Just Tackled the Bathroom Floor

And OH MY is it shining! We have linoleum in here that hasn't been replaced in 10 years. It is good quality linoleum, no rips or tears. But it is dirty. It is textured, so there was dirty from people's shoes ground into it. I scrub it once a month, but that didn't always pick all the dirt up all of it. There was also a yellow tint to it, or yellowish spots. So I did some research and found out that it was wax build up. Here is what I did...


I cleaned the baseboards to remove all the dirt from the corners and sides of the wall. Then I swept to floors so thoroughly. 


And then scrubbed the floors down like I usually do to get the dirt up. However, I wanted ALL the dirt up before I shined the floor, so I tried everything, and eventually realized that the all purpose cleaner with bleach that they sale at the Dollar Tree used with a scrub brush picks up all the dirt! (I wish I had figured that out a year ago!) So I went from one square to the next, scrubbing and then using a towel to dry it up and get all the what was now mud off the floor. *Make sure to dry up all the cleaner with bleach because the next step you use ammonia and mixing bleach with ammonia makes a toxic gas.*


I filled the sink with 1 gallon of warm water and 1/2 cup of ammonia. Dip the mop in and ring it out. Mop the floors with it, which strips the old wax off the floor. I waited for it to dry. There were still some yellow spots, but the wax had already been loosened by all the ammonia, so all I had to do was use the edge of my scrub brush and scrape it off the floor. 


Afterward, I used some Mop and Shine from the Dollar General. I followed the instructions, which were pretty simple. Go one section at a time. Squeeze the Mop and Shine and then spread around with a damp mop. *If you are using the same mop, make sure to rinse until you get all the ammonia out of the mop, otherwise shining the floor will not do you any good. I wish I had pictures, but the yellow is very faint, like a film, so pictures won't do good. However, I have had two visitors today and both commented on how shiny and new the floors looked.  Honestly though, I didn't think there was any way to get all that up off the floor, and it was so simple, time consuming, but simple. The bigger areas are the hardest, especially if they have more of a yellow film that yellow spots, but it is still possible. 

Home Update

Sorry I have not been on lately, but I have been cleaning hard and trying out some new recipes! I feel like I am really getting better at everything. The house is cleaner than ever. And I am learning to cook pretty much everything from scratch WITHOUT burning it or messing it up!


As far as cleaning goes, I have decided that I am going to make this apartment shine newer than when I got here-which shouldn't be too hard, but I mean really "re-doing" it all like repainting and steam cleaning it. (Which we will do at the beginning of next year.) Until then, I have been doing stuff like bleaching all the base boards and doors, scrubbing and repainting the vent covers, and attempting to get the yellow out of the linoleum. This place doesn't NEED it to look okay, but I decided if we are going to be here the next 2 or 3 years while we are trying to buy a house, I want it to look good. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to paint the walls a different color, but I may do a semi-gloss paint so it is easier to wash than the flat paint we have. 


As far as cooking and baking goes, I have tried so many new things lately, but these are the ones I am going to post: Baked Penne, Stuffed Peppers, and Crock Pot Lasagna. As far as baking goes, I have some recipes for homemade hot chocolate and gingerbread cake. 


Baked Penne: 


Ingredients:


1 pound ground beef 


1- 24 ounce jar of spaghetti sauce (I like to use the Hunts sauces in different flavors like 4 Cheeses or Garlic and Herb)


1/2-10 ounce tub of PHILADELPHIA Italian Cheese and Hearb Cooking Creme (Okay, this did not sound appealing to me at first. I am the pickiest person, but this stuff is AMAZING!)


1 cup Shredded Cheese (Any Kind)


3 cups of cooked Penne pasta

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Brown meat and drain. Str in spaghetti sauce, cooking creme, cheese, and pasta. 

3. Stir until melted and mixed. 

4. Pour in a casserole dish. 

5. Bake for 20 minutes. 

Stuffed Peppers: 

Ingredients:

Bell Peppers-1 for every 2 cups

1 pound of ground beef

Taco seasoning (Here is a link for a recipe for homemade taco seasoning. I have not tried it yet, but I will post my tweaked version when I do: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/taco-seasoning-i/detail.aspx)

Refried beans

Rice

Shredded cheese

Any other toppings you want on your "tacos" like tomatoes, onion, etc. 

Directions:

1. Brown meat and drain. Stir in taco seasoning.

2. Boil rice. 

3. Heat refried beans.   

4. Cut peppers in half, remove seeds, and boil for 5 minutes.  

Fill peppers with beans, rice, and meat. Add toppings.

Crock Pot Lasagna: 

Ingredients: 

1 pound of ground beef

2-15 ounce cans of tomato sauce

1-6 ounce can of tomato paste

Dried Basil (To taste)

Dried Oregano (To taste)

1/2-12 ounce package of lasagna noodles

3 cups of cheese (Any type)

 

Parmesan cheese 

Directions:


1. Brown meat and drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce, paste, and seasonings until mixed. 


2. Boil noodles. 


3. Layer in crockpot-meat, noodles, cheese. Sprinkle top with Parmesan and cook on low heat for 4 to 6 hours. 


Here are the links to the hot chocolate and gingerbread cake. I did not tweak either one. The hot chocolate tasted good. The gingerbread cake I thought was sort of bland, but my Husband said it was the icing. 


http://allrecipes.com/recipe/gingerbread-iii/detail.aspx


http://allrecipes.com/recipe/fluffy-hot-chocolate-2/detail.aspx

Baked Penne

Stuffed Peppers