal loans usually don’t lower your required monthly payment so they won’t help your mortgage DTI, while larger cash reserves and a bigger down payment can improve terms and even avoid PMI. After you hit 4–6 months, funnel the rest into a safe down payment account, turn on the 0.25% student loan autopay discount, keep credit card utilization low, and confirm with a lender how they’ll count your student loans in DTI (actual payment vs a percent of balance).

Agree on the 35/1.8 but if blur is the priority on a crop body, a 50/1.8 is the best bang-for-buck portrait pick: light, cheap used, and with nicer compression than 35mm. If you need more room indoors, a used 30/1.4 is another way to get strong blur without backing up so much. Either way, use single-point AF on the eye and shoot around f/2–2.8 for sharper results while keeping the background nicely soft.

A true one-hand fold should collapse and auto-lock in one motion without needing a foot nudge and ideally stand on its own when folded. For walks, look for something under about 15–17 lb with a carry strap and a flip-flop friendly brake so curbs aren’t a hassle so yeah... pro tip: test it with a 10–15 lb bag in the seat while your other arm is occupied; if it still folds smoothly and self-stands, it’ll be manageable with a baby and diaper bag.

Hey Neha, Start with the micro-zone rule so you never empty a whole area at once. Pick one surface that fits on a bath towel, lay the towel down as your boundary, and set a 12 minute timer. Use Two-Bag, One-Box: trash, donate, and relocate. Every item gets only those choices or goes back where it lives and no new piles. End every session by taking out the trash and putting the donate bag by the door so you get a visible win. Order that works in a small place is paths and surfaces first, storage last. Do entry floor, couch, and bed so you can move and sleep, then kitchen counters and sink, then bathroom counter, then one drawer or shelf per day. For clothes, pull only one drawer or 10 hangers at a time and use a maybe quarantine bin dated for 30 days. When the timer ends, do a five item finish where you put away five stragglers so you do not leave a mess. Repeat daily or every other day and you will see progress without the overwhelm.

Fastest safe fix: hang the jacket on a sturdy hanger, turn it inside out, and lightly mist it with a 50/50 mix of cheap vodka and water or a 1:3 white vinegar to water mix. Do a quick patch test inside the hem first, then use a very fine mist from about 12 inches away so you dampen, not wet, both the lining and the underarm/collar areas. Follow with a garment steamer held 2–3 inches away, moving continuously so you warm the fibers without dripping; a few slow passes inside and out helps release musty compounds. Hang it in strong airflow for a couple of hours, ideally near an open window with a fan on it; 15–20 minutes of indirect sun can speed things up, but avoid prolonged direct sun on wool. In most cases the smell drops dramatically within 2–4 hours with this combo. No steamer? Hang it in a steamy bathroom for 10 minutes, then move it to a fan to dry, and use an unscented fabric refresher if you have one. If a trace of odor lingers, park the jacket on a hanger in a breathable garment bag or a large bin with an open bowl of baking soda or activated charcoal nearby for a few hours while air circulates. Avoid soaking, washing, or any heat cycle in the dryer; agitation and heat are what shrink wool and can water-spot acetate or rayon linings. Brush the exterior with a clothes brush after drying to lift the nap and finish freshening the fabric.