This isn’t the time for selfish hoarding

Today’s Sound Off is about hoarding:

Dear Heloise: In this time of the coronavirus pandemic, hoarding of items, such as paper products, bleach, hand sanitizer and much more, has left many people without needed items. Fear and panic are the worst enemies facing us. This country has always worked best when we work together. In the possible event of another crisis, let’s all remember that our lives may change, but our care for one another must never allow us to hoard, but rather to share and leave enough for others. — Timothy in Nevada

Fast Facts New uses for old magnets:

■ To locate screws or nails, which indicate where studs are in the wall.

■ To find nails that have fallen into the grass or shrubs when doing a home repair job.

■ Use two of them to hold a chip bag closed.

■ Slip under a pen’s metal clip to attach the pen to the refrigerator.

Old Tires Dear Heloise: You missed another use for an old tire. You need an old tire, a rope and a tree branch to make a swing. — Kathleen H., Camp Hill, Penn.

Lug Nuts Dear Heloise: Many new cars come with lug lock keys to unlock the lugs on tires. When rotating my car tires, the key broke. Instead of buying a new key, the garage suggested to remove all the lugs and replace them with standard lugs. Now I’ll never have a problem with my lug nuts. — Myrtle P., Staunton, Vir.

House Key Buddies Dear Heloise: My friends and I are all getting older, and we call one another at least once a week to see how things are going. Years ago, we decided to make copies of our house keys to hand out to our closest friends in case they need to get into our homes to check on us. This past weekend one of my friends fell down the stairs in her home and broke her ankle. She managed to get to the phone and call me, and I in turn called 911 and all our other friends. While she’s convalescing at home, I take care of her pets, water the plants and bring in the mail, and we all take turns bringing meals for her. This is a “buddy system” that perhaps more elderly people should adopt. — Helen in Florida

Mulch Danger Dear Heloise: Please warn your readers about |the possibility of insects in a bag of mulch. I was placing some dark, rich mulch in my garden and felt a light sting. I didn’t think anything of it until a few days later when I saw a large swelling on my lower leg. Apparently, I had been bitten by a brown recluse spider, an insect that uses a necrotic poison. It had been in the mulch. It left a huge dent in my leg, but things could have been much worse. People should wear shoes (not flip-flops) and socks when gardening. — Mike in Texas