HELPFUL HINTS
HELOISE: I read DEAR your column in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, which just went digital. I figured out how to do some puzzles without printing. I use the clipping tool (you can find online for removing background images) with the pen and eraser. It came out a little messy until I got good with the mouse, but it works.
— Vikki S., Little Rock
READERS: Today, DEAR April 2, is World Autism Awareness Day. Autism is a complex and multifaceted developmental condition.
There’s a lot to know about autism, and a lot that is not yet understood. Autistic people, as do others, use all of their senses: taste, touch, sight, hearing and smell. But autistic folks’ sensory fields can get overloaded. They may not be able to easily process sensations, and it can affect their capacity to communicate with other people.
World Autism Awareness Day affords an opportunity for groups to come together to raise awareness and share research and treatment plans to help people with autism. Check out www.AutismSpeaks.org for information.
P.S. Autism tends to run in families, if Mom or Dad is older or if pregnancies are spaced too closely together.
HELOISE: An alternate DEAR use for sheets of free address labels that charities send out: I label my food in the refrigerator at work.
When somebody steals my lunch or soda, they know whose stuff they are stealing. It’s helpful for the other people who bring the same sodas.
— Michael W., via email
HELOISE: While DEAR your bananas are just beginning to get ripe and still a bit green, wrap each one in a paper towel and put them in your refrigerator crisper drawer. They may change color on the outside, just remove the peel. They will stay fresher longer.
— Gloria I., Berne, Ind.
HELOISE: I am DEAR sensitive to perfumes and have found detergent and dryer sheets in unscented versions. Both of my neighborhood supermarkets carry their brand of dryer sheets in unscented.
Second, I use the zip-up heavy plastic bags from sheet sets for my purses. It keeps them dust free.
— Maxine W., via email
READER: Great DEAR idea! I also use those sturdy bags to protect my cowboy boots from dust.
Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or email
Heloise@Heloise.com