DEAR HELOISE: I always thought working from home would be the ideal job. I never thought it would be as difficult as it is. In fact, I have more stress now that I work from home than I ever had at an office setting. We don't have children, but I'm distracted by phone calls from family and friends, as well as errands. And, I'm the last of the red-hot procrastinators. How can I get the self-discipline I need to get work done on time?

DEAR READER: You need to set up a room for an office, one which has a lock on the door. If at all possible, don't work on your coffee table or dining table. Get up in the morning at the same time every day. Get your breakfast or morning coffee, and get to work. If you work from 8 a.m. to noon, stop and take a lunch break, but only allow yourself 60 minutes. Then, back to work until 3 or 4 p.m.

Tell your family and friends that they may only call you after 4 p.m., or whatever your clock-out time happens to be. Do not answer their calls until after the time you specified. If this is too difficult, then find a schedule you can live with and stick to it. Above all else, get organized. Whatever you need to organize your office, get it and use it. You can get second-hand book shelves, a desk and computers.

Got a spouse? Tell them they'll need to pitch in to help with the house or yard work and with errands. People mistakenly think if you're home all day, the house should be spotless, and the laundry should be done. Well, if your office is a bedroom down the hall, and you're busy with office work, you can't scrub the kitchen floor.

Self-discipline is not actually as hard as you think. However, it may be that you'll need to return to an office setting in order to get your work done. For some people, this just works out better for them.

DEAR HELOISE: It seems that when I buy a cat toy, my cat tears it up in a few days. What can I use as a cat toy that's cheap and hard for the cat to ruin?

DEAR READER: Put a small bell and a few pebbles in an empty pill bottle and let them roll it around. Or, try a crumpled ball of paper. Let them chase it when you throw it. You can also roll and tuck an old sock into a ball.

DEAR HELOISE: I recently discovered that by dropping a denture tablet into my commode bowl, I could remove stains in my commode. I do it every night, and my commode is sparkling white!

DEAR READER: This also works well if you fill the kitchen or bathroom sink with water and put a denture-cleaning tablet in the water. Let it sit for about 15 to 18 minutes, then let the water out, and the sink should be clean.

Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or email

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