Have you ever come across a fabulous glass bottle that makes your heart scream YES? Or have you simply wanted to use a pretty glass wine bottle for your dish soap in the kitchen? But then you try to remove the label and the whole project, glass bottle and all, ends up in the trash? Seriously! When did they start using atomic solutions to adhere labels to glass? Sometimes those labels may come off easily but the residual sticky adhesive that is left behind is enraging! I’ve gathered some tips for you to help minimize the elbow grease, time, and especially frustration with trying to recycle a glass bottle…or a glass jar. I mean, who can toss a super cute pickle jar? They are handy for so many things! Let’s remove a label from and clean a glass bottle or fifteen.

Clean your Glass

The easiest way to get started cleaning your glass bottle is to simply fill the sink or a large basin with hot soapy water (I recommend Dawn dish liquid). While the sink is filling, I run each bottle under the hot hot water. This helps start the release of the adhesive. Hot water is the best tip to remove a glass bottle label.

I fill each bottle and lay it on its side so that it won’t float. The weight of the water in the full bottle will keep the bottle sitting on the bottom of the sink. Lay the bottles or jars on their sides and fill the sink to above the height of the bottles.

TIP: The longer you let the bottle soak, the easier the labels will be to remove.

You can see where the label is beginning to release in the photo above. The corners of the labels are visibly wet. I turned the bottles over so that the labels were completely submerged in the hot water. It is a much quicker process to do all of the bottles at once in the full sink but I was only doing a few at a time.

Once the labels appear to be completely wet, you can start to scrape off the labels. Sometimes, the labels will peel right off and take all of the adhesive with them.

Often, part of the label is resistant. Soak these a little longer.

Tools to Help the Process

Here are some items you may have in your kitchen that will help with the label removing process:

• Pampered Chef Pan Scraper (they come in a cool blue color now)
• Scrub Daddy
• steel wool (be careful to apply minimal pressure as steel wool can scratch glass)
• butter knife or scraper
• credit card
• Goo Gone or glass cleaner
• Vinegar I keep a gallon on hand for convenience.
• Baking soda and it comes in bulk too.
• bottle brushes or miscellaneous brushes

Often the label comes off but that adhesive does not.

You can spray the glass with Windex and let it sit a while longer. Give it about 15 minutes checking to make sure the label stays well. Then scrub. Most of the time, this worked for me. I had Windex with Vinegar on hand and that worked well.

However, for the really resistant goop, I used Goo Gone.

This is a great product to keep on hand. Simply spray it on, let it sit, wipe off the glue.

Yes, that is a hammered copper farmhouse sink in the photo above. I won it at a DIY conference where Sinkology was a sponsor. You can read about the kitchen I designed around this sink by clicking on the photo below.

The vodka bottle had some adhesive on steroids. I’ll avoid these bottles in the future for sure!

Cleaning Inside the Bottle

For bottles and jars recently emptied, this process can be as easy as rinsing in warm soapy water. But, for bottles that have sit for some time with dried contents inside, this can be a real task.

I always start by filling the bottles with warm soapy water. After an hour or so, I will drain and rinse them. In a perfect world, this completes the process. And for recently emptied bottles this is usually the case.

However, I’ve also tried to clean antique bottles and jars. These are an advanced challenge. But here are a few tips should the soapy water not get you the desired result…

Vinegar and Baking Soda

Funnel one tablespoon of baking soda into your bottle. Be certain that you are at the sink for this next part. Pour one cup of vinegar into the bottle. This will cause the mixture to fizz up and foam, sometimes spewing out of the top of the bottle. Swish and swirl the solution in the bottle. If there are still debris particles inside of the bottle, add two tablespoons of rice and gently shake the bottle. The rice acts as an agitator against the sides of the glass and can help remove stains, etc. For soiled bottles that have been sitting for 20+ years, you may need to repeat this process many times.

Other substances to use instead of vinegar and baking soda are:

• Denture cleaner, which can be used to clean porcelain
• Alka seltzer, the effervescence can clean the glass

Other Helpful Tools to Clean Glass Bottles

Another handy tool is the skinny bottle brush or other kitchen cleaning tools. Check out your local home center and Amazon for great products.

Some power tools come with a skinny long brush to use in maintaining your tool. I always grab these at yard sales and antique stores. They come in a variety of sizes. You can also find tiny cleaning brushes online.

This one is approximately 12″ long with a bristle diameter of about 1.25″. But I’ve seen them in much smaller sizes that would work for antique pharmaceutical bottles. These are wonderful because you can bend and manipulate the handle to get to the correct spot on the inside of the bottle.

I am always looking for more tips for cleaning bottles, and especially for antique bottles with antique stains.

Be patient and LET IT SOAK for a while. Those are my best tips!

What are your favorite tips and tricks?

Here are some of my favorite bottles:

The post How to Remove a Label from and Clean a Glass Bottle appeared first on Shop at Blu.

This is my hammered copper farmhouse sink…

I won this fabulous sink from Sinkology at The Haven Conference several years ago.  It is my favorite part of my kitchen!  It is gorgeous but it does require upkeep.  Do you realize how food particles can affect a copper finish.  I know I didn’t.  And I really discovered my favorite way to clean my copper sink by mistake.  Copper tarnishes and constantly needs to be polished or cleaned.  A sink is especially susceptible to stains and discoloration.  Here is a photo of mine at its worse:

I’ve used cleaners and sealers and polishes but my accidental discovery is easy and inexpensive.  It’s ketchup!

One evening after we had eaten burgers for dinner (my youngest son really dumps the ketchup on), some left over ketchup was left sitting in the sink.  A short time later I returned to the kitchen and saw the glob. 

So I washed it away.  Beneath the glob was shiny copper!  Eureka!  The acidic nature of the ketchup had removed the tarnish.

I’ve tested this method and here are my recommendation for using ketchup to clean a copper sink:

Clean your sink with dish soap and warm water. Make sure the sink is clean of all food particles and debris.

Pour or squirt enough ketchup into the sink to spread a liberal layer of ketchup over the bottom of the sink.

I don’t use this method on the sides of the sink often as they are less prone to have extreme discoloration.

Use your hand or a flat sponge to spread the ketchup and ensure every inch of the surface is covered with ketchup.

Allow the ketchup to sit for 10-15 minutes. You will immediately see the ketchup beginning to work its magic.

You can test a spot after 15 minutes. If the sink is shiny and clear of spots, you can remove the ketchup. If not, let it sit another 5 minutes.

Remove the ketchup by spraying warm water from your faucet sprayer or wipe with warm water to remove all of the ketchup.

Follow up by washing with warm soapy water.

Finally, towel dry the sink and buff to a shine

Apply a sealer to help make the sink more resistant to stains and to keep the sink shiny.

This method has become my #1 method to cleaning my copper sink.

My SECOND Favorite Way to Clean My Copper Sink

This method uses a product that has become quite popular recently, Bar Keepers Friend.

It comes in a powdered or liquid form. I prefer the liquid because, well, it seems less abrasive. This method, unlike the ketchup method, does require some gentle scrubbing. My Scrub Mommy was actually black when I finished. But, I was happy with the results.

I used the same application method as with the ketchup. Just squirt it on and spread it over the sink.

I squirted Bar Keeper’s Friend onto the sink and worked it in with gentle circular motion and light pressure on the Scrub Mommy. This method didn’t work as quickly as the ketchup so I let it sit for 15 minutes. I did have to reapply to a few spots but I was pleased with the result.

After a rinse, the sink really looked alot better.

Key Tips to Maintain a Tarnish Free Copper Sink

The key to a shiny and stain free copper sink is to ensure all food is cleared from the surface after every use. Towel dry the sink to remove water droplets that contain minerals and tiny pieces of food particles. Apply sealer frequently.

A copper sink certainly requires more upkeep than a porcelain, ceramic and most definitely a stainless steel sink. But, to me, it’s worth it!

Here are some alternative methods that I have used. They didn’t work as quickly as the other two methods I just shared.

• vinegar and baking powder
• lemon juice

I guess it comes down to which method I prefer at the time I’m about to tackle the project. The ketchup method does not require any scrubbing or extra effort like the Bar Keeper’s friend method. So, ketchup will remain my go to. Just squirt, spread, and walk away. Return to rinse and enjoy your shiny copper sink!

I will continue to try alternative methods just because…why not??? If you have another method to cleaning a copper sink, please share with me and I will try it!

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I’ve done some research and thought I would try a few suggestions on how to restore damaged leather seats.  

I started with Chair 1 and a product that I had on hand:  Neatsfoot oil. 

I’m not really sure when I bought it or for what project.  But it was on hand so I started with this.  

Here is one coat:

Here is two coats:

And here is three coats:

Apparently the leather really needed to be moisturized.  I never treated it at all.  Lesson learned!

                                                                               
 

I am pleased with this but will be trying several other methods as well.  Next up will be saddle soap.  I have 5 more chairs and 5 more methods to test!

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I was spritzing up my kitchen the other day (doesn’t everyone just spritz up from time to time??) and realized how lucky I am to have stumbled upon some easy to make homemade natural remedies and recipes for simple solutions that I use frequently around my house. Some of these recipes were given to me by friends and some I read about online.  But each has become a staple in my house and is used regularly.  They are inexpensive, easy to mix, and store well.

Citrus cleaning solution  

I remember reading about these natural remedies and recipes for easy to-make-solutions online.  I believe I also saw this one in a magazine.  It wasn’t until I bought some grapefruit from my son (V)’s band fundraiser that I actually decided to give the recipe a go.  There is something about the smell of fresh citrus peels that wakes me up and  want to clean…more like a miracle.   Get ready because this is a very difficult and complicated recipe(NOT)…here goes:

Ingredients:  

• Fresh peels from a grapefruit, lemon or orange or any combination of those three.  
• Vinegar.  
• Spray bottle.

Instructions:

• Rip the citrus peels into strips approx 2 inches long by 1/2-1/4 inch wide.
• Place them into a glass jar or wide mouthed bottle.
• Pour vinegar into to bottle or jar to cover the peels.
• Let soak for at least one to two weeks.  Shake the jar/bottle once a day.
• Strain the liquid into a spray bottle.
• Discard the vinegar soaked peels.

I use this vintage bottle for soaking.  It looks super cute sitting on the counter by my sink!  

I always use grapefruit because that is my favorite smelling citrus fruit. The last time I made this I used the discarded vinegar soaked peels to scrub my stainless steel sink.  The sink was super shiny and smelled so fresh.  I placed the used peels in the sink and ran the garbage disposal.  Fresh aroma, clean disposal!  Win-win!

Stinky Pet Spray–

I started using Young Living Essential Oils about six years ago.  I was intrigued by a friend’s testimonial of how DiGize helped her stomach issues.  The first oil I tried was lavender and I ended up purchasing a starter kit.  For the longest time, the lavender was the only oil I used.  Then I read my friend Beth’s blog post about how to get rid of stinky dog smell.  She is hilarious and you can read about her stinky dogs here.  Since we also had stinky dogs coupled with stinky cats and even a stinky ferret, I tried a variation of Beth’s recipe.  It worked wonderfully and I use this EVERY day in our house.  Warning: Again VERY complicated (NOT)!

Ingredients:

• 20 drops of YLEO Purification oil
• 20-30 oz spray bottle
• water

Instructions:  

• Fill spray bottle with water to the top leaving about an inch below the top of the bottle.
• Add 20-30 drops of YLEO Purifcation oil.
• Secure spray top and shake bottle.
• Spray.

I got my spray bottles at Dollar General for $1 each!

There is no real science to this recipe.  If the house is particularly stinky, I add a little more oil.  The result is a fresh clean scent that neutralizes the stinky pet odor.  Sometimes I need to spray 2-3 times within the hour to neutralize stubborn smells.  But this recipe is a total stink killer!

Bug Spray – Natural Remedies

We live in Alabama.  So the summers are hot as hell and the mosquitoes are ruthless.  There are bugs and gnats and things that fly around my yard that I have never seen before and simply don’t care to identify.  My motto is…stay away from me and I won’t squish you!  Nothing gets me more annoyed than nagging, biting bugs when I am out in the 100+ degree Alabama heat trying to purdy up my yard!  I found a great recipe online and tried it.  I used it last summer and plan to use it again this summer to keep the bugs at bay.

Ingredients:

• 20-30 oz spray bottle
• water
• 6 drops YLEO lavender (my preferred brand of oils is Young Living Essential Oils, as I am a distributor.  This means I can order for you!  So, for the purposes of this post, all brands I used are YLEO.  I am tired of typing this so from this point forward, you know the brand!)
• 6 drops  lemongrass
• 6 drops peppermint
• 6 drops purification

Instructions:

• Fill spray bottle with water to the top leaving about an inch below the top of the bottle.
• Add the oils noted above.  
• Replace cap tightly and shake.
• Spray onto your arms, legs, neck, ankles, feet.
• Do not spray on your face.  Instead, spray your neck liberally.

This recipe works well for me.  I am literally a mosquito magnet.  I have a neighbor that has never been bitten by a mosquito!  I think she’s a mutant!  Sorry Cindy…you know I love you!  I usually reapply as necessary, which seems to be every hour or so.  If I sweat more, I reapply more frequently.  I have seen other recipes with witch hazel.  And recently I ordered some Citronella!

I will try this extra ingredient this summer along with the witch hazel to see if the they prolong the effectiveness of the spray.  

Pain Cream -Natural Remedies

I first tried this recipe when my daughter (IV) strained a muscle playing basketball.  This recipe came from my friend Shanan who introduced me to Young Living Essential Oils. This is now a staple item in our home.  My husband needs a double knee replacement.  As he works up the nerve to proceed with the surgery (we are almost there), he uses this creme in the morning to start his day.  He also reapplies at night so that his knees relax enough for him to fall asleep.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of coconut oil warmed to liquid form (for ease in blending)
• 8 drops Panaway 
• 8 drops Copaiba
• 8 drops Valor
• 8 drops Peppermint
• 8 drops Lemongrass

Instructions:

• Add all above ingredients to a bowl and blend by hand or with a mixer.
• Transfer to a small tub or jar with a lid.  Note:  The mixture will solidify. You can also transfer to a roller bottle but you will have to warm it gently to re-liquify the contents  before application.

Having an antique/consignment store, The Blue Building Antiques and Consignment in Alabaster, AL, I am always coming across beautiful old milk glass containers.  I use these for our pain cream.

All purpose Cleanser

This is probably the first “make your own natural cleanser”  that I ever tried and I still use it around the house.  This is the only method I use to clean my dishwasher.  I have also used it in the bathroom on the tile and grout.

Ingredients:

• vinegar
• baking powder
• long handled scrubbing brush
• spray bottle

I keep a huge gallon jug of vinegar in our pantry.  We use it to clean our bathroom tub jets as well many other nooks and crannies!

Instructions:

• Pour some vinegar into a spray bottle.
• Liberally spray the inside of your dishwasher.
• Sprinkle baking powder onto the wet surface.  Mixture will start to bubble.
• Spray some more vinegar onto the surface causing more bubbling of the solution.
• Use the brush to scrub the surface of the dishwasher and spread the mixture.
• Run the dishwasher through one cycle with hot water.

I love this method because it is gentle yet effective for removing grime from my dishwasher.  For some reason, those new fangled dishwasher detergent packs result in slimy build up in my dishwasher.  I have reverted back to the granule/powdered dish detergent.  But,  when I occasionally run out and have to call Mr. Blu, daughter II, son III, or daughter IV to make a Mom Needs Run, sometimes I end up with the slimy packets.  So this little spray bottle full of happiness keeps my dishwasher happy! 

 I cringe at the thought of using bleach and harsh chemicals on our dishware and utensils.  

This method leaves the dishwasher sparkly clean without exposing our dinnerware and utensils to harsh chemicals!

These are just Five Favorites of mine!  Do you have your own personal Five Favorites?

I am including my affiliate links for some of these products should you not have access to them locally!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

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Anyway, certain things doooo bother me…like icky toilets, pet hair on the carpet, stinky house ( yes the pets again), and cloudy shower glass ( when it’s supposed to be crystal clear, not the cloudy by design kind)!  Poor Mr. Blu scrubs that toilet like there is no tomorrow.  Just the other day I asked him, “Hey Hon, did you clean the toilet in the boy’s bathroom?  It looks great!”  He said, “Yeah, one more good scrubbing and it should be good!”  He uses some serious elbow grease and a toilet brush or an old scrubber from the kitchen.  I simply couldn’t do it…it takes tooooooo much effort and the stuff just doesn’t come off for me!  I am a wiz with a paint brush or sprayer that can transform an object in seconds but for me there is no glory in scrubbing the porcelain god for more than one minute.   Sorry!

I was reading up on toilet cleaning (haha I know that sounds like I have no life) and came across a post from…well I have searched and cannot find the original post right now!  I promise to update this once I find it!   Her recommendation is to use Pumice Stones on nasty toilets.  Well, hell yeah, that makes sense!  I am always amazed at the little tips and tricks that make total sense when I read about them…head smacker…DUH!  Why didn’t I figure that out???  It’s common sense!

So, please excuse the before picture.  I didn’t wipe the rim so there yuck on there but the hard water stains are what we are concentrating on here, not the fact that I could have at least swiped so my toilet doesn’t look even more gross.  Let me just say that we do have a new puppy who likes to jump, yes JUMP, in the toilet.  Whatever she’s been playing with usually goes with her, and then into the trash.  With 6 people living in our house, the bathroom doors are bound to be left open.  But, we are being honest here, so… Anyway, here’s what I was dealing with:

Wowzer, I usually have my pictures scaled a little larger but I couldn’t handle that pic in that scale!  And please note that this is NOT the toilet my hubs scrubbed!

I had a pumice stone at The Blue Building.  So I put it aside to bring home.  And after 4 days of forgetting to put it in my purse, and staring at it all day long by the computer at the front desk…today was the day.  Let me just stay…toilet in the boy’s bathroom was literally sparkly clean in 5, yes FIVE, yup FIVER minutes!  Ran, yes literally, to my bathroom and used it there too!  Ten minutes there cause…you know how it is with parents, they do for the kids and not themselves so that potty was bad!

Now that pic I can view in a larger scale!!!!  Y’all how easy it will be to keep my toilets sparkling!

So I was admiring my handiwork and you know how it is when you find THE ANSWER…you then try to extend it throughout your ENTIRE life!  WOW!  That freakin’ pumice stone is the bomb!  Where else can I use it…as I was standing in the bathroom!

The absolutely worst thing in my master bathroom is the clouded SHOWER GLASS!  It’s not supposed to be clouded…it is covered with soap scum and hard water deposits and God knows whatever else sticks to the glass when you are showering.

Y’all I was like a possessed demon!  I ran to the shower and I put that pumice stone on the shower glass and I swirled it and I ran it up and down and I moved it diagonally and …OMG it worked!  The scum was gone!!!!  I’ve been down this road before and experienced the same exuberance when the CLR made the glass look clear.  I have scraped the shower glass with a razor blade and was dancing in the shower as the glass was clear.  But, my friends, the other shoe always dropped when the glass dried and the ick was still there, slightly better and somewhat dissolved but STILL THERE!  Until NOW!

You can still see some scum at the bottom of the picture above.  I hadn’t scrubbed there before the picture was taken.  I was so excited that I had to see it through the camera lens immediately and before I completed the entire door.

I have found the fountain of youth-fullness for my clean toilets and shower glass!  It is clear!  Yes!  God Save the Pumice Stone!  I scrubbed with firm pressure because I was afraid to scratch the glass.  I scrubbed firmly but not with all of my might and it worked!  I tell you it worked!  ****IMPORTANT NOTE:  PUMICE STONES CAN SCRATCH THE GLASS,  so be delicate with your scrubbing.  For me, I’d rather have the clear glass and deal with some minor scratches.  So my advice is to carefully test with slight pressure first.

You are welcome!  Again…God save the pumice stone!

The post Secret Super Power in the Bathroom for CLEAN Toilets and Shower Glass! appeared first on Shop at Blu.

I remember my mom using this as a quick fix on her mahogany Duncan Phyfe DRS.  I was always amazed by how the scratches disappeared and the wood took on a new sheen.  Hmmm…and all these years I thought it was Dad who instilled the “fix-it” bug in me…interesting!

Old English comes in many forms including a lemon oil.  I use the dark woods version on walnut, mahogany, most cherry wood and darker maple and pecan wood.  The light formula is ideal for blonder woods like natural pine, light maple, etc.  Either works wonders on restoring wood furniture.

                                                                                                     

Two Step Process to Restore Furniture

Most furniture simply needs a good bath and a coat of Old English.  I use warm water and Murphy’s Oil Soap to clean any surface dirt from furniture.  Murphy’s is a great way to “feed” the wood which keeps the wood from becoming dry and brittle with age.  After it’s bath, I allow the piece to dry and then I liberally apply Old English with a cotton rag.  

I normally apply the Old English to the rag and rub it into the wood surface.  But for more prominent scratches you can use a very fine steel wool pad to help hide the mars.  You will see an immediate richness in the wood as you “feed” it with the Old English.  Be careful to get into the corners and crevices of the piece to ensure an even coat over all.

Old English is a great way to quickly restore lustre to a piece of furniture.  It helps disguise chips, cracks and scratches. Sometimes, it is necessary to use furniture pens to disguise deeper marks and scratches…but that is a topic for another day.

 

This is a solid oak china cabinet.  From the layer of crud on it, it must have been stored in a barn, garage, or basement.  After a bath with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a slathering of Old English, this baby is ready for a new home!
 

 

I realize that the before picture is pretty poor in quality but it is actually a pretty good representation of what Tiger Love looked like when she arrived at Blu.  The after photo shows the beautifully revived wood.  Oh yeah,,, and she is now in my kitchen!  One of the perks of owning a store…or two!

 

 

While furniture polish does not completely restore an antique, it is an excellent source for feeding wood and adding luster back to neglected pieces. Coupled with a Murphy’s Oil Soap bath, this is a tried and true method to revive old furniture.

 

Other Furniture Restoring Projects

Here are a few other posts of mine where I’ve revived, restored, or refinished old wood. 

 

Here is one of the many drawers in a bedroom suite that my parents bought new when they were first married back in 1961. I recently gave this glorious MCM set a facelift. The wood was very dry so it soaked up all of the Old English and really took on a refreshed look.

 

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