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Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

Clean + Green Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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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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Home Air Freshener and Odor Eliminator: Pure Air Candle Review

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So here’s a story about a time when I didn’t follow my nose. Two weeks ago, I was making dinner for my family. It was taco night, so I pulled my ground turkey out of the fridge (we aren’t so much into ground beef). When I opened it up, I thought it smelled not so awesome. But I second-guessed myself and thought, “Eh, I bet raw meat always smells gross and I’m just not remembering.” So I threw the meat into the pan and cooked it. Then I added the taco seasoning to it, and since I thought it still didn’t smell fabulous, decided to give it a taste.

OMG. Rancid meat. Cooked rancid meat with taco seasoning on it. That’s what it was. My nose tried to warn me, but I refused to listen! After I spit out the bite in my mouth and then pitched that night’s dinner into the trash can, I was left with an olfactory reminder of my mistake. The kitchen and dining room totally reeked, and now that it had been confirmed that the smell was bad meat, it made me sick to my stomach.

home air freshener pure air candles That’s when I remembered that I had recently been sent the Pure Air candles from David Oreck. These candles claim to eliminate odors, not mask them. I knew that rancid meat smell would really put them to the test! I brought in the candle, lit it, and left the room for about 5 minutes. When I came back in, the smell was mostly gone. After an additional 5 minutes, it was completely gone. And that’s with the gross cooked meat still sitting in the kitchen garbage can. Yeah!
If these candles can stamp out that nasty smell, I think they can tackle pretty much anything. I was very impressed! I also like the fact that these are made with a non-toxic odor eating vegetable compound blend, so it isn’t releasing chemicals that are unsafe to breathe.
Buy it!: Right now is an EXCELLENT time to buy these candles. They are trying to get the word out and get people excited to try them, so they are offering a Buy 1 get 2 free deal! Woo hoo! Purchase the 22 oz jar candle for $34.95 and you’ll receive two 11.6 oz candles absolutely free. These make excellent gifts, but you should definitely keep one for your own home!

Edit: this giveaway is closed
Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win a Pure Air candle for yourself! Yay!

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