HELPFUL HINTS

DEAR READERS: Here is this week’s Sound Off:

“I volunteer at a large homeless shelter in the Midwest. I sort donations, and my Sound Off is that careless donors donate trash to us. What I mean is that we receive useless items: furniture laden with bedbugs, personal household trash and even clothes all ripped to shreds. The homeless shelter is not a trash dump. It is an opportunity to enrich the lives of a homeless person who you may never meet with the clothing you share.” — A Peeved Volunteer,

via email DEAR READER: Volunteers give their time and do not need to waste it by sorting through what should be trash. A charity is not the place to pass on junk and totally unusable items. Would you want to receive a stained, torn T-shirt? I think not. Please think before donating useless items.

DEAR READERS: Here are other uses for bobby pins:

Use the end to make nail-polish designs.

Keep measuring tapes, etc., rolled up. As a bookmark. Place on a roll of tape to find the end.

To clean small crevices.

DEAR READERS: Many have asked about the Heloise recipe for quick-and-easy baked Italian chicken. This is a “throw it all together and let it cook” kind of recipe you will love. At your request:

Heloise’s Easy Bake

Italian Chicken

1 whole cut-up chicken 1 or 2 medium onions, peeled

and sliced 4 medium potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces (peeled or not) 1 (8-ounce) bottle of Italian salad dressing Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a casserole dish with nonstick spray. Put in chicken pieces and cover with Italian dressing, then place onion and potatoes on top and bake for about 1 hour, or until done.

This recipe can be changed to your liking. Add bell peppers, bite-size carrots, sliced celery or anything else you would like.

DEAR HELOISE: I color my hair and had trouble remembering which color to buy. I cut off a small section of the box that lists the color name and number. I keep it with my coupons, and now I don’t buy the wrong one.

— S.D. in California