Tips to organize your laundry room
DEAR READERS: If your laundry room is in disarray, take these steps to get some order and control in it.
Get several plastic bins and designate a specific purpose for each one. Have two hampers - one for white clothes and another for dark-colored clothes.
Store washing supplies in a cabinet or on a shelf. You can place them in plastic baskets to contain spills.
Keep a notepad and pen or marker to make a laundry list of what you need.
Place a hook over the door and keep hangers on it. When you pull out clothing from the dryer, hang right away.
At least monthly, open cabinets and get rid of five items - bottles with just a little cleaning liquid left in them, empty boxes, odd socks, old dirty rags and lint.
DEAR HELOISE: I have saved hundreds of pictures of our family over the years, and even though I have given many to my children and grandchildren, I still have tons of them up in the attic. I don’t want to toss them out. Do you have a suggestion for what I can do with them so they can be shared?
—Beverly in Florida DEAR BEVERLY: I sure do! If you have an old, unused coffee table in your attic or basement, or if you can buy a used one at a garage sale or thrift shop, here’s how you can repurpose the photos.
Sort photos and select the ones that represent the best and most memorable
pictures of your family life. Make them into a collage and cover the coffee table. Secure them and then place a glass top over the table.
DEAR READERS: This happens when those hot pizza boxes are put on a table. To get rid of the mark, use this mixture, but only if the wood is finished, not on raw wood. Mix equal parts baking soda and regular white, non-gel toothpaste.
Then dampen a clean, white cloth with water. Dip into the paste and lightly rub the marks in a circular motion for several minutes.
Wipe with a clean cloth and buff until it shines. If the marks still remain after buffing for a couple of minutes, they may have penetrated the wood.
You may have to refinish the table.
DEAR READERS: When you are having a party for your smaller children, you can make this fun, healthy, crunchy treat for them: Ants on a Log. Cut celery into bite-size pieces and fill the inside with peanut butter. Then sprinkle raisins on top in a line. Kids will love them.