Don’t get stuck with wobbly grocery carts

Dear Heloise: Here’s a way to cut down on your chances of getting stuck with wobble-wheeled grocery carts. Pick up a cart in the parking lot and “test-drive” it to the store entrance. If it rides straight and true, keep it. If it wobbles or veers off in one direction, exchange it for one at the door, and at least you’ve saved the courtesy clerks one cart pickup in the lot. Cathy L. from California

Dear Heloise: When replacing your furnace filter, use a permanent marker and, on the outside border of the new filter write the date the filter was installed. This will enable you to determine when it should be replaced. Bill in Nebraska

Dear Heloise: I used a method you mentioned for keeping sheer curtains in “like new” condition. If I recall, it involved Epsom salts. Can you tell me what your recommendation was? Thank you! Carol, via e-mail

Your memory is not playing tricks on you, Carol — the answer is indeed Epsom salts. Here’s what you do to make sheer curtains crisp again:

1. Mix 1 cup of Epsom salts in a sink filled with cool water (until salts are completely dissolved).

2. Put the curtains in the sink and completely saturate them in the solution.

3. Dip curtains in and out. Do not wring or twist!

4. Hang over a bathtub or outside to drip-dry.

You can rehang your sheers once they are fully dry. No need to iron, as this will remove the “crisping effect” you’ve just worked so hard to achieve. Good luck! Heloise

Dear Heloise: Don’t lose those pierced studs in a jewelry box! Instead, stick the posts of two pair through the holes on a medium- to large-size button and attach the backs. This will help keep them visible, and they’ll stay together, too! Mona, via e-mail

Dear Heloise: My husband has a problem with colorblindness. I write the color with a permanent marker on the inside pocket of his trousers. This makes it easier for him to match pants with shirts. May P., Universal City, Texas

Dear Heloise: I love my liquid yogurt, but I hate to throw away the cute little plastic bottle. So, I found another way to use it. They make lovely little vases for small bouquets of flowers. Now they are all over my house. Madeleine Adams, San Antonio

Dear Heloise: Are the cushions of your couch always sliding? Place a square of rubber shelf liner under each cushion to prevent it from moving. James S., Artesia, N.M.

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