Hints From Heloise

Dear Heloise: I recently purchased bulk quantity of envelopes. I placed them in the trunk of my car.

As it was raining when I arrived home, I did not remove them until the next morning. Now the flaps on the envelopes are almost entirely sealed.

Any suggestions on how to make them usable? - F.D., Edinburg, Va.

Here are some favorite Heloise hints for your sticky situation.

The best way to unstick envelopes is to put them in the freezer for a few hours or overnight. Now comes the time-consuming part. You will have to try to unseal each individual envelope. The easiest way to do this is to use a dull table knife (or butter knife) and carefully slide it under the flap until it is unsealed. You can also steam the envelopes, again doing one at a time and being careful since the steam is very hot.

- Heloise