Pet Peeves

The other day I went to dry my wet hands at the kitchen sink, and yuck, the towel had peanut butter on it. I asked my daughter, and after making sandwiches she had wiped her hands on it.."UM.....NO!!!!!" And there is a pet peeve of mine. A towel in the kitchen, by the sink, is for drying your wet hands on, or maybe a dish or two. That is its role. But I have had countless people think it is some type of catchall, some sign that says "wipe anything here..!" Now I know some cooks like to have a towel or two around when they cook up a storm, okay, please do. But those are no longer hand drying or dish drying towels. So it got me thinking, what are some of my household pet peeves..

In no specific order..

>Using a dishtowel for anything but drying your wet hands or dishes.
>Unclosed toilet lids, they should always be DOWN when not in use!
>No tissue in bathrooms, not toilet paper for your nose, or your crying eyes.
>No air freshener in bathrooms--it is a must!
>Sticky counters, sticky floors, sticky anything!
>Eating on the couch, and getting crumbs inside the couch.
>Bad lighting, especially in a bathroom.
>Dirty refrigerators, inside and out.
>Laundry rooms filled sky high, looking like the work is n e v e r done.
>Empty toilet paper dispensers, and no toilet paper to be found!
>The tiniest soap bar in a shower, and the shampoo is upside down and virtually empty.
>Dirty garbage can cabinet in the kitchen.
>No outside lights on when you come over for dinner.
>Dead or failing house plants.
>No hangers in an over stuffed coat closet.
>No soap in the guest bath to wash your hands.
>Lamps with burnt out lightbulbs.
>Marks on walls.
>Filthy dirty rugs inside the front door entry --I prefer NO rug--wipe your feet on the outside mat!
>Clutter!!!!

I could go on and on! Want some great decorating and organizing tips..? Check out my ebook, it is listed in November 2008.

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The Kitchen Sink

You know the phrase, "Everything but the kitchen sink.." I wonder where that phrase even came from..so I Googled it, and found some interesting things, that I never knew..

Meaning.."Practically everything there is; every possible object whether needed or not"...I never thought of it as describing excess, which I cannot stand..I thought of it more as a fun term.

"Everything but the kitchen sink - comes from World War Two when everything possible was used to contribute to the war effort...all metal was used for the U.S arsenal. The only objects left out were porcelain kitchen sinks. "

"... the origin of 'everything but the kitchen sink' dates back to the 1940's and a radio program called Queen for a Day. Several women contestants told the very sad stories of their lives. The woman whose story was judged the most poignant was dubbed Queen for a Day and won many prizes. After listing the prizes, the emcee would say, "You've won everything but the kitchen sink". "

"This expression was born in the early 20th century and became popular after World War II (the late 1940s). The kitchen sink is heavy, connected to pipes and usually bolted down, so it’s not easily movable. But if you took everything but the kitchen sink, you’d be taking virtually all there was. "

I guess this was kind of like the character the Grinch, when he took everything, even the last crumb for the mouse!

The other day I was cleaning the kitchen sink, and the phrase popped into my head. So while I was going to write about that, then I got side tracked and had to find out more about the phrase itself!

The kitchen sink, really all sinks. There is nothing worse than a dirty sink. I have a thing about kitchen sinks--they should be empty--dishes should be washed. I know, I know, I am a cleaning nut, but kitchen sinks with dishes piled, food, dirty sponges, etc..just are not my thing.

After every meal or snack I rinse the dishes and put in the dishwasher (sometimes, just once in a blue moon I don't follow my own rule--being truthful! but almost always is the case..)All I have in the sink is a soap decanter--a white one that matches the sink. That is it. No cleansers, no gloves or sponges (all of this is stowed under the sink.)

The sink should be very clean. If it is like mine, white Corian, use a non abresive cleanser, stainless steel, use a cleanser for that..the sink should shine (that is a tongue twister!!) While the kitchen is the heart of the house, I think of each part of the kitchen, the sink, the refrigerator, the oven, the stove, the microwave, they should all be clean. It is just my thing, I like clean kitchens and bathrooms--if I had to absolutely pick, those are the rooms that must be clean!

So the other day, I looked at my kitchen sink and thought, "wow, this really needs some Comet." It had been awhile. Now it is shining again. That led me to look under it, which is very clean. I only keep dish soap, dishwasher soap, rubber gloves, sponges, a trash can and a recycling bin (that is funny, my friend gave me a large Kitty Litter bucket to use for that, but I could not handle the Kitty Litter stickers--and they do NOT come off..s0 I spray painted it black!) I don't store a bunch of stuff under the kitchen sink. I keep it totally free of fold ood laying around in the cupboard, sticky stuff, etc..just because it is closed up, does not mean it should be any less clean that anything out to see. When I am somewhere and I see less than a clean cubboard under the kitchen sink, I am dying to give it a make over!

With all of this, I decided to look at my bathroom cabinets. For as organized as they were, they could have been that much better. Take out all that junk under and in your bathroom cabinets. THROW STUFF AWAY that you never use, like old face cream, old shampoo, expired aspirin, whatever. You will be amazed.

Then categorize into baskets and organize, and wipe down the inside of the cabinets, dust, dirt, grime, it will need it (mine did, shocking I know!) And the sinks and counters as well, they should be totally clean. A bathroom counter top does not need 35 things all lined around it--like deodorant, shaving creme, toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwash, hair products, perfume, hair brushes, nail clippers, and on and on. A soap decanter, a few well placed accessories, tissue in an attractive container, must have tissue!!, but please store everything else. It does not all need to sit on the counter waiting away the day until you pick it up to use it, it will be fine stored below :)

I just had not thought about it in so long, but now when I open the cabinets, they look so nice on the inside, it is just like they are part of the room. So much junk just gets thrown in the bathroom cabinets, and at least 1x a year totally go through them and clean them out. And the front of the cabinets, they really take a beating with water, dust and bathroom products. I feel like my cabinets have been reborn!

I like the origin of the kitchen sink phrase, because I am all about not having excess, all about getting rid of clutter. If I had to sum me up in one word, okay a few, it is about getting rid of stuff! Not just possessions, but bad habits, bad people, bad ideas, etc!! Living more and more clutter free is totally liberating.

Happy New Year! I hope to get back on track and write a lot--2009 side tracked me in a BIG way..but now, now I am back :)