Helpful tips

DEAR HELOISE: Sending some helpful tips to the person who needed help cleaning their shower. Buy a hand squeegee and keep it in the shower. After you turn off the water, scrape the glass and walls, especially the bottom where soap and water collect. It doesn't have to be a perfect job, it only takes a few seconds (I can do it in 30 seconds), and it doesn't have to be after every shower. Walls and glass dry well and shine. Extends the time between cleanings.

Another tip is to replace the shower head with a hand held shower head or come with a hand held shower head. This way, after scrubbing the walls, you can use the shower head to rinse the walls instead of throwing glasses with water.

--John Klimko, via email

DEAR HELOISE: Janet Ham's advice on silencing strangers is good, but it has a downside. Any calls you receive from doctor's offices, pharmacies, mechanics, etc. They will also be muted unless they are in your contact list. I've missed several calls from people I needed to speak to, only to find out later it was them. Be sure to add these numbers to your contact list.

--Boyce Lancaster,

Columbus, Ohio

DEAR HELOISE: After peeling the skin of an onion, stick a fork near the end and slice the onion while holding it with the fork. That way you won't cut yourself and the slices will come out evenly.

- Gregg,

Canyon Country, California.

DEAR HELOISE: I'm also an "old lady" living in the Lake District of New Hampshire. I've long made sure I have a cell phone in my coat pocket when I'm walking down the hall to get the morning paper.

I've never been more grateful for that than in March, when my foot got caught in the black ice and I fell and badly fractured my ankle. I was able to call my husband for help. Otherwise I would have stayed there for who knows how long before he realized I was gone.

Since this episode and because we no longer have a landline, I actually try to always have my cell phone with me (or within reach). Thank you for your column and the various tips you share. I'm a long time reader but a first time writer!

- Debbie James

Hebron, New Hampshire

DEAR HELOISE: When I wash robes, I put terry belts (and any other fabric belts) in a small mesh laundry bag to keep the belts from wrapping around items in the washing machine and other garments in the washer and dryer.

-- Angel Gonzalez,

by email

Send a time or money saving tip to Heloise, PO Box 795001, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000; Fax to (210) 435-6473; Or E-Mail

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