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Laundry products leave strong odor

Dear Heloise: I just read the letter about storing scented garbage bags away from plastic storage bags and have to weigh in. Scented garbage bags might not be the issue; instead, the blame may lie with laundry products. We had some family members move a while back, and they gave us some frozen food they were unable to eat beforehand. Despite being stored in the freezer in their unopened original packaging, everything smelled and tasted like their scented laundry soap, fabric softener, and dryer sheets.

I have also noticed this issue with products purchased at a small local store with a laundromat attached. The smell and taste permeate through everything. We had to throw out everything they gave us, along with the items they were stored next to.

People become “nose blind” to the scent, which is why they may not notice that their bags are no longer suitable for food storage. Since taste is tied to smell, they can no longer recognize the perfumed taste that these highly scented products impart. — A Reader, in Billings, Montana

CLEAN FEET

Dear Heloise: I use a long-handled bath brush in the shower to clean the bottom of my feet. It saves me from bending over to reach down, and it has a loop to hang it up. — Carol A., via email

RETURNING STAMPED ENVELOPES

Dear Heloise: I have a different perspective on the use of stamped envelopes that are sent from fundraisers, in regard to the letter from Rose M., in Arkansas. I get a pile of mail almost daily full of donation requests from politicians, charities and medical organizations.

I have chosen who I want to donate to and don’t appreciate my address being sold to so many fundraisers. So, if I have received multiple envelopes, especially from the same organization, I will use their stamped envelope to write back, asking them to save themselves further postage expense by dropping me from their address list.

The postage for the many more envelopes they are going to send is way more wasteful for them than the one I might use to request the end of their mailing to me. — A Faithful Reader, in Spokane, Washington

BEDSHEET HINT

Dear Heloise: My partner suggested placing a dot with a permanent marker on the top sheet at the two spots where the sheet hits the bottom corner of the mattress. It works perfectly, can’t be seen, and has given me many years of making the bed without having to find the perfect position. — Dean Elsworth, Loudonville, New York

CLEAN AS YOU GO

Dear Heloise: I just read the letter from Shelly Anne, in North Carolina, about how messy she is when she cooks. My brother had the first Mexican restaurant in town, and his philosophy was to “clean as you go.” I was just a young kid washing pots and pans there, but that idea has stuck in my mind for all of my life and is so easy to follow. — Tim Hammond, Buckeye, Arizona

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Hints from Heloise run occasionally in Lifestyles. Readers may send a hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000, fax it to 210-HELOISE, or email: Heloise@Heloise.com. Letters won’t be answered personally.

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