New Favourite Cleaning Recipe

Now I know I said I would post my IKEA deals today, but sadly I have been super busy, fitting in end of school fun, baseball and mini-soccer,  and last minute rushes for the last day of strawberry picking! I did have a moment to address my disgusting kitchen floors though, and thanks to a "magic shower cleaner" I've been seeing all over Pinterest, my grout is finally back to its medium grey state (not brown). Sorry if these pictures are kind of gross, but I'm really excited about this!

For those of you thinking about dark grey tile because it will "mask" dirt, be warned. This tile shows every coffee dribble, dirty shoe mark, sauce drop, etc. It is particularly dirty in this case because of all the outdoor yard work;  with no sod in the backyard dirt was making its way through the backyard...
I started to clean with a grout brush and my "magic solution". Soon my sink looked like this:

And Ta da! Here is the after...

The grout almost looks better than new! If you would like to try it, here is the recipe:
Fill a bucket (or sink) with 2 inches of water
Add 1 cup vinegar
Add a tablespoon of dishsoap.
Use a grout scrub brush for best results (I got mine at home depot). What I like best about this recipe is that it does not leave a film like baking soda recipes do.
Happy cleaning!

Home Resolutions

As the new year fast approaches, resolutions are on my mind. While I have the usual health and wellness resolutions like most people (although, I'm going to go easy on myself and use the newborn excuse); I also have a few resolutions to make my home a happy and healthy place:

Pinterest

This picture made me laugh when I saw it, but I have been feeling overwhelmed by junk in my house lately and will continue on my purging spree. My hope in the new year is to go room by room with a donate bag and get rid of everything I haven't used last year. So far, so good!

La Dolce Vita

Once I've determined what can stay and what can go, the next resolution is to find a solution for the lack of closets in the bedrooms (isn't that closet to die for, by the way?). The arrival of little Hazel has me climbing over awkward furniture arrangements to accommodate the extra crib and baby clothes in our room. Hopefully we can sell old dressers and my handyman can think of a custom solution to the problem (hint, Christmas present?).

Flylady

Now that (hopefully) things are put away in their proper places, one of my resolutions is to get on some sort of cleaning regime. A lot of people swear by flylady; I don't want to get to psychotic about cleaning but I like the idea of people being able to stop by and visit me anytime without me being embarrassed of the pile of dishes on the counter (yes, I am a naturally messy girl).

 Sarah Richardson Design

It's all in the details! I must look at my house from a fresh perspective and finish of the details in rooms I've neglected. Hanging mirrors in the bathroom, finishing paint projects and trimming up doors, for example. Details will matter when I sell my house, but I have acclimated to its unfinished state. Perhaps having a friend make a list for me will help.

And that's about it! More than enough projects to keep me busy. What are your house resolutions for the new year?

How to get a Shiny Sink Without the Nasties

For a while I was really into the FlyLady. She's an online guru for de-cluttering and it was really great for us when we were trying to lose our slovenly ways. Her big thing is to shine your sink before you go to bed so that you wake up with it all beautiful. It's a really nice thing to do and got us into the habit of making sure the kitchen was really spotless after dinner.

However, her method involves lots of chemicals - bleach, Ajax etc. Here's how I do it using safer products. Warning - this is not going to be a pretty post! My sink's pretty old and (was) crusty and if I can get near-new looking results on it then yours will be amazing if it's newer.

First, dump a pile of Baking Soda (Bicarbonate of Soda) and/or salt in there. I prefer plain baking soda, but I was almost out that day so it's a mix.Then add a good squirt of whatever dishsoap you use. I use some hippy-dippy stuff (7th Generation normally) but Dawn or whatever you use is fine. Please note how disgusting my sink was, pre cleaning.

 Now get a scrubbie and scrub away. Because you're not using anything harsh you don't even need gloves! Woot! Make sure you get around the taps. Then rise it away and dry! Drying it is the most important step.

If you want to go one step further into insanity, you can use some Windex on it to really shine it, but I don't do it (and didn't for these pics). Then feel totally Martha Stewart.