stainless steel sucks

Alright, it is very pretty in a kitchen.
When it's clean.

Let's start with the fact that is is NOT "stainless". Far from it. If something gets on it, even water -- if you don't get it off right away, it may leave a mark you can't get out.
Which also means, you can't just use a wet sponge if, I don't know, food or maybe a beverage, happen to spill from the counter-top onto the cabinet.
In a home with 7 people in it.

We live in the house that my mother-in-law, Robyn grew up in. I can't express how wonderful I think this is. Growing up as an Army Brat and moving around so much, it never felt like I had a real home -- and now I am getting to raise my own kids in a place with so much family history. Kinda awesome.
I mean, this is the house that Robyn's parents brought her home to. Which they bought in 1926.
And we brought Mikey home to this house.

Robyn remodeled the entire house after her father passed away. She changed the layout, moved the fireplace, added doors and a wrap around deck.
The master bath is SO pretty. I'll have to take photos in there sometime and post them.

She also did the kitchen. With stainless steel on all the cabinets.
Yes, ALL the cabinets are stainless (ha!) steel.

This was all done almost 20 years ago. Her kids were all grown up (ha, ha) or at least they were not living here after the remodel. Six years ago, when Mike and I  moved here with the kids, even Robyn said that she would have chosen a more kid friendly environment, had she known sooner that we'd all be, well, taking over --

There would have been no glass tables,
no sisal rug under the kitchen table to ruin,
no stainless (ha!) steel cabinets
or refrigerator!

Did I mention there are seven of us?
That is a lot of finger prints.






(did you notice my new carpet yet?)

There is a spray to use to clean stainless steel. It is the most toxic product I have ever seen in a can -- there are so many warning labels it scares me! Especially since I have either been pregnant, nursing or had an infant the entire time I've lived here.

So I use Pledge.

(which is probably toxic too, but I am pretending it's not)

Well, let me back up -- you need to get the goo/food/dried whatever off first, because the Pledge doesn't clean that stuff, so first I use a clean sponge.

Then because you can't just let water dry on it, I wipe that clean, then use the Pledge.

 

... to be continued