Monday, November 1, 2010

Me, My Kitchen Sink, and Windex

As homemakers, the majority of us spend exorbitant amounts of time planted in front of our kitchen sinks. I stand there for at least an hour each day, considering that I cook often and we do not have a dishwasher.

This month I set out on a mission to see if I could improve my kitchen sink experience (I know that's a stretch, but hang with me here). I started with the illustrious job of shining my sink.

Which I had never, ever done before.

Or at least not properly.

Flylady (of course) was there to guide me through. Have you ever shined your sink? Here's how it goes...

A Sink Shining Project
My un-shined sink. The real, dirty deal. Yes, I know you see that sponge. I use a new one every day, promise! Don't hate.

Grime
I had my work cut out for me.

Up Close.
Keepin' it real here...

So! The solution. First, per Flylady's instructions, I removed all the dirty dishes and filled one side of my sink with really hot water and a cup of bleach:
Bleach
The bleach solution sits for an hour, then you remove the plug with tongs and rinse out your sink. Repeat on the other side, rinsing well when you are done.

Baking Soda
Then I scrubbed my entire sink with baking soda, using a pan scraper to get in all the cracks and crevices. Then I rinsed well (Flylady emphasizes that you should rinse after each step!!).

Lookin' Better

The final step is to shine your sink up with window cleaner. And look!
The Shiny Finish
A vast improvement.

Ta-DA!

Now that I've done nitty-gritty work of thoroughly shining my sink, all it needs is a little maintenance each day (window cleaner to keep it shiny). Flylady says she keeps a clean towel next to the sink and dries it out after running water at any point. I must confess, I can't seem to attain to that level of discipline just yet. But I'm still loving my {overall} shiny sink.

Tomorrow, I'm going to share a fabulous kitchen space-saving tip that I have been utilizing for the past 2 weeks and loving. Plus, I'll have a little giveaway! Stay tuned for the second part of this kitchen sink mini-series...



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22 comments:

  1. Your newly shined sink is so pretty!! I've done mine a time or two... I should do it again as it's getting cruddy. And we DO have a dishwasher and I STILL spend plenty of time over the sink :)

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  2. Ooooh, shiny....

    Flylady and I need to reconcile now.

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  3. I love a shiny fresh sink. I have not done fly lady's method, but I might have to try it. I just used good old soap and hot water. Awesome post. You know my obsession with clean sinks, my friend.

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  4. WOW! It looks fabulous! What a wonderful idea...mine is icky right now :/

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  5. I would get nervous if I had to dry my sink everytime after using it! But to make it shine like this must have made you feel like a domestic star. Good job Alicia!
    Love Amelie

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  6. The sink looks fantastic - I've done it the Flylady way and now, my way. Baking soda to scrub (but I haven't needed to in a long long time!) and a vinegar/water solution as substitute for window cleaner - try it, you'll be happy you did :) http://www.tangledzen.com/2010/05/green-clean.html

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  7. Shell, thanks for that recommendation!!! I've been thinking I would like to use a substitute to Windex!

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  8. Thanks for the inspiration--this is happening today!

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  9. My sink is white, so picks up stains like it's its job. I've done the baking soda scrub before, but my grandma recently cleaned it for me {bless her} and used comet. Worked like a charm.

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  10. WOW, it looks NEW! ha

    I am loving your blog already! I'll never get anything done today now lol

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  11. Love the fly lady kitchen sink trick, I haven't done it in so long, and I use to do the under the cabinet trick too, but now I have a dishwasher!!! Yes I lost cabinet space, but I wouldn't trade it for my dishwasher, love it.

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  12. My sink has been shiny for 2 months now..thanks to FlyLady!

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  13. Thanks for sharing... My sink needs some TLC!

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  14. I have seen this on fly lady's website before, but I liked seeing your before and after pictures! :) I really like doing this it always looks so good after! :)

    Stopping by from "raising homemakers" Have a blessed day! :)

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  15. That sink is so shiny! I have never shined a sink before, but I think I might give it a try after seeing yours.

    I'm glad I decided to stop by your blog after seeing it on "Raising Homemakers." :)

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  16. Looks great! I have been keeping mine grime free, but not shiny! You have motivated me to shine it!
    Diana

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  17. I have a dishwasher, but I also have a dishpan with dirty dishes in it all the time. I never thought about putting it out of sight. Do you have your family put their dishes in there? So clever. Why look at them until you have enough to run the dishwasher??

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  18. Thank you, I am now inspired to go clean my sink!

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  19. Amazing! Looks wonderful! I attempted to do this with my sink, but this house is so old and it's been a rental for so long, it looks better, but not great.

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