Clean Sink = Happy Mama

I posted a picture of my spic 'n' span kitchen sink on Facebook the other day:

I had promised a post on how I did it, so here it is... 

I got the idea of having a clean kitchen sink from The Fly Lady.  I came across one of her posts, FLYing Lesson: Shining Your Sink.  She was so right when she said that "You have struggled for years with a cluttered home and you are so beaten down."  Just having the dishes done and a clean kitchen sink when you get up in the morning is such a sense of accomplishment and it is!!  I definitely was a happier mama when I woke up that first morning and had NOTHING in my sink.  I just couldn't believe the effect it had on me!!  And, it can have that same effect on you, too...  

Start by taking all the dishes out of the sink.

Run some very hot water into the sink and fill it to the rim. If you have a two-sided sink, only do one side at a time. Then, pour a cup of household bleach into the hot water. Let it sit for one 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. Make sure you wear gloves so the bleach doesn’t irritate your skin, and don’t get the bleach water on your clothes.

Rinse your sink well.

Use some powdered cleanser (Comet, Ajax, or baking soda) and scrub your sink. Be sure to rinse ALL of the cleanser from the sink.  (I used Bon Ami--with the cute little chickadee on the label.)

Take a sharp edge, such as a butter knife, and clean around the rim of the sink, just like you would clean dirt out from under your fingernails.

Clean around the faucets.

(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 words 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.)

(The parts above were taken right from the FlyLady's suggestions.)

And, the clean and clear sink is still going strong.  Love the feeling...

Did you try this, too?  How did it affect you?