Reader repurposes out-of-use quilt rack to hold slacks

Dear Heloise: Many years ago, my husband bought me a beautiful, oak, handmade quilt rack.

After passing on my quilts, it was no longer needed. But instead of giving it away, I decided to use it to hold my most frequently worn jeans, slacks, shorts, etc. It has three horizontal bars, which can each hold three pairs of pants.

I now have easy access to nine of my most favorite slacks.

— Lorraine, Greensburg, Pennsylvania

Lorraine, this is a good reminder that we might have a number of older household items that we have stored away and are not using, but instead of throwing them out, we can repurpose them.

— Heloise

Dear Heloise: It is never a good idea to have all your important files stored only in your home. If there is a fire, all the files and your computer will be gone. I back up all my files online and also to a portable hard drive that I store away from the house.

— Alex Magdaleno, via email

Dear Heloise: I recently lost a change purse that contained a large sum of cash. I knew where I had used it last, so I started retracing my steps and asking several different groups of honest people if they had found it. When I found it later in a pocket, I was relieved. I now include a business card with my name and phone number in the coin purse so that if I ever lose it again, an honest person finding it will be able to contact me. I won’t have to embarrass myself by admitting my loss.

— Brenda Fish

Brenda, we are so busy these days that it’s easy to lose or leave behind items that we carry. And this is a good idea to put some form of ID, like a business card or a card with a phone number, inside items that you carry often just in case they get lost.

— Heloise