Domestic Diva tip #2

I decided a while back that seeing as I spend so much time on Pinterest I may was well take the time to test some of the life altering domestic tips I have painstakingly pinned.
I do spend way to much time on Pinterest...I can admit it.
I'm actually addicted to tell you the truth......don't tell my husband!!

Honey..if you're reading this....just remember all the yummy recipes I've prepared for you recently, and understand that without Pinterest, none of those recipes would have made it to your dinner plate!!
I LOVE YOU!!!

So here's one I tried out again today and, I am happy to say, with pleasing results.

This pin comes from DIY Project Network.com and is titled "Scent your entire home".

Here's what all of you winter loving, furnace using folks in the great white north are going to do.

Pick yourself up a bottle of room fragrance or a bottle of essential oil.
I use the body shop room fragrance green tea and lemon, occasionally switching it up with mandarin and tangelo...also from the body shop. 

I find that the longer you use the same scent the less you notice it and changing it up every once in a while makes your house feel fresh and shiny all over again, just like the first time!!!!
We are big fans of citrus scents in this household. Citrus body wash, citrus hand soap, citrus moisturizers, citrus everything!

Next you're going to head on down to your mechanical room, you know, the room that houses all of the vital organs of your home like the hot water tank, furnace, electrical panel. I like to call it the man cave.
In that room you should find a furnace, maybe it looks a little like this...

The next step is to gently slide out your furnace filter and drop some of your room fragrance or essential oils directly onto the filter.

And, as my children will tell you...my favourite saying........put it back where it came from!!!!

I have used this domestic diva tip in the past and have had complaints from the hubby as I was a little too generous with my droplets, my house smelt like one of this ladies you get stuck behind at the cashier wearing waaaaaay to much perfume. So tread lightly until you find just the right amount for your personal smelling preference.

For those of you currently living in the southern hemisphere and do not have a furnace, you can also try this domestic diva tip on your air conditioner as directed on the link from DIY Project network.
Apparently it works just as well, feel free to leave me a comment and let me know how it went. We have a heat pump at our house that cools us down in the hot summers, so I have a while to wait to try this tip out.

So that concludes today's Domestic Diva tip, stay tuned as I experiment and test out my pins for usefulness and general domestic zen-ness??? Is that a word?

Meh.......see ya!

P.S. Feel free to check out my pin board titled Domestic Diva...click here

Domestic Diva Tip #1

So, if you've not discovered Pinterest yet then I must warn you to continue reading this post at your own risk. 
I will not be held responsible for any addiction that you may encounter, the hours of your day wasted on the computer or the sudden urge to modpodge, organize, redesign and/or renovate your entire life!!!!


If you are brave enough ( or stupid enough ) to ask "What is Pinterest" then I apologise in advance.

Pinterest is an online Virtual pinboard.
It lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.

Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests. To get started, request an invite.

For example, I have a board title "domestic diva", this is where I accumulate all of the brilliant ideas OTHER people have discovered for housekeeping that I plan to implement in my own home so as to radiate domestic awesomeness.

So the theme of this post is exactly that.......Domestic diva tips. I would like to share some tried and true ideas that I've found on pintereset and elsewhere online so that I can at least feel as though the hours spent in front of my computer screen ooohing and aaaahing have not been in vain.

Starting from today, maybe once a week, once a month or as the urge floods over me to share, I will test a Domestic Diva Tip and give it either a thumbs up or a thumbs down.

That way you can all keep from wasting your precious time on a Pinterest addiction such as mine!!

So here goes: 

Domestic  Diva

Tip #1

Protecting stainless appliances

with baby oil.

A couple of hears ago we upgraded our kitchen appliances, the hubby instantly wanted stainless steel, a look I LOVE also. However, we've all heard the warnings about finger prints, smudges and scuffs driving even the most dedicated housekeeper to insanity.

But who can resist?? You either come to terms with the fact that your appliances will never look clean like the day you unwrapped them or make stainless steel wipes your new best friend!

I do a little of both, I can live with the smudges on a day to day basis but always find myself shining those suckers up before a dinner party or visit from the mother in-law.

I recently read somewhere the baby oil does a great job of buffing up those appliances like brand new so I thought I'd give it a try. Normally I use the stainless steel wipes from the supermarket, no brand in particular, just whatever is on sale. There's no doubt that they work but they are a little pricey for what you get, and I always try to stretch the amount of  square inch wiping I get from each cloth and end up with tell tale "cheap lady" streaks.

So, good old Johnson's baby oil, I'm sure this bottle is as old as my 6 year old. But it still looks, smells and works great. A little squirt onto some paper towel and buff to your hearts content. 

Some people recommend that you clean the surface first with a wet cloth, mine wasn't too bad to start with but you can see the streak marks from the last time I wiped my fridge down. If you look carefully, the door on the right has been wiped with baby oil and the one on the left is a good representation of what my stainless steel always looks like.

I was going to leave one side treated and the other untouched in order to do a comparison in a week or so but the pure joy I got from seeing my stainless steel so shiny got the better of me and I ended up doing everything, the dishwasher included!

So readers, The Fonz and I agree. The cheap and multi-use baby oil gets my vote, my home will now officially be a stainless steel wipe free building.

House cleaning central also offers a multitude of other options for cleaning stainless steel. I've only tried the baby oil and am super happy with the results so far. 

Happy Domestic Bliss to you all. Feel free to share any of your own tips.