Dear Heloise: Do you have any hints for keeping a flat-screen TV clean and dust-free? I've bought a special cleaner for this, and when the light hits the screen, it is still smudged and streaked.-Donna S., Greycliff, Mont.
Donna, cleaning a flat-screen TV or computer screen is NOT like the old-fashioned cleaning done on TV screens, which were made of glass.
Here is a hint I learned from a commercial airline pilot when I watched him clean the inside of the airplane windshield: Don't wipe in circles, like many of us do. Use a side-to-side motion, then top to bottom. DON'T go back and forth. A clean microfiber cloth is perfect for this.-Heloise
P.S. NEVER use a multipurpose cleaner on a flat screen!
HAIR-SPRAY HELPER
Dear Heloise: I like to control my hair, but I hate the stiff look of hair spray. My solution? I spray a tiny amount of hair spray onto my fingers and run them through my hair. This cuts way down on the amount of extra spray that goes on my hair, and the amount that flies around the bathroom and sticks to everything!-Tanya L., via email
EMERGENCY NUMBERS
Dear Readers: So many of us use cellphones as a "lifeline" and hardly dial a complete phone number anymore. If you lose your cellphone, can you recall the actual phone number of your sister or doctor?
Create an updated typed list of emergency contacts. There are lots of people, and remember, an emergency contact is not just police and fire.
Here are some others that you need updated names and numbers for: police nonemergency, poison-control center, auto club, insurance agents, doctor, dentist, landlord, gas, water and electric, plumber, and two trusted neighbors.
Make a master list on the computer, reduce it and print a copy out to put in your wallet for quick reference, and post one on the refrigerator.-Heloise
NO CLOTHES PILLS!
Dear Heloise: How can I prevent pilling on my clothes, especially sweatshirts? I've tried turning them inside out and washing them separately.-Mary S., Oakville, Conn.
It may be the material. Many times, just wearing the garment can create pills from rubbing your arms against the sweatshirt. There are shavers you can buy to remove the pilling. Do turn the garment inside out. Don't overstuff the washer or dryer.-Heloise
POCKETBOOKS
Dear Heloise: For women with pocketbooks that have a lot of zippers, here's how I identify the compartments: I use different colors of yarn and attach to the zipper pull.
I know where everything is just by looking at the color.-Grace D., via email
THE KEY TO HOME
Dear Heloise: I have a hint for people who live in an apartment building and need two keys to enter: I marked the key for the outside door with red nail polish and the other one, for my door, blue.-Arlene A., Staten Island, N.Y.
Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to 1-210-HELOISE or email it to [email protected].
King Features Syndicate