Dear Heloise:My cat stopped using his litter box for reasons he never explained, but he was happy to use a pee pad. So, after trying many other things to retrain him, I tossed the litter away and put a pad in a new but empty litter box. He has resumed using his box, and as I am able to switch out the pads whenever he urinates, there is never any lingering odor and no litter to sweep up. — Cindi N., via email

PEELING GARLIC

Dear Heloise: My husband grows garlic. Lots of garlic. The large heads are great, but there are always a lot of small heads that I find difficult and frustrating to peel. Any suggestions? — Paula M.W., in Portland, Oregon

Paula, try this: Smash the clove of garlic with the flat side of a knife, then peel the small clove. Or microwave the entire garlic head for about 20-25 seconds, and the skin should come off easily.

The third method is to take the garlic, place it in an empty, clean glass jar, and shake the jar vigorously. The skin should be easy to remove after this. — Heloise

KEEP YOUR BUTTONS ON

Dear Heloise: Sherry G. from Charleston, West Virginia, was concerned about losing her pretty buttons on a blouse. The easiest way to keep them intact is to use a few drops of a liquid that is designed to stop thread from fraying or breaking. It is quick and so easy. I use it on anything that I purchase before wearing the item of clothing.

This can be purchased at most fabric stores. The salespeople can usually help you find it. — Lynda, in Orange County, California

PICK UP A BOOK

Dear Heloise: Schoolteacher Margaret was correct in her letter. I am 76 and a retired judge. My mother read to me when she was pregnant. While setting bonds in criminal court, I noticed that most criminals did not have a father at home, were chronic truants, dropped out of school in the ninth or tenth grade, and listed Baptist or Catholic as their religion but could not name their preacher or priest.

Research shows that they read at a fourth-grade level and that their math is at a third-grade level. A professor of education in my Kiwanis Club told me that the number of books in a home will determine a child’s future. Most criminals had less than three books at home. So, our club started putting children’s books in places that welfare mothers would go to, like doctors’ offices.

The label we put in the books said that if you read this book to your child, you can take it home. I volunteered to read to a first grader for 20 years at an inner city school. My first child went from the bottom of their class to the principal’s list in one semester. (A friend of mine said, “If you have been reading to a first grader for 20 years, shouldn’t he at least be in the second grade by now?”)

Volunteer to read to a child who goes to public school. Buy cheap books at the dollar store and tell them they can keep it when they learn to read it. William Jennings Bryan, the great populist, said that if you want to distinguish a sane man from a crazy man, put a bucket under a faucet and give them a ladle to dip out the bucket. The crazy man will do as you say, but the sane man turns off the faucet first. We wait until the child goes to prison. — Robert D., via email

SEND A GREAT HINT TO: Heloise@Heloise.com