DEAR HELOISE: I recently read your column ...

... in the Dallas Morning News and wanted to add onto the hint about poison ivy, poison oak and sumac. I got a bad case of poison ivy years ago because I kept putting on the same gardening clothes for a couple of days! I learned that my rash was much worse because of the urushiol on my clothing.Please make sure your readers know that if they get exposed, they should remove and wash those clothes before wearing them again! Also, you can get infected from touching any part of these plants.Thanks always for your hints! Nancy M.,Coppell, Texas Dear Heloise: I just used an old trick that I was taught years ago. I worked in a fine-dining restaurant with large glass windows, and in the afternoon, houseflies would start buzzing in the warm windows. During the break between the lunch and dinner service, we did our best to eliminate this unhealthy and annoying pest. Fly swatters were too laborious and left unsightly residue to clean up.So, we would roll up the Venetian blinds to expose as much clear window glass as possible. Armed with a spray bottle of plain alcohol, we simply sprayed the flies as they buzzed in the window. The weight of the liquid dropped them to the windowsill, where we could trap them with a paper towel and send them on "the one-way trip."Today my nearest spray bottle is Windex, which gives an added side benefit of wiping the window clean after I drop the fly! As always, I read your column daily in the Rutland Herald. Heather Masterton Lemmons,Rutland, Vermont Dear Heloise: I encourage everyone to get out and walk! It can be early in the morning before it's too hot. I have my walking clothes, socks and shoes that are ready for me to jump into. I carry mace or pepper spray for protection. If you don't have this, use a small bottle of spray perfume that will deter almost everything. Corrinne Berkland,Universal City, Texas Dear Heloise: I juice carrots for their nutritional value at least five days a week. Since carrots taper from a thick top down to a pointed end, I've found that if I put the carrot's thick top into the juicer first, the machine actually seems to grow relieved as it grinds down the increasingly thinner carrot material. This is more efficient and provides more juice from each carrot. Jim R.,in Houston Dear Heloise: If you have difficulty when hand-sewing or opening a new stack of thin plastic bags because of dry hands, apply a touch of hand lotion to your fingertips. These tasks will become surprisingly easy. Margaret,La Mirada, California Dear Heloise: In my kitchen, I have this odd little space between the refrigerator and pantry closet. I wanted to do something with it, but couldn't come up with an idea until my son recommended that I get a wine rack and place it in this space. Sadly, it's not wide enough for most wine racks, so my son went to a wine store, got some of the wood that wine is shipped in, and built one for me - at no cost to either of us. I love it, and it holds wine perfectly. J.L.,in Michigan Send a money-saving or time-saving hint to Heloise@Heloise.com