Dear Heloise: My coffee comes out terrible. I’ve changed coffee brands, used cold tap water and distilled water, and measured my coffee grounds carefully, yet I always get such a nasty bitter taste to my coffee. What am I doing wrong? — C.N., in Texas

C.N., are you cleaning your coffeepot carefully and using the right grind for your coffeepot? I’ve found that when coffee starts to taste a little “off,” it’s usually due to a buildup of coffee oils.

First, run white vinegar through the coffeepot to help get the oily buildup out of the inner workings of the pot. You might have to do this twice if you’ve never done it before. Afterward, run clean, clear water through your coffeemaker to get the taste of vinegar out.

You can either run your coffeepot through the dishwasher or clean it by hand with warm water and a mild soap. However, do not run the mechanical part of the coffeemaker through the dishwasher — just the pot where the coffee goes into. — Heloise

GROCERY ­SHOPPING IN BULK

Dear Heloise: My husband and I live on a ranch out in the country. For this reason, we buy in bulk. I put items that can melt in plastic bags, but all of my other groceries are packed in paper bags. I make certain that these paper bags get recycled. By using this method, we can take the items in plastic bags inside first and get them into the refrigerator. The other items in paper bags can wait.

We also recommend that people use coolers with ice in them to carry meltable items if they are traveling a greater distance to and from the grocery store. — B.L., in Wyoming

LOST CLOTHING ITEMS

Dear Heloise: When washing my bedsheets each Wednesday, I also toss in whatever else that’s in the laundry hamper. Over time, I noticed that whenever I dried the load, small items such as socks and washcloths would invariably lodge in the pockets formed by the contour sheet’s elastic corners. They usually did not dry very well and often went forgotten until I found them later.

I discovered that if I place all of the other wet items in the dryer first, then add the contour sheet last, small things don’t get “lost” in a corner anymore. — J.R., in Houston

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Hints from Heloise run occasionally in Lifestyles. Readers may send a hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000, fax it to 210-HELOISE, or email: Heloise@Heloise.com. Letters won’t be answered personally.