Susan's helpful hints

Having lived 56 years and being married for 37 of those years, I've learned a few things about things around the house.

• Do you have a king-size mattress? Is it starting to look a little worse for wear? You can add another few years to its life by giving it a quarter turn. It's like getting a new one! It hangs over the box springs by an inch or so on each side, but when you make the bed, it doesn't show.
• Look on the ends of your boxes of aluminum foil and plastic wraps. There's a tab to push in and lock the roll in place (don't know why waxed paper and parchment don't have them). I'm not sure how I lived 54 years without realizing this!
• I have almost eliminated the use of paper towels in my kitchen. I have stacks and stacks of white (bleachable) bar mop towels for drying dishes and wiping up spills. For window cleaning I use microfiber cloths made for that purpose. They do a much better job than paper. There's no streaking! I use one for wiping and a clean one for drying. I can do all my inside windows with just two and then I just throw them in the wash. I even use them on the outside and for car windows and bathroom mirrors. I still use paper towels to clean up cat yack though!
• I also use cloth napkins instead of paper. I've made a lot and whenever I find used ones at Goodwill or other thrift stores, I snap them up. I've accumulated LOTS of them. It isn't any more time-consuming to wash and fold than it is to look for them in the store. In fact, they're great for kids to fold.
• Did you know that grocery bags aren't the only ones that are recyclable? You can recycle any plastic bag that your finger will easily poke through. Dry cleaning bags, produce bags, and newspaper bags are just a few examples.
• To keep baked goods from drying out, place a slice of bread in the container. It will extend the life of your cookies, brownies and muffins.
• You will never have to throw out hard brown sugar again, if you have a Brown Sugar Bear. Actually, at Lehman's.com they come in several different shapes. They're made of terra cotta and you just soak in water for 15 minutes. Then place it in an airtight container with your brown sugar and it stays pliable and moist for months. Note: I put a piece of waxed paper between the disk and the sugar to keep the disk clean.
• Making your fresh produce such as lettuce, parsley, etc. last longer in the fridge is as easy as 1.2.3.  1.) As soon as you get home from the grocery or farmer's market, wash the produce.  2.) Shake off excess water and wrap gently in a non-terry kitchen towel [I like linen, but cotton works well, too].  3.) Return to produce bag and place in crisper drawer of refrigerator. Parsley especially will last a couple of weeks. Dampen the towel every few days and pull out any yellowing pieces.
• Do a lot of your recipes call for 2 tablespoons of something or other? Save yourself some time and get a coffee scoop that holds 1/8 cup which equals 2 tablespoons.
• Speaking of scoops, ice cream scoops come in many sizes and they make great, perfectly-portioned cookie scoops.
• If you don't already have one, get a 6-inch whisk. They're perfect for making a sauce in a small pan when a regular one is too large.
• I use my citrus reamer all the time. I can't squeeze lemons because of the carpal tunnel and arthritis, so this works great for me. I use the reamer over a measuring cup holding a small strainer. Quick and easy.
• Clothespins work just as well as bag clips and they're a lot less expensive. Get wooden ones as the plastic ones tend to slip on plastic bags.
• Cut brownies with a plastic knife. It won't stick and drag. You come out with clean cuts every time.

That's all for today, bloggy friends. If you already knew all of these, then my hat's off to you!