Secretly Network

6 quick and easy tips for cleaning your kitchen

Make a Cleaning Plan

Get organized by making a cleaning plan. Put together a list of the daily, weekly and monthly tasks to keep your kitchen in tip-top shape. Daily tasks could include wiping down counters, backsplash, stovetop and sink, and sweeping. Weekly tasks could include quick mopping floors and wiping underneath appliances. Monthly tasks could include a good floor scrub, cleaning the inside of the garbage can, and cleaning out the toaster oven and microwave.

Clean Counters Naturally

It’s easy to keep your counters clean and disinfected, and you don’t even need to use chemicals! Put a solution of 50/50 water and vinegar in a spray bottle and keep it handy. Wipe down the counters each night after dinner to get things shiny clean and kill germs at the same time.

Happy Kitchen Drain

  Whenever you feel like your sink is getting a little funky, fill it with hot water and 1 cup of lemon juice. (You can use bleach if you like, but lemon juice is more natural and smells nicer!). Let the hot water sit for one hour, drain, then scrub down the sink for a few minutes with Bon Ami cleaner.  Once a week, pour some vinegar and baking soda down your drain, let it sit for 5 minutes, then run hot water and the disposal. Quick and easy and keeps your drain clean and smell-free! Also, if you ever have orange or lemon peels to throw away, throw them in the disposal instead!

Easy Microwave Cleaning

Microwave coated in food and grime? It’s easy to wipe that gunk away! Fill a microwave-safe bowl with water, add 1 tablespoon of vinegar, then run microwave on high with the bowl inside for 3-5 minutes. Grab a papertowel or dish towel and easily wipe away the dirt!

Baking Soda: Magical Grease Fighter!

Have something greasy that just won’t scrub clean? Grab the box of baking soda and a scrubby sponge and get scrubbing! Works great on pans with cooked on grease or burners that need a little love.

Quickly Clean Stove Burners and Drip Pans

Regularly wiping down your stovetop and drips pans goes a long way to keeping them clean, but if you cook a lot, sometimes it’s hard to stay on top of it! If you find yourself with especially dirty burners, it’s simple to get them clean. Place your stovetop burner or drip pan in a sealable plastic bag then pour ¼ cup ammonia into the bag over the sink. Seal the bag and let sit for 1 hour (or a couple hours if burner is especially dirty). Open bag over the sink, away from your face, while wearing gloves. Pour ammonia down the drain then rinse and dispose of bag. Wipe down burner with a sponge and rinse with water. Voila!

Things and Change

As a nurse working with the geriatric population, I have had a front row seat to some major life changes in the lives of my patients and the view has been even more profound in my work as a hospice nurse.  Many times I have had opportunities to help patients and families with their final transition from this world to the next. I have always considered it a sacred time. Of the many lessons I have learned through this process, I have learned that things are just ‘things’ and that no matter how old you are, things always change.

Countless times I have seen the same scenario play out and it goes a little something like this: grandma falls and breaks her hip, and she goes to the hospital for surgery and treatment. After her hospital stay, she is then transferred to a skilled nursing facility for a lengthy rehabilitation. Just when there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel for her, grandma gets a sock to the gut when she is told she can't go home. Why can't she go home? It's no longer safe for her to be on her own. There are too many stairs at home and she lives alone. So instead of going home grandma gets to go live permanently in an assisted living facility, residing in a one bedroom apartment about 500 square feet in size.

Don't get me wrong. An assisted living center can be a pretty great place, but put yourself in grandma’s shoes. You went into the hospital to fix your hip, and in that process, you lost your house and independent living. The house you worked so hard to pay off for 30 years, the location you raised your kids in and the place that holds all your memories of your deceased husband. You might as well have told grandma that a tornado came through and life in the place she knew and loved is gone. The blow is equally devastating, and at 90 years of age, grandma suddenly realizes that no one is ever immune to change.

Isn’t it ironic that we spend our lives striving for the accumulation of things? We want for a bigger house and then we fill it up with furniture, toys, clothes, plates, glasses, art, decorations, books and the list could go on and on — only to one day have to box it all up or give it away so that we can fit into a 500-square-foot apartment where we have room for a bed, a dresser, a couple of chairs and some clothes. Depressed yet? I hope not because my goal isn't to depress you. Instead, it's to give you a bigger view that no matter how much we try to line things up in our lives and get it just the way we want it to be to feel comfortable, we can always count on life to throw us a change.

While I have observed the same scenario play out many times, I have also seen the different responses and reactions of those experiencing the major life change. Those who have learned to adapt to change and let go of the attachment to things, adjust to their new life much better than those who haven’t. There is nothing wrong with having a house for 30 years and raising your children in it, but the key is to know that the house is just a ‘thing,’ not a symbol of certainty and stability. What becomes the true symbol of certainty and stability is your living legacy and who you were while you were here. More importantly, that you valued people over things and because of that, you not only made room for change — you embraced it.

 Until Next Time

Holly

One of the hottest Spring accessories trends is the blazer. There are so many great ways to wear them and they are perfect for the not too hot, not too cold weather.  Plus a blazer can pretty much go with anything in your closet. 

It’s time to move on from those cooped up Winter activities to the fun outdoor activities! Here are some great Spring activities for kids that they’ll will love!

Help your kids make this bird feeder to hang and enjoy the birds returning after winter.

 

Egg Carton Garden

Let them make their own little garden using an egg carton. So cute.

 

Bubble Station

Spring means bubbles! Come up with a fun bubble station for the kids to play with for hours. Free refills!

 

Bulb Growth Chart

Help them measure the growth of their bulbs with a cute chart. They will love seeing the progress.

 

Ribbon Wands

Little ones love these! Ribbon wands are great for boys and girls alike and are pretty to look at for mom.

 

Sidewalk Chalk

Make your own sidewalk chalk in custom colors. So pretty and fun!

 

Stick Painting

Go on a walk and collect some sticks to bring back and paint. It would be fun to make a wind chime of sorts out of them.

Ever browse Pintrest and wish you could figure out where to buy those adorable items?  Well Keep.com has solved your problem.  Keep organizes the world’s products by tapping into the style of tastemakers, friends, personal preferences and the Keep community to present merchandise through a delightful experience that helps each shopper stay up to date with trends and find unique items to enhance their lives. Now getting shopping! 

Stacy

The Thorn In My Side

Do you have those things in your life that seem to never go away? Those things from your childhood, your adolescence and even your adulthood that despite your best effort always seem to linger? I know I do. Just a few weeks ago I found myself confronted with a demon that I have been fighting for years. I've prayed, I've studied, I've worked, I've sought out help and yet it's still the thorn in my side. Desperate to finally shed this part of myself I was in tears and almost beside myself with frustration. In this state I found myself frankly asking God, "I know you can do anything. You are God. You can perform miracles. You can part Red Seas. You can create and move mountains. Why can't you take away this thorn in my side away from me?" Honestly I don't think I was really expecting an answer. I thought this just might be one of those lifetime mysteries and so really what I was doing was venting. A few minutes later my heart and my mind stilled and to my surprise this was the thought that came to me, "Holly if I took this from you, then what would bring you to me?" My question was answered with a question and I was left to ponder it for awhile. He was right. If I didn't have this thorn in my side then would I feel that I needed Him so much? It was this very thing that made me so dependent on God and His wisdom. It was the thing that even after days or weeks of not saying my prayers, that would compel me enough to pray. This thorn in my side was also for those times I thought I had it all together because it was what reminded me that I don't. What's even more revealing about this impression was that God needs us. God wants us to bring our heart filled prayers to him not just to prove He is in charge, but because he wants to hear from us. He wants to feel important and needed. His question wasn't asked in a condemning way; it was asked in a gentle almost needy way. As if God was saying, "I want to take this from you, but then you won't need me and I don't want that, I want to know you. I want to be a part of your everyday life." Since then I have been reflecting on my spiritual journey. This reflection has helped me to see just how much more I depend on God in my crisis and not so much in my comfort. It was a great invitation for me to explore how I can give that kind of effort to God without the thorn in my side. I'm still not sure how I'm going to do that, but until then, I know with this thorn in my side I will remain close to Him.

Holly

I will admit it. I used to be one of those people who would hear an affirmation and then roll my eyes. You know the; "You can do anything you put your mind to" or "There is no try. You either do it or you don't." The reason that I would roll my eyes is because my mom was a walking talking affirmation: This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but even at a young age, I noticed that something wasn't consistent. As much as my mom spoke these positive statements, there always seemed to be a deep sadness within her. I spent my whole life watching her chase the dream of being content and happy, but never actually achieving it.

 As I grew up and became an adult I started to notice a lot of things around me including this culture of positive thinking. I remember countless times where I was told to "Just be happy." I would get so frustrated with people who would ask me, "How are you doing?" And then when I answered, "I'm okay, I guess", they seemed confused that I had answered the question honestly. I was left so irritated. If they didn't really want to know, then why did they ask? That question alone can require hours of deep thought, however out of all that spurred a deeper question for me, "Why do I feel dishonest when I answer that question by saying I'm great?" No matter what I did or how hard I tried to be positive, there was always a little pang in my heart when I said I was good. And to be honest, I never really dared to say, "I'm great!" It didn't feel true. This despite the fact that I wanted it to be. I remember just over a year ago, my sister-in-law asked me how I was doing. This was only months after my mom committed suicide and my divorce was in the works, so at the time I hated that question. I knew people meant well, but I didn't know how to answer it honestly without making a scene. So this time I thought about it a little and I responded, "One day I will be able to say that I'm doing great and I will mean it." It's interesting to me that even now as I share this experience it's cemented in my mind so clearly. I think it's because that was a turning point for me. That question and my response became my mission. I really wanted to one day say that I was great and to mean it.

Fast forward to just about a month ago. I sent my sister-in-law a text message to communicate some things and in the process I said, "Hey do you remember when you asked me how I was and I said that someday I would be great and I would mean it?" She said she remembered, to which I replied, "Well guess what? I'm great and I mean it!" Her response was, "That's great! What happened? Was it just time?" While I knew she meant well, I had to laugh a little. If only it were that easy. If only it was a matter of time. It was something much bigger than that. It was a lot of work that I did to explore my heart and to seek out healing. Although time played a role in that, it was also a healing of my heart in places that I had major wounds, places that had not been seen and had not been healed. In a strange twist of irony, I am now a walking talking affirmation. I love affirmations and they come to me regularly. So why the change from rolling my eyes at them to embracing them? It's because I have discovered this; an affirmation in the presence of healing is a confirmation. Affirmations become spiritual truths of things your heart already knows. They then become spiritual food to your soul and another humbling reminder of God's unconditional and eternal love for you.

80’s Flashback Part I

I am a total product of the 1980’s. I love nostalgia in all forms, but a recent visit to San Francisco, made me realize all of the things that my daughter may miss out on. She may see that a new version of an old item appears in a commercial as I try to explain to her that I had that when I was little. She may discover something in a closet or in the attic from my childhood. She may have oodles of questions to ask.  In fact, I can almost guarantee that she will. The first thing that I noticed in San Francisco was the bright neon colors displayed in a window at The Gap. There is no doubt about it, the 80’s are back and I am “stoked”. The second was when we noticed a pay phone. I have not seen a payphone in ages. Try explaining that one to a 5 year old born in the 2000’s. I tried to answer her questions will continue to try and cannot wait to try and explain what a neon colored piece of elastic is called.

Chinese jump ropes were so much fun. Or how we used pay phones to call our Mom to come and get us at the mall. Or how we walked, actually walked to school. I am sure that all of this vital information will make me oh so popular with her friends, but I think that I will be “like totally awesome.” Quoting Huey Lewis and the News, “Let’s go back in time” and discover some things from an era gone by.

Here is my list of the totally rad…..

 The 1980’s Method of Calling Someone Who was Not Home….The Payphone  

In the 1980’s we had to actually remember someone’s phone number or at least write it down. In fact, if someone was not near their home phone, we usually were not able to reach them. Of course, the coolest and most important people had pagers, but the average person could not be reached 24 hours a day. In some ways, did this make life simpler and more enjoyable or less convenient? Either way, it was certainly different. During my recent trip, I noticed pay phones. They looked surprisingly different. They had a credit card machine attached to them so you can pay with plastic. 

Toys of the 1980’s

I have noticed that toys of the 80’s have come back. My daughter has cabbage patch dolls, my little ponies, and Barbie’s. I showed her a troll doll and she looked at me like I was a total nut. I tried to explain to her how you would rub its belly and make a wish. A 4 year old really liked that idea and I had her sold, but an older child might really think that I was losing it. Such a simple idea went global and I am surprised that this trend in toys has not come back yet. I was thinking of all of the other toys that I had and chuckled a little. I had the whole set of California Raisins fashioned around the commercial. I remember huge Barbie’s houses, unlike what they have today. They were Malibu mansions. I remember Atari’s and playing the ET game where you had to collect Reese’s Pieces in order to “phone home”. I suspect that ET had to use a payphone. I also remember the old Nintendo where you had to blown on the cartridges to get them to work. Worked like magic every time. Now my daughter has to play on my cell phone at every waking moment and can not live without Netflix. 

The Brick, the first Cell Phone

My cell phone now is my life. I hate admit it. I would not have any contact with anyone without it. I would not even know how to reach them, like I can be bothered with memorization anymore….(sarcastic laugh). I use my phone to pay bills, connect with others, check my facebook, and organize my life. When it is lost or broken, I may as well hide under a rock. However, I remember the first cell phones were as heavy a rock and shaped more like a brick. And they did two things, call and ring. Yet, they were so cool. Anyone that had a cell phone was super awesome in the 80’s. I even remember having a toy phone and it was just as big and just as  awkward. You sure could not place it in your coat pocket or really even your purse, they had their own containers. And these containers had a battery pack that resembled that as the Ghostbusters device that they used to catch Slimer in. Now you could place probably 100 modern cell phones in one of those so-called cell phone cases. No wonder fitness became so big in the 80’s, we had to “Get Physical” in order to carry our phones around.

Black and White TV

 Over Christmas break, my kids and I were watching TV and the Christmas classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life, was on TV. My kids asked if the TV was broken and sat staring at me in amusement as I tried to explain how TV was not always in color, nor movies for that matter. It seems that the less color a movie has, the more boring it is, as my kids tell me that they would rather watch something better. I showed my daughter a picture of this TV and she asked me if it was a microwave. I laughed so hard. I know that black and white movies are still around, we can watch them from time to time. But I am not sure that I can ever get my kids to watch them. For some reason this can not catch their attention. They would be totally freaked out if I told them that the coolest thing in my parent’s day was the radio and even better than that, books!!!!

Cassette Tape

Do you remember when tape recorders and boom boxes actually “ate” your tapes and you would be devastated that your Wham tape was gone forever. Or the tape would come unwound and you would use the eraser end of the pencil to wind it back up? Those are all just memories, can you even find a cassette tape anymore. CD’s are almost unheard of. I will be honest; most of my music is on my phone. I can come clean. I am not sure I miss these little gadgets, but once again, I am reminded how binded I am too my cell phone. 

Jen

Ever find yourself in a hurry and off to some important event only to find yourself stumbling upon a traffic jam? It never seems to fail that it happens on the day that you've spread yourself the thinnest. Although this has happened to me frequently in my lifetime, there was one traffic jam that changed the way I looked at them forever. I don't remember the details of where I was going, but I remember my mind going a hundred miles a minute trying to think of all that I was trying to juggle, including getting to my destination on time and then there it was…..a traffic jam. My reaction was of course typical, "Are you kidding me? Why don't people learn how to drive?" I think I had a few more choice words that I was about to say, when I was interrupted with a very distinct thought, "Maybe instead of worrying about yourself you should say a prayer." Suddenly my entire focus shifted and sitting there in the traffic I took a minute to ponder the thought. It made me realized just how selfish I had been. Here I was thinking about how this traffic jam was going to ruin my night, when potentially it had changed the direction of someone’s entire life forever. To say that I was humbled would be an understatement. I took the opportunity to refocus and then I started to say a silent prayer. I prayed for the people in the accident and their family members, that whatever the circumstances they would be comforted. I prayed for the responders on the scene that they would know what to do and that they too would receive comfort and support after witnessing the circumstances of the event. I also thanked God for the fact that I was safe and that I was able to enjoy the many blessings of my life. I don't remember everything else I said in my prayer that night, but I do remember that the stress of being in the traffic jam dissipated quickly and that I did eventually get to where ever I was going. 

Having that experience has changed the way I react to traffic jams entirely and when I find myself in one, I no longer get frustrated and angry, but instead I immediately start to pray. It's amazing how this simple change in my attitude and actions has improved the overall experience of my life. It has increased my awareness of others and it has increased my awareness of the many things I have to be grateful for; including being grateful for being the one in the traffic jam and not the one in the accident.

Until next time, 

Holly

hollybowerman.blogspot.com