DIY Monday: Cleaning out vases

Next week I'm going to show you how to do event decorations on a budget, but this week I'm going to share a little trick my Mama taught me to clean out old bottles or vases with flower residue in them.

Say you find a lovely old bottle or vase at a flea market or thrift store, but there's yucky reside inside. You don't have a bottle brush and you have no way of getting that junk out - or so you think. Fear not! There's a way to clean it without a brush! You only have to know this one little secret:

That's right dear DIY-ers, denture cleaner. That's the secret. And why not? It works on dentures to break down residue. Why not on the inside of a bottle or vase?

Simply break up a tablet and drop it down into the bottle or vase and fill it with water. The water will turn blue and start to fizz. When the water turns clear and stops fizzing, your bottle should be clean. If it's not, empty the bottle of the liquid, put in another tablet and soak it for another round!

And that's my Mama's secret for getting bottles clean without a brush and without much fuss!