Now Here's A Tip
BY JOANN DERSON

• January Sales Items: Get great deals on leftover holiday decorations and cards, appliances and furniture, as well as linens, towels and other "white sale" items.

• Keep a few fabric-softener sheets in the linen closet. It will keep the towels smelling fresh. If you have lots of extra bedsheets, it keeps them freshsmelling, too.

• "Whenever I have a casserole pan that has bakedon, hard-to-remove bits left behind, I fill it with water, add a little dish soap and stick it back in the warm oven. I let it sit for several hours -- even overnight -- and the gunk just slides off the next day. Elbow grease is getting harder and harder to come by these days, so I try not to waste it." -- I.S. in Pennsylvania

• "Have a budding artist? Mine has just gone through a crayon-on-the-wall period. I tried all kinds of things to get it off, and then a neighbor told me to use a damp rag dipped in baking soda. It's great, and the crayon came right off." -- G.L. in Massachusetts

• Substitutions: 1 cup of sugar dissolved in 1/4 cup of hot water can stand in for 1 cup of corn syrup.

• "If you live alone, always take your cell phone with you when you go outside or in the garage; in case of an accident, you can contact someone." -- K.P., via e-mail

Send your tips to Now Here's a Tip, c/o King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL32853- 6475 or e-mail JoAnn at heresatip@ yahoo.com.

(c) 2008 King Features Synd., Inc.