Thursday, April 11, 2013

Enviro-maids wish

Help enviro-maids with our wish!!

Eat your fruits and veggies but be careful what you buy!

I admit...I am a lazy blogger. I mostly just cut and paste links that i find useful or helpful to people. Having a small business in the cleaning industry, i am just so dang busy with no time to do what i love! Frankly, i love writing but i have forgotten how over the years because i have been too busy since i can remember. Today was supposed to be a massive ice storm which caused me to cancel all my cleans for today (major cash loss by the way) and as it turns out, it is a really nice day. It has, however, allowed me some time to sit in front of my computer and while perusing facebook, i came across an article regarding certified organic products
http://eartheasy.com/blog/2013/04/certified-organic-what-does-it-mean/

 I took the time to read it and so should you! With all of this awareness of GMO'S and PESTICIDES, you would think i would buy strictly organic but for some reason i always just reach for whatever is there. I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary/ and i will definitely start paying attention from now on to these particular items. I remember growing up and never having intestinal issues until i hit about 30 years old. Now i am 44 with all sorts of problems. I guess some of it can be linked to stress but i am starting to wonder if the food i have been eating over the past 15 years hasn't caused some of the problems i and apparently tons of other people are having with irritable bowel etc. http://bodyandhealth.canada.com/channel_condition_info_details.asp?disease_id=169&channel_id=42&relation_id=10900
It shouldn't be this common! 20% of the population affected?? Caused by eating?? crazy eh!

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Problems getting hard wood floors shiny again?

Every day i seem to get asked the same question. "What can i use on my hardwood floors that won't streak and requires less effort"? It's time you bought yourself a Norwex mop system. $123.99 plus HST and your worries are over. I can personally vouch for this product because i use it in my cleaning duties every day. I have clients with large beautiful homes. Ones where you wouldn't want to be responsible for damaging their floors yikes! We also had a grueling challenge on construction cleans after the trades have all made a disaster of the hardwood floors and it is all up to http://enviro-maids.ca/ to make those floors gleaming for the customer when they walk into their shiny new 'just built' homes. Nothing i tried worked on the floors until i found Norwex. Now all i have to do is vacuum up the drywall dust and debris, run the dry mop pad over the floor to catch all the fine dust that the vacuum leaves behind and then spray on warm water and use a wet mop pad to finish. Three easy steps and it only needs to be done once if you can believe, even after all that mess. Before Norwex i had to do floors 3 to 5 times to make them ok and they still didn't look like they do with Norwex. Of course i am also impressed with the money i save, not needing to buy chemicals any more. Water is all you need! Click on the link to find out more. You can buy directly from this link or just call me and i will demo the mop system for you that is of course if you live in the Owen Sound area. 

http://www.norwex.biz/PublicStore/stores/lisaproctor/catalog/Floor-Systems,199.aspx

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Happy to be joining the fabulous women of the Expo on April 27. We will be selling soap nuts (all natural from nature-no additives) cleans your laundry without putting chemicals back into the environment! http://www.buysoapnuts.com/

www.buysoapnuts.com

We will be selling these soon. As seen on CBC's Dragons Den check out our new storefront coming soon at 1095 1st Avenue West, Owen Sound ON. Call for details 519-373-9628www.buysoapnuts.com

Soap Nuts - When to Refill?

So you're trying out those soap nuts you just bought and doing back-to-back loads, smiling with satisfaction at seeing your whites looking great, that those stains really are coming out, and now you're smiling extra big and closing your eyes as you take that first whiff after pulling your clothes out of the dryer...Ahhhh...So Fresh...

 

...And then you give yourself an imaginary pat on the back as you realize you have acheived Total Laundry Awesomeness AND you're protecting your family (and the environment) from unnecessary, harmful chemicals, ALL while saving money too!...WOW!  Now you find yourself holding your chin a little higher thinking, I believe I deserve an award...or at least a Superhero cape...


BUT THEN...you get distracted by the phone, your kids, meals, chores, you know...Life!  And you realize you've lost count of how many loads you've washed with this bag of nuts...OH NO!...
OR
You've happily completed your laundry duties and hung them up to dry until the next laundry go-round.  And here it is, laundry time again, but you realize you've forgotten how many loads you washed with this bag last week...YIKES!...
DON'T WORRY
You DO deserve an award (or at least a cool cape) for making the decision to use soap nuts for your laundry AND you don't need to fret just because you've lost count of how many loads you've done with this wash bag.  BECAUSE luckily, there are 3 quick and easy ways to check if your soap nuts need to be replaced or not:
  1. Feel Them (quick & easy way) 
  2. Look At Them (great way)
  3. Squeeze the Bag After Soaking in Water (best & easy way) 
So let's take a closer look at each one of these.
FEEL THEM 
WET:  Squeeze the bag and check how they feel.  If you're checking them while they are still wet, you'll notice they do soften a bit after every load and that is normal.  But do they feel mushy and considerably thinner or do they feel about the same thickness and still fairly firm?  If they feel mushy and thinner all over with no firm spots left, then it's time to discard them and refill with new ones, but if you can still feel firm spots then they likely have more life left in them.
DRY:  If you're checking them after they've dried out, you'll notice they do harden back up again.  But do they feel noticeably thinner, lighter and more fragile or do they feel about the same thickness and hardness? If they feel thinner, lighter and more fragile then it's time to discard them and refill with new ones, but if they still feel fairly thick and substantial then they are ready to go for more loads.
LOOK AT THEM
If you're still not sure, you can open the bag and take a look at them.  Do you notice any lighter tan/gray color around the edges of the individual nuts?  How much of the nut has changed color? If you notice a lighter tan/gray around the edges of the nuts, then they still should have some washing power left, but if you notice the whole soap nut has turned to this lighter tan color then it's likely they've given all they got and it's time to refill.


 
 Soap Nuts Before First Wash
  • uniform dark color
  • firm, hard, heavy   
                                                                                                                             
 



Soap Nuts After 6th Wash
  • Thinner, lighter, more fragile, mushy when wet
  • light tan color over all/most of each nut






SQUEEZE BAG AFTER SOAKING
The third way to know for sure whether your soap nuts can do another load or not is to squeeze the wet wash bag and check for suds.  If you just finished a wash load, then grab the bag and hold it under running water to thoroughly saturate it (or soak it briefly in a small bowl), then pull your hand out of the water and squeeze the bag.  Do you see tiny white bubbles coming out around your fingers? Or are the bubbles more clear looking, large and weak, popping right away?  If you see tiny white bubbles forming, then you're good-to-go for another load, but if the bubbles appear clear, larger, weak, fewer in number and popping right away, then it's time to reload with a fresh batch of soap nuts.
 
 
Sudsy Bubbles = Good for Another Wash
 
Weak/No Bubbles = Refill Bag

So there you have it...3 quick and easy ways to tell when it's time to refill your soap nuts wash bag!  Are you ready to try washing with soap nuts yet?
What are your soap nuts stories and experiences?  Is there anything else you need to know about them before you give them a try?  Would you like to know more uses for them?  Would you like to see progressive pictures of what they look like after 6 washes (I have pictures!)?
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081120171325.htm
LACTIC ACID is contained in CLR BATHROOM & KITCHEN CLEANER
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/health/science/enviro-health-policy/canada-must-act-on-toxic-cleaning-product-ingredients/
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/queen-of-green/2012/04/are-your-home-cleaners-hiding-something/
Put orange peels in a jar, fill with vinegar, let sit for 2 weeks and presto, you have natural all-purpose cleaning solution. Transfer to a spray bottle and enjoy a clean fragrant home.

China Smog

http://www.voanews.com/content/china-fog-masks-factory-fire/1583948.html
www.collective-evolution.com/2012/04/09/epa-approved-gmo-insecticide-responsible-for-killing-off-bees-puts-entire-food-chain-at-risk/