365 Project #358 Fall Cleaning

It's a beautiful bright Fall day here in Central Texas and I've been hit hard with the Fall Cleaning bug. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's the biological trigger that warns you winter is coming and you're going to be cooped up in the house for awhile so you'd better get it nice and tidy. I suspect that's why we invented holidays, so we'd have an excuse to clean the cave/pueblo/apartment/duplex/house/mansion for the winter. 

Before music and art I was a compulsive housekeeper. Thank goodness I'm over it, bigtime, and the bug only hits every now and then. BUT, I simply don't have the energy to deep clean so I'll have to develop good daily habits. Uh, oh. That sounds a lot like ADULTING-NOOOOOOOOO.

HERE'S MY FAVORITE BLOG POST OF ALL TIME. If you think it's funny you will totally understand me. Good luck.

365 Project #320 Who Ya Gonna Call?

Some of my cleaning jobs require some specialized services, like cobwebbing a home with really high vaulted ceilings. Since I have no problem with heights, it's not too difficult. Thank goodness this ceiling fan just needed brushed off, not washed. This time.

365 Project #279 Restoring A Black Sink

This is my friend Sheri's cast fiberglass sink. It's been looking pretty scratched and faded lately so I scrubbed it up and put some paste wax on it. It looked much better.

I thought I remembered there being a tinted car wax, but the memory was a little hazy. I asked several people and they hadn't heard of such a thing, then I went into the car parts store and found three kinds! I got Turtle Wax Color Magic Car Polish. It includes a hard waxy crayon for deep scratches and gouges and a cleaning polish in black. The Amazon reviews are excellent.

It does a great job if you don't expect a brand-new sink (or car). I'm pleased and I think as I keep treating it weekly, it'll be even better. Gave the black stovetop a nice shine, too. Protip; wear gloves. I'd like to make this really clear; this is not a true fix. The sink looks better but the wax is on the surface and will soon wash and wear off if not kept up.

365 Project #44 Laundry Day

I like to do all the laundry in one shot so I don't have to think about it more than once a week (or two).  I love to hang clothes outside, it's satisfying on so many levels.  The clothes last longer, smell wonderful and the sunshine actually disinfects them.

I get very little sun, not being much of an outdoorsy person, so I put on a camisole and sometimes shorts to hang clothes.  I get a little bit of tan and feel healthy all week.  The past few weekends have been miserably cold and wet and I deeply resented having to machine-dry the clothes. The electric bill reflected the difference, too.

You may notice all our clothes are pretty much the same.  You're right...and that's another post.  Stay tuned!

This past Sunday was beautiful, bright and breezy.  Yeah, this is Texas in February (sometimes).  That's why we live here.

365 Project #32 How To Care For Granite Countertops

Most people think there's a 'special way' to care for those beautiful granite countertops.  Well, yes and no.  Fact is, the simpler the better.  Granite is natural stone and really doesn't appreciate being abused by harsh cleansers and disinfectants.  All you need is warm water with a few drops of mild dishwashing liquid and a nubby washcloth.  For a little more scrubbing power use a sponge with a scrubbing side, but never use anything more aggressive than that.  Rinse the cloth out with fresh water and wipe to remove any detergent and bring out the shine of the surface.

For more details and advice on disinfecting, check out this article.

365 Project #30 Loading the Dishwasher

Haven't you always suspected there was an ideal way to load your dishwasher?  There is!  Every dishwasher manufacturer designs and tests for the most efficient use of water and pressure to produce the best results.

Every owners manual has practical suggestions for loading, it's best to take a look and see what they recommend.  Can't find your manual?  Search online by typing the brand name, model # and 'manual'.  Or, this guy went to the time and trouble of downloading instruction manuals from essentially every dishwasher manufacturer in existence.  There are some generic suggestions online, too, just search for 'loading dishwasher'.  

It makes a difference.  Try it and see if you think so, too.  Dang, I just realized I loaded those small bowls wrong.  See if you can figure out why.

This Fly Repellent Really Works

For years I had heard about this simple fly repellent and seen it in restaurants and some people's homes, but hadn't bothered to try it.  After cleaning and cooking deer meat for several days we seemed to be chasing a lot of flies.  I think they're very attracted to proteins.  It's a simple matter of putting water in a plastic bag and hanging in the doorway.  We haven't had a fly in the house for over a month.  There are many theories as to why it seems to work, but all I know is it's Spring, in Texas...that means it really works, y'all.