How to Clean Baked on, Burnt on Grease and Grime from Vintage Pyrex Bake Ware

Looking back through my Instagram photos, it looks like my most recent vintage Pyrex purchase happened 11-ish weeks ago.  (I have a memory like a sieve, so I need visual aids.)  15 weeks ago I traded some of my Butterfly Gold Pyrex to snag some pink Gooseberry pieces for my Mom's pink Pyrex collection), 16 weeks ago I found a lid for Mom, 17 weeks ago I found a piece at the dump, and 20 weeks ago I found a flamingo pie plate:

I guess what I found recently is the motherload, comparatively: two brown fridgies (part of the town and country set, I think) and two flamingo bake ware pieces.  The flamingo colour was produced 1952-1956 and, for some reason, it's not terribly popular among collectors.  Most turquoise bake ware was only produced for one year (1956) and these pieces have become very popular - much to my chagrin.  They have escaped my grasp because my thrifting mojo is not that good and, sadly, the prices online have crept up pretty high.  I have a new appreciation for flamingo pink, which seems more plentiful.  Since selling 30 pieces in a flash vintage Pyrex sale on Instagram, I find myself with some room for these...

The two flamingo pieces are especially neat because they were made in Canada!  I'm not sure Canadians got a handle on Pyrex manufacturing because we only produced it between 1947-1954 (in Ontario!)  Look at the uneven paint application on the piece below; you can see the colour sort of fade away and become more sheer.  It's not dishwasher damage, the application even feels rough there - like they ran out of paint.

Also, the logo was applied backwards, how it would be on a clear piece - so it's readable from the top, through the glass, as opposed to flipping it over and reading the bottom. I'm not sure if this was intentional or not, but it caught me off guard.

When I found these, they were very dirty.  You know that burnt on, caked on, un-scrubbable grease and grime that some thrift store kitchen wares have?  A simple soak and elbow grease doesn't always do the trick on the stuff that's been stuck on for decades.  Fellow Pyrex collectors have suggested many fixes: a Coke soak, Barkeeper's Friend, Mr. Clean magic eraser.  I tried some of these methods and wrote about them here.  This will be an addendum to that post because I tried something else - suggested by Instagram Pyrex friends and people who commented on the post - and it worked like a charm: oven cleaner! That's right - oven cleaner can clean baked on grime from Pyrex bake ware.

Here's the before:

I put the pieces in a plastic bag, opened a window (phew!), sprayed a liberal application of foaming oven cleaner right onto the grime, then tied the bag shut.  I waited an afternoon and then rinsed off the oven cleaner.  The grime and baked on grease had softened and slid right off, like butter, without damaging the finish.  Then I gave both pieces a thorough wash in hot, soapy water to make sure I removed the last of the goo and also the cleaner.

Look at them now!  So shiny and calling out for some brownie or banana bread batter.

I am still relatively new to Instagram but if I'd have know about the hashtags #pyrexlove and #pyrexforsale, I'd have joined years ago!  Heck, I might have been motivated enough to invent Instagram ;) I've met some wonderful people over there and have had the pleasure of ogling amazing Pyrex collections that make my vintage Pyrex collection look like a starter set.  It's a great community of people who are always ready to help identify a piece, trade items to help one another complete sets, revel in a great find (or commiserate when necessary), or offer tips like this one!  I'm sure Hubby is thrilled to bits that I'll no longer pass by hopelessly grimy pieces - he's my designated item-carrier when thrifting.

EDIT: Although oven cleaner has been generally recommended by Pyrex collectors, I have recently heard from one gal who said it left a hazy film on her Pyrex.  She thinks it might have been because she used extra strength cleaner.  Regardless, it's good to know!  If you're going to try this method, only use it on a piece that's far gone - as a last resort - just in case.

How to Organize a Jewelry Box + How to Turn a Brooch into a Pendant

I'm still unpacking things I bought in Hungary, like this . . . doll-szied cookware (?) I bought at the Christmas Market.  One is just a flat dish, but the other three all have little handles.  Awwwww.

These teeny tiny, colourful pottery pots and two handled whatsits were too cute to pass up.  You know my love for miniature objects.  Plus, I already knew where I would use them: my jewellery box.  My jewellery armoire already has handy little drawers and cubbies, but tiny dishes like these help to keep smaller pieces organized and untangled.  My goal is to organize every inch of the townhouse this year so every. single. thing has a place. 

I already have quite a few little dishes in there, like this one that I use for keeping track of the clip earrings that go with some of the vintage rhinestone brooches in my collection.

Ahhhhh.  Feels better when things are tidy.  And yes, I am way too enthused and bossy about organizing jewellery.  I reorganized my Mom's jewellery drawer by force and then I made my friend her own jewellery storage display. 

Quick tip: if you're ever looking to turn a brooch into a pendant and don't want to try my more permanent suggestion, these little findings loop onto the pin of your favorite brooch and can then be strung onto a chain or cord.  Instant pendant!

P.S. See my other "new uses" posts: clip earrings worn a fresh new way, serving dishes to organize jewellery, and a toast stand as a desk organizer.

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How to Clean a Lamp Shade in 2 Seconds - Without a Vacuum

I'm not one of those people who can ignore a mess.  Somehow I could, though, when I was in Budapest, - and it was liberating.  I was so much more productive in my research and had more time to live.  Hubby called me Bizarro Tanya and he watched in awe as heaps of stuff piled up on the coffee table, but I didn't bat an eyelash.  Back in the townhouse, though, I cannot concentrate with mess.  Even though Hubby was a super star cleaner when left to his own devices for those three and a half months, the dust still piled up.  Bills weren't filed.  Then my suitcase exploded and made every single room a disaster (how?).  I've been chipping away at it.  I have DIY plans (and research deadlines), but I just couldn't start anything until the townhouse looked tidy.  It's almost there.

Maybe my obsessive tidiness is why I get reader a lot of reader questions about cleaning a lot?  Lots of readers write in, asking for my cleaning "secrets," but I'm not sure I do anything super special, which is why I almost never write about cleaning.  I shared a fun tip ages ago because it changed my life, but that's about it.  But how can I say no to you?  You're all so great.  So I'm wracking my brain for any cleaning tips and tricks you might not have heard before.

First up: cleaning lampshades.  We have lots of ambient lighting, with many-a-lampshade just begging to be coated in dust.

The dark shades in the bedroom (above) have really caught readers' eyes and a few have written in, specifically asking if those show the dust.

Yup.

As you can imagine, after four months away they got a wee bit dusty.

But it takes two seconds to clean 'em.  This is my secret: our vacuum cleaner died a year ago, and we haven't bought a new one, so I have to be creative.  I know the newer ones that aren't found in the trash have fancy cleaning attachments and all that jazz, but even if we had one I'd be worried about knocking over my lamps in the cleaning kerfuffle.

I use . . . wait for it . . . a lint roller to clean my lamp shades in two seconds!  Not super environmentally friendly, I know, but I use one sheet, a couple of times a year, to de-dust these babies. 

That's my hot tip.  I'll have to think deeply about my cleaning habits to see if I have any other secrets.  Did you know there's a raging debate about Murphy's Soap and hardwood floors?  It's gripping.

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New Uses for Old Things: Clip Earrings Reborn

I hope you folks have been enjoying my "new uses for old things" ideas, because I'm kind of obsessed with the concept.  I like the idea of living in a world that's less disposable.  Plus, I'm cheap and sometimes hate to buy things (mostly the kinds of things I "need," I can be awfully enthusiastic about buying the things I don't).  So far, I've used a glass serving tray as a jewellery organizer and a toast stand as an office desk organizer, which both saved some coin in the home organizing department (yay!), but today's idea is more decadent: let's talk accessories!

For our wedding, I clipped a pair of vintage Sherman rhinestone clip earrings into my DIY updo and now I think any pair of clips looks fabulous in hair.

Am I nutty?  Clip earring are painful and the world is overrun with them.  I've seen people make clip-earring magnets, but some are so pretty, they beg to be worn some more.  Just not in a pinchy-remove-before-using-the-phone kinda way.

I rocked a retro pair (that were in our Etsy Shop) in my hair, while "modelling" them for the listing.

Then, while snapping photos for another etsy listing, I loved the look of the Kalevala Koru clip earrings in my hair so much they never made it into the shop.  But you can't hate me because updos really became my "thing" when my hair was looking horrible.  It's since been fixed, but I still love a messy bun.

The only challenge is finding the time to accessorize.  By the time I am finally ready to leave the house (inevitably, I leave the showering and hair blow drying to the last. possible. second.) I'm late and my "why I'm late" excuses work better if I'm not perfectly coiffed and accessorized to the nines.  But, clipping these in is pretty easy: even with my fine hair, I didn't need any bobby pins to secure any of these clips - although you could add one.

Another fun use is clipping them onto a pair of plain shoes, spotted on le zoe musings:

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New Uses for Old Things: Toast Stand

I like finding new uses for things because I feel like I give them a new lease on life, so I hope you don't mind me sharing new uses for old things every once in awhile (last time I shared my glass serving dish turned jewellery organizer). 

I'm also thinking of starting a new series, "Money Talks," where I would reveal a bit of our finances and talk about where we've gotten things right (no more student loans!) and where there's room for improvement (I missed a bill payment because it got lost on my messy desk!).  I'm thinking of sharing money saving tips (big and small) plus our own financial highs and lows.  The same way I am with DIY projects and home stuff, I wouldn't gloss over the problem areas or some of our blunders.  I'd share what we've learned - good and bad.  But I'm working up the courage.  In the meantime, here's how I "fixed" the lost bill problem.

Enter toast stand:

When I stumbled across a 10 cent stainless steel toast stand at a yard sale, I thought it looked sufficiently paper-holdery.  In fact, it perfectly holds any folded sheets of paper, from bills to letters awaiting a response.  Didn't Martha Stewart do this?  I can't have come up with this - it must be a stolen idea that has been buried in my subconscious. 

I tested this for two whole months (that is why it's a wee bit dusty in the photo).

Verdict: it doesn't look too toast-stand-ish on my desk (see the rest of the office here) and and it really helps keep important paperwork in sight and unburied.  I organize the bills chronologically in the stand, so Hubs and I can always see which one is up for payment next and, as a result, life is that tiny bit easier.  Which makes us that tiny bit happier.  And, no more missed payments makes us that tiny bit richer, too.  10 cents well spent.

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New Uses for Old Things: Serving Dishes in the Jewellery Box

While in Thunder Bay last week (I only just revealed that tidbit yesterday), I made a mess of my parents' house while setting up shop with my Mom.  Their living room is now home to 70+ vintage finds and handmade goods (although that number is declining), all boxed and ready for new homes.  I had promised to help de-clutter, but mostly I just made a mess.  I forgot my Mom hates the smell of cardboard.  Ugh, I feel terrible.

To my credit, I did help my Mom organize a little.  Without invitation, I rummaged through the contents of her costume jewellery drawer and reorganized to make everything more accessible. 

Here's what she was working with:  lots of things were in their original, non-descript boxes, which made accessorizing a real shell game of trying to figure out what was where.

A closer view:

My plan was to buy something that would fit in the drawer and help create at-hand storage.  But, I like a job done quickly (sometimes at the expense of doing it well, but that's another story) and this time my ants-in-the-pants paid off.  I scooted to the kitchen and started rummaging through the cupboards, where I found two, rarely used divided glass dishes.  One was the perfect fit!

We kept a few rarely worn items in boxes in the back, then put a few larger pieces in the "new" dish.  Her existing silver lidded dishes house smaller pieces.

Now everything is easy to see, easy to access and easy to wear!

Full disclosure: not everything went back in.  The empty boxes found a new home, yes, as did some of her never worn jewellery.  Coincidentally, my jewellery box now has a few additions, like a sweet coral brooch and a couple other goodies.  I'm horrible.

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