Dear Heloise: I work for an airline and am on my feet for hours every day. We wear medium-heel, comfortable leather shoes. However, at the end of the day, when I take my shoes off, my feet and shoes just smell.
I tried shoe deodorants, insoles, you name it — nothing brought satisfactory results. At my wits' end, I recently put a sheet of white paper towel, the extra-absorbent type, into each shoe, and bingo.
At the end of the day, my feet were dry, and no odor. And the paper towel did not affect the comfort of the shoes. It's inexpensive and effective. — H. Samuels, Herndon, Va.
Dear Heloise: This is a hint I have used for more than 15 years. To clean your canvas sports shoes (running, tennis, sneakers, etc.), after removing loose dirt, use a pre-wash spray stain remover.
Place each shoe in a man's sock and put it in the washing machine with a load of clothes. When the wash is completed, remove the shoe from the sock and allow it to dry at room temperature.
This hint has never failed, and the shoe is cleaner compared with normal methods. Everyone I suggested this to agrees — it's an easy way for the shoes to look good, inside and out. — Ellen Milles, Seattle
Dear Heloise: The face powder in my compacts always gets used up first in the middle. The remaining powder cakes up around the sides, where it is difficult to reach with much of the surface of the powder puff.
When my compact gets to looking like this, I take an old (clean and dry) toothbrush and gently scrape the powder off the sides and into the middle of the compact, where I can reach it with my powder puff.
I used to throw the compacts out when I got down to the bottom (in the middle). This way, I have several more weeks of powder to use. — Judy Lewis, San Diego
Dear Heloise: This is a suggestion for dryer-sensitive clothing: Attach hooks on your laundry-room ceiling. Slip your items onto hangers and hang on the hooks to dry.
To remove wrinkles quickly, place items in the dryer for four to five minutes and then hang to finish drying. Great energy-saver as well. — Huguette Duquette, Nashua, N.H.
Your hint sounds good for tall folks, and for those who can't reach, just add some links of chain to the hooks for a comfortable reach. — Heloise
Dear Heloise: Recently, my husband discovered that his gas credit cards wouldn't work because the magnetic strips weren't functioning. It was due to their rubbing against each other in his wallet.
He solved the problem by getting extra ATM card sleeves from our bank. With each card in its own sleeve, there is no more problem. — Carol, Boscawen, N.H.
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. I can't answer your letter personally but will use the best hints received in my column. © King Features Syndicate Inc.