DEAR HELOISE: All of our phone numbers are listed in the do not call registry. However, we still receive unwanted telemarketing calls.
To deal with this, I keep a log sheet next to my phone, organized in columns: Name, date, time, number, and comment and report date. When we get one of these "spam" calls, we write down the information. At the end of the day, I go to the donotcall.gov registry, click the "Submit a Complaint" button and, with just a few clicks, report each call. This is quick and easy to do, and has cut way down on these intrusions.
-- Nancy, via email
DEAR READER: Nancy, thanks for the reminder! Readers, you must call from each phone number to get that number registered.
Some phone surveys, charities and local groups may still call you. Debt collectors have the right to still call you, also.
Yes, those annoying, irritating and awful recorded messages? Most are not allowed. Some, such as a reminder for an appointment and emergency alerts, are legal. Unfortunately, political robocalling is legal, too.
Please stop and think before "taking the bait" when you pick up the phone! You can hang up, without concern or remorse. Don't get taken.
DEAR HELOISE: When cleaning my many large windows, I often find streaks or places missed after cleaning the second side. I get sticky notes and place them on the clean side of the streak, then go outside and am able to touch up those missed spots.
-- Lauri, via email
DEAR READER: This works, or try my Heloise Hint: Dry one side up and down, and the other side to side. You'll know instantly which side the streak is on! Don't clean windows on a hot, sunny day, either. The windows get hot and dry before you can clean them. Wait for a cool period of the day.
DEAR HELOISE: I have a few tops labeled "lay flat to dry," and I didn't have a good place to put them. Now I open up an umbrella near an air vent and lay the top over it. It dries quickly, and the umbrella goes back into the closet.
-- Lois in Bellbrook, Ohio
DEAR READER: Cute! Don't forget, you can put a towel down in the bathtub, then just turn the garment over to dry.
DEAR HELOISE: I need glasses to see small print, but sometimes the print is so small that even glasses don't help! One day I couldn't read the tiny print, so I took a picture with my smartphone and then was able to zoom in and make it larger.
-- Coleen in Monticello, N.Y.
DEAR HELOISE: I was always fishing in my bag for my keys. My car keys and house keys were all fastened together. I realized that a simple shower-curtain hook snapped onto the chain was a real help. The shower hook also fits nicely in my hand.
-- Bettie L., Aumsville, Ore.
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
Style on 08/25/2015