DEAR HELOISE: I keep getting magazines I did not subscribe to, with some even "welcoming" me back. It's next to impossible to stop this flow of unwanted magazines in my mailbox. Is there something I can do to make it stop?
-- Vicki S., Farmington
DEAR READER: Write to a magazine's subscription department by email or a letter, and let it know that you do not want the magazine, you did not subscribe to the publication, and you are canceling all further deliveries. Include your name, address and phone number.
Also, you can register at dmachoice.org to stop unsolicited mail.
DEAR READERS: Today's Sound Off is about offering help without being asked.
DEAR HELOISE: Why do friends and relatives who know they have a sick or elderly friend or family member wait to be asked before they agree to help? They offer thoughts and prayers. While that is appreciated, they seem to forget that there are chores that a relative needs help with. The relative may be too proud and feel that asking is admitting weakness. Sometimes the person wants someone to say: "I see your yard needs to be mowed. Would you let me do that for you?"
Just open your eyes, folks, look around, see where there's a need and offer to help.
-- Karol K., Troy, Ohio
DEAR READERS: Out of wrapping paper? Here are some substitutions:
• Use an old map or a comic section of the newspaper.
• Use a bandana for smaller gifts.
• Use deflated, shiny helium balloons.
DEAR HELOISE: I save toilet-paper centers when a roll is finished. They provide mild abrasion for things, such as scuff marks on wooden floors by rubbing the mark with a flattened center. The centers, along with a liquid cleaner, are useful for cleaning ceramic stovetops. Woodworkers can use them on varnished surfaces, after all the sandpapering is finished, to produce a truly fine surface.
-- Jack M., Maryland
DEAR HELOISE: Here is an idea to start seeds in your kitchen: Take the bottom of an egg carton, fill each egg slot with dirt and plant a seed in each one. The best place for them is on a windowsill. Water them, and later transplant the seedlings in your garden.
-- Leigh H., Marion, S.C.
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
ActiveStyle on 02/18/2019