HELOISE: Here's a tip: Acknowledge a job well done

Dear Readers: Housekeepers and maids work very hard and are mostly overlooked when it comes to receiving tips. Housekeepers are rarely seen and are paid a relatively modest salary, so they deserve your attention and thanks.

If your room is not cleaned to your satisfaction, you should let housekeeping know. But if the room is cleaned while you are out, and you have fresh towels in a tidy bathroom, why not leave the housekeeper a tip of a dollar or so a day? And if housekeeping does something special, leave more. You can leave it daily, which is ideal (it may be a different person each day), or give it to the front desk, if you prefer. Heloise

Dear Heloise: In addition to recording all deposits and checks, I also record credit purchases in my checkbook recorder. That way, when my credit statement arrives, I am able to simply compare the purchases and check them off.

I have found numerous errors, including a restaurant that overcharged me by $20! I was able to protest the charge successfully but may never have spotted it had I not recorded the charge. You must use every line rather than using two lines, as with checks, or you’ll run out of room too quickly for the number of checks you write. Beth, via e-mail

Dear Heloise: Thank you for addressing the issue of personal thank-you notes in one of your columns. It seems good manners are quickly becoming a thing of the past. It is really a shame, as I don’t think there is anything nicer than someone taking the time to write a thank-you for a gift, gesture or just something that has made someone feel good. Danna, via e-mail

Dear Heloise: It’s heartwarming to see people who take the trouble to turn car wheels when parking on a hill. However, I’m distressed to see how many turn their wheels the wrong way! This trick is, if the car should roll, the front of the car should roll toward the curb. Don P., San Antonio

Dear Heloise: I read in The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post about using oven mitts on a ladder. I used to own a lumberyard, and we sold lots of “ladder mitts,” which fit on the top of most ladders. They are still sold in home-improvement stores. Joseph Berlinger, Lake Worth, Fla.

Dear Heloise: I am going to college this fall, and my mom and I made a pillowcase for my body pillow out of my old T-shirts. It is a really easy and cute way to preserve memories with your old shirts. The shirts fit around the pillow, so you just cut the part with a design in a strip and sew it together with other bands so the pillowcase is made of wide bands of T-shirts. Chelsea in Houston

King Features Syndicate