Dear Heloise: Bringing food and items to a family is a nice thing to do after the loss of a loved one. But my fabulous father-in-law recently did something that, I think, sets a great precedent. His next-door neighbor lost someone, so my father-in-law took his lawn mower over and mowed their lawn. He also polished their shoes for them. — Emily Murphy, Kingwood, Texas

ORGANIZED

WORKSPACE

Dear Readers: To make your workspace easier to work in, organize your desk. Store supplies, paper cartridges, and disks in one area where they are easily accessible. Use an attractive basket on your desk to hold clips and pens. Use a cord organizer that will bundle all the cords. Dust the entire area weekly. — Heloise

HOME SECURITY

SYSTEM

Dear Heloise: I’ve been reading your column for many years. I learned something the other day that I believe will be interesting to your readers. Like many others, I have a home security system that, when armed, calls a central office if a door is opened or a window is broken.

You are supposed to test the system on a regular basis by arming it, then opening a door or window and allowing the screaming alarm to sound for 60 seconds. You should first call the central office to set up the test, then call them back to see if they were notified.

I ran a test, but it was a failure. So, now I need a repair. I don’t even know how long I was without protection, since I couldn’t remember the last time I had run the test. — D.A., in Texas