It’s finally Friday y’all! The first week of 2017 had been so busy and I still feel like I’m not getting anything done! I’m hoping to get things caught up this weekend, but life sometimes has other plans, so we’ll see. 🙂
At the beginning of the year, many people start cleaning up and clearing out clutter. I thought it was a good time to talk about the cleaning products I use and how I’m “keeping it clean”. It will also give me a chance to tell you more about one of my favorite companies – Grove Collaborative. These are cleaning products that make me excited to clean – which is a good thing since I’d rather be sewing! This is a long post, so you may just want to skip to certain rooms! Who knew I had so much to say about cleaning?
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links which means I may receive a small commission if you buy something through my link or ad. This does not change your cost it just helps keep this blog running. Thanks for your support! See Privacy Policy for more information.
Grove Collaborative
Let me first say, Grove Collaborative is not my affiliate! They do have a “tell a friend” program that gives new sign ups a $10 credit and the referrer a $10 credit. This is where all the links for Grove Collaborative lead. So, if you decide to sign up, you’ll get a $10 credit and so will I. I call that a win-win! I have really enjoyed their service and wouldn’t recommend it otherwise. They even write “Thank You” on the invoice! How many companies still do that?
I had wanted to move to more natural cleaners for awhile. Since I live in a relatively small town, the choices for natural cleaners are slim to none and pricey. I use baking soda and vinegar to clean, but I was missing some good smells! The smells in the regular cleaners always irritate my sinuses. I can’t even wear perfume because I get a headache by the end of the day!
At the beginning of last year, when I was perusing the web looking for “new year” deals, I came across a blogger promoting Grove Collaborative. There was a New Year special going on for their VIP program and I thought why not! Let me tell you I have not been disappointed yet! I’ll tell you some more about their VIP program (it’s the bomb!) below, but first let me share my favorites room by room!
The Kitchen
The kitchen is where I spend a good bit of time – cooking and cleaning. Since I don’t have a dishwasher (sigh), I have to wash my dishes by hand. This takes a toll on your hands! Using harsh cleaner is not an option for me, but I still want my dishes clean.
Here are my essentials for kitchen cleaning:
- Mrs. Meyers ~ My favorite dish soap! It comes in amazing scents, gets my dishes clean, and isn’t rough on my hands. My favorite scent is honeysuckle. They had an orange scented one through the holidays that I loved, but it’s only available during the holidays. Bummer!
- Mrs. Meyers all purpose spray ~ For wiping down counters and it also comes in some great scents!
- Bon Ami cleanser ~ Great for cleaning stainless steel as well as my enamel coated cast iron.
- Grove Collaborative’s scrubber sponges – These have a scrubby side and a sponge side and are made to last.
- Be Good dish brush ~ I like to use this for cleaning my non-coated cast iron and stone ware. The end of the brush (which you can’t see) has a built in scraper. This is really useful for cleaning pizza stones.
- Full Circle vegetable brush ~ This is a new purchase I just got with my new shipment. I needed a new one, since my husband decided it was better to it to scrub his work hands with! This one is beautiful and I’m sure it will work just as well as the dish brush.
- Latex gloves ~ Also a new purchase. I don’t like wearing gloves because it’s just hard to feel what you’re doing. There are some things that I don’t want to touch, so gloves are required! These feel softer than the ones I usually purchase, so hopefully they will work!
The Bathroom
This room is the place I dread cleaning the most! I have a husband and a teenage son that seem to think we only have one bathroom (we have 2). It seems like I clean it at least twice a week!
- e-cloth ~ These cloths are designed to clean with just water! They are great for quick clean ups between deep cleans and as a dust cloth.
- Mrs. Meyer’s hand soap ~ This works just as well as the dish soap for cleaning hands.
- Method toilet cleaner ~ I use this in between deep cleans to keep the toilet fresh. Baking soda and vinegar are my choice for deeper cleaning.
- Seventh Generation all purpose concentrate ~ I use this with the glass spray bottle (by Grove Collaborative) to mix up cleaner for bathroom surfaces. I didn’t notice until after I took the picture that it is no longer available! There are other concentrates available and this is great for keeping a larger amount of cleaner on hand in a smaller space.
Laundry
My washer and dryer are located in the bathroom everyone wants to use. It’s a small space, so I like my cleaning products to take up less room. This is something I’m still working on! I had a stockpile of cleaning products that I’m slowly working through to be replaced with the more natural ones.
- Method 8x laundry detergent ~ This works well for cleaning everyday laundry. It has a pump that makes it even easier to use. I’m still looking for something that works a little harder to clean my husband’s work clothes!
- Method dryer sheets ~ Method used to have a dryer activated spray that I loved, but it’s no longer available. Story of my life! These sheets can be torn in half for smaller loads and I love the scent.
- Dryer balls ~ I forgot to add these to the picture! The ones I have are the poky looking ones, not the wool ones. They are great for drying towels and sheets faster.
I hope to put up a clothes line this spring to reduce dryer use during the warmer months.
Living Rooms and Bedrooms
These are items I use to try to keep my house smelling fresh. Besides the husband and teenage son, I also have two dogs that are big couch potatoes!
- Mrs. Meyers room freshener ~ This is great for giving rooms a little boost between cleanings. A little is all it takes!
- Mrs. Meyers basil candle ~ I haven’t actually burned this yet, but it smells amazing! It was one of my free items with the VIP perks!
- scented baking soda ~ This is something I make and use a carpet/furniture freshener. I usually add 1/2 baking soda and 1/2 borax, and several drops of essential oil to a mason jar and shake. You can find the shaker lids here. Citrus and mints are my favorite essential oils for cleaning.
Personal Care
Grove Collaborative also carries natural health and beauty products. These are some I use regularly and I have just discovered!
- Seventh Generation facial tissues ~ These are surprisingly soft for recycled paper! I get one of these almost every month, especially during cold season.
- Grove Collaborative lip balm ~ This extra large lip balm is always in my purse. I’ve noticed it’s not available and I will be contacting them about it because it’s their brand. Geesh!
- Grove Collaborative hand cream ~ I got this with my last shipment for FREE! I like it so much, it’s now in my purse too!
- Grove Collaborative hand sanitizer ~ I don’t usually like hand sanitizer because of the alcohol smell. This item came up in one of the emails I get as a special offer and I decided to give it a try. It has joined the other items in my purse!
VIP Program
There are many perks to joining Grove Collaborative‘s VIP Program. You don’t have to join to buy their products, which are always discounted, but the rewards out weigh the cost, in my opinion. For $39.95 a year this is what you get:
- FREE shipping ~ No matter how large your order is!
- FREE full size gifts 5 times per year (about every 75 days) — well over $35 in value! Like my awesome candle and hand lotion.
- Customized specials for the VIP community.
- Access to a support hotline which gets you extra-double-super-fast responses
- And for each VIP member, they donate 100 square feet of rain forest.
Like I said, worth the money!
Sorry this is such a long post! Guess I had more to say about cleaning than I thought! Y’all have a great weekend and stay warm!
