Yoreganics Review and Giveaway {CLOSED}

Congratulations comment number 17!

Being Eco-Friendly is very important to me as is getting rid of toxic, harmful chemicals in my cleaning products. After realizing what some of the ingredients in traditional laundry detergent are doing to our envirnment I started searching for an organic alternative for our clothing. I was lucky enough to find Yoreganics and Kim sent me a sample of her products. I received her Yore Laundry Sampler Trio (which contains soap nuts, Stain Remover, and Brighten and Whitens) and a tube of Lip Balm.
When I received the package my first thought was "Aww, how cute and tiny!" Everything came in this little drawstring sack and I thought it was such a cute packaging idea. It turns out that it wasn't just a packaging idea, it was a vital part of the sampler. Before I go on I must confess something. I had no idea what soap nuts were when Kim offered to send me the sampler. I THOUGHT I knew--in my mind I pictured an acorn (hey it's a type of nut!) shaped solid soap. Don't ask me where these crazy notions come from! When I opened the package I was so surprised to find something that looked like a bunch of dried cranberries. Luckily Kim includes a great little piece of paper explaining what the cranberry looking things are. Soap nuts fall from the Soapberry tree (sapindus mukorossi) found in Northern India and Nepal. The outer shells of these dried fruit berries contain saponin, which creates a natural soap when agitated in water. To use them you put a few in the drawstring bag and toss it in the washer. When you put the clothes in the dryer you take the bag out and set it aside for the next load. After a few washes you toss out the used berries and replace them with fresh. Some awesome things about Soap Nuts are that they are USDA Certified Organic: no nasty chemicals,Eco-friendly: sustainable & biodegradable, Economical: less than other detergents, Antimicrobial: great for septic & grey water systems, and A natural softner: no need for fabric softener/dryer sheets. I tried them for several loads of laundry and they did everything they promised! My clothes came out scent free, soft, and clean. I did worry that I would forget the bag and toss it in the dryer but that didn't happen.

Since the Brightens & Whitens claimed to be cloth diaper safe I decided to put it to the ultimate test. I won't go into details but I will say that prune juice stains cloth diapers. The stains drive me crazy but I didn't know what was safe to use on the diapers to get the stains out. I used some in my cloth diaper laundry and my microfiber came out bright and white like it had spent hours in the sun. I didn't notice any problems with my diapers like repelling after using it so I think it is safe to say it works great!

I haven't used the Stain Remover much but for the minor stains I've had crop up it has worked just fine. I really like the lip balm. It is a nice texture, not too creamy or sticky and not waxy. I love that it is organic. Since you basically eat lip balm each time your tongue touches your lips I really like knowing that it is organic and chemical free!

Kim at Yoreganics was great to work with. Her shipping time was literally next day for me. She is a real mom who has seen the effects of toxicity first hand and sought to create a better, safer alternative. I would recommend her products to anyone looking for a more natural, organic approach to life.

Kim is giving one of my readers the opportunity to WIN the same sampler trio that I received. That's three of her great laundry products (Soap Nuts, Stain Remover, and Brighten and Whitens) and a Lip Balm. The contest is open to all US addresses, must be 18 to enter, void where prohibited. The contest will end on Thursday, April 29, 2010 at 11:00 PM. One winner will be selected using random.org. Please leave a separate comment for each entry. Please make sure to leave your email address in your comment so I can contact you if you win.

Mandatory Entry: Sign up to follow my blog then visit Yoreganics and come back and leave me a comment telling me something you liked or learned on the site.

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I've found my "green" cleaner! BioKleen Cleaners Review

Since I've had Avin I've been searching for "green" or natural cleaning products. The search has been frustrating to say the least. I thought I had found a good product at one point only to discover after using it that it contained ethanol (same as E85 gas!). (See my previous Clorox Greenworks post for more info) I've kept up the search and I have finally been rewarded!!! I received Lavender-Lime Bac-Out Bathroom Cleaner, Citrus Essense Bac-Out Multi-Surface Floor Cleaner, Spray & Wipe All Purpose Cleaner, & Bac-Out Stain & Odor Eliminator for review. The first thing I liked about Biokleen was their history.

According to their website:

Jim Rimer founded Biokleen in 1989. As a previous sales representative of cleaning chemicals in the commercial and industrial industry he became more and more aware of the dangers of the products he was selling and the ingredients they contained.

He saw first hand his chemicals were creating health problems for his customers, causing negative effects - including cancer - on families and pets in the homes and businesses where these supplies were being used. Jim was selling poison and this realization shook him to the core. Jim's drive to take a stand and make a difference helped motivate him to study chemistry. With his newfound knowledge and driven passion he formulated his first cleaner using natural, non-toxic ingredients. Today Biokleen continues to develop and create innovative products, which still measure up to Jim's beliefs and standards:

•Effectiveness
•Concentration
•Non-Toxic
•Environmentally Safe

I couldn't wait to try out the cleaners when they arrived. The first one I tried was the Lavender-Lime Bac-Out Bathroom Cleaner and it worked so well! My sink was covered with globs of toothpaste and liquid handsoap when I walked in with the cleaner in hand. Usually I have to spray the sink down, let it soak, wipe it out, and then scrub it down. I spritzed the cleaner all over the bowl of the sink and wiped it with my rag immediately just to see what would happen. I couldn't believe my eyes when the area I wiped immediately came clean. One quick swipe and all the toothpaste and soap residue were gone! I used it to clean the seat of my toilet bowl, my shower, and my sink and counter. Everything came clean so easily! It didn't seem to do anything about my hardwater build up on the shower walls but then again nothing does! The smell of the bathroom cleaner was unusual. It wasn't overly strong but it was different and I could never decide if I liked the smell or not. It wasn't a bad smell, just different.

I use a swiffer sweeper on my hard floors and I usually have to use at least 2 swiffer pads on my kitchen floor when I mop because they become so soaked from the swiffer solution. My normal mopping routine is to wave the swiffer around and spray solution in a wide path in front of the mop, let it set for a minute, then mop. I usually end up spraying spills or heavily soiled areas again and using the scrubber pad on the side of the swiffer to scrub them up. The Citrus Essense Bac-Out Multi-Surface Floor Cleaner comes in a spray bottle so I decided that I would try it out with my swiffer instead of using the swiffer solution. The spray that comes out of the bottle is a wide, light mist. I sprayed the area in front of the swiffer then ran it across the floor and the floor came clean. I didn't have to let the solution soak on the floor, I didn't have to scrub, I just sprayed and mopped. It was so easy that I was halfway done with the kitchen before I realized that I was mopping left handed (I'm a righty!). Mud, babyfood, and anything else that was on the floor didn't stand a chance against this cleaner. The spray is so fine that the floor barely gets wet, and it is so concentrated that I didn't have to soak the swiffer pad to get the dirt up. It left behind a light citrusy scent on my linoluem. The best thing about it was that I didn't have to worry about any chemicals if Avin crawled across the floor!

While I was in the cleaning mode I tackled the kitchen with the Spray & Wipe All Purpose Cleaner. My husband had tried to be helpful and cook dinner for me. While I appreciate the gesture he does have a habit of getting as much food on the stove as he does the plate. His pots boil over, he doesn't use a spoon rest, he drips sauces when he dishes it out. After he's done cooking it looks like the kitchen exploded. When I set out to clean the kitchen I expected to be scrubbing for at least 20 minutes on the stove alone. WRONG! I sprayed the cleaner on the stove and then immediately tried wiping the stove. The food started coming up instantly--even the boiled on, cooked on, baked on food remains. There was no spraying and letting it soak and then coming back to scrape it off like I've had to do with other cleaners. I gave it a light spray and wiped-the end. The kitchen smelled so yummy and clean!

I was practically dancing with joy because I had shaved a good 20-30 minutes off my normal cleaning routine since I didn't have to practice what I call "spray and wait". Since I had some extra time I headed into the bedroom to try the Bac-Out Stain & Odor Eliminator. We had a cat who in her old age (10 years) got the carpet confused with kitty litter. I had several spots near the litterbox that she peed on and soaked the carpet. I've steam cleaned using every product imaginable, I've tried carpet powders, spray on foams....the works and I cannot get the horrible cat urine smell out of the carpet. I figured that it couldn't hurt to try one more product. I read the directions and sprayed the carpet down with the Bac-Out and set my timer. When I came back in the room smelled disgusting! It was a mixture of citrus and cat urine. Gross! As the carpet dried the smell faded away. I got down on my hands and knees and sniffed the carpet and the cat urine smell had definitely decreased but it still wasn't gone. The bac-out warns that it may take repeated treatments to completely eliminate the smell. I gave it a second dose and once again the room smelled horrible while it dried but once it did the carpet smelled better. I think a couple more treatments and the smell will be gone completely from my carpet. The end result of clean smelling carpet is well worth the temporary gross smell that comes from the bac-out's live enzymes digesting the pet waste.

Frankly before trying BioKleen I expected to be disapointed again. Boy was I wrong! These products exceeded my expectations by a mile. I can't wait to try the Dishwasher detergents, fabric refreshers, and toilet scrub! I recommend these products to everyone now! At about $6-$9 per bottle these cleaners are very affordable. They are super concentrated so you get a lot of cleaning power out one bottle. The fact that there are no harsh chemicals and that it is completely safe for the baby, the dog, and the earth makes me feel so good about using these products.

Go to biokleenhome.com to see their entire line of eco-friendly cleaning products. You can also fan them on Facebook or follow them on twitter to stay up to date on their great products.

Happy Cleaning!

Part 2: Mothering Magazine Review and Giveaway {CLOSED}

Congratulations to entry # 21! Mothering magazine is unique because they don't just publish a magazine, they support a community. That may sound crazy but it is true. Mothering magazine was created to help the natural family community and they still do today through both the magazine and their online community. Friends in my Mindful Mothers group led me to Mothering Magazine because they had found it to be a non-judgemental source for quality information about natural family choices such as homeschooling and homebirthing. I've found that the magazine covers a wide variety of topics such as circumcision, vaccinations, organic foods, childhood illnesses, home birth, and midwifery.

I've found tons of information, not just opinions, on the things I am curious about. The magazine does have quite a few ads in it but they are all geared towards shops offering items that support natural parenting such as cloth diapers or slings. Normally ads in magazines just tick me off but I actually enjoy these because in Mid-Missouri our sources for those types of things are very limited. I love that they have both a print and online option for subscription. I use the online option to save a few trees and I love it. It comes straight to my email inbox and I can open it and read it as I have time. It looks identical to the print copy, you can adjust the zoom and style of page view.

I also love their website and online community. They offer tons of resources and information on a variety of topics. It is also great place to connect with like minded moms! It is so nice not to constantly worry that someone is going to flip out about my natural parenting choices.

Mothering Magazine has an awesome special going if you want to subscribe right now! Subscribe today and get:

• FREE 1-year Digital Subscription
• FREE coupons worth more than $100 in savings
• FREE membership in MotheringDotCommunity

Subscribe for just $19.95!

As if that deal wasn't awesome enough they are also offering one of my lucky readers the chance to win a one year subscription FREE!

To enter to win you must first sign up to follow my blog via google friend connect (on the right side of my blog) Then go to the Mothering Magazine website and then come back and leave me a comment telling me something you learned about the magazine or a topic related to natural families. Please make sure you leave your email address in your comment so I can contact you if you win. Giveaway ends Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 11:00 PM CST. Winner will be chosen using random.org. Open to US residents only.

Follow Mothering Magazine on facebook and twitter.

3 Part "Natural", "Green", "Organic" Living Magazine Series

I am putting together a series of posts on magazines that have helped me to educate myself about being more natural, organic, and eco-friendly. The magazines that I will feature have helped me to learn more about different non-mainstream view points and helped me to educate myself on the choices available to me. I want to share these resources with you. The viewpoints represented in the magazines are not necessarily my viewpoints. Each of the three magazines has generously agreed to giveaway a subscription to their magazine. If after reading my review you feel like you'd like a subscription (or a renewal!) to that magazine please feel free to enter the giveaway. Please refer your friends who might be interested too! I am always looking for great magazines that share my common interests so if you read another magazine that you think fits with being green, breastfeeding, cloth diapering, or babywearing please comment and let me know what it is!