Play it safe with portable smoke detector

Dear Heloise: I travel occasionally for my work and always carry a portable smoke detector (it just hooks over the top of any door). I pack it when I visit friends and relatives, too -- you'd hope everyone checks his or her detectors regularly, but you never know.
I'm sure my friends and colleagues think I'm a little odd, but I also give the detectors as presents, and I always include batteries. B.C. from North Carolina
You are not odd! The alarming number of house fires that happen because there is no smoke detector or the battery is dead is staggering. Play it safe! Heloise
Dear Heloise: Ladies, do it now. In your telephone book, make a list of those repairmen you trust and might need if you are left alone without your "problem solver."
For instance:
Furnace conked out -- call Mike whoever and telephone number.
Plumber -- name and phone number.
Electrician, etc.
The list is helpful if you are left alone and something breaks down -- and sorry to say, it will. E.H. in Kansas
Dear Heloise: If your schedule makes it difficult for you to get home with the groceries right after shopping, especially on a warm day, carry an ice chest with you and keep your perishable groceries fresh. A large chest with wheels is especially handy and easy to transport.
And if you want to avoid wet messes from melted ice in the chest and on the food, fill some washed plastic milk bottles about 85 percent full of water, then freeze them for 24 hours before going. David Perry, Springfield, Mo.
Dear Heloise: The prescription medicines that I get through the mail are in large white bottles with small black print.
So I can read them easily, I use a permanent red marker and write the name of the medicine in large letters on the shoulder of the bottle.
I do this on two sides, and that makes it easier to reach into the medicine cabinet and get what I need. Mary from Alabama
Dear Heloise: I found an easy solution for cleaning an electric countertop grill. Put (usually two) wet paper towels on the unplugged, dirty grill and shut the lid. When you get back to it, all the "gunk" is softened. If you forget to clean it right away, it can be cleaned when you have the time. Carol from Indiana
Dear Heloise: I just finished reading the suggestion on how to know if the dishes in the dishwasher are clean or dirty. I keep an old plastic drinking glass in the corner of the upper shelf of my dishwasher. When it is full of water, the dishes have been washed. I empty the glass when I empty the dishwasher. I then know at a glance if the dishes are clean or dirty. Clara D. in Newbury Park, Calif.
Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.
King Features Syndicate