HELOISE: Wife socks it to the problem of leaking travel mugs

Dear Heloise: My husband bought six new stainless-steel travel coffee cups. They are beautiful, and they fit perfectly in our car’s holders, but they leak because of the lip design. I always have some socks whose mate cannot be found, so I cut 1-inch to 11‚Ñ2-inch strips from the leg of one of the socks to slip on the holder near the lid. It works perfectly, absorbs any drips, and is washable and disposable if it frays too much. D.G., via e-mail

Dear Heloise: Here is a helpful hint I learned from working as a dental assistant since 1993. I hope this will help people. I have seen so many people place aspirin or powdered aspirin directly on a toothache or abscessed gum tissue area to relieve pain. This should never be done. Aspirin can harm the gum tissue. Heather M., North Little Rock, Ark.

Dear Heather: You are right. Readers, if you are having toothache pain, use over-the-counter pain relievers until you can see the dentist, and schedule the appointment as soon as possible. Heloise

Dear Heloise: Make a family album of all this new year’s events. Take photos of special occasions and file them safely in a folder. Before next Christmas, put them together in a scrapbook — make multiple copies of photos as gifts for your adult children. Scrapbooks are fun to make and really are great family photo journals. Joanne, via e-mail

Dear Heloise: I save money and re-use greeting cards I’ve received by cutting the front page of the greeting card into a postcard. I’m always surprised to see how beautifully they come out. And I can mail it for 28 cents, saving 16 cents in postage. Lois, Hot Springs, Ark.

Great idea! Just be sure it’s the standard postcard size (6 inches by 41‚Ñ4 inches, and less than .016 inch thick). Heloise

Dear Heloise: When storing breakable pieces (as in a holiday village) for the rest of the year, I kept them in their original box and molded plastic foam packaging. When it was time to get them back out, I found it difficult to pull the foam out of the box. I solved this problem by taking a ribbon, about 1 inch wide, and wrapping it around the foam before packing it away, leaving the ends overlapped or tied on top. Now all I have to do is pull on the ribbon to easily remove the packaging from the box. This solution works like a charm. Joan H., Columbus, Neb.

Dear Heloise: We enjoy fancy stuffed potatoes, and they are super-easy to make. Slice a baked potato in half, and fluff with a fork. Sprinkle on some salt and pepper, butter or margarine, shredded cheese, bacon bits and sour cream, and pop in the microwave for a few seconds to melt the cheese. Careful, it’s hot! M.N., Erie, Pa.

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