Washing Cloth Diapers- All Free and Clear vs. Tide Free and Gentle

I have been using cloth diapers for over a year now. Before beginning, I did a lot of research on the types of detergent you had to use on them. Of course on most blogs and store sites, I saw a lot of info on Charlie's Soap and some other cloth diaper detergents that were costly and had a lot of reports of bad diaper rashes and needs for additional items to soak the diapers in or strip them. It was overwhelming trying to find something that worked and was affordable. I eventually saw a site that had lists of everyday detergent that were safe to use. They didn't say how well they worked, just whether or not it was "ok" to use it.
I found the detergent we currently use on all of our laundry, All Free and Clear, with a check under "yes." I decided to start there. I used it for 7 months with great results. I didn't have any trouble with odor and he didn't get any diaper rashes. I never had to strip the diapers for buildup or sunbleach them.
When Tide came out with a Free and Gentle version I decided to try it. It helped that it was on sale and I had a coupon. I instantly regretted it. The diapers began to stink like ammonia when he would pee and never really felt clean. I switched back to All and it fixed the problem in a couple washes.
I recommend All Free and Clear to everyone who is using, or thinking about using, cloth diapers. I am sure there are other good detergents out there, but this one is priced great and definitely gets the job done. The fact that you can use it on all of your laundry with great results is another huge plus.

Mop, Mop, Mop. All Day Long

I spent most of the day today cleaning house. Not something I consider to be a "good time." I love having a clean house, but I don't love using a lot of chemicals to get it  that way. I had seen a lot of commercials advertising steam mops to clean and sanitize a natural way. I decided to ask Santa to get me one for Christmas. I know what you are saying, "Cleaning supplies for Christmas?!?" I say "If it makes my life easier, it's a gift."  Santa and I did a little research to decide which one would be the best and decided to get the H2O Mop Ultra. I am very happy with our choice.

Picture from http://www.thane.com

The H20 Mop Ultra has a lot of great features. You can use it as a mop, carpet steamer, and handheld steamer. A lot of the other steam mops came with a handheld steamer that was battery operated. The handheld on the H2O is part of the mop itself. You unhook the tank from the mop frame and it becomes a corded handheld. This makes it more powerful than the battery operated ones. Plus, you don't have to worry about replacing batteries all the time. The handheld is perfect for cleaning my showers and grout as well as sanitizing the carpet, toys, and furniture. There are also attachments you can purchase for these uses. I no longer have to spray everything down with bleach water. Everything is clean and safe and my house doesn't smell like chemicals or end up with bleach spots.

Mopping takes about half the time it used to. I don't have to fill a bucket with floor cleaning solution, dip, wring, mop, repeat.. anymore. You put the water in the tank with the included measuring cup and plug it in. It is ready in about 10 seconds. You pull the trigger once to start the steam and it continues to run until you pull it again. The steam breaks down any build-up in seconds and the washable cover wipes it away. I actually enjoy mopping now. It's just so easy! I even used it on the wall around the trash can today. It cleaned up all the little "misses" with ease and didn't hurt the paint.

GroVia Hybrid Diaper Covers

My favorite Hybrid diaper covers are GroVia's. I currently have 4 One-Size covers. I have owls, airplanes, and trees. They are adorable! The legs and back are gusseted for fit, and the inside is lined so you can't see the PUL (Polyurethane laminate.) I find that these covers tend to stay dryer and do not smell like urine as quickly. This is especially nice since you can't just take a wet wipe to them like the PUL covers. They recommend that you change the cover every two changes, but I find that I can use one for most of the day if no BM waste gets on them. On days where he wets more than usual, I will change them more often.

I already had a large enough stash of other inserts, so I did not feel the need to buy any GroVia cloth inserts for these covers. I typically use the covers over my Flip inserts or use them with the GroVia disposable inserts. These disposable inserts are my favorite of all the brands. The legs of the disposable inserts are gusseted in order to hold in waste. The front and back has an adhesive so they STAY IN PLACE!!! They are also extremely absorbent. I have even used them overnight. I usually put a Flip insert under the GroVia disposable just in case he sleeps longer than usual. Note that you do not want to use the adhesive on a PUL cover as it will not be easy to remove. I still use them in the other covers, I just leave the tabs on the adhesive ends so they don't stick down. When we went out of town for 5 days, I took 50 GroVia disposable inserts and 7 covers (GroVia and Flip.) We made it through all 5 days and nights with covers and inserts to spare.

GroVia bioliners are also a product I love. You get a lot for your money and they are a must if you don't want to spend a ton of time removing BM waste from your cloth liners.

I like this brand so much that I have added their button to my blog page. You can see it to the right. They have some great sales and bundle deals coming up, so you should check them out and check often.

Check out my earlier post if you need definitions for the terms used here.http://treehuggintipster.blogspot.com/2011/06/cloth-diaper-terminology.html

Ebates

I had been seeing a lot of adds for a site called Ebates. It is a shopping website that allows you to purchase from many stores and receive cash back. The stores include Target, Barnes and Noble, Home Depot, Staples, Sears, JCpenney, GAP, etc... I was skeptical to say the least. I finally decided to try it out when I was looking for ink for my printer. I signed up and looked through all the stores on their site to figure out which store had the best deal. Just to be safe I also researched the sites without going through Ebates to make sure it didn't automatically change the price. They were all exactly the same.  I found 123injets had the best prices and Ebates had codes for coupons for an additional amount off and free shipping on orders over $50. My total came to around $55. A few weeks later I received a check for $8.94 from Ebates. How easy is that?! Almost all the stores I order from are on Ebates. I love this site now and will continue to shop through them. I always check out the coupon section before I start to order too. Just to make sure I get the best deal possible.
If you order online I would highly recommend you begin using Ebates, in order to start getting your checks in the mail.
*This post is my own opinion based on my experience with this site. Ebates did not commission this review.

And The Winner Is...

Tabatha F. You are the winner of the Scentsy Plug-in and 3 scent bars. You have 48 hours to claim your prize or another winner will be chosen.

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:4Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Scentsy Review and Giveaway!!! CLOSED

Review
Like most people, I love scented candles. Well I love the smell. I don't love the uneven melt patterns, digging the wick out of the wax or having the wick burn away completely, or the fact that it never smells as good when it's burning as it does cold in the jar. There's also the constant worry of making sure you never leave one unattended and burning your house down. Open flame=safety issues. This is where Scentsy comes in.

The first time I was invited to a Scentsy party I had no idea what it was. I was thinking "Essential oils?" maybe. No it is so much better! Scentsy systems consist of warmers and scented wax bars. The warmers are similar to the tealight wax warmers without the tealight. The warmer contains a small lightbulb that heats the tray and melts the wax. Filling the room with your favorite scents. There is no flame and the bars are paraffin wax so they will not burn skin. I know from experience that it not only doesn't burn, but also cleans up easily. Whoops!

The scented bars are awesome. The hardest part is narrowing down which scents you want to buy. They have everything; cologne/perfume, fruity, baked goods, nature... You get to be in charge of how little or how much scent is released by varying the amount of the bar you place in the warmer. I have an open floor plan in my living area. If I want the smell to fill the kitchen, dining room, and living room I will use a whole bar of a lighter scent or half a bar of stronger one. If I want the scent to remain in one room like the bathroom or bedroom, I will use a plug-in warmer and place 1 to 2 squares in the tray. I also do this in the kitchen if I only want to have a light scent that doesn't carry to the other rooms.

Since buying my first Scentsy system (midsize warmer and three bars) I have added countless bars, two full size warmers, another midsize warmer, 2 plug-ins, 2 Scentsy Buddies for my kids, car freshners, and a room spray. I love these things!

And now the giveaway!!!
Briley Giamalva-Independent Scentsy consultant is providing a Groovy Brown plug-in warmer and 3 Scent bars (Sugar Cookie, Luna, and Clean Breeze) for one luckily reader.

To Enter:
1) "Like" Briley's Facebook page and leave a message on her wall saying I sent you, AND "like" my facebook page. Then leave a comment here with your facebook name.
Bonus entries:
1) Share this giveaway on facebook or twitter and make it viewable to everyone (click the masterlock under your status and change it to everyone) then leave a seperate comment here with a link to the post.
2) Visit https://nowicks.scentsy.us/Hom​e, then come back here and leave a comment telling me which product you are most interested in.
3) Follow me via Google reader and leave a comment here saying you did so. The link is on the right side of my page.
4) Sign up for email updates and leave a comment here saying you did so.
*Make sure you leave a seperate comment for each entry.
 Winner will be chosen via random drawing on August 21st, 2011.

Ice Cold Crack-To Go

The Casey's General Store by my house has Ice Cold to Go coffee. I'm pretty sure it's made with crack. I am addicted! I actually crave them. Since I am a SAHM(stay at home mom) who watches other children, I can't just jump in the car and get one plus my habit is getting a little costly. In order to save money, and stop my hands from shaking, I decided to try and make it myself. I had a coupon for $1.50 off Starbucks VIA and decided I would use that. That is until I got to the store and saw that they cost as much per serving as the premade crack version at Casey's. I then looked at Nescafe Taster's Choice Vanilla single serve packets. $3.74 for 20. Even my crack (remember I am talking about coffee not actual crack) withdrawn mind can see that the Nescafe is a much better deal.
Ok, so I have my Nescafe and some Coffee Mate Natural Bliss caramel creamer and I begin trying to make my own yummy iced coffee. First I made it per the directions for a hot coffee. I prepared 6oz of hot water and added the packet. I tasted it without the creamer first, just for fun. I actually liked it and could taste the vanilla. I then added the creamer to taste and followed by adding ice. I ended up with a watered down version of what I wanted.
Day 2. Really need my fix. I am going to try again. This time I prepare 4oz of hot water and add the packet to that. Then I add 2 icecubes (about 2oz of water) in order to get to the 6oz it suggests. This along with the creamer cools the coffee down so when I add more ice it doesn't water it down. Success! It is super yummy. Now, obviously, it's not as good as Casey's since I don't have an abundance of (or any) crack lying around and I don't add any extra sugar, however; I am happy with my replacement most days and treat myself to a real one at least once a week. You didn't expect me to quit cold turkey did you?