The New York Times - The best scissors

Having a single pair of scissors just doesn’t cut it

A person using a red pair of scissors to cut purple paper, surrounded by other scissors and materials to be cut.

Photo: Marki Williams

If you use the same pair of scissors to snip through everything: gift wrap, cardboard boxes, chicken bones, and—for the particularly bold—bangs, well, we can’t stop you. But may we gently suggest a better way? Invest in a few great pairs of scissors, ones that are designed specifically for certain tasks. For example, to open plastic packaging, a standard pair of sharp scissors will do the trick. But for cooking, you’ll need something with more leverage to cut through slippery, thick foods.

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To help you find the best pairs, we’ve clipped, sliced, trimmed, and researched our way to the best scissors for common tasks around the house.

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Our ultimate guide to scissors→

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More for your junk drawer

The best rechargeable batteries

These AA and AAA batteries almost always last longer, cost less, and result in less waste than their disposable counterparts.

A Sharpie-sized flashlight we love

It has five light settings for a million different uses, from checking on sleeping kids to navigating creepy crawlspaces.

A stack of white and light green Utopia Towels Kitchen Bar Mops on a light gray kitchen counter, to the left of a kitchen sink. A spray bottle filled with water sits to the left of the towels.

These bar mops are highly absorbent and surprisingly chic

These (on-sale!) towels are a great way to tackle spills all over your house.

One last thing: 33 great last-minute Mother’s Day gifts

Last-minute Mother's Day gifts against a yellow backdrop, displaying a floral print tote, a book with a light, a pop-out flower card, water colors, tea, a bouquet of flowers, a mug, and sunglasses.

Photo: Michael Hession

Mother’s Day is this Sunday. If the holiday snuck up on you this year, that’s alright. You can still get the mom in your life something sentimental, useful, or charming. Our last-minute gift ideas include Lego cherry blossoms, a luxe hair oil, and a delicate teapot—nary a tacky doodad in sight.

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You still have time→

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The New York Times - The best scissors

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