Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Get Clean

Maybe you have heard of Shaklee or perhaps you've tried their products before. Maybe you don't know a thing about Shaklee.

Four years ago I had just found out I was expecting twin girls. I found out on December 30th, 2005-my birthday! It was a shock and I was already 22 weeks along. Immediately, I was concerned about my added nutritional requirements since I was having two babies instead of one. I came across Shaklee's website and was impressed with the quality of their nutritional supplements. I used them throughout my pregnancy.

Recently, Shaklee introduced a line of cleaning products that stay true to the company's motto of "providing a healthier life for everyone and a better life for anyone." This is important to me, as I'm always conscious of what I am exposing my children to each day in the foods we eat, the things I use to clean our home, and even the toys in the playroom.

Recently I had the opportunity to try some of Shaklee's cleaning products in my home and I'm so excited to share what I found. If your New Year's plans include a bit of spring cleaning, you'll want to see this...



Perhaps the most exciting product for me is a little item called Germ Off Disinfecting Wipes. Disinfecting Wipes? In a house with 6 kids ranging in age from 7 to 1, this is a necessity. It's not often that a mother of twins is able to find time to sanitize her house on a regular basis. And then, what are you sanitizing with? Harmful chemicals? The old standby of vinegar and water? I'm a germophobe who recently mounted a hospital-grade sanitizer in her home. I take this stuff very seriously!

Shaklee's Germ Off wipes are convenient and they are safe. The wipes are easy to use and they pop up out of the dispenser for a fast wipe down of whatever germy surface needs attention. But they're bleach and alcohol free. They kill 99.9% of common household bacteria without exposing you to dangerous chemicals. Hello, funky toilet-you have met your match! A quick swipe with the Germ Off wipe and then dispose of the nastiness without ever needing rubber gloves or a face mask.

For those times when you don't need to kill germs and just want to wipe down a surface quickly and easily, there's Shaklee's Basic H2 Organic Cleaning Wipes. These wipes work on windows, counter tops, furniture, and even walls. And yes, I tried them in all of those places! These are the ultimate convenience item and are very handy to have in the car for quick cleanups. Because they're recyclable, biodegradable, and free of phosphates, I feel good using them too.


Shaklee has all of your household cleaning needs covered with their Basic H2 Organic Super Cleaning Concentrate. This concentrate can be diluted in various strengths depending on what mess you're trying to eliminate. You can purchase Shaklee's set of spray bottles for easy mixing. I prepared the different concentrations and then had them all ready to go for quick clean ups. This concentrate can clean your counters, degrease your microwave, wash your windows and mirrors, or even mop your floor. It's the ultimate all-purpose cleaner and it's perfectly safe to use, even for babies still crawling across the floors.

I refuse to post before and after pictures of my toilet, but I will share a before and after of my stove. I have no shame! I recently moved into a foreclosed home that was in need of some TLC. In short, the place was pretty icky. The kitchen was particularly offensive, and I'll admit that I haven't had time to give the stove top the proper attention it deserves. (Hey, my kids come first!) It wasn't dirty in that sense of the word, but there were burnt-on black rings on the ceramic cook top.
I took this photo when I'd already started cleaning the other burners, but you get the idea. It was pretty bad. I hate it when my house isn't spotless but 6 kids have caused me to reevaluate my priorities sometimes.

Receiving Shaklee's Scour Off cleaning paste was just the motivation I needed to finally tackle that stove top. And I didn't have to worry about toxic fumes when I did it.

Scour Off is a thick paste (with a mild, pleasant scent) that's made from mineral abrasives and biodegradable cleaning agents. It's safe for ceramic, cooper, grout, cement, and other surfaces so it's perfect for ovens, stoves, sinks, and tubs. It even removes rust! The best part is that it contains no bleach, chlorine, or dyes.

I applied the Scour Off paste to my stove top and with some gentle scrubbing I was able to remove every trace of burnt-on crud! Seriously, my stove is sparkling now! The difference is just incredible.
Next on my list was to do something about the pile of laundry that was threatening to overtake my tiny laundry room and overflow into my foyer and out my front door. Don't get me wrong, I do laundry every, single day of my life. However, with 6 kids and 5 wearing cloth diapers/training pants, I do a ton of laundry.

I was pleasantly surprised at how clean our diapers were when I used Shaklee's Fresh Laundry detergent. (Now, if I could just do something about our new washer that I absolutely hate!)Fresh Laundry is natural, biodegradable and contains no phosphates or chlorine. It's also concentrated and it's safe to use in HE washers (like mine.) This means that a little bit goes a long way. Our clothes are clean, smell fresh, and don't have chemicals in them that make your skin crawl. That's a good thing.
In addition to the regular laundry detergent, Shaklee also sells a stain-removing laundry booster, intended to replace bleach for clothes that need some extra cleaning power. (Boys' socks? Check.) Because it doesn't contain any bleach, Nature Bright is safe to use on colors and can even be used to remove stains from carpets and furniture. We tested it out on a spill on our beige carpet and I was quite pleased with the results!
Finishing out the laundry, I was able to try Shaklee's Soft Fabric dryer sheets. I don't usually use dryer sheets at all because of their icky ingredients. I use wool dryer balls for all of our laundry. The downside is that we do get some static when I wash a lot of fleece in the same load. Because the Soft Fabric dryer sheets are vegetable-based, I feel confident that they are definitely safe to use in our home. So I used them. And I loved them! They reduced that stubborn static when I was washing pajamas and for that I am eternally grateful. (I hate getting shocked-literally- when I'm folding laundry!)

Logically, after laundry it's time to do the dishes. Shaklee's got that covered too.

Unlike some other natural brands (who shall remain nameless) Shaklee's Dish Wash actually creates suds when you use it. And it smells great too! I have become increasingly frustrated with my other natural dish soap and using Dish Wash was a reminder of what I dislike. I want my soap to cut grease just like the big name soaps but without the phosphates and other scary ingredients. Why should I compromise quality for safety? Well now I won't!
Dish Wash is effective at cutting grease (I tested it on the grease trays from my husband's George Foreman grill!) and it's safe to wash the plates we eat off of too. It's also super concentrated because I only used a tiny drop to clean a whole pile of pots and pans. I could not find one bad thing to say about this soap!
I wash about 2-3 loads of dishes per day in my dishwasher. It gets a lot of use. I've been pretty pleased with our other natural detergent... until now. I had not really thought twice about the leftover bits of detergent that I usually need to rinse off of our glasses. With Shaklee's Dish Wash Automatic Concentrate, I didn't need to rinse the dishes after they came out of the dishwasher. They were clean! Now, if Shaklee would just make a liquid version I'd be smitten. I always seem to spill powder under my sink or on my wet hands but that could just be me and all of the distractions I have when I'm doing dishes.

At the end of the day, I have a new nightly ritual to unwind from all of the cleaning, laundry, dishes, and exhausting work caring for 6 young children. I rub my feet with Shaklee's Herbal Blend Cream. It's mentholated and it's not greasy so it's perfect for dry hands (we have hard water) and cracked feet (my last pedicure was in April 2009.) And no, I'm not going to post pictures of me rubbing my feet. You can thank me later.

If you are new to Shaklee, let me introduce you to Kim. She is a Shaklee distributor and you can read more about her, and why she uses Shaklee's products, at her website. You can meet her family (and her adorable daughter) at her blog. Right now (through January 16th) free membership is available on orders of 50 PV or more. You can order an entire Get Clean Starter Kit that includes everything you need to make your home sparkle and with it, you'll get a free Shaklee membership!

In more than 50 years of business, Shaklee has never had a product recalled. And they have a 30-day guarantee. And apparently, Oprah loves the Get Clean products too! So make your home cleaner and safer in 2010 with the Get Clean products from Shaklee!

If you'd like to win a free product from Shaklee, here is your chance! Just leave a comment telling me which one of the cleaning products is your favorite and why. For an extra entry, blog or tweet about the giveaway and leave a link in a separate comment. Giveaway ends on January 30, 2010.

Giveaway now closed! Congratulations to Jill (comment #16) for winning a Shaklee Get Clean product!



This is not a compensated review. I have used Shaklee's products before and loved them! I did receive free product samples for the purpose of completing this review.




17 comments:

  1. Great post, I also use wool dryer balls and we LOVE them! I bought mine from a mom at www.WoolDryerBalls.com and they are still going strong after a year and a half!!! They really have cut down on drying time and soften without softeners.

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  2. Oh, I've seen Kim's page before and have wanted to try this stuff, but was a bit wary of the cost. This would be a great intro to it! I'd probably want to start with the wipes - they seem the most practical to me.

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  3. I definitely need the Scour Off!! Go, Kim!

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  4. I'm interested in some new cleaners after having just moved into a new home. Thanks for the great review. I'm going to check our the website.

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  5. I am a Shaklee convert. It is soooooo worth it to get the whole Get Clean kit. Then just replace what you run out of. My littlest has terrible excema and is also very sensitive to laundry detergents and I can use these without irritating her. Also, I can keep her skin in check by giving her Shaklee's pro biotics. AMAZING products!

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  6. I'd like to try the Dish Wash. It is hard to find a natural liquid dish soap that works well and this sounds like it fits the bill. Thanks for the giveaway!

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  7. I tweeted: http://twitter.com/mamajourney/status/7597346154

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  8. I have asthma and would love to try some more natural products that would help my allergies! These seem like great alternatives.

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  9. I like the h2o wipes I bake a lot and ALWAYS wipe the counter down beforehand with clorox wipes but then I worry- what are the chances that bleach (or some other chemical) is getting into my made from scratch organic muffins? Or kneading bread on the counter ugh I cant stand the thought of all the chemicals that its absorbing! Takes the point away from the whole organic thing don't ya think?

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  10. I could TOTALLY use the Scour Off paste! Your stove top looks great...I need mine to look that way!

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  11. Out of all the products, the one that appeals to me is the scour-off paste. We are moving into a new house soon, and I want to start using eco-friendly products, as we will be living on well water and a septic system, so it makes me nervous using harsh, abrasive cleaners. What a perfect way to stock my new cleaning cupboard!

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  12. I would love to try the germ off wipes to start!

    Kathleen
    kathleenmires@hotmail.com

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  13. I'd love to try the detergent. I have an HE front loader as well. I love that we have nice smelling clothes but I hate that I know the smell is coming from chemicals. :(

    Lisa
    GoodsonFL@aol.com

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  14. I have not tried these products YET. Your review is good and helpful in making decisions on what to buy. I like the wipes--maybe it's because I use these so much with 4 kids.

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  15. I've never used the Shaklee products, but I've heard of them and have been interested in trying them out. I have 5 kids (6 and under), so I don't have a lot of time for cleaning and I've been using Lysol wipes, but I'm always weary of the chemicals in them. The Germ-off wipes look great! Thanks for reminding me of this product!

    -Kathryn

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  16. I've never used these products either, but the one you used on your cooktop is already my favorite :) My cooktop looks just like yours did and I'm so afraid to use most products on it.

    jillk77 at aol dot com

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  17. From the looks of the great job it did on that stove, I would love to try the Scour Off paste. I have a few spots on my stove that need some help.

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