refridgerators
Mood:  chatty

No more Science experimens in the fridge!

Have you ever noticed that your fridge door kinda dont wanna open? that perhaps it sticks a bit?

Its telling you, no...begging you , to clean it!

Have you items thoughtfully placed in pastic containers that you now have no idea what it started out to be? or perhaps you were with it enough to label it, but now it doesn't ressemble anything close to the label?

if its growing a beard and turned a gray green shade, its your personal version of killer bacteria.

Have you any items that should be soft and are now hockey puck like in feel?

Have you ever taken out the bottom drawer? are there strange odors emminating from the keeper of your food?

then get busy cleaning!

here's how!

Begin with hot water and add a small amount of dish liquid and a tablespoon or so of baking soda.

The baking soda will soften the water and help deodorize the fridge.

Remove all items from the door first. If the little shelf brackets are removable [and most are] pop them out and scrub them in the sink with the same cleaning products in your small bowl of hot water. wash down the door and replace the brackets.

take an old toothbrush and toothpaste and clean the rubber gasket around the door, then wipe dry so mold doesn't appear later. be sure to do the bottom carefully as this is where the door is most likely sticking.

take out the bottom crisper drawer, and wash with hot water and dish liquid and rinse thoroughly and dry, don't forget to clean where the drawer sat, the under side where mold and nasties grow and make the fridge smell bad!

Remove and review all items in the main part of the fridge, if you dont know what is was, is or may be, toss it out!

do NOT store open cans of food in the fridge, always place in a plastic container and use it as soon as possible!

clean the shelves in hot water, a vegetable brush is good for this, dry all fridge parts before re-inserting and then put back only good, or new products.

wash the outer part of the fridge to complete the picture of food that wont kill stored there and you have a nice, clean, bacteria free fridge. One last thing, check to see if there is a drain pan under the fridge, its usually accessable from the front, pull it out and clean it, its the source of many bad odors and bacteria and mold in the kitchen aside from the cabinets under the sink.

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getting the windows and mirrors clean

There are a few ways to clean glass that gives much better results than those sprays you can buy at the store.

For windows, I really like the effect of the following.

using hot water and a small amount of ammonia, soak a clean rag in the solution and wipe over the offending window, do one window at a time, dont try to "mass clean".

while that is still wet, take CHROME POLISH..yes, you read that right. put a small amount on a rag and rub that over the window that has the ammonia water on it. Once it dries to a haze, rub it off using newspaper that you have crumpled. I have gotten results that make the window appear so clear, its like no glass is there.

[all tips require caution and elbow grease]

now mirrors.

no matter what, the mirror has streaks and haze. but, brew some regular tea [lipton or  what you like] the tannin in the tea will do the cleaning for you. brew some nice medium strong tea and into another spritz bottle, [dont use the one you use for ammonia cleaning] spray the glass lightly then rub off using lint free rag or newspaper [the old the newspaper the better]

you will find that there will be no residual haze or smearing and the tea wont hurt the mirror at all.

clean in the kitchen
Mood:  energetic

OUCH! did you look at the stove?

the best way to clean the top surface of the stove, where the burners are, is when the oven is on and the surface is sort of hot. But you dont have to do it then, its just easier then. in hot water put one tablespoon of ammonia. This should always be used with caution, try not the breath it in, its some powerful stuff, and never, ever, mix bleach with it.

Take a sponge that has a scrubber on the reverse side, get it soaked in your mixture and start cleaning, the ammonia will cut through the grease and the stove top will shine.

If grease has hit the back splash area of your stove, spritz a bit of the same solution on it [using a plastic spray bottle you will NEVER use for anything else] and then take a rigid plastic spatula, [the kind used on coated pans so it wont scratch the coating off] and start scraping across the back splash, you will see the greasy mess come off onto the spatula, clean it is the bowl of ammonia water and keep going.

If you have a glass viewing window on the stove door that no one can see through except through a golden brown haze of cooked on grease, do the same thing, spritz the hot ammonia and water onto it, wait a moment then using the spatula, scrape across, the grease will come off in sheets.

Now those burners..are they black and sticky? its baked on grease and you haven't cleaned them in you can't remember how long?

well, take a plastic bowl or pan big enough to hold at least two of them and have them be covered in liquid, a plastic trash bag, ammonia [1 cup] and lots of boiling water [enough to fill the pan]

place the blackened burners in the pan [do this outside, its safer and make sure no animals can't get at it] place them top side down one on the other. cover with the boiling water and then add the ammonia

this should all be placed in the plastic trash bag and the bag sealed.

Let it sit at least one or two hours.

carefully, very carefully, open the bag, try not to breath in the fumes, its nasty, let it air for a minute,then, wearing house hold platex type gloves, take one burner out and start scrubbing. you will see the grease has loosened and softened, elbow grease is whats needed. if all doesn't come off the first time, reseal the bag and let them sit longer. the first time you do this takes a while, but after that, maintenance once a month or so will keep thoe burners clean, and at least the stove will be impressive to visitors.

Making the Bedroom a fresh nest.
Mood:  bright

Does Your Bedroom smell funky?

To you, living in it night after night, it may smell, well, like you. But, to others who may come by and perhaps have to go through your room to the powder room, or if they are over night guests, whether family or romantic, it may have a funk that can be really quite the turn off.

One way to clear the air in there, is to be sure you take those sheets off at least once every two weeks and wash them. Waiting till they are crunchy is not the test.

So, grab those sheets and pillow cases and toss them into a washer and get busy doing that. Now, while they are cogitating in the washer, take the pillows and a fabric softener sheet and toss them in the dryer on air fluff. If they are fiber fill, add a ltitle heat, but those foam ones should not be heated.

That going on, take carpet freshener, [a powder for the carpet] and some baking soda, or buy the kind of carpet freshener made with baking soda, and sprinkle that all over that mattress. Work it in with a gloved hand [the kind for doing dishes, as the baking soda can be abrasive] and turn your attention to the furniture in there, be sure to get the dust off the surfaces and the dust rag should be cleaned out, so as not to release the dust back into the air.

when the sheets are dried head back to the bedroom and vacuum up the freshener. Not only will the room and the mattreess be fresh and clean smelling, but the dust in there will be removed and with it, the dust mites that live there. Among other beasties that live along side you in your home, dust mites are a major cause for coughing and sneezing and, most of the dust you breath in contains not a small portion of dust mite pooh.

As they live in the dust and in your mattress and pillows, they are eating the skin cells you shed, which you do daily. they will also consume body oils that collect. so, every breath has a lot of poop in it..no wonder you were coughing!!

Your room wont be finished till you have vacuumed the rug, or washed the floor if no rug is in there..but oh! The smell when you are done..I recommend using aroma therapy type frangrances..preferring less cloying scents. Baby Powder scent is great on the baby, and maybe, just maybe, in tennis shoes, but not on your mattress, you will quickly get tired of that, and rose or potpourri will get old very quickly also.

so I would pick lavender or lilac, maybe jasmine.

You need only do the mattress once a month, but the sheets, remember, twice a month!!

You may find you spend a bit more time in there now its clean and fresh.