Dear Heloise: When you are applying varnish or clear polyurethane finish to wood, use a leg of old pantyhose. Roll it up and tuck back to make a small pad and dip it in the liquid.
It will easily work around table or chair legs or along narrow wood on windows. You will have no dripping, brush streaks or bottles. Wear throwaway gloves like food handlers use, and when you are done, just toss them in the trash.
You have clean hands and no brush to clean. — L. Vranish, Roundup, Mont.
Good old pantyhose to the rescue! Using them to varnish is a great idea since they won't leave lint on any of your projects. Another tip for gardeners: Pantyhose make wonderful "rubber bands" to hold up young plants. Just cut across, starting from the panty on down — you'll have a bunch of them for all uses. — Heloise
Dear Heloise: I have a friend who uses new plastic garbage cans to store last season's clothes, blankets and whatever else is not needed for the present season.
She then puts a wooden or glass top on the can, covers it with a floor-length tablecloth and has a beautiful table that is very serviceable, season after season. — T.S. Jones, Via E-mail
Excellent idea! Those trash cans are inexpensive and have lots of room for storing clothing, Christmas ornaments, toys, etc. Thanks for sharing. — Heloise
Dear Heloise: I have a plastic tablecloth with a cotton backing that I carry folded in the back of my car, under my floor mat.
I use it when I have to pick up anything like flowers or things that would make the car dirty. I unfold it and lay the cotton side down on the floor of the car, then put the flowers on it. When I get home, I remove the flowers, shake the tablecloth, fold it and put it under the mat for next time. It works great! — Ruth Garber, Harrisburg, Pa.
Dear Heloise: I love the new swivel dusting tools with disposable cloths. I found washcloths (inexpensive ones) fit them perfectly.
The cloths can be washed and used over and over. This saves buying the disposables. They can be treated with whatever product you prefer. — Janet Miller, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to 210-HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com. © King Features Syndicate