Cleaning! Ugh! Here's a Helpful Tip #Housecleaning

A clean house. Everyone would love to have one; we just don’t want to be the one who’s doing the chores. I’m just finishing up a new story, and during the final days and weeks of intense focus on getting to The End, I rarely do anything besides write, eat, sleep, repeat. My house grows dusty and grimy. There will be cleaning in my immediate future! If you’re anything like me (an avoider of cleaning until it can be no longer avoided), then here’s a helpful tip that will make any major cleaning job easier.

I saw a post by a friend recently who gave a recipe for an effective cleaning solution that powered through the gray grime in the bottom of her tub. She used a 50/50 solution of blue Dawn dish detergent and white vinegar. She said she saw somewhere that the dish detergent must be the blue Dawn (although, there was no reason given as to why). She mixed the solution and poured the concoction on the bottom of the tub, let it sit overnight, and then used a Mr. Clean Eraser to scour the tub. Here are before and after pictures. The tub looks sparkly clean!

Warning! Mr. Clean Erasers should not be used on resurfaced porcelain. I had one of my bathtubs resurfaced and the installer said Mr. Clean Erasers are a no-no. If you've had your tub resurfaced call the installer and ask if this cleaner is safe to use.

Have you tried this blue Dawn and vinegar solution? If so, how did it work for you? Do you have any tips, tricks, or miracle cures for keeping your house clean? Let’s share and help each other make housecleaning a little easier. 

New Year - Big Dreams

For me, each New Year encourages me to contemplate. January offers a chance for a fresh, new start, an opportunity for change. Is it just me, or do you feel it too?

Although I’m not one to make resolutions, I do think about the year that has passed—what worked well and what did not. And I set some goals for the coming months. Over the first few days of 2018, I’m finding myself pondering less about what to do and more about how to be.

I want to be kinder and gentler towards myself and others. I want to smile more and argue less. I want peace, inside and out. I want peace not just for myself, but for everyone in the country, on the planet. I have no idea how to achieve it; I only know I want it.

Here are a few more desires that I have no idea how to make happen:

I want every hungry child to be fed.

I want every lonely person to feel loved.

I want war, in all its forms, to end.

I want every mother and father to know their children are safe.

I want a cure for every disease.

Now, let’s all hold hands and sing Kumbaya. Yes, I’m grinning at the silly notion that these things could ever come to pass. But that doesn’t keep me from dreaming that someday the world really could be a better place, a place where people respect and take care of each other, where people are placed above greed and profits, where every single person truly matters.

Please know that you matter to me. And I wish you peace in the New Year.