My Favorite Laundry Detergent

How much do you think you spend on laundry detergent every month? $15? $20? Maybe more?  I was as well, up until about two years ago. I used to use all the name brand detergents...tide, gain, you name it. I was paying for expensive laundry detergent that didn't work very well and it seemed like our clothes were wearing out faster. 

So I finally got tired of it and switched to a natural laundry detergent. I love this one. Love it! For just about a million reasons, but I'll only list a few!

• It's $40.25 (member price) for a 14lb box and has lasted me NINE MONTHS
• We're averaging about $5 per month for laundry detergent
• I do a LOT of laundry
• This detergent average about $.14 per load
• Our clothes are cleaner, with no soap residue, and they seem to be lasting longer
• It's really good for the environment with no phosphates or chlorine. It's also biodegradable, concentrated, and hypoallergenic

What's Stopping You?

Friends, what's stopping you from joining the mission towards a healthier, happier home??
My husband and I thought living a more natural lifestyle was going to break the bank. It hasn't! Our family's health is the best it's ever been, which means less doctor visits, less prescriptions, and less time off work, thanks to safe, natural nutrition!
Our home is finally REALLY clean, thanks to nontoxic cleaners that actually work! My skin is looking and feeling better, and I lost those last few baby lbs thanks to excellent beauty care and a tasty weight management product.
Shaklee is NOT about selling miracles and I'm not either! Shaklee is all about SCIENCE, not fads! Trust me, I have not decided to make Shaklee my brand partner so that I can sell, sell, sell to people. No, that's not it. I chose to partner with Shaklee because I have a passion for helping other moms get their families healthier.  And in turn, I'm rewarded for it. But an even bigger bonus out of all that is that I not only help these moms get their families healthier, but I'm helping them either get their favorite Shaklee products FREE every month or create their own health and wellness business!
I love what I do and I want to help YOU, too! Whether you're interested in learning more about our products or you're ready to start earning an income, please message me at jallen44 at gmail dot com! 

Cleaning Windows | Getting Clean for Spring

Today I wanted to share with you the simple solution my family uses to clean all the windows and glass in our home.

Yep, you guessed it…it’s a product by Shaklee (my favorite health and wellness company ever!).

We use Shaklee’s Basic H solution as our window cleaner! Did you even know it can be used to clean windows??

It’s simple…just take 16 oz of water and add just two drops of Basic H and give it a shake. There you have it! A full bottle of safe, nontoxic window cleaner!

This is how I’m kicking off our spring cleaning for 2014, by getting all the windows and mirrors clean and dirt-free. We have a ton of windows so it’s going to take me a full day (on top of all my other domestic duties!)

Have you tried Basic H for window cleaning yet?

Deck Remodel | DIY

Today I wanted to give you a glimpse into our home!
We moved into our home (our first!) 7 1/2 years ago. We'd only planned on staying here five years, but well...life doesn't always go as planned, right? It's all good though, because we love our home and our neighborhood!
Our home was built in 1986 and it had pretty much the original EVERYTHING when we moved in! So we've been slowly, but surely, updating it over the years.
Today, I'm going to show you our deck remodel. We actually remodeled it last year and we love it so, so much! It's much bigger than the old one and is so much more functional! We hired a contractor to lay the frame and build the benches and steps. Then Matt finished laying the flooring of the deck. Doing it this way saved us quite a bit of money!

We just love spending time out on the deck. We added a nice table and chairs so we can eat dinner outside. We're fortunate that there are a lot of nice weather days where we live, so we get a lot of use out of the deck! This is just one of the many, many DIY projects we've taken on since moving in! Do you DIY when it comes to home improvement?

On the First Day of Spring...

Woo hoo! It's FINALLY spring!
Did winter seem to DRAG on for you, too?
Thankfully, we're kicking off the first day of spring with temps in the 70's today! I love it!
Starting Monday, I'm going to be embarking on a Get Clean for Spring series that will hopefully help you (and me!) get your homes cleaned and organized! I can't wait!
But first, we all need our arsenal of safe, nontoxic cleaning products, right?
I get asked all the time what I clean my house with to keep it both clean and toxin-free! Well this is it, and to celebrate spring, I'm having a special!
Box up all those chemical cleaners and replace ALL of your household cleaners, including laundry and dish soaps, with these green, non-toxic cleaners that are cost effective and really work!

Bonus: Purchasing this kit qualifies you for a FREE Shaklee membership and a FREE canister of Cafe Latte smoothie mix! Your membership gets you 15% off all products!!
I'm so thankful for you and for everyone who has joined my Member Team! Together, we're making a great difference in the health and happiness of our families!!

What I'm Reading Wednesday

Happy Wednesday to you!
Here are a few blog posts I'm loving this week! I hope you like them as well! And I'd love for you to share your favorites...I'm always on the hunt for new reading material!
My friend and colleague, Amber, shared her wonderful story about how she and her husband were able to get their daughter off prescription allergy and asthma medications! Their journey is awesome and not only is their daughter so much healthier, but they saved over $100 per month just by switching to natural supplements! Annnnddd... she is being flown out to New York this week by Shaklee to share her story! I LOVE testimonials like this! Read it here: Asthma....7 months later

 Lil Blue Boo...one of my favorite blogs ever. I've been reading Ashley's blog since 2009! Wow! She recently posted a fun tutorial for personalized burlap bags. I think these would be super cute teacher gifts this spring! Read about it here: Personalized Burlap Bags






My friend, Jenny, shared how to clean your stainless steel water bottles using lemon essential oils. This was timely for me...since you're not supposed to put the water bottles in the dishwasher, I've always wondered how clean I'm actually getting them! Read about how to do it here: Sanitizing Your Reusable Water Bottle







Lastly, I just recently discovered this blog, Walking in Memphis High Heels. I'm so loving Laura's style and I wish I had more places to wear her super cute ideas! I'm a workout clothes type of girl during the week, but I LOVE getting dressed up when I can! I really, really love this maxi dress! Read about it here: Maxi

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday! It's been a LONG time since I've done a Friday Favorites post! I've had some big time writers block lately, but really want to get back in the swing of things. I thought a Friday Favorites would be a great way to kick off the first Friday of the month!
Enjoy!

1. Finding selfies from my five year old on my phone. These types of pictures always make me smile...what a goof! Love this boy!















2. Almond Joy Granola from The Lemon Bowl blog. This is has become a staple in our home...I love it! I eat it with plain Greek yogurt for breakfast, or a snack, or dinner...

3. Homemade chocolate banana 'ice cream.' Easy peasy and really tasty! Take a few frozen bananas, a dash of vanilla, and a scoop of chocolate protein powder, then turn on the food processor until it has the consistency of soft serve ice cream. My boys ate.it.up (and so did I)!! Note: frozen bananas and food processor blades are LOUD

4. Green smoothies. Matt and I are becoming totally addicted to these yummy smoothies! We make one for breakfast almost every morning. The one in the picture had spinach, strawberries, mango, blueberries, Greek yogurt, unflavored protein powder (you can put this in SO MANY recipes), and chia seeds.  Yum! Did you see how I didn't clear out a space and make my kitchen look spotless?? :)












5. New hair! It had been awhile since I'd had my hair highlighted, and I wanted to do something a little different. The ombre look is in now, but my stylist and I decided that having a very dark (almost brown) up against my face would just depress me...I'm used to lighter blonde, especially now that the weather is supposed to be warming up! So she did an awesome dark brown, light blonde highlight panel-style all over. I love it! Don't you just love having your hair cut, colored, and styled??