Hints from heloise

Dear Heloise: I manage a database for an organization. We often send large mailings to our supporters, only to have some returned for incorrect addresses. Sometimes they will have the name and/or address totally blacked out with marker, making it impossible for us to remove the incorrect address from our database. I recommend just drawing a diagonal line through the address and writing something like “moved” or “no longer here.” That way, we can tell which address is incorrect and will remove it. — Jacque Perna Fuller, Missouri City, Mo.

We checked, and the Postal Service agreed that this is the correct way to handle the situation. — Heloise

Dear Heloise: My address book was becoming crowded with too many entries. Now I have one book for personal (friends, relatives) addresses and a second book for medical, business and other services. — Bryna Wities, San Diego