This is one I have wanted to tackle for a while but at the same time was afraid to, thinking that there was no hope and it was going to take hours of scrubbing no matter what I tried. But there have been a number of posts floating around Facebook and Pinterest about people getting their baking dishes clean, so I thought I would finally give it a try.

Of course when it came time to do my research I could not seem to find all those wonderful posts. So I turned to Google....hurray for Google! After reading a couple of threads and putting together what I have learned so far this year on my crusade to clean, I came up with a plan.

Here are ALL the items I used
Gross baking dish
Hot water
Dawn {the blue stuff}
Baking soda
Bowl
Sponge

Turn on the faucet to the hottest water temperature you can, put some dish soap in to make it nice and sudsy {is that even a word} then let the dish sit and soak. I was only planning on an 30 minutes to an hour but our morning plans changed a bit so it soaked about 2 hours. It worked out fine because the water was so hot to begin with it stayed pretty hot by the time I got around to cleaning.

Now, pour some baking soda into a bowl so you can use it for dipping your sponge into. Get the sponge wet then ring it out, you just want it wet enough that the baking soda will stick to it when it is dipped in the bowl.

Go to town scrubbing!!!! Rinse off the dish every once in a while so you can see where to keep working on. I just used the soapy water that was already in the sink. No need to be wasteful. As I kept getting closer and closer looking at my dish in amazement as it came clean so easily, the thought came to me that I was happy this was working so well and I did not have to worry about breathing in any harsh chemicals.

A couple of tips:
The more paste like the baking soda is, the better it will scrub clean the dish. When you pull the dish out of the sink let as much water drip off as you can {no need to use a towel and dry it} and be sure to squeeze the water out of the sponge when you rinse it out.

Our sink is pretty small so only half of the baking dish could fit in and soak at a time. With the dish that was not as bad I went ahead and cleaned the whole thing. There was a bit of a difference in how much elbow grease was needed to clean the side that had not soaked. It still worked but took a bit of extra time. On my really bad dish, I gave up and will let it soak first.

We do not have a dish washer but I wonder if running the dish through the rinse cycle and taking it out before it dries would work. If you try this let me know how it goes.

Excuse the towel underneath my dish. When taking photos the gunky glass dish was blending in with the color of my table so I needed something that would have a better contrast.

Can you see the difference. I am so excited! I told my husband that now we can take dishes to Pot Lucks and not worry that people are judging our food by the look of our foggy-brown glass dishes any more.

I really was super surprised and pleased with how well and fast these dishes cleaned up. Watching as the baking soda paste turned brown grossed me out and made we want to jump for joy at the same time. My back is killing me from this pregnancy but I stayed at the sink on my feet for as long as I could before I had to give up. My back can rest up tonight and then I will finish the job tomorrow.

This was my first dish that was not quite as bad but look at it now. It looks brand new. I love it!!

Temperatures are freezing cold one day and the next you just need a sweater.

To help us save what we can on heating {because it is so expensive out here} we are going to put the clear plastic over the drafty windows. But first I need to make sure those windows are clean! How glum would that be to look out dirty windows trapped behind plastic until Spring?

All window and glass cleaning solutions that I have heard about growing up and read on the internet are escensially the same

Basic: Water and Vinegar
Variables: Dish Soap, Cornstarch, Rubbing Alcohol and essential oils to cover up the vinegar smell

I found that this solution works best for me

• 2 C. Hot water
• abt. 1/4 C. Vinegar
  
• 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
  
• 1 teaspsoon Dish soap *optional {best used on the outside where you can spray off the excess suds with water}

Start by mixing the first three ingredients together. Pour into a spray bottle and go to town.

Don't judge me by my windows, only after you see how great and clean they can get.
I tried my best to get a photo of my dirty kitchen windows after Lady A helps me with dishes. Can you see the huge difference that made. I made a second batch of cleaner to do the outside {our windows fold in so I can wash the outside while staying inside}. You can see the little bit of green on the trees and everything looks more crisp from the clean windows.

For outside windows add dish soap to the mix. Do not shake or you will have to wait for the bubble to go down before pouring into a spray bottle, unless using in a bucket with a sponge or squeegee. Increase the amount of solution as needed to cover all windows. After washing rinse off with water...then stand back and admire just how clean they are!!!