• Tips on Cleaning Sticky Coins

    Cup of dirty coins

    The last time I cleaned Jake’s car I found a handful of coins stuck in the bottom of one of the cup holders.  It looked like some soda had spilled on them.  They were all stuck together and I couldn’t even tell what some of them were because they had so much junk on them.  I didn’t want to throw them away or put them in our coin jar since they were glued together and very sticky.  I decided to try an experiment to see if I could clean them up a little bit.  Guess what, the experiment worked!  The coins came out looking like new!  Since it worked so well I decided to share it with you in case you every find a handful of sticky coins you need to clean as well. 🙂

    • Rinse the coins with warm water
    • Pour white vinegar into container
    • Add the dirty or sticky coins to the container
    • Let the coins soak for 5 minutes
    • Stir the coins to knock off any remaining junk
    • Let sit for another 1 to 2 minutes
    • Remove from container
    • Rinse coins again with warm water
    • Place coins on paper towel to air dry

    This is what the liquid in the container looked like after all the coins have been cleaned.  Look at all the pieces floating in the container (yuck), not to mentioned the white vinegar liquid is no longer clear after all the sticky stuff came off of the coins.

     

    Now I can can identify the coins.  So glad they look all shiny and new again.

  • Teaching Our Children: Is it Really Clean?

    The older the girls get the more responsibilities they are taking on around the house.  One of the cleaning projects they have tackled this year (and have done really well with it) is their bathroom.  To get them started I purchased a small bucket at Dollar Tree, put sponges, rags,scrub brush, and other cleaning supplies into it.  Since they are still pretty young I didn’t want them using any harsh chemicals for cleaning so I put in a box of baking soda.  Whenever they clean their bathroom they put a little bit of baking soda into a bowl, add some white vinegar, and a little bit of water which gives them a cleaning solution that works well but isn’t harsh on their skin.

    The other day as I was finishing up some projects and cooking dinner I noticed this sign posted on the outside of the girls bathroom door “cleaning do not enter”.  It made me laugh that they would think to hang a sign!  I was curious about what they were doing in there with the door was shut but I could hear the conversation going on inside the bathroom which made me just let them be.

    “Do you think I scrubbed the sink good enough?”

    “Where’s the blue sponge?”

    “This is so nasty!”

    After listening for a couple minutes I decided to let them clean in peace and recheck in a few minutes.  They seemed to have it under control.  When I went back later to check on the bathroom I was pretty impressed at how well they were cleaned it.  I went over the basic rules and system with them once several months ago but for the most part they do the bathroom all on their own.

    I think it’s great that they have practice cleaning their bathroom as well as realize the amount of time and energy it takes to keep the house clean.  Sure they don’t always do everything perfect but every time they do it they get better.  Lately there are very few things I have to correct after they have finished cleaning the bathroom.  I am thankful for the girls willingness to help.  Many times they will volunteer to clean the bathroom before I ask them to do it which is even better.

  • Curious Kids: Triangular Vacuums

    The neat part about having kids is that they notice the small things, the stuff we take for granted as adults.  A few months ago one of my girls wanted to know “Why does the vacuum leave triangles on the carpet?”  It perplexed them when they were watching me because the vacuum itself is a rectangle yet somehow it manages to spit out triangles onto the carpet when I vacuum the floor.  Although the triangles are not necessary I let them know that seeing the triangles indicates to Mommy that the carpet has recently been cleaned and makes the room look nice.

    They had been learning about patterns at school and this strange occurrence at home captivated their attention one day.  The triangles are created in a pattern by the way I steer the vacuum cleaner over the carpet.  It helps me know that I have cleaned the entire floor and adds an extra reward at the end.   It is the little things that you do that the kids pick up on and want to learn more about.  I don’t know for sure if they will do the same things once they are grown but at least they know why Mommy creates triangles on the floor and how to do it with a rectangle shaped vacuum.  I am thankful for kids who have the desire to learn, explore, and try to figure out how things work.  Their curiosity keeps me on my toes and allows me to continue finding ways to teach them about life.  As a Mom love this day to day education opportunity with my girls.