Aug 8, 2023 5 min read

Dear Heloise: I read a suggestion about using a quart-size storage bag on your hand to help grease cookie sheets. Plastic is a real problem in the world, and we don’t need more plastic bags being thrown in the trash. So, I suggest using either spray oil or a silicon brush with some melted butter or oil.

The brush can easily be placed in the dishwasher and cleaned. Sometimes, I will even use a half sheet of a paper towel to help rub some oil or butter onto a cookie sheet. Paper towels are at least biodegradable, unlike plastic. Thanks. — Marizee, Bakersfield, Calif.

FUNKY SMELLING DRAWERS

Dear Heloise: In a recent column in the Colorado Springs Gazette, you suggested several solutions for bringing funky smelling drawers back to their natural smell. All were good suggestions that often work. But, when all else fails, seal the inside of drawers with shellac. It is available in an aerosol, as well as in a can that you can brush on.

Shellac is a very effective and safe sealer. It will seal odors in, if absorbing them out doesn’t work. It dries quickly and doesn’t require sanding between coats, although you can do so if you wish. Let it air-dry until its own scent is gone.

Shellac is also used to seal ceilings and walls to trap smoke odors after a fire, and it is also used to seal water stains before repainting and after leaks have been fixed. In addition, it is used to seal subfloors before replacing the carpet, in order to eliminate pet urine odors. — Roger Rayburn, via email

PROBLEM CAT

Dear Heloise: I recently read in the Whittier Daily News your handy hint about keeping cats from digging into houseplants by using marbles, and it reminded me of my solution to a similar problem when I had a cat.

Charlie used his litter box in the house, but when he was outside, he would use the dirt under a bush beside our front stoop as his litter box. It was my understanding that cats don’t like to walk on certain surfaces, so I laid chicken wire on the ground. That solved the problem — no more messes to clean up or smells to endure.

This should work for many small animals. Thanks for keeping us in the know. — Lois McKinney, Winchester, Ore.

JAR LID REMOVAL

Dear Heloise: Here’s another option for removing a jar lid instead of poking a hole through the lid. Place the jar upside down in enough hot tap water to submerge the lid and a little bit of the jar. Be patient. Try to loosen the lid after about 5 minutes. Add more hot tap water to keep the lid warm as you wait. Then, loosen the lid.

This method works on plastic and metal lids as well as plastic and glass jars. Plus, both the jar and lid are preserved for another use. Peace. — Lois McGuire, Dayton, Ohio

ROLL IT UP

Dear Heloise: I’ve read your books and found some very useful information in them. One suggestion stood out the most, and that was about rolling up clothing while packing for a trip.

I liked the idea so much that I rolled up my dish towels and neatly stored them in a kitchen drawer. They look organized and are handy to have. — Sharon D., Niles, Ill.

MATCH CARRIER

Dear Heloise: I place my wooden matches in a pill bottle for camping trips. However, I realized I needed a striking surface in order to use the matches, so I cut out a round circle and glued it to the top of the pill bottle. It was so easy, and I can easily carry the pill bottle in my purse. — Loretta S., Vista, California

TRAVEL HINT

Dear Heloise: My two brothers and I like to rent a beach house for a couple of weeks each summer, and we take our families and dogs with us. The first year, we all brought too much food, so we decided that, in the future, one family would handle breakfast, another family would do lunch, and the third family would do dinner.

That was only for the first three days. The next three days, the family that did breakfast would do lunch, the previous lunch family would do dinner, and the previous dinner family would do breakfast. We rotated the labor, and everyone had a fair share of duties and expenses. Plus, we all got to show off our cooking skills! — Don, Jack and Andy, Kalamazoo, Mich.

Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001, or you can fax it to 1-210-HELOISE or email it to Heloise@Heloise.com. I can’t answer your letter personally but will use the best hints received in my column.