Tips and Tricks: Shine Bright Like A Diamond! (Your sink, that is.)

Well, hello there!  My apologies that I have not posted in so long, we have been going through some, well, life changes.  But that's not what we're here to talk about!  (Bummer I know.)  Soon.  But not today.  I'm a little sleepy today due to Benjamin Franklin deciding we should spring ahead an hour to take advantage of as much daylight as possible, thus robbing me of sleep.  Thanks Benji.  So, forgive me if I am not particularly hilarious today, as I may be sleep writing as we speak.
Today I write the second post in the "Tips and Tricks" compilation.  I have a white porcelain sink and I neglect dishes until we are eating out of cups.  This is not always the best combination.  Tomato sauce? STAIN!  Can that needs to be rinsed before recycling?  RUST!  I'd ruined my sink after only a month of having it.  Or so I thought.  I scrubbed and sprayed and sprayed and scrubbed, then gave up and waited for my OCD to kick in one day.  Crazy-OCD-psycho-self would fix it.  She'd find the solution.  And she did.  After hours reorganizing, scrubbing, moving shelves, and tearing down cabinets, I'd reached the sink.  The rust stains mocked me.  The tomato stains laughed as if they'd won.  Well, crazy-psycho-OCD-self wasn't going down that easy!  I went hunting, and I found something wonderful.  So wonderful, that when it was done I had to call my husband to tell him of this wonderful thing, and if he didn't answer I'd shout it from the rooftops!
As you all probably know, I do not like to use chemicals, so this is 100% natural!  All you need is Baking Soda and White Vinegar!

Here's what we started with:

Ok.  Now that I see it on here I'm ashamed.  Don't judge me.

Sprinkle Baking Soda everywhere.  Concentrating on the worst spots.  You don't need much.

Next, take your White Vinegar, and splash a little around.  It will start to bubble and fizzle!  (At this point you can stop thinking you are cleaning.  This is just a fun science experiment.  You're a scientist.)

Now it's time to wipe!  That's right, WIPE.  There is no scrubbing involved.  It will turn into a paste after a short while of wiping.  I just wipe up the paste onto my cloth, and use it for areas I haven't gotten to yet!  You're left with a Diamond sink!  Ok, no diamonds, but it sparkles like one!  (The pinkish look right above the disposal is a shadow.)

(If my sink isn't sparkling, wipe your screens.  It's spotless Baby!)

Open Shelving in the Kitchen vs. I'll Hide My Mess, Thank You

All You Pinterest pinning, decorator blog reading, house magazine junkies I'm sure have seen the "open shelving" trend that is sweeping the nation.  (Yes, I'm dramatic.  Get over it and love me anyway.)  Kitchens stump me, and every time we looked at a house I always pictured my stainless appliances against my white cupboards with a light granite top and my huge walk in pantry I would hide in and eat cookies.  It would look a little something like this:

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Or this:

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And this:

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Soo naturally of course, I chose a kitchen with Maple unpainted cabinets, white appliances, and some crazy lookin' peachy counter top.  Oh!  And NO pantry.  That's right THREE bathrooms, and a HUGE laundry room, but NO pantry.  Really?  The builder didn't walk his wife through, and ask, "Everything good to go?"  She would have said, "Yes!  If you never want a woman to live here."  Well jokes on me.  I don't think I even noticed until the day we moved in. -_-  I do have to say though, that A.) He definitely over compensated in cabinets and B.)  A.) means nothing when your 5' 4" and can only reach the bottom shelf of the cabinets anyways.  So, you may ask yourself, "How could she possibly even consider open shelving with no pantry?"  Well the answer is a big hutch on an adjoining wall in the kitchen that serves as a pantry, but isn't done yet so you can't see it!  But someday.  And it will be a joyous day.  But for now I have a decent sized kitchen with a gazillion cabinets, and I don't even use all of them.

Sometime ago, before one of our moves somewhere, I downsized.  I didn't need 20 plates that didn't even match because we have no friends to invite for lavish dinner parties, and I'd put off doing the dishes until they were all dirty! Ha!  Keith has his own dishes, little for a little person, and Joey and I have ours.  They are classic white, they all match, and they all fit in ONE cabinet.  Okay one down, 15 to go.  So many cabinets make it feel heavy, and almost a little overwhelming.  I'm constantly reorganizing which means I never know where anything is.  All of the blogs, design magazines these days are geared toward, "Solutions for not enough storage space."  "Um, excuse me sir, please tell me what to do when I have so many cabinets they're taking over my life!"  "Oh.  What is that you say?  Rip them off of the walls and put up pretty little shelves?   If you say so!"  By the end of this thought process, and seeing the gorgeous kitchen above with only ONE upper cabinet, I was ready.  I was going to rip down all of cabinets, do a beautiful Subway tile backsplash, and my stainless steel appliances would look ravishing.  (Voice again.)  "Oh what is that you say?  I have no money to do any of that?  Oh poop."  Come to find out paint is cheap, and wood is cheaper, so I wasn't too off course.  I decided I would give it sometime, and try a "test" open shelf.  Some people just take the cupboard doors off instead of taking the cabinet down, like in the second picture.  So I grabbed my other half, (my power drill), sorry honey, and took 3 doors off.  Here was my result:

Before

During

After

I wanted to play around to test out if I wanted to do open shelving, if I just wanted to do open cabinets, if I wanted to to do only a few, etc., etc., etc.  It was fun, and I have swapped many things since, but something was wrong this day.  When Joey got home that night he went into the kitchen, and stopped, "Wow!  I like it!"  Then he looked as if he instantly regretted saying that.  "What?"  I ask.  He sits down, and looks at me, fear in his eyes.  "It's too busy."  He says so softly I almost don't hear.  "I know!!!!!!" I exclaim!  That was it!!  That's what was wrong!  The open shelving I love is only 2 or three shelves.  When there are more they are in a large kitchen with high ceilings.  It's okay for now, and I am still thinking, and planning, but I think I know where I'll go with it.  Once I paint, and we can afford the backsplash, probably all but one or two cabinets will come down.  I'll do a shelf for an herb garden, and a few more for dishes.  Everything else fits in the lower cabinets and the hutch.  If I didn't constantly feel like I needed color I would be a minimalist and live like this:

Stay tuned.  Tomorrows post will be "Why we decided to become minimalists."  Just kidding.  Maybe.

  

Tips and Tricks: A Sexy Microwave

Ello!  I hope this post finds you all well, and your microwaves nice and gross.  I've decided to start a..uh.. blog-category-thingy.  I have no idea what to call it… called Tips and Tricks!  I'll be sharing tips and tricks on lots of stuff!  I REALLY wanted to do a post about my sinks!  It's amazing, and the best thing ever, but I forgot to take a BEFORE picture!  And, well,  that would have just been a garbage post without the shock and awe of a before and after.  

So..!  Let me give you a little background on my decision for why I clean my microwave this way.  Wow.. is this what my life has come to?  I am giving you BACKGROUND on why I clean my MICROWAVE the way I do?!  Please someone, sell me a life.  Sometime a go I was cleaning my microwave with All-Purpose cleaner.  The same thing I used on my countertops, sink, everything.  Let's say it was…409.  I would start on one end of my kitchen, work my way around, and spray and wipe as I went.  I didn't think to much of it.  Then for some reason one day after cleaning the kitchen, I thought, "I need to use the microwave, and I just filled it with chemicals…Now I'm going to put food in there, heat up the chemical fumes and food, then consume it."  This didn't sit well with me, so I went searching.  I found several "all natural"  "do it/make it yourself" options, but this is what seemed easiest.  (For I am a lazinian.)  Yes I just made that up.  Yes it means lazy sloppy bum.  Yes it sounds better than lazy sloppy bum.  Here we go!

Fill a bowl with water, and add a few drops of a citrus of your choice.  

Put the bowl in the microwave, and run it on high power for 5-10 minutes.  (Depending on your level of nastiness.)  About the time I head back to the microwave because I remember I need to cover something, I hear, "BANG", and the guts of whatever I was going to eat is splattered everywhere.  Here is my nastiness:

Oh yea.. Get a good look.  Maybe I should have a prize to whoever guesses what I had for lunch?

After the microwave *bings* leave it shut for 5 minutes, allowing the steam to really do it's job.  You can sweep the floor, wipe down the counters, throw the dishes in the dishwasher, eat a cookie, while the microwave cleans itself.  

When your five minutes is up take a cleaning cloth of your choice, (mine is microfiber) and do a quick wipe down.

(Can you see the condensation?)

When you are finished you will have one sexy, clean, chemical free, free to clean microwave!  Come on people, it's the little things.  Bow chicka wow wow!

One Corner Down

My first official post! Ah!  I really have no idea how to work this whole Blogger thingy, so let's figure this out.  My first post will be a decorating post!  Whoot!  I will share links (if I can figure out how) and my inspiration (again, if I can figure out how.)  My real camera is dead, and my house swallowed the charger, so please excuse the crapola photography for today.  My close to the outlet for my chargers corner reading nook is first up!
My living room has definitely been my hardest challenge, and continues to be.  So, having one corner done is a reason to celebrate!  Let me assure you though, I have zero decorating skills.  But,  I do have awesome " I totes love what you did, so I am going to go copy it now" skills.  I basically look at several different ideas, cram it into one then throw something pink in and take credit.  Just kidding, I will give credit to whom I steal ideas from.  But, that one pink thing, oh yeah, all me baby!  So, without further ado…

This corner was inspired by Emily A Clark Interiors.  I was so relieved when I found her blog.  Her living layout is just like mine, and I finally understood what the heck the builder was thinking.  The chair was suggested by Honey We're Home.  

This pillow is my fav.  It has a buddy that says, "Love never fails."  It is strategically placed here across from where Joey and I plop down at the end of the day.  He's ready to gripe, and I'm ready to yell at him about it so it's a good reminder.  You know, if we were to ever actually do that, but of course we just hug and say wonderful uplifting things to one another.  

You can find the pillows on Dear Lillie's Blog.

Curtains- Macy's

Roman Shade- Home Depot

Lamp- IKEA

Garden Stool- TJ Maxx

Chair- Overstock

Throw- IKEA

Pink Pillow- Target

Love Pillow- Dear Lillie

Pink Ottoman- Target

Well here we go…!

Welcome! Welcome all!  (And by all I mean the four people that are actually reading this..hi mom!)  I've dreamt about this blog for some time now, but was honestly stuck because I couldn't name the darn thing!  I really wanted to share our home, and our projects in one place.  But, I also wanted to do so much more!  Recipes, DIYs, crafts, natural products, etc., Etc., ETc., ETC.!!!  So, naming it was an impossible task.  I am no professional decorator, 90% of my recipes end up in the garbage, and there is only one corner in my entire house that I would call "complete".  Oh wait, no I wouldn't.  There is still one thing I need to grab.  Dang it!  I have worked with professional decorators, and when trying to nail down my "style"  it is near impossible.  

When you walk through my home you will see a bunch of "started" projects, and then a huge mess.  I type this as I look into my kitchen and see two big holes, and a bare patch where I ripped kitchen cabinets off of the wall yesterday because I felt too closed in.  I wasn't going to start the kitchen until the living room was done, which wouldn't be done until Keith's room was done, which wouldn't be done until the hall bathroom was done, which wouldn't… well, you get the picture.  

Hence, Wreckorating was born.  I had read about "wreckorating" awhile back, and knew that this, yes, this was my style.  I change my mind daily, I rarely complete one project before wrecking the next, and a huge celebration is to be had when one tiny corner in our home is deemed complete.  

So, welcome.  Welcome to the blog where my mind will word vomit about things that do not relate to each other what-so-ever.  Welcome to the decorating-DIYing-crafting-cooking-healthing-junking wonderful mess that I hope this to be.  Mwah!