HELOISE Reader says bulk mail can't be returned to the sender

Dear Heloise: In a recent column, a reader offered her method for handling bulk mail -- crossing out her address and the bar code and marking it "return to sender."
May I add my voice to what is surely a cacophony from other postal workers? Her method will only work on first-class mail or mail that is endorsed "return service requested." Unfortunately, most bulk mail is exactly that -- "bulk" -- and return service is not prepaid.
Only if the receiver affixes proper first-class postage will the item be returned. I regularly find such pieces in mailboxes, and I annotate all with the note that first-class postage is required to return the mail.
Some carriers will pick up the mail, but it is simply disposed of in the post office upon return. Unfortunately, this course of action leads the customer to believe that the mail is, in fact, being returned when it is not.
But I surely do empathize with customers' aversion to bulk mail -- we carriers do not want it any more than they do, but since the mailer paid for delivery, delivering it is what we are required to do. Fred in Pensacola, Fla.
Fred, thank you for sharing your professional point of view. I guess if you receive bulk mail, you have no choice but to toss it or turn it into confetti or mulch. First-class or return-service-requested mail can be returned. Heloise
Hint IQ: When you buy a new lamp, you should leave the cellophane on the shade as a permanent dust cover.
A. True
B. False
The answer: false. The cellophane is only for protecting the shade in the factory and store. Once you get home, you should remove it, because it can shrink and permanently shrink and discolor the shade. Heloise
Dear Heloise: While visiting our daughter and son-in-law in California, we enjoyed fresh-squeezed orange juice from their backyard trees.
Needless to say, we had quite a few "empty oranges" left over. We decided to freeze them and use one or two at a time to clean the disposal. They are hard enough to clean the blades, but not hard enough to damage them.
Now I freeze all orange, lemon or lime peels and use a few each week for a nice, clean disposal. Ann from Dallas
Most people think that garbage disposals have blades like a blender, but most have several rotating cutters that shred. This is a good way to freshen the "disposer" -- just be sure to run lots of cold water during it. Heloise
Dear Heloise: Instead of chopping nuts by hand or in a grinder, I put a portion of the nuts in a freezer bag and pound with a potato masher. It is a quick way to chop nuts. Margaret B., Glendale, Ariz.
XSend a great hint to: Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000, Fax: (210) HELOISE or E-mail: Heloise@Heloise.com.
King Features Syndicate