clean

Finger Prints on My Heart

Photo Source: http://4vector.com/free-vector/heart-fingerprint-132936

Photo Source: http://4vector.com/free-vector/heart-fingerprint-132936

Fingerprints are unique.  There are no two sets of fingerprints alike.  It’s amazing to me how precise they are, too.  Sometimes I forget how intricate God is.  That’s how I feel about fingerprints in a spiritual way.

Then there’s the practical, everyday way I feel about fingerprints.  They stick in my craw.  They also stick to everything in the house!  From windows to a stainless steel refrigerator, I spend much of my time trying to remove fingerprints from surfaces in an effort to clean my home. 

I have a 19-year-old young man still living at home.  Though I don’t really see him that often, I know he’s been there – ESPECIALLY in the fridge.  Fingerprints all over it.  I’m not mad at the fingerprints I find on the fridge; in fact, I feel a little lump rise in my throat because I know he will be leaving soon and I will not get to see those fingerprints as often.  But what’s baffling to me is it almost seems as though he doesn’t even BOTHER to use the handle that is connected to the refrigerator…it’s as though he paws at it with both hands until it opens.

It’s no secret I try not to use chemicals for cleaning.  But my trusty vinegar, lemon, and water just doesn’t cut it when it comes to the fridge fingerprints.  It leaves streaks and makes the stainless steel pretty dull.

So I did my research.  You will never guess what I found!!  Extra virgin olive oil!  (Talk about “elbow grease’!)  It removes the fingerprints AND shines it up for quite some time!  I know this sounds strange and almost opposite to the point, but I now swear by it because it truly works! 

So here’s what ya do:

Paper towel or soft cloth in one hand.  Extra virgin olive oil in the other.  Pour a small amount (maybe a quarter size at a time – remember: you can always add, but it’s much harder to take (rub) away) in small, circular motions, start from the top (in case you happen to have too much on the cloth and it drips, it drips downward for you to rub it in!)  and massage oil in, working your way down the door of the fridge, rubbing the oil in fully.  If you put too much oil, it can turn rancid and start to stink…found THAT out the hard way!   Then use other side or cleaner, drier side of towel or cloth and work your way back up the door of the fridge.  BAM!!  Clean, shiny and au naturale! 

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These images are © 2015 by Life As She Does It. Please link back or credit if any content or images are used. 

These images are © 2015 by Life As She Does It. Please link back or credit if any content or images are used. 

What do the fingerprints you find around your house remind you of?  Don’t take them for granted as you clean them away……know they are unique and fleeting.  Allow them to massage your heart with the oil of their reminiscence and as you rub them away from the surface, make sure to keep them locked away in your memories.   They’re intricate and the person they came from is VERY special......especially if they’re yours.

Good, Clean Fun

goodcleanfun

 

© Alexroz | Dreamstime.com - Bathtub Photo

I bathe.  I know, I know...you're all thinking, "Thank goodness!"  But what I mean is, I'm not the shower-girl, I'm the girl who likes to submerge in the hottest bubble-filled, aroma-therapeutic, quiet-in-the-bathroom, classical music playing softly, glass of red on the edge - bathtub.  Now, in the real every-day world, I don't get to do the aforementioned type of bath, but I still prefer bath over shower for the daily hygiene routine.

We have a great tub.  It's a large garden tub with a big iceberg window that lets in sunlight (which is super-helpful when it comes to seeing it is time to clean it).  We have a stained-glass window in front of it that makes for an even more soothing mood.  All good stuff.

Soooo...why am I talking about my bathtub and bathing practices today? Well, I've noticed lately that when it's time to let the water out so I can wash my hair (I'm a germ-a-phobe so there is no WAY I'm washing my hair in the water I just bathed in) it drains slower and slowwer, and slowwwer every time.  Man, I've got stuff to do and do not have time to watch water drain!!  I make a mental note to add this to Adrian's list of honey-do's, but my mental note never makes it to the list, as I get distracted easily by the other to-do thoughts running through my head.

Yesterday...I am rinsing the tub and getting it ready for mamma (that's me) so's I can take my epsom-salts-fix-muh-bones-if-you-please bath and I notice the water isn't going down at all though the stopper is not in.  I am taking it pretty personally because I want to take advantage of the rare quiet time that existed in my house at that moment.  Do I take the plunger (that's been in my TOILET) to it?  Only if I want to ruin bath time for the rest of my life.  Do I take a wire hanger and try to scoop out the clog?  Well, A) that would make me throw up and 2) my hangers are plastic, thank God.  Ahhhhh, Drano, perhaps?  I scour the house, looking for the chemical nectar that is going to give me my (now-cut-in-half) bath time.  But alas, I made the vow to try to stop using chemicals in my home whenever possible.  It's amazing how your belief system flies out the window when all you want to do is take a freaking bath, because I found myself praying for God to allow me to find some forgotten-about Drano way in the back of the cabinet under the sink.  I suppose there were other, more important prayers going on in the world because there was no Drano to be found.

I went to the Googla...(Translation: I Googled it) and typed in: (I know.  You think I'm going to tell you I typed in "How to pray properly so that the Lord answers your prayer to find some stinkin' Drano in the house so a person can take a bath...but I didn't) "how to unclog a drain without Drano".  Apparently I'm not the only one who suffers the clogged bathtub plight because there were many great links and conversation threads regarding the subject.

There was one method in particular that kept coming up that was fast and easy. It costs only pennies to do and I was able to use items I already had in my pantry! I will share this method with you, but before I do, I think it's important to tell you that the method worked, I got to take my bath, and I got some good material to use in my post in the process!  I think I'm going to invest in a rubber duckie...

CHEMICAL-FREE WAY TO UNCLOG A DRAIN:

1/2 cup baking soda

1 cup vinegar

1 gallon boiling water

Carefully pour all the baking soda down the drain. Pour in 1/2 of the vinegar, covering the hole with a towel or stopper so the fizz is forced down, not up. Add the second half of the vinegar, following the same procedure. Allow to sit for 15 minutes or so, and then flush with an entire gallon of boiling water.

For particularly troublesome stoppage, multiple applications may be in order, but it WILL WORK so hang in there.

Follow up with a smile.