HELPFUL HINTS

DEAR HELOISE: When the weather here in Houston is not as hot, I like to grill food like pork steaks, chicken, bacon-wrapped shrimp and vegetables. Putting the food right on the grill grates causes flames to

rise up, so what I have been doing instead is getting some really heavy-duty aluminum foil and placing it over the grill. I cut two slits between each burner to let the juices of the meat drain so that they don’t flare up.

I then spray some high-temperature grill spray on the foil (shiny side up) to keep the food from sticking. I set the burners on high for a few seconds and then turn them all the way down to low before placing the food on the foil.

By using the heavy-duty foil, it keeps the food cooking at about 240 to 250 degrees. The pork steaks come out tasting great.

— D. Hansel, Houston

DEAR HELOISE: For anyone expecting a baby, start buying diapers as soon as you find out the baby is coming. When I learned my daughter was pregnant, I started saving coupons for diapers, wipes and rash cream. I would buy diapers on sale using the coupons, plus any in-store discounts. I only bought a few of the smaller sizes, but stocked up on the larger sizes.

The local pharmacy will occasionally have sales of “buy one, get one half off” or have discounts on the price. The grocery store also has a coupon app with all kinds of coupons for diapers. Sometimes I would end up paying the price for one package and get three!

By the time my granddaughter was born, we had enough diapers and wipes to last a full year. My daughter said it was really helpful having all the different sizes for those times when the diaper suddenly doesn’t fit anymore! She donated the leftover packages of diapers that were too small to her daycare provider. — Judy LaPlante, via email

DEAR HELOISE: Never open your door to strangers. I have a window next to my front door that I crack open to tell strangers I’m not interested. Of course, it’s safer to use a smart doorbell if you have one. My mother, who’s in her 80s, opened the front door to a woman with a child claiming that the child needed to use the restroom, and she let them in! While escorting the child to the restroom, the loving mother saw my mother’s purse on the dining room table and took her wallet out of it!

— Retired Police Officer, via email