DEAR HELOISE: I'm trying to clean out my granddaughter's room and would like to get rid of some of her many stuffed animals. Some still have the tags on them (never played with), and others are slightly used, but in good shape. I would like to donate them, but some places won't take them. I know you will know if anyone does.
-- Donna in San Antonio
DEAR READER: Donna, your heart and head are in the right place to pass on cuddly stuffed animals. You may have to do some footwork and call individual charities or shelters directly.
Most groups do accept new stuffed toys. Used toys may be considered a health issue for some. There are a multitude of groups that accept ones that have been washed and are in good shape.
P.S.: Call an animal shelter, too. Shelters love stuffed toys for their "residents," and I can assure you, the dogs and cats (well, maybe not the cats!) don't care if they are not pristine.
DEAR HELOISE: We have a cabin in the mountains, and several family members use it at different times. One or two of them (meaning two of the boys) do not clean the shower. I've asked and told them over and over. It's a mess when I get there.
I made up some of your shower cleaner, put it in a spray bottle and marked "Spray this on the walls after every shower!" with red nail polish. The directions are on the back of the bottle: "Spray on, scrub with the scrubbie (hung on a plastic hook in the shower), then rinse wall."
It seems to have helped, and one nephew even asked what the cleaner was so he could buy it to use in his dorm-room shower. Thanks, Heloise. It's saved me from having to clean before taking a shower.
-- Pam E. in
West Virginia
DEAR READER: Pam, how nice to hear. Tell your nephew that my motto is "Clean the shower every time and there will be no big cleaning chore later."
DEAR HELOISE: After emptying the bottle of cooking oil, before you recycle it, wad up a paper towel and stick it in the top of the bottle. Turn the bottle upside down (prop if necessary), and after a while, all the rest of the oil is on the paper towel.
-- Shirley D.,
Kingsport, Tenn.
DEAR READER: Shirley, a good way to use the last of the oil to grease a baking pan. Plus, it helps keep oil out of landfills (it can add up, if you think of how many plastic bottles get thrown in the trash) and from clogging up municipal wastewater systems.
DEAR HELOISE: Every toenail clipper I've ever owned has a slick surface that causes it to slip out of my hand. I glued a very fine piece of sandpaper on one, and that took care of the problem.
-- Vivian in Michigan
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
Weekend on 01/29/2015