What's Gonna "Funk" You Up?

Or Justin Case your dishes are not as clean as you like.

Clean your dishwasher??? Who knew? Certainly not me...until my dishes were not as clean as they should be. Have you had to re-wash because of caked on crud? Less than sparkly glassware? A vague odor?

Me too! 

But wait... isn't your dishwasher cleaning already? Shouldn't it be cleaning itself while its cleaning your dishes??? Apparently not! I found this out when I goggled it. Tips and videos galore.

So take a peek into my less than stellar dishwasher and see another dirty little secret. Naive me has NEVER cleaned a dishwasher. And we have had this one about 10 years!

Don't judge people. I'm putting it out there so you don't have to.

After considerable research I decided to go with the all natural, vinegar and baking soda method. There was a lot of baked on water residue aka hard stuff so I had to use a scraper and toothbrush to get into some of the corners. I also added an extra step at the beginning because of all the goo.

Here's how to clean your dishwasher:
1. Remove the bottom rack.
Heat 2 cups of white vinegar. I have found that heating is important. Add 1 tablespoon of Dawn dish soap. Yes, it has to be Dawn. I don't know why but I did use another dish soap for something else and it did not work nearly as well. Put in a spray bottle and spray away. By the end of the project I used almost all 2 cups. Add some baking soda. Do some scrubbing if you have gunk in the corners and on the sides. Scrub some more... and more... and scrap with a plastic scraper. You can also take out the filter and clean in, under and around that but I couldn't find the right screw driver to get the filter guard off. I pried mine up enough to get a small tooth brush in there and scrub around.

2. Run the dishwasher on high with a cup of vinegar. I waited for the rinse cycle and threw in another cup of vinegar for good measure.

3. Sprinkle a cup of baking soda on the bottom and run again. I added another cup of vinegar in the rinse cycle.

Well now, looky, looky! I can bask in its sparkling beauty. I sort of don't want to even use it.

Don't let your dishwasher FUNK you up!  It is suggested to clean your dishwasher every 6 months. Now that I know I have to clean mine, I think I'm going to go every 3 months so I don't have to work so hard next time.

The Importance Of Proper Tools

We (well me) here at Evicting Justin Case are fans of using the right tools for the job.

Justin Case those leaves have been hangin' around for a reason...like you don't have a rake...

OMG! 

How am I ever going to be a fabulous and well respected blogger if I can't even remember to take the "BEFORE" pics??? (insert sound of me slapping myself on the forehead.)

My plan today was to rake up the leaves that have been gathering in my back yard for a few weeks now. Living in San Diego, CA, the land of small back yards and perpetual sunshine my 1 tree decides to shed at varying times of the year.

1 tree? That's it??? Scoff if you will. That tree drops major leafage in my tiny yard. And that small yard can do without 2 feet of leaves. It's enough trouble trying to grow grass with a teen age soccer player always kicking the ball around.

I prepped for the big event by buying a new rake.

I think the old rake was broken because it was used for a base in the other major back yard sport around here, wiffle ball.

3 hours and a giant trash can plus these bags later, my back yard is cleaned up. One thing led to another and I had to clean  the fence and the house planters as well. That's where the before pics would come in handy.

 

 Although the grass is brown, we are in a drought after all, (turf rebate anyone??? ask me how to get yours)  
The tree is still green! Arghhhh!

Oh wait... an "AFTER" pic!

See ya Justin Case!

Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz

Oh, What A Relief It Is

Did you know Alka Seltzer was made in Mexico??? Neither did I! 

From 2005???

...Until yesterday when I cleaned out the hallway bathroom medicine cabinet! This is one of those places that just don't get any attention. Mostly because I don't normally use that bathroom and hardly ever go in the medicine cabinet. I had to put something in there and what a mess! 

Here's another example of what you can get done in 20 minutes or less. Dang it! I forgot the before picture. 

How did I do it, you ask? I used my tried and true method of completely clearing the space, cleaning it and only putting back what is used.

Soooo, Let's play "Keep or Dump"! In the dump pile goes EVERYTHING that is expired! In this case, it was almost everything.

Put back ONLY what is actually used and not expired. 

Oooooh  That Smell! Can't you smell that smell??? A little Lynard Skynard anyone? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDB-yswOrzc

One thing leads to another and I cleaned out the drain too. Now there's a dirty little secret.

Seriously Disgusting!

See ya Justin Case!

Too Messy, Too Neat, Just Right!

Where do you store kid's permission slips, coupons, pictures and your favorite refrigerator magnets? You know the stuff you need to keep on top of, so you don't forget.

 Duh! 

On the refrigerator, of course! Me too!

But no more! I'm sick of that clutter, the papers falling off every time the door closes. I want a a clean slate, really a clean door.

Start the timer peeps! Its mini-make over time.

* Disclaimer of the day - I LOVE refrigerator magnets and collect them the way some people collect  Christmas ornaments, one from everywhere I go.

My plan for the magnets was to relocate them to a good, yet visible home elsewhere. But where is there a nice metallic surface besides the fridge where they could go????

I purchased a piece of sheet metal from The Home Depot and used some electrical tape to make a decorative metal frame. Total cost - about $6. I was going to mount this on another wall in my kitchen with the magnets creatively arranged.

(Its hard to take a picture of a shiny surface without getting in it)

FAIL!!!

Once I took everything off the fridge door, it looked horrible! Plain white! It screamed BORING!!! So back to the drawing board.

And the final result coming  in under 30 minutes.

The magnets are creatively and neatly arranged. The papers are filed or trashed and the pictures that are worth keeping have been moved to the photo place to be dealt with at another time.

See ya, Justin Case...

Bathroom Mini Remodel

Do you have glass shower doors that have seen better days? The glass is foggy and the runners don't run? Mold has moved in under the grout? You are not alone!!! I did, too - until yesterday.

 Daily showers were stressing me out because I couldn't get those dang things clean.

They HAD to go!

I can't do that - you may say,  but NEVER FEAR! Its super easy to remove them. My husband, who is not the handiest person, removed the doors while I was out. Basically you just lift out the doors and unscrew and pry off the frame.

He forgot to take a "before" picture but luckily those disgusting doors were still in his truck so  here you go.

What is that stuff????

Removing the gross grout and stuck on silicone was anther story but nothing some good, old fashioned elbow grease couldn't fix.

I used this grout remover called Lift Off Caulk and Silicone Remover that I got from Home Depot. It was abut $5 for this size bottle. Lesson learned - a product meant to  to dissolve plastic will also dissolve rubber gloves. A stupid AARP card worked just fine as a scraper.

I also used a little liquid reinforcement.

I put up a new rod and curtain.

My clean, remodeled shower makes me so happy!

Fun fact - did you know there is a secret level hidden in the compass app on your iPhone? Yup! Open the compass and swipe! Awesome! (You will need it to make sure your new shower rod is level)