The Oven

My problem with the oven is the only time I think to clean it is when I'm busy baking. Which is why in the 4+ years I've owned it I have never, not ever cleaned it.

You know it's going to be a good day when you are able to use all three of your crockpots!!! I was so excited I had to share--I learned today from my good friend Steph (http://www.crockpot365.blogspot.com/) that you can crockpot baked potatoes!! I had no idea! Aside from cleaning out the pantry, there is no bigger rush than having dinner in the crockpot by 9am!

OK, on to the stove. When I opened it this morning I found this...

I completely forgot I'd put this in the oven Tuesday. I was making these...

...for Aunt Tami's Birthday Tea Party and I knew the husband or one of the 6 cute kids would eat these extra sandwich pieces so I stuck them in the oven so they wouldn't dry out. If you were wondering, egg salad sandwiches do dry out after 2 days in the oven, and they change colors.



BEFORE...


Little tip...I always keep tin foil in the bottom of my oven, it would make for an easy clean up if I were to actually change it out on a regular basis.


See, this would be MUCH worse if there had been no tin foil.

The inside of the door was pretty bad.




THE TOOLS

I had to glove up twice today, once for the stove project and again for my meatloaf. I know for some people mixing meatloaf with their hands is therapeutic, I'm not one of those people. Speaking of meatloaf, have you ever tried replacing the ketchup in meatloaf with barbecue sauce--it's delicious!

I ended up having to use the spatula and Doobie, I mean Dobie scrubber too.

THE PROCEDURE

Basically I just followed the instructions on the Easy Off can. I sprayed down the entire oven, shut the door, and waited 2 hours. When it was time to wipe out the stove almost everything came right up but there was still some stuff that was pretty caked on so I sprayed it down again and waited another 2 hours. Next time I clean the oven I'll spray it on a lot thicker. Had I done that I don't think I would have had to do it twice. Of course, I may not remember if I wait another 4 years before I clean it again.

AFTER...

Check it out!!! You can see my reflection it's so clean and it glows!

Of course I put new tin foil down...

It really was an easy little project...the anticipation of having to do it was far worse than just doing it--which is usually the case for me.

I've been thinking about what D said about AMBITION...we lose it when our ideas are exhausted, we can find no new frontiers to explore, and when we have lost interest in our work.

I think she's exactly right. We homemakers need to look at the areas that wear us out and figure out how to make them a creative experience!

A few months ago I was getting frustrated with the "after dinner mess". After spending all that time preparing a meal I'd spend another hour or so cleaning it up. When school started last Fall I implemented a new rule that everyone had to stay in the kitchen and help until it was clean. The kids weren't thrilled but they cooperated for the most part. Now here's where the creativity comes in...I crank up the music (Viva la Vida is their current favorite) as soon as dinner is over and everyone busts a move...the little girls pull out the stools and use them as drums, mom shows the big kids some of her sweet dance moves and the kitchen gets cleaned in no time--and the best part...I get out of the kitchen before bedtime and we're makin' fun memories!!

So ladies, let's get creative and ambitious! (And if you have any ideas on how to get ambitious and creative when cleaning under the stove, I'd love to hear them.)