My Favorite Cleaning Product

When we bought our home it was trashed and filthy beyond reason. There were weeks of cleaning and I wondered what on earth the previous tenants could possibly do to get a house so.stinking.dirty. And I know what you're thinking, nope, no pets, it was human dirt, grime, filth, and trash.

One of the things that saved me from just burning the house down and starting over (believe me I thought it) was Bar Keepers Friend Soft Cleanser.

It works MIRACLES! It's gets rid of hard water on glass, (I cleaned all my windows with it!) makes those pots and pans look brand new (even all that perma-burned stuff on the bottom and sides), sinks, tubs, toilets, shine (good bye soap scum and hard water) and stainless steel gleam. I can't recommend it highly enough... seriously, just spend the $2.50!  I linked it to Target, but you can buy it at almost any grocery store. Oh, and it HAS to be Bar Keepers Friend. I have tried other brands and they are all totally weak compared to this one. 

Take for example my Cast Iron Sink, it's been through the ringer, so their are chips and dings, but really it gets so dirty from my pots and pans. 

It take minutes and a TEENSY bit of elbow grease to go from bleck to shiny and clean!

All you do is lightly dampen the area, squirt Bar Keepers Friend Soft Cleanser on, wait for a minute or two, grab a rag and do a bit of scrubbing, and rinse the area clean. All done.

(Read the back of the bottle to make sure the surface you want to use it on is okay, and as always, try a little spot first... the stuff is powerful!)

Lastly, if you have sensitive skin, wear gloves. I wash and lotion my hands about 100 times a day so I just go for it.

Give it a try and let me know if there is another miracle product that I need to try, i'm all ears.

Happy Friday.

Mickie

My Favorite Home Decor Touch

Recently, we moved into a new (to us) home. It was a dump when we bought it though! It had been trashed and took an entire semi truck sized dumpster to carry away all 40 yards of junk that the previous owners and their renters left behind. We've redone almost everything since moving in. I'll talk about our projects and changes in posts to come. We came in this having little to no experience and have really come a long way. If we can do it, I am convinced you can too! It's not so hard, just requires some elbow grease. 

Today I wanted to share my favorite home decor purchase thus far. Our area rug for our living room. We live in the beautiful pacific northwest on some property that is surrounded by humongous towering pine trees. We knew that carpet in our living room area wouldn't be an option with our kids running in and out all day long. We laid about 1400 sq ft of Hickory hardwood, including in the living room. However, we wanted something that was comfortable, soft, and fluffy for cuddling up and watching a movie or wrestling on the floor with the kids in the largest living space.

I did a lot of looking and research. Rugs can be terribly expensive and who wants to drop a ton of money on something that is cheap, thin and shows wear right away. We finally settled on this one. My sister has a rug from the same company and loves hers, so we took a closer look at the Safavieh brand. Every rug gets great reviews on Amazon. We have had it for 5 months now and we LOVE it! We get compliments from everyone that comes to visit. Especially friends and family with babies since it's thick, soft, and fluffy. The color is gray and ivory, but the gray is a varied color with some tan hues so it's quite a versatile neutral piece. I was worried I wouldn't be able to keep it clean (remember the previously mentioned kids). All I do is vacuum it with my trusty Hoover on the highest floor level and it cleans up easily. P.S. I could write a love letter to my vacuum, if

you are in the market for something more affordable than a Dyson, give this one a try. I can take it apart and put it back together in minutes to get any sort of clogs that happens in hoses. It's bagless and has a rinseable filter. The thing has been working overtime since we moved in and hasn't failed us yet. 

When we first got our rug it had a little bit of a "new" smell but after a day or two the smell was gone. It's the best purchase I have made thus far, and have no hesitations recommending it to all of you. 

Happy Monday!

Mickie