3 - yes, buy them at bed, bath & beyond or target, kmart, walmart... they usually have grains in them ...wait where are you from? you can make your own, put dry uncooked rice in a sock and tie it. Microwave for about 2-3 minutes
The nearest BB&B had a fire last year, the local Walmart loses the most money out of all every year from theft and had a water main break several years ago, Kmart is 90% clothes, target doesn't have anything fancy like that And that's a waste of rice .__.
6) Its not a waste when you consider you keep reusing it. So long as you don't get it wet... you can always order online. I use my discount coupons so always get stuff like that cheap, but they are only 10-15 dollars anyway