HELPFUL HINTS
DEAR HELOISE: I read a suggestion about using a quartsize storage bag on your hand to help grease cookie sheets. Plastic is a real problem in the world, and we don’t need more
plastic bags being thrown in the trash. So, I suggest using either spray oil or a silicon brush with some melted butter or oil.
The brush can easily be placed in the dishwasher and cleaned. Sometimes, I will even use a half sheet of a paper towel to help rub some oil or butter onto a cookie sheet. Thanks. — Marizee, Bakersfield, Calif.
DEAR HELOISE: In a recent column, you suggested several solutions for bringing funky smelling drawers back to their natural smell. All were good suggestions that often work. But, when all else fails, seal the inside of drawers with shellac. It is available in an aerosol, as well as in a can that you can brush on.
Shellac is a very effective and safe sealer. It will seal odors in, if absorbing them out doesn’t work. It dries quickly and doesn’t require sanding between coats, although you can do so if you wish. Let it air-dry until its own scent is gone.
Shellac is also used to seal ceilings and walls to trap smoke odors after a fire, and it is also used to seal water stains before repainting and after leaks have been fixed. In addition, it is used to seal subfloors before replacing the carpet, in order to eliminate pet urine odors. — Roger Rayburn, via email
DEAR HELOISE: I recently read your handy hint about keeping cats from digging into houseplants by using marbles, and it reminded me of my solution to a similar problem when I had a cat.
Charlie used his litter box in the house, but when he was outside, he would use the dirt under a bush beside our front stoop as his litter box. It was my understanding that cats don’t like to walk on certain surfaces, so I laid chicken wire on the ground. That solved the problem — no more messes to clean up or smells to endure. — Lois McKinney, Winchester, Ore.
DEAR HELOISE: Here’s another option for removing a jar lid instead of poking a hole through the lid. Place the jar upside down in enough hot tap water to submerge the lid and a little bit of the jar. Be patient. Try to loosen the lid after about 5 minutes. Add hot tap water to keep the lid warm as you wait. Then, loosen the lid. — Lois McGuire, Dayton, Ohio