Please return those items to their proper place when you’re shopping

Dear Readers: Today’s SOUND OFF is about grocery-store customers. — Heloise

Dear Heloise: Why do customers take a product off the shelves, then later decide they don’t want it and place that item in another part of the store? We often find melting ice cream or defrosting meats in various aisles where they don’t belong. Please return those items to their proper place, or hand them to the checkout clerk, and he or she will take care of it. Remember, store loss means higher prices to make up for that loss.

Also, the store is not a playground, and children all too often get hurt when running through the store. Please keep an eye on your children to keep them safe from injury and ‘stranger dangers.’” — Andrea V., Boca Raton, Fla.

FAST FACTS Dear Heloise:

I’ve got several kitchen timers around the house, as they can be used for various tasks:

■ Use a timer in the bathroom to help kids remember to keep brushing their teeth.

■ Use at the gym to time yourself on the equipment.

■ Use a timer to limit phone conversations.

■ Got a small water heater? Limit shower time with a kitchen timer.

— Linda Y., Wheeling, W.Va.

HARD-WATER DEPOSITS

Dear Heloise: My shower head is clogged with hard-water deposits. How do I remove the deposits? — Denise A. in San Antonio

Denise, you can remove the shower head and soak it in full-strength vinegar overnight, or fill a plastic bag with vinegar and slip it up over the shower head so that it is totally submerged in vinegar.

Let it soak overnight, and in the morning, remove the bag and scrub the head with a clean brush. There’s nothing like the full force of a shower to wake you up in the morning.

If you like this hint, I have many more uses for vinegar in my Fantabulous Vinegar Hints and More pamphlet. To order a copy, send $5, along with a stamped (71 cents), self-addressed, long envelope, to: Heloise/ Vinegar, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 782795001. Or you can order online at www. Heloise. com. Pour the vinegar from the plastic bag into the toilet to freshen the bowl. Leave it for about five minutes, then flush. — Heloise

TOILET BRUSH Dear Heloise:

To avoid having cleaning chemicals drip into my toilet-brush holder, I keep the brush in the toilet and flush a couple of times to sort of clean it before placing it back in the holder. — Georgia H., Kona, Hawaii

WEDDING-BELL BLUES

Dear Heloise: If you want to have a beautiful wedding but are on a tight budget, set the amount you can spend, and don’t go over it. Figure out how much you’ll need for flowers, food, clothes and other things, then start cutting back if you don’t have the funds.

When the wedding is over and all the excitement dies down, you’ll be glad you stuck to your budget! It’s better to have a small, intimate wedding and have money left to put down on a house than to go into debt to have a splashy affair. — Lara G. in Miami