How To Clean A Corian Sink

Our kitchen sink is a white Corian sink.  I hate it.  It's darn near impossible to keep looking clean, even if it is clean.  It came with the house and I have tried and tried to find a cleaner that keeps it looking white instead of dingy and dirty.  

When we moved in, there was a little bottle of cleaner under the sink made specifically for cleaning Corian surfaces.  I used it once and the fumes from it just about knocked me over.  It literally burned my lungs.  It actually worked really well, but I decided I probably shouldn't use it.  Anything that potent can't be healthy.  So I set about on a quest for finding the perfect cleaning solution.  I tried just plain soap and water with a lot of elbow grease.  Adam thought to try toilet bowl cleaner and that did well until we switched to a greener, less toxic toilet bowl cleaner.  

So then I set about trying to find a non-toxic cleaning method, especially with Archer and Lyla's little lungs in the house now.  My standard cleaning solution of baking soda and vinegar didn't work.  So I did some research and baking soda and hydrogen peroxide kept coming up.  So I decided to give it a go.  Let me tell you, it worked wonders!  

Here's what I was working with before trying out the cleaning method.  

I typically only use the left side of the sink.  I always rinse it off and clean it with dish soap on a regular basis, but it was still just dirty-looking.  

On a side note, Lyla was quite curious as to why I was standing on a stool and peering into the sink.  She's a blogger in training. 

I collected my supplies.  All you need to make the cleaning solution is some hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, a bowl, and a spoon.  

I started by adding some baking soda into the bowl.  I probably used about a 1/4 cup of it.  Then I added in little bits of hydrogen peroxide and stirred until the mixture was the consistency of toothpaste.  At one point it got a little too runny, so I just added in some more baking soda.  

Next, I smeared my mixture onto the stains on the sink.  I started using a spoon to smear it on, but ended up just using my fingers.  Then I let it be for about an hour.  I hadn't intended to leave it on there for quite that long, but I got distracted with the babies and lost track of time.  I was planning to let it sit for about 20 minutes.  So I can only speak to its effectiveness if you leave it sitting for an hour.

The final step was to use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and scrub the cleaner around the sink.  (I always cut my erasers in fourths so I can throw away the smaller section after I use it.)  I didn't add any water, I just used the mixture.  I made sure to clean all the way up the sides of the sink, too.  

I was left with a sink that looked much cleaner!  It wasn't perfectly glistening, but it looked a heck of a lot better than it did.  And it didn't take much to make it happen.  Plus, I felt a lot better knowing the cleaning method didn't involve any harsh chemicals or fumes.  Gotta love a simple cleaning fix!   

These Are My Confessions: Mom Edition

My babies are almost a year old!  I have no idea where the past year has gone.  Time has a way of moving at warp speed.  I am truly trying to take everything in and really soak up the sweetness of every moment with my babies.

As I take some time to reflect on this past year and myself as a mother, I am not afraid to admit that motherhood has been far from what I expected.  It has been more amazing than I ever could have dreamed.  But it has also been so much more incredibly challenging than I imagined! 

I can still remember the kind of mom I thought I would be when I finally got pregnant with Archer and Lyla.  I was worried that I would be a little too controlling and hover a little too much over my babies.  I thought I would be hyper-organized and scheduled.  I thought I would make all their baby food and be obsessed with sanitizing everything they touched. 

Ha!  What a joke! 

Once Archer and Lyla made their arrival, everything I thought I would be as a mom seemed to fly out the window!  Of course I knew I would love them and keep them safe and make sure they felt secure.  But what I didn't know was how much freaking work and time and effort two infants take up! 

To help illustrate just how differently my parenting style has panned out, I will share a few confessions with you:

• Sometimes when I need a moment of peace and for no one to touch me, I throw a handful of cheerios on the living room floor.  It keeps Lyla, Archer, and Jazzy busy for a least five minutes.  

• I don't know any of the songs we sing at story time.  Archer and Lyla have a deep love for going to story time at our local library.  When we go, there are always several songs we sing (some of which we sing every single time) and I still don't know all the words.  I kind of just mouth the words and hope none of the other moms notice.  I keep meaning to google the lyrics to the songs, but I never seem to get around to it.  I do know the Tiny Turtle song we sing at swimming lessons, though!  I should get some sort of credit for knowing that song!  

• My underwear now comes above my belly button.  That's just how it is now.  (Sorry, Adam!)  

• When we are grocery shopping and one of them starts to get restless, I give them my car keys to chew on.  I know they are probably full of germs.  And I know there's a tiny battery in the remote that would be bad news if they somehow managed to get to and swallow.  But I would rather not get a bunch of stares (and glares) from all of the people in the grocery store when Lyla and/or Archer get bored of sitting in the shopping cart.  

• I've lost track of how many teeth they each have or how much they weigh.  When I'm at activities with other moms, conversations somehow turn to milestones.  I'm inevitably asked how many teeth they have or how much they weigh and I just make it up.  A new tooth in someone's mouth pops up, like, every other day.  And who has time to weigh their kids every day?

• I call the nurse line at our pediatrician's office at least once a week.  One of them always seems to have some sort of bump or rash or I work myself into a tizzy trying to decide exactly how much food they should be eating or how much water they should be drinking.  I'm sure the nurses play rock, paper, scissors to see who has to talk to me, yet again.  

• I let my kids crawl on the floor of a bowling alley.  If I had seen babies crawling on the floor of a bowling alley five years ago, I would be appalled.  But now that Lyla screams bloody murder because she hates being held for too long, I have loosened my bowling alley floor policy.  

• Archer somehow managed to make it all the way downstairs by himself without me knowing the other day.  Archer, Lyla and I were in Lyla's room.  I was trying to take out the clothes that are too small for them from the closet.  I guess the door hadn't fully latched shut and Archer got the door open.  Then he backed himself down the stairs.  I didn't realize it until I heard him loudly smacking his hands on the hardwood floor downstairs.  I ran out of Lylas' room, through the open door, and saw him grinning away at the bottom of the stairs.  Thank goodness we had been practicing how to back down the stairs!  That whole episode could have ended very differently!  

• I don't think my kids have ever eaten any of their food warmed up.  When we started solids, they always acted so starving that I didn't take the time to heat anything up in the microwave.  They even happily drink their bottles straight from the fridge!  They never seemed to mind and I am not going to do any more work than necessary in the kitchen.  One of these days I'll have to actually cook something for them.  I'm dreading that day.  

Motherhood isn't easy.  Most of the time I have no idea what I'm doing.  I just feel like I'm winging it most days.  But I do know I love my kids to pieces.  And given the sheer number of slobbery kisses and delighted smiles I get every day, I'm pretty sure they love me too. 

What Kid Doesn't Need A Marble Top Picnic Table?

For the babies' first birthday, Adam and I wanted to get them a kitchen set.  We threw around the idea of DIY-ing one.  But we found a heck of a deal on this KidKraft one that was just too good to pass up.  So we bought it and assembled it.  It's currently hiding in our basement waiting for the kids' birthday.  In addition to a kitchen, we decided the kids needed a table to eat all of their home-cooked meals at.  We again threw around the idea of making one ourselves, but my mom found this Little Tykes picnic table at a garage sale for $2!  That was definitely too good of a deal to pass up!  (Thanks, Grandma!)

While the table was in good shape (there were some crayon marks that my mom used a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to get rid of), it wasn't exactly cute.  The top was beige, the base was blue, and the seats were red.  Since this picnic table was going to live in Lyla's room, I decided I could make it look cuter with just a little bit of effort and a few supplies.

I decided to spray paint the whole thing and then use some "marble" contact paper to put on the top.  I bought a can of Rust-Oleum Spray Paint and Primer in Satin Granite.  It said on the can that it would work on plastic so I was sold.

The first thing I did was hose down the picnic table.  I wanted to make sure the surface was clean and free of any debris before spray painting.  I let it fully dry in the sun.  My original plan was to take the pieces apart and spray paint them separately, but I couldn't figure out how to get it apart.  There weren't any obvious screws or other hardware.  I tried tugging on some places that looked like connecting points, but they didn't easily come apart and I didn't want to break anything.  Plus, this was nap time and the countdown was on!  So I just decided to spray the whole table while it was fully assembled.  I laid out a flattened cardboard box in the yard and put the picnic table on it, top side down.  I held the can about 12 inches away and sprayed several thin, light coats.  It helps if you keep the can moving the whole time so you don't end up with any runs or globs of paint.  It will look like you missed some areas after a coat or two, but that's okay.  It's better to do more coats than just do one that looks bad.  

I didn't really wait until each coat fully dried before putting on the next one.  Time was not on my side, but it worked out just fine to wait just a few minutes in between coats.  Of course, I ran out of spray paint before the project was completed.  So when Archer and Lyla woke up from their naps, we took a trip to Home Depot to get some more spray paint.  They didn't seem to mind the errand because they got to ride in one of those fun race car carts.  Lyla made sure to show Archer how to correctly turn his steering wheel.  

Once Lyla and Archer were down for their afternoon nap, I went back outside to finish the spray painting.  It worked out well that I was able to get the bottom and sides completed with the first can.  That portion was dry so I just flipped the table over and started spraying the top of the table with the second can of spray paint.  I didn't worry about getting the table top absolutely perfect because I knew I was going to cover it with contact paper.

I let it dry completely for about two days before I moved onto the contact paper step.  I let it dry outside on our deck so it wouldn't be so fumy when I brought it inside.  To do the contact paper, I cut a section of contact paper that was a little bit longer than the length of the table.  I peeled off one edge and lined it up with the edge of the table.  There's actually a little lip on the table and I put the contact paper just inside that lip.  It was helpful to only take off part of the paper backing.  That way it didn't all stick together on me.  I just pulled the backing off and smoothed down the contact paper as I went along.  

Once I had the whole piece stuck on the top of the table, I really smoothed it out.  I started in the center and pushed any air bubbles out towards the sides.  

The next step was trimming away the excess contact paper along the edges.  First I tried using the edge of a pair of scissors, but that didn't give me a very crisp cut.  So I tried a razor blade next and that did the trick.  I just followed along the inside lip of the table.  I didn't push too hard because I didn't want to go through the paint or cut into the surface of the table.  Just some very slight pressure cut through the contact paper.  

Once I made it all the way around the table, I just pulled off the excess contact paper like a giant sticker.  It was very satisfying!  

It turned out super cute!  They gray will look perfect in Lyla's room with her other gray furniture.  And the "marble" gives it a touch a sophistication.  What kid doesn't need that in their toys?! ;)  I also like the fact that the contact paper is removeable, so I can just peel that up and replace it when they scribble all over it or take a few bites out of the edges.  Such a simple project that will really dress up Lyla's room!