This sink. It wooed me when we first looked at our house. It was intriguing. I had never seen a black sink before, or at least I had never noticed them. Never knew to desire one. All I had known were stainless sinks and white farmhouse sinks. After we moved in, I simply did not understand why I couldn’t make it shine. I knew just how to care for a stainless sink. I could make it shine with baking soda and vinegar, just like my mama taught me! This black sink, however, did not shine with the use of baking soda and vinegar. It did not seem to make it worse, but it just didn’t wow me anymore. It was dull. Scratched. The wear of cleaning dishes and paintbrushes and other debris from a home remodel took its toll. I tried many other cleaners to try to bring it back to its original glory, but nothing seemed to work. Then I had a bit of an “aha” moment. Adding oil to my cast iron pans made them shine again when they were dull and in need of seasoning. Maybe taking some oil to the sink would finally make it shine.

First, I followed the steps outlined in this article about cleaning a black sink. Hint: I still got to use my tried and true baking soda and vinegar, but they had me add one other ingredient. Once I cleaned the sink and wiped it out with a microfiber cloth, I got out a fresh cloth and some coconut oil. I put about a teaspoon on the cloth and buffed the sink until, that’s right, it was shining! I used another teaspoon of the oil in the other basin. It only lasted for a couple of days–we do use the sink after all–but it was worth it! I am probably way too excited about such a mundane thing. I made Jeremy come and admire my handiwork and he didn’t seem as impressed as I was. Oh well.

Since I had the baking soda and vinegar out I went ahead and cleaned the drain as well. It was starting to smell a little funky anyway. Here’s my recipe for a natural drain cleaner that smells yummy:

Pour about 3/4-1 cup of baking soda down the drain. Add 4-5 drops essential oil of your choice (I prefer citrus oils personally because they are purifying and smell delicious). Pour 1/2 cup of white vinegar down the drain and immediately put the stopper in. You may need to hold it in place for a few seconds. Then let it sit for 30 minutes. Do not use the sink at all during this time. Once the 30 minutes are up, run hot water down the drain for 3-5 minutes. I start with a kettle full of boiling water, then once that runs out, switch to running hot water from the faucet.

I should add, what spurred my newly rediscovered interest in shining my sink was a post on the FlyLady Facebook page. January’s “Habit of the Month” from FlyLady is to shine your sink. It was my mom who instilled the FlyLady mantra in my mind, “You can do anything for 15 minutes.” It’s so true. Even though my mom has been indoctrinating me for years, I have only recently started following the FlyLady on Facebook, and I am enjoying the reminders to put my time to good use. Keeping the house clean can be an overwhelming task with a toddler, but I have learned that I can make so much more headway if I take 15 minutes to tidy up one area here and there. Plus, embarrassing as it is to admit, there are things they tell you to clean that I never would have even thought to touch! (No, this isn’t a sponsored post, I’m just really excited and wanted to share.) I think I owe my mom an obligatory, “You were right” at this point, and a thank you!