HELOISE Tips help ease load of bereaved families

Dear Heloise: Here in Ohio, all neighbors and friends take food to the family's home when there is a death. Three things became evident when I was in this situation:
UThere was enough food in two days to overflow three refrigerators.
UBaked-on foodstuff on dishes took much work soaking and scrubbing.
UDishes and pans had to be labeled and returned.
It was all appreciated, but it would be good to call first to determine if any food is needed at that time -- maybe it would be better two to four weeks later. This is especially true when a death leaves a single person in the home. Kindnesses can be extended in a month or two.
When taking food over, use only disposable containers. Many times, friends or other family are taking care of the kitchen duties, so the resident has no idea of what was brought into the home. Trying to find containers to return can be stressful.
A friend brought a supply of disposable cups and glasses, dessert and dinner plates, soup bowls, forks and spoons, napkins, paper towels, plastic food bags, plastic wrap and kitchen garbage bags. What a welcome help!
Hope these might be some good hints the next time one of your readers wants to help in this situation. A Reader, Canton
My sympathies for your loss. Isn't it wonderful to have friends and family who want to help? Your hints will really come in handy for others in the same situation. I agree with you -- flowers and food are also appreciated three or four weeks later. Heloise
Dear Heloise: Another use for the nylon net you can get at fabric stores is for wearers of contact lenses, particularly the gas permeable ones. Just cut a strip about 6 inches square, and when you are traveling, take it with you to place over the drain in the sink when you are cleaning the lenses. Sometimes, even though the drain appears to be closed, a lens can slip through the edge. Gail Epps, Arlington, Texas
Dear Heloise: I enjoy your column and would like to share my solution to a problem I had. My two favorite lipstick tops came loose. I'd always lose the tops in my purse. One day, I decided to put transparent tape around the part of the tube the top fits over. It worked perfectly. Fran, Dickinson, Texas
Dear Heloise: After my husband had trimmed the rosebushes, I found that the kitchen tongs worked great to pick up the prickly rose trimmings. Wanda Daid, Interlaken, N.Y.
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