Heloise

Dear Heloise: I subscribe to a daily newspaper, and I save the plastic bags that the newspaper comes in. I always carried a bag or two with me when I walked our dogs to pick up their solid waste. Unfortunately, both our dogs have passed away, but I still save the plastic bags.

My husband and I are in the process of moving, and the cost of bubble wrap and those Styrofoam pellets have become very expensive. I was boxing up some books to send to a friend of mine who is also an avid book reader. I started to walk out of my office and noticed my paper shredder was full. (I shred everything with our name and address, along with envelopes, flyers and such.)

I then got one of my plastic newspaper bags, shoved the shredded paper in the bag, tied a knot at the top of the bag and used it as stuffing in my box of books. It worked just fine to fill in the empty spaces and cushion the books from getting crushed. I could have just dumped the shreds into the box, but that would have made a mess once she opened the box at her house.

As I continue to pack, I will continue to use my newspaper bags and stuff them with shredded paper to cushion my packed items. This way, I am recycling and not spending anymore money on bubble wrap or Styrofoam pellets. — Joan Wright Romero, Moreno Valley, California

SMOKE DETECTORS

Dear Heloise: I saw a letter in your column in the San Antonio Express-News that suggested changing batteries in smoke detectors annually. New smoke detectors have batteries with a 10-year life. They should still be checked regularly. Also, many fire departments, as well as the American Red Cross, distribute smoke detectors. Most folks are eligible. — Francille Radmann, San Antonio

TOO MANY EGGS

Dear Heloise: What my mother would do when our chickens laid too many eggs was to take two to four eggs, scramble them, put them in small plastic containers and put the containers in the freezer. They would last for many months. I tried that myself, and it works great. What I would do is add a little salt and pepper to some of the containers, so when you thawed the eggs and fried them, they would already be seasoned. For other containers, I would leave out the salt and pepper, so those eggs could be used for baking. — D. Hansel, Houston

DRYER FIRES

Dear Heloise: Dryer fires happen because the dryer vent might be blocked with lint. Dryer vents have to be blown out by a licensed air duct professional every two to three years. The new dryers might have a code that comes with a number. The owner needs to look at the dryer booklet for this info. — S.H., in New Jersey

COFFEE CANS

Dear Heloise: I would like to share my uses for large coffee cans. I buy oats, organic sugar, nuts and rice at wholesale prices. They come in large plastic bags. I remove them from the bags and store them in the coffee cans. I use masking tape to label each can.

In the smaller cans, I store flavored coffee beans that come in bags. I also store sesame seeds, dried beans, tea bags and extra flatware in them. In my craft office, I have one with pens and pencils, another one holding my paint brushes, and one to store buttons. I read your column in the San Antonio newspaper. — Flor Nieves, Schertz, Texas