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Show Ii Makes Cents BY VI JUDGE Dear VI: How do you soften jeans that are so stiff they're uncomfortable, even after they've been washed? Marva Try adding two cups of liquid bleach to a washer full of warm water, making sure the bleach is well mixed before adding the jeans. Otherwise you may get light spots. The color will fade slightly, but that's better than having jeans that are too stiff to wear. Dear Vi: For those who enjoy charcoal-broiled steaks, why not have them all year around. Open the damper on your fireplace and light a fire. When you have coals, set on a portable grill and broil away. Be careful not to drop grave on the hearth, especially if it's brick. We protect ours with the same asbestos pad I use on the kitchen range. Rodney Davis Trust a man to come up with a super idea like that. Dear Vi: ( When I open a package of bacon, I cut a little off the ends to use in recipes that call for diced bacon. Bacon strips are usually too long for the fry pan anyway. M.P.D. Good thinking. However, you can let those long slices extend up the sides of the fry pan and even leave a hump in the middle, since the bacon shrinks to size as it cooks. Dear Readers: A friend who had just read our remedies for ants (vinegar, cucumber skins, and borax powder) called to tell me she pours a half-and-half solution of water and liquid bleach around where ants gather, and they disappear. Worth trying. She says it's worked well for her for a long time. Dear Vi: I was going crazy trying to iron some sheer curtains. Static elec-tricty! They were clinging to my hands, the iron, the board, and even to the windows when I Anally got them hung. The solution was so ( simple. All you have to do is rub the ironing board ( with a sheet of fabric softener! j Carmen Jewelson Dear Vi: I Don't ever use abrasive cleaners or scouring pads on enamel cook ware. I , learned this the hard , way. It scratched and ' ruins the pan. When food gets stuck on, soak the ' pan in water and baking ' soda. A rubber scraper is I handy for removing the ( loosened food. If stains ( remain, add a strong ( bleach solution and they'll disappear. ' Learning Still 1 Aren't we all. I When you're planning a wall grouping of pictures and objects, how do you ( know where to put the nails without goofing and making a lot of unneeded 1 nail holes? This is how 1 Beverly Knudson in San 1 Clemente, California does i it. First, she makes a , paper pattern of every , item to be used, then she arranged these on the wall, experimenting until 1 she has the effect she ' wants. With the patterns taped lightly to the wall, she pokes a hole in each with a sharp pencil, making a mark on the wall where the nail should co. The oatterns come down as the corresponding objects are placed. Beverly also used the trick we've talked about before, placing a piece of celephane or adhesive tape on the spot before driving in the nail in order to keep the plaster from cracking. I told her about using a sharp needle instead of a nail for small objects and she was grateful for that. She gave an idea and got one, so we were both richer. Readers: This is your feature. Your ideas make it enjoyable and profitable for all. Keep them coming. Write to IT MAKES CENTS, co this newspaper. Also, let us help you with your problems. If I don't have the answer, some of our readers will. |