I had some unformed ideas for a column floating around in my brain when I noticed a bright red book on my bedroom shelf. “Heloise from A to Z: An Indispensable Home Reference Guide by America’s Most Trusted Household-Hints Advisor.”

Younger readers may not understand the usefulness of such a reference book. Why not just look it up on Google or YouTube or TikTok? The internet began in the 1970s, but it wasn’t until 1990 that the first search engine (Archie) was launched. The start date for Google was 1998. Even then, the amount of data available to search was limited. This particular book was published in 1992, although Heloise died in 1977. There are over a dozen books, many of them still available, published under her name.

Heloise Bowles Cruz had a nationally syndicated column “Hints by Heloise.” In her column she gave hints on all sorts of topics, many of them submitted by readers or developed from reader questions. She generally tested out submitted hints before using them in her column.

Often her hints were aimed toward recycling or extending use of products or appliances. For example, she suggests using large 9x12 junk mail envelopes as file holders. Simply cut along one long edge and turn inside out. Then you can store them in a shoe box or even a file cabinet with paperwork you want to save (this was before people started scanning everything). Smaller size junk mail envelopes can be used for making grocery lists with coupons tucked inside. That junk mail is still handy to entertain young children who enjoy opening their “important” mail while pretending they are at work.

Heloise’s column wasn’t all helpful hints. She included “Letters of Laughter” from readers who sometimes had unusual results when using her hints. For example, there was the man who sprinkled cat litter too deeply in his driveway to absorb motor grease and inadvertently created a kitty Valhalla – just about every cat in the neighborhood was happy to find a giant, driveway-size litter box!

In her preface she explains the A to Z organization of this book. It’s for people who need help in a hurry and don’t even have time to look through an index. The book begins with abrasive cleaners and ends with ZZZZ, Seven Things to Do When You Can’t Sleep.

Incidentally, under Z she tells how to fix stuck zippers: rub the teeth with dry bar soap or a candle. If your zipper pull breaks, you can replace the tab with a paper clip or small safety pin.

I have to admit, I’ve rarely used the book to look up hints for problems. However, I find it highly entertaining and sometimes pick up useful ideas that apply to my life. I tend to read it by randomly opening it and looking for interesting topics.

There are a number of houseplant ideas in the book. To water houseplants while on vacation, water thoroughly and then set on a small rock- or pebble-filled tray. Fill the tray with water and place the plants in indirect sunlight. This is recommended for short vacations. If you’re leaving for a month, you’ll need a plant sitter.

If you have trouble watering your houseplants without making a mess from spills, place a few ice cubes around the plant instead. This idea sounds great for little kids who want to help with watering.

Like a surprise treasure, I’ll come across one of the letters of laughter. Under Houseplant Helper: My stepson Russell, trying to be helpful, volunteered to mist some avocado plants. He got so enthused that he misted all the plants – then found out that one big green plant was actually artificial!

Some of the book’s hints are seriously outdated. For example under Genealogy, Tracking Lost Relatives, the book says main libraries in large cities have phone books of most major cities for reference. (How long has it been since you looked for a phone book at the library?) Another suggestion is when you travel, look up your family name in the phone book and send letters. The final suggestion works for today: buying a book on genealogy that tells you how to trace ancestors.

One Letter of Laughter reminds me of a column by Helen Barrett. Helen worked many years for the Alva newspaper, starting at the front desk and moving into news writing. She wrote occasional columns, some serious and some funny. Although she’s been gone from this earth several years, she still lives in our memories at the newspaper office.

One of Helen’s funniest columns told how her retired husband was being helpful, offering to start the dishwasher while she was at work. He called to ask about the proper detergent, and she described a blue bottle under the sink. Unfortunately he found the dish liquid for handwashing dishes.

Someone had a similar experience and wrote to Heloise: A reader says that while she was in the hospital for surgery, her husband ran their dishwasher with liquid detergent. Her eldest daughter came home to find suds bubbling and flowing from the dishwasher so fast that they had to close all inside doors and open the back one – suds filled the kitchen and rolled out the back door, filling the porch and driveway. Her daughter’s comment was “when Dad cleans, he cleans the kitchen and the yard, too!”

If you are intrigued and want to look for a Heloise book, a search shows some are available from Amazon, eBay and various thrift book outlets.

If you’re looking for other sorts of books, the Alva Public Library is continuing their pop-up book sale through the end of this month. They have tables on the main floor with all kinds of fiction and non-fiction books, hardbound and paperback. I even spotted some interesting cookbooks. You can take your pick and leave a donation at the front desk.