Starting With A Shiny Sink

  When it comes to cleaning my house, the most important room to keep sparkling is my kitchen. Think about it, there is a reason why they say "The kitchen is the heart of the home.". You begin your day there, with a cup of coffee, perhaps. You prepare meals for your family there in order to keep them happy and healthy. You sit down with a friend, family member or door-to-door salesman at the kitchen table to have a chat. Hopefully, you sit down for dinner with your children and spouse every evening to enjoy each other's company and recount the happenings of the day.

  Yet, cleaning the kitchen seems to be something a lot of people avoid. I don't really understand the aversion to it. I mean, you EAT there... you prepare food there... wouldn't you want it as clean as possible? Aside from the fact that leaving a huge mess in the kitchen area is an open invitation for all sorts of creepy-crawly things to make a home in your house and regularly feast on your left-overs and even the food in your pantry, having a clean kitchen is just, well, the healthy thing to do!

  Now, don't get all offended at me. I've mentioned before that I didn't always keep my home very clean. But, the first step in getting it there was to make it a daily habit to keep my kitchen clean and clutter-free. The FlyLady begins her Beginner's BabySteps with learning how to Shine Your Sink. And there is a reason for that, I think.

  Having a shiny kitchen sink is like breathing a breath of fresh air into your kitchen. Once it is sparkling clean, the rest of the kitchen just has to follow. You get a renewed enthusiasm for cleaning the rest of your kitchen. Once you look at the nice, shiny sink you end up looking at the counter tops. Well, they diminish the glow of the sink so you decide to go to town on them and Ta-Da! Your kitchen is looking better already! Then you end up looking at your stove... well, that diminishes the beauty of your kitchen counters, so now you want to scrub that sucker down too! Pretty soon, the top of your stove is shining as well.  You step back to admire your work and listen as your sneakers stick to the kitchen floor. Well, that just won't do with such a beautiful sink, counters and stove! So, you grab a broom and a mop and bust a move.

  Do you see how it works? Once you begin, you will start to really dislike the areas that are taking away from the beauty of the clean spots. I didn't believe it till I saw it happening in my own home. Don't believe me? Here are some before and after pictures of my first day with a shiny sink:

  Now, I can't stand to have a dirty kitchen. I keep my sink empty, counters and stove-top wiped down and everything ready for the next day before I go to bed at night. And when I wake up, I don't have to fight my way through the dirty dishes to get to the coffee pot. I don't stick to the kitchen table when I sit down to do my devotions. I just look around and smile, enjoying the peace and calmness I feel in the mornings when I am greeted by my shiny sink!