HELOISE Gift cards make nice holiday gifts for teachers

Dear Heloise: Instead of knickknacks for teacher gifts this year, some wise room mothers in our area are encouraging students to give teachers a gift card to a local bookstore, movie theater or local restaurant chain.
Some families are even going in together to present a teacher with a nice dinner that she can share with her husband. The cards can be for any amount, and they are so appreciated by our overworked and underpaid teachers. This idea is good for Valentine's Day and end-of-school gifts, too! Ken in Houston
Teachers everywhere will thank you, as I do, for writing in. Heloise
Dear Heloise: When I do laundry, I often have some of my items mixed in with my husband's. To remind myself that I don't want my things to go into the dryer, I have a small, decorative magnet on the side of the washer. I place the magnet on top of the washer lid as a reminder. Michelle G., Sunrise, Fla.
Dear Heloise: While our gas line was turned off for a few days to repair a leak, my wife wanted to make some of her wonderful cornbread to go with her slow-cooked brown beans. She took our waffle iron, poured the batter in, and whoa! Great fluffy squares, and the little waffle holes held the beans and juice just great! Steve Shirley, Conway, Ark.
Steve, your wife is a smart one. Of course, the cornbread won't be thick like some people like it, but it works! Cornbread and almost any kind of beans make a real down-home meal. I even like black-eyed peas or butter beans. Heloise
Dear Heloise: My wife and I have found the perfect place to hide candy from the kids. You know that grown-up cereal you eat every morning that the kids can't stand? Make sure you give them a bowl of it one morning so they can be good and sure they are totally disgusted with it. Then, when you finish it off, save the empty box right in its usual place and put your sweets in it.
It's right in front of their faces, but it might as well be made of kryptonite. They won't touch it with a 10-foot pole. It worked for us for three years with the same old dog-eared cereal box, and we still hear "Hey -- where did you get that?" Jim, via fax
Ohhh, Jim, this is a hoot! But your secret just might be out if your children read this column. Heloise
Dear Heloise: I put all my batteries in a baby-towelette box labeled "batteries." That way, they're not all over a drawer. And for the dead ones, I use a second box lined with a zip bag to collect them for recycling. Pat Ehler, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
XSend a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com. I will use the best hints received in my column.
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