Tag: cleaning

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5 Tips for Eco Car Cleaning

5 Tips for Cleaning Your Car Without Using Harsh Chemicals, eco cleaning

5 Tips for Cleaning Your Car Without Using Harsh Chemicals

When you are the parents of young children, you probably realize that the areas where you spend a lot of time tend to get cluttered or dirty faster than others. The kitchen, family room, and backyard probably come to mind, but one true dirt magnet is likely to be the interior of your family car. Crumbs, spilled drinks, and accidents caused by a toddler in the midst of potty training can make the inside of your car look and smell dirty. Continue reading “5 Tips for Eco Car Cleaning”

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Day of No Clutter

year of no clutter, no clutter book, day of no clutter, week of no clutter

For the last six months I have been making a concerted effort to reduce overall clutter in my home. I found that over the years my husband and I have accumulated “things.” Our kids have done the same. Much of our things are completely unnecessary, frivolous, and have become clutter. So each day I set out to get rid of ten items in my home, no matter the subject or importance, or lack thereof, of those items. Today is considered the day of no clutter, this week is a week of no clutter, all in honor of the book release of Year of No Clutter by Eve Schaub. Continue reading “Day of No Clutter”

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52 Weeks to Toxin Free – DIY Laundry Stain Remover

We have covered so much on our DIY front about how to remove toxins, maintain our sanity with cleanliness (if we can call it that) and we have found we are saving money all the while. So here is another money saver that I truly love! While taking a queue from my love of cooking and experimentation I decided to apply that to my laundry. You see I have a true DIY laundry stain remover that my mother and grandmother and their mother’s used. This DIY laundry stain remover is the original before the fancy spray and wash. Bear with me as this will include several recipes in one share, depending upon the stain, level of soiling and or the type of stain. Continue reading “52 Weeks to Toxin Free – DIY Laundry Stain Remover”

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52 Weeks to Toxin Free DIY Softscrub or Ajax

DIY kitchen cleaner, DIY cleaner with borax, DIY cleaner essential oils, DIY soft scrub essential oils, non-toxic household cleaner

My kitchen is the most coveted room in the house next to my bedroom. Cleaning with a toxin free cleaner was challenging, so I wanted to share my DIY Softscrub AJjax type cleaner recipe. Have you ever watched chefs and the staff clean a five star restaurant? Yes that is what happens in my kitchen; every surface is scrubbed down, every corner covered by scrubbing and cleaning and the use of hot water and a proper disinfecting cleanser. Literally you could eat off the counters and floors since I am so meticulous about crumbs, dirt, and grime in my kitchen. However I struggled with the use of commercial and toxic cleansers like bleach, softscrub, 409, you name it I used these products in my kitchen and even my bathrooms. The fumes soon became overwhelming after introducing essential oils into my home. So I thought about how my grandmothers would clean their kitchen, their homes. As part of our 52 weeks to toxin free, here is week one and how I began researching a DIY Softscrub or Ajax type of cleanser that was heavy duty but without the toxicity. Continue reading “52 Weeks to Toxin Free DIY Softscrub or Ajax”

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JAWS Non-toxic Cleaning: Safer, Greener

non-toxic cleaning, just add water cleaning, JAWS cleaning, jaws clean

Now that the kids are back to school my home can have some resemblance of normalcy and order. By order I mean that the cleanliness will be much easier to maintain throughout the week, if not weeks, while school is in session. So I spent the earliest part of my Friday morning power cleaning my house in celebration of back to school. Despising the work of cleaning, yet embracing it’s cathartic powers, I recalled how I was provided a new non-toxic cleaning solution to try in my home and I was put at ease. My disdain with cleaning comes from the lack of effective non-toxic products on the market that are readily available. As a mother of three children, a Lhasa-Poo, toad and husband, ensuring their overall health is my top priority. Continue reading “JAWS Non-toxic Cleaning: Safer, Greener”

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Spring Cleaning “Truly” Done

Spring and summer weather dawn the days of increased creatures, crawlies, bugs and the like. As a desert dweller, Arizona native, we know that the warmer temps definitely mean that tiny creatures will be crawling, flying and scurrying about. In addition to the warm weather, rain and humidity often bring about pests that can cause damage and are very costly. Adding pest maintenance to our spring cleaning routine has become habitual.

One might think that living in an arid and dry climate such as Arizona we would not be susceptible to the most expensive property damaging pests; termites. These little buggers are estimated to incur $5 billion in property damage costs each year. Sadly, home owners insurance rarely covers these wood chomping menaces, and the path of destruction accounts for more than combined damages of storms, floods, and fires.

termites, pest prevention, spring cleaning, truly nolenLast year our home saw a rather extensive infestation that we quickly remedied. But while in the throes of the chaos of what to do with these nasty little pests, we experienced stress from trying to gauge how catastrophic the infestation truly was and the overall costs associated with treatment and repair, if needed.

However, you can be armed with the necessary tools to treat and avoid termite infestations with Truly Nolen; they can provide you with the following information in first line defense to combat these springtime pests. Some tools to help identify and cope with termites:

  • Small wrench to tighten your pipes. Remember, termites love moisture!
  • Number 2 pencil. Mud tunnels are pencil-sized tubes that protrude from a house’s exterior walls and serve as an environment of protection and moisture for termites.
  • Measuring tape so you can be sure that your home has the recommended minimum of 6 to 8 inches between ground level and porch steps, lattice work, door or window frames, etc.
  • Small flashlight to help you search for rippled or sunken traces behind wall coverings, which are indicative of termite infestation.
  • Truly Nolen stress ball to keep you calm while preparing for this year’s termite season.

Above all else, just know its not IF you will get termites, but a matter of when. No one is safe from these destructive pests, but now you can be ready to take preventative measures. As you are prepping your home for the arrival of warmer weather and impending pets during your spring cleaning, be sure to add pest control and prevention to your list as well.

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Get the Dirt on Spring – Stanley Steemer

My allergies have just confirmed that Spring is definitely arrived and my house is in need of some serious deep cleaning. Being cooped up during the winter months, even here in Arizona, you gain a lot of dust and particulates. Not to mention living in a desert. Where life is dry. We have lots of dirt. We have 2 days of rain per year. You might say life get’s a bit dusty and dirty.

Have no fear, Stanley Steemer is here!

Dirt is just like tooth decay – it never quits! Despite your best intentions for cleaning this spring, you should not have to do it alone. Cleaning more than 200 tons of dirt last year, Stanley Steemer knows dirt! Call the experts at Stanley Steemer and let them help you achieve that deeper level of clean in your home this season.

Despite their good intentions and best efforts, Americans doing their spring cleaning might make the home look or smell better on the surface, but vacuuming and cleaning machines only remove some of the dirt, dust and particulates that cause allergic reactions.  In a recent national poll commissioned by Stanley Steemer, the nation’s largest deep cleaning service, nearly half of respondents predicted spending less than four hours total on this year’s spring cleaning.  But only 19 percent reported having ever used a professional for cleaning.

To combat this difficult allergy season this spring plus truly make your homes clean, consumers should consider a deeper cleaning twice a year by the professionals at Stanley Steemer.

  • Not just for carpet cleaning, Stanley Steemer’s expertise extends to hardwood, tile, air ducts, water damage restoration, and more!
  • Stanley Steemer’s proprietary equipment and cleaning processes remove more than 98% of dry soil from floors.
  • With over 70 branches  and 220 franchise locations in 48 states, Stanley Steemer services 95% of the country (MyBlogSpark, 2012).
You can combat your dirt and take control of your spring cleaning by entering to win a $100 Stanley Steemer gift certificate for spring cleaning in your home! Here is how you can enter:
Tell me your dirtiest cleaning chore, whether it be readying the house for Passover, a once over deep clean for the year, or just the mundane everyday, let’s hear it!
For extra entries you can do the following:
  • Subscribe to my RSS feed
  • Follow me on Twitter & tweet daily to win! Get the dirt on Spring with Stanley Steemer $100 GC giveaway with The Five Fish @Kariewithak http://goo.gl/EiBmj
  • Like The Fish on Facebook and promote this giveaway
  • Like Stanley Steemer on Facebook

Contest Ends @ 2:59am EST May 18th, 2012

Disclosure:  The gift certificate, information, and additional gift pack have been provided by Stanley Steemer through MyBlogSpark. As always: No Purchase Necessary, available to US residents. One entry per household. US postcard entries also acceptable if you do not have access to the above entry options, no limit to postcard entries as long as all are received before the close of the contest, email contests@thefivefish.com for your postcard entry details or to use email as your postcard entrance as these entries will be logged by the administrator of the blog. Winners will be chosen by “And the Winner is” Failure to adhere to the aforementioned rules set forth by this contest will result in forfeiture of your entry with no notice. Facebook does not promote, endorse, nor sponsor this review and giveaway and will be held harmless. As always, good luck and enjoy. My opinions herein are my own and are no way influenced by the receipt of a free product, they are an honest reflection of myself and my review of the integrity of the product.
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Clorox 2 – How I fought & beat a monster of a stain

Laundry in my household is the bane of my existence. The. Bane. I loathe nothing more than to labor tirelessly in front of a washer and dryer, laundering clothes. But you can make the best of your laundry triumphs and struggles with Clorox2. Currently Clorox2 is holding a contest where you can share your best story that you and your family have shared. Anything from the worst grass stain from soccer, a dirty mud stain, a finicky blueberry stain for those fruit snackers in your family, or even an asphalt stain like we had in our household.

My son treats his clothing like a giant napkin. We have tried to “train” him to use napkins, but somehow everything ends up on his shoulder sleeves or his pants in the thigh area. Coupled with the fact that on this day we had to go to the store and I noticed his shoes were untied. Rather than bending down to tie them, he sat his duff right on the asphalt in the parking lot of the store, resulting in a nasty black stain.

I knew this stain could not be handled with just my regular laundry detergent and so I applied some Clorox2 to his khaki’s to get those stains out and have his pants back to their standard glory to wear once again without shame. Clorox2 has a family line of different products to meet all your laundry and stain fighting needs. Not just the liquid, but spray stain fighters, gel packs and more.

Which Clorox2 product did you use with your family? What was your monster of a stain?

Be sure to share your monster of a stain story and experience for a chance to enter to win play equipment for your backyard, athletic equipment for your child’s school, plus a one year supply of Clorox2 stain-fighting products so you can continue to fight the good fight against those monstrous stains! Contest ends April 20th, 2012, so head there now.

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A SPONSORED POST ON BEHALF OF CLOROX2,  I WAS COMPENSATED FOR MY TIME BY POSTING THIS INFORMATION AND IN NO WAY WERE MY PERSONAL VIEWS COMPROMISED OR ALTERED.
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HOLY COW!

Now I am not one to endorse anything. I also do not get excited easily unless of course you tickled my fancy just right…..but that’s a WHOLE other blog. So roughly a year ago my aunt comes over to visit and brings lots of goodies since I just had the Squids. You know the visit, they bring food, goodies, and then oogling over the baby. Well in her bag of goodies I received some wonderful Organic pasta dishes, bags of steam fresh vegetables (which are a dream for making dinner), bread, Goldfish (a family favorite) and HOLY COW!

Holy Cow you ask? What the hell is Holy Cow, other than a fabulous catch phrase for anything astounding. Well here is what Holy Cow does in my home, with my kids, husband, dog, stains, goober, gunk, grunge, goop, and gobbly gook:
Now picture #1 is after my daughter gorged herself on “cuties” (mandarin oranges), blueberries, cheese, chicken and whatever else she had for dinner that night along with whatever else she had that day. This is a TRUE picture of all the food build-up from the day. As a mom you know that some stains are just outright NASTY and take lots of Spray N’ Wash or Shout or Oxyclean, whatever you prefer, and maybe a good soaking to get the stain out. So I am now armed with my bottle of Holy Cow, I spray the shirt in picture #1. I am not one to do laundry at night unless I can’t sleep, so I let the shirt sit over night in Holy Cow. Picture #2 is after a long nights sleep in the stuff and I do laundry that day. Picture #3 is what the shirt looked like after Holy Cow and Tide. No soaking, no extras, just the Holy Cow and Tide.
Not only is this stuff amazing on stains, but counters, bathrooms, you name it! I personally use the concentrated green formula and the pink. I use it for just about everything and the best part is there is no harsh chemical smell, feel, taste. You know that feeling after you have used a harsh cleaner that you feel like you need a breath of fresh air. Holy Cow has a very mild scent and is fabulous. Check them out for yourselves!

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