HELOISE: Prevent falls; use ladder safety

Dear Readers: With the holiday season around the corner, here are a few tips for ladder safety when decorating your house or doing repair work:

If you are in front of a closed door, make sure you lock it so someone doesn’t open the door!

Read the warning label attached to your ladder for height and weight limits before you get on it. These are listed for a reason, so please take them into consideration.

Inspect the rungs of the ladder to make sure they’re clean, dry and sturdy.

Make sure that the ladder is on level, firm ground — loose and wet dirt or gravel is a dangerous surface on which to place a ladder.

Heloise

P.S.: Don’t become an emergency-room statistic! Thousands of people end up in the ER every year due to a ladder mishap.

Dear Heloise: I thought I would add a moving hint passed down from my mother. We always packed the bedsheets, a towel and washcloth for each person in the top drawer of the dresser. This way, you always know exactly where to find them. It’s especially helpful if you’re finishing unloading late at night, or are just plain exhausted from moving.

Kristin in Texas

Dear Heloise: I finally found a use for those slender plastic bags that our daily newspapers are delivered in. They’re perfect for sliding a wet umbrella into and keeping you and your things dry in the process. The bags fold up small enough to hide in your purse, the car’s glove compartment or even your child’s backpack.

Wendee in Arkansas

Dear Heloise: Whenever I open a new product that has cords like an AC power cord, I take the twist-tie that came with the cord and retwist it around the end of the now-freed cord. This way, I never have to look for a twist-tie, and it is always the right length.

I.M. in California

Dear Heloise: My husband has his own small bottle of mouthwash that I refill from a large (money-saving) size. I removed the cap of the small bottle and put on a “pull type” spout from an old bottle of water.

Barbara May, Martinsburg, W.Va.

Dear Heloise: Here is an idea to not only be thrifty but to recycle as well. Instead of signing the greeting cards you purchase, put your own words on a piece of paper and insert in the card. That way, the card can be used over and over!

A Reader, via e-mail

Dear Heloise: When parking in a space facing an office building or shop with a reflective window, I use the opportunity to do a quick visual check of my car’s blinkers and lights, etc. Occasionally I can check my rear brake lights and blinkers this way as well.

Anna, via e-mail

Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, fax it to 210-HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

King Features Syndicate