Quick and Easy Cleaning Tip

Hello!  Hope you are having a great start to your week!  On Thursday we will be having a giveaway here at The Forward Home....you don't want to miss it!  Trust me!  If you are trying to make your life healthy and more simple than stay tuned this is the giveaway for you!!

So by now you all know I am a HUGE germaphobe/organizer/cleaner who also likes to cook and bake.  Well, I have picked up a few tricks along the way that I am starting to realize no one knows.  Most of the tricks I have learned from Ted's Grandma or mine, or a few of my senior friends who also know the tricks of the trade or more simple ways to do things since they didn't have as much technology as us when they were growing up.  I love watching Grandma's cook...I always learn something!

This trick is one that many people find soooo surprising!  Did you know that your silicone spatulas come apart for cleaning?  ALL of the tops simply pull off (the first time or two you really have to give it a pull). 

My friend gave me the middle one for Christmas....and I am in LOVE!  It is one solid piece so no areas for germs or bacteria so it is simple just throw it in the dishwasher no disassembly required.  

If you have the ones that are pictured on the right or left, it is really important to remove the heads and clean because so many germs and bacteria get up in there while you are baking.  If you didn't know this just try it on your own...but be prepared with a lot of bleach or your favorite cleaning supply because I have taken off the top of one that has never been removed after years of baking and it is pretty bad...

After removing the heads I simply put them in the dishwasher with the open hole for the handle facing down.  If you use the dry cycle on your dishwasher then you can simply slide the handle back on when you unload the dishwasher.  If it isn't fully dry or you hand wash, let it sit upwards until it is dry and then put the pieces back together.

Do you have any cleaning tricks???

Check back on Thursday for the giveaway!!!! 

Germaphobe

Have you ever met a real germaphobe?  Like a real live full blown geraphobe?  Well you have now!  I am not just someone who likes their house clean or who likes the smell of bleach....I am such a germaphobe that I have to have my house germ free...it might be from being sick for so many years with my disease...or maybe I picked it up from my Grandma who use to buy her own toliet seat liners and keep them in her purse for whenever we were in a public bathroom...either way I see germs every where.

Ted has lately been making fun of me for it, I don't know why it is so funny when he trys to put my hand on a doorknob or tells me someone sneezed on our table..,it just gives us the giggles...and makes me have a small panic attack which makes us laugh even harder...

We have been watching The Big Bang Theory Lately (mostly because we relate to those nerds ha ha) but you know are bad when you watch a segment and Ted laughs the entire time saying "that is you!" "that is what you do!"

Well here is to airing your dirty laundry on the blogging world!

Speaking of dirty laundry I have been so sick all week and have been a little grumpy...that being prefaced....I went to do some laundry last night, (of course bleaching a few of my white towels...) and went to put them in the dryer and it didn't work....I tried everything but the sounds it was making were starting to scare me so I called the apartment office to get them to come and fix the dryer...well that is when all hell broke loose...they couldn't fix my dryer for 48 hours....I lost it, maybe because I was sick or hadn't left the house in over 4 days, or maybe because I am a germaphobe and could already smell my towels mildewing...but I lost it.

I feel bad for the manager of our apartments....Let's just say I need to make a lot of cupcakes and take them to the office in the next week or I may never get anything fixed in a timely manner again...I went from being the nicest resident to the most needly, rude, germaphobe...

So to all those who say I am nice or so positive just break my dryer and not let me bleach anything for 48 hours and then see if you still agree!  Ha ha!  

Hope you are all having a great weekend!  I am starting to feel better and Ted is taking me to the mall tonight to walk around...things are looking up!  I might even eat a whole meal tonight!

Myth Bustin Pinterest!!

I am excited to share with you another Myth Busting Pinterest post!  I really loved the first pin I tried!!  Hope you are having a great weekend!!

Pin #1

Original Pin Link

"Easy way to get rid of mold in shower caulk"

The basic steps to this pin are to soak cotton (I just used cotton balls) in bleach and then put them on the discolored area and push it in...I used my squeegee I have in the shower to really push it into the corner of the wall/tub, then leave it over night.  

I loved investigating this pin.  We live in a rental and the caulking has not been white since we moved in.  Because of my disease I am an extreme germ a phobic...really....so every time I showered I noticed the color of the caulking...and I had tried everything to clean it!  This worked SO SO well!  

I only let it sit for about 4.5 hours instead of all night and it worked like a charm.  It made my house smell like bleach and I loved that too!  A germ-a-phob's best friend is bleach!  I honestly bleach everything!  I might have to use this soaking technique for other areas of the house.  Check out my results:

Before

During

 After

I would totally use this again!  You need to try it!  I can now take a shower and not worry about glancing to the corner and getting squeamish!  Amazing!  Try it and send me the pics so I can post them!  This is my favorite pin yet!

Pin #2

Original Pin Link

"Amazing Grout Cleaner. 7 c water, 1/2 c baking soda, 1/3 c ammonia, 

1/4 c vinegar. Spray on, scrub, wipe off. FINALLY!!"

My amazing mother-in-law Valrie, also one of the most crafty people I know, is on pinterest!  I love looking at all her amazing pins!  She has done several of the crafts she has pinned and some how she always makes them even cuter than the pin.....I am not crafty at all so I married into the perfect family, she helps (by that I mean I ask her craft for me) do some really cute things!  

She found this pin and tried it a few days ago while I was over at her house.  She used a toothbrush to scrub the grout and used a magic eraser if it needed it.  It worked pretty well.  

It didn't have nearly the effect the original pin shows, but you could see a big difference.  Valrie said she would use it again and she thinks every time she uses it the cleaner will be able to get deeper and deeper and get back to the normal color.  

________________________________________________________

Have you tried any pins lately?  Did you prove them right or wrong?

Let me know!  I would love to post them!

email me at stefaniecross2@gmail.com

Myth Busting Pinterest!

Hello!  I have had a crazy week getting back in the swing of things from being gone last weekend to Malibu...not that I am complaining!  My cousin and I met the USA Olympic Water Polo team in the Pepperdine Hot Tub...and some are now following The Forward Home Twitter!  Ha ha!  You should too!  Look to the right widget bar and like me on Facebook and  follow me on Twitter and instagram! 

Well we had a great trip and the good news is that my husband Ted is done with his classes at Pepperdine for his doctorate...now only the dissertation to write...only......well only 1 year left then he will be Dr Ted with more degrees than most families have put together (bachelors, 2 maters, HR cert and a Doctorate)...guess he makes up for me only have my one :)  That man sure loves school!  

Myth Busting #1:

Original Pin Link 

Shave off pills to make an old sweater look like new!

I was most skeptical of this one...but this is my new favorite trick!  I tried it on one of my favorite sweaters and it is like new!  It is a black sweater so you can't see the pills in the pictures...but trust me you should try this trick!  Amazing!  And yes, even people in Arizona wear sweaters....but not for another 5-6 months :)

I honestly started this weekly myth busting because I thought so many of these "helpful" tricks couldn't be true...well pinterest has been proving me wrong!  

Myth Busting #2 & #3
Last week on Myth Busting Pinterest I had some great feed back from Deetz over at Cookies and Kiddos (amazing blog with great recipes and bits about life, you will love her!) she tried two pins, here are her findings :)

Original Pin Link

Magic Eraser uses... did you know you can cut a piece off and float it in your toilet overnight and voila! no more toilet ring! Crazy list.

Verdict?  It clean the bowl underneath the water but the line around and above the water still remained....so not as magic as the pin makes it sound!  

Original Pin Link 

1/2 cup vinegar (heated in microwave for 90 seconds) with 1/2 cup dishwashing liquid. Mix together in spray bottle then spray in bathtub let sit for 1 to 2 hours then wipe away with cloth and rinse. 

This actually worked nicely in her kids bathtub. She said she did not have to scrub at the "ring around the tub" it just wiped away.  So this worked!  Good to know!  Can't wait to try it for my bath tub now!  

Have you tried a pin that you can prove right or wrong!?  

Let me know!  Respond to this pin or email me stefaniecross2@gmail.com!

Myth Busting Pinterest!

Hope you are all having a great week!  It is so so hot here!  I usually love Arziona summers but the last few days have killed me!  My husband and I are off to Malibu tomorrow( I need the cool break) for his last weekend classes for his Doctorate at Pepperdine!  I am so proud of him!  Only the big dissertation left!

Last week my husband and I were sitting in bed each surfing the internet, he was on some manly site like Art of Manliness and I of course was on Pinterest.  I think he got tired of me saying over and over, that is so cool, or there is no way that is true!  He finally said why don't you find out....why don't you see if any of these pins are even accurate!  And there was born my new weekly posts: Myth Busting Pinterest!  

Every week I will myth bust some of the pins I have seen or you have asked me to myth bust!  Here are the first 2 pin myths that I got to the bottom of!

Pin #1

This pin claims that if you put an ice cube on a furniture indent on your carpet and it (them) melt, the indent will go away.  Original Pin 

Before

During

 Ice Cub Stealer...

After, it worked!  I just had to fluff the carpet a little.  Amazing!

Pin #2:

This pin claims to be "a skinny oreo shake with 118 calories.  Original Pin

Here are the listed contents of the shake.  I have looked up the calories of each item and put it next to them.  This shake is low calorie...but not 118 calories!

1 cup 1% milk = 103 calories

2.5 reduced fat oreos = 116.6 calories

1 tablespoon instant vanilla pudding mix = 18 calories

1 pkg splenda or equal = 0 calories

1.5 cups ice

__________________

Total calories = 237.6

However this makes 2 servings so that is 118.6 calories!  I was extremely surprised to see this was true!  Don't know how it tastes...I can't buy a bag of oreos without eating all of them so I will have to see if any of you try it!  

2 for 2 this week!  I am surprised and impressed!

Have any pins you want myth busted?  Email or leave a comment below and we will figure it out!

My Ironing Mojo

The first 8 years of our marriage (we've been married for 8.5 years...) I HATED to iron.  I would do anything to get out of ironing.  My husband wears dress shirts at least 6 days of the week so this became a big problem.  I got by mostly with wrinkle free shirts and the cleaners.  It wasn't until my mom came last fall to visit and my husband asked me to get her to teach me how to iron correctly that I realized why I hated ironing....I was HORRIBLE at it!

I blame my mom for this one.  She is the most incredible ironer you have ever met.  Growing up I never had to iron anything, she did it for me, even ironing things like my jeans....So when I got married and was on my own I just didn't know how, the ironing would just pile up.


After my mom taught me the basics of ironing, it made more sense to me but I was still struggling to make the shirts look crisp and starched.  It wasn't until today that I finally figured out my own ironing mojo.  My mom had said you have to find your own method to the ironing madness....but I didn't realize it till now.

My ironing mojo:

For me if I iron the sleeves and collar first then the sides and back the shirt doesn't get wrinkled after I already ironed it.  I also now know you need A LOT of starch, soak that shirt and make it stick to the ironing board and you have enough starch.

For the first time ever I enjoyed ironing today!  I am sure it won't always be this exciting, but I finally concurred my fear of bad ironing...take that wrinkly shirt!!

New uses for old things

My favorite magazine is Real Simple.  If you have never read one you better pick up a copy! 

They are known for their segments on new uses for old things.  This particular article is based on cleaning with objects you would have never thought to clean with, and they honestly make your life much easier!

READ HERE

My favorite one that I use is to take a dryer sheet to the glass shower door and in no time flat you have gotten rid of your soap scum! 

Do you have any tricks of the trade you want to share?