Category Archives: Cleaning
Challenging me.
Like a lot of people, I like to start the new year off with a clean slate. This includes a little detox of the diet, a little more emphasis on exercise and a deep clean of the house.
This year I decided to find a couple challenges to inspire me. Here’s the two I decided to run with.
1. Throw out fifty things
The first challenge I found was the Throw out fifty things started by Gail Blanke. I heard about this through Jess and thought this would be a great way to break through the clutter.
Gail has a nifty worksheet that walks you through how to purge your home room by room.
I’ve been working through my house during my winter break and here’s the fifty things I came up with.
1-9) Books 10) Microwave Candle Wax Kit 11) Index Card Holder 12-13) Notebooks 14-18) According Files and Organizers 19-20) Tea Cup Set and Teapot 21) Shower Caddy 22) Reindeer Ears 23-27) Metal Canisters and Cup 28) Cutting Board 29) Orchid Pot 30) Christmas Mr. Potato Head 31) A box of Glade candles 32) Ten Nail Polishes 33-34) Two candle holders 35) Booties 36) Purple cardigan 37) Sunglasses 38) Cat toy* 39) Bunch of Skin Care Items* 40) Bunch of Makeup* 41) Mouth Wash* 42) Hair Protector* 43) Expired Medication* 44) Old phone charger 45-48) Three board games 49) Rug* 50) Glass Bowl2. Project 10 Pan
Maybe you are like me and have a full cabinet of skincare and makeup products. I bought a lot of stuff to try before our Bath Crasher’s appearance and I don’t use them on a regular basis. So to work through “my stash” my second challenge is Project 10 Pan. It is a commitment to finish up 10 beauty products before buying anything else that is unnecessary.
I couldn’t find the exact origin of this challenge, but it is very popular in the online beauty community. To see more about the variations of the challenge, just google “project 10 pan.”
Looking through my products, I actually came up with twelve I want to use up.
Here’ my products:- Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in r.s.v.p.
- YSL Touche Eclat Radiant Touch
- Your Best Friend Automatic Eyebrow Pencil
- Revlon ColorStay Liquid Liner
- Hard Candy Fox in the Box Blush in Smooth Talker
- Bare Minerals Spf 30 Natural Sunscreen Powder in Medium
- Jason Tea Tree Scalp Normalizing Shampoo
- Dr. Hauschka Daily Revitalizing Eye Cream
- Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion
- Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer in Nude
- Kiehl’s Superbly Efficient Anti-Perspirant & Deodorant Cream
- Make up for ever Mat Velvet+ Matifying Foundation
I’ll report back on how it goes.
*Not picture because already gave away or threw out
My new best friend
Above: Duplex living circa 2008
The duplex we rented 2007-2010 was owned by retired legal secretary named Margaret. She was a great land lady keeping the duplex in top shape. The woman absolutely thrived in a world of order and cleanliness.
Margaret gave me all sorts of tips during our three year stay. One product she introduced me to was Bar Keepers Friend. She hinted it would make my “well used” kitchen pots look like new.
I had never used the stuff, but picked up a container. I soon found that it was a great multipurpose cleaner plus it made my tarnished pots shine like the sun.
Now years later, I’ve been looking for a safe way to clean our brushed stainless steel fireplace and mailbox. Both pieces are such focal points, the last thing I wanted to do was accidentally scratch them with the wrong cleaner.
But, it wasn’t until I read a forum about cleaning with Bar Keepers Friend that the light bulb went off in my head.
Of course…that stuff would totally work!!
Here’s how.
How to clean brushed stainless steel (or chrome)
Although I adore our mailbox, the stainless steel shows dirt and grime so easily.
Here you can see how someone taped a flyer to it that left a sticky residue.
Plus it’s covered with fingerprints and water stains from regular usage.
So to clean it – mix Bar Keepers Friend with a little water to make a paste.
Then rub the paste on the surface in the same direction as the brush marks until all the grime is removed.
Rinse off the paste with a clean cloth and water.
Then polish (again in the direction of the brush marks) with a clean microfiber cloth.
Success!! The sticky marks are gone.
As well as the rest of the dirt.
This stuff rocks! It doesn’t scratch and leaves a wonderful shiny finish. I urge you to try it on your pots or anything that’s stainless steel or chrome.
I was not paid nor given Bar Keepers Friend to review. I just really like it.
On to shed organization.
Did you know that we don’t have a garage, basement nor an attic? Concrete block construction and a flat roof leave little space for any of those things. So our backyard shed is the only place for us to store tools, paint and seasonal decorations outside.
The shed is a cool structure. It could easily be converted into a cabana or bar for the summertime. It has two giant sliding barn doors and even a light.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t fare so well during the winter months. Rain floods the ground and recently the roof has begun to leak. We even had a bunch of fungi this year.
We have grand plans to perhaps add an attic and/or convert our carport to a garage in the future. Until that happens, we are making the best of our shed.
The roof will be repaired this summer and with a bunch of reorganization we hope to avoid more disasters this year.
Nate took the responsibility of organizing the shed last week during his first few days of summer vacation. It was a mess and pretty difficult to maneuver.
Now, everything has its place and is labeled.
The left side has all our holiday decorations, camping gear, ice chests, tools and pool supplies. We have organized all our parts based on project so we can actually find something when we are looking for it.
All our extra paint, gardening tools and lawnmower sit on the right side.
Nate was able to recycle tons of cardboard and many odds and ends we have been holding onto “in case we needed them” them.
As the household hoarder (Nate’s term not mine), I went through my own boxes of childhood stuff and consolidated them down to two.
I found my inherited silverware set that I thought was lost, chuckled over my dragon Halloween costume from college and marveled at the many labeled boxes of thimbles I have from my grandmother (above).
The best part is all my favorite children’s books now have a home inside along with a few other keepsakes like my chunk of amethyst (my birthstone) and a ceramic mouse my mom made me. It makes me feel good to incorporate all these memories into my current home.
I also found this iridescent snack set I picked up in college. I don’t think I have ever seen a snack set as beautiful as this one. It went straight into the dishwasher so I can use it soon.
A little vinegar
With another big storm hitting Northern California last weekend, we focused on making the final touches on the hallway.
One of the most rewarding was cleaning the crusty old cabinet door hinges.
I soaked them in a mixture of water and white vinegar for a couple minutes before scrubbing them down with a wire brush and steel wool.
The whole project took me about an hour and look at the result! The power of vinegar is extraordinarily.
I am in love with the Hoover WindTunnel
This month my first vacuum just met his demise. He had a tough life. Let’s just say he sucked a lot of bad, shag carpet over the years.
His replacement was an easier decision than I figured it would be. I was looking for a bagless vacuum that would have good suction on hard floors. I also wanted wanted a deal.
Amazon
Two days later the mighty WindTunnel arrived and the cats of course had to check out the new purchase.
I am amazed at this vacuum. I used it on what I thought was a “clean” area rug and it sucked up a half a canister of filth.
Other great features I am loving:
*Very quiet
*Retractable power cord
*Rinse and clean HEPA filter
Needless to say, I was impressed. I have read a few reviews about how this vacuum has issues a couple months in, so I will report back and give an update on how my love affair with the Wind Tunnel is going.
Over the weekend
This weekend was a whole lot of little projects between lots of grading (Nate), dancing and relaxing. Nate and I attended a surprise birthday on Saturday night that wiped us out! I was glad to get the little bit done that I did!
I spent some time organizing my kitchen and giving it a good scrubbing.
I bought the Bissell Spotbot
Finding seed catalogs in my mailbox made me start thinking about this year’s vegetable garden. I plan on starting seeds soon in my handy growing kit.
And I began working on some silly Valentine’s Day decorations. More on this to come!
Packing Away Christmas
This weekend I am packing away my Christmas decorations. I have been postponing since I just got back from Maui. I didn’t feel like I had enough time with my tree this year. I could tell our tree felt the same and didn’t want to go. He stayed fresh and fragrant until today.
To Nate’s chagrin, I bought new storage boxes for my ornaments. I may have an unhealthy appreciation for organizing supplies, but I truly felt I needed to start taking care of my heirlooms. I had a scare when I pulled out all my Christmas stuff and couldn’t find the majority of my Grandma’s ornaments. I had them stored in a nondescript, reused IKEA box. For a second I was certain we accidentally threw them away and my heart sunk until I found them safe in the shed.
After the scare, I vowed to take better care of my keepsakes and bought three containers specifically for the ornaments. I won’t misplace those beautiful glass bulbs ever again.
And what did I do with the old IKEA box? Well, Loki decided it was a perfect hiding spot. Nothing goes unused in our house.
