DEAR HELOISE: I work on motorcycles and have to clean small engine parts. I need brushes. I have family and friends give me their old toothbrushes.
I have not needed to buy a small cleaning brush for years. They are perfect for scrubbing parts with caked-on oil and dirt without damaging the metal.
-- Kevin M.,
Fredericksburg, Va.
DEAR READER: I offer my old, clean mascara and nail-polish brushes to my husband to use.
DEAR HELOISE: Have you noticed most boxes of dry cereal are only approximately 75 percent full? I've measured a few of them.
I assume the cereal companies think they are fooling the consumers by using oversized boxes.
-- Joe B., Atlanta, Texas
DEAR READER: Maybe yes and maybe no! Look at the label -- it states filled by weight, not volume. It's the weight of cereal regardless of how much or little space the cereal takes up. While cornflakes may take up more "space" than oatmeal, it's the weight that is used for packaging information. Some of the boxes are oversized, say the manufacturers, so the cereal can move around during transportation. One box may be half-full, and the same product on the shelf may be three-quarters full. You are getting your money's worth.
DEAR HELOISE: I went to have a procedure, and the nurse wheeled me back to my husband (I am wheelchair-bound). She told him what to do to get the correct forms to have the procedure done. This enraged me -- I can do the calling. I do have a brain that works, even though my legs don't.
-- Disabled in N.C.
DEAR READER: I don't think the nurse meant to disparage you or your condition. Many times people having procedures are nervous and may not concentrate as well as usual. There is a lot going on, and a lot to think about.
Next time, tell the hospital staff to talk directly to you.
DEAR HELOISE: I purchased an adjustable bed. The remote kept falling off my bedside table, and it was impossible to find. I pinned a sport sock to the sheet within arm's reach and dropped the remote in. I feel the "raise" and "lower" buttons through the sock, so I don't have to remove it to use it.
-- Jane H. in San Antonio
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
Weekend on 05/19/2016