How To Clean and Season Old, Rusty Cast Iron Skillets

In a lot of homes, there’s a cast iron skillet laying around in some drawer that is older than the kids! Over that lengthy period of time these staples of cookware can start to show their age by accumulating rust, but no need to throw them out! Here’s how you can clean your skillet and keep it around for years to come.

What You Need

Materials

The end chunk of a potato (enough to be able to hold firmly)

Course salt

A rusty cast iron skillet

A little vegetable oil (canola or olive will do)

Equipment

Gloves (optional, but recommended)

Instructions

1. Place your rusty skillet in the sink and sprinkle a couple tablespoons of salt into it.

2. Take your chunk of potato and start scrubbing. The moisture from the potato will be enough to help the salt dig in to the rust.

3. The salt will get dirty very quickly. You may choose to rinse out the pan to survey your progress. If there is still rust, add more salt and repeat Step 2.

4. Continue to the sides, edges, bottom and handle of your pan.

5. Rinse thoroughly and pat dry.

6. Place pan on stove burner, this will help dry any remaining moisture.

7. Once dry, put a small amount of vegetable oil in the pan and rub it in with a paper towel.

8. Keep pan over low heat for at least 30 minutes.

9. Let skillet cool. Make sure to wipe off any excess oil before storing your skillet. If you leave extra oil in the pan it can turn rancid.

10. Every time you use your pan, after you've cleaned it (I never use soap, but that's up to you), put the pan on a low burner and repeat the oil and paper towel step. It's best to store your pan in the oven, but it worked much better when stoves had pilot lights that stayed on (thus keeping ambient moisture away from your pans).

Additional Notes: As I said above, I never use soap on my cast iron pans. My dad's way of cleaning was to wipe it out with a paper towel when it was still hot and then run it under some water (if needed), then put it on the stove with a bit of oil to reseason it. Many people do just fine using a mild soap and sponge, but I urge you NOT to scrub it with soap. That action will break down the seasoning you've worked so hard for. You don't want to start from scratch each time you use your pan. It would become a miserable experience and you'll hate your cast iron.

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5 Tasks for March

Today is the first day of Spring! You know what that means...Spring Cleaning! Well in order to help your house prepare for the season, here are a handful of tasks you should complete. Don’t worry, it’s only 5, and we promise you’ll feel ready for the season once you’re done! Check them out:

Start planning your garden

While it may be too early in most parts of the country to start planting your garden, it’s never too early to plan! Consult seed catalogs or online retailers to find new varieties to experiment with. After all, nurseries and home improvement chains only have room to stock the most popular plants. So if you are looking for heirloom or rare varieties — anything to make your yard truly distinctive this summer — seed catalogs are the way to go. If you’re anxious to begin any way that you can, consider starting your tomatoes from seed indoors.

Paint something — anything!

There’s nothing easier or more rewarding than applying a fresh coat of paint to a room or piece of furniture. Would any room in your house benefit from a totally new hue or just a touchup? The answer is probably yes. If you’re interested in adding bright colors to your home’s palette but aren’t sure where to begin, don’t miss these expert tips on boosting color confidence. And there’s no need to stop at the walls; you can use paint to give new life to an old piece of furniture, worn-out cabinets, or a lackluster stairway.

Create a home office that works for you

Making the right design decisions in your home office can mean the difference between working hard and hardly working! Even if you already have a home office, consider whether there may be a better place for it. Two important questions to ask: Will you actually work in this space (steer clear of bedrooms, which our minds associate with rest), and will there be few distractions (laundry hampers, kitchen sinks, and anything else that might compete for your attention should be out of sight)? Be sure you have room for everything that is essential to the work you do. If your work area is small, take advantage of vertical space by installing shelves above your desk or tall adjacent bookcases. A home office should work for you, so if the setup you have isn’t working, change it!

For the other two tasks, check here: http://bit.ly/10weNkX

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Organize Your Closet By Season

Do you have small closets, or do you just have a lot of clothes?  Separating your clothes by season can be a great way to save space. It also gives you the ability to periodically go through your clothes and clean out what items you do not want anymore.  Keep reading to learn three great reasons about organizing your closet by season.  If you want some tips or more information, you can check out apartment therapy.

When I was a kid growing up in New York, it was a spring ritual to go through the box of summer clothes my mother had packed away the previous fall, trying them on to see what fit and what was, and wasn't, usable.

Now that I live in Los Angeles where it's always sunny and 70 degrees (not really), I'd fallen out of the habit of packing away summer clothes. After all, a particularly hot day in February might encourage a spontaneous trip to the beach, when I'd need a bathing suit. But, recently, I've picked up the habit again, sucking everything meant for three digit temperatures into Space Bags for the winter.

Now that the temperature's starting to warm up (seriously, it does get chilly here), I've started unpacking my stuff while making a mental list of the wintery things that will be the first to be packed away. Besides a closet in which I can actually see what I own, I've discovered a few other unexpected benefits to this childhood ritual:

• I'm forced to go through my clothes with a critical eye, discarding what no longer works or fits, or is beyond repair. The forced examination of my wardrobe has resulted in its considerable thinning. Unexpected benefit: a smaller wardrobe but one which actually works better (which means getting dressed in the morning — getting dressed period — takes half as long as it used to. No more clothes tornadoes. Another benefit.).

• With a few modifications, my closet can hold everything I need in one place: By keeping only the present season's wardrobe in my closet, I discovered that I didn't need a dresser after all. Unexpected benefit: more room in my bedroom, no money spent on storage furniture.

• Grouping clothing by season and by activity, it's easier to assess what works for my wardrobe and my life and what doesn't. Now I can look at a catalog and quickly figure out if I need something or not. Turns out, I have enough black tie dresses to last me an entire awards season (if anyone needs a date). Unexpected benefit: saving money.

Do you pack away clothes when the seasons change?

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Carlsbad Citizen of the Year

Do you know a resident of Carlsbad that goes above and beyond?  You can nominate a citizen from the nomination form on the city's website.  You can nominate any resident until April 30th.  You can find out more information through the Carslbad Patch.

The City of Carlsbad is now accepting applications for Citizen of the Year, an annual award recognizing residents who have provided outstanding service to their community.

Nominations will be accepted through April 30.

The Citizens of the Year program is more than 40 years old and honors community members who have given their time and energy toward the civic improvement, beautification and betterment of the City of Carlsbad.

Honorees are selected by a five-person committee of Carlsbad residents and recognized during a ceremony at Carlsbad City Hall.

To nominate a community member, download a nomination form on the city’s website, www.carlsbadca.gov. Nomination forms are also available at City Hall, 1200 Carlsbad Village Drive.

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