These hints are helpful around the house

Dear Heloise: I wanted to share several of my helpful hints with you and all the readers. I have gotten many good ones from you!

• When we finish a gallon of milk, I cut the top quarter off the carton and put it by the sink to use as a garbage can.

•For Christmas, I give family members calendars with birthdays and anniversaries marked on them.

•To keep wax paper from sliding on the countertop when rolling out biscuits or cookies, use a wet dishcloth to wipe the counter before putting the wax paper down.

•Using wax paper to press down puffed rice treats (or to shape meatloaf) keeps hands off the food.

•My husband and I each have responsibilities that we take care of throughout the year. I have a recipe box with dividers for the 12 months of the year and index cards with these tasks on them filed in the appropriate month.

Wilda Pounds, Booneville, Miss.

Wilda, thanks for sharing your slew of hints that I hope others will find helpful. Wax paper does have a lot of uses! Heloise

Dear Heloise: Here is something I discovered by accident: I washed a load of towels and similar items. Included were some of the new microfiber cloths. When I dried the load, I noticed that the microfiber cloths had attracted all kinds of lint and small particles like a magnet.

Later, on a hunch, I tossed a black knit shirt of mine that was covered with unsightly lint into the dryer with two of my microfiber cloths. There was no lint at all on the knit shirt at the end of the cycle. Another great use! David Bunch, Buffalo, N.Y.

David, your mishap turned out well! I just love those microfiber cloths! Visit www.Heloise.com for more helpful hints. Heloise

Dear Heloise: During the holidays, there were fruit trays on sale that had several sections in them. I bought one, then made mixed-fruit smoothies for my friends so no fruit went to waste, and they were fast and nutritious. Also, the tray is being used in my desk drawer for pushpins, paper clips, stamps with messages and ink pads, pens, tape, rubber bands and small adhesive notepads. Margarette Mattern, Temple, Texas

Dear Heloise: I have just discovered that using the cardboard roller from a roll of paper towels keeps pants wrinkle-free when stored on a clothes hanger. Just slit the tube lengthwise, place it on the hanger and secure with a few strips of tape. Now when I put on a pair of pants, I don’t need to iron or steam the wrinkles out. Virginia Pannkoke, Prescott, Ariz.

Dear Heloise: I recycle magazine perfume sample strips by using them in my lingerie, nightgown and sock drawers or on the shelves to scent bed linens. Michelle in Fair Oaks, Texas

SBlt Send 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