Tackle It Tuesday: Cleaned the Kitchen Sink

I thought about Tackle It Tuesday most of the morning, I just didn't know what I wanted to accomplish this week. Then while the kids were taking their naps and I was finishing up lunch it dawned on me that it had been a while since I disinfected/scrubbed/shined our kitchen sink. Yes, it gets wiped down most days, but seriously "white-glove-tested-type-of-cleaned"? Honestly, no. Fly Lady has a step by step process for cleaning (truly cleaning) your kitchen sick and that is what I follow. Here are the steps:

1) Take all the dishes out of the sink.

2) Run some very hot water into the sink. Fill to the rim. Only do one side at a time. Then, pour a cup of household bleach into the hot water. Let it sit for 1 hour. Now, pull the plug with a pair of tongs. If you don't have tongs, then scoop some of the water out of the sink into the other sink and use your hand to pull the plug (wear gloves and don't get the bleach-water on your clothes).

3) Rinse your sink well.

4) Use some cleanser (Comet, Ajax, or Baking Soda) and scrub your sink. Ensure you rinse ALL of the cleanser from the sink.

5) Take a sharp edge and clean around the rim of the sink, just like you would clean dirt out from under your fingernails.

6) Clean around the faucets too. You may need an old toothbrush or dental floss.

7) Now, get out your window cleaner, I use Windex, and give it a good shine.

8) If you still don't like the way it looks, then you could try some car wax. Just know in your heart that you have cleaned it very well now and it doesn't have to be perfect. Our perfectionism is what got us in this situation in the first place.

9) Every time you run water in your sink, take your clean dishtowel and dry it out (I lay out a clean one, every night with my before bedtime routine). Before you know it, you will be doing this everytime you leave your kitchen. The rest of the family will too. No more water spots. You will have a clean and shiny sink.

10) Don't have a fit if someone doesn't take as much pride in your sink as you do. It is very easy to fix. You have already done the hard part. You will never have to go through this process again. Daily maintenance will keep it looking this way all the time. Nasty hurtful word are not as easy to repair. Just be sure and tell your family what you are trying to do. They will think you have gone crazy.

11) If you don't have a dishwasher, don't worry. A dishwasher is just a dirty dish disposal. Clean out a place under your sink and put a dishpan in there. Teach your family, that instead of putting their dirty dishes and glasses in the sink, place them into the dish pan. Get into the habit of putting your dishes away as soon as they have been washed and are dry. No more leaving the dish drying rack on the counter or in the sink. Put it away under the sink when you have finished. If your old one is nasty, you may want to soak it in the sink full of bleach water at the same time you soak the sink or go buy a new set.

12) To insure that your family remembers this, put a note in the sink. It will get their attention and remind them where to put the dishes. Be patient! They have never been taught either. It is going to take some practice.

So without further ado.....here's my shiny kitchen sink!

{Andrea}

Ps. See more Tackle It Tuesday participants at: http://www.5minutesformom.com/