My Pure Clean Home

Discovering chemical-free clean…one mess at a time.


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Spring Cleaning Part 1: Towels

We have a major problem in this house and as I was looking for a solution…I decided to take you along as I work through several challenge areas in hopes of helping you and kick off Spring Cleaning!

So I am going to do a little series…not that I am an expert but just determined to figure it out…simplify this madness 🙂

Okay…so are you ready?  Promise not to judge…

P.S.  Excuse the crappy photos.  I did not stage this for the blog.  This is a typical day so I just grabbed my cell phone and started taking pictures.

Found one here:

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A few got hung up here…

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A couple of them tossed here:

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Some kid ran from the tub to their room dropping one here…

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And a couple more managed to get hung here…

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another found here:

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Seriously….

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The kitchen table!!!!!! What?!?

But seriously this is how it is.  Everyday.

I honestly can’t take it anymore.

Can you imagine the laundry?

No one remembers whose is whose.

No one knows if it’s clean or needs to be cleaned so they just toss it down the laundry chute.

My husband ALWAYS leaves his downstairs, on the back of a chair…but if I don’t bring it back up by the time he takes his next shower then he grabs another.

So we either have a lot of towels down the chute or a lot of towels hung up or a lot of towels on the floor.

Norwex microfiber-including their bath towels contain silver. So-they are self sanitizing and won’t get that musty smell.  Bacteria, molds, fungi, etc. cannot survive in them.  It will be a fresh towel, literally, at every use.

So I decided to give myself a gift.  Quite possibly the best gift…ever.

Hubby got one color, I got another.

The baby got the hoodie/washcloth set

The big kids each got a towel, too.

The guest bath got a certain color hand towel and the kids’ bath got another color. The Master bath got the remaining color.

It is brilliant.  5 bath towels, 3 hand towels (I actually got 6 of these so there was one hanging while the other was washing)…all fresh and clean all the time and then once a week I grab ’em all up and throw them in the wash. One load.  All clean. Hang them back up and d-o-n-e.

Done.

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Can you imagine the floor cabinet space I just freed up?!?  An entire shelf of my linen closet is empty!

I donated all the towels to the SAFE House.

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Do it! Take the challenge to see how Norwex really can improve the quality of your life.  As with all products there is a 60-day money back guarantee!

You can order on my web site or contact me directly.

This idea was inspired by a real-life customer who gave herself this gift and did it for her family! Here’s what she wrote me:
This is the first weekend in forever that I have not been washing, drying and folding a HUGE load of bath towels. We are loving our Norwex bath towels—means I have barely a load of towels to wash each week! And I just hang them up after each shower or after drying hands, and they dry quick as can be and stay smelling nice. Thanks, Rechel!-Heather B.

Follow me here on the blog and come along as I find more and more and more ways of simplifying the endless task of housework 🙂

Oh and to be perfectly honest….

In our review of the towels…Mike and I both felt like they were very grabby upon first use.  In fact…I was not pleased and was not going to give them another try.  But I did and I am so glad I did.  After that very first use-they are great and super absorbent!


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Your Laundry Detergent Isn’t Really “Pure” or “Clear”

It was the microfiber cloths and silver that sold me…but at my party I learned about the laundry detergent.  They claim it cleans better, and “green” with no fillers….apparently companies are allowed to add a ton of fillers to your box of laundry detergent (cement, saw dust, etc.) to save THEM money and fill your box up!  Who knew?!?  Anyway…not Norwex.

See the sludge at the bottom of a certain “free and clear” brand….heck, it doesn’t even look clear! I left this test here all day and all that stuff on the bottom never dissolved.  Ick.  Imagine what’s on our clothes!!

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Here’s my homemade detergent….won’t be making this again…

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Here’s Norwex. Ahhhh, much nicer…

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I nurse my baby and it occured to me that every time I pull down my shirt (versus opening it) he gets a rash on his chin. The doc said it must be from his drool.  Odd that it only happened when his skin came in contact with my clothes…even more “odd”…it has never happened since I switched to Norwex laundry detergent and dryer balls!

Ya, ya, I have tried those “green” detergents before too!  They SUCK!  So I was like…I’m trying it for myself before I buy…so I did…

As I began my little experiment…Mike (hubby) asked, “What are you going to do if the “Brand Name” comes out better?”

I said, “I won’t stand behind the laundry detergent!”

“So you won’t sell Norwex anymore?”

“I will only recommend the products I can stand by! I will show people how it works in comparison and they can choose for themselves if it is more important for them to fight stains and clean better or be “green” and filler free”.

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Carrots.  Dang carrots! Just this morning I tossed this onesie in the garbage.  It had already been washed and dried…and stained forever…or…Maybe…just maybe Norwex can save it…could it??

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I also grabbed 3 white placemats and hit it with carrots, of course….ketchup and wine.

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Since I couldn’t wash them all at the same time-and I wanted to play fair…I rinsed them all out in cold water first.

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I put a dollop of the dishwashing liquid to pre-treat the stains on one of the placemats

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and I simply rubbed it together with my thumbs (my daughter painted my nails…don’t judge ;))

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I washed the store brand one first…to give it a head start 🙂 but as suspected…Norwex cleans better!

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Plus…it is “green”, filler-free and unscented.  It will not leave residue on your clothes which can be a cause for dry, itchy skin, psoriasis and eczema.   See why I just had to tell you about this stuff???

You can buy a bag of the laundry detergent here!  Since you will be using it over and over again…I will give you 20% off your future purchases!

I just learned that if you have an HE washing machine…you only use 1 teaspoon of the detergent! For this experiment though…I used full dosage of both brands.

If you’d like to talk about these products more or learn about others just shoot me a message and I can tell you what I’ve tried, tested and love! Thanks for letting me share this with you!!

And for those of you who are reading this blog thinking I have waaaaaay too much time on my hands and should get a job (uh-hem…LP :)) I. just. did.  Thanks for your support 🙂

Oh…and as for the onesie….

Saved!

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About those dryer sheets…

Have you seen this on Pinterest?

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I have-and I do did it! I hate mosquitoes.  Wait…is loathe a stronger word than hate?  I loathe…looooooooooathe mosquitoes.  I will get in a car accident fighting to kill one in a moving vehicle.  Okay…I am getting off the subject…

I honestly have no idea if it actually works…but do you wonder why they make the claim?  What the heck is in the dryer sheet that you toss your clothes around with that could repel bugs??

Yep…I Googled it 🙂

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and industry-generated Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) from the 1990s, the following is a list of chemicals in fabric softener products, most in untested combinations. Liquid fabric softeners additionally may contain formaldehyde.

  • Benzyl acetate: Linked to pancreatic cancer.
  • Benzyl Alcohol: Upper respiratory tract irritant.
  • Ethanol: On the EPA’s Hazardous Waste list and can cause central nervous system disorders.
  • Limonene: Known carcinogen.
  • A-Terpineol: Can cause respiratory problems, including fatal edema, and central nervous system damage.
  • Ethyl Acetate: A narcotic on the EPA’s Hazardous Waste list.
  • Camphor: Causes central nervous system disorders.
  • Chloroform: Neurotoxic, anesthetic and carcinogenic.
  • Linalool: A narcotic that causes central nervous system disorders.
  • Pentane: A chemical known to be harmful if inhaled.

GULP!

There haven’t been a ton of studies done on it…not that it matters…this list is enough for me!  But in this study “Their analysis found more than 25 “volatile” air pollutants – including the carcinogens acetaldehyde and benzene.

Benzene causes leukemia and other blood cancers, according to the American Cancer Society. Acetaldehyde has been shown to cause nasal and throat cancer in animal studies.”

GULP GULP!

Enter: Norwex to the rescue!

They sell these nifty little things….called dryer balls.

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All you do is place both Dryer Balls in your dryer with laundry, and set dryer at desired heat. The unique design of the Dryer Balls lifts and separates laundry while softening fabrics. This reduces drying time, static cling and wrinkles, without chemicals. No need to use fabric softener or dryer sheets AKA carcinogens! Blech!


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Dryer Sheets Repel Bugs?!?

Have you seen this on Pinterest?

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I have-and I do did it! I hate mosquitoes.  Wait…is loathe a stronger word than hate?  I loathe…looooooooooathe mosquitoes.  I will get in a car accident fighting to kill one in a moving vehicle.  Okay…I am getting off the subject…

I honestly have no idea if it actually works…but do you wonder why they make the claim?  What the heck is in the dryer sheet that you toss your clothes around with that could repel bugs??

Yep…I Googled it 🙂

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and industry-generated Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) from the 1990s, the following is a list of chemicals in fabric softener products, most in untested combinations. Liquid fabric softeners additionally may contain formaldehyde.

  • Benzyl acetate: Linked to pancreatic cancer.
  • Benzyl Alcohol: Upper respiratory tract irritant.
  • Ethanol: On the EPA’s Hazardous Waste list and can cause central nervous system disorders.
  • Limonene: Known carcinogen.
  • A-Terpineol: Can cause respiratory problems, including fatal edema, and central nervous system damage.
  • Ethyl Acetate: A narcotic on the EPA’s Hazardous Waste list.
  • Camphor: Causes central nervous system disorders.
  • Chloroform: Neurotoxic, anesthetic and carcinogenic.
  • Linalool: A narcotic that causes central nervous system disorders.
  • Pentane: A chemical known to be harmful if inhaled.

GULP!

There haven’t been a ton of studies done on it…not that it matters…this list is enough for me!  But in this study “Their analysis found more than 25 “volatile” air pollutants – including the carcinogens acetaldehyde and benzene.

Benzene causes leukemia and other blood cancers, according to the American Cancer Society. Acetaldehyde has been shown to cause nasal and throat cancer in animal studies.”

GULP GULP!

Enter: Norwex to the rescue!

They sell these nifty little things….called dryer balls.

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All you do is place both Dryer Balls in your dryer with laundry, and set dryer at desired heat. The unique design of the Dryer Balls lifts and separates laundry while softening fabrics. This reduces drying time, static cling and wrinkles, without chemicals. No need to use fabric softener or dryer sheets AKA carcinogens! Blech!

Okay…but back to mosquitoes…

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P.S.  If you do need an all natural mosquito repellent…doTERRA makes a great one (called Terra Shield)! Just sayin’ we have to kill those bastards!
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