HELPFUL HINTS

DEAR HELOISE: I just read the letter from a woman who has four dogs and wants to move to retirement-type housing. Perhaps she should consider an RV community. Park model RVs and fifth wheel

RVs are very roomy. Most RV parks allow dogs, and many have dog parks onsite. We stay in one in South Carolina that has no restrictions on the number of dogs an RV owner has. RV parks also take care of the yard work.

Most utilities are also included in your monthly rent, which is cheaper the longer you stay. There is onsite laundry, and most have activities that keep retirees active. Just a thought. — Judy Sanborn,

via email DEAR READERS: To make car tires last longer, make certain that they are properly inflated. Check them frequently and rotate them so that they wear evenly. Also examine the tire tread occasionally.

— Heloise

DEAR HELOISE: My mother and I enjoy reading your column and she came up with a simpler way for us to look at the newspaper. She cuts it up the length of the spine of the newspaper. This then makes the pages easier to handle and turn.

— Jeannette and Diane,

Los Angeles DEAR HELOISE: A reader suggested freezing meat scraps to put them into the trash. Please don’t! The collected meat scraps will defrost in the trash, the juices soak into the trash, and the trash collectors will have to deal with the mess — and the smell.

A styrofoam container can be rinsed off before being tossed. Either utilize scraps (chicken skin and fat have many uses) or buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts and fat-trimmed meat for less waste.

— Nancy Martsch, via email

DEAR HELOISE: I find that I often have to put an open can in the refrigerator. I used to put aluminum foil or plastic wrap over them, but that tends to fit awkwardly.

One day, I discovered that a lot of items come with plastic covers. Plastic tennis balls have covers that fit ideally on small cans. Icing container covers do well on midsize cans, and coffee can covers work on bigger cans. Sometimes the fit isn’t perfect, but it still keeps the odors in or out, whatever the case may be.

There are lots of items that come with plastic covers of different sizes.

— T.D., Lady Lake, Fla.

Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or email

Heloise@Heloise.com