![\"\"](\"http:\/\/travelswithmiranda.uskeba.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/IMGP1074.jpg\" "\\"IMGP1074\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nYou can’t set anything hot on it, nor can it be used as a cutting board. I used it as a surface for my cutting mats<\/a> until I added the new counter<\/a>. Since then, it’s been available as an extra surface ‘just in case’, but it’s usually in the way and not even stored on the stove unless I’m traveling.<\/p>\n Tonight, I was clearing out one of the new cabinets in search of space for the rice cooker<\/a> when I came across a big cutting board I just about forgot I have:<\/p>\n A light bulb went on and all of two minutes later I had this:<\/p>\n I cleaned the cutting board well and then rubbed mineral oil into it to hydrate it. I’ll do this once a day until it looks healthy again. It’s important to use mineral, not vegetable or olive, oil because mineral oil doesn’t go rancid.<\/p>\n End result:<\/p>\n Finally, I wanted to share my new, pared down, cleaning arsenal. I’m still working my way through bottles of commercial products, but, with one exception, will not be buying any more.<\/p>\n The white bottle holds a mixture of water, vinegar, and a drop of dish soap (Dawn) for cutting grease. That’s really all you need to clean. For scouring power, I add baking soda (not shown). I will be adding a blue bottle with a straight water and vinegar mix for washing windows when I get through my bottle of commercial window cleanser. The yellow bottle holds Nature’s Miracle<\/a>, an enzymatic cleanser that eliminates pet odours. I use it to clean the cab, where I have carpet that is sometimes the victim of cat accidents.<\/p>\n For years now, I’ve heard about the wonders of microfiber cloths, but never found any that worked for me, until I stumbled on some in the automotive aisle at Walmart. The green ones come in packs of two and are finer, meant for glass, and I also use them for electronics and mirrors. The blue and white ones come in packs of eight (four of each colour). I use the white ones for the kitchen, including\u00a0 the dishes, and the blue for cleaning, including the floors. I really like these cloths because they not only absorb water, but also really trap dirt and fur.<\/p>\n Reducing the amount of cleaning products, rags, and dishcloths I have is giving me a lot of under counter space in both the dressing room and the kitchen, and the money savings are phenomenal, what with a huge container of vinegar being about a buck, a box of baking soda about fifty cents, and dish soap a buck and a half on sale (just don’t buy it in Dawson–$6!).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Miranda came with a really ugly and useless stovetop cover made from what I presume is a piece of countertop: You can’t set anything hot on it, nor can it be used as a cutting board. I used it as a surface for my cutting mats until I added the new counter. Since then, it’s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1442,632,6,635,1283,5,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-britishcolumbia","category-canada","category-homemaking","category-north-america","category-osoyoos-bc","category-rving","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23510\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n