Heloise

Dear Heloise: I just read the article in your column about how to organize your closet. As the mom of a young child, I needed to be very organized. On Sunday afternoons, I would take out my ironing board and go through my closet to select five outfits for the week. If anything needed pressing, I did it then. I chose which jewelry I wanted to wear with the individual outfits, put them into individual sandwich bags and hung them on the hanger with the outfit they went with.

I then checked my nylons for runs and put my shoes under the outfits for the week. It took maybe 20 minutes to accomplish this for the week and saved me so much time every single morning.

I also used to make my son’s lunches and had five lunch bags ready with a napkin, a small bag of chips and an individual dessert. I made all five sandwiches, froze them and put one in the refrigerator every night. Nightly, my son and I gathered all his school work and books and put them into his backpack. He would then pick out what he wanted to wear to school the next day. It literally took minutes to organize.

Our mornings were happy, with no arguments or last-minute drama. Organization made it much easier to be a working mom. — Deborah Dougherty, Rockwall, Texas

AIRING OUT CLOTHING

Dear Readers: If some of the clothes in your closets have a stale smell, you can freshen them by hanging them outside for a while. But don’t put them in direct sunlight, because the strong sun may fade some fabrics, such as silk. — Heloise

FRESHEN UP PET’S BEDDING

Dear Readers: To keep your cat or dog’s bedding smelling good between washings, sprinkle a bit of baking soda over the bedding. Let it sit for a bit, and then brush off any remaining baking soda before your pet decides to make themselves comfortable.

Besides deodorizing, baking soda is also good for cleaning. My six-page pamphlet “Heloise’s Baking Soda Hints and Recipes” has more information about baking soda’s uses. You can get this informative pamphlet by sending $5 and a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Heloise/Baking Soda, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. — Heloise

PET PAL

Dear Heloise: Chillin’ is a chinchilla. He conned me into buying him. I named him Chillin’ because I felt we could nurture and chill with each other. He turned out to be an escape artist, planning for moments when he could exit his cage. Nevertheless, he’s my baby. — Cathy White, via email

Readers, to see Chillin’ and our other Pet Pals, go to Heloise.com and click on “Pet of the Week.”

Do you have a furry friend to share with our readers? Send a photo and a brief description to Heloise@Heloise.com. — Heloise

Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001, or you can fax it to 1-210-HELOISE or email it to Heloise@Heloise.com. I can’t answer your letter personally but will use the best hints received in my column.

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