Smelly Towels? | Here's an Easy Fix!

Today I wanted to share with you my secret weapon for getting rid of the mildew in towels. Lately, I've had a few emails asking how to get rid of stinky towels. 
If you live in a humid area like we do, you might have a problem with smelly towels. If I don't get them in the dryer immediately after washing, the stink starts in quickly. And we all know that wet towels = mildew.  And the stink of mildew is actually bacteria breeding. Yuck. 
Also, some people have problems with their towels not being as absorbent.  Many, many detergents and fabric softeners leave lots of gross residue on your clothes and towels, which not only ATTRACTS the mildew but basically ends up making your towels WATERPROOF. If water can't get into the fabric to clean it, then it's not going to BE or SMELL clean!
Not only that, most fabric softeners are NOT safe for you and your family. Read here what I discovered about them!
Good news though! You can eliminate the stink and get all the residue off your towels and clothes!
Here's my secret weapon! Shaklee's Basic G Concentrated Germicide (This is the KEY ingredient to getting rid of the mildew, stink, and other germs out of your clothes!) Shaklee's Fresh Laundry Detergent Shaklee's Soft Fabric Dryer Sheets





Here's what I do:

1. Add the Fresh Laundry Detergent to my wash and make sure it's set to HOT. It's HE compatible, hypoallergenic, no phosphates, biodegradable, no chlorine, and it only takes a small amount to wash a load!
2. Add 1/2-3/4 teas of Basic G to the FABRIC SOFTENER bin of the washing machine. Why Basic G? It tackles over 40 of these pesky microbes, including several animal viruses. In addition to being economical - one quart makes up to 64 gallons - it's also EPA registered.
3. Toss in a dryer sheet when drying the clothes. What's great about these dryer sheets is that they don't leave a residue on your clothes, they're nontoxic, natural, and biodegradable!

Alrighty, now that your towel smell better and are actually absorbent again here are some tips to keep them that way!

• Make sure they are completely dry before folding. Even a small amount of moisture can make them stink again.
• Keep wet towels OFF the floor! Buy some hooks that your kiddos can reach so they can hang them up after bath. Hang up your bathmats too. This is a must in our home. The boys go nuts at bath time splashing everywhere, so the bathmat is always soaked!

Thanks for coming by!

31 Days of Healthy Living | Day 4

Welcome to Day 4 of my 31 Days of Healthy Living Series! 
I hope you're enjoying it so far! Today, I want to share with you my all time favorite bleach alternative. What? There's another way to disinfect without that nasty bleach smell?? You betcha! And it's SAFE, NATURAL, BIODEGRADABLE, and NONTOXIC! It's actually the safest on the market!!  I'm talking about Basic G, Shaklee's Natural Germicide! Basic G is a safe alternative to bleach, Lysol, 409, Clorox Cleanup...any of those hardcore disinfectants that you may use around your home.

And it's so easy to use, too. Mix 3/4 teaspoon to 16 oz water and you've got a full bottle of disinfecting power! Because it's so concentrated, a little goes a long way and saves money! Basic G has a three year shelf life. Its residual effectiveness lasts up to THREE DAYS after application. Chlorine bleach used as a disinfectant is only effective for about an hour. Basic G is perfect wherever disinfectants are needed and kills up to 99% of bacteria! Basic G also kills 38 pathogens, while Lysol only kills 8 pathogens! So here's a quick run down on Basic G and why I think you'd love it as much as we do! Cleans Deodorizes Free of bleach and alcohol Gets rid of fungi (mold) and viruses Kills 99.9% of E. coli and salmonella bacteria EPA registered Super concentrated - 1 quart makes up to 64 gallons = CHEAP!!

Here are the many places you can use Basic G! Bathroom

• Toilets (this and Nature Bright are my only toilet bowl cleaners..safe and effective!)
• Garbage pails
• Sinks and faucets
• Showers

Kitchen (note: not to be used around food)

• Countertops
• Sinks
• Refrigerator handles
• Kill salmonella after preparing meats
• Trash can
• Use as a mopping solution (just mix 1 tablespoon to one gallon of water)

Other uses

• I use it to get my husband's stinky soccer clothes extra clean! Just add 1 teaspoon per laundry load. 
• Use it to clean your reusable grocery bags. Read about how I do it here. 
• Great weed killer!
• Safe for all surfaces: stainless steel, aluminum, hard and non-porous surfaces
• Can even be used as a weed killer! Use 1 gallon of water, 1 tablespoon of Basic G and 1/2 cup of white vinegar.

I love knowing that I can kill germs and not use all the harsh chemicals to do so. Basic G is a safe alternative to any disinfectant out there and works even better! To read more about Basic G and order your own bottle, please shop here! If you have questions, let me know!

Do You Clean? | Check Out this Product!

School is almost back in session here in Texas! I don't know about you, but when we have upcoming changes to our routine, I get the cleaning bug. I want everything to be bright, shiny and clean when we start back up to preschool this year!

So today I'm going to share with you my absolute favorite cleaning product; one I use exclusively for our home: Basic H Organic Cleaning Concentrate.  I've talked about it before, but friends, I just can't talk enough about it! It is so versatile!

I use it to clean counters, dust furniture, clean windows and mirrors, mop floors, clean bathrooms, wash my dogs (YES!), rinse off vegetables, and so much more!

Not only is it versatile, but it's the cheapest, and safest cleaner you can find. And don't let me forget...it WORKS! (It's even cheaper than white vinegar, plus it doesn't stink!)

Here is a fantastic list of ways you can use this organic, nontoxic, safe, effective Shaklee cleaner in your home!

• Dishes: 1/2 teaspoon in the dishpan. Fill with dishes and let stand for a few minutes to loosen food.
• Automatic dishwashers: Use Shaklee Dishwasher Concentrate
• Spot Remover: Apply Basic H directly on the spotted area. Use a toothbrush or finger to rub in. Wipe off with a damp cloth or rinse. Great for coffee, lipstick, ink, or grass removal!
• Cleaning Hands: Put a few drops in your hand and rub thoroughly with a bit of water. Rinse as usual. Great for removing tobacco stains, onion, and garlic!
• Gum: Use full strength
• Ironing: A few drops in your iron will help prevent rusty water from coming out of the steamer.

Other Important Things to Remember!

• Basic H is the most economical cleaner you can buy. One quart makes 192 gallons of cleaning solution by following directions.
• DO NOT USE MORE THAN RECOMMENDED! A little goes a long way! Save $$!
• Basic H contains no acids, no alkalis, no kerosene or solvent, and has no offensive or detergent odor.
• Basic H has pH factor of 6.5, right in the range of human skin.
• Basic H makes water many times wetter.
• Basic H is a fantastically versatile cleaner. The successor is soap!
• Basic H does not hinder bacterial action of septic tanks or cesspools.
• In extremely stubborn areas of grease or stains, use Shaklee’s Scour Off scouring cleaner. (It lasts forever and smells like cherries!!)

I recommend starting with our 

• Get Clean Starter Kit (regular or unscented)
• Scour Off (did I mention it smells like cherries??)
• Basic G (germicide - not mentioned in this post, but it's going to replace all your toxic bleaches!)

SHOP HERE!

I want to be honest, I am not trying to sell you these products just to make a buck. I believe in Shaklee's Get Clean line and doing what's right for my family and for our environment! Using natural, nontoxic, fragrance free products that WORK and don't have HARSH CHEMICALS around my kids is the right thing to do! (Hint: if you like your cleaners to have a fragrance, a few drops of essential oils can do that!)

Not only is the Get Clean line natural and safe...the products actually WORK! I mean it! I would not spend this much time on a post for something that doesn't work! BONUS: they save you money too!

If you're not a member already, I encourage you to join my Member Team! You have the option to earn free product within your first 30 days of membership, have online support, join a community of likeminded friends, get member only specials and get your home and family HEALTHIER! 

Join me in the mission to create healthier, happier lives! Thank you!!

Cleaning Our Reusable Shopping Bags

I'm a big fan of the reusable shopping bags. They cut down on waste from the plastic bags and the indifferent helpful teenage grocery checkers seem to understand that you can fit a lot of items in one single bag. Have you noticed how they use one plastic bag for two items? Grrr. I'm sure it's because the plastic bags are so flimsy that they can't hold much.

But I digress.

Even though the resuable bags are fantabulous, they can get dirty and germy quickly. In fact, there have been reports showing how nasty the bags can get. People have gotten very sick from them.

Now, it's nothing to freak out about. There's a quick solution...just wash them in your washing machine!

I try to wash mine every other week, but more often if I've shopped for raw meat because...well raw meat is gross and can really make you sick.

I just toss them in the wash with our regular Shaklee laundry soap, add a 1/4 teaspoon of Shaklee's Basic G, and turn to the heavy duty setting. They air dry in less than 30 minutes... easy peasy!

Why use Shaklee Basic G over, say, bleach? Well Basic G is a concentrated germicide that is more effective and much safer than bleach.

• Basic G kills over 40 pesky microbes, including several animal viruses
• It keeps on killing germs longer than bleach does
• It's the safest disinfectant on the market
• It's one of the most cost effective disinfectants on the market. One quart can make up to 64 gallons of disinfectant for only $17.30 (member price!) How would 64 gallons of bleach cost?

Note: Basic G is super concentrated and comes full strength. If it were to be consumed, it is toxic by EPA standards. However, it is not nearly as toxic as other cleaners. When properly diluted, it is non-toxic.



Do you use reusable shopping bags? How often to you clean them?

How We Are Winning the War on Viruses

It's that time of year again. The time of year when kids come home with all kinds of ailments, usually the kind that you don't want to talk about in public. The kind that only happen in the middle of the night when everyone is bleary eyed and barely coherent. Why can't these types of viruses come to fruition at 1pm instead of 1am? Just sayin.'

Well, our littlest one got his first stomach virus the other day.  Normally, these types of viruses last several days with misery all around.

But, since we've been diligent about being a cleaner, greener family and looking more into homeopathic preventative measures, our family has been much healthier. And the times when one of us does get sick, it seems the length has been shortened greatly.

So, little buddy had his stomach virus and here's what we did to help him out:

1. Upped his daily pre and probiotics. We normally give him one serving per day but I just added an extra dose. 
2. Continued his daily multivitamin. We love Incredivites from Shaklee. It's the best on the market and it has lactoferrin, which helps build up the kiddos immune systems. 
3. Put an essential oil blend on his feet. The one we use is called Shield from Spark Naturals, but there are several other essential oil company's that have the same blend (Young Living, doTERRA). This blend wonderful germ-killing essential oil that has been proven to help kill airborne bacteria and boost the immune system. In fact, all four of us have been putting it on our feet everyday to help ward of any 'contamination' from the little one. :)
4. And sprayed everything he'd touched with Basic G. Love, LOVE Shaklee's Basic G! It kills over 40 microbes and is so much safer than your regular old bleach. Of course, we don't let our kids spray it around the house, but we don't freak out if they get their hands on it like we would if they touched bleach!

Feeling much better!

He was over the virus in about 12 hours. That's a record around here. I honestly believe it has to do with our change to our approach with keeping our family clean and healthy! 

Have you had the bug at your house? What's your go-to to keep healthy?

How I Clean Quickly and WITHOUT Toxins!

We are in the process of Shaklee-izing our home; in a nutshell, getting rid of all the toxic cleaners that we've been using for years. I'm talking about your 409's, bleaches, Lysol's, Clorox Wipes, etc. Why? Well, toxins are in all of these name brand cleaning products. 

 

Toxins = bad, bad, bad. They absorb into your skin, you can inhale them, you have to worry about your kiddos ingesting them on accident. Need I go on?

You may be thinking, green cleaning products = expensive or doesn't work. So not true with my Shaklee Get Clean products!

 

I have to admit, I was very overwhelmed at what to get when I started our Shaklee-izing journey. With the help of a friend, I decided to get the Get Clean Starter Kit. It has everything I need to get my entire home clean and toxin-free. I've been suggesting this to all my family and friends when they decide to join us on this clean, green adventure. Not one person has said they wish they hadn't chosen the Starter Kit. 

 

But I digress...

Here's the low down on the cost of the Get Clean line. One 16 oz bottle of Basic H Organic Concentrate costs $12.15. One 16 oz bottle of Mrs. Meyers Countertop Spray costs about $5.  What's the difference? That 16 oz of Basic H is going to make up to 48 GALLONS of all purpose cleaner! To get 48 gallons of Mrs. Meyers, you'd have to spend over $1900! That is crazy expensive!

Now about the thought that green cleaning products don't work. Not true. At least not with the Get Clean line. My husband (skeptic extroidinaire) has been very impressed with the quality of these products. I've even heard him recommend them to his co-workers! The Get Clean line really does work. And it doesn't take extra scrubbing to get it to work...it just does!

Let me give you a show and tell of how I quickly and greenly (is that a word??) clean our bathrooms. These products are so easy to use, that I just spray and wipe, spray and wipe!

Here's what I use every time.

• Basic H for the mirrors and the chrome faucets. This stuff works! No streaks! Just mix 2 drops of the concentrate into a 16 oz bottle. It only costs $.02 per 16 oz. Yep, that's pennies!
• With that, I use the Microfiber Window Cloth on the mirrors and chrome. It is wonderful. No streaks and I don't waste expensive paper towels! Woot!
• Scour Off is for the tub. I may or may not use it...depends on how much dirt my boys leave in there!  Scour off takes of rust, mold, hard water build up, and it smells like cherries!
• Basic G for all of the surfaces like the counters, the tile in the tub, and the toilet. It replaces bleach products and works so.much.better. For starters, it's not going to fry your nose hairs from the smell. Plus, it kills over 40 microbes that just lurk in homes. Just like Basic H, it's economical. One quart makes 64 gallons!
• Nature Bright Laundry Booster and Stain Remover. What? Laundry booster in the bathroom? Oh, yes. This handy dandy stuff cleans the commode. Leaves it sparkling white!  Just flush, add 2 scoops of Nature Bright, spray a little Basic G in there, give it a swirl with the brush, and flush again! 

 

And here are some before and after pics. 

SPOTTY

SPARKLY

SPOTTY

CRYSTAL CLEAR!

 I hope you found this helpful. Please visit my Shaklee site to see the products I mentioned!