Dear Heloise: A few days ago a man called who claimed to be with a brokerage firm, and he tried to get my husband to invest in stocks. He said he was a friend of “Joe Smith” (name changed) and “Joe” had recommended us to him. When my husband said he’d have to discuss the purchase of stocks with his wife, the man became a little belligerent. My husband still refused even though the guy said that tomorrow this stock option would be gone. My husband hung up on him.

As it turned out, “Joe Smith” did not ask anyone to phone us. He had NOT bought any stock recently and never heard of the company that the caller claimed to represent. In other words, it was a scam.

How the caller got our friend’s name is still a mystery to us, but we telephoned all our family and friends and told them the story just in case the guy called one of them. Apparently, this is a fairly new scam, so your readers need to be very careful about buying stock over the phone from a complete stranger. — Jerri-Lynn, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Jerri-Lynn, thank you for letting my readers know about this scam. — Heloise

ATTIC ZONE

Dear Heloise: We store a lot of items — Christmas decorations, my mother’s hope chest, winter clothing, etc. — in our attic. This past spring, while it was still cool enough, I went up there and rearranged everything into zones. Then I sat down and drew a map of the various zones so I’d know where everything was. No more rummaging through dusty, old cardboard boxes. Everything is stored in plastic bins with the bins labeled listing what is inside. I made a copy of the zone map and pinned it to the attic door so that when we open the door, there is a map in front of the person looking for items up there. — Elizabeth N., New Haven, Connecticut

PAINTED HANDLES

Dear Heloise: My dad takes excellent care of his tools. He would occasionally loan them to a friend, but he expected to get them back. To ensure that they were returned to him, he painted all the handles a bright orange. No one mistakes his brightly colored tools for their own. — Andrea P., San Antonio, Texas

Andrea, this is a terrific idea. Tools can get lost so quickly when they’re loaned out. This way your dad will know which are his and the ones that are not. — Heloise

BED BASKET

Dear Heloise: Before I go upstairs for the evening, I take my “bed basket” and go around the house looking for certain items that I want to take with me, such as a book I was reading, any magazine I just got, a drink or snack, or anything else I need or want. This saves me from having to run up and down the stairs for various items. — Roy R., Eugene, Oregon

FAST FACTS

When you have 5 to 10 minutes of time before you leave the house, pick one or two of these tasks:

— Declutter the coffee table.

— That pile of shoes in the bedroom or by the door? Put them away.

— Wipe down kitchen or bathroom counter.

— Make sure there’s clean water in your pet’s water bowl.

FREEZER BAGS

Dear Heloise: I use a lot of freezer bags, but I also like to recycle them since they are expensive. My problem was that I had no good place to allow them to dry after washing them. Then I had the idea to put the bags in the freezer and let the water droplets freeze. Now I can shake out the frozen drops or simply reuse the icy cold bags.– G.S. in Tyler, Texas

HELPFUL HINT WHILE COOKING

Dear Heloise: I use a good-sized envelope from junk mail as a temporary trash container on my kitchen countertop. I only have to make one trip to the main trash can after cooking. It saves time and steps with no drips or spill. I enjoy your column. Thank you. — A reader, via email