For planet-friendly cleaner, try baking soda

Dear Readers: When your house needs some major cleaning but your budget needs trimming, the simple solution is baking soda. You can buy a box for a fraction of what commercial cleaners cost, and at the same time, you'll be using a planet-friendly product.
I use baking soda in every room in the house. It's even safe enough to use as a dry shampoo on pets by rubbing some through the dry fur, then brushing it out, or to freshen a litter box by sprinkling some in before adding the litter.
In the kitchen, baking soda will clean and deodorize butcher blocks, countertops, sinks and appliance surfaces. In fact, there are so many money-saving uses for baking soda that I have listed them all in my six-page pamphlet Heloise's Baking Soda Hints and Recipes. To order one, please send $4 and long, self-addressed, stamped (60 cents) envelope to: Heloise/Baking Soda, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001.
Many readers have said they are amazed at how great it works as a quick cleaner for their child's stuffed animals. Just sprinkle baking soda over the entire toy, rub in and let sit about 15 minutes, then brush off, and the toy should be fresh and clean. Definitely worth a try, don't you think? Heloise
Fast Facts
Dear Heloise: I have found several good ways to recycle empty prescription-pill containers.
UI keep one in the glove compartment of my car filled with tokens or quarters for tolls.
UI use them in an overnight bag for safety pins, a small needle and aspirin.
UI use them to separate different colors or sizes of beads, or other small items.
UI use them to separate needles, straight pins and buttons. Jinny Scott, Dover, N.H.
Dear Heloise: Everyone has a junk drawer in the kitchen, I'm sure. Well, I keep an old pair of scissors in that drawer, especially for opening all kinds of items that are otherwise hard to open -- cookies, candies, chips, etc.
One more, please: When using fabric-softener sheets in the dryer, I cut them in half. The result is just the same as using the full sheet, and one box lasts twice as long! Twila Schilleci, Bakersfield, Calif.
Dear Heloise: When I have the carpets cleaned in my house, I wear heavy-duty, plasticlike boat shoes. This way, it doesn't matter if they get a little damp, and they don't harm the carpet, either. K.M., Universal City, Texas
Sound Off
Dear Heloise: Why, when proper tire inflation is as important as gasoline and oil changes are to the maintenance of a car, do you need a magnifying glass to see the number of pounds of pressure recommended, but you can read the tire size and brand standing 5 feet away? Baird Booth, Dundee, N.Y.
Baird, you are so right. My husband agrees, and adds that it always seems to be upside-down! 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