HELOISE: Compost piles are easy to start

Dear Readers: Composting is a great way to make rich soil and mulch for the yard and flower beds, and to surround new saplings to keep weeds at bay. Grass clippings, vegetable peels, coffee grounds and eggshells are great basics for a compost pile.

To get started composting, you need an outdoor, sunny area. Five feet by 5 feet should be plenty of room. Experts suggest equal parts of brown material (fallen leaves, coffee grounds, twigs) and green material (grass cuttings, pulled weeds and vegetable bits), and mix in some shovelfuls of soil to make about 3 to 4 cubic feet of compost. Never put meat trimmings, fish or dairy products in your compost pile. These items can attract critters to the compost. The mixture should be slightly damp, so you might need to add some water. The key to rapid composting is to turn the mixture at least once a week. If there’s a bad odor from the pile, turn it more often!

Heloise

Dear Heloise: A very important travel hint is to check out the emergency exits as soon as you get to your hotel room. Usually the inside door has a map and indications where the emergency exits are. You should go outside your door and plan which way would be the easiest and closest to the exit. Then count the number of doorways. It might be smoky if you exit in a fire situation, and you might be crawling to get away from the smoke. Know how many doors you will pass.

Jane in New Jersey

Dear Heloise: I keep a small cup in the front of the top basket of my dishwasher where it is easy to see. The cup fills with water when the dishwasher runs a load. When I empty the clean dishes, I dump the water out of the cup. So, if there is water in the cup, I know the dishes are clean. Mineral deposits build up on the cup, so make sure to use one you don’t plan to use for anything else.

Judy, Fountain Valley, Calif.

Good idea, and here’s another from Carolyn in Marble Falls, Texas. She says: “Immediately after emptying clean dishes, I add dishwasher soap to the dispenser. I use the pre-mix packets. Make sure the dispenser soap “pocket” is dry, insert the packet and close. If the door is closed and soap is in the dispenser, the dishes are dirty.”

Heloise

Dear Heloise: Wooden-spring clothespins work well as identifiers for potted plants. Use a marker to write on the clothespin, and clip it to the edge of the pot.

Doris, via e-mail

Dear Heloise: When a zipper pull breaks, for a quick fix insert a paper clip in a color to match until you can repair or replace the zipper.

Sandra in New York

King Features Syndicate