"The Accidental Housewife" Julie Edelman & the "Mr. Clean Team" Get Times Square #NewYearsClean!

This post has been written as part of a sponsored campaign for MSLGroup and their client Mr. Clean®. All opinions expressed are my own.

Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images

If you've ever rung in the New Year in New York City's Times Square or watched the ball drop on television, then you must know that this celebration is one of the biggest parties of the year.  Have you ever wondered how the city recovers after such a celebration?  Well, Julie Edelman (of The Accidental Housewife) and her team of 25 Mr. Clean ambassadors know first hand.  Around 4am, after 20+ trucks, about as many mechanical sweepers, and even more backpack blowers removed up to 50 tons of debris, Edelman and the "Mr. Clean Team" took over to make sure Duffy Square's Red Steps were clean for those who visited on the first day of the year.  Their tool of choice was Mr. Clean® Liquid Muscle™, a brand new multi-purpose concentrated cleaning gel.

If you hate cleaning up after parties, then you may cringe to think about what types of messes were left behind after this one.  This new product was ideal for this daunting chore because Mr. Clean® Liquid Muscle™ has 2.5 times more power in every drop vs. Mr. Clean 40oz.  If you're already a Mr. Clean fan, then you can imagine how powerful this new cleaner is!  Edelman and the "Mr. Clean Team" showed us that just one drop of this concentrated cleaner goes a long way, whether used directly on messes or diluted.  If Mr. Clean® Liquid Muscle™ can tackle Times Square, then I'd like to think that it could probably handle any mess my children can create.

Photo provided by MSLGroup

In addition to using Mr. Clean® Liquid Muscle™ to tackle messes, here are a few of my favorite time and money-saving house cleaning tips from Julie Edelman . . .

• TACKLE HIGH TRAFFIC ZONES FIRST: Divide your home into MUST DO and CAN DO LATER zones. The must do’s are bathrooms, kitchen and bedrooms which are bacteria, allergy (dust mites) and germ magnets AND should be cleaned regularly. Can do later zones are areas such as family rooms, guest bedrooms, and hallways.
  
• BLEND CHORES THAT BORE INTO EVERYDAY ACTIVITIES: Housework can be boring, so staying focused while doing it can be a chore. ‘Blend’ i.e. ‘work’ tasks into everyday activities and routines. Next time you’re chatting on the phone with your BF or mom, chat while cleaning countertops, door handles and sinks.
  
• STREAMLINE YOUR CLEANING TOOLS WITH MULTI-TASKERS: There’s no need to have countless cleaning products clogging cabinets. Mr. Clean Liquid Muscle can be used directly on tough dirt or used as a dilute to handle big or small messes on hard surfaces such as tables, countertops, sinks, stoves and even floors.
  
• TAKE THE GUESS WORK OUT OF ‘HOW MUCH’: Thanks to its innovative one-dose cap, Mr. Clean Liquid Muscle delivers the perfect amount of cleaning gel with every squeeze – that can be applied directly to surfaces or diluted in water as a cleaning solution. Similar to tasks like dishwashing and laundry, buy single, pre-measured packets. This will certainly help you prevent wasting product and in the end, also save you money!
  
• ENLIST PINT-SIZED HELPERS: If you have young kids, they are perfect for helping with kid-friendly home-keeping chores like vacuuming and laundry.  If you don't have any children, I'm sure friends and family who do will be happy to lend out theirs so they can enjoy an hour or two of free time!

Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images

Look for new Mr. Clean® Liquid Muscle™ starting this month in stores nationwide.  To find out more, visit www.mrclean.com.

Housewarming Gift Basket Ideas

Although almost everyone loves to receive fun impractical gifts, sometimes the practical ones are most appreciated.  A gift basket filled with everyday household products would be especially appreciated by anyone who has moved into their first apartment.  A person venturing out on his or her own for the very first time may not have the extra cash to spend on household products after they have just spent most of their savings on a security deposit, furniture, and other necessities like tableware.

People who have downsized from a house to an apartment may also appreciate such a gift.  They likely will not have any space for more knickknacks.  Here are some ideas for easy-to-make housewarming gift baskets . . .

Ready-Set-Clean Gift Basket

Fill a handled plastic caddy with the following:

Pair of Rubber Gloves

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser

Mr. Clean Gain MultiSurface Cleaner

2 Dish Towels

Clean-Play-Display Gift Basket

Fill an attractive storage basket with the following:

iTunes Gift Card

Swiffer 360 Duster Kit

Swiffer 2 in 1 Sweeper

Nix Digital Photo Frame

For more ideas about what to use to fill your future gift baskets, visit PG.com.


Thank you to Procter & Gamble for providing complimentary product samples to inspire this article.

Living Green With Jerinda: Bio+Green Crystals Organic Household Cleaners

Bio+Green Crystals are a revolutionary set of new eco-friendly cleaners for your household. National Bio+Green Sciences lead the industry in Green household cleaning products and their great line of products show that. Their products can be used as a boost to your regular Green cleaners or on their own added to water.

When my Bio+Green Crystals arrived, I was immediately impressed. The sachet the concentrated crystal form of the cleaner was contained in was water soluble, so there was no waste there and the outer packaging is all compostable. Because of this, their compounds are waste free in addition to being non-toxic to humans, pets, or the environment.

They were also kind enough to send me a bottle to use with their sachets along with two forms of cleaners: All Purpose Cleaner and Child Safe Multi-Surface and Toy Cleaner. It was time for me to clean the daycare toys, so I used the Multi-Surface and Toy one first. Of course, I don’t have any way of knowing how well it disinfected the toys, but it seemed to work well and had no harsh chemical smell and I felt it was safe.

Later in the week, I used the All Purpose cleaner to clean my kitchen, wood dining room table, and bathroom. I was very impressed with this cleaner. Some of the scummier surfaces, such as my stove top, took a little more elbow grease but it did the job and I walked away feeling like I’d used something very safe and it did a great job. Of all the natural cleaners I’ve tried, this is by far the safest and least wasteful, and also works as well as any that I’ve tried.

You can learn more about Bio+Green Crystals and see all the products they offer on their website, www.biogreencrystals.com.


Thank you to Bio-Green for providing complimentary product samples for us to base this review upon.

Review: Dusting Made Easy With the Swiffer 360 Dusters Extender

I have never made it a secret how busy our household is or that neither my husband nor I are fond of cleaning.  Dusting is something we always fight about because we both suffer from allergies.  Since my allergic reactions to dust are more severe than his, he usually gets stuck with the job.  Now, if our general living space is a little neglected when it comes to dusting, then you can imagine how bad the parts of the house are that we do not touch on a daily basis, like the tops of the walls and the ceilings . . .

There is a section of ceiling at the top of our staircase that faces the stairs.  Even my 6ft tall husband, who happens to have unusually long arms, still cannot reach that area easily.  As you can see, there are many cobwebs on the ceiling and lots of dust collecting on the walls.  When we received the Swiffer 360 Dusters with the 3 foot extender, this was one of the first areas my husband wanted to tackle.  It turns out that he was just able to reach the area standing on one of the top steps.  He was so surprised at how easily the duster removed all the cobwebs and dust that he did all the ceilings.  With this new tool, I bet he will be less resistant to dust the ceiling fans, wooden shelves, and other high-up areas of the house.

We have also used the regular handled Swiffer 360 Dusters on electronics, such as my laptop.  It worked very well on removing the dust and cat hair from my keyboard and monitor.  I noticed that the dust did not fly everywhere, but rather it all clung to the disposable head.

To learn more about these and other Swiffer products, visit Swiffer.com.  A Swiffer 360 Dusters Starter Kit retails for just $4.59 and comes with 3 Dusters and 1 handle.  You should be able to find them nationwide at your local grocery store or most retailers of Swiffer brand products.


Thank you to Swiffer for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon.

Living Green With Jerinda: GrabGreen Eco-Friendly Laundry Detergent

I am always looking for new, innovative, eco-friendly cleaning products that really work and are better for the environment. Even when I find things that work, I am always willing to try something else simply because it’s nice to have a back up and that new thing might work better. “Green” laundry detergent has always been an issue for us. I find a detergent that I like, then within a month it stops cleaning as well and I have to switch back to a mass-made free and clear detergent. When I was sent GrabGreen 3-in-1 laundry detergent, I was excited to put it to work. GrabGreen 3-in-1 detergents come in pre-measured “packs” that go straight into your machine. No measuring needed, which is very convenient. Plus, the dissolving plastic coating makes the packaging minimal, thus lowering trash and fuel costs for transporting large, filled plastic jugs of traditional detergents. The little laundry pods are derived from biodegradable organic and mineral-based ingredients, so there are no harsh chemicals getting to my family or our planet. They are also non-toxic, free of phosphates, fragrance, fillers, dyes and more.

On top of all that, they work really well. I was very pleased with the quality of this detergent, how my clothes looked and smelled after the wash, and the fact that the pods did completely dissolve in the washing machine, which most similar detergents do not and I find the plastic “casing” stuck to my clothes later. I was very happy with this detergent for the whole month I used it and found no negatives to say about it.

GrabGreen was also nice enough to send me some of their wet dryer sheets, a product brand new to me. These dryer sheets are made from the Canola plant, and have fabric softening and static-reducing ingredients. Made without animal fat or wax, these sheets work very well at naturally making your clothes soft and reduce the amount of static as well.

You can purchase GrabGreen products on their website, www.grabgreenhome.com. The 3-in-1 laundry pods retail for $8 per pack (24 loads) and the wet dryer sheets retail for $4.95 for 64 loads.


Thank you to GrabGreen for sending us complimentary product samples to base this review upon.

Living Green With Jerinda: JAWS Household Cleaning Products

As you know, I only use non-toxic cleaners in my home and try to be as Green as possible with my cleaning products. Mostly, we just use vinegar and tea tree oil to clean with, but I am always on the hunt for inexpensive, healthy, non-toxic, eco-friendly cleaning products to use that work well. When I was sent the link to the JAWS cleaners, I immediately liked what the company’s vision was and how they were trying to set themselves apart in the eco-friendly cleaning world.

JAWS stands for "Just Add Water System" because their cleaners come in a super-concentrated cleaning cartridge that is eco-friendly because it reduces plastic in landfills, conserves resources, and saves you cash. In fact, when you start buying refills for your JAWS bottles, you can make 2 full bottles of cleaners for less than $2 each, which is very cheap for non-toxic cleaners. The way JAWS works is simple: fill the handy, reusable spray bottle with water, insert the concentrated cartridge into the mouth of the bottle, put on the spray bottle lid, shake and use! Once the solution is made, it’s easy to use and really works. Plus, the JAWS bottle includes a convenient holder for two extra cartridges, an extra I found very handy.

Because I am very particular about what my family uses I did request an ingredient list, which the JAWS people were happy to supply me, and after going over the ingredients I agree that they are non-toxic and more eco-friendly than most mainstream products, but they still could go a step further to being truly Green ingredients. That said, I found nothing in them that made me decide to discontinue use of them and I completely agree that the concentrated cartridge solution to cleaning is much more eco-friendly than buying big bottles of cleaners, thus creating more waste and more money spent on transporting these products to stores. Overall, I am happy with the JAWS cleaners. They work well, smell nice, and are non-toxic, which is most important to me.

JAWS cleaners come in four formulas which include glass and hard surface, multi-purpose degreaser, bathroom cleaner/deodorizer, and disinfectant cleaner/degreaser. You can find more info about the cleaners, the company, and where to buy on their website, www.jawscleans.com.

Thank you to JAWS for providing complimentary product samples for us to base this review upon.

Review: The Ultimate Cloth . . . For Chemical Free Cleaning

As a little girl, my mother drilled into my head that she did not like cleaning with chemicals. On the few occasions that she did, she would go back and rinse and re-rinse the surface with hot water. Even though my mother told me that cleaning with chemicals was not good for me, I still had it in my head that surfaces would not be truly clean unless some type of disinfecting chemical was used.

This is why I was curious to try The Ultimate Cloth. This product claims to remove 96% of the bacteria from surfaces with just the use of hot water, but that is not something we can test. What we could test was how well this cloth worked with cleaning and polishing things we can see, like dust and dirt.

What we thought about these MiraFiber cleaning cloths:

1) At first sight, these cloths look and feel like a sueded paper, but they are actually very strong. Once wet, they feel more like a rubbery paper.

2) For use on glass, we found that you must wring out the cloth very well in order to achieve streak free cleaning.

3) The cloth does pick up a limited amount of dust and lint on glass. However, if you are cleaning a surface that is extremely dusty or has pet hair, I would recommend using a duster to clean the surface before going back over it with The Ultimate Cloth.

4) I'm not sure if this is a natural characteristic of the MiraFiber, but this cloth has a fresh clean scent.

5) This cloth is clearly meant for cleaning and polishing things like fingerprints and film on glass and other surfaces. It is not meant for heavy duty cleaning for things like spills or anything that has bits or chunks.

6) As I had mentioned, this cloth feels rubbery when wet, so it is able to clean surfaces without causing scratches.

7) The care instructions for this cloth are easy to follow. It is easiest for us to wash it alone in the washing machine and to have it air dry. I do not think we would use it to clean the bathroom or any other areas where germs are the heaviest. This would require us to bleach the cloth after such cleaning and that is not very convenient for a busy household like ours.

Ultimately, we've found that this MiraFiber cloth is perfect for everyday upkeep, but it will not replace paper towels for cleaning up messes. Nor will it replace whatever you are using on areas that are extremely dusty. This product would be great to keep handy in your vehicle's glove box.

Through December 31st, 2009, you are invited to try The Ultimate Cloth for just the cost of the shipping and handling. If you are interested in trying to make your household a little more green, visit UltimateClothAmerica.com to take advantage of this offer.

Thank you to UltimateClothAmerica.com for providing a sample cloth for this review.

Review: Dapple Natural Toy Cleaner

Twintuitive Product #13

I chose this baby-friendly toy cleaner to feature as a "TWINtuitive Product" because everyone knows how important it is to keep toys clean for infants and toddlers who still mouth their toys. When one has twins or multiples in general, there is an additional concern, which is having the children pass germs back and forth because they are both putting the same toys in their mouths. Of course, to combat this, cleaning may occur more frequently, which makes it even more important that chemical-free cleaners be used.

What I thought about Dapple Toy Cleaner:

1) The first thing I noticed was the clean citrus scent. I was surprised at how fragrant the cleaner was just from being scented with essential oils.

2) I like that this cleaner contains no dyes, no bleach, no artificial fragrances, no sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES), and is phthalate-free and paraben-free.

3) I do think this cleaner gets toys as clean as hot soapy water would. It is not an anti-bacterial cleaner, which I prefer. I really do think it is better for my children to build healthy strong immune systems.

4) I opt for the toy cleaner wipes when I am cleaning board books or other things I do not want to get overly wet. They work just as well as the spray cleaner.

5) I've found the travel size pack of wipes to be extremely convenient to fit in my handbag or diaper bag. These are perfect for when one of the children drops a toy on the ground in a public place but is truly desperate to have it back right away.

6) Overall, Dapple toy cleaner is not as powerful as chemical cleaners, but it does get the job done with a little elbow grease. The extra effort is worth it, in my opinion, if it means keeping harmful chemicals out of our children's mouths.

To learn more about Dapple natural cleaners, visit DappleBaby.com . In addition to their website, you should be able to find Dapple products at major retailers, such as Babies R Us, Toys R Us, and Bed Bath & Beyond.

Thank you to Dapple Baby for providing us with a review product free of charge.