HELOISE Travel ideas will make a trip more pleasant

Dear Heloise: Here are some hints to keep in mind when traveling, especially overseas.
U Store individually prepared meals in your freezer. When you return home, you can pop them into the microwave.
UHave an identifying item on your luggage to distinguish it from the numerous other identical bags.
UTake nutritious snacks and bottled water.
UCarry wet wipes and tissues.
UHave an updated list of medications taken, with the amount of dosage and the time each should be taken.
UInclude a copy of your insurance card and an emergency address/phone contact in your purse or wallet.
UPlace pills and toiletries in your carry-on. Also, pack a pair of thick socks to wear on the plane if your feet get cold. Carry a lightweight hooded jacket -- it's great for covering your head and/or blocking unwanted light.
UWear loose clothing for comfort, and remember to get up and move around, particularly on a long flight.
UBe sure to carry a pen and a small, flat notepad to write down things you want to do or remember. This was particularly helpful in a large city we visited that was divided into districts.
UAlways have the names of your hotels and their addresses (use their business cards or have them written clearly) in your possession.
Gale C. Carson, Montevallo, Ala.
Gale, these are some great travel hints; it sounds like you are a travel pro! Thanks for sharing your expertise! Heloise
Dear Heloise: Wipe one side of a window vertically and the other side horizontally to know which side has the streaks. Jesse Wayne, Studio City, Calif.
Dear Heloise: Regarding a reader's problem with a musty odor in a piece of furniture: She didn't say if it was a wooden piece or an upholstered piece, but from her use of lemon oil, I took for granted that it was wood. I bought an antique buffet with a musty odor, and a pan of activated charcoal placed inside the piece for a couple of days worked quite well in removing the odor. I got the charcoal in the fish section of a pet store.
For burned odors, a pan of ammonia works well to absorb the odor. A fireman taught me that trick when I needed to remove a burned odor from a wooden stereo cabinet with smoke damage from a house fire. It took changing the pan of ammonia a couple of times, but the stereo cabinet came out quite fine. Hope this helps. Doris James, North Little Rock, Ark.
FYI: Have you ever tried to clean a vase with an itty-bitty opening? It's hard to get clean, isn't it? Solution: Fill with hot water, add a denture tablet or two, let sit and then rinse out well. Stubborn stains might require a couple of tries. Heloise
XSend a great hint to: Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000, Fax: (210) HELOISE or E-mail: Heloise@Heloise.com.
King Features Syndicate