photo by loop oh

The first tip shares a way to keep your recipe card upright while using it. You can use a clothespin, business-card holder, a binder clip or two, or slide the recipe card onto fork tines and place the fork into a glass tumbler, vase or jar. If you have larger recipe cards, you can use an acrylic plate stand, too.

RECIPE HOLDER: I have a cheap 8-by-10-inch clear-plastic picture frame that stands up on its own. I just slide in the recipe I want to cook and put it on top of the microwave. The rest of my recipes stay in a desk drawer. — Margaret L., New England

KEEPING YOUR CURLS: My hair has natural curl to it, but it is very fine. After washing my hair, I use paper towels to remove the excess moisture. I scrunch my hair with the paper towels lightly while I am bent over. I then use mousse, which I pat on lightly. Then I stand up slowly and let the curls fall into place naturally. When my hair is dry, I just bend over and back up and the curls become more natural from their drying look. I also bought the Herbal Essence Totally Twisted line of products to help, and I love them. No frizz! I had been wrapping my hair in a towel as most of us do, and it was flattening any curls that may have developed. Hope this helps someone else. — Surilda, forums

BIN ORGANIZING: I live in a small one-bedroom house. However, I have enough stuff for a two-story house. I have gotten rid of a lot of stuff. There are things I need to keep, but I just don’t use all the time. Those things go in bins and are stored in the basement. I organize things so that I will be able to find what I want without opening all the bins. As I put each item in a bin, I write down the item on a piece of paper. When the bin is full, I type out the contents on the computer and have a heading for that sheet, such as “blue bin.” Then the items in the bin are typed below that. When I have two bins of the same color, they are marked 1 and 2, etc. I put a large sticker on the bin with the number if there is more than one bin of the same color. I then print two copies of the list. One goes inside the bin for quick reference of the contents, and the other list goes in a notebook devoted to this purpose. So when I want my “blue vase,” I just find it in my notebook and know where to go. You could probably use this method for much more than storage bins. — Surilda, forums

DOG COOKIES: These are for dogs. Use a cute dog-shaped cookie cutter, if you like.

3 cups white flour
3/4 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup chicken or beef broth
4 tablespoons softened butter
2 eggs, separated
2 tablespoons milk, separated

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Combine the flour, cornmeal, broth, butter, one egg and 1 tablespoon milk. Knead until blended, about three minutes. Roll out on a lightly floured cutting board to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out with a cookie cutter. Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Beat the remaining egg and milk together. Brush over the top of biscuits. Bake for 35 minutes. Recipe can be doubled. — Donna, California

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