Dear Heloise: I’m responding to Katharine B.’s letter about nail-biting that ran in a recent column. I used to bite my nails, too, so what I did was get “acrylic nails.” You can’t bite through those things! Then I tried “gel” nails, and you can’t really bite though them either.

Years later, I went back to getting my nails done the regular way, and I still don’t bite them. It helped me kick the habit. So, I just thought I’d pass this info along to you. Good luck! — Barbara, in California

FREEZER STORAGE

Dear Heloise: For freezer storage, I keep the wax paper that cereal comes in and use this in lieu of boxes because it helps make more room in the freezer. I usually cut the instructions off of the boxes and stick them to the item it comes with so it’s less bulky in the freezer. And you can arrange items accordingly — beef, chicken, dry ingredients (rice, pastas, sugar and flour). — Carol, via email

BATHROOM

COURTESIES

Dear Heloise: For the convenience of guests and family, I always keep the following in my bathrooms: tissue dispensers, extra toilet paper and something to absorb or cover any unpleasant odors. I sometimes make a cover for the tissue and toilet paper — something that complements the color scheme. — A Reader, via email

COFFEE FILTER USES

Dear Heloise: A local store in my neighborhood always has lots of extra, large-sized coffee filters that usually get tossed out. I started bringing them home and using them to drain fried foods on, since they don’t stick to the foods.

I also layer two to three filters inside the microwave to soak up spills or butter from popcorn — and to cover foods that splatter, especially soups. They don’t disintegrate like paper towels do, so there are lots of uses for them instead of just tossing them out. — A.T., via email

OLD YEARBOOKS

Dear Heloise: When my parents died, no one had any interest in exploring their old high school and college yearbooks, which would simply end up getting thrown away. Anticipating the same outcome for myself, I went through my own decades-old school yearbooks and cut out the few pages I appeared on, then tossed everything else.

This yielded a miniscule but fascinating stack that could easily be stored with other family photos that are getting passed down. And it decluttered almost 2 feet of bookshelf space! — Jim R., in Houston