Heloise

Dear Heloise: Just a suggestion: Instead of turning away unwanted yearbooks, they could possibly be stored for someone like me who has lost two years of my yearbooks.

There could be a list of people who are looking for a certain yearbook, and they could register on it what it it is that they need. Then when someone comes in with a yearbook donation, this list could be checked to see if someone was looking for this year and notify them that it is available. — Betty B., in Champion, Ohio

Betty, this is a great idea. Sometimes yearbooks get lost, but people want the memories they contain. You might try contacting Classmates.com to see if they get requests from people for yearbooks. If not, maybe they would be interested in starting something like this for their members. — Heloise

Dear Heloise: I’m not sure where I saw this tip, but it is one of my favorites: If you are traveling with your own pillow, be sure to use a colorful pillowcase. It stands out from hotel or Airbnb bedding, and you won’t leave it behind.

Another favorite is saving butter wrappers in the fridge to grease baking dishes. — Betsy H., via email

Betsy, I think I know where you got the idea for butter wrappers. It was one of my mother’s favorite hints. She loved recycling things and hated waste. Thank you for remembering this handy and useful idea! — Heloise

Dear Heloise: I have been painting for a week now, but back on day one when I was cleaning up, I reached for the hand soap pump and hit the hand sanitizer pump instead. So, I washed my painty hands with it, and it amazingly and quickly removed all the paint from my hands. No using a scrub brush or hard rubbing — just regular washing. Then I tried it on a few spots on the floor, and it worked just as well. Since then, I have used it every day when I clean up.

Like with all good discoveries, the results of one person needs to be duplicated. I urge your readers who are currently painting to try it and report back. This might be another use for hand sanitizer. I read your column in the Orange County Register. — Margaret, in Buena Park, California

Margaret, this is a great hint! When I paint something, I usually wear a pair of latex gloves. This way, I won’t have any paint in the areas between my nails and the skin next to my nails. — Heloise

Dear Heloise: I regularly use large tortillas to make wrap sandwiches. The brand I get comes in a resealable zip-close bag. When the bag is empty, I turn it inside out, brush off the crumbs, and let it stay inside out to make sure that any moisture has dried. Then I turn it back to normal and store it with other storage products.

I use them for shaking/coating foods before frying or baking. I also place chicken in them when making chicken cutlets or when crushing nuts. The bags work great, and reusing them cuts down on plastic use and the cost of zip-close bags.

I love your column. Thanks! — Melody S., via email

Melody, I always love a great recycling hint, and yours is a very good one! We all need to cut down on plastic and use paper when we can. I no longer use plastic grocery bags. I ask for paper bags and fill them with items that need to be recycled. Then I pick up the paper bag and the items inside and toss it in the recycle bin.

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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.