Hints from Heloise

Dear Heloise: I recently bought a bunch of furniture for my daughter’s room that had to be assembled at home. There were numerous items, screws, dowels, etc., of various sizes that were included in the kit.

I used the cupcake tray from the kitchen to separate all of the different-size fasteners and small pieces, making them easy to count, keep track of and use during the assembly process. I used the rectangular cake pan for the bigger stuff and the tools I was using. If I was pulled away from the job during the process, no bother – all the parts and tools were just where I left them in the cupcake tray and cake pan when I got back. – Ken Grau, via e-mail

Ken, thanks for writing. Your hint sure saves a lot of aggravation with all of those darn parts. We also have also received hints about using an ice-cube tray and a piece of sticky tape (to place screws, etc., on). – Heloise