^HINTS FROM HELOISE] Cleaning berries
Dear Heloise: I enjoy your column and saw your comment on berries in the San Antonio Express-news today. We have a much better solution. We wash all fruit in three parts water and one part vinegar. Soak for 10 minutes, rinse completely and then, most importantly, dry completely on the counter before placing in a bowl in the fridge. Berries are one of the healthiest fruits you can eat. We eat a lot of them, and they last perfectly for a week with this method.
They are also the most vulnerable to holding pesticides, so it’s best to get organic, if possible. Either way, the magic of vinegar comes through again! -- Michelle Jacobson, via email
ADVICE FOR VACATIONERS
Dear Heloise: I just wanted to follow up and pass on a time-saving hint to the person who came back to a flooded home after a vacation. We do the following when we leave our home for vacation or just an overnight stay: We first turn off the breaker to the water heater, and then turn off the water on the outside of our home. This way we won’t have any flooding issues, and the water heater heats up pretty quickly for showers, etc. Thanks for all your great advice! -- Pamela V. in Texas
Pamela, this should be on everyone’s checklist before they leave on any trip. -- Heloise
FIND IT WITH PICTURES
Dear Heloise: I have a folder on my cellphone called “Products.” When I buy certain items in the store, I will take a picture of it and include the bar code. I store this information in the folder on my cellphone.
Many times I have gone back to the store and tried to describe the item I am looking for. Usually the employee gives me a blank look, until I show a picture of what I am looking for. With the bar code, they can quickly check if they have it in stock. -- D. Hansel, Houston, Texas
MORE HINTS FOR SENIORS Dear Heloise: Several people have written in with tips for seniors who live alone. At my house I have purchased whistles on lanyards. They are very inexpensive. I have these whistles placed throughout my house at various locations, such as on staircases, in the bathrooms, the kitchen and near my bed. I can easily grab one if needed. If something were to happen to me and I couldn’t get to the phone, the whistle could be heard from a farther distance than my voice. Also, it is not as fatiguing to blow a whistle as it is to continue to yell for help. -- Paul Hill, Torrance, California
STOPPING COLD DRAFTS
Dear Heloise: I had an energy audit done, and the best advice I got was to put blank plugs in all my unused electrical outlets in the house, but especially the outer walls of my house. These are available quite cheaply at many stores, including foam pads to complete the seal. Try holding a finger in front of an unused plug (but don’t touch it). You’ll quickly feel how much cold air is leaking in without a plug! Thanks for all your good advice! -- Sylvia Kelty, via email
Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001, or you can fax it to 1-210-HELOISE or email it to Heloise@heloise.com. I can’t answer your letter personally but will use the best hints received in my column.