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Stuff Parents Need

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

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DIY Makeup Remover Cloths: Happy and Healthy Home Hacks!

April 9, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 4 Comments

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for #CollectiveBias and its advertiser. #WalgreensOlogy

Did you know that one of my very favorite places to go shopping is Walgreens? Two years ago, it was the ONLY store that I went to on Black Friday (and it was LEGENDARY!). When I make a shopping list, I always scan it to see how many things I can get at Walgreens without having to trek over to a larger store, and often it is enough so that I can put a larger shopping trip on hold. That saves me time and money, as you know that walking into a big box store means you will be spending $50, at a minimum. It’s like the law of nature, or something. Basically, Walgreens is my jam! It’s also become a great resource for outfitting my healthy home. Here’s a little sneak peek of a DIY project I’ll teach you with a great product I found at Walgreens, too!

diy makeup remover cloths 2

Happy and Healthy: Ology

ology products

One thing that I LOVE LOVE LOVE about Walgreens are their awesome house brands. Ology is one that I have been purchasing for a while. Do you know about it? It’s all about providing happy and healthy products for your family. That means ditching toxic chemicals, using sustainable raw materials (tree free!) and including natural ingredients. Here are some of the places where you can find these products on the shelves at Walgreens.

ology products at walgreens

I feel totally comfortable using their cleaning products around my kids; good thing, because they are always underfoot!

ology all purpose cleaner

And as for their paper products, I dig that they are made from materials that renew quickly. Trees take about 35 years to regenerate, whereas sugarcane and bamboo husks, which Ology uses, take about 6 months!

ology bath tissue

And as for the softness and strength, I’ve been very pleased on both accounts! In fact, let me show you how I took my Ology paper towels and made a totally indulgent and super affordable makeup remover!

DIY Makeup Remover Cloths

1. Gather materials. You will need high quality coconut oil (this is going on your face, so please don’t buy the cheap stuff! Get organic!), paper towels (Ology is ideal because it is soft and non-toxic!), water, a lidded glass container, and essential oils (optional, but a nice touch).

diy makeup remover cloths supplies

2. Tear off roughly 22 paper towels. You guys, it is TOTALLY satisfying to get to rip off that many sheets in one sitting! 😉

3. Now cut each of those sheets in half using a pair of scissors. I found it easy to cut 4 sheets at a time so the job goes faster. Now you should have 44 smaller sheets.

4. Fold each of those sheets in half, and stack in such a way that the folds are not all lined up on the same side, like this:

paper towels for makeup remover cloths

Now it is time to get the oil and water mixture ready! You may be wondering why on earth you would wash your face with an oil product. That probably sounds like an all-around bad idea! Well, coconut oil actually is moisturizing without clogging pore, and it contains anti-microbial properties, which make it ideal for fighting blemishes! Trust me, it’s good stuff!

5. In the microwave, heat 1/4 cup of coconut oil (it will be solid at room temp) with 2 cups water. Mine was melted after 3 minutes.

6. If desired, add 3-5 drops of essential oils. I opted for lavender for a nice, calming scent. Thoroughly mix the oil and water mixture.

7. Slowly add your stack of paper towels into the well combined mixture. Make sure you have enough space in your bowl for the paper towels, and go slow! Let the towels absorb the water a little at a time, and don’t try to force it. It will all be absorbed in just about a minute! Store in a container with a lid. If you did use essential oils, it is important to use a glass container, as essential oils can actually eat away plastic. Yuck!

homemade makeup remover cloths

I made enough for 2 people to use twice a day for about two weeks (factoring in that we’ll forget to wash our faces on occasion). Even though I think these are great at removing makeup, they are also just really good face wash cloths, in general, which is why Tim plans to use them, too! I wouldn’t recommend making more than a 2 week supply at a time, but really it only took a few minutes to get these made, so it isn’t too cumbersome. And my goodness it is budget-friendly! 🙂

So friends, have you tried the Ology brand, yet? Are you thinking about giving harsh chemicals the boot in your house? And have you ever thought of doing a DIY version of those fabulous-yet-pricey makeup remover cloths? Give my recipe a try and tell me what you think!

Want more info on Ology? I totally loved this video showcasing some of their cleaning products. Check it out!

Filed Under: DIY Projects, My Favorite Finds · Tagged: diy makeup remover, diy makeup remover cloths, healthy home hacks, homemade makeup remover, natural makeup remover, ology, ology products, organic cleaning products, walgreens, walgreens ology

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!

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Giveaways · Tagged: eco friendly cleaning products, eco me, emily, emily cleaner, environmentally friendly cleaning products, giveaway, green cleaning products, green products, natural cleaning products, organic cleaning products, review

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.

choose natural 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!

choose natural cleaning products 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 choose non toxic cleaning products 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.

Filed Under: Giveaways · Tagged: choose natural cleaning products, choose non toxic cleaning products, eco store, eco store usa, ecostore usa, ecostore usa review, giveaway, green cleaning, green cleaning products, green cleaning supplies, green products, natural cleaning products, non toxic cleaning products, organic cleaning, organic cleaning products, review

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Welcome!


Grab your beverage of choice (mine is iced coffee) and let's hang out for a spell! I'm Tiffany, and I've rambunctious little girls and a fierce desire to share any tip and trick I can find to make lives with little ones a bit less hectic and a lot more fun. [Read more...]

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