Donating to women’s shelters

I would like to respond to A Shelter Volunteer in San Francisco, who encouraged donations of clothes, especially business suits and tailored dresses, along with shoes, to a women’s shelter. While I appreciate her distinction between cocktail dresses and usable clothes, there are a couple of points that should be made:

First, not all shelters accept these types of donations. In our area, the shelters do not have the space or manpower to accept clothing and other types of donations. They instead partner with local clothing closets and other nonprofits to meet all of the needs of their clients.

Second, there is also a place for the donated cocktail dresses. There is a nonprofit in our area that provides prom dresses and similar attire free of charge for the use of local students who might not be able to afford them.

In short, contact the nonprofit to determine what they can and cannot use. If you have something to donate that cannot be used by one organization, they may be able to provide contact information for another organization that will accept the items that you wish to donate.

— A volunteer in Martinsburg, West Virginia, Kimberly A. Gilbert-Toelle

DEAR HELOISE >> Love reading your column. Grandpa always kept both his hands a-pickin’ blueberries from tall bushes by looping an old belt through the handle of a clean, 1-gallon paint bucket draped over his head. The bucket is always right in front, chesthigh, easily accessible to both hands and easily adjustable for height. One flaw ... the berries are right in front of you, so it’s too tempting to just grab and eat!

— Ralph Thiele, Little Otter Lake, Indiana

DEAR HELOISE >> To the young man who just got his first apartment and doesn’t know how to scrub the bathtub, or how often to change the sheets, I assume he is not a senior citizen who’s not comfortable with computers. Everything he needs is on Google. He just has to pose the question.

Pamphlets are wonderful and important, but he’s asking how often to change the sheets. And, he has a mother and girlfriend.

Love and read you every day, and I have sent more photos of your articles than you could ever guess to my adult granddaughters.

— Ilona Peterson, Long Beach, California

DEAR HELOISE >> I read your article about hiding a house key. Another suggestion is to purchase an inexpensive lockbox. You just put the key inside and lock it with a number code. That way, in a pinch, you can retrieve it yourself or give the code to anyone who needs it. You can change the code anytime.

— Barbara Oliver

Write to Heloise at P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000; Fax 210-HELOISE; or email Heloise@Heloise.com.