HELPFUL HINTS

DEAR READERS: What do you do with all of those wire hangers hanging in your closet? Most recycling centers will not take them because of the protective plastic coating.

The Drycleaning and Laundry Institute launched a nationwide campaign to reuse or recycle as many metal hangers as possible. Just last year, 25 million hangers were saved from going into landfills. Dry cleaners can sign up for this program,in which they agree to reuse hangers when possible and recycle others when they can’t.

You can go to DLICleanersCare.org for a list of cleaners that participate in this program. They will accept wire hangers and prevent tons (literally, 750 tons last year) of steel from ending up in landfills.

DEAR HELOISE: I have a large kitchen garbage can and had trouble getting a full bag of garbage out. The full bag against the side of the can always created a sort of vacuum.

I put a couple of old phone books in the bottom of the can. Now, when I pull out the bag, the weight of the phone books makes the can slide off. I change the books when I get new phone books. Since I started putting the books in the bottom, I have never had to hold on to the can while taking out the garbage bag.

• Brian S. in Ore.

DEAR HELOISE: Just a quick hint for household plants while on vacation: I take an empty, clean soda or water bottle and fill it with clean, cold water. I insert the bottle, upside down, into the dirt of the plant. I give it a little shove so it stands straight up on its own. Water will slowly release when needed. (Heloise here: This will work only for a few days.) I do this for my outside plants as well.

• C.R. in Ind.

DEAR HELOISE: I use a manual can opener that eventually sticks and makes it very difficult to turn the handle. I spray the gears with nonstick cooking spray, and the opener turns with ease.

• Joanie, via e-mail

DEAR HELOISE: I like to put iced tea in one of those tall, plastic containers with the straw and lid. It was always “sweaty” and drippy, so I got an old sock, cut out the bottom and stretched it around the base. Works wonderfully, as it absorbs the moisture and keeps the bottom dry.

• Diane J. in Calif.

Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or e-mail Heloise@Heloise.com