HINTS FROM HELOISE

DEAR

READERS: Quarantine has brought our focus into our homes. We’re spending so much time indoors; lots of people are looking around in their homes and thinking, hmmm — this needs an upgrade!

And voila, we are doing home improvements. How’s your water heater situation? Can everyone in the house get a hot shower?

The solution may be a tankless water heater. Either a gas or electric tankless water heater heats water on demand, instead of holding water in reserve.

It’s smaller and more compact than a traditional water heater, and tankless water heaters can save money on your monthly household energy expenses. Talk to an expert in your area.

— Heloise

DEAR HELOISE: I teach my kids to use a bath towel for one week before washing. They are clean when they get out of the shower, so the towel remains relatively clean for that whole week. It saves time and money on laundry day.

— Kathryn L. in Michigan

KATHRYN, make sure they hang up the towel so it can dry properly.

— Heloise

DEAR READERS: Now that pretty much everybody has a phone with a camera component, let’s look at a hint for taking better pictures. Is anyone familiar with the Rule of Thirds in Photography? Here it is, in a nutshell:

Imagine your photo lens with a tictac-toe board over it: nine equal spaces. Photography experts agree that the subject of your picture should lay on the vertical lines, 1/3 in from each side, OR where the lines intersect with the horizontal lines.

This creates a more captivating and interesting image than one where the subject is centered in the picture. You can imagine that there’s more to the picture than that one subject. Is he looking at something? Traveling toward something? Moving somehow? Fascinating!

Consider the Rule of Thirds when composing your next candid photo.

— Heloise

DEAR HELOISE: I’ve trained myself to think differently about food. Instead of eating totally for pleasure (which I still do on occasion), I now think of food as fuel for my body.

This helps me eat more healthfully and deliberately.

— Helen T. in San Antonio, Texas

HELEN, I love it! Our minds are super powerful and can definitely help us get strong, lean and fit.

— Heloise

DEAR HELOISE: In my 80 years I have never heard of wearing bras multiple times before laundering. I found the letter in today’s Villages Sun upsetting. The writer must not live in Florida.

— Barb, via email BARB, yes, this particular area of the body can be prone to perspiring a lot, and The Villages, Florida, can be quite warm!

However, quality, well-fitting bras are often hard to come by, and frequent washing can degrade the fibers.

Apologies. My column should always be uplifting, close to the heart and supportive!

— Heloise