Hints from Heloise

Dear Heloise: I have a complaint about my doctor’s office. They requested and wrote down t he PHONE NUMBER to reach me in the daytime because I work full time, as many people do. Lo and behold, they leave messages on my home phone. If they had not specifically asked me which number to call, I wouldn’t be so frustrated. Please, doctors or other businesses, call the number we give you. — Alice in Connecticut

This can be frustrating on many levels. You need to stress which phone number is the first contact number. Sadly, I’ve had messages from someone else’s doctor left on my answering machine. So that means the person did NOT get the message. Also, I have had people leave me a message for their doctor. I call that doctor’s office and say the patient called me by mistake. — Heloise LINGERING LEFTOVERS Dear Heloise: My husband and I went to dinner the other night, and I brought home l eftovers. Unfortunately, I forgot them in my car. When I went to get into my car the next day, the odor was unbearable! How can I get the smell out? — Juliette in Wisconsin

Yuck and pee-yew! I did this a long time ago when dating my husband, David. My “leftover” was shrimp, and let me tell you, in our Texas heat, that car stunk so bad I’m amazed he t ook me out on another date. Here’s what you do: After removing the spoils, the first thing is to open all the windows and l et t he car air out. Then t ry an ozone-type spray (not an air freshener with a scent) that kills bacteria. — Heloise TIME-SAVING SUDS Dear Heloise: My daughter told me about this tip of hers: When she showers, she washes her hair first. Then she leaves the conditioner in while she washes up. I always did the opposite and would stand there running the water for two or three minutes while my hair conditioned.

Now I save a few gallons of water every day, and my hair gets conditioned for a few extra minutes, too. As for saving time, three or more extra minutes in the morning come in handy for grabbing a cup of coffee before going to work. — A Reader, via email