Reader shares her favorite time-tested hints

February 28, 2008 at 12:00a.m.

heloise

Dear Heloise: I thought I would share some of my favorite hints:

U To speed up meal preparation or cleanup (my husband taught me this one when we married 29 years ago), prepare tossed salads ahead of time and keep fresh in the refrigerator by topping with a layer or two of wet paper towels.

UTo get out of the house for work or school more quickly, we designed a counter in our mud room where purses, wallets, cell phones, keys, outgoing mail, items to be dry-cleaned and DVD returns live so we don’t have to scrounge for them in a hurry.

UFavorite hint that I learned from my mother: On my “half birthday,” my mother traced around my hands in the leaves of her favorite cookbook. This was a fun milestone, and now I have a wonderful keepsake that shows my growth through the years.

UTo keep my son’s backpack identified: My Air Force husband had woven name tags that he used for his uniforms. When a uniform was worn out, I cut off the name tag (last name only) and sewed it onto the book bag.

Nancy Whitaker, Monument, Colo.

Nancy, all good hints indeed, and I especially love the one about hand outlines in the cookbook! Heloise

Dear Heloise: While going through sympathy cards after my father’s death, I found several signed with a first name only. I have not lived in my hometown for 40 years and did not recognize these names. I would like to suggest that folks put a return-address label on the inside of the card so we can properly send thank-you notes. Many did not even have the return-address label on the envelope. Michele from Wisconsin

Dear Heloise: I once saw a mattress-turning system in a hotel, and it’s worked like a charm for me. Put a label on each end and side of the mattress (four labels in all). On the first label, put Jan, May and Sep; on the next, Feb, Jun, Oct; on the next, Mar, Jul, Nov; and on the last, Apr, Aug, Dec. Now you won’t have to remember when you last did it or whether you flipped or rotated the mattress. If you think every month is too much, you can change the labels to move every three months or whatever you choose. Mark, via e-mail

Dear Heloise: Here’s a wonderful trick for cleaning lampshades. The plastic or vinyl ones are easy to wipe down with a damp cloth. When the vacuum isn’t out, try a lint-removal roller. I found that the small travel size works great on odd-shaped shades. Wanda Scott, Smyrna, Tenn.

Dear Heloise: Whenever the liquid soap dispensers become clogged, I use a baked-potato nail — one of those aluminum spikes normally used when baking a potato. It is just the perfect diameter and length to unclog those pumps. Sheila Simms, Birmingham, Ala.

XSend a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

King Features Syndicate