Who's Yer Daddy????

Hi everyone!  I know its been awhile...I apologize..but my head is still not in the right frame of mind yet. I'm giving myself the rest of this week and then gonna smack myself into gear. Its all just been tough and so I've been just letting myself have the time to grieve, cry, laugh, read and catch up on household stuff.  I have a few posts I started typing up but couldn't finish because I was boo-hooing while typing...LOL...yup I really was.  So I will save those for next week when I think I can get them out of my head and onto the 'puter.

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Today I just have a fun little post and item that I wanted to share because I love it sooooo much!  My mom got me my first one last year after complaining about cleaning my awesome Dutch Oven pot.  I usually use baking soda paste and a cloth but it wasn't getting everything off.

So she sent me this lil' cutie---

Scrub Daddy

And it is GENIUS!  Have you tried it out yet?  Well we went from a family of 1 Scrub Daddy to a family of 8 hahahaha!  (I wish they came in different colors though...I should suggest that huh?)  I keep two in the kitchen, one in each bathroom and James has one in the garage for outside use.  It works on all kinds of things and really gets the yuckies off of everything.  And they are safe to use on so many household & outside objects.

Now the reason it has a smiley face...other than being cute, duh...is so you can insert objects and clean them on both sides really well.  For example you can run it over your sink faucets, sticky spoons, greasy tools, etc. You can also stick your fingers thru the holes to protect your manicure or to get a better grip...so cool right?  It also fits in small jars and such as well to really get them clean.  I also use one to clean off my produce...gets them clean quickly w/o damaging the veggies/fruits.  I keep the pot scrubber & fruit/produce ones in different places so I don't get confused...hence why I want different colored ones LOL.

They run about $5 and I've seen them everywhere from Home Depot, Target, Walmart to my local grocery store. But you can order them online as well.  

I just love them and for $5 its like a mini-cleaning miracle and who doesn't like those??

Honestly?

Keepin' It Clean!

I'm always looking for good cleaning products either in the stores, thru websites or how to make my own.  I'm big on using vinegar, baking soda and essential oils for a lot of things.   So I've been reading a lot about Jessica Alba's company she co-founded called HONEST Company over the past year and a half.  She's an actress if you didn't know with two daughters and while pregnant with her first she was dismayed by all the chemicals in the products she used.  So she teamed up with some people and created this company to promote good, clean living...no toxicity involved!

 **side note: I'm a total celebrity news junkie...I have gotten People Magazine since I was young and UsWeekly for about 10 years now. Its MY break from reality and just one of my interests, so shoot me!**

I was interested in trying out all the products because the reviews have been very good. So for a $5 investment I got a box of trial sized goodies to try.  For what I received I was pretty impressed with so I signed up for the regular shipments.  You can choose each month what you want for the price you are willing to pay and can cancel at any time.  So for the past few months I've been getting boxes of different products so I could test them ALL out.   Here's my personal reviews, I'm not paid for this nor did I get any of these for free...so its really my honest opinion on HONEST Company products :)

These were my favorite products below...there are MANY more including baby products which I did not test due to the fact I have teens and no babies LOL!

Honest Laundry Detergent

Riley and I both have very sensitive skin and we are allergic to a lot of topical things and harsh soaps.  AND I LOVE THIS DETERGENT!  Not really any smell to it which is nice and so far neither of us has had any itchy issues due to clothes.  And this is with a son who will break into a head to toe rash and hives from nickel buttons on his jeans (I cover them with medical tape on the inside to fix the issue).   So far its cleaned everything really well...no smells or stains left after the fact.

Stain Remover Spray

I have used Oxy Clean spray for a long time.  Problem is I have to wash the item twice if its my son's  (and 9 x out of 10 it is his clothes needing it) clothing because the Oxy Clean will give him hives.  So it worked but caused me double the work UGH.  Well this stain remover is pretty darn good and I've sprayed it on grease, blood, ketchup and mud stains so far with great results.  Best part is he's not allergic to it so only one time thru the wash...YAY me!

Multi-Surface Cleaner

I'm a wiper..an OCD wiper...my mom will confirm this LOL!  I have an issue with wiping counters down and my appliances...multiple times a day.  I cannot help myself..I do the bathrooms once a day as well.  It freaks me out to have dirty countertops that I cook on, or crumbs or grimy greasy handprints on my appliances...sorry NOT in my house lol.  So I go thru A LOT of counter sprays and I use mostly Method cleaners.   On my granite I usually use the Method Granite cleaner which smells like apples...mmmm love it!  But I've been using this as well and in my bathrooms too and it works great..doesn't leave a weird sheen on my counters which is good!

Healing Balm

I use a lot of Vaseline and Aquaphor for boo-boos, rashes, dry skin, lips and blisters.  They work, they really do but I really LOVE this healing balm because it smells nice, its not as greasy and its all natural...BONUS.  I am seriously allergic to zucchini leaves, weird I know...I can grow it and eat it fine but if the leaves touch me I break out into hideous rashes.  I was in the garden the other day and didn't have my gloves on and got some nasty "touching" with the zucchini leaves...UH OH!  I had a hot, feverish rash from my fingers to my shoulder that was soooo painful.  I washed it out good, pulled out the prickers and then applied this balm....OMGosh it helped so fast I was even amazed thank goodness.  Its also good for babies diaper rash...so I've heard...don't have any baby bums around me LOL!

Fruit & Veggie Wash Spray

Speaking of veggies, I also adore this Fruit and Veggie Spray.  It leaves NO odor or film on your food and best of all you can't taste it.  I've tried others out before that are currently on the marker and SORRY but I could smell and taste it and that's GROSS to me.  I just resorted to hot water and I have some friends that use hand soap...ewwww...I don't want to use soap.  But I do want my veggies and fruits from the store to be clean.  I don't use this on my homegrown veggies because I use no pesticides, I just rinse them good.  And I try to buy organic berries since they are harder to clean.  So if you need a good one this is it...really great!

Bug Spray

The bug spray has a great smell...doesn't make you smell like chemicals which I like and uses only essential oils and herbs.  It can be a bit greasy so go lightly on spraying and then you may want to rub it in good.  But I like it and it has proved effective against skeeters and gnats outside so far! So if you are looking for a DEET alternative you may want to try this.

Like I said they have lots of products and I also like the hand soap, dish soap and shampoo but feel that my Method soaps work just as well.  And I use a special shampoo on my hair that I love and its made for my icky fine hair so I won't get the Honest brand again although it worked ok.  I just got the dishwasher pods to try, we have hard water so it will be interesting to see how they do.  The sunblock was good as well and we used that on vacation...didn't irritate my son's skin which was nice but we only used it during walk-about times.  I like to use Neutrogena's Beach 70+ spf for pool and beach days as I know it always works well and my son and hubby are whiter-than-white.  I tan quickly but they just burn so we gotta have the very best coated on them LOL!

Anyway just my 2 cents on the Honest Company!  So if you've seen it and were curious the products are good.  Also check your local stores to see if they carry any if you don't want mailed shipments.  I see my Costco has the laundry detergent and I saw a few of the body products at Target.

Taking Care of Business!

 

Taking Care of Biznesssss!

Ahhhhh hahahahaha I'm not really talking about human kinda bizness but I am talking about kitty duty.  If you have cats then this post is for you.  If you don't then maybe this won't appeal to you so much LOL.  But after using this particular litter system for a few months and trying it out I felt the need to post SOMETHING about it for any of my readers that have cats.

I have 6 cats...that's a whole lot of litter and litter boxes.  We have 6 boxes in our house....two in the laundry room and 4 in our back basement.  I hate the smell of cat poo and urine so I'm always cleaning boxes...plus a few of my cats will stick their noses up like cats tend to do if the box is too dirty for them.  And I clean the boxes in the laundry room at least 2x a day if not more.  The basement boxes get cleaned once a day as they tend to only use those in the evening.

One thing about traditional boxes is all the litter they use each week between the litter that gets out of the boxes and the litter that you have to scoop to get the yuck out...AND they produce A LOT of litter dust.  I hate that...you always gotta dust and vacuum to clean it up...drives me crazy.  I don't want people to come in my house and immediately KNOW I have cats cuz of the smell so I'm a bit obsessive about it!

So when I heard about these litter boxes from Purina Tidy Cats called "Breeze" and saw they were running a special I decided to get one and try it.  I loved it so much that I now have 3 of them and 3 traditional boxes.  I priced it out as well to see how much we spend on litter and then how much this new system would cost us a month.  It ended up being $3 more a month for 3 of these boxes...which for the ease of them is worth every darn penny and NO SMELL...I love that!

So you have to buy the pellets, they are good for a long time...I change mine out once a month in each box.  I regularly rake them over the box to make sure they get dry...but they leave NO scent when the cats pee on them and NO dust.  The pee goes thru the pellets and thru the grate into a pad below that you need to change (easy to pull out and change) and the pad doesn't allow any smell to leak thru.  So you also need to keep the pads on hand as well.  I change the pads about once a week...I turn the pad around 180 degs in the middle of the week to make sure I get the whole pad used.  The boxes come with a special scoop so you can easily scoop the poop without taking all the pellets with it and the scoop hangs on the side of the box.

There is a $7 off coupon for the complete litter box set HERE...and if your store is like mine and has a SALE on the complete set they will allow you take the $7 off the SALE prize too...whoot!  That's the way to do it.  I got all mine at PetSmart but Petco, Target, Walmart, Amazon.com and other stores carry these if you are interested.

To get my cats used to the boxes I did as the company suggested...I put some pellets in their traditional boxes so they could smell them and get used to the feel.  Within the first day a few of my cats were already using them...and now they all use them.  I plan on replacing 2 more boxes with these and having just 2 traditional boxes.  I LOVE THEM...I love the no dust mess, the no smell factor and they are easier to deal with.  And with 6 cats and 6 boxes they make my life easier.

No I didn't get paid by Purina or receive a free box set...so this is NOT a paid endorsement LOL.  If you've read my other ScrapBitz blog over the past 5+ years you know I don't play that game.  If I don't love it or use it myself you will NEVER hear me talk about it...I am only interested in sharing things I love and that work well.  And I highly recommend this system for cat owners.

Au Naturel!

 My Quest to Lead a More Healthy & Natural Lifestyle Continues!!

Over the past few years I've been trying to live a healthier life, not just for myself but for my family, my animals and the world in general.  That doesn't just mean the food I put in my mouth but the things I clean the house with, use on the yard and things I use on my body.  I haven't done anything drastic nor have I tried to do it all at once.  If you try to do EVERYTHING all at once it usually just leads to disaster and frustration.  So every couple of months I try to integrate something new into the routine, something that is easy to follow through with and keep up AND see if its the right choice for me and my family.  There are lots of choices out there for organic and natural so you have to do the research and find what works for you the best. 

So I'm not saying WHAT I use is the best out there or what you should use...I'm simply sharing a few things that I have done that have worked pretty darn well.  And I'll share more ideas and things I've done every couple of weeks with you as well.  So if you want to slowly try to change certain things in your life you can follow along in your own way on this journey!

Vinegar

Let's start this segment with VINEGAR...the white distilled vinegar or apple cider if you prefer...you can buy it in gallon jugs at some stores and its cheap.  Or if you are adventurous you can make your own vinegar!  Vinegar kills 99% of bacteria and 80% of viruses and can kill mold...how's that for an all purpose-organic cleaner!! And you will be amazed at the things it can clean and do...all naturally without any nasty chemicals!!  Now nothing I'm going to tell you is new and some you might know, buttttt some you might not know & want to try...so here ya go :)  Yes you will have a slight vinegar smell but it goes away quickly so no worries there.  And if you love essential-natural oils you can add them to the mixtures too!

So get a few empty squirt bottles, some labels, vinegar of your choice and get ready!!

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Pet Odor Killer

And we need to start with animals...I have 8 of them currently...2 dogs and 6 cats.  So I know all about pet smells, vomit and accidents in the house TRUST ME!  For a long time I was trying every chemical there was out there to no avail and then I started reading what was in those products...EWWW-YUCKY...not good at all.  Then I read a tip by the one and only "Heloise"...remember her?  Yeah I love her, she's wonderful and she uses 95% only natural things to clean.  Well she recommend using vingar...the white distilled vinegar that you can buy gallons of for cheap and dousing the accident spots.  If accidents have taken place on carpet DAB up as much of the urine as possible with papertowels THEN spray the area with the vinegar mixture really good and dab up again.  Then use a medical syringe (the kind you give meds in and easily found at drugstores) to insert the vinegar down into the carpet pad.  It DOES smell like vinegar for a little bit but amazingly after it starts to dry it takes the nasty odors away with it and cleans it...voila...like magic I tell ya!  I have used a lot on past areas that even after having carpets cleaned just smelled a bit...and its a miracle I tell you!  If you have upholstery or dark colored carpet it most likely won't change or lighten the color BUT its always safe to try it in a spot first before going full on ok!
*I also clean around the litter boxes with vinegar-water spray and clean the outsides of the boxes with it. 

Bug and Spider Spray

Tis' the season for bugs...spring is coming and we have all sorts of fun spiders weaving webs and trying to get in the house.  Now I'm not squeamish about spiders or bugs and I usually leave most alone.  But we have HUGE wolf spiders here that hop...yuck...and well, they are just nasty.  If they are in the house or near me on the patio...I will take action.  Vinegar contains acetic acid which is non-toxic to humans and animals but not to buggeroos!  Mix equal amounts of vinegar and water in a spray bottle (label it) and spray on the spiders to kill or repel them.  You can also mix essential oils in the spray if you choose...eucalyptus or rose oil is toxic to spiders too and its smells good.  I have a spray bottle of bug killer that I leave on the patio when we are outside just in case ;)  AND guess what...ants don't like it either...so if you have an ant problem try spraying some vinegar/water down and see if that helps!

All Purpose Cleaner

I use equal amounts of vinegar and water in a spray bottle for all sorts of things.  I wipe up the inside of my ovens with it and I boil it in a dish in my microwave for 3 mins top get rid of all ickiness in the microwave.  The moisture and vinegar coat the microwave and allow you to wipe it down and get any grease off easily.  

*Fridge- I wipe down the insides of my refrigerators with the spray solution too...cleans AND gets rid of any icky odors.  If you mix vinegar with some baking soda and make a paste...well you can clean all sorts of things.  

*I clean the inside of my dutch oven pot with this paste to keep it nice and white and rid of stains.  

*I also scrub the bathtubs with this paste to clean any stains up and keep them nice and white. 

*Laundry - add a bit of vinegar to your wash cycles to keep your clothes nice and bright.  Also if your towels or any clothing has a bit of a musty odor even after washing...add some vinegar to the soak cycle...let them soap and wash them again.

*Hardwood floors - my go-to cleaner for cleaning all the hardwood in my house is a spray bottle of vinegar and water.  I use a micro-fiber mop to clean it up and it does a great job!

*as a glass cleaner...use 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water and a microfiber cloth (or newspaper but I for some reason cannot use newspaper to clean windows/glass, it gives me a creepy-ick feeling lol)...cleans them perfectly everytime.

*clean your iron of any white residue/mineral build up...add 1 part vinegar and the rest water to the steam receptacle and run the iron on steam till its all gone, then wipe down iron well.  Ta Da!!

*Toilet Bowl Cleaner- I haven't tried this yet but I have read you can put 1/2 cup of vinegar in the toilets, let it sit for 20 mins and then scrub and all clean.  I need to start doing this...I'm a bleach user in toilets but this is supposed to the same job...soooo its next on my list to try!

*Garbage Disposal - pour about 1/2 cup of vinegar in the sink drain/disposal and let it sit for about an hour...gets rid of any nasty odors down there...ewww!

*Baseboards - I wipe my baseboards down with my vinegar & water spray...cleans and brightens them and gets any weird dirt or odors off fabulously!

There are many more uses for vinegar around the house for cleaning purposes...I didn't list them all but I listed the ones I have tried with good success and do on a regular basis!

Beauty

Hair:  If you hair gets any kind of build-up...like mine does...because its very thin and we have hard water where we live.  Well you can add a bit of vinegar to equal amounts of water and rinse your hair out well and it will remove residue naturally.  What I did:  I bought an empty bottle at Target and added 1 part vinegar to 7-8 parts water and then added an essential oil (I like rose or citrus).  It softens my hair and gets rid of any residue from minerals or soap.  Its like magic I tell ya and cheap to make!!  It also makes your hair super shiny!  BONUS:  keeps hair color from fading

Pimples:  add some cider vinegar and water to a bottle and dab on pimples for a natural remedy.  I use half vinegar/half water in the bottle...more vinegar is too drying for me so you will have to sample what works best for you.  I dab it on in the morning and evening if I see a problem popping up and it works good.  I have sensitive skin and this is easy on my skin compared to over-the-counter products.

Hand De-odorizer:  I'm a Maryland girl...grew up near the Chesapeake Bay and I grew up crackin' & eatin' oysters and Maryland Blue crabs.  Every summer you will find me doing this OFTEN.  But dang it your hands will SMELL.  I've tried lots of things...but rinsing my hands with vinegar and salt gets most of the smell off for reals :)  Works on onion & garlic smells too!

Hand Scrub:  I have dirty fingers...shhhhh....I use Copic markers and ink every day...and some days I'm painting and using stains...so my fingers and nails always look...ummm...colorful LOL!  I read this tip about a year ago and had to try it out because I was using just alcohol on my hands to clean the stains off and its SOOO drying ugh.  So fiddling around the internet I read this recipe and decided to try it and VOILA it works pretty darn good.  Cornmeal, vinegar and water and some sea salt...mix in a bowl to form a paste and scrub fingers and nails with it.  I leave it on for a minute or two and rinse off and repeat.  My hands are soft and 90% clean of the stains...win/win for me!

Bug Bites:  dab vinegar on bug bites to stop the itch AND repel other bugs!!  YAY!

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So there you go...a little look into my vinegar fascination and how much it can do!  I simply love it and feel so much better about cleaning with it knowing its all natural.  You can google other uses for vinegar and Heloise has more tips on her site as well for things that I probably haven't tried or needed LOL.  

This is just one small way I've been incorporating healthy-all-natural products into my routine!  I will share more things I have done in my journey the past few years with you in another post...stay tuned!

Are there things you have done to cut down on the chemical-product-usage in your house for cleaning??

I'd love to hear!