Polishing Silver Naturally

If we lived somewhere with malls, this probably wouldn’t have happened.  Never mind if we had stores that sell absolutely nothing but organizing equipment!

I suspect if we lived near a Walmart this wouldn’t have happened.

Heck, I might have even stopped at a KMart.  But we didn’t have that either.  So this is what happened instead.

I needed a few decorative containers for storage.  Where oh where to go?  Ah ha!  I found these really cool silver-plated dishes at the only container store I could think of in town:  the thrift shop.

Silver is pretty much the last thing you’d expect to put in a tire house.  (I’m thinking hubcap fruit bowls would fit a little better.)  But I didn’t have any used hubcaps, and I don’t want any thanks-so-much.  I’m going to give the silver a shot, though.  Their price tags pretty much did me in.  They spelled L-O-V-E:

One for $2.50, $2.00, and $1.00!  All three dishes for only $5.50?  Yes please.

Then the clerk did something incredible.  She slashed the price by 22%.  ”It’s Arctic Blast Discount Day!” she said with a warm grin.  A 22% discount for going out in 22 degree F weather?  (-6 C)  Double the yeses.  So I happily walked back to our car, mailed all of your lovely journals, stocked up on groceries, and zipped back to the country with my loot.

The only problem with my silver was the intense tarnish all over it.  You can probably guess that I don’t have silver polish at home.  Meanwhile, I’m guessing that I probably couldn’t find polish very easily in town.  So in walked Mr. Google.

Apparently you can polish silver with one basic ingredient:  baking soda!  I read two theories and worked on them simultaneously to buff up my bootie:

1.  Line a pot with aluminum foil, add a bunch of baking soda, and heat the water.  Drop in your silver and let sit.  Wipe off any remaining tarnish spots with a cloth and rinse.

2.  Build a baking soda and water paste.  Massage into silver and rinse.

Off I went, heating water, polishing with baking soda – the whole works.

Already a huge difference!  Can you see the tarnished areas versus where the grim has already come off?

Polishing silver is a lost art.  To watch the experienced women in my family has always felt like watching beauty – like kneading bread or hand stitching.  It’s moving.  It’s watching something that’s so comfortable to their hands.  It’s the creation of something restored and beautiful.

To watch me?

Let’s just say:  wear goggles.  There may be a few unidentifiable chunks of goo flying as I buff away.

Then again, maybe not.  You can probably stop by without goggles for now.

We’re out of baking soda.