HINTS FROM HELOISE

PRACTICAL, DEPENDABLE TIPS FOR TODAY’S BUSY CONSUMERS

Dear Heloise: This message grows out of a recent one that I saw in your column. A reader reported on her single uses of items that then went into the recycle bin rather than choosing items that could be washed and reused.

Please encourage your readers to remember the three R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle. In other words, first ask yourself if you really need to use a new item, especially for a single use.

If you really do need that item, can you find a way to reuse it a second third or fourth time, instead of pulling out a new one each time? Finally, when you have reduced items and reused them all you can, then recycle or trash, depending on the item.

When you recycle something, it’s not “gone.” It goes through a complicated (and expensive!) series of collections, sorting and repurposing. It really is astonishing how much you can reduce your waste by simply reducing and reusing, then recycling what has been thoroughly used and is truly recyclable.

— An Earth-Lover From Maryland

Dear Heloise: I noted the recommendation regarding

beans causing gas: Soak dry beans then change the water before boiling.

I read another hint in a 19th-century cookbook. After soaking the beans, change the water and make sure you have a large pot, then add baking soda to the water. It will foam up quite a lot. I’ve even added baking soda twice depending on how much it foams.

Change the water again, and then proceed to cook. Just think of the foaming gas as the gas being released, and it really makes sense. Besides, it’s fun as long as your pot is large so you don’t have to clean up foam from the counter. — Hope, Springfield, Illinois

Dear Heloise:

I use the month of my birthday to have all yearly medical tests performed.

As a result, I can quickly answer any questions from medical teams about “when was your last (eye, dental, mammogram, etc.)?” It doesn’t matter what your age is; this works for everyone! — Debbie G., Via Email

tanager bird smashing into her window.

We had the same problem, as a special quail broke its neck when hitting our window. About a year ago, our daughter bought us an acrylic bird feeder with suction cups, which we attached to the center of the window. Since then, the birds see the food and fly to it.

— Sharon R., Beaumont, California