A little elbow grease, a little time = clean oven!

Yesterday,  I mentioned cleaning my oven as one of my "to-do's".   I'm happy to say I was able to check that off the list.   I've always said this blog was about keeping it real and the pictures of my oven will reassure you of that.   While I do have a self-cleaning oven,  I'd read reports and heard from a co-worker that this was not always the way to go.  It seems easy enough to hit "self clean" but the oven gets ridiculously hot as part of the process.  Since I wasn't trying to burn my house down, I opted for good ol' elbow grease.  Now, I will be completely honest and say the oven has not been cleaned in about 7-8 years. 

I promised I would keep it real - GASP!

How did I clean it?  Well, I'm glad you asked.  I know Easy-Off is a popular oven cleaner but I've also read the fumes can be intoxicating.  This was another "no-spend" project, so I used what I had on hand.

• Hot Water
• Shaklee Basic H Degeaser
• Soap Pads (I had the Dollar General brand)
• Hot Water
• Rubber Gloves
• Sponge

I started my laying an old sheet underneath the oven door to catch any crumbs or suds.  Then, I took a damp paper towel and wiped out all the loose crumbs.  Next,  I sprayed the Shaklee Degreaser liberally on the back and sides.  While it was soaking, I filled a bucket with hot water.  I got the sponge wet and then started wiping and scrubbing.  The sides/back of the oven were relatively easy to clean.  Next,  I sprayed down the bottom of the stove. Again, it was alot of elbow grease & repeated efforts of spray, scrub, and wipe. I had a couple of stubborn spots on the bottom, so I grabbed the soap pads I had on hand and went to work.  I repeated the same process for the oven door.    It's not perfect - but it looks soooo much better!

Super husband had to help with the oven door because I had used all my muscles on the oven itself! I am so happy with the results and so happy the products I had on hand worked.  It really didn't take me that long, so why did we let it get so bad?!! 

Are you relaxing or tackling projects this holiday weekend?