A Day Off Means Work!! (Don't miss this tip!)

As with most working moms out there, my day off today consisted of a considerable amount of work!  I did get to "sleep in" for an extra hour this morning, though.  I use that term loosely because my time "sleeping in" was peppered with Col asking "can I get up now?", "Can I play my DS?", can I do this...that...etc, etc.  I finally gave up and started my day. :-)

So, now nearly ALL the laundry in my house is DONE, we've installed a new faucet in the kitchen and bathtubs, toilets, and floors have been cleaned.  But what I'm MOST proud of today is my SHINY SINK!!!

I really should have taken a "before" picture, but here's my sink now:

Yes, I have a cow on my sink.  It's been on every sink we've had since we were first married.  Back then, I wanted to do my kitchen in a black & white country farm kind of theme, but we couldn't afford to go out and by all new things.  My husband happened upon this toy cow at a yard sale and bought it for 25-cents so that I could have something black & white/cow/farm related in my kitchen. We've changed our kitchen decor a dozen times since then, but that cow goes with us where ever we go! :-)

I used the "shiny sink" method from flylady.net.  It is a VERY thorough cleaning that I have used in every place we've lived since I learned about it years ago.  We've been renters for more than 10 years, and while I'm not usually germ-o-phobic, the thought of using sinks without doing this really does make me cringe.  :/

So, I encourage all my readers who are renters or ministry wives with housing provided by the church to check out the flylady's method for shining your sink.  Even if you think your sink is clean already. :-) Here's the link for that: Flying Lessons: Shiny Sink.  (BTW, even if you own your own place and have for years, still check it out!!  While you're there browse around the flylady's site.  It's very helpful for any domestic engineer, whether you work outside the home or not.)

Since I love my readers so much that I gave you the link to see how to make your sink shiny, I won't bore you by regurgitating what that link will tell you.  I will, however, give you a few pointers that I've learned (I may have even learned them from the flylady and just don't remember...regardless, I'm sharing my knowledge anyway.) :-)

• The entire process will take more than two hours to complete, BUT each side needs to soak in the hot water/bleach mixture for an hour, so most of that time is just waiting.  It helps to have laundry available for while you're waiting. ;-)  
• Speaking of laundry, wear something you don't mind being ruined.  No matter how careful I think I will be, I still manage to get some bleach of some sort on my shirt & then get angry with myself.  Don't say I didn't warn you!
• Read all the instructions before you get started.  (probably should have put this one first, right???)
• DON'T BE AFRAID to use brillo/steelwool pads in your stainless steel sink!  What she tells you to do WILL NOT hurt your sink, I promise.
• If you have a shiny chrome faucet (like my new one above), I wouldn't use the steel wool pad on that -- I've never tried it, but I'm thinking that, unlike your sink, the chrome faucet WILL get hurt by the steel wool.  
• Use a sharp knife for the nasty crud/lime that may have built up over the year.  And be ready to put some elbow grease into it!  My cleaning the sink actually logged me about 24-minutes of activity on my body bugg, but my sink looks awesome!
• Flylady mentions that if your sink still doesn't look as good as you wanted, you can use certain types of oil to sort of "polish" it.  I've never used the oils, because my sinks always wound up looking great anyway.  Let me know if you try it and like the oil better.
• After you finish cleaning your sink, keep it up throughout the year.  The easiest way is to wipe your sink dry everytime you use it! I know, I know, that seems completely weird...and kind of OCD...but think about it - you know how those water spots on your really nice glasses irritate you when you unload the dishwasher (or dish drainer)?  Water spots will dull your stainless steel sink too!  And when people come over and don't see even a water spot, guess who just became the best housekeeper on the block? LOL

So, there you have it!  My first post about housekeeping.  When you try this, make sure to take a before/after pic if you're able, and post it in the comments for me to see!!

Happy Memorial Day, everyone!!