Everything you need for spring cleaning

Dear Readers: Newyear,freshstart!To prep for SPRING-CLEANING, let’s get you fully stocked up with all the essentials: wet mop sponges chlorine bleach dry mop cleaning cloths furniture polish vacuum cleaner all-purpose cleanser window cleaner stepladder gloves bathroom cleanser bucket toilet bowl brush white vinegar toilet bowl cleaner scrub brush baking soda trash bags ammonia paper towels abrasive cleanser

Clip this list and take it with you to the store. You may find some of the cleansers can do double duty. With a wellstocked supply of cleaning conquerors, you and the family can make quick work of all your cleaning challenges! Dear Heloise: I’m a teacher’s assistant, and some of our students can have difficulties. It’s tough being a kid nowadays.

I always go into school with a big smile, a “Hi, how are you?” and a highfive. When I get a smile in return, I feel like I’ve really helped somebody. Dear Heloise: Help! I have electric blankets, and I want to know a good way to remove the wires so I can cut the blankets into pieces for the animal shelter. Anything for our furry friends! Figure out where the wires end at the top or bottom of the blanket. Snip a tiny hole in the blanket, and the wires should pull out fairly easily. The heating element may be bigger; snip a bigger hole. Dear Heloise: A friend went to a garage sale and bought all the jewelry this older lady had. She gave her $10 for it. Then she took it to a gold dealer and received $205 for the jewelry.

Please advise older people to check their jewelry. Last week, I went through my husband’s tiepins and work award pins he said he no longer wanted. I checked them, and they were 10-karat gold. Dear Heloise: I used to get tired and frustrated when changing my king-size sheets, walking around both sides to make it even. What I did the last time was I took a felt-tip pen and made marks on the sheets at corners and the foot end. I just line up the marks next time. Big timesaver.