Do not let your purse be carted off

If you want some very inexpensive cleaning products, I highly recommend old-fashioned vinegar and baking soda.

Dear Readers: Today’s Sound Off is about leaving your purse in the cart at the grocery store. — Heloise

“Dear Heloise: Once again, we had someone in our grocery store who left her purse unattended in the grocery cart. A thief walked by and apparently reached in and stole her wallet and cellphone. Please advise your readers to never leave their purses in a grocery cart, because it’s just too easy for someone to reach inside and grab their wallet or to take the entire purse. So far this year, we’ve had five such incidents. We even placed a sign on our doors asking women not to leave their purses unattended. Most people are honest, but sometimes there is one person who is not. Why tempt fate?” — Gerald D., Pascagoula, Miss.

Fast facts

Dear Readers: If you have an ice-cream scoop, there are a number of ways to use it besides for scooping ice cream:

Use to shape meatballs.

Use to scoop out shortening.

Use to remove eggs from boiling water.

Use to dig holes for bulbs in the garden.

— Heloise

The must-haves

Dear Heloise: I just moved into my first apartment, and money is really tight right now after having paid all the deposits and rent and picking up a few essentials, such as sheets, towels and a shower curtain. So, if I were to go out and buy a few cleaning items, what would you suggest? — Carol M., Muskegon, Mich.

Carol, congratulations on your new apartment! If you want some very inexpensive cleaning products, I highly recommend oldfashioned vinegar and baking soda. Vinegar has been around for thousands of years to clean and polish sinks, floors and more. I have a number of cleaning ideas and tricks for cleaning in my pamphlet Vinegar Hints and More. To order, you can go to my website at www.Heloise. com, or you can send a stamped (70 cents), selfaddressed, business-size envelope, along with $5, to: Heloise/Vinegar, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. There’s nothing more welcoming than coming home to an apartment that looks, smells and feels clean. — Heloise