HELOISE: Cellphone has come in handy for him

Dear Heloise: I had to crawl in my attic to do some electrical wiring — installing canned lights. I really needed occasional help from my wife to install the lights. Rather than crawl in and out of the attic or try to yell to her, I took my cellphone into the attic with me. She helped me locate where to cut holes in the ceiling in order to install the light cans.

I also found it useful to use the cellphone so she could direct me when I was trying to back our travel trailer into our driveway.

Needless to say, the cellphone also is useful to locate one another in a box store or at the mall.

So, for someone who tried for years to refrain from getting a cellphone, I’m now convinced it can be handy.

Larry Darnell, via email

They are lifelines for many people today! Your hint is just one more way to use them to solve life’s problems.

Heloise

Dear Heloise: I have a chest-type freezer. I tried storing meats in plastic grocery bags, but they eventually fell apart.

I went to my big-box kitchen-and-bath store and found some large, colored mesh laundry bags. Now when I open my freezer, I go to the appropriate colored bag (white for chicken, blue for seafood, etc.) and pick out what I want. I also keep an inventory of each bag on the side of my refrigerator. I’m not completely organized. Every two or three months, I have to re-inventory because I’ve forgotten to mark something off the list.

Sharyn, via email

Dear Heloise: I’ve struggled for years trying to get a coffee filter out of the package without mangling it. Then I heard about “rubber fingers.” I visited an office-supply store, bought a box and store two of the fingers inside the opened filter package. When I make coffee, I slip my thumb and my index finger into them and pull. The filter slides right out every time.

J. Wise, Cleveland

Dear Heloise: I am big on recycling, and visit the thrift store weekly to get my shopping urges met without breaking the bank. Old microwave glass trays work great under large houseplants to protect flooring, counters, sills, decks and carpets from the occasional overwatering. I have them all over the house, and they come in a variety of sizes.

Jan M. from Idaho

Dear Heloise: I found a successful way to get those stubborn wrinkles out of folded plastic tablecloths. I put the tablecloth in my clothes dryer on high for 30 to 60 seconds. When the tablecloth is very warm and soft, I take it out of the dryer and immediately put it on the table. Wrinkles melt away. I always stay right with the dryer while doing this so as not to forget that I put the tablecloth in.

Pat Rousseau, Port Charlotte, Fla.

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