a.forte's blog of Spain Hill Farm

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Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Can Tide Oxi Handle a Hard-working Utility Sink?

Can you believe I posted a photo of our disgusting utility sink? Me either. This sink is a workhorse when it comes to my husband, the hobby mechanic, and myself, the DIYer.

Whoa! Look at that sink! That's really bad. So bad that, when I was recently asked to review the new Tide Oxi, I was willing to try it on the hardest working item in our home...and to reveal these frightful before photos to all of you. First, can I just say that I went to Home Depot to get the Tide Oxi...who knew they had such a great cleaning products aisle?! (I bought more than the Tide Oxi...well, I was already there and they were on sale!)

So, if this is just a utility sink in our basement garage, why do I care about getting it clean? Because, like most of you, my friends and guests rarely use the front door. They come through our garage, probably because the doors are always open and we're in there working on projects.

By the way, my second most used entrance?? You guessed it...the laundry room door, where friends have actually had to step over piles of laundry to get in. Those are true friends, bless their sweet, non-judgmental hearts! :)

Here's the new Tide Oxi. It's a powder and smells fresh and clean. Using the enclosed scoop, I sprinkled 2 ounces into the sink mixing it with a 1/2 gallon of warm water. For most of the dirt, it didn't take anything more than a good wiping.

However, in the photo above, you'll see a glob of dried on paint, probably years of paint. I did allow the Tide Oxi to soak on this area for about 5 minutes. Then, I took a scrub brush to it and to some of the stubborn grease stains.

Ready to see how well it did?

What do you think?! I was pretty happy with the results. Some of the dirt could have been removed with a basic cleaning but the grease and paint needed something more.

Tide Oxi tackled the dried on paint and most of the grease stains. This is a plastic sink with a slight texture on the bottom making it difficult to get into the tiny crevices. So, there is some grease visible in that area.

Would I purchase Tide Oxi again? More than likely. I'm pretty frugal but I am brand loyal to a few items because they are worth it. Tide is one of them. Tide Oxi is pretty versatile and can be used on many things from clothing, upholstery, patio furniture (both plastic and metal), stuffed animals, the kitchen sink, and more. Be sure to check the label for exceptions on fabric and upholstery as well as proper use. I was provided with the product for this review but the opinions are my own.

Thanks for stopping by and God bless! I'm off to Home Depot...again :)

Angie

I'm linking here:
THE STYLE SISTERS
JENNIFER RIZZO
HOME STORIES A TO Z
FROM MY FRONT PORCH TO YOURS

HAVE A DAILY CUP OF MRS. OLSON
COASTAL CHARM'S NIFTY THRIFTY TUESDAY

CLEVER CHICKS BLOG HOP DIY SHOWOFF IT'S OVERFLOWING

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Patio Set Redo

Post contains an affiliate link

patio sling chair, easy diy recover project

Do you have an old patio set that includes sling chairs? I picked up this set free from someone that was ready to trash it.

Here's a before photo. Not too bad. The green paint has faded and the fabric is somewhat brittle and beginning to rip.

There were also areas of rust that I sanded.

I removed all of the screws which detached the seat and back from the chair frame. Once the seat and back are off the frame, you can pop off the plastic caps from one end and slide the old fabric out of the track. The four pieces behind the chair in the photo are the tracks. I chose a flat gray primer to cover the rusted areas and because it matched the color scheme of the new fabric. (Do you recognize my "spray paint mat" from this post? I decided to keep it for this reason.) The fabric is Sunbrella and you can find Sunbrella and others on Amazon under outdoor fabrics or you can find woven fabric for the chairs HERE for $8 a yard.

I didn't photograph the sewing step but there are several YouTube tutorials as well as Pinterest pages that show how to make the new seat and back inserts. I'm not a seamstress by any means so my instructions would probably be wrong on so many levels to those that know what they are doing. :)

I will say that I double stitched all of the seams and created a channel for the nylon rod that helps thread the fabric through the track as well as securing it in the track when tension is put on the finished seat/back.

Putting the finished pieces back into the frame was very easy. My husband helped me reattach the tracks to the frame. Just be sure to slowly increase the tension evenly among the 4 screws.

And that's it! You've got a new look for very little money. Since the set was free, I spent less that $25 on 3 cans of spray paint and 1.5 yards of fabric. This set found a home at my daughter's new place. I dropped it off this morning without her knowing it. After I left, I texted her that she needed to check her front porch because it could really use a plant or something. (It's a tiny porch, I know. I think I've seen wider sidewalks!)

Don't forget you can add a pin to Pinterest from any of the photos and keep this info for your next patio chair project!

Thanks for stopping by and God bless!
Angie

The post contains an affiliate link, meaning I may make a couple of cents. It helps keep The Altered Past coming to ya! :)

I'm linking here:
THE STYLE SISTERS
JENNIFER RIZZO
HOME STORIES A TO Z
FROM MY FRONT PORCH TO YOURS

HAVE A DAILY CUP OF MRS. OLSON
COASTAL CHARM'S NIFTY THRIFTY TUESDAY

CLEVER CHICKS BLOG HOP DIY SHOWOFF IT'S OVERFLOWING

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Denim and Diamonds Charity Auction Displays

Last fall, I was privileged to help Greenhouse Ministries with their Denim and Diamonds auction. It was a fun theme and being held at a local historic mill was the perfect setting. The Readyville Mill, formerly a working flour mill, is now a restaurant and a great location for any event.

Inside is furnished with a collection of old tables and chairs as well as items from the mills working days. My task for the event was to display the items up for auction.

Using long tables at the back of the room, I covered them with blue and white gingham tablecloths. Greenhouse already owned several round blue and white tablecloths so that's what we used and I think they worked just fine.

The auction format was a little different than a live or silent bid auction. Here, guests purchased numbered tickets and then used the ticket to place a bid (or chance) for an item. The more tickets you placed in the jar, the better your chance to win the item.

I used mason jars to hold the tickets and made a tag with the auction item's number on it so guests would know which jar went to each item. The tag was a simple wood slice with chalkboard paint and tied on with twine and strips of old jeans. You can find my easy tutorial for the tags here.

A lot of the donated auction items were gift certificates and gift cards. I used cowboy boots as display stands for each. Tucking a bandanna in the top of each boot completed the display.

Those were all my own, personal cowboy boots. I may or may not have a boot addiction.

Here are a few of the larger donated items that were won during a live auction at the end of the evening.

I have to state here that the corn hole game was made and donated by my 14 year old daughter, Allie. I'm pretty durn proud of her DIY skills!

Allie was with me that night and it was so much fun to watch the bids go higher and higher for the corn hole set. It sold for $200!

I hope you found something that has inspired you and given you some ideas for your next event.

Thanks for stopping by and God bless!

Angie

I'm linking here:
THE STYLE SISTERS
JENNIFER RIZZO
HOME STORIES A TO Z
FROM MY FRONT PORCH TO YOURS

HAVE A DAILY CUP OF MRS. OLSON
COASTAL CHARM'S NIFTY THRIFTY TUESDAY

CLEVER CHICKS BLOG HOP DIY SHOWOFF IT'S OVERFLOWING