DIY Faux Succulent Wreath

I love a good seasonal wreath – but I REALLY love love love a wreath that can be used in several seasons. Having décor pieces that can be kept up for more than a season – or even year round – makes housekeeping a little easier – and even better if it’s affordable!

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram (and, shameless plug, you oughtta!), you may have seen my DIY faux succulent wreath featured on my feed a little while back. As I made it, I saved all of my photos and videos so I could share it here with you – but then I got sidetracked with new homeowner projects, and posting the tutorial completely slipped my mind!

So, today, you’re going to get the full run-down of how I made this craft using Dollar Tree supplies!

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • hot glue gun + sticks
  • green floral foam wreath form
  • 3 plastic faux succulents
  • burlap ribbon
  • jute string/twine
  • mini wooden chalkboard
  • white chalk pen

First, you’re going to want to prepare all of your materials. The first thing you’ll want to do is heat up your hot glue gun. As this heats, de-stem your faux succulents. Dollar Tree has a variety of these floral accessories, making it easy to choose the look you want for your space. Once you’ve chosen, you can cut off the brown stems and work with just the plastic leafy sections.

I also went ahead and made my decorative bow with my burlap ribbon. I really liked the black and burlap ribbon they offered at my local Dollar Tree, so I picked up chevron and polka dots and ended up using both. They also had a nice maroon and burlap option.

Next, you’ll want to use your chalk pen to craft a message on your wooden chalkboard. I simply wrote “welcome home” since it was going to be in a doorway. In my home, you can see the back kitchen door as soon as you walk through the front entry way, so I felt a “welcome” message was appropriate. I could have also gone with a more kitchen-themed phrase or a monogram.

Now that your hot glue gun has likely heated up enough, you can begin to assemble your wreath. I started with wrapping mine with ribbon. I simply wrapped around and used dots of hot glue to secure the ribbon in place. I did use both patterns on mine, but to be even simpler, you could use just one pattern of ribbon. I did use some jute where my chalkboard was going because I felt like it might create a sturdier hold.

Finally, you will want to glue on your accessories – the bow, the plastic succulents, and the chalkboard. I spent some time arranging these items without glue first to choose the look I liked best.

Here is the final product! I really love how this turned out and how truly simple it was to put together. The green, black, and natural brown ties in with my home décor nicely, and I love that it creates a nice focal point for the kitchen door.

I’m considering making a similar one for on the outside of the door on my back porch, too. What phrases would y’all suggest for a back-porch wreath? Comment below – would love to hear from you!

Entryway Décor

In our new home, our front door opens right into the living room. However, the previous owners (or, I guess, ONE of the previous owners) continued the kitchen flooring to, apparently, give it an entryway vibe.

To help with the flow of the space, we’ve decided to continue to use the space in that way.

The living room is not huge – it’s sort of a narrow space and, while it fits my furniture well, it does not have room for anything additional. However, I really did want the option of additional seating if possible.

I decided to search for an entryway bench that would allow for functionality – to put on shoes before going out, to drop little man’s backpack or my purse, and to create additional seating space if needed. I also really wanted a piece that would contribute to the vibe in terms of décor. We consider our taste to be a mixture of traditional style, industrial farmhouse, and country chic, sort of like a charming transitional approach to home décor.

I was thrifting with my mom and sister when we stopped in a local antique store. This store, Farmhouse Antiques, has a ton of booths for different vendors – and my sister’s mother-in-law actually has a gorgeous booth there too!

I came across a black bench that definitely has that traditional and country vibe – and I fell in love. I got this beauty for just $47! We had a time getting it into mom’s Nissan Rogue with three adults and other thrifting finds, but we made it work!

After getting this gorgeous piece in my living room, I started to get a lot more excited about styling and decorating it.

I had previously made a monogrammed sign for the entry way, and I thought ahead enough to have taken some photos and videos for y’all. (You’ll notice my old rental house is the setting for this project.)

I purchased the following items from my local Walmart’s craft aisle: an “M” (Jake’s last name starts with an “M” – so when he finally shares it with me -LOL, that’ll be our monogram), a wooden wreath cutout, chalk paint in black and a sage-like green, a shiplap lookalike handing piece, and sponge brushes. I also have my own mini hot glue gun and glue sticks always on the ready in my craft bin.

I first painted my pieces – the green chalk paint was for the wreath cut out and the black was for the monogram.

Then, after those dried, I hot glued them to the center of my shiplap-looking hanging piece. I think it turned out super cute and would actually be a great DIY piece for a lot of various décor themes.  

I also wanted to add in some additional functionality for hanging jackets. My papa – my grandfather on my dad’s side – used to love woodworking. He made these sweet homemade peg hooks that are in my house in a couple of places. This one is a really large one that was perfect for this spot! I had used it in my son’s room previously but thought it’d get more family use in the living room entry way, so when we moved, I brought it in here. Papa passed this fall, so adding something that reminded me of him in this space was really special.

To add some color and softness to this space, I grabbed some pillows, a blanket, and a rug I already had. (Always shop your own home when decorating – you save money and find new uses and spaces for stuff you already loved enough to purchase before!)

I also really loved the idea of incorporating some floral and natural elements into this space, so I grabbed a basket I had bought years back from Dollar Tree and the faux floral bouquet I carried as Maid of Honor in my sister’s wedding. It didn’t hang just right, so I grabbed some twine, braided it, and attached it to the existing basket handle. This hung at a much better length for my tastes, so I added it on the end of the peg hooks.

Here’s the finished space. Oh – and peep that cutie pie dog toy bin I got from Ross for under $10!

How have you decorated your entry space? Any DIY or decorating tips you love? I’d love to hear from y’all in the comments below!

Homemade Mac & Cheese

Jake and I both love macaroni and cheese. There’s something comfortable about cheesy, creamy pasta, and it fits in with my down-home style cooking really well.

In the past, I’ve attempted homemade crockpot mac and cheese but it didn’t turn out the way I’d hoped. So when I had a hankering recently, I made my own stovetop and oven baked dish that turned out a lot better! Jake asked me to make it more often, so I figured that means it’s blog-worthy.

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • 2 cups of elbow noodles
  • 1 cup of half and half
  • 1/4 cup of flour
  • Salt + pepper

EDIT: When I first published this, I used 4 cups of elbow noodles. I’ve cut that down to 2 cups. It makes a smaller dish, but a significantly creamier, cheesier dish!

Preheat your oven to 400F.

First, boil your noodles on the stovetop. They should be al dente when you pull them off, drain, and rinse them.

As those sit and finish draining, get out a saucepan and put it on the stovetop on medium heat. Add in your butter and let it melt. When it’s a yellow pool instead of a chunk of stick butter, add in 1 cup of your cheddar cheese (just 1 not both!), all of your half and half, and all of your flour. Whisk it continually over heat until it becomes a blended, sticky concoction. Take it off of the heat.

Now, in a mixing bowl, scoop in half of your cooked noodles and half of your sticky dairy mixture. Add a dash of salt and a dash of pepper and stir until well mixed. Then, pour the mixed pasta it into a baking dish (I used a square oven-proof Pyrex).

Sprinkle a little cheese (about 1/3 of the remaining cup) on top. Repeat this same process again and layer on top again. This time, use all remaining cheese and sprinkle on more pepper to your liking.

Bake in the oven for 17 minutes. When you pull it out, the top cheese should be crisping a little.

Scoop out your portion (or two – no judgement here!), and enjoy!

Note: next time, I think I’ll use a little extra half and half to make it even creamier. Adjust to your preferences, as always.

DIY Farmhouse Sign

I’ve been itching to do another simple, creative DIY project, and today I’m sharing the result!

I started a new job at a local elementary school as the bookkeeper. I love the environment and the chance to serve kids and educators, and I’m loving the folks I work with so far, too!

Having a new office was a good chance to change things up. I treated myself to a Rae Dunn wall sign and a few desk items, but I wanted to DIY something for my new workspace, too.

I decided to make a DIY farmhouse-esque sign that would look nice with a gray wall and some black and white decor.

Here’s what you’ll need to make something similar:

  • Drill and bit
  • Hot glue gun and glue stick
  • Black and white craft paint
  • Brushes
  • Stencil
  • Ribbon
  • Twine
  • Large wood circle
  • Small wooden heart

First, I drilled two holes in my large wooden circle. These will later serve as a spot for the twine to tie for hanging purposes.

Don’t you just love a girl using a power tool in the kitchen?! #GirlPower

Then, I painted the wooden circle black. (You could absolutely reverse the colors or use other colors of your choice if you wanted!)

Then, as that dried, I painted my wooden heart white.

As the paint dried on both wooden pieces, I cut my twine, to be used for hanging, and ribbon, to make a sweet little bow.

After the black circle was dry, I tied the twine through the drilled holes.

Then, I added on the stencil. This one has three words you can choose from – thankful, grateful, and blessed – and I just chose blessed for my office. I used white paint and tapped it on lightly.

It’s not perfect, but I think it turned out really cute overall.

I then hot glued on my white heart, after it dried. Then I got glued on my bow as well.

I think the finished product turned out really well! Here it is hanging in my office.

What do you think? Have you DIY’d any wall decor lately?

I have a few other home DIYs, such as my son’s bedroom decor, DIY drink coasters, and many more in the “home sweet home” category on this website!

From Boxed Brownies to Gourmet Dessert

I love chocolate – and brownies are no exception! I’m absolutely not opposed to a box mix, either – in fact, that’s the way brownies happen at my house, mostly due to time and convenience.

But every so often, I want to kind of jazz things up. You’ve been to bakeries or restaurants that have mouth-watering, gourmet brownies on their menu – and they seem like such a special treat, don’t they?

Well today I’m going to share three easy ways to upgrade a batch of box mixed brownies – all super simple and super delicious!

To start, I always get the Aldi brand brownie mix (under a buck!), all of the ingredients required on the box, my Pampered Chef brownie pan, and my Kuppet stand mixer. If you don’t have a friend that sells Pampered Chef, let me know – I don’t sell it but have a handful of friends that do and would be happy to connect you. This pan is an amazing purchase because it makes individual brownies, so each brownie has corners and a soft center! And it’s perfect for baking like I will today, with various toppings.

Go ahead and follow most of the directions on the box – preheat the oven as directed, mix the batter, and pour into the pan.

Pro-Tip: I use an ice cream scoop to portion my batter. One and a half to two scoops fits perfectly in this pan!

Before you put your brownies in the oven, it’s time to add the toppings! I’m going to make three different delicious toppings – one per row of brownies in this pan.

My toppings will be: pretzel pieces, butterscotch ad walnut, and peanut butter.

It’s time to add your toppings! But first, remember, when you are baking with add-in items like pretzels, flavored baking chips, or nuts, you need to lightly coat those items in flour. Coating them in flour before adding them to your baking mixture ensures that they won’t all sink to the bottom of your baked goods! By coating them with flour, they’ll stick to the mixture nicely and bake within the item, rather than falling due to their added weight during their time in the heated oven.

Go ahead and sprinkle your add-in items to the top of your brownies. I’m going to put broken pieces of pretzel on my first row, then a mixture of butterscotch chips and walnut pieces to my second row.

Now, to add the peanut butter! There are even lovelier ways of adding peanut butter, but I’m a fan of a big glob. I think it tastes more like a Reese’s cup if there’s a puddle of peanut butter in the center. I just take a fork, dip it in my al-natural peanut butter, and drop a glob onto the top center of the last row of brownies.

Bake these in a preheated oven (as directed on the original box). I do find that with additional items, I sometimes need an extra minute or two in the oven.

You can serve these warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream – or just as they are! They are delicious and, quite frankly, next-level either way!

Enjoy!

Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole

I am a huge fan of breakfast food at any time of day, and this past weekend I made a breakfast casserole for dinner that we really enjoyed – so I just had to share it with y’all! And, even better, it has tater tots in it!

Here’s what you need:

  • Salt + pepped
  • 1 cup milk
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 lb sausage (thawed)
  • 4 cups frozen tater tots
  • 1 cup shredded cheese

Preheat your oven to 350F. While the oven is preheating, cook your sausage in the skillet until all the pink is gone.

In a big mixing bowl, combine your cooked sausage, frozen tater tots, and shredded cheese and mix.

Then in another mixing bowl, combine your eggs, milk, and salt and pepper. Whisk until its mixed together very well.

Spray a glass baking dish – I used a glass pie dish but you could use a square or rectangular Pyrex too.

Dump your tater tot mixture in the sprayed pan. Then pour your egg mixture over the entire dish.

You will place this in the oven at 350F to bake for about 45-50 minutes, until the egg looks set and cooked well enough.

Scoop, then serve in a bowl and enjoy!

Comment below if you love breakfast foods, too. I’d love to hear from you!

Terra Cotta Pot’o’Gold Craft

This week contains St Patrick’s Day! Since it’s a Wednesday night, I am planning some fun themed activities for my youth group. We’re going to learn about some traditional Irish prayers and faith-based sayings, and I wanted to make them a special treat – but one that is pandemic friendly, so it only contains individually wrapped candies.

I had some of these mini terra cotta pots leftover from my Christmastime DIY Santa Treat Pots, so I decided to make “pots of gold” to give to all of my youth kiddos!

Here’s what you need:

  • Mini terra cotta pots
  • Rolo candies (wrapped)
  • A paint brush
  • Black paint
  • Hot glue gun & glue sticks
  • Some kind of clover (I got these glittery clover cupcake picks from Michaels for under $2 and I just removed the sticks)

First, you’re going to paint your mini pots black on the outside. This doesn’t take a ton of skill and it can be a little messy on the rim of the pot and even on the bottom – you simply want it to look like a leprechaun’s black pot.

Once you’ve painted all of the pots you’re making, just make sure they are dry to the touch before moving to the next steps.

Next, if you bought cupcake picks like I did, you’ll need to break off the wooden stems. If you found some clover stickers or foam, you’ll skip that step, of course.

Then, using a heated hot glue gun, simply place a line of glue on the center of the clover vertically. Then push the clover onto the pot as a decorative touch. You’ll need to hold the clover to the front for a minute as the glue sets.

Fill your dried pots with about 4-6 Rolo candies, still in their gold wrappers. My mini pots held 5 really well. This should look like a completed pot of gold to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a little sweet treat!

This is the finished product! Now, don’t forget to wear your green tomorrow!

DIY & Upcycled Coasters

Y’all know I love to get a little crafty, and this week is no exception! I love having unique and handcrafted items in my home, and, while I do have some coasters, they don’t all match or add a ton to my spaces. (Well, my Rae Dunn ones are cute as pie, but since I have two, I’m putting them on the bedside tables in my bedroom.) So I have been thinking of several different crafty coaster options for weeks now, and I finally settled on two easy and cute projects!

The first is a simple DIY stamping craft, and the second is a Mod Podge upcycle project. I’m going to walk you through the process for each project so you can make either or both for your own home!

#1: DIY Stamped Slate Coasters

I found these amazing coasters at Michael’s craft store for under $3.99, I think. I could NOT pass them up – they’re a slate material and they match the black accessories in my living room so well! I also grabbed some stencils from Michael’s (I went with a large sheet of nature-inspired leaves because Jake and I thought they’d match my decor best) and I had green chalk paint and sponge brushes on hand at home already.

Then all I had to do was simply use the stencil lightly tap on the chalk paint! I did this on all four coasters, using two designs, which gave me two coasters with each leaf style.

I absolutely love how these turned out! I think they are the perfect addition for my living room, and they’re so simple.

#2: Mod Podge Monogramed Upcycled Coasters

Dollar Tree has ceramic coasters with corked backing for $1 each. These are the most plain ones they offer, and, if they match your existing space just the way they are, that’s great! For me, we are finishing our basement and doing a lot of black and white and natural tones (think touches of wood and leather), so I wanted to make some simple coasters to add to that vibe. Four of these Dollar Tree coasters make a great starting point.

To upcycle these simple coasters, I got the following supplies: Mod Podge (and yes, Dollar Tree has some in the draft aisle!), foam brushes, craft paper (I used craft wrapping paper I had on hand), alphabet stencils (Dollar Tree again), and black chalk paint.

First, I cut four squares of craft paper that would totally cover the printed font on the Dollar Tree coasters.

Then, I added a layer of Mod Podge on the coaster, laid down the craft paper, and put on another layer of Mod Podge on top. Your paper will bubble some, so use a flat, stiff surface to smooth it out like I do in the video clip below. I used the cardboard from the sponge brush package, but you could also use a credit card or another straight edge. Once it’s smoothed out, set it aside to dry.

After the pieces are dry, simply add your stencil to the spot you’d like your monogram and dab paint on lightly with a sponge brush. What I love about this is that you can use the monogram that works for your family, the color that coordinates with your space, and the look that you like best!

These turned about even cuter than I anticipated!

A Final Look

Both coasters turned out as really nice, unique little additions for my spaces. I think these might even make really nice handmade gifts for a housewarming or shower.

Which do you like better – the stenciled leaf design or the monogrammed upcycle? Comment below – I would love to hear from y’all!

Helpful Dollar Tree Items for Parenting in the Pew

This one is for all of my Christian momma hen friends out there. 

Those of you who attend church regularly and have a little one (or multiple little ones) know that church is an entirely different experience when you’re on your own versus when you have a child to tend to. I’m not complaining – there is something profoundly spiritual and special about attending worship with your child(ren), and I fully adhere to the belief that the most important thing you contribute to the world and to the Kingdom of Heaven is the faith of your family. But let’s be real for a moment – parenting in the pew is hard.

Before the pandemic struck and altered the church experience signficiantly, I was attending church (and serving, since I am the Youth Director) every weekend and every Wednesday. On the weekends that my son did not spend with his father, he attended with me. While he was absolutely a quintessential toddler in the pews, he behaved fairly well overall. There were lots of snacks and board books, but he danced to the music (even tried to sing some) and he said his own sweet little “amem” (the cutest attempt at “amen” that is still how he says it today) at the end of prayers. He often said “amem” REALLY loud, and the congregation members that attend our “early service” (which also serves as our more contemporary service with more modern music and a more casual feel) loved it. While I taught the big kids Sunday school, he played with one or two other toddlers in the nursery just a few steps away, and he loved it.

When COVID-19 caused a state-mandated shut down in spring of 2020, church went virtual. (And, let me just take up some space here to say that my church really did a stand up job of trying to adapt – we already had Facebook streaming set up, but our music minister went out of his way to make sure we added a YouTube channel and increased our virtually-friendly efforts and still had dynamic worship experiences – so appreciative of his leadership in weird times and for all of the people that participated in making that a workable solution.)

My church is a part of the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church, and we were closed down for a lot longer than just the state mandate; our Bishop and Cabinet wanted to monitor cases and provide a framework for safe regathering at our churches in the conference. (Again, appreciative of their hard work to come up with safe ways for worship!)

When we finally went back to some in-person worship in summer 2020, we were on a hybrid model that we’re still using for worship now – in person with masks and distancing, online streaming on Facebook, and recorded services on YoutTube. 

Up until this weekend, I hadn’t taken my son back for in-person. When case numbers were so high and things were so uncertain, it didn’t feel wise to expose him any extra (we still limit going into stores and my two-year-old wears a mask when we do because better safe than sorry). Instead, I had church family members substitute teach for Sunday School lessons on my parenting weekends, and we watched virtually.

On Ash Wednesday, my church held a virtual-only service, and I watched with my kiddo. He looked up at me and said, “That’s church! Take me there. Take me there, Mom-Mom, please.” My heart was straight-up goo. 

So I can’t resist a kid getting excited about the Lord. (I guess it’s the youth leader in me.) I promised him that on my next weekend with him, we’d go back. I decided we’d sit in our socially-distant pew during service (masks on, too!) and to take him to Sunday School with me to continue limiting exposure – he sat at my desk which I disinfect after every youth lesson, well over six feet away from anyone other than me, and kept his mask on the entire time.

But I was anxious. I know how challenging it could be to manage him in the pew last year when we were attending regularly and he was in the habit. Now, he’s even MORE verbal, MORE active, and totally OUT of the habit of sitting still during worship. I was so nervous, y’all. 

I’m very blessed to have a church family that loves me and my son – that has truly been supportive throughout the challenges of divorce and parenting solo and that absolutely adore my son  and get excited to see him – so that helped a LOT in easing my nerves at a church return. It also helps that our early service really is casual in nature – I feel much more at ease if he rolls on the floor in the pews (ugh yes it happens) during that service than I would during our traditional service.

I remembered, too, that I gave some advice to a youth student a few years ago that would be helpful to me with parenting my son in the pew. The youth student confessed that he liked worship for the music, but had a hard time focusing for the length of the sermon. At the time, I encouraged the student in two ways: 1) it is okay to get more spiritual connection with God during prayer or music in service than in the sermon because at least you ARE connecting with God in worship, and 2) do something else during the sermon time – take notes that help you focus on the message, or keep reading that same chapter of scripture yourself during that time – God will bless your focus on HIM, no matter what form that takes.

It hit me that maybe I should give my little one something ELSE God-related to do in the pew during sermon time. I know Dollar Tree has some faith-based word searches, because I’ve bought them before for youth prizes, but I wondered if I’d find any coloring books for toddlers or small children that might occupy my son during service. 

Y’all, Dollar Tree had SO MUCH STUFF! I was floored. Here’s my haul – and then I’ll tell you a little more about each.

So the thing I really wanted was a coloring book. He’s so proud of knowing his colors and can focus on art for a fairly decent amount of time for his age, so I knew if they had a coloring book, it’d be a win. They had some really good ones by Dreamtivity, in their coloring line called Colortivity. I chose this one and a pack of jumbo crayons (which, for some reason I have always called “fat crayons” – yikes).

While I was there, I found SO MANY more things that are faith-based and perfect for parenting in the pew. I bought six books that are age appropriate for my almost three-year-old. 

They have these sweet little hardback, glossy-paper paged books by Little Benton Books that are full of bright illustrations – I grabbed a copy of Noah’s Ark and God’s Creation. These are a little wordy, so they’d also be good for elementary schoolers.

Dollar Tree also has a GREAT selection of board books by The Clever Factory! I grabbed a traditional kid’s board book about Joseph and the coat of many colors, and then three of their pop-out board books. The pop-outs I grabbed were about David, Moses, and Joshua. These are all traditional board books, so they’re perfect for toddler age.

Finally, my little one has arrived at the sticker age – so I couldn’t resist these sticker books about Jonah and Noah! They have over 80 stickers in each, and they have activities like sticker scenes, coloring pages, mazes, word scrabbles, and word searches. While a lot of those activities are a little too advanced for a toddler, there are activities for kids of all ages inside and these might even be good for elementary-aged kids.

These products are SO cool and are truly perfect for teaching your children about God at home or, like I am using them now, as a sermon activity. (And, if you have older kids that are readjusting to sitting through service as the COVID vaccines are released and it’s become safer to worship, I suggest looking at the Bible activity books, devotions, or word searches that the Dollar Tree has for them, too. The Chicken Soup for the Soul devotions and word searches are faith-friendly, too!)

I’ll be honest – the coloring book did NOT solve the issue. My son is not quite three – he is NOT going to be a perfect angel in service, no matter what preparation measures I take. That’s just the reality. At one point during this Sunday’s service, while our pastor was preaching, I had to tell him he couldn’t run in the pew, and he said, super loudly, “YOU don’t tell ME ‘no!’” YIKES. Talk about embarrassing. But that stuff is going to happen – that’s life. Jesus meets us where we are, not expecting perfection – and my son is at the age where he doesn’t want to be told ‘no’ and, yes, he came to worship with that attitude. 

But you know what? He loved the music (every time a song ended, he said “oh no, the music stopped”) and he folded his hands nearly every time we prayed – even, sometimes, whispering over and over “dear God, kank you, amem.” And if that doesn’t remind me that having him in church and talking about faith at home is totally and always worth it, I don’t know what will.  

It was admittedly very hard to focus on my own worship while I was parenting (and wrestling) him in the pew – but parenting is a huge part of my relationship with God, in becoming who he calls me to be. So teaching my son how to behave and focus on God in church is, in itself, an act of worship.

But yes, the coloring book helped. There was a whole point of the sermon I was able to listen to without stress, and we’ll call that a win.

What tips and tricks do you have for parenting during worship or keeping your little ones busy while also feeding their faith? Comment below – I’m open to all the tips and tricks and product recs you have!

Easy Stainless Sink Cleaning Process

I know that farmhouse sinks are all the rage, but unless you have a pretty hefty budget or luck into a house that already has one, you may not end up with the Chip and Joanna-esque sink of your dreams.

In my last two homes, I’ve had stainless sinks. And I’m not even mad about it. They are easy to keep clean, and I don’t worry about chipping or staining any white porcelain or ceramic.

Today I’m going to show you my deep-clean process for the sink – and it’s cheap, simple, and not reliant on bleach!

What you’ll need:

First, before we clean, we need to make our cleaning mixture. Just add a small drop of soap into your spray bottle, then fill the rest of it with water (leaving a few inches unfilled at the neck of the bottle). Close the lid tight and shake it until you see bubbles – that’s when you know the soap is dispersed evenly. (For future uses of premixed spray, shake before use for the same reason.)

Before I show you my process, we’re gonna have a real life moment… this is the before of my sink. It’s dingy, discolored, stained, and basically just gross.

So here’s the step-by-step process I use.

#1: Sprinkle the baking soda in your dirty sink. (I do take anything solid out – so if you had a noodle left or a piece of leftover celery or something, remove anything tangible first and quickly rinse out the sink.)

#2: Spray your mixture over the baking soda layer until it’s lightly damp. Let this sit for a few minutes – maybe check the mail or empty the dishwasher or something while it sits for a bit.

#3: Using your sponge, begin scrubbing the sink bottom. You’ll need to use some elbow grease with the scrubby-side of your sponge, but it should pull up any staining or discoloration. Check out this picture and video to see what I mean!

#4: Still using your sponge, be sure to collect some of the sudsy baking soda and wipe down the inside walls of the sink, too. You don’t realize how much splatter gets on the walls of the sink until you’re comparing it to a clean sink bottom!

#5: Rinse the sink, including the sides!

#6: Wipe the sink dry with your bar mop or kitchen towel.

All done! While a general sink photo still looks lovely, I’m going to include the before picture AND the after picture so you can see the huge difference this method makes!

What other cleaning tips do you have for the kitchen or home? Comment below – would love to hear from you!