Dear Readers: Quarantine has brought our focus into our homes. We’re spending so much time indoors; lots of people are looking around in their homes and thinking, hmmm — this needs an upgrade.

And voila, we are doing home improvements. How’s your water heater situation? Can everyone in the house get a hot shower?

The solution may be a tankless water heater. Either a gas or electric tankless water heater heats water on demand, instead of holding water in reserve.

Tankless water heaters are smaller and more compact than a traditional water heater, and tankless water heaters can save money on your monthly household energy expenses. Talk to an expert in your area. — Heloise

ORGANIZATION NATION — TOWEL TIME

Dear Heloise: I teach my kids to use a bath towel for one week before washing. I tell them that they are clean when they get out of the shower, so the towel remains relatively clean for that whole week.

It saves time and money on laundry day. — Kathryn L. in Michigan

Kathryn, make sure they hang up the towel so it can dry properly. — Heloise

THE RULE OF THIRDS IN PHOTOGRAPHY

Dear Readers: Now that pretty much everybody has a phone with a camera component, let’s look at a hint for taking better pictures. Is anyone familiar with the Rule of Thirds in Photography? Here it is, in a nutshell:

Imagine your photo lens with a tic-tac-toe board over it: nine equal spaces. Photography experts agree that the subject of your picture should lay on the vertical lines, 1/3 in from each side, OR where the lines intersect with the horizontal lines.

This creates a more captivating and interesting image than one where the subject is centered in the picture. You can imagine that there’s more to the picture than that one subject. Is he looking at something? Traveling toward something? Moving somehow? Fascinating.

Consider the Rule of Thirds when composing your next candid photo. — Heloise

FOOD AS FUEL

Dear Heloise: As the new year is unfolding, I’ve trained myself to think differently about food. Instead of eating totally for pleasure (which I still do on occasion), I now think of food as fuel for my body.

This helps me eat more healthfully and deliberately. — Helen T. in San Antonio, Texas

Helen, I love it. Our minds are super powerful and can definitely help us get strong, lean and fit. — Heloise

WELL, I NEVER

Dear Heloise: In my 80 years I have never heard of wearing bras multiple times before laundering. I found the letter in today’s Villages Sun upsetting. The writer must not live in Florida. — Barb, via email

Barb, yes, this particular area of the body can be prone to perspiring a lot, and The Villages, Florida, can be quite warm.

However, quality, well-fitting bras are often hard to come by, and frequent washing can degrade the fibers of the bra.

Apologies. My column should always be uplifting, close to the heart and supportive. — Heloise

PHONE LIST

Dear Heloise: When my father died my mother was so traumatized by his saddening passing that she forgot phone numbers to let people know she needed help. This taught my sisters and I a lesson.

We now keep up-to-date phone numbers taped to the desk, by the phone in the den and one on the wall by the kitchen phones. Not just emergency numbers, but numbers of family members who would need to know immediately if there was a problem. — Janet N., Bridgeport, W.Va.

Janet, that’s a very good idea. Sometimes in a crisis people get confused or, as you say, are so traumatized that they have trouble remembering what to do. — Heloise

Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001, or you can fax it to 1-210-HELOISE or email it to Heloise@Heloise.com. I can’t answer your letter personally but will use the best hints received in my column.