Dear Heloise: As line-drying laundry has been a recently recurring topic in your column, I’ll add my two cents. During the winter months, I dry laundry indoors using a large, collapsible wooden rack in combination with a large clothespin wheel. While these items felt pricey at first, they eventually paid for themselves many times over in energy savings.

My young children can easily hang laundry on them, and the moisture from the drying clothes helps humidify the indoor air. — A Reader, in Virginia

HINT FOR LEFTOVER WALLPAPER

Dear Heloise: I’ve read your column daily for over 40 years here in San Antonio. One of your readers was asking about hints for leftover wallpaper. I recently made a window shade for a half-circle window. I cut a long strip of wallpaper to fit the size of window. Then I made a simple fan, like we would make as kids. Just fold the long strip of paper on the edge of the long side, making a fold across (about 2 inches wide). Flip it over, then do the same on the other side. Once it’s all folded, fan it out, and ta-da!

As a side note, several members of my husband’s family are buried at San Jose Burial Park. It’s really special to see your wonderful mom’s plot near the entrance! Happy New Year! — M.A., San Antonio

IDEAL BOOKMARK

Dear Heloise: The best bookmark I have ever used consists of several layers of a sticky note. You can stick it anywhere on the page. It will not fall out. If you use the larger ones, then you can take short notes on it, like when reading a Dickens novel. If the sticky note gets weak, just discard the bottom one for a fresh adhesive. You can place it right at the point you stopped reading, too. — Jim Bonaparte, via email

TWO-FOR-ONE HINT

Dear Heloise: Recently, I read a hint in The Columbian about straining out grease or fat to keep it from going down the drain. I have found that I can place a paper towel on top of a soup or stew, and it will absorb the fat. It may take more than one pass with the paper towel to get it all.

Another success story: I was gifted with toenail fungus on a trip outside of the country. Rather than take an oral medication through my whole body just to treat a small spot on one toe, I used a cotton swab dipped in bleach and dabbed a little on the infected area. No more problem! I mentioned it to my doctor, and he recommended that I dilute the bleach with water and do it daily for several days. — Dan Logan, via email

COTTON IN

MEDICINE BOTTLES

Dear Heloise: People tend to remove the cotton from medicine bottles and toss it out. I like to take that large piece of cotton and use it to remove nail polish. I usually get about two or three uses out of it before I have to throw it away. — L.K., in Oregon

FLYING CORKS

Dear Heloise: Last Christmas season, my brother-in-law opened a champagne bottle, and the cork flew across the kitchen and hit the light fixture hard enough to break it. To avoid that problem again this past Christmas, I made sure that we placed an oven mitt over the cork first, then allowed my brother-in-law to open the bottle. This way, no one got hurt. — B., in Georgia