LITTLE ROCK — DEAR HELOISE: With the increase in airline screening for overweight bags at check-in, here are two simple hints that can save you time and embarrassment:
First, have the clerk weigh your heaviest bag. Then if it is overweight, you can take out some items and put them in your other bags that might be lighter. Too often I have seen people weigh their biggest bag last and then wish that they could retrieve their lighter bags that already went down the conveyor belt into the depths of the airport.
Second, carry an empty fold-up bag in your luggage. Not only is it helpful at the end of your trip if you have bought souvenirs, but at the departure counter you can take items from your heavy bag and check them in a lighter-weight second or third bag and avoid hefty extra-weight fees.
- Dr. Mark, via e-mail
DEAR READER: Many airlines limit the weight per bag. Check the airline Web site or call to see what the guidelines are.
DEAR HELOISE: When I clean our auto-drip coffee maker, I use vinegar. The vinegar is hot, and then I dump it down the drains after I pour in some baking soda. Then when you rinse out the vinegar in the pot, use fresh hot water and use that to go down the drain. I also do that procedure for the shower drains and cellar-floor drains.
- Mrs. Lee, via e-mail
DEAR READER: Your double-duty coffeemaker/drain-cleaner hint is fantastic. Vinegar has so many helpful uses around the home.
Heloise vinegar update: When using it to clean the coffee maker, let it run through one cycle and then pour the hot vinegar back into the reservoir. Turn the coffee maker off and let sit for 30 minutes or so. This allows the vinegar to really break up the lime deposits. Then turn on the coffee maker and let it run through. Follow with several carafes of fresh water.
Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or e-mail
Style, Pages 31 on 10/30/2007