Oven Cleaner

My preferred method of cleaning my oven consists of two steps
1) push that magical button that says self cleaning
2) 24 hours later wipe up the left over ashes

 You can see it's pretty difficult and time consuming for me *insert serious sarcasm*

But I read on the Internet (so it must be true) that using the self cleaning option takes years off your oven.  Years off my oven?  Does that mean it will turn into a wood burning stove? ba dum bum

So I thought I would try a new cleaning method and hoped it wouldn't require to much effort

Non-Toxic Homemade Oven Cleaner

• 1 Tbsp borax
• 1/2 c. vinegar
• 1/8 c. dish soap
• 1 c. boiling water

Combine everything in a spray bottle and shake well.  Sprinkle the inside of your oven with baking soda. Spray a thick layer of the oven cleaner all around your oven. Thick, thick layer. Sprinkle with baking soda. Leave overnight, and scrub out in the morning with a hot, wet rag.

 A word to the wise..... or the not thinking clearly.  Boiling water melts plastic, don't pour boiling water into a plastic spray bottle, unless you want to throw that bottle away and spend the next 10 minutes digging through every cupboard in your house trying to find a new one.

Eventually I had my ingredients and I had my messy oven

I sprinkled on the baking soda then I sprayed and sprayed and sprayed some more.  It bubbled a little bit, but that was to be expected. 

 I poured some more baking soda on top of the liquid, shut the oven door and crawled into bed. 

The next morning I grabbed a rag, soaked it with hot water and started to scrub.

The Verdict: Wow! Look at that shine spot.  My rag got a little bit dirty, that was it.  Pretty disappointing.  Oh well, time to use my magical self cleaning button.

Scratch On, Scratch Off

Several years ago my mom and I were transferring a car from Utah to North Carolina.  We were listening to a book on tape about positive thinking when I as pulled over for speeding. We were only 6 hours into our drive so you can imagine my frustration.

As the police officer took my information back to his car I started to wallow in self pity. The book was still playing in the background so I said to my mom, "It's time to test the theory of this book.  That cop is not going to give me a ticket.  He is going to see my North Carolina drivers license and the Utah plates on this car and he is going to have pity on me because we have we a very long drive ahead of us." (These are not the droids you are looking for)

The cop came back, asked a few questions about why we were taking the car to NC then he said "I just did the same drive a few months back. It's a long drive.  I'll let you go with a warning but make sure you slow down." HA! Jedi mind tricks do work!

If only that positive thinking would work on my kids "you will potty train yourself and not have any accidents."

When I saw a pin about making your own scratch off card I implemented this same type of positive thinking the whole time I was working on them.

Being able to make your own scratch off?!?!?  There are so many things you can do with that. Door prizes, Fathers Day cards, games for a kids birthday party etc and etc. I wanted them to work so badly that I kept repeating in my head "it will work" while making them. 

The original poster has cute templates for Valentine's Day cards that you can turn into scratch offs.

Scratch Off cards

1. Acrylic Paint (I used silver, but any color can be used)

2. Dish Soap

3. Pen

4. Small paint brush

5. Card printed on card stock

6. White crayon

1. PRINT: Print card design on card stock (see my designs below which can be downloaded).

2. WRITE MESSAGE: In the hearts that will be scratched off, write sweet things for your Valentine with a pen. In my case I offered small acts of service, but it can be anything...be creative. Warning: Before you move onto the next step make sure the ink is COMPLETELY dry. A thin Sharpie may work best, but not necessary.

3. CRAYON: Cover message, and where ever the scratch-off area will be, completely with a white crayon. 

4. MIX PAINT: Mix two parts acrylic paint with one part liquid dish washing soap. You don't need a lot a little bit goes a long way!

5. PAINT: Paint mixture over the area that you covered with the crayon. You will need to be very liberal with your your application, as the wax from the crayon will act as a repellent. I applied very thick amounts of paint on in a dabbing motion. You can also repeat this process once it has dried.  If the paint appears bumpy or uneven don't worry because when it dries it will be perfectly smooth. 

6. DRY: Due to the thickness of the paint and the fact that the paint can't be absorbed in the paper, the valentine will need to dry for about 1 hour before it is completely dry. 

7. SCRATCH: Provide a penny for your Valentine to scratch off their personalized message that is just for them. 

 

So I grabbed my materials while chanting my mantra "it will work," and started the process.  I used a colored pencil and a pen to see if it mattered what you write with and to try two different colors on. I wish I could tell you why that DIY in colored pencil is off in it's own world, but I have no idea why I wrote it there and not by the others.  I then scribbled over them with white crayon, making sure the completely cover the area.

Using a medicine dropper I put 2 parts of paint to 1 part of the soap.  Then I realized that this was time consuming and way to precise.  So when I went to mix the next color I just let drops fall from the bottle and it mixed up just fine.

 I mixed my colors then dabbed them on. The crayon didn't fight the paint as much as I thought it would, but dabbing was a lot easier then strokes.  I let them dry then dabbed more paint on. 

The Verdict: After three coats of paint it still looked like this.  Not a very successful scratch off if you can see the words. 

I refused to think that this was a bust and decided to try again with black and add more layers with blue. 

The Verdict: EUREKA!!!! It's sloppy looking and it didn't dry smooth like the original poster said it would, but that black paint covered the words.  The blue didn't though, It didn't matter how many coats of paint I put on, the ink kept showing through.  

 
I grabbed a paper clip (all of my coins have mysteriously disappeared ever since my 2 year old learned what money is. I expect to find a stash some day since no coins have appeared in her diaper) and scratched away. The paint came right off and it worked great.  The colored pencil smeared a bit and faded so pen is the way to go.  

Once again my positive thinking pays off.  The force is strong in this one.

Makeup Brush Cleaner

When I bought my first make up brush from a department store the lady at the counter told me to just wash it with mild soap and warm water every few weeks.  I have been doing this ever since and it seemed to work just fine. But of course I can't resist testing a new method when I see one.

It was another one of those pins that gives you all the details on the pin itself and when I clicked on it I was directed to spam. So here is the information from the pin.

Makeup Brush Cleaner
How to properly clean your makeup brushes. A tablespoon of white vinegar in a cup of hot water, and a 20 minute soak, followed by a hot, then cold rinse and pat dry will do it. Disinfects, dissolves grease/makeup, leaves no film, and inexpensive.

I grabbed my brushes that are now kept under lock and key since my two year old insists they are her paint brushes, then grabbed 4 individual glasses so i could see how much makeup came off of each one

Not wanting to miss a chance to see how well this method actually works, I grabbed the brush that gets the most use and washed it with soap and water (my normal routine) until the water ran clear.

I put the brushes in their glasses then went off to enjoy a wonderful game of 'house' with my kids.  This is a game that my son invented a few months ago.  My kids put me to bed then they go to 'meetings' while I 'sleep'.  They are usually in their 'meetings' for about 10 minutes then come back and tell me it's morning time.  10 whole minutes where I get to lay down kid free with zero guilt because in their minds I'm still playing with them.

About 20 min later I came back and the glasses looked exactly the same as the photo above.  So I grabbed each brush and swirled it around and tapped it on the bottom of the glass.  All sorts of disgustingness came out. When no more brown liquid came squirting out of the brushes I rinsed them in hot then cold water and set them out to dry.


The Verdict: This is another amazing DIYer.  I think it's fairly obvious which brushes I use the most.  

What really amazed me is how much makeup came out of the one that I thought was clean from the soap and water scrub I gave it right before. 

My brushes dried just fine and they work great.  It is like they are brand new.

Stove Hood Filter Cleaner (say that 10 times fast)

We have moved 9 times in the last 12 years.   All but one of those moves were into rentals. I have decided that the cleaning check list is universal and I have become really good at knowing what to clean and when to clean it in the weeks before a move. 

The one that has always baffled me is the filter above the stove.  I have always just scrubbed it with Dawn soap and called it good, but I could always tell that it wasn't doing a very thorough job.

When I saw a post about cleaning your filters using an easy and effective way the clean freak in me became all giddy and I tried it that day. 

Cleaning Stove Hood Filter
Haul out your biggest pot, fill it with water and bring it to a boil.  Then add 1/2 cup of baking soda very slowly because it will fizz. Submerge your filter into the pot.

I grabbed my biggest pot, filled it with water, waited for it to boil then poured in the baking soda.  It did indeed fizz but not as much as I was expecting. I then wrestled the filter out of it's little home (you think it would have just slid out since it was covered in so much grease) and went to put it into the pot.

Hmmmm that's a problem. I didn't realize my filter was super sized.

Lets pause here so I can give you a brief description of me. I tend to have a dual personality (I am female).  When confronted with a situation in a calm way then I can act calmly and my reaction will be 'ready aim....aim....aim....aim.... fire.'  However I am not quick on my feet.  When I am confronted with a situation in an even slightly stressful way I tend to have a reaction of 'ready, fire, aim.' I don't think things all the way through and the results always create more work and hassle and sometimes money.

Want proof of this?  Look at this beautiful photo.  It is a long story but this is a perfect example of what happens when I don't stop to think things all the way through.  If you want the full story of this mishap then see below.*

I tell you all this so you will understand why I did what I did next.  So there I was, with a pot of boiling water with baking soda and a stove filter that would not fit.  Here was my thought process;

Oh shoot!
Ok I need something big.... something big (as I am turning circles in the kitchen looking around)
Hey the sink is big enough
(and I poured the hot water into the sink and put the filter in.)

Now lets stop here and take a poll:  How many of you see the flaw in this action?  How many of you are thinking "Whats the big deal? It will be an easier clean up"

If you chose the first question then I commend you for thinking clearly.  If you chose the second then you have my empathy.

As I looked at my sink and saw the grease slowly rising from the filter it occurred to me that all that grease had to go somewhere and I really didn't want it to go down my drain.

What was my solution to this dilemma you ask?  Once the filter was clean I pulled it out of the sink and I threw a whole bucket of ice into the greasy water to try and freeze the grease into a solid.  Surprisingly, it worked.  Using a strainer I was able to get a lot of the grease chunks out.  I followed it up with a lot of DIY Drano.  It's been three months since this little adventure and my sink drain is still running just fine. (phew)

But back to the filter.  I let it soak for about 10 minutes then gave it a good rinse.

The Verdict: It worked really well and I was amazed at how much grease came out.  In the future I plan on using a casserole dish to soak the filter in. 

My mom once told me that I am a person who "gets the results I wanted, I just get there in a very creative way." This was definitely one of those moments.  


*A few years back I posted on my personal blog about how I broke that light fixture.  For your reading pleasure I have posted it below. But as a quick background, during this post I was 5 months pregnant with our first child and we had had our rescue dog for 6 months and we were still in the training process.

Have you ever had one of those days where you just want to hide under your covers? I had one of those recently. It started with my husband slamming his 4 fingers in the car door. We are both shocked that he didn't break anything but his fingers are very bruised and swollen and he probably wont' be able to use that hand for awhile. 

On my way home from work my car decided to up and die. Fortunately it wasn't a busy road so I was able to coast to the side and after several tries I got the car to start again. having your car die in traffic is never a fun activity.

My husband was working till midnight that day and I had a huge 'to do' list I was wanting to accomplish that evening. As soon as I got home everyone I know decided to take that moment to call me. Normally it would have been fun to sit and chat with all of them but my dog decided to grab everything in site and chew it so I was doing my best to run after him while carrying on a conversation.

Finally, 2 hours after getting home from work I was able to start my list. I headed outside to work in the yard a bit and brought my dog with me. Looking around the back side of the house I decided the best place to hook the end of Bud's 20 ft leash was the back porch light fixture because it's bolted to the house. Oh boy was I wrong! Bud got a smell of something and took off at a full on sprint ripping that light right out of its place. So now I have a spastic dog trying to get at whatever he smelled and a light fixture hanging from wires..... great!

 

Fuming, I locked Bud in the house and started a sad attempt to fix the light. I headed to the garage to find a wrench and my Houdini dog some how maneuvered right through my legs and ran off across the field by our house,  I swear I heard him yelling "freeeedoooooom!!!!"

I went and found his leash and a toy and started the chase. Bud got distracted by something on the ground so I took that moment to sprint through the field with my flip flops.... hello pot hole. Fortunately I only tripped a little and kept going. As I got closer I heard a squeak near Bud and wondered what he had. I yelled his name and he looked up at me with a baby rabbit in his mouth.... oh boy! 

I yelled, he dropped the rabbit, rabbit made a dash, Bud pounced on the rabbit and I pounced on Bud. I got the leash on him and with super human strength wrestled him away from the rabbit. I then decide that I needed to get the rabbit back to his den so it's mom can take care of him. So as I'm pushing Bud away with my right hand and leg I somehow manage to scoop the rabbit up in my shirt without touching it so my scent doesn't get on it (although looking back I'm sure that did nothing since it was in my shirt and my shirt has my scent on it) 

If any of my neighbors had looked out their window at this point they would have seen a crazy lady in her sweats in the middle of the field with a spastic dog trying to tackle her down and her shirt half way up exposing her pregnant belly.

I managed to get the rabbit back to it's den only to see that it's no longer moving, poor thing. I finally got back to the house and remembered that I had exposed wires outside and it was about to rain. Not knowing anything about wires I did the best that I could with rope and called it a night. It was a horrible terrible no good very bad day.

DIY Goldfish Crackers

Awww Goldfish.  You have helped me through many rough times my friend.  You have seen me through many temper tantrums and long car rides. You have made Dr. offices bearable and lunches more enjoyable. And even though you have spent many weeks lost in a car seats crevices, only to be found and consumed by little sticky fingers, you are still the snack that smiles back

Mother Nature has finally got her act together and brought winter to us.  It has been freezing outside and the kids are starting to get tired of their Christmas presents.  About two weeks ago we needed an activity so I decided to try homemade Goldfish with them

Homemade Goldfish Crackers
Ingredients:

• 8 ounces, Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Shredded
• 4 Tablespoons Butter, Cut Into Cubes
• 1 cup Flour
• ¾ teaspoons Salt
• 2 Tablespoons Cold Water

 Directions:

Pulse everything (except water) together in the food processor until the dough resembles coarse sand.
Pulse in water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Remove dough from the processor, wrap in plastic, and chill for 20 minutes.
Roll out the dough and cut into desired shapes. You can use a toothpick to make the eyes and smile if desired. Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 15 minutes, or until crispy. 

 My food processor is one of those cheap-o kind that come with a blender, so I wasn't sure how these would turn out, but it's always worth a try.

I threw the ingredients in the processor and turned it on. It only took a minute or so until everything was blended together and looked like sand. 

I poured the water in and in no time at all I had really thick grainy chunks. It reminded me of cheese curds.  I smashed it all together into a dough ball, put it in a Ziploc bag and stuck it in the fridge, only to be reminded that the fridge STILL needs to be cleaned out....... I'll do it tomorrow. 

 At this point the original poster pulled out homemade cookie cutters.  She cut up an aluminum can to make fish and pac-man shapes.  I had no desire to put so much effort into something that was going to be eaten in about 40 minutes so I just used regular cookie cutters.  Once the dough had chilled for 20 min I rolled out the dough (it was a bit crumbly and grainy, but it held together good enough) and handed the kids diamonds and stars. 

I had halved the recipe and we ended up with about 25 quarter sized crackers.

When I pulled them out of the oven I was surprised at how much the crackers had risen.  They almost doubled in size but it was all in height.

The Verdict: They didn't taste exactly like Goldfish but they were pretty close.  I like them better because they weren't as salty and they had a nice soft texture.

 The kids loved them and ate all of them that day.  I might of had a couple a few, ok fine, I ate about half of them.

I told a friend that we had made them and she mentioned that this isn't something she would ever do.  Why spend all that time making something when you can just buy it at the store? 

This of course got me thinking about how much time it took and if I was saving any money.

So I made another batch by myself using the full recipe, and this time I used my friends suggestion to use a pizza cutter to make little squares in the dough.

The total hands on time was 10 min.

The homemade crackers cost $4 for 13 oz.
The store brand cost $7 for 30 oz.

Ok, so this DIY isn't going to save you time or money, but the kids had a great time cutting the shapes and they tasted great.

Bath Crayons

What is it about kids and water?  It's like they have some 6th sense and know where all the puddles are and can't resist to splash and jump in them.

Because of this draw to water, the bathtub has become my go to spot for the kids.  When I am in need of a break I throw them in the tub and sit on the floor with a book  They will spend at least 30 minutes playing with the few toys they have in there.  If I throw in some bubbles then and I can add on another 15 minutes.

A few months ago this magical go to spot was losing it's magic and they were getting tired of the toys in the tub.  I saw a pin for making your bath crayons and thought that this would be a great way to get them excited again.

Homemade Bath Crayons
Buy some glycerin soap at a craft store. Melt it in the microwave, add food coloring, and pour into a mold. I used an ice cube tray. You can also add essential oils if you go for scents, though I find that a bit unnecessary for bath crayons. Takes about an hour to cool completely, then pop out of the mold and you have crayons!

I grabbed some glycerin (you can buy it at almost any craft store) and melted it in a pot on the stove.  It's easier for me to melt things on the stove then in the microwave.  I feel like I have more control, plus things don't explode. For some reason the picture on the bag makes me giggle.  The lady in the tub is so glamorous, and she is posing with a rubber ducky.

I poured the melted glycerin in an ice cube tray and added about 3 drops of food coloring.  

Using a toothpick, I mixed the food coloring into the ice cube tray and left it to cool.  It hardened up within an hour.  

The Verdict: Nothing.  Didn't even leave a hint of a color.  My son tried it on the tile, the grout and in the tub and it just left white soapy trails. 

 I got online and found a few comments on other websites about people having the same problem I had.   One person said they melt regular soap and add food coloring to that to make bath crayons.

So I grabbed a bar of Dove and melted it on the stove. This time I used half the amount of soap and double the amount of food coloring. I mixed it all together and left it to harden.

The Verdict: Still nothing.  If you look in the grout in the photo you can see little blue flakes.  That was all I could get after rubbing the soap really hard onto the grout. 

 Even though the crayons didn't work, my kids still had fun playing with the "colorful cubes" in the bathtub that night, so it wasn't a total waste. Plus they were very clean after playing with all that soap.

Getting Permanent Marker Off Your Wall

Ever since I learned about using Mayonnaise to get crayon off the wall I have been obsessed with it.  I am embarrassed to say that I have spent way to much time thinking about it and wondering if the Mayonnaise would get other things off the walls or if it was just for crayons.

I finally got enough courage to draw on my wall with pen and permanent marker so I could test it out.

I choose a very discrete place in my pantry that wouldn't show if the Mayonnaise failed to remove the ink, and made two pretty little scribbles.

I rubbed Mayonnaise all over the two marks and let it sit for several minutes.  I then came back to scrub the the spots and......

Oh poop!  Didn't even smudge it.

Welp, looks like I have some researching to do.  Several websites I found said that regular hand sanitizer will get any ink off the wall.  I grabbed what was in my diaper bag, squirted a bit on a rag and scrubbed at the ink.

The Verdict: Hooray! Both the pen and the permanent marker came right off with very little effort.  A little bit of the paint came off with it but not much. 

I now have a way to clean crayons, pen ink and permanent marker from my walls.  Lets hope my little gal doesn't find the acrylic paint.