Gardening calendar can help you stay on task

Dear Heloise:

I’m thinking about starting to get my garden ready this spring. I adore digging around in the dirt. How can I make it easier to expand and improve it? —

Patty, in Oregon

The rewards of eating something you’ve grown are delicious, and the flowers you plant will be beautiful to look at. Getting more organized about gardening certainly can help. Create an annual gardening calendar, either on your computer or on paper. That way you have a record of what you planted and how well it did. You can make notes about what kind of seeds you used, when you planted them and when they sprouted.

If you want to be detailed, you can mark down how often you watered, fertilized and harvested. By keeping track of this, you can make substitutions the next season and also factor in changing weather conditions. Go to your local garden shop for further advice and help. —

Dirty microfiber cloths

Dear Heloise:

I love microfiber cloths. They do the best job of cleaning just about everything in my house. But they do get dirty. What’s the best way to clean them? —

Alabama

Heloise

Ann, in

I love them too, and they need to be cleaned. Here’s how: Machine wash in warm soapy water, but wash the cloths separate from towels, because the microfiber attaches to lint in the water and then it will remain on the cloths. Don’t add fabric softener or chlorine bleach because they cause the microfiber to lose its effectiveness. Never iron microfiber material because it will melt at high heat. —

Heloise Pumping gas

Dear Heloise:

I hate taking the car to the gas station and pumping my own gas because it might drip or spill, and I dislike that smell. I had several old cleaning gloves. So I put a glove on when I pump the gas, and it solves the problem. I keep them in the trunk of my car. —

Bonnie, in Iowa Organizing blouses

Dear Heloise:

I love clothes and have lots of blouses, but I was having a hard time finding the one I wanted to wear to school. So I decided to go into my closet and rearrange everything so I can easily get to the blouse I want. I organized them all by color. I choose the color I want to wear that day, and I then can get right to

it. —

Abby, age 12 Toy car storage

Dear Heloise:

I have a collection of small metal cars that I love to play with. But my mom was upset because they were all over the floor in my bedroom. So we went to a discount store and bought several clear plastic shoe boxes. Now they are in one place, and after I’m done, they all go back into the boxes! —

age 9 Pooches and pills

Dear Heloise:

Rex, our dear lab, got sick and we had to give him pills, which turned out to be really hard initially.

Then we figured out that if we covered the pill with something Rex would like, it would work.

So we put peanut butter, liverwurst and even a bit of soft cheese around the pills.

Rex gulped them down, and he is fine now. —

in Texas

Frankie,

Judy, Storing needles

Dear Heloise:

I love to sew, and I have always hated pincushions. I found a better way to store the needles I use so often. I now punch needles right into a new, unwrapped bar of soap. This fits nicely into my sewing box and the soap oils the tips so the needles glide through fabric. —

Texas

Joan, in Saving sandwich fillings

Dear Heloise:

I often make barbecue sandwiches or sloppy joes in large quantities. I freeze what is left over, which is often quite a bit. I usually measure about ½ cup and put it in muffin tins. Each ½ cup is enough for a sandwich. When the portions are frozen solid, I take them out and put them in a freezer-safe zip bag. So when my kids want a sloppy joe or barbecue sandwich, they take it out of the freezer and put into the microwave or heat it

on the stove. —

Virginia

Debby, in Sticky computer keyboard

Dear Heloise:

My children’s computer keyboards are so sticky and dirty.

I have told the kids not to eat or drink near them, but I can’t patrol them all the time.

How can I clean them and then teach my kids to clean the keys? —

in New Jersey

Dear Reader:

Jackie,

Unplug the keyboard first. Then turn it upside down and shake carefully to dislodge crumbs and any debris in between the keys. Use the brush attachment of the vacuum to pull out remaining bits of stuff. Use a small, soft, clean brush for additional dusting. If keys are sticky, lightly dampen a cloth with water or rubbing alcohol to remove that surface grime. Let it dry before reconnecting to the computer. —

Heloise