Dear Heloise: I would like to know the ingredients and application instructions for using baking soda as a facial. I use baking soda for a lot of things around my house, and this use is a new one to me. I generally use store-bought facial products, and they can be a little rough on the sensitive skin of the face. I love your column. I read it every day and always learn something new and interesting.
— A Reader, via e-mail
Thanks for the kind words. Baking soda really is good to use, is cheap, usually is on hand and generally is safe for normal skin. Mix a paste of 3 parts baking soda with 1 part water (I use olive or baby oil) to make a mild facial scrub (be sure to avoid the delicate eye area). After washing your face, lightly rub the paste over the appropriate areas. For a mask, gently rub the mixture on your face and leave it on for a few minutes. Then rinse well and apply a moisturizer.
There are so many ways to use baking soda: cleaning the microwave and dishwasher, removing tarnish from silver, deodorizing the garbage disposal, plus beauty, pets, auto and more. By sending $5 and a long, self-addressed, stamped (59 cents) envelope to: Heloise/Baking Soda, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001, you'll receive a pamphlet stuffed with more money-saving baking-soda hints. You also can use baking soda with baby oil or a mild liquid soap on hands to help remove dirt and grime.
— Heloise
Dear Readers: Have a bunch of plastic lids from margarine, yogurt, etc., containers? Here are a few handy uses:
Place under scouring-powder cans to prevent rust.
Great to set small plant pots on.
Some will fit on pet-food cans.
Place between hamburger patties when freezing.
— Heloise
Dear Heloise: Every day when I drive to work, drivers are discourteous. Some go over or under the speed limit, causing traffic to back up.
Some race ahead when a lane is closing and then force their way into a lane.
And turn signals! Once you turn, turn off your signal so other drivers aren't confused as to what you are doing!
— Anne in Colorado
Dear Heloise: Ever put something (such as a key or an important letter) away in a perfectly logical place where you know you will find it again, and then you can't find it? Try this: After putting the item away, send an e-mail to yourself giving the location. When you have "lost" the item, just do a search in your e-mail to come up with the reminder.
— Al Bayless, Kihei, Maui, Hawaii
Dear Heloise: About marking pills, I make a list on a recipe card, number them and mark with a colored sticker. I put the same colored sticker on the prescription bottle top to go with the card. So easy to follow, and my husband can follow it, too.
— Betty Mae Clark, Colville, Wash.
Dear Heloise: I solved the problem about finding the right color socks by separating them into basic colors and placing those socks of like colors in zipper-top storage bags in my sock drawer. This is a big help when you dress before the sun is up and can't tell black from navy blue.
— Cale Deane, Huntsville, Ala.
Dear Heloise: Here is how I remember I have something special in the dryer or the oven, or that I need to watch for time: I take my wedding ring or watch off and switch it to the other hand. It always works to remind me since it's "out of place" and is a visual clue, too.
— Tracy from Houston
Dear Heloise: Love your hints about fresh flowers. To make long-stemmed roses last, I cut the end and change the water every few days, but I also remove the dead or brown outer petals. This makes the flowers look fresh longer. I start out with long-stemmed and cut, cut, cut so that seven to eight days later, they are short flowers but still pretty.
— T.H. in New York City
? 2008 by King Features Syndicate Inc