HELPFUL HINTS

DEAR HELOISE: I never liked garden gloves because they allowed dirt and water in through the fabric. This didn’t protect my hands, and dirt got under my nails, which required a lot of scrubbing to get out. Instead, I now use the same type of rubber glove I use when washing dishes. Dirt does not get under my nails — and no more plantar warts. If I use hand lotion before I put my rubber gloves on, my hands feel like they’re in a mini-spa.

— Lorraine R., Covington, Ky.

DEAR HELOISE: Last spring, my grandson’s first grade class made birdhouses out of tongue depressors, and when he was done with his birdhouse, there were a lot of these depressors left in the plastic bag. Rather than tossing them in the trash, we kept them and used them at the head of each row of vegetable seeds we planted. I wrote the name of the vegetable on both sides of the tongue depressor, and my grandson stuck each stick about 1/3 of the way into the ground.

It was a fun project and something we could do together. After school, he would stop by my house on his way home to check on the garden to see how everything was growing. This gave me a chance to teach him how to grow his own food.

— Kathy T., Hampton, Va.

DEAR READER: This is an excellent idea. Most children don’t know how to plant seeds or when to harvest what they’ve sown. Learning how to grow your own food is a valuable lesson in life.

DEAR HELOISE: A few years ago, while I was traveling with my wife and kids, the hotel we were staying at caught fire. The smoke was so thick in the hall I could hardly see. So I grabbed the flashlight I packed, and my family and I crawled along the floor to the exit door and managed to get out unharmed. There was no light in the hall except for the flashlight I thought to pack in my suitcase.

Since that day, I have always carried a flashlight in my suitcase or in the glove compartment of my car, and I frequently check the batteries. You never know when you might need a light in the dark.

— Joseph A., South Bend, Ind.

DEAR READER: While you’re checking the batteries for your flashlight, you also might want to check the batteries for any battery-powered smoke alarms in your home. It’s something so many people forget to change out for new ones.