Bar Keepers Friend review, aka Finding Joy in the Small Things

   Call me a nerd, call me a homemaker, call me silly, but I danced a little dance when I discovered Bar Keepers Friend (and no, I'm not getting paid for this).  I discovered it….under my kitchen sink.  I had bought for some unknown reason a year or more ago, thinking it was a good thing to have for stainless steel stuff.  I have an old porcelain sink I got second hand.

   I love my sink. It's got the two different size bowls, it's deeper than the regular sinks nowadays so I can fill my huge stockpots, and it's a bright white. I've seen other sinks that are that crazy avocado green, a weird orange, rose pink and all kinds of other colors that were thankfully already out of fashion when I was growing up.  Except my sink doesn't stay bright or white.  Silverware, knives, cookie sheets and the like put gray marks all over the sink, and things like coffee and tomato sauce stain it.  There were only two ways I knew how to keep it white.  One was the fill up the sinks with bleach water and have them sit overnight. I have two little-ish ones and pets, so this wasn't optimum, but what I used the most.  The other way, courtesy of my aunt, was a Magic Eraser. I use a lot of scrubbing and a whole Magic Eraser when the sink is full of marks, so it isn't the cheapest option, and I'm not really sure what those things are made of.  Not exactly natural or sustainable.  In comes this beauty:

   I was actually moving the Bar Keepers Friend container to look for a Magic Eraser when I noticed it said "Porcelain"across the top. Wait, what? Let me look at that. 'Works on kitchen sinks to clean knife marks'.  Wait, WHAT?  This has been here, unopened, for how long? Oh my heavens.  Let's try it.

   Glorious!! Left is after a couple shakes of Bar Keepers Friend, and 2-3 minutes of medium scrubbing.  Right is what both sides looked liked.  I clean my sink everyday - those are all marks that don't come out with soap and a scrubber.  A few more shakes and another minute or two, and…

   Wa-la!! Time for the happy dance!  I tell you what, maybe it's just me, but there is something wonderfully pleasing about a nice, clean, bright white sink.  Bar Keepers Friend is now my go-to.  I don't remember if it was Messie's Anonymous or not, but somewhere, a lady wrote about emptying and cleaning the sink every night so you don't have that mess to look at.  Along the same lines as making your bed in the morning, so when you walk into your bedroom, the biggest piece of furniture is neat.  Makes a big difference in both cases.  Yes, I am a nerd, I am a homemaker, and I can find joy in the smallest things. Like an efficient sink cleaner and a pretty white sink. 

Joyfully yours,

K