Beware of bookmarks
Always check books for personal items before discarding, donating or selling
Dear Heloise: I just bought a used book over the Internet from a company, not an individual. It contained two PAY STUBS, which had been used as bookmarks. They contained name, address and the Social Security number for the previous owner. Please warn your readers to be more careful.—A.C. in New York
Yours is a good reminder and a hint to thoroughly check any items you are discarding or donating for important information. This means pockets, pages, zippered compartments and any other places where important or identifying papers can hide.—Heloise
CURTAIN RINGS Dear Heloise: I prefer curtains on rings for ease of movement and because they gather into a narrower space when open. However, it is hard to find inexpensive rings that are large enough. My solution: metal binder rings from the stationery store. They come in packs of 25, different widths are available, they are easily spray-painted if you don’t like silver, and they can be attached to pocket-style curtains with a few looped stitches.
Count nine for each 54-inch curtain panel. Put one in the middle, which makes it an odd number and balances the design. They can easily be opened and removed from their stitches and reinserted when it’s time to launder the curtains. I like breezy, lighter-weight cottons and linens, so I always preshrink them before hanging. They look elegant when the rods are placed near the ceiling, and they fall almost to the floor.—Shari W., Ventura, Calif.
HAIR CATCHER Dear Heloise: I have a golden retriever that I love dearly. She is great when I’m giving her a bath (really enjoys it), but it’s her hair that creates big problems. I have tried everything to keep her hair from going down the drain. I even bought a plastic cover for the drain that was designed to catch hair, but it was awful at letting water drain.
This time, my clever husband took some steel wool and placed it over the drain. It was great at catching all the hair while still letting the water drain quickly. This will now be a part of our bath-time routine.—Stephanie W. in Pennsylvania