Heloise

Dear Heloise: Here’s an idea that I’ve benefited from for years. Whenever I stay in a hotel, I save the shower caps that are usually provided for free. Because I garden, I regularly track in grass clippings and dirt on my shoes. Putting the shower caps on over my shoes when I go outside prevents this.

I keep the shower caps near my door so that I can just pull them on and off as needed. This really helps to keep my floors clean. A word of warning, though: If it’s icy or snowy, don’t do this. Too slippery! — Robin W., via email

Robin, I use them when I put a 30-minute conditioner in my hair. It saves me from washing an extra bath towel. They fit snuggly and keep water from dripping all over me and the floor. The heat from my body helps the conditioner soak into each strand of hair. — Heloise

SEND A GREAT HINT TO:

Heloise@Heloise.com

TWO HINTS IN ONE LETTER

Dear Heloise: My name is Peyton, and I am from Dayton, Ohio. Here are my helpful hints:

— When you are finished burning a candle and have wax at the bottom that won’t burn, throw it in the freezer for one to two days. The wax will pop out when it is frozen. You can recycle the jar, break up the wax, and put it in your other candles!

— If you have a sticker that won’t come off, heat it up with a blow dryer, and it will peel right off!

My family and I love your helpful hints! — Peyton L., im Dayton, Ohio

BAG IT!

Dear Heloise: Sheet sets come in lovely matching fabric sacks with smaller ones for pillowcase sets. It bothers me to see them unused. Do any of your readers have suggestions for reuses? No way am I a good enough folder to get the sheets back in again. — Elaine F., via email

Elaine, I’d use them to store items inside such as delicate Christmas ornaments (that you have already wrapped in a couple layers of tissue). You can also reuse it as gift wrapping, especially for awkwardly shaped items, or to store linens inside.

Well, readers, do you have any hints on how to reuse pretty cloth bags? Let us know at Heloise@Heloise.com. — Heloise

WINTER SQUASH

Dear Heloise: We love winter squashes, but they can be hard to cut open. I have found that using a simple, inexpensive pumpkin-carving tool works great! I saw with it on the hard skin until I get to the softer flesh. Then I use the tool to saw down one side, then the other so that the squash is cut in half. It makes a formerly tough job easy, and there is no danger of cutting myself. Thanks! — Patricia, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

A.M. OR P.M.?

Dear Heloise: I just read the hint about labeling prescription bottles with the first two (or three) letters of the prescription. My suggestion is to write in big black letters “a.m.” on the prescriptions that you take in the morning and “p.m.” for the prescriptions that you take in the evening.

For pills that you take both in the a.m. and p.m., you can write both “a.m.” and “p.m.” on the pill bottle. For prescriptions you take at noon, you could write “noon” on the pill bottle.

By identifying when I take the prescription and not the name, it makes filling my weekly pill cases faster. If you keep your pill bottles out on the counter, you can turn them upside down after you’ve taken the pills for that day. I keep my pill bottles laying on their side in a drawer with the “a.m.” and “p.m.” markings visible. I take the morning pills out when filling the pill case and put the bottle back in the drawer after filling the pill case. — L.S., in San Diego

L.S., I often write “two/a.m.” or “one/p.m.” on the bottles. This tells me that I have two pills to take in the morning or one pill to take at night. Knowing the correct dosage is important, too. — Heloise