HELPFUL HINTS
DEAR HELOISE: What can be done with old mink coats, jackets, stoles and collars? Some are over 50 years old but still in relatively good condition, except for a few spots. Can they be sold, donated or repurposed?
— Anne D., Canton, Ohio DEAR READER: Yes, if you contact a company or store that handles fur coats, they can tell you where to either donate your old furs or help you re-fashion them into something more modern. There are charities that take old furs and make teddy bears or other stuffed animals and sell them for a worthy cause.
DEAR HELOISE: To recycle plastic dry-cleaning bags and plastic bags that bedspreads, blankets and sheets come in, I cover my seasonal decorations and hang them on a rack in the basement. This way I know at a glance what I have and what I need.
— Rosemary, Austintown, Ohio DEAR HELOISE: Most tailgaters will back off if you tap your breaks a few times, but sometimes even that won’t work. If that doesn’t, I use my emergency flashers and slow down a little. This usually gets the tailgater to back off.
— Kevin F., Omaha, Neb. DEAR READER: Tailgaters usually think they can get the person ahead of them to speed up if they annoy the other driver by tailgating. This seldom works and is the cause of a great many accidents. Let’s all drive respectfully.
DEAR HELOISE: I grow a beautiful trumpet vine in my yard, but I wanted to train it to grow along the top edge of my fence. I wasn’t sure what I could use to tie some of the stems to the wires until I thought of unwaxed dental floss. It’s strong and easy to use. Now my trumpet vine looks so nice growing all along the top of the fence, and it’s easier for hummingbirds to come and take a drink from the orange/ red flowers.
— Kathy W., Lawton, Okla. DEAR HELOISE: We have a lot of kids in our family, so when we all get together I knew I had to find something to keep the little ones busy. I went to a wallpaper store and got one of their old wallpaper books. When the kids come, I let them have a huge box of crayons, felt markers and colored pencils and the wallpaper book, and they stay busy for hours. This keeps them at a picnic table where we can keep an eye on them and they aren’t under foot in the kitchen.
— Heather L., Colorado Springs, Colo.