Dear World,  

A scheduled clean day.

Before the rising of the sun on this day, December 29th, I took it upon my self to deep clean the oven. 

The task at hand was deserving. After all, the oven has been heavily used for the past month and a half; cooking/roasting/baking cakes,meats, casseroles and breadfruit. 

It was indeed time to deep clean. 

As I cleaned, it dawned on me that I should apply a labour of love to the entire stove. Why stick to one section of the stove? Without a clean and efficient stove, there would not have been the great meals we produced. 
I started with the oven and continued till it was cleaned. I then went to the top of the stove and below the top where the burners are. This is a spot that often goes unnoticed by lots of people (especially those with gas stoves where the top can be opened easily). I liken this section of the stove to my inner most negative self talk. I know it’s there, but I sometimes ignore it. Never ignore this part. It is just as important as all the other sections of your life and your stove. This too requires cleaning. The minute you start to avoid and ignore, a whole lot of baked in spills will cake up on top of each other and wear you down. Never forget this. 

From there, I went to the grill below the oven and then I did the front, sides, the back and below the stove. Once complete, I did a second run through to even the process out and ensure I never missed a spot. The care of the ENTIRE stove is important. 

I know my future self and the stove will thank me for this cleansing when it’s time to cook in whatever form again. 

As in your life, you should schedule regular clean-ups. You must get rid of toxicity, grime, negativity and all other things and persons who weigh you down and slow you down. You will not function optimally when you have negativity in your life. So go clean and get your life!  

There are lots of benefits from this process. In the initial stages, you might think that you’re losing the best things to ever happen to you. What you don’t realize is that you’ve become so used to having ‘good for nothing burden bearers’ in your life. Naturally, you’ll feel as though you’re ditching greatness but in the near future, you’ll see and feel a positive difference. You will look better, feel better and become more efficient at whatever you do. 
For me, it’s been good to categorize and sub-categorize all the ‘good for nothing burden bearers’ in the form of people, things and my own thought processes and practices. I address them one category at a time and some sub categories may or may not overlap (that’s fine). 

Categories such as thought processes and self practices overlap. What you think, you do; whether consciously or subconsciously, you do ’em. The ‘friends’ you keep and the situations you bring into your life overlap as well. Lazy and unhealthy habits correlate with how you treat your body. All these and more interfere with and affect the energies that surround you. Take the first steps and make those changes. 

Get to cleaning!! 

There’s a mini recipe and process that I used to clean the stove. 

Cleaning items 

* baking soda

* lime/lemon juice

* warm water

*wash cloth

*sponge/scotch brite

*liquid soap

*degreaser 

*oven cleaner (aerosol spray) 

*gloves 

The process:

Remove all racks from the oven. Pre heat the oven for 5-10 minutes and then turn it off. Apply 2 parts baking soda to 1 part lime/lemon juice within the oven. Let it sit for about 45 minutes. Put the gloves on. Take wash cloth and warm water and wipe away. Once done wipe oven with warm soapy water. Let it dry. If oven isn’t as clean as you want it, spray oven cleaner on difficult spots and let it sit for 15 minutes. Apply warm soapy water and scrub using scotch brite. 

Remove rack from grill below oven. Remove grill covering the burners atop the stove. Place all grills and racks in warm soapy water will degreaser. Let them sit for 2 hours. Scrub them using scotch brite. Change warm soapy water with degreaser and let them sit again for 2 additional hours. Do this until grills and racks are clean.  

Apply same baking soda and lime/lemon juice to grill space below the oven and stove top. Apply the same process without the oven cleaner. Remove knobs and soak them in degreaser-filled warm soapy water and use wash cloth to clean. 

Please note: you might not get everything as clean as you desire in one go. That’s the art of cleaning. Patience is also part of the process. 

When everything is done, let them dry and return them to their right places. 

The lesson : Self care is important. You have to schedule regular clean-ups in your life. With grime and baked in spills,  you’ll still function. However, you’ll never function optimally if you do not clean regularly. Once you start cleaning, you’ll discover other areas in your life that require cleaning. It might get a little messy and that is alright; that’s part of the process. Once you’re done, you will feel brand new and you will look brand new. Try it!

 

Signed with love and flour dust on my nose,

The Night Baker.