Recipe math a pain in the patootie just to save companies some cash
Dear Heloise: I am so very weary of having to adapt my recipes because manufacturers have reduced the amounts that were normally in their cans, jars and packages in order to save money. A recipe calls for an 8-ounce jar of artichokes, and the jars now only contain 7.5 ounces. A jar of mayonnaise that used to contain 16 ounces now contains 15.5 ounces. Old favorite recipes were often written this way. Converting them is a big pain in the patootie. — Peggy Campbell, Cypress, Texas
Pearls of wisdom
Dear Heloise: I read your column daily, and there are “pearls” almost every day. I can’t agree more with Liz Matheny’s letter on how home economics should be mandatory in high school. At age 68, I, too, am awestruck by the lack of awareness in young people, even ones well in their 20s, who haven’t a clue on basic concepts such as the tax code, learning how to write off legitimate expenses, spending less than you make, etc.
My brother and I were required by our dad to read an old book called “The Millionaire Next Door” by
Thomas J. Stanley. He paid us a cash reward for reading it, but we had to take an oral exam afterward in order to get the cash. My brother, my father and I all enjoyed very early, wellfunded retirements. That’s what I’d call a big ROI! Look it up. — Dr. Z., Maumelle, Arkansas
Plastic newspaper sleeves
Dear Heloise: We continue to subscribe to a daily newspaper delivered to our driveway. The plastic sleeve it arrives in can be repurposed in numerous ways, whether it’s for cleaning up after our pet on walks or as improvised plastic gloves for painting or other messy projects. We store them in an empty tissue box for “handy” access. — Sondra and Michael, via email
Cast-iron sink divider protection
Dear Heloise: A good way to protect the castiron sink divider is to cut to size a piece of meshed shelf paper and drape it over the divider. This doesn’t cause mildew like the rubber mat ones do, and they stick. This can be changed as often as needed, and each piece lasts a long time. Now I don’t have to scrub these new ones, and they are reasonably priced at the dollar store. — Terry,
via email
Double up on rubber bands
Dear Heloise: I have saved myself a lot of aggravation by using two rubber bands when securing something. That way, if one breaks, you still have another holding it. -- Julie T., via email
Gift bag for seniors
Dear Heloise: I have a disabled senior brother who lives on his own and is on a fixed income. For Christmas, I create a gift bag with all the items that he will need and use. Included are a hooded sweatshirt, books, vitamins, toiletries, paper products, his favorite candy and a prepaid apartment cleaning. He loves it, and there are no unused gifts! — L.H., in Texas
Cappuccino made easy (and better)
Dear Heloise: My wife likes a cup of cappuccino every now and then, but we don’t always have skim milk to make the foam. We tried using nonfat powdered instant milk, and to our surprise, it works even better than skim milk. Now we have cappuccinos whenever we want. Try it. — R.C., via email