HELOISE: Irritated shopper won't restock

Dear Heloise: As a shopper, I disagree with the reader’s comments recently about items left out of place in the grocery store. I only shop at stores that have items in their weekly ad that I’m interested in.

Nothing is more irritating when I get to a store than when I start picking up items on my shopping list, then find out that the advertised item is not available at the moment. Generally the store doesn’t want to substitute another item for the advertised one. If I’m going to have to waste my time to run to some other store that regularly sells my needed items at a lower price, then I just stop in my tracks and unload whatever items I’ve already picked up on any nearby shelf.

If the store is not going to do me a favor and keep adequate supplies of advertised items on hand, then I’m certainly not going to do it a favor by backtracking through the store to restock items in their proper place.

A Reader in Omaha, Neb.

Although you may be upset with the store, leaving perishable items on the shelf adds to the cost of running the store, which in turn costs the consumer more, and it is just plain bad manners. Also, the store should provide a substitute or a coupon for the advertised item to use at a later date.

Heloise

Dear Readers: Here are five hints to make preparing your income taxes at the last minute a little easier:

Double- and triple-check all figures.

Remember to sign your return!

Use the pre-printed address label if mailing.

Don’t send original documentation!

Check the tax table twice to double-check figures.

Also, check the IRS Web site, www.irs.gov, to see if you qualify for the free e-file program.

Heloise

Dear Heloise: My husband has a very good idea for avoiding coffee grounds in your cup. Put the coffee filter in the basket and wet the filter with water so that the paper sticks to the basket. Then add your coffee grounds to the basket. Say farewell to those nasty grounds at the bottom of your coffee cup.

M.A., Edison, N.J.

Dear Heloise: For some reason, I always end up breaking a shoelace at really inconvenient times. I guess I tie my shoes too tight. Anyway, I’ve started carrying a length of fishing line in my wallet at all times. If a lace breaks, I use the line to take care of the problem until I get home.

Landon L., Fullerton, Calif.

Dear Heloise: I wish the companies that make bedsheets would make the pillowcases on the twin-size sheet sets a lot larger. Some people like a queen-size pillow on a twin-size bed.

A Reader in Youngstown, Ohio

King Features Syndicate