HELPFUL HINTS

DEAR HELOISE: You are going to like this. Summer will soon be here, and it will be time to get out our plastic lawn chairs. Like mine, yours may be ugly with dirt and stains. But you don’t have to throw them out. You can

paint them to look new again.

Four years ago, I did an experiment on one of my old stained chairs. First, I cleaned it without worrying about the stains, and then I went to a paint store and asked for a pint of quality exterior house paint. I chose green. Using a small roller brush to paint as much as I could, followed by a paint brush to reach the “misses,” the job was done in record time. Now, when it gets dusty or dirty, a damp rag is all that is needed to clean it up. — Priscilla Zanni, Vancouver, Wash. DEAR HELOISE: Having trouble getting eggs out of the carton? Simply wet your fingertips before picking them up. — Vicki, Mansfield, Ohio DEAR HELOISE: To keep my sink area clear of the utensils I use, when rinsing or washing dishes, I keep them on the back of the top rack of my dishwasher. My sink plug, scraper and long-handled brush don’t take up much room, are out of sight and are easy to access. Above all, they are washed and disinfected each time I run the dishwasher.

— Adele Y., Grapevine, Texas DEAR HELOISE: I always had to keep an eye on my purse in the grocery store when I left it in the basket to look for an item. Then, I realized I did not need my purse — just the credit card I used.

Now, the purse is locked in my car, and my credit card stays in my pocket. It was so freeing for me.

— Sharon Guy, Cleveland, Tenn. DEAR HELOISE: When we downsized into a condo several years ago, I lost the extra bedroom where I used to lay out my sweaters to dry. The new master bathroom had a large jacuzzi tub, which — as a strictly shower person — I really didn’t need.

So I went to a home improvement store and bought two screen protectors, the kind that you use to keep pets from scratching the screens of screen doors. I lay them flat over the tub and place my sweaters on them to dry. Works like a charm.

— Llew, via email