Andy,<br><br>Neat idea! Can't hurt and may well do some good. Here's a tip for what to do with the messy little buggers: Hang onto those fat plastic straws the next time you get a pop (soda) at a fast food joint. Rinse them out and let them dry. Cut a section of straw about an inch (25mm) long or a little longer, and stretch out a cotton ball until you can stuff it into the section of straw with something like a screwdriver. Butt one end of the straw against something (countertop) and pack it in tightly. Trim straw so that the cotton is centered with about 1/8 inch (3mm) extra room on either end. It's compact and pretty mess-free now. If you make your cotton balls by soaking in liquified petroleum jelly (and squeezing out excess), they are slick enough that one method of removal from the straw is to simply squeeze one end of the straw and the cotton slides out like toothpaste from a tube.<br><br>As an alternative for packing in a PSK, use a length of straw that conveniently fits in your container and pask as many cotton balls in it as you can - you should be able to get 3 or 4 in a section that fits the long dimension of an Altoids tin without any trouble.<br><br>I've tried heat-sealing the straws but it's too difficult for me so far. Would welcome any cheap techniques that work reliably. I was eyeing my wife's electric iron, but she caught me looking and took it away from me :-)<br><br>Scouter Tom