Shiny and New...

Hey all,

How are you all on the messy weather Wednesday?

Im doing ok.. kind of slow moving.. but we are all dressed and semi moving in the house this morning.. My Son had is Occupational Therapy visit this morning, so I had no choice but to get us all dressed..lol

Some of the Journey I'm on is to  not always be after bigger better and shiny and new.. Ive spent a majority of the past 10 years always wanting some new and shiny. Why? I don't exactly know, but one thing I am learning is it doesn't always have to be shiny and new from the store.. Some things yes.. Some things no. I have ways to make Shiny and New alllll on my own...


Take my Sink for example..

What I wouldn't give for a nice porcelain sink like we used to have in our last apartment.. It was easy to clean and the shiny white was just soooo nice and beautiful. HOWEVER we have a house that was flipped on the inside before we bought it, and a lot of things are just stock builder grade.. Including my sink and faucet.

When I make trips to home depot to pick up a paint sample, or some sand paper I always walk through certain isles.. the fixture isle being one of them.. They have some seriously gorgeous Fixtures.. At a seriously HIGH price..

SO.. Ive been thinking.. I want new but do I NEED NEW.. NOPE.. my sink works fine.. No leaks, just water spots..


Here are some tips I have learned and figured out to keep my builder grade sink and fixtures looking shiny and new..

Its kind of hard to see the degree in which I get water marks.. But this is the best I could get..

this is just from ONE days use.. I shine up my faucet once or twice a day.. 

one of my tricks for cleaning up a sink is the following.

1- Take baking soda and dump a generous amount down your sink drain

2- Follow with some vinegar down the drain after

3- throw a pot of water on the stove to boil

4- DO NOT USE SINK UNTIL YOUR DONE

5- after water has come to a boil, pour down the drain to clean out the fizzies that have been going on

I do not have a garbage disposal, but i can not stop every little thing from going down the drain.. some things get stunk and stinky.. This acts like Drano in cleaning out and sanitizing your drain..

I have a very cheap drain cover.. it gets mildewy so quick.. I just take a measuring cup.. put the drain cap in.. sprinkle some baking soda, followed by vinegar

DEF do this in the sink as the fizz runs over EVERY TIME..lol

ANOTHER trick I use to get things SUPER shiny and remove water build up is to mix 1/2 warm vinegar with 1/2 blue dawn dish soap.. Works wonders on Showers, tubs, and fixtures

As you can see it doesn't look brand new, but the water marks are gone.. it doesn't have a drain smell anymore.. and I feel overall better about my sink.. I KNOW.. I KNOW.. its just a sink.. but when your home all day doing alot of your work AT the SINK.. its nice to have a good clean area.

After my vinegar and dish soap spray I take a plain paper towel or napkin and buff the fixture.. this is the part I do a few times a day to remove water spots.. so quick and easy.. As you can see where my sink is.. anyone can see the nastiness behind it..lol.. so I keep it nice and shiny..

ALSO.. i speak of shiny and new.. shiny and new.. Bigger and better..

its a tough lesson Im learning but God is really helping me through it.. and Im so thankful he is..

I have had the same dell laptop for a few years now.. Nothing special.. if I recall some Christmas discount deal I got a few years back. a few months back it crashed.. A friend of mine from church was able to save it.. But shes never been the same since.. Internet cuts out.. m y  browser closes.. it randomly shuts down.. its just been a nightmare..

IVE ALWAYS wanted a MAC.. oh the dream of a mac.. but honestly I don't know to  many people who have $1700 to spend on one.. I currently do not.

I recently have ALOT of friends using Ipads has laptops.. but again.. I did not even have the $700 for the ipad I would want..

WELL IN comes God and a good friend at church who without them knowing taught me.. It doesn't always have to be the biggest and the best, or even brand new..

Hubby has been saving and saving to get me a brand new ipad. Well little did he know My heart was actually set on a refurbished one.. buying refurbished I could spend LESS money on a certified product that has more memory and space than the base model of  a brand new ipad hubby was saving for..

If your in the market for ANYTHING ,, MAC, DELL, HP, Kitchen aid mixer.. check out the official websites refurbished store.. I saved 200$ on buying this new ipad refurbished.. ALSO SHOP AROUND. the idea of getting an ipad was to get a keyfolio case.. one that has a bluetooth keypad built in.. but I balked at the 100$ price tag on apple.. ENTER GOOGLE.. found the same exact thing for 50$ on another website and it included free shipping..

NOW.. I understand.. Shanun you said you dont always need bigger better brand new.. BUT YOU HAVE AN IPAD.. yes I do.. but this has been months and months of planning and researching.. We were going to invest in something be it a laptop that would die in a year.. or an ipad, something along those lines.. SO by waiting (which PS.. I NEVER DO, Im the I NEED IT NOW gal)  patience paid off.. was able to get a much better deal than if I had just run to the mac store with cash in hand and bought the first thing I saw.. I would have been unhappy..

SOOOO remember.. maybe you would LOVE a new fridge.. but do you need it?? maybe you can take out the shelving and clean it up.. dress up the shelves with Press n Seal paper..easier to clean as well

Maybe you would LOVE a new washer and dryer.. but its not in the budget and what you have is getting the job done.. POP ON pinterest.. I recently found a great way to clean your washing machine.. OH MAN you would not believe how dirty mine was..lol..

and if your looking for a new BIG BOX item.. maybe wait patiently and shop around.. rethink the bigger better new thoughts you have into.. how can I make this work and still get what is needed..

Much Love and Blessings 

Shanun