Dear Heloise: I love to cook with fresh food, and I am not a fan of plastics in my kitchen. They are totally unnecessary and not healthy.

Hint 1: Save your taller thin glass jars for spring onions or herbs like cilantro or parsley. Rinse them, pat the tops dry, and put the bottoms in their jar with just enough water to hydrate them. They will last for longer.

Hint 2: Instead of wrapping or bagging cut onions, fruits and citrus, cut just what you need and set the remaining of it face down on a ceramic or glass prep dish. It will keep well.

I only use wooden cutting boards that are well-cleaned because the synthetic materials in the marketed cutting boards actually become a part of what you chop. Yuck!

— Jean Wight, via email

UNSUBSCRIBING TO EMAILS

Dear Heloise: In response to Steve, in California, regarding unsubscribing to emails, I have unsubscribed to more emails than I can count, and nothing ever changes. Anytime we make an online purchase, we are giving our email to yet another company or mailing list, and the unwanted emails increase with each click.

I also believe that when the link takes me to another site where I have to enter my email, I’m only confirming that the email is a legitimate person’s and not a bogus or inactive email. It’s extremely frustrating.

I’m considering making my current email inactive and creating another one but only giving it to necessary people, like friends, family and doctor’s offices. —Vickie, in Richmond, Virginia

REUSING ENVELOPES

Dear Heloise: Another way to reuse paper is by using the backs of the many envelopes that are received in the mail to take notes on. Most of them do not have any printing on the backs, so it is a good way to conserve paper.

— Carolyn, in Dayton, Ohio

TWO-IN-ONE HINT

Dear Heloise: I don’t eat much bread. To keep it from spoiling, I wrap sets of four slices in a paper towel, place them in a quart-sized plastic bag, and put them in the freezer. When I need bread, I pull out one bag out, thaw it, and store it in the refrigerator.

There are some household tasks that I only do every few months. I write each of them on a small sticky note and put them in my desk calendar on the dates they are due to be done. Once completed, I move the sticky note to the next date.

— Donna, in Iowa

CLOGGED SPRAY-PAINT CAN?

Dear Heloise: You recently printed a letter from Charlie M. regarding how to clear a clogged nozzle on a can of spray paint. The answer is to keep the nozzle from clogging in the first place.

After each use, make a practice of turning the can upside down and continue to spray away from the project for a few seconds until the paint clears the nozzle. This way, it’s ready for subsequent use. Over time, should the buildup accumulate due to inadequate clearing, then you might try removing and soaking the nozzle as you suggested.

Otherwise, just make a practice of clearing the nozzle after each use.

— Bill King, Oxford, Ohio

Send a great hint to Heloise@Heloise.com.