Never put mothballs into your cedar chest

Dear Heloise: We inherited a cedar chest that my mother-in-law had put mothballs in. How do we get rid of the strong mothball odor? Connie Sherrod, North Canton, Ohio

There is nothing like mothball odor! And, of course, mothballs should never be put in a cedar chest, because the odor can remain for years after!

Here are a couple of things you can try:

UStuff the chest with newspaper and close the lid. Wait a day. If the odor remains, replace all the newspapers again. The papers should absorb the odor.

USet the chest outside in the sun and prop the lid open. Keep children and pets away from it.

UYou can clean the inside with a good-quality wood cleaner, available at a home-improvement store.

ULast, to bring back the cedar aroma, you will need to lightly sand the inside of the chest. Vacuum up any residue, and the chest should be ready for stored goodies. Heloise

Dear Heloise: My mom and I happened upon this solution to working on jigsaw puzzles. We had always used the box to hold some of the unused pieces, but while working on puzzles, you always need to refer to the picture on the top of the box. So, we’ve started using inexpensive paper plates. You can use as many as necessary — perhaps one for each major color. They’re easy to pass around, and they stack nicely when you have to put the puzzle aside. Susan Zucker, via e-mail

Dear Heloise: Most of us have several plastic bottles that once contained prescription medicine. Here’s a hint for using those empties: storing earrings while traveling. The childproof tops keep the jewelry inside the bottle, and they are much easier to find in luggage.

Most bottles are big enough for three or four pairs of stud-type earrings. The prescription labels can be removed or covered. I’ve done this for years and have yet to lose a pair of earrings! Amy, via e-mail

Dear Heloise: Here are two of my favorite hints:

Decorator tables are ideal for storing all kinds of items under their skirts. I have one in almost every room, and they all have things stored under them.

I have an eight-space plastic shoe hanger in my pantry, where I put aluminum foil, wax paper, sandwich bags and storage bags. They are easily spotted at a glance, and the bag can hang on any wall or on the back of any door. It does not take up much room, either. Mya, Farmington, N.M.

Dear Heloise: A few weeks back, there was a hint regarding putting a magnet on a sewing machine to hold pins. I would strongly advise against this. With the new computerized sewing machines, this could be disastrous to the programs in the machine. It would be best to keep all magnets away from your sewing machine. Patty, via e-mail

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