Hints From Heloise

Dear Heloise: My mother uses flat bedsheets to make pillowcases rather than buying the premade cases. Oftentimes a pair of pillowcases can cost as much as one flat sheet. One can make five good-size pillowcases out of a king-size sheet.

Flat sheets also can be used to make curtains, which can contribute to the bedroom decor if coordinating curtains are not sold for the bedding one has. The curtains are easy to make and very inexpensive if solid colors are used. - Leah Dunlevy, Indianapolis

Dear Heloise: To keep track of my daughter’s countless elastic hair accessories, I put them on a paper-towel cardboard tube, then put the tube in her drawer. This saves so much time, and at a glance I can see the one that I need.

If your daughter has an enormous number, you could do one-color-only tubes to help out even more. - Marilyn Verderame, Livingston Manor, N.Y.