Dear Heloise:I have used your homemade cleaning products for years because we had allergies to some store products and I don't like all the perfumes. My favorite is the glass cleaner, original — not updated. When I see it printed in the paper, I cut it out and tape it to my spray bottle so when I run low (always in the middle of a job!), the recipe is always handy. — Sue in New York
Sue, it's amazing how easy this is to make, and it's cheap! Heloise's Window Cleaning Formula, the original (does not have food coloring or essential oil for fragrance), saves you money, and it's also kind to the environment. The ingredients needed:
1/2 cup ammonia (nonsudsy)
1/2 cup isopropyl rubbing alcohol
1/2 cup water
Combine the ingredients and put into a well-labeled spray bottle. This is so cheap (less than 25 cents a bottle), works fantastically and lasts a long time! Home-style cleaners can save you a lot of money! -->I have a brand-new pamphlet filled with my tried-and-true, money-saving homemade cleaners, including this and many others. To receive a copy, please send $5 and a long, self-addressed, stamped (58 cents) envelope to: Heloise/Cleaners, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001.
You probably have the ingredients needed to make these money-saving cleaners — vinegar, baking soda, etc. — on your pantry shelf! — Heloise
Dear Heloise:I needed to mail a package and wanted to use a box I had received that had my name and address on the label. A friend told me to run my hair dryer on the label and it would peel right off. And boy, did it ever work great. — Sharon in Kansas
Dear Heloise:It is no longer necessary to use those plastic ties on airline luggage. I purchased a lock that is approved by the Transportation Security Administration, and airports have the key to open them. This summer, I traveled from Chicago to London and Nairobi, Kenya, with my luggage locked and had no problems. — Terry Ternes from Arkansas
Dear Heloise:I always wear out a hole in the index finger of my right rubber glove. That leaves me with a lot of left-handed gloves. Instead of tossing them, I turn them wrong side out and use the handle of a long wooden spoon to push the fingers through. — Faye from Dallas
Dear Heloise: We have a very precocious 3-year-old who decided to finger-paint the couch with diaper cream. Not just a few spots — huge globs — and it took up four of the seven cushions. My husband was frantic because he had tried to clean it.
I thought about dishwashing liquid, which people use to clean animals covered in oil. It took me at least an hour, but I applied a drop directly to the spots and scrubbed with hot water, and the dishwashing liquid broke up the impenetrable ointment. — Jane Hicksenhythzer Lansing, Manchester, N.H.
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