Helpful Hints

DEAR HELOISE: I'm a teacher's assistant, and some of our students can have difficulties. It's tough being a kid nowadays.

I always go into school with a big smile, a "Hi, how are you?" and a high-five. When I get a smile in return, I feel like I've really helped somebody.

-- Elizabeth M., via email

DEAR HELOISE: Help! I have electric blankets, and I want to know a good way to remove the wires so I can cut the blankets into pieces for the animal shelter.

-- Cathy M., Ohio

DEAR READER: Anything for our furry friends. Figure out where the wires end at the top or bottom of the blanket. Snip a tiny hole in the blanket, and the wires should pull out fairly easily. The heating element may be bigger; snip a bigger hole.

DEAR HELOISE: A friend went to a garage sale and bought all the jewelry this older lady had. She gave her $10 for it. Then she took it to a gold dealer and received $205 for the jewelry.

Please advise older people to check their jewelry. Last week, I went through my husband's tiepins and work award pins he said he no longer wanted. I checked them, and they were 10-karat gold.

-- Joan P., Indiana

DEAR HELOISE: I used to get tired and frustrated when changing my king-size sheets, walking around both sides to make it even.

What I did the last time was I took a felt-tip pen and made marks on the sheets at corners and the foot end. I just line up the marks next time. Big timesaver.

-- Bill L., California

DEAR READERS: We asked for your kids' and your grandkids' letters to Santa. Read on for a great one from Charlotte R, age 4, of Hamilton, Ohio:

"Dear Santa: I want a yo-yo and three rocking chairs for me and my two friends, and two 'mouses' for my kitty, and a real goldfish with real fish food.

"And I want a credit card."

So adorable! Hopefully, Santa brought you everything you asked for.

DEAR HELOISE: I store all of my canned goods upside down. When it's time to open the cans, I turn them upright, and all the good stuff is on the top. No more scraping the bottom.

-- Larry P., Kalida, Ohio

Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or email

Heloise@Heloise.com

Weekend on 01/17/2019

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