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

The purge, part one

   No, not the movie. I'm talking about purging "things." I've gone through some boxes and cabinets in the last few weeks during my rearranging, and found things I don't need or want. I tried to sell them online garage sale style, but I haven't had any takers. This week I'm just going to pack it up and donate it.  I am sick of looking at the pile.  Plus I need to move furniture in the living room and this pile of things are totally in the way. So that's it. Cleanie wins over Frugalie today.
   Lol. Frugalie.  Totally not a word. Silly word of the day! Frugalie! Oh, that's fun to say. :)
   I hope I don't regret getting rid of these things, but it's been weeks. So I gave it a good try and can't hold onto things forever, right?
   Frugalie!
   Sorry, I couldn't help myself! Seriously, the whole point of this journey is to make a more joyful and simple life. And walking around (and cleaning around) a stack of boxes right in my living room for weeks on end is not joyful or simple.  I did put them there on purpose, too.  I got these things out of storage areas and sorted them, but if I tuck them away again, all that was for nothing.  So, since I can't seem to get any money out of them, donation it is. I won't be using any more time or energy trying to get rid of things, and can spend one last bit of time and energy actually getting rid of them.
   Now, back to the bookshelf!

   Frugalie! :)

Clearing House vs. Being Frugal

   Save or Scrap? Oh my gosh, this part is soooooo hard. For me, this really is a tough choice. There's two conflicting lines of thought here. One, save things that are useful, because I don't have funds to replace them.  We are also a bit of MacGuyvers here, and like to make things from what we have. That's part from a financial standpoint, and partly because we like to do things ourselves.  Two, I want to clean house. And by clean house here, I mean purge.  To get rid of non-useful things, broken things I haven't fixed in a long time and don't want or need anymore, things I keep purely for vague sentimental reasons, and other things that seem only to take up space on a shelf and in my brain.
   So what wins? I'm not the kind of person who keeps a half shoelace because "one day it might be useful." But I do keep things which "one day is very likely to be used." I know, a fine line, and maybe I'm still kidding myself, but it's a step in the right direction until I can answer the question - Save or Scrap?
  Case Study: I have a box labeled "Junk for Crafts." It's a plastic shoe box size tub with a lid filled with interesting looking parts of things for the kids to do with what they want. It has a spot in the cabinet with the other crafty/art/paper stuff.  Every so often, we have junk craft days where I pull it out with some glue and tape and other craft materials spread on the dining room table and tell the kids "to make something interesting."  This empties the box, keeps the items fresh, teaches the kids about not being wasteful, gives them an indoor activity, gives me time to concentrate on some other project, and gives them a creative outlet.  What to do if I have an odd item to go in the box, but it's full?  Then it's junk craft day, or the item goes out the door - trash, recycle, whatever.  This is one of the small steps/rules I made last year, and I've proudly stuck to it.
   I call that success in reigning in those odds and ends without feeling wasteful (one of my few "hates").  But then there are things like electrical/electronic cords that I have no idea what they go to, extra 3-ring binders I know I will need (no, really, I've already used 3 out of the box this year, I really will use these), and other things I believe I will very likely need later on.
   So do I stay frugal and keep what I likely will need (not just "maybe one day"), take the time to try and sell anything worth selling, or do the purge thing and box it all up for the local charity?
   Save or Scrap?  Save or Scrap?  Save or Scrap?
   The answer sometimes depends what it is, and sometimes it depends on the day. This is one part of the Messies Anonymous I haven't wrapped my head around yet. So for now, I will stick to getting to "A place for everything, and everything in it's place."  I'm positive further down my path I'll have a better answer to this. Here's to progress!

Becoming a Cleanie

   Herein lies the struggles to become a "Cleanie" - someone whose home is organized, clean, and peaceful.  I tend to use a lot of different methods for completing things, and getting my home organized and spit-spot (thank you Mary Poppins) is no different.  The main method I'm starting now is the Messies Anonymos system by Sandra Felton. I am a Messie. On her 0-10 scale, 0 being horrible housekeeper, 10 being model home at all times housekeeper, the quick test puts me at 3 1/2.  Ouch.  I look at my house, and although I'm not happy with it, didn't seem that bad.  But I know why. My kitchen island is mostly clear, but my penninsula is totally cluttered.  My floors are mostly clear, but have piles of things, projects halfway done and the like, against the walls. The clothes in my closet and dresser are sorted, folded, and hung up in their place, but I have folded laundry on the back of the couch and all the clean sheets are stuffed under the bed. Yes, my house isn't a total wreck, but for me, it leaves things to be desired. And "me" is the one I'm trying to satisfy.
   Let me add here, that along with having some organizational issues, I have 2 kids in school - which means lots of papers - and am in the process of a major, ongoing (like 9 years now) house renovation. Like, gut the entire house and start from scratch, then move in before it's done and try to keep working on it while we live inside of it kind of renovation. Add to that, my husband and I are both great dreamers and starters, not so much on the finishers.
   Excuses you say? They used to be. I called them reasons. "The reason my closet isn't organized is because I don't have all the hanging space I need." That seemed reasonable.  But really, it was "The reason my closet isn't organized is because I haven't done it yet."  And really, that's the reason for all the messes. I mean, messes happen. Life happens. What's the point of pots and pans if you don't use them to cook awesome food? Decoration?-I think not. So in order to have that good food, messes happen. But it shouldn't be "last night's dinner dishes are still there this morning because it was a lot and we had company and I was tired and..." No. Last night's dinner dishes are still there because I haven't cleaned them yet. So I said goodbye to that, I commit to Sandra's idea as a mantra. That when it needs to be done, just do it then. No to-do list entry for washing the pot when I put leftovers in the fridge. No to-do list entry for wiping down the table after it's cleared, or actually putting the laundry away after it's folded and sorted by bedroom (and even drawer in the dresser - I've at least been good at that) instead of leaving it the laundry basket for two or three days.
   Time to just go and do it.