‘Cleaning Closet’ Category

New Week, New Product

Monday, July 19th, 2010

Luckily, there are a lot of green products on the market nowadays, but one of the things that sets Eco Clean (check out their coupons!) apart is not only the fact that they’re non-toxic (and thus, safe for your children and pets), but  also their lovely packaging. Not only the way it looks, but the proportion. The spray bottles, for instance, are a bit smaller so they fit easier in your hand and the nozzle is more ergonomic, making it comfortable to clean. Not to mention the rainbow of colors make the process quite fun.

We recently tried the Spicy Lavender All Purpose Cleaner. The scent was divine and it worked as an all-purpose cleaner should. The product boasts an active eco booster to ensure an efficient and effective clean. What exactly is an eco boost? It’s a single natural amino acid that when added to cleaners, solubilizes dirt and keeps it suspended in the solution. That means it “boosts”  the cleaning properties significantly so that eco clean products work as well as traditional cleaners. Eco Clean products are also scented with essential oils, and are free of petro chemicals, of course.

Oh, and the packaging you won’t want to let go of is 100% recyclable when you finally do.  But we think you could probably re-use these bottles again and again, just like you’ll want to use Eco Clean again and again.

How to Control Your Allergies

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

Photo Credit: mcfarlandmo

Wisebread recently posted a great guide to how to reduce your allergies by cleaning… not the simplest of solutions and it’s certainly not always the most fun to spend a morning cleaning. But if it’ll help reduce the rampant sneezing and itchy eyes, it’s probably worth it, right?

Here are our favorite tips from their room-by-room cleaning plan to control allergies:

- Besides cleaning regularly, the author suggests that you wear a mask to protect yourself during the scrub-down.

- Keep your home free of clutter.

- Wash your sheets each week in hot water.

- Service your air and heating ducts and change filters as recommended by the manufacturer.

- Vacuum your mattress and box spring every six months. Use an anti-allergen mattress cover to prevent allergens and make for easier cleaning and maintenance.

- Wash bath mats and towels often. Do not let wet towels lay around.

- Remove carpeting and select hardwood or linoleum flooring.

- Invest in a bag-less vacuum cleaner developed to combat allergens.

- Dust the furniture and vacuum the floor weekly.

- If you have a fireplace, keep it clean and store wood outside to prevent mold.

How do you combat and control allergies?

What Bloggers Love: Sun & Earth

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

We’ve been asking some of our favorite bloggers what product they love. Downy Wrinkle Releaser got a vote last month. This month, we hear from Shannon Shaffer at For the Mommas:

My favorite item from Alice.com is Sun & Earth Laundry Cleaning Products, yes the entire line!  Alice offers the best price and is one of the only places that offers coupon on Sun & Earth. I love that Alice features great products that are environmentally friendly at an awesome price!

Thanks for sharing, Shannon! Be sure to check out her blog for everyday values for your family. She often posts great deals and yummy recipes!

How To Find Time To Clean

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that finding time to clean was among the big worries of those trying to juggle work and family:

One of the keys is not letting things get out of hand to begin with, since deep-set stains and caked-on residues are hard to clean.

Consider the refrigerator. No one wants to spend an hour on a Saturday scrubbing their fridge. And yet, as [a] Journal article from a few weeks ago points out, most Americans seem unwilling to tackle their grimy refrigerators and wind up scrubbing them down maybe once or twice a year.

To make the task less overwhelming, Debra Johnson, a training manager at Merry Maids LP, a cleaning service headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., recommends that people explore the depths of their fridges once a week for food that needs to be tossed. She suggests cleaning one shelf at a time so that the task is less overwhelming.

Personally, I often try to clean throughout the week, but I seem to always have the same amount to do by the weekend anyway. What about you? How do you find time to clean – and how do you make it efficient? Do you hire help?

New Week, New Product

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

Usually I add my own thoughts here, but I love Full Circle’s mission so much, I’m quoting it in full:

It’s a simple reality – our product choices are limited to what we can find on store shelves. And more often than not, products that are the most accessible aren’t always the most eco-friendly. Or good looking. That’s just the way it’s been for ages.

But the game has changed—with Full Circle’s line of stylish, functional products made from sustainable and renewable resources. Like scrub brushes with sleek, bamboo handles and sponges made from cellulose, a plant-based iber. We’ve even made pot scrubbers that fully biodegrade! (As you can see, we’re really into this stuff.)

Important behind-the-scenes changes are happening here, too—such as improved working conditions, cleaner manufacturing methods and higher environmental standards. Even our suppliers have come around to our way of thinking. (We’re kind of persuasive that way.)

At Full Circle, we believe in constantly striving to do things better. Because while there may be a finite number of resources in the world, there’s an infinite number of ways to use them more wisely.

And figuring out how to do that is what gets us up every morning.

Awesome, huh? And they’re right. That scrubber IS pretty.

Vote for your favorite paper towels, and win an Alice.com gift card!

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

All this week, we’re putting up your favorite household products to a vote. Help us celebrate 2009 by letting us know your opinion on the best household products of the year, from toothpaste to toilet paper.

Vote in the comments section of each category (we’ll have six all together; vote on round one of toothpaste here, round two of razors here, round three of coffee here), and each time you’ll be entered to win a $25 Alice.com gift card. Six winners will be notified and announced on Thursday, and we’ll also have another fun contest to top off all the fun.

In this fourth round of voting, tell us your favorite paper towels to use to wipe up messes. Can’t wait to win? Purchase gift cards for all your favorite friends and family, and give them the gift you know they’ll use.

bounty
viva

1. Bounty Basic

2. Viva


seventhgen
bounty2

3. Seventh Generation

4. Bounty

brawny
Your favorite isn’t here? Write it in!

5. Brawny

6. Other

Vote for your favorite brand in the comments below for your chance to win a $25 Alice.com gift card!

RULES
Winner will be awarded an Alice.com gift card with an estimated retail value of $25 dollars. Giveaway is open to legal U.S. residents 18 or older residing in the 50 United States (includes DC).  Void where prohibited.  Employees (and their immediate families and households) of Alice.com, Inc. are not eligible.  Giveaway entries will be accepted until Thursday, December 17th  at 12:00 pm (noon). Winning entry must provide a valid email address (Alice.com will never sell or rent your e-mail to third parties). We will notify the winner by email on Thursday, December 17th.  The winner will have 48 hours to respond to us with their name and valid U.S. mailing address.  If this information is not received within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen.  Odds of winning depend on number of entries received. Sponsor: Alice.com, Inc.

This giveaway ends Thursday, December 17th at 12:00 pm (Noon).

Can excercise make you less anxious?

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009


shoes

“For years, both in popular imagination and in scientific circles, it has been a given that exercise enhances mood,” the New York Times reports. And for years, cleaning my home has been the best exercise I’ve been able to fit in every week. I’ve found that not only does it get me up and moving, but I’m much more relaxed and de-stressed afterwords. No doubt due,  not only to the exercise portion of cleaning, but also to the de-cluttering and organizing bit as well.

Scientists are closer to beginning to see how this actually does affect the brain, specifically “how exercise remodels the brain, making it more resistant to stress,” the Times reports. “Anxiety in rodents and people has been linked with excessive oxidative stress, which can lead to cell death, including in the brain. Moderate exercise, though, appears to dampen the effects of oxidative stress.”

The positive stress of exercise “prepares cells and structures and pathways within the brain so that they’re more equipped to handle stress in other forms,” says Michael Hopkins, a graduate student affiliated with the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory Laboratory at Dartmouth. “It’s pretty amazing, really, that you can get this translation from the realm of purely physical stresses to the realm of psychological stressors.”

Just another reason to make sure everything is in it’s place… including those running shoes which belong on your feet, not the back of the closet. Let the exercise begin!

Do you feel de-stressed after exercising? What about cleaning? Do you feel the same affects or does a good run outweigh the benefits of a clean house?  How do you keep stressful situations to a minimum during this busy time?

Husbands, housework is key!

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

housework

Now here’s some good news for couples everywhere. According to the Wall Street Journal, a study of nearly 7,000 husbands and wives found that couples who vacuum together spend more time in the bedroom together.

“The study is actually just the latest of several on the link between scrubbing and shagging, but it’s the first to find that wives really, really dig it when their husbands help mop the floors, take out the garbage, pay the bills, iron laundry or drive the kids around town,” Reveries reports.

While some spouses were surprised by the results, other spouses said the results make sense: “Housework can be a proxy for one’s commitment to shared marital endeavors, several said. Also, the rewards of housework – a clean, calm home that is running smoothly – feed a sense of well-being and can help you enjoy your partner more. But this is true only to a point: When housework takes over the evening, even the most dedicated spouses risk letting their relationships slide, these spouses say,” the WSJ reports.

What do you think of this work hard, play hard theory? Does doing the housework together show that you’re functioning well in other areas?

New Week, New Product

Monday, October 19th, 2009

mrcleangloves

These Mr. Clean gloves are just right when you don’t want your hands to touch all the dirt and grime. The cleaning gloves are made from high quality natural rubber latex and have a special slip resistant formulation as well as hundreds of molded rubber grippers for maximum holding power. Soot and stains, watch out!

And in case you’re extra sensitive to staying clean, a long cuff has been added to provide greater protection to the forearm and a cotton flock lining has been added for comfort. Obviously, Mr. Clean isn’t about to let you down.

New Week, New Product

Monday, October 5th, 2009

garbage-disposal

I admit, this may seem like a boring product at first. But it’s so not.

First, let me explain. I can’t even tell you how many things I’ve put down my garbage disposal, either on purpose or by accident. I didn’t grow up with a garbage disposal so I didn’t exactly learn all the rules. Now, I more or less go by if you can chew it, you can dispose it. So, an olive pit couldn’t go down the garbage disposal by this rule, for instance. But that hasn’t stopped the olive pits, nor the numerous other food items that would have probably been safer or less smelly in the trash.

Anyway, so that’s why I like Disposer Care. It’s specially designed and tested to clean and deodorize your garbage disposer. There’s cool foaming action that strips away food particles, grease and odors, and leaves, of course, a kitchen-y lemon scent.

I’m not alone, right? What have you mistakenly put in your garbage disposal?

Copyright 2009 Alice.com