Picture these place mats at your table

Dear Heloise: We have a fun way to remember our trips. I make place mats with the pictures, postcards, cutouts, etc. I double-stick the pictures to a piece of poster board and cover them with clear self-adhesive plastic. I have made the mats for many years, so we mix them up and take two mats to use for a meal. It is fun to see where we were and remember the good times.

I also make mats with wedding pictures (for the bride and groom and their parents), birthdays, anniversaries, reunions, etc. Many times we see the mats on the walls instead of being used as place mats. Laraine R., Huntington Beach, Calif.

Dear Heloise: I bought a new detergent and used it for several weeks, wondering why it didn’t produce the amount of suds that the others did. Looking closely at the label, I discovered a tiny symbol that stated that this detergent is for high-efficiency machines. Just a warning to other readers to carefully read labels! Diane E., Springfield, Ill.

Diane, it probably still cleaned as well. You don’t really need a lot of suds. Heloise

Dear Heloise: We live in the Southwest — lots of heat and dust — and our sliding screen doors looked chalky. After washing and rinsing them thoroughly and letting them dry, I used a car-protectant spray. They look dark and clean now. Andy in Arizona

Dear Heloise: When traveling recently with my small grandchildren, I discovered another use for those damp baby towelettes. I used them to wipe dusty little feet that were in flip-flops all day! At night, at the hotel, the little kiddos were just too tuckered out for a full bath, but their feet were just filthy. I lined the kids up on the edge of the bed and used the wipes. Elsie, via e-mail.

Dear Heloise: Your recent column in the Springfield, Ill., State Journal-Register said to use a 50/50 mixture of baking soda and white toothpaste to remove heat stains/marks from wood furniture. I used it, and the heat mark I got on an old side table was gone in a flash! Phyllis in Illinois

Glad this longtime Heloise Hint helped! Heloise

Dear Heloise: With so many bathtubs now being resurfaced, it would be a good idea to distinguish between cleaning a porcelain tub (you suggested a plastic scrubber) and a resurfaced one, which carries instructions to be gently cleaned so as not to mar the new surface. Norma R., Richmond, Va.

Dear Heloise: When you give liquid medicine to a baby who is still on the bottle, remove the nipple from the bottle, place the nipple in the baby’s mouth and put the medicine in the nipple. He will suck it right down. Carolyn W., Oxford, Miss.

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