Computer helps to compile helpful ‘before I leave’ list

Dear Heloise: On my computer, I created a “before I leave” checklist of necessary errands and items I must take on a trip. Several days before my adventure, I print a copy and tape the list to the back door. Because I most often use that door, I see my list when I leave the house. By the time my trip rolls around, I have accomplished each task and haven’t forgotten anything.

Here are a few of the things I include on my list:

Banking

Pay bills

Get medicines

Check camera

Fresh batteries

Trip plan for the car

This works great! Gail, via fax

Dear Heloise: Here are a couple of hints for matching AC adaptors to the device they belong to: The adaptor will generally list the voltage and amps it produces. The electronic devices also should list them (if not on the device, then in the user manual).

The connector that plugs into the device can vary in size and shape. Make sure the adaptor is not plugged into the wall, and try to insert the other end into the device. If it fits, compare the numbers. If they are the same, you have found the match.

To keep this from happening in the future, mark the adapter and the device. If the adaptor is light-colored, use a permanent marker; if black, use masking tape and then mark it. Lew, via e-mail

A silver marker or my favorite red or purple nail polish does the trick, too! Heloise

Dear Heloise: I’m writing in regard to the difficulty of opening safety lids on prescriptions. When I pick up medicine from the pharmacy, I ask for regular lids. The clerks are very obliging in replacing the safety lids with easy-to-open ones. Brenda, California

Dear Heloise: When I’m assembling an item that arrives with some assembly required, such as a grill, furniture or toys, I use cupcake tins to organize and keep track of the small parts. This makes assembly much easier. Barbara, Maryland

Dear Heloise: My dentist prescribed an expensive toothpaste. I had forgotten to refill the prescription, and I had smashed my last tube of toothpaste as flat as I could to get every drop out of it. Then it dawned on me — I could cut off the flat end. Lo and behold, there was enough toothpaste to brush my teeth two or three more times. Since I discovered this, I also cut the ends off of my expensive tubes of lotions to get every last drop out of them, too. You will be surprised how much product is left in the tube. Feona, via e-mail

Dear Heloise: Clip extra coupons and leave them in an envelope in the break room of your office at work or at a doctor’s or dentist’s office. Everyone loves a bargain. Laurie Ross, Orange, Calif.

SBlt 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