Helpful Hints

DEAR READERS: Today's Sound Off is about being bombarded by organizations asking for money:

"Dear Heloise: I understand that charities and other worthwhile organizations need money to operate, but I'm tired of the weekly phone calls and letters from these people asking me to donate money.

"I live on a retirement income, and I can donate once a year. Continually calling me for donations to a hospital, policeman's ball or other charity is annoying. Then, they in turn sell my name and information to other organizations that start calling me. It's gotten to the point where I hang up."

-- Sarah H., Florida

DEAR READER: When they call, tell them to remove you from their list, and by law they must stop.

DEAR READERS: Here are some ideas for cotton balls:

• Give some to pet birds for nesting purposes.

• Pack around small objects for shipping.

• Give to children to use for a craft project.

• Spray with perfume and put in your purse to keep it smelling fresh.

DEAR HELOISE: It seems every time I see a cockroach, it's hanging on to my ceiling. I spray and spray insecticide, but they keep coming back. What can I do to get rid of them?

-- Kelly Q., Metairie, La.

DEAR READER: If the cockroach is on the ceiling, use a broom to brush it off onto the floor. Use a shoe to kill it, and throw the cockroach in the trash. If they're hiding behind a refrigerator or in other hard-to-reach places, use sticky traps to catch them. Look for damp spots in the house, because roaches are drawn to those places, and to anywhere there's food. You might have to call in an exterminator to do the house.

DEAR HELOISE: As a police officer, I see break-ins every day. Our senior citizens are the ones most at risk, usually because they are the most trusting. To better safeguard your home, your life and your valuables, have a peephole installed on your front door and on the door leading to your garage. Do not open the door to strangers, no matter what they tell you. Make sure you have at least one deadbolt lock on all doors leading outside. If someone insists that you need to let them in, or just won't go away, call the police.

-- James L. in Los Angeles

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

ActiveStyle on 06/18/2018

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