HELOISE: Mix soap, baking soda to wash face

Dear Heloise: I’m a longtime reader of both your mom’s and your column, and am always looking for new uses for the old standbys — baking soda and vinegar. Instead of using expensive, chemical exfoliates, mix a bit of baking soda into your facial soap, lather each evening and wash very gently. You’ll feel the difference immediately!

Mickey, via e-mail

How right you are, Mickey! My favorite facial scrub is 3 parts baking soda to 1 part water. I use it after my regular facial cleaner. For this and other great baking-soda hints, mail $5 and a long, self-addressed, stamped (61 cents) envelope to: Heloise/Baking Soda, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. Did you know that you cannot substitute baking powder for baking soda? But you can mix 1/4 teaspoon baking soda with 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar and substitute it for baking powder.

Heloise

Dear Heloise: Save the plastic gadget that holds takeout pizza in place in the box. Place it on top of food to be heated, put a paper towel over the gadget and then microwave. Your food will not stick to the towel or spatter all over the oven, and there is enough space for air to circulate around the food.

Laura L. in New York

Dear Readers: A simple, unfinished wooden step stool purchased from a craft store makes a perfect footrest while sitting at your work desk. Ours is about 6 inches tall, and for the average person, this will help align the spine and can improve posture and the overall health of your back. The idea, chiropractors tell us, is to keep your knees a bit higher than your hips when sitting.

You can paint it any way you please, and it will get more rugged and worn as time passes. The wood already may have interesting knots and markings in it.

Heloise

Dear Heloise: I just purchased your book (“Handy Household Hints From Heloise”), and when reading the hints about onion smell on your hands, I want to share with you and your readers what I do.

I always keep a can of regular shaving cream on my sink shelf and wash my hands with that after cutting up onions or whatever. Works great, and leaves a nice smell on your hands.

Alberta Levins, Rutland, Vt.

Dear Heloise: I read about tossing old dry beans. While they shouldn’t be eaten, don’t throw them out.

I am a preschool teacher and would love to have them donated. Early-childhood and special-ed programs use dried beans in sensory tables for collage and art projects, and in our math centers for sorting, counting and weighing. Call a local early-childhood education program, Head Start or a special-education program, and donate them to a classroom.

Sharie, via e-mail

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

King Features Syndicate