green cleaning products - Stuff Parents Need

My New Favorite Liquid Laundry Detergent: Purex Natural Elements (Giveaway!)

April 26, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 124 Comments

I’m a big fan of saving big $$ in the laundry room. I’m also a big fan of using naturally sourced ingredients when washing clothes and having a little negative impact on the environment as possible.

I have found that more often than not, those two interests conflict, and if I want to save money, it comes at the cost of the environment. If I want to be kind to the earth, it comes at the cost of my wallet.

That’s why I was absolutely thrilled to hear about Purex Ultra Natural Elements detergent that recently launched. This product in the Purex line has a biodegradable formula and natural fragrance extracts, and I can tell you from experience that the cleaning power is fantastic. I also know that e price is right, as Purex products are among the most affordable on the shelves!

The smell is terrific, but definitely not overpowering. I find that by the time the clothes have been washed and dried, most of the fragrance is gone. I actually prefer it that way, as I don’t want my clothes to smell perfumed. I especially don’t want that for clothes my kids wear.

If you feel similarly to me about your laundry products, let me show you exactly what this bottle looks like so you can easily find it on your store shelves:

I’m really pleased with Purex Natural Elements and when I run out of detergent, this will be the brand I purchase next. Eco-friendly AND wallet-friendly. That’s how I roll!

Win it! One winner will receive TWO coupons for free Purex Natural Elements detergent! Woo hoo!

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received a complimentary bottle of detergent for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links.

Under the Rainbow Giveaway Hop Featuring Unique Natural Products Gift Basket!

March 1, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 197 Comments

Welcome to the Under the Rainbow Giveaway Hop, hosted by the Blogging Mamas Network!

From March 1st-17th, you’ll have the chance to win plenty of prizes from over 50 bloggers to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day!

So after you enter my giveaway, make like a little, green Leprechaun and hop around to all the other blogs participating in the Event!

What will YOU find Under the Rainbow?!

Here’s my contribution to the hop! I have up for grabs a FANTASTIC gift basket from Unique Natural Products! We are really committed to using natural cleaning products in our home, and I always enjoy giving new (or at least new to me) companies a try. I have been really impressed with the high quality of green cleaning products that have come on the market lately…a notable improvement from even 3 years ago, I would say!

So today I want to showcase Unique Natural Products. Basically, what you are buying in these containers is a bunch of bacteria! These bacteria LOVE to eat dirt and stains. They are sort of amazing, actually! I have been using the wine stain remover (which also works on other food stains like ketchup!) on Darah’s clothes and have been getting terrific results.

We’ve also been using the pet odor eliminator. It is never exciting to have to reach for it (because it means that Hattie threw up…AGAIN…and usually on the carpet). But it is very effective, and I am totally at ease using it, even with a crawling, drooling, biting, licking, putting-everything-possible-in-her-mouth baby crawling around. I know I’m not actually even using chemicals! Everything is safe for humans and pets.

But perhaps my very favorite item of all is the Super Digest It. Drain openers are one of the most toxic items in most people’s homes. They are also HORRIBLE for the environment. I very strongly dislike them, but have found myself buying them in the past when I didn’t know that I had any other choice. Super Digest It bacteria eat the organic matter that is clogging up your pipes. No chemicals needed! Just nature doing its thing! Isn’t that awesome????!!! We are using it on our pipes once a month, now, just as a preventative measure to ensure that anything that is building up gets taken care of before it becomes a problem. And since I shed hair like a cat, this is especially helpful in our bathroom drain!

You can order products from Unique Natural products online or find your nearest retailer here! I very highly recommend them and have made a note of where I can go pick up more in Chattanooga once my supply dwindles!
Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a gift basket from Unique Natural Products containing the following items:

Pet Odor Eliminator Ready to Use (24 oz)
Super Digest It (1 qt)
Carpet Shampoo (1 qt)
Unique Complete (1 qt)
Wine Stain (4 oz)

ARV for the items is $58.20!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page. Disclosure :According to Jenny, So Easy Being Green, the Blogging Mamas Network, and the Under the Rainbow participating bloggers are not responsible for sponsors who do not fulfill prize obligations. I received complimentary products for review purposes from Unique Natural Products. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. Linky:

Eco-Friendly Alternative to Comet: Emily by Eco-Me

April 25, 2012 · by Tiffany Merritt · 85 Comments

Are you still using toxic cleaning products in your home? The two main reasons I have heard people cite when explaining why they aren’t going green with their cleaning products are cost and effectiveness.

If either one of those (or both!) is true for you, then you’ve officially run out of excuses, because there’s a very affordable line of products out called Eco-Me and they can go toe-to-toe with your extra strength chemicals!

As we were preparing to move out of our old house, we needed to give our tub a serious scrub. Tim tries to clean it once a week, but he doesn’t typically do a thorough scrubbing. We tested out a product called Emily
(all the products have people names, which is cute). Emily is a gentle abrasive that can safely be used in the bathroom and in the kitchen (even on pots and pans!). We put this product to the test on our tub, and we were really embarrassed to see just how much gunk came off our tub when cleaning with it. We were also really impressed! Check it out, and try not to judge!

Eco-Me has an excellent range of products for all your cleaning needs, and can be found at Alice.com, or on Amazon! You can also search for a local store or see a complete list of online retailers here. Emily can be purchased for a very reasonable $5.39 for 16 ounces! A little goes a long way, too!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win the Eco Me product Emily, just like I reviewed! You will love it!

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Clean + Green Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

March 8, 2012 · by Tiffany Merritt · 68 Comments

Our family cat, Hattie, has a very special place in my heart. We’ve had her since 2004, and she was, in some sense, our first baby. She does not reciprocate my affection, though. Her love is for Tim. I am like an annoyance she must endure most of the time. The time when she was the most loving toward me was when I was pregnant with Darah. She would lay on top of my belly and purr. In hindsight, I don’t really think that was an act of kindness! She didn’t want me producing any heirs! Ha!

But I love her, anyway. What I DON’T love is cleaning up after her. She is a long-haired cat, and LOVES to eat her hair as she grooms herself. As a result, we get some killer hairballs left as presents for us around the house from time to time.

And since she is an indoor-only cat, we also have a litter box. Tim is in charge of that, thank goodness. We try to go for the more eco-friendly litter options, but they just don’t handle the odors as well as the other stuff.

For the past 2 weeks, we have been trying out some cleaning products that are green and are specifically designed to work with pet stains and odors. Clean + Green is the name of the company, and we tried the following products designed for cats and dogs:

Carpet & Upholstery Stain, Odor Eliminator, Cleaner & Stain Remover
Wood & Tile Odor Eliminator, Cleaner and Stain Remover
Litter Box Odor Eliminator and Cleaner

I have found every single product to be very effective. And I love knowing that it is non-toxic. I have no worries using them as a pregnant lady or using them around Darah! The carpet cleaner works great on those yucky stains left behind by hairballs. And I like that you don’t need to saturate the stain with the product in order for it to work. This product can also be used on the insoles of shoes. I am constantly wearing flats without any socks, and the end result of that combo doesn’t smell like roses. So it is awesome to have this product on hand, and to know that it is perfectly safe for my twinkle toes!

We don’t have any product that has been designed to be particularly safe on wood floors, so we are really enjoying the Wood & Tile product. Previously, we’ve just been mopping the area with a vinegar/water mix and hoping for the best.

And the litter box product is AWESOME! As a pregnant lady, it is actually not safe for me to clean out the litter box (one of the few perks of being an expecting lady). There are times when I find the litter to be quite smelly, but it’s the middle of the day and Tim won’t be home to deal with it for several more hours. This product makes it all better, as it really does eliminate the odor! I also learned that I can use this same product on our toilet bowl if I think it is smelly as well as in a diaper pail. Very cool!

Buy it!: Clean + Green products can be purchased online and you can also click here to find your nearest retailer!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win the Green+Clean product of your choice!

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Cleaning Stuff Overhaul: I’m Going Green!

March 25, 2010 · by Tiffany Merritt · 321 Comments

We’ve been dabbling in more environmentally friendly cleaning stuff over the last year or so, but thanks to Seventh Generation, we have now pretty much completely made the switch, and we aren’t looking back! We’ve been using several products from the Healthy Home Kit in our

home and have seen results that are every bit as good as the more toxic stuff we formerly used! The Healthy Home kit includes the following:

Kitchen Cleaner
All-Purpose Cleaner
Glass & Surface Cleaner
Shower Cleaner
Toilet Bowl Cleaner
Tub & Tile Cleaner
Brown Paper Towels

I’ve tried everything, and here are my thoughts. The Shower Cleaner and the Tub & Tile Cleaner both smelled terrific! These were the products that stood out the very most to me. Our former bathroom cleaners gave us headaches because the fumes were so bad, but we thought we needed something that strong to get rid of all the grime in there. I’m glad to report that we were wrong, and I only wish that we had realized it sooner! The Toilet Bowl Cleaner also gets the job done just as effectively as our old stuff. The All-Purpose Cleaner has been used throughout our house as a “go-to” product for everything from carpet stains to wiping down fixtures. The Glass & Surface Cleaner is every bit as effective as Windex, in my opinion, and is much better for the environment. It’s a winner!The Kitchen Cleaner smells absolutely awesome (it is scented with wild orange and cedar spice). I found that if I spray down the counters and the stove top with this product and just let it sit for a minute or two, all the icky comes right off. Basically, every single cleaning product I tried from Seventh Generation did exactly what it was supposed to do, minus the nasty chemicals. Hooray! We are moving away from paper towels in our home, but there are times when we have messes that just need to be picked up and thrown away (cat hairballs, anyone?!). I’ve really enjoyed having the Seventh Generation Brown Paper Towels around to clean up these messes. They are made from unbleached, 100% recycled paper!

It is wonderful to be able to clean pretty much anything in the house with Darah in tow. I don’t have any worries about any of these products touching her skin or of her inhaling the fumes, because there are no fumes! We’ve actually been putting her in her baby carrier now while we clean up. This makes life easier and more fun for all of us!

In addition to the great cleaning stuff I’ve mentioned, Seventh Generation also offers a lot of other great items for your family and home including trash bags, laundry detergent, and diapers, just to name a few!

Right now Seventh Generation is working to make a positive change in our nation, by hosting the Million Baby Crawl. From their site, “Babies everywhere are crawling to Washington and saying “no” to toxic chemicals found in household products. Join the crawl and help Seventh Generation, maker of naturally safe and effective household products, demand change! Join the crawl. Learn more here about what action Congress could take to help keep toxins out of our homes and away from our babies. I love supporting organizations that are working for the greater good, so I was really glad to read about this campaign. Way to make an impact, Seventh Generation!

Buy It!: There are so many reasons to give Seventh Generation a try. If the frugalista in you needs some convincing, check out the coupons they offer on their site! Take the plunge, I know you will be satisfied and you’ll make the earth smile in the process!

EDIT: Giveaway closed

Win It!: Seventh Generation wants to help you and your home go green by offering a Healthy Home Kit to one very lucky Stuff Parents Need reader (a $38.99 value)! The contest will run until Sunday, April 4th at 7:59pm CST. A winner will be randomly selected and emailed, and will have 48 hours to claim the prize. Open to residents of the United States.

How to Enter:

Mandatory Entry: Of all the great products that Seventh Generation offers, which one do you want the very most, and why?

Additional Entries:
1. Subscribe to my blog via RSS or email (one extra entry total, even if you subscribe both ways)
2. Follow me through Google connect
3. Put my button on your blog and leave a url where I can find it
4. Subscribe to Seventh Generation’s blog
5. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter (leave your TwitterID)
6. Follow Seventh Generation on Twitter (leave your Twitter ID)
7. Become a Fan of Seventh Generation on Facebook
8. Tell me something you learned while checking out the ideas behind the Million Baby Crawl
9. Join the Seventh Generation Nation and include a link to your profile in your bonus entry
10. Enter any other currently open giveaway on my site (one extra entry per giveaway that you enter)

Disclosure: I requested and received product samples in order to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own!

Choose Non Toxic Cleaning Products: Ecostore USA

February 4, 2010 · by Tiffany Merritt · 264 Comments

Over the weekend Darah made an interesting discovery. She figured out that she had full control over this funny thing inside her mouth called a tongue! She loves to practice sticking her tongue out and making noises while her tongue is out. It is absolutely precious. You can imagine, though, that the drool factor just went up a notch in our home!

Another change that this has brought on is her interest in licking anything with which she comes in contact! This has really given me pause to think about what I am using to clean around the house. I’ve been wanting to “go green” with my cleaning supplies, but now I truly feel as though a fire has been lit under my behind. Darah will not hesitate to put her mouth on the floor, the carpet, the table…anything! I really need to make sure that she is not at risk for ingesting anything toxic, and one way I will do that is to choose non-toxic cleaning products.

This brings me to my next review for the Planet Earth is My Valentine series! One suggestion I have for showing love to the little ones in your home, and even showing love to your home itself, is to kick those chemical-laden cleaning products to the curb! A company that can help you do that is ecostore USA. The idea behind this company is simple: create products with NO NASTY CHEMICALS!

The super friendly folks at ecostore USA sent me two household products to try: the auto dish powder and the toilet cleaner. I was really impressed with the ingredients of the dish powder. They are as follows:

Ingredients

Palm and coconut based non-ionic surfactants
Silicates and carbonates including sodium meta silicate (simple mineral salts)
Citrates and natural citrus oil
Cellulose (plant based)
Fatty acid derivatives

That’s it! And you know what? My dishes have been coming out just as clean as when I use more commercial (and more toxic) products that you find in grocery stores. This product sells for $12.00, which may seem like a lot, but listen to what ecostore USA has to say about their prices: “Ecostore USA knows that it can be expensive to buy natural or organic products, but we’ve found a way around this by safely super-concentrating each formulation. This means that a little really does go a long, long way. The result is saving money by significantly cutting down on cost per use.” Since very little is used per load of dishes, this container will last our home a good long while! I also like the fact that purchasing concentrated products cuts down on your waste in terms of the number of containers that you purchase, too!

I was excited to try the toilet cleaner because I have yet to find an environmentally-friendly product designed for cleaning toilet bowls. I feel a twinge of guilt each time I use my current product because I know that what I’m putting into the water system just to get my toilet bowl shining is bad stuff. From their website, “Because Ecostore USA’s Toilet Cleaner uses NO NASTY CHEMICALS, your toilet will not only be fresh and clean but safe for Earth’s waterways as well. Conventional products have released toxins, dyes and synthetic perfumes into toilets for years causing water degradation. Created with your environment in mind, this product is extraordinary.” I completely agree! Once again, I have found this product to clean just as quickly and effectively as the stuff I was using before, and now I have zero guilt! The product retails for $8.00.

In addition to these and other great eco-friendly household products, ecostore USA also carries a terrific line of soaps, baby care items, and even a line of products for your pets, all with NO NASTY CHEMICALS!

Buy It! If you have been thinking about going green with your cleaning products or your personal care products, ecostore USA is a great product line to try. Give them a try today!

EDIT: This giveaway is closed. Congratulations to #123!

Win It! Ecostore USA wants Stuff Parents Need readers to have the chance to win! Woo hoo! They are giving away one $25 credit to their site so that you can green your home! The contest will run until February 14th at 7:59pm CST. A winner will be randomly selected and emailed, and will have 48 hours to claim their prize. Open to residents of the United States. Make sure that your email address is either in your profile or in your comment.

How to Enter:

Mandatory Entry: Visit ecostore USA and tell me about the product in their line that you need the very most in your home.

Additional entries:

1. Subscribe to my blog via email or reader (2 entries, so leave 2 comments)

2. Follow me on Google friend connect (2 entries, so leave 2 comments)

3. Listen to the ecostore podcast and tell me something you learned!

4. Enter any other current giveaway on my site and come back here to tell me you did

5. Fan ecostore USA on Facebook

6. Follow ecostore USA on Twitter

7. Tweet about this giveaway

8. Add my button to your blog and leave me a url where I can find it (2 entries, so leave 2 comments)

Disclosure: I received product samples for review purposes. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.