Tossing toilet paper can help bring down high-up cobwebs

Dear Heloise: I am passing along a way to deal with cobwebs that hang from cathedral ceilings.

I had a cobweb for several years that I couldn’t figure out how to get down because the ceiling was two stories high and beyond the reach of any industrial ladder. I decided that I might throw something at it and came up with the idea of using a roll of toilet paper!

Because it was so high, I had to throw it many times, and it hit the big hanging mass several times before bringing it down, but it worked! Peggy Anderson, Laurinburg, N.C.

Peggy, that’s one way to get those impossible-to-reach cobwebs! I’ve used a tennis ball inside the leg of old pantyhose and played “cobweb tennis” in those hard-to-reach spots. Heloise

Dear Heloise: I have a hint on using the plastic 34-ounce coffee containers. I fill them with plastic grocery bags and keep them under my sinks to put in small garbage cans or use as needed. Kathy Donovan, Fort Pierce, Fla.

Dear Heloise: To solve a sticky problem: Use a hair dryer on a warm setting to remove price tags from gifts or garage-sale items (things you cannot wash to remove). They will almost always remove quickly, cleanly and easily without damaging a plastic bag or the item the tag is sticking on! Juanita, via fax

Dear Heloise: My car was splattered with yucky oil when I had to pass a highway department truck. The oil was thick and very sticky — it was the kind they put on roads.

I tried every cleaner and solvent, but nothing really worked until I tried baby oil. I put a little on some soft paper towels, and the hardened stuff came right off. I was amazed. Maurice in Arkansas

Dear Heloise: When we’re flying, I take along a plastic, zipper-lock bag for each person. We put all of our change, watches, jewelry, etc., in our individual bag before going through the X-ray machine. That way, we have everything together, and we don’t have to worry about losing or forgetting anything. This makes it so much easier and faster, since it is always so hectic, and everyone is always in such a hurry. Carolyn in Texas

Dear Heloise: If you have to go out to a laundry center to wash and dry clothes, don’t take the big, heavy bottle of detergent. I use my smaller bottles of dishwashing liquid to carry my liquid detergent in. It’s less mess, and I can either throw away the bottles or reuse them. Z.D.W., Washington, D.C.

Dear Heloise: Do your children have too many toys and not enough places to put them? Use a sturdy molded child’s swimming pool as a storage container. It can be slipped under the bed when not in use. Frankie in Arkansas

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