HELPFUL HINTS

DEAR HELOISE: I’m sending in some helpful hints for the person who needed help cleaning his shower. Buy a handheld rubber-blade squeegee and keep it in the shower. After turning the water off, squeegee the glass and the walls, especially on the lower sections where the water and soap accumulate. It doesn’t need to be a perfect job, just take a few seconds to do it (I can do mine in 30 seconds), and it doesn’t have to be after every shower. The walls and glass will dry nice and shiny. It lengthens the time between cleanings.

Another hint is to change the shower head to one that is handheld. This way, after scrubbing the walls, you can rinse the walls off with the shower head.

— John Klimko, via email

DEAR HELOISE: The advice from Janet Ham regarding silencing unknown callers is good, but there is a downside to it. Any calls you receive from doctor’s offices, pharmacies, mechanics, etc., will also be silenced, unless they are in your contact list. I have missed several calls from people I needed to speak to, only to find out that it’s them after the fact. Make sure you add those numbers to your contact list.

— Boyce Lancaster, Columbus, Ohio

DEAR HELOISE: After peeling the skin off of an onion, stick a fork near the end and slice the onion while holding it with the fork. That way, you won’t cut yourself, and the slices come out evenly. — Gregg, Canyon Country, Calif.

DEAR HELOISE: I, too, am a “senior citizen” living in the New Hampshire Lakes region. I have long ago made sure to have a cellphone in my coat pocket when I make my trek down the driveway to get our morning newspaper.

Never was I more grateful for it than in March, when one foot caught black ice and I fell, severely fracturing my ankle. I was able to call my husband for help. Otherwise, I would have lain there for who knows how long.

Since that episode, and because we no longer have a landline, I actually try to keep my cellphone on me (or keep it easily accessible) at all times. Thank you for your column and the many varied hints it shares.

— Debbie James, Hebron, N.H.

DEAR HELOISE: When I wash bathrobes, I put the terry cloth belts (and all cloth belts) into a small mesh laundry bag to prevent the belts from wrapping around washer parts and other clothing in the washer and dryer.

— Angela Gonzalez,

via email Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or email

Heloise@Heloise.com

HELOISE