Helpful Hints

DEAR HELOISE: I blew a candle out too hard the other day and got wax on a wallpapered wall. How can I remove the wax without ruining the wallpaper?

-- Sylvia in Florida

DEAR READER: Using your fingernail, a plastic credit card or another blunt object, carefully scrape off as much of the cold wax as you can. You will then need an iron and facial tissues. Turn your iron on a low setting, and place about six tissues on the wall over the wax. Gently put the iron on the tissues, and you should start to see the wax coming through the tissues. Replace the tissues with clean ones as needed, until no more wax comes off. This should remove all of the wax from the wall. Be careful to iron only the tissues; that way, if the iron scorches, it scorches the tissues and not the wall.

DEAR HELOISE: After reading your packing tips, I would like to add my tip: I use newspaper sleeves to hold my underwear and socks or stockings before sliding them into my shoes. This helps me to insert and remove them easily, as well as keep drawers organized if I choose to unpack during the trip.

-- A Reader, via email

DEAR HELOISE: Whenever I am hanging pictures and I have to hammer, I inevitably end up hitting one of my fingers in the process. I came up with a solution. I had some thin foam lying around from another project. I stick the nail into the foam and hold the foam up to the wall. If my hammer slips, it hits the foam and not my finger. And once the nail is where it's needed, I can carefully tear away the foam.

-- Steve in Montana

DEAR HELOISE: I take a daily walk around the neighborhood. I always carry baggies to pick up after my dog, but I started taking a larger bag with me, and I pick up any trash I find. I like knowing that I am helping to keep my neighborhood looking nice and clean.

-- Teddy in Texas

DEAR HELOISE: I save lone socks and use them when a family member needs an ice pack. I simply place the ice in a zippered plastic bag and then slip it into a sock. Then the person gets the benefits of the ice pack without it being too cold. When he or she is done, the ice can be put back into the freezer and used again.

-- Kelly in Kentucky

DEAR HELOISE: I wear a medication patch. I do not have to change it daily, and I often forget which day I put it on. To help keep track, I use a black permanent marker and write the date on the patch. Now all it takes is a quick glance, and I can remember when I put it on.

-- Y.W., via email

Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or email

Heloise@Heloise.com

MovieStyle on 07/18/2014

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