Showing posts with label cleaning tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cleaning tips. Show all posts
Tuesday, 29 January 2013

Cleaning the oven

04:59 | Posted by Ms Agility | | Edit Post
Cleaning the oven is one of those jobs that people tend to put off, until finally, armed with a can of Mr Muscle, three newspapers, extra tough rubber gloves, a bucket, four or five sponges, and a couple of hours, they attack it. And then put it off again until it reaches critical mess.

Living the steampunk dream. No glass doors = no stress about baked on grease.


Despite, or maybe because of my dedication to doing just enough, I don't work this way. For starters, I don't like Mr Muscle. It seems almost impossible to get all of the residue out, and that means nasty fumes every time you turn the oven on for the next few weeks. Secondly, it's all a bit too much like hard work.

Top 5 tips for oven cleaning

  1. Wipe down the stove top every time you do the dishes. Assuming you rinse at least some items before loading the dishwasher, this works even if you're not a slave to the kitchen sink. 
  2. If you skip a wipe and something gets burned on, use our old friends bicarb and vinegar. 
  3. Wipe out the interior with a damp microfibre cloth once a month. Do it more often if you have a tendency to cook rotisserie chickens in there, a bit less if the only things that ever go in are loaves of artisanal bread. Or drip-free vegetarian foods. 
  4. If things get really sticky in there, fill a heat-proof bowl with water and put it in at around 180 - 200 Celsius for half an hour beforehand to steam the gunk free. Cool things down before wiping it unless you fancy adding melted microfibre cloth to the mess.
  5. When the oven trays start looking a bit dirty, soak them in a sink filled with hot water and laundry powder for a couple of hours. The stains will wipe off with a damp sponge or microfibre cloth. 

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Tuesday, 15 January 2013

cleaning silver the agile way

03:49 | Posted by Ms Agility | | Edit Post
There are certain house keeping tasks that really lend themselves to an agile approach. These are the tasks that are self-contained, and not part of business as usual. Today I got one of them done. I cleaned the silverware.

epics and stories aren't the same thing

One of the foundations of agile is the user story. A story is a discrete piece of work that delivers a benefit. Stories can be contained in epics, which are broader pieces. For me, cleaning the silverware is part of an overarching project loosely titled making things nice. It's related to two epics: get rid of excess stuff, and start hosting styled events. 

the stories

1. As a stay at home mum, I want the silverware clean so I can sell it on eBay and get a bit of spending money. This one clearly belongs in the get rid of excess stuff epic.

2. As a person who enjoys entertaining, I want to use the silverware to serve afternoon tea so the table looks pretty. This one goes in start hosting style events

just enough

Each of the stories needs to have acceptance criteria so that you can tell when it's done. For some people, this would be when the silverware is immaculate and gleaming. Because I'm focussed on doing just enough, done is when it's shiny enough to post a nice photo. 

just in time

I wanted to get this done as soon as possible because I want to buy a lightbox, and when I want to buy something, I want to do it now. 

technical approach

My second story refers to using the silverware to serve tea, which to my mind rules out using silver cleaner. I've smelt that stuff, and don't want to ingest it, even if it's been diluted.  Given a chunk of time, it's possible to clean silver with toothpaste, but that sounded way too much like work for me to really contemplate. Which left the easiest technique of all.

put in the sink with a sheet of aluminium foil, a scoop of bicarb soda and a scoop of table salt

Yes, it really is that simple. You line the sink with alfoil, then add tap hot water and a scoop each of bicarb and salt. Put the silver in and let it soak until the water is cool enough to put your hand in. 

Give each item a rinse, then buff any remaining tarnish off with a soft, dry cloth. I don't know why it works, but it definitely does.


the before shot:


and after:


It's not perfect, but I reckon it's good enough to list. (That black splodge in the shot is a reflection. I swear.) Done!

Next up, sorting the bookshelves. An agile housewife's work is never done. Sigh...

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Being agile

Keeping the house running smoothly is not my forte. I'm not one of those people with a beautifully lit, flawlessly styled, immaculately clean homes. If you're looking for that sort of site, keep searching.

This site is for people who want to try a new approach to getting organized. One that isn't perfect, but is good enough. This is about applying project methodology to the home and getting it running the agile way.