5 days Ago
DEAR HELOISE: Here’s my bit on the recent chain on garage sales. I figured there are two reasons to have a garage sale: to get rid of stuff and to have fun. So, when someone offers me $2.
50 for an item I’d marked $3, I shake my head and say, “Nothing doing! I won’t take a penny more than $2.25!” It’s an instant sale, and I’ve met my two goals. During the next-to-final hour of the sale, I sell anything and everything for a nickel.
Then, for the last hour, I give the customers a nickel for every item they take. They feel like they’ve won something, and I don’t have to pack all the leftovers back into the house. I’ve gotten rid of the stuff, and I’ve had fun.
— J. Keith Cook, in Omaha, Nebraska DEAR HELOISE: Your reader had a complex method of dealing with soap slivers. I never have them.
When my bar gets thin enough to be flexible, I break out a new one and use it enough to get it good and wet. At the end of my shower, I rub the two bars together and leave them to dry. By the next shower, they are like one bar.
Easy peasy! — Emily Murphy, in Kingwood, Texas DEAR HELOISE: When my mother passed with dementia in her 80s, my father, who had taken care of her for four years, was very depressed. He kept talking about his memories and their early years together. I thought of a project that I hoped would help with his depression.
I brought over our laptop and told him to tell me stories of the past, growing up, meeting Mom, their early years together, etc. The order didn’t matter because I could arrange it later. I typed and printed out pages.
He would read and edit them. When he was finished with his stories, I put them in order, and I printed a binder for him with pictures I could find to correspond with the story. He told me many times how it brought him out of his depression.
I made copies for all of our family as well. — Leanah L., in Normal, Illinois DEAR HELOISE: I read a hint in your column about a bad smell in front-loading washing machines.
I, too, had this problem and discovered that when the washing machine is not being used, the easiest solution is to always leave the door open. The moisture in the rubber gasket lining will naturally dry out. The problem was solved without purchasing a top-loading washer.
I hope this saves other people the cost of purchasing a new washing machine! — Linda White, in Colorado Springs, Colorado DEAR HELOISE: Recently, I sent you a letter about noticing when you have a mouse. It pertained to putting sunflower seeds in discreet locations to see if they were eaten. I have a wife who is totally terrified by mice.
Yesterday she reported to me that a couple of seeds in our house were missing, which means that we have a mouse. No spring, glue or continuous trap caught the miscreant, and we have a plethora of obstacles for these rodents to navigate. The number one thing is us noticing that a couple of sunflower seeds were missing.
This meant we had to refill our traps with peanut butter and wait for the results. It is a highly effective way to know that you have a rodent. — Jim, via email.
