I love my cast iron cookware. I'm using it more and more, even my old, old stuff that's considered vintage. I find it so easy to use. So you can image my surprise while writing some product lenses (that's Squidoo speak for articles) that lots of people were intimated by cast iron. Why... because of the cleaning.

Well, we have to fix that because, cleaning cast iron as easy as... well, frying eggs!


Cast iron cookware has been around for centuries. It goes all the way back to the Han Dynasty in 220 AD. In the days of cooking in the fireplace, it's was a must. Even after woodstoves became a household essential back in the mid-1800s, cast iron cookware was still THE cookware to be used.

Times change, of course, and new styles of cookware has replaced the old. Especially "non-stick!" That's what everyone wants. However, it turns out non-stick isn't so non-stick. It can also be expensive and when it flakes... YUCK, what's that going in your body?!

That's why lots of folks are coming back to cast ironed. A well seasoned cast iron pan is really non-stick. It's also heats up slow and retains that heat. You can cook just about anything in a cast iron pan.

The old wisdom, however, is that you don't wash cast iron. And that's a scary thought -- does that mean you cook in crusty old pans?

No!

But water and cast iron don't mix well. The result can be rust. That's why it's it's important to make sure cast iron is always completely dry before putting it away. Also, soaps and detergents can strip away the patina of seasoning that makes a cast iron pan so non-stick.

So how do you clean cast iron? With warm water, a little elbow grease when neccessary a little TLC. The following steps are what I use to clean my cast iron. It's the same way that my mother, my hubby's mother and our grandmothers cleaned their cast iron. And some of those pans are the same ones I'm using today.

Sometimes, a pan is easy to clean, like the skillet I use to fry my morning eggs. Simple warm water and a few minutes on the stove to dry is all that's needed. But then there are the times where I need a little extra effort, like last night's pork chops.

I boil the water for a couple of minutes and then the cleaning begins.

I scrap out the chunky parts off the bottom with a spatula (unlike non stick cookware, a stainless steel sputula is fine). The boiling water really helps lift those chunks off the pan.

In the sink I run a little warm water in the pan. Don't add cold water because it is possible to crack the cast iron. You might want to let the hot water cool a little first so you don't burn yourself. I use a scrubby or a stainless steel pad to clean the pan with warm water. Remember, you shouldn't use detergent or soap.

Then I rinse with warm water and dry with a towel or paper towel. To make sure it's completly dry, I put the pan back on the burner for a couple of minutes.

When I remember I will re-season the pan. That's just wiping it down with vegetable oil, but to be honest I don't do that every time. Most of my pans have built up a seasoning patina over the years so it's not as necessary.

It's really just that easy to clean cast iron cookware. The most important thing to remember is to make sure the pan or pot is completely dry.

Do you have another way of cleaning cast iron? Or questions? Let me know.

Till later...

Katherine

P.S. Oh, those Squidoo lenses... here's some links if you're interested:

I finally did it... I finally got my fabric covered file cabinet done!

At the beginning of the year, one of my "must-do" organizational projects was getting a bill paying center set up. Well, here it is, the middle of April, and I'm finally done. Better late than never.

 

Although I consider myself mostly organized, I have to admit I was a bit scattered with the bills. I had one place where I keep the incoming mail, another for the bills, and yet another (and another) for paying and filing. Not a good idea.

A file cabinet was the best option and one that I could keep in my kitchen, since that's where I tend to do most things lately. I was going to start hitting the yard sales, but then I remembered I had this strange little file cabinet hanging around. What's better than free?


It's smaller than most single file cabinets, but it had everything I needed. A place on top to keep a mail caddy, a space that will hold a basket for incoming mail, a drawer for pens and stuff and most importantly, a file drawer to... well, file!

But it was ugly! It's covered with faux wood-grain laminate and the edging was falling off. What to do?

Paint and decoupage. My first decoupage experience with paper turned out so-so, but I wanted to try my hand with fabric. I've seen a couple of projects that look fun... and cute. I dove in and you know what... it worked out better than I thought. Want to take a look at how I turned an ugly file cabinet into... well, something isn't too bad to look at?

The first step was sanding the entire cabinet down with a fine-grit piece of sandpaper.


And then covering the feet with plastic. I could have spray painted the feet, but sense I'll be rolling it around a lot and didn't want to chance a lot of chipping, I left the feet alone.



Then it was time to paint. I didn't prime the cabinet first, although that's always best practice.  Instead I used multiple coats of the Fusion paint (that's made for plastic surfaces... and works great, BTW).


And when I said multiple coats, I really meant that. I found a lot of lot light coats work the best to avoid runs.



And since I only wanted to paint the outside, there was a lot of wrapping, taping and more painting to get the edge of the drawers that wouldn't be covered with fabric.



But after I started painting I realized that the spots under where the edging came off should have been filled. There was lots of voids. So I that's what I did... filled them them with spackling. When that dried,  I sanded the surfaces smooth and... yes, painted some more. (It took a can and a half to finish this little cabinet!)



Once everything was tried, it was time to decoupage. I'm sorry I didn't photograph this process  thoroughly. Even with a helper (thank goodness for an extra set of little hands), it's was a fast and furious race to get the fabric down without the decoupage media drying first.



I wanted my fabric pattern to be seamless, so I cut one piece to fit over the top of the cabinet and the front of the drawers. I cut the piece a couple inches wider than the entire width of the cabinet. Then we laid down a thick coat of Mod Podge on the top of the cabinet and laid the fabric down. We used our hands to smooth it down and then a spatula to really get it tight in the corners.


Then laid down more Mod Podge on the front of the drawers and smoothed the fabric down over the drawers. While the Mod Podge was still wet, I was able to move the fabric to make sure the pattern aligned, especially at the drawer lines. The fabric is only on the flat surfaces. There wasn't enough room to wrap the fabric around the drawers. (What I love about using fabric for this decoupage process... unlike paper, fabric doesn't wrinkle back up!)


After the first coat dried, I was able to cut and trim the fabric. This was just a rough trim at this point. I also folded the over the front and back edges of the cabinet with more Mod Podge.


Then it was just a matter of continuing to cover the surfaces with Mod Podge. In all, I put on about five coats on the top and the drawers, letting the Mod Podge dry between coats.


After everything was tried, I came back with a sharp utility knife and trimmed the ragged-looking edges. Oh, and I added new knobs, too. I was going to use the original handles and repaint them. Unfortunately, the dog ate one of them.


Finally it was ready to fill up and use.


 All-in-all, I'm happy with my little fabric covered file cabinet. What do you think?



Linking to:
Coastal Charm Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Craft-o-Maniac Monday
The Girl Creative's Just Something I Whipped Up
My Romantic Home Show and Tell Friday 

When I was working at the day job, a whiteboard was a mandatory piece of office equipment. In my company, every cubicle and corner office had one. And they were well used for keeping track of the 101 projects that were due or for brainstorming. Well, now that I have my own at-home corner office (in the corner of my bedroom, BTW), I need a whiteboard. But whiteboards are... no other way to put it than UGLY! Especially in a bedroom.

So what to do?

I was inspired by an article in "Where Women Create" (great magazine if you haven't seen it). One artist used French doors to cover an ugly wall in her basement studio. It was right up my alley and the inspiration for today's blog...


First, a couple of things about why I think this is such a great idea. First, whiteboard markers work better on glass than whiteboard. Really. The marker wipes right off the glass and doesn't leave those streaking, ugly marks that need a nasty smelling chemical cleaner. Then, they're just... pretty. I love old things and repurposing them. And besides, my hubby and I have hauled home a number of old windows and it doesn't look like we're going to be using them anytime soon for a studio/greenhouse/shed/??

Converting an old window into a whiteboard is a super easy Flea Market-to-treasure idea. It didn't take hubby and me more than a hour to complete and half that time was cleaning the old window.

 
Grubby, huh. This is the window we decided to use. Mostly because it fit in to the tight space I have in the bedroom. First thing was cleaning and that took a lot of Windex and paper towels. Next, I checked to make sure the windows were still tight in their frame. If not, I would have had to fix that with glass putty. Since you'll writing directly on the glass, you want to make sure it will stay in place.

I didn't do anything to the window, but clean it. If the paint were more chippy, I might have varnished to encase the paint (an especially good idea with lead paints). I don't have the kidlets up here that often, so I'm not worried about that.



Then it was just a matter of stapling fabric to the back of the window. I opted to go "white" with a hint of print. I don't know if you can tell from the photo, but the fabric is a paisley tone-on-tone. It's a little more than just plain white fabric, but it's doesn't distract from its purpose. I was afraid the writing wouldn't show up against dark or big prints fabric. You could use other colors, of course, or even paint the windows with whiteboard paint. There's many different options here.


I called in some support when it came time to hanging up my new whiteboard. Not only is a second pair of hands necessary, but I wanted to make sure it stays on the wall. Hubby searched for the stud locations, made all the appropriate calculations on the window and pre-drilled holes.


Then it was a matter of hanging it up. Sorry, I don't have photos of the actually hanging, because it took both of us to handle the window. It's hung with two screws at the top and two at the bottom into the wall studs. It's not going anywhere. The only thing I haven't done yet is cover of the screw heads. I just need to dab those with paint (or maybe whiteout, it is an office, after all).



I also hung up an old tin basket next to my new whiteboard to hold whiteboard markers and an eraser. Works well.



A whiteboard comes in handy for so many things when you work from home. It of course, helps me keep track of projects and tasks that are due.


Add affirmations I leave to myself (I try to change out the quotes and words often).



Or just doodle when I feel creative.


Overall, I'm happy with the way my whiteboard flea market makeover went. I repurposed an old window that was collecting dust in the bar and got a useful piece of office equipment (with a lot of style).

Let me know how you like it and what flea market makeovers you attempted.