Hints help you be the perfect house guest

Dear Readers: Are you going to be a house guest soon? Here are a few hints to help you be a perfect guest:

• Ask the host what’s the best arrival time.

• Be considerate of your host’s morning and evening routines.

•Clean up after yourself! The bedroom, bathroom and kitchen should be left as you found them.

•Offer to help with cleanup and laundry, but be sure to ask before stripping the beds.

•Respect your host’s privacy by being prepared to entertain yourself with a good book or magazine and giving your host some alone time.

•Arrive with a small hostess gift, and send a thank-you note after leaving.

This should make your visit enjoyable for all. Heloise

Dear Readers: What do you do with all those extra envelopes you’ve accumulated through the years? Here are some ideas:

•File receipts by category (dining, clothing, medical).

•File coupons.

•Mail payments that do not include a preaddressed envelope.

•Store extra buttons, writing a description of the garment on the envelope.

•Store fabric or paint swatches (write what it’s for).

Heloise

Dear Heloise: My house has light-colored tile and laminate flooring. After trying lots of things, I have found that giving scuff marks a good scrubbing with a plain pencil eraser or paper towel does the trick. Hannah in California

Dear Heloise: When we moved last year, this hint came in really handy. When it came to our freezer, I packed nonbreakable plastic storage items in several extra-large plastic bags, then put them inside the freezer. It saved me several boxes’ worth of space in the moving truck. Delores P., Tampa, Fla.

Dear Readers: If your pillows are flat, it is easy to fluff and freshen them up. Put them in the dryer on “permanent press” for 10 minutes, and they will fluff up beautifully. If you want to add a little fresh scent, throw in a dryer sheet. Heloise

Sound Off

Dear Heloise: I’d like to sound off about those obnoxious moving ads on free e-mail service pages. Like the ad for wrinkle remover, it’s downright horrifying when the haglike, wrinkled face appears and then unbelievably morphs into a 20-year-old’s face. All the things that wiggle, dance, jump and shake are constant distractions. The incessantly moving things get a big thumbs down from me. Teri in Las Cruces, N.M.

I’m with you, but that’s how we get the service for free! Heloise

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