Hint on opening jar really works!

As

I do every morning at breakfast, I read your column, and the first letter I saw was a suggestion from Barbara, in Houston, on how to loosen a stuck jar.

Now picture this: Sitting on my counter for the last week is a jar of cherry salsa. Try as I might, that lid would not budge; it was frozen to the jar like lug nuts frozen to a car wheel. After reading Barbara’s idea, I thought, “What have I got to lose?” If it doesn’t work, the cherry salsa will continue to sit on the counter until I can find a big, strong man to open it.

I followed her instructions — water was in a bowl inside the microwave for 4 minutes, nice and hot. I placed the jar with the lid down in the hot water. Then I waited and waited. Afterward, I put the jar upright and placed a towel over the hot lid. And guess who’s having cherry salsa for dinner tonight?

Thank you, Barbara, in Houston, and thank you, Heloise, for printing her brilliant suggestion!

— Eileen Shiman, San

Antonio

DEAR HELOISE >>

If your home is cluttered and you want to pick up or get rid of a lot of stuff, here’s an easy hint for doing so: Grab a plastic garbage bag or a light wastebasket with a handle to hold all the stuff you do not want from each room in your home. When the bag is full, toss the trash into the garbage, and if you can, reuse the bag again.

DEAR READERS >>

DEAR HELOISE >> I am now retired, but when I worked at a business that used filing cabinets with hanging files, we would use the small binder clips to separate filing subjects by putting a small clip on each hanging rail. A group of files would not go past these clips, and it made finding certain files much easier.

— Office Manager, in

Pennsylvania

If you have trouble getting a three-quarter-length sleeve down a jacket, thread the sleeve into the jacket first before putting it on. Works like a charm!

— Corrinne Berkland,

DEAR HELOISE >>

Universal City, Texas

DEAR HELOISE >> At my job, I have to give presentations to large groups. I like to look my best for these events, so I usually check into my hotel a little early. Sometimes they have a room ready, and sometimes they don’t. If they don’t have a room where I can freshen up right away, I go to the hotel’s gym to wash up and change clothes. There is seldom anyone else in the gym, so I have the whole place to myself. And the hotel always stores my luggage for me.

DEAR HELOISE >> I use my old makeup brushes to clean my computer keyboard. After washing all of the makeup out of the brush and letting it dry, it does a great job of getting into even the tiniest cracks. I also have fluted lampshades, so I use these old makeup brushes on them as well.