sterling silverI have quite a bit of sterling silver jewelry that I've collected over the years.  I can remember some of the sterling silver bracelets being worn by my mother way back when I was only 3 or 4 years old.  Sterling silver has always been my favorite metal; mostly I suppose, because it goes with black so well and black is my favorite color!

Some of the sterling silver was really showing its age, so I decided to search for a way to revive my sterling silver!  I found a very simple solution right on the internet!

Here's the secret; I just take a glass or ceramic bowl and crumple some aluminum foil and place it in the bowl, then I take about 2 tablespoons of baking soda and pour it onto the aluminum foil and add about a cup of hot water.  When I'm finished adding the water, I place my sterling silver completely under water and watch the baking soda and the aluminum foil go to work!  It's totally amazing to watch little bubbles forming all over the sterling silver piece.  After your sterling silver has been in there for about 10 minutes or so, you can remove it and rinse it with water and dry it with a soft dry cloth.  The sterling silver should have regained its light color, if it's not light enough, then place back in the solution and wait a few more minutes until you reach the desired color.

Talk about a cheap way to clean your sterling silver jewelry!  It's also fun to do this with your children; they'll be amazed at how beautiful the sterling jewelry becomes after soaking in that solution.  I'm sure they'll agree that this is the best way to bring new life back to sterling silver jewelry!