You are not odd! The alarming number of house fires that happen because there is no smoke detector or the battery is dead is staggering. Play it safe! — Heloise

Dear Heloise: As I get older, I find that opening twist-off lids on glass jars gets harder and harder, even with previously opened ones that have been in the fridge.

Because my rubber gloves are always handy, I have learned to grab one (I don't even bother to put it on), place the cuff over the lid and twist away. The glove gives enough traction to get even stubborn lids off, but when a new jar is exceptionally hard to open, I take the other glove and wrap it around the jar itself. Twisting the top part counterclockwise and the bottom clockwise usually does the trick.

It takes less time to do it than to describe it. Hope this helps some other seniors in your readership! — Jackie, via e-mail

Dear Heloise: I do a lot of my shopping online. When I receive confirmation of an order from a company that I haven't previously done business with, I create a new folder in my "in box" and put this information in the folder. All correspondence regarding it is then placed in this folder. If, at a later time, I buy more merchandise from this company, I add the new information as well. It is easy to look up something if I need to. Each company I buy from has its own special folder. — Ronald H., San Antonio, via e-mail

Dear Heloise: When my kids get new games, I get them organized right away. I tape the directions to the inside of the lid and put all the pieces in a plastic zipper-top bag. Some directions are two-sided — I get them laminated at a copy center to make them last longer and keep them from getting crumpled up and lost. — Rae Ann Baker, Durham, N.C.

Dear Heloise: The prescription medicines that I get through the mail are in large white bottles with small black print.

So I can read them easily, I use a permanent red marker and write the name of the medicine in large letters on the shoulder of the bottle.

I do this on two sides, and that makes it easier to reach into the medicine cabinet and get what I need. — Mary from Alabama

Dear Heloise: I just finished reading the suggestion on how to know if the dishes in the dishwasher are clean or dirty. I keep an old plastic drinking glass in the corner of the upper shelf of my dishwasher. When it is full of water, the dishes have been washed. I empty the glass when I empty the dishwasher. I then know at a glance if the dishes are clean or dirty. — Clara D. in Newbury Park, Calif.

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Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to 1-210-435-6473 or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com. I can't answer your letter personally but will use the best hints received in my column. © King Features Syndicate Inc.