Florists may reuse vases left over from flower gifts

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Mar 14, 2005 by Hints

Dear Heloise: Everyone I know seems to have a collection of vases and planters that are left after flower arrangements from the florist have long expired. They seem to multiply in our cupboards, especially the bud vases. Load them into a box, and drop them off at your local florist. Florists can reuse them, and they appreciate getting them from you. -- Carol from Wisconsin

Carol, we liked your hint. We called several florist shops and got some "yeahs" and some "nahs." So, you might need to call around a little to find a shop that will accept the vases.

We also spoke to an activities director at a nursing home, and she told us that they take the vases for craft projects. --Heloise

Dear Heloise: I have two elderly parents, and my four siblings and I assist with many tasks for them, including the upkeep of their smoke and carbon-monoxide monitors.

Those safety monitors contain batteries that should be changed yearly. With several family members helping, one could never be sure when the batteries were last replaced -- thus, they likely got replaced more often than was warranted.

I decided to use a black felt-tip marker to denote on the individual batteries the month and year the replacement occurred. Now anyone can quickly verify that our folks are covered. --Dave, Branford, Conn.

Dave, this is a sensible way to keep track -- we've also had suggestions from others to check batteries plus test smoke alarms and carbon-monoxide monitors at the change of each season. -- Heloise

Here are some favorite time-saving hints from Heloise Central:

-- Place a roll of trash bags in the bottom of a trash can for easy and quick replacement. We do this here in the office, too!

-- Make a week's worth of menus at a time. No guessing what's for dinner. Helps with grocery shopping, too, since you know exactly what you need for the week.

-- Each morning after dressing, do a quick cleanup of the bathroom. Keep a roll of paper towels and cleaner handy.

-- Sort dirty laundry as you go. Either use separate baskets or buy a hamper with separate sections.

-- And mine: When unloading the dishwasher, leave cabinet doors and utensil drawers open until everything is put away. --Heloise

Dear Heloise: When I realized there wasn't room for a new bottle of hair spray in my crammed, jumbled bathroom cabinet, I decided to organize it. Those little disposable plastic containers for leftovers worked beautifully. They come in various sizes and depths, and most are square, so they fit neatly on the cabinet shelves. I used them for prescription medicines, first-aid and over-the- counter meds, eye-care/contact-lens stuff, dental supplies, etc. Now I can just reach in and easily find what I need, or even remove the entire box if I need several things from it at once. Voila! The dreaded bathroom-cabinet monster has been tamed. -- Lanni in Texas

Dear Heloise: Here's a hint for folks like me who love to frame pictures of loved ones and have them all over the house:

You usually find lots of dust and other little particles that have accumulated on the glass of the new frames (both sides) as you take them apart. I take my little computer-screen cleaner brush and use it across the frame and the picture. It gently collects all the dust and grime without having to fuss with paper towels and glass cleaner. --Sharon Pettigrew, Alexandria, Va.

Dear Heloise: I have a hint for storing large, decorative flags while they're not in use:

Put them on pants hangers (ones with clips) and hang in a convenient storage place. This keeps the flags straight and easy to choose from. --D. Statler, Williamsport, Md.

Send a great hint to: Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000; fax: 210-HELOISE; e-mail: Heloise@Heloise.com. King Features Syndicate Inc.