Take the time to label old family photos before it’s too late

Dear Heloise: After searching my own family roots for the past year, I would like to share the following hint: Please ask the older members of your family to go through any and all old photographs, and provide name, date and place where the photos were taken and who is in them. Our family had boxes and boxes of old photos, and had it not been for my mother and grandmother going through them and naming who all the people were, we would never know.

People take for granted that everyone will know who is who, and after 50 to 100 years, that’s not always the case. We’re still at a loss about hundreds of family photos with no names. Jamie Matherly, Orange, Calif.

Jamie, you are so right. It’s sad to say, but when older relatives die, everything they know goes with them. Stop and take a few moments to ask a question or two about people in those old family photos — you might not get another chance. Heloise

Dear Heloise: Here is an idea that perhaps you haven’t heard. When my wife was living, she always changed our bed once each week. Since she passed on, I only change it every two weeks by sleeping on one side of the bed one week and then moving over to the other the second week. John Stewart, Westlake

Dear Readers: I gave John a call, and he said he does this because his mother did the same when his father passed away. Many times we do household chores the way our parents did. How often (why and when) do you change the sheets? College kids, when you write, I promise I won’t tell your parents. Mail your reply to: Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279; e-mail to Heloise@Heloise.com; or fax to (210) 435-6473. Heloise

Dear Heloise: I have, in the past, forgotten where I have put some items and invariably purchased a new one. I now have made a database on my computer, labeled “household items.” Everything is alphabetized, and the problem is solved. Paul Cohen, via e-mail

Dear Heloise: I would like to share a money-saving hint that I have found to be as good as buying jewelry boxes.

I go to the craft store, and in the department where they sell wooden items, I purchase small trinket boxes or medium-size unpainted trays. I use my artistic skills to paint the boxes, wait until they dry, then put a lot of loose earrings and necklaces that I commonly wear on a daily basis inside. This is a good way to help keep my daily jewelry at my fingertips and organized. Anna Victoria Reich, Stafford, Va.

Dear Readers: If your printer stops working, you’ve tried turning it off and then back on again and it still doesn’t work, remove the ink cartridge and gently clean it with a soft tissue. This just might do the trick. Heloise

XSend 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