How to Spring Clean Your Home by Reducing Chemicals

When’s the last time you ‘Spring cleaned’ your home? Have you ever done it? Well, join me when I show you how easy it is to Spring clean your entire home by reducing chemicals used to clean.

Spring cleaning was huge when I was a young girl. I can remember many Saturday mornings, as a young girl with my 2 sisters, washing walls, polishing timber internal doors, removing every insect screen from the house and scrubbing them as well as getting into every ‘nook and cranny’ of our home to clean it, every Spring.

It’s a habit I continued well into my adult life but, I must admit, life (or should I say my children) kind of got in the way and I haven’t done a really good Spring clean in a few years.

I’m talking washing curtains, dusting and washing walls, cleaning sliding door and window tracks and all the really big household cleaning jobs you don’t do on a regular basis.

Starting on Friday, 1st September, join me in Spring cleaning your entire home. It will be so fresh and clean and you won’t have to worry about doing these big jobs again for another 12 months.

The Spring Cleaning Schedule

Below is the Spring Cleaning Schedule I’ve been using for years. It doesn’t look like there’s much to do on there or it might seem like there’s quite a lot but if you break it down to what you can get done in a day or a weekend, then it won’t be so overwhelming. If you work full-time, of course you’re not going to get a lot done every day. Even if you do the dry, dusting jobs for 20 minutes per day, after work (set a timer), you’ll be making great head way into getting the job done. Don’t worry if you can’t get it all done in September. Just keep at it and once complete, you’ll feel so much better about the home you’re in. Tick it off the schedule as you go.

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Reducing Chemicals

I was introduced to Norwex products a few years ago and I fell in love straight away. I’ve always tried to use a minimum of chemicals when it comes to cleaning products used in the home. One, because of the damage to the environment and our own personal health plus the cost of buying chemical cleaners. I hardly ever visit the cleaning aisle in the supermarket. There’s really no need to. A simple household, all purpose cleaner and water is all you need. It’s all made easier with the range of Norwex cleaning cloths which are a superior microfibre cloth which does all the cleaning for you. Check out the video clip below on how effective the Norwex microfibre cloths are.

You don’t need to scrub really hard. The superior microfibre is ultra-thick and absorbent to pick-up and hold more dust, dirt and debris than other cleaning cloths. It holds several times its weight in water and is made of more than 10 million feet of microfiber for more effective cleaning power. With just water you can clean your entire home.

Norwex do have a range of chemical-free products to help in hard to clean areas like the oven, built up soap scum in the shower and stained toilet bowls, for example.

Cleaning Products

Like mentioned previously, you don’t really need anything more than water to do all your cleaning. If you can adapt to this way of cleaning all the time you’ll save so much money buying chemical cleaners plus you’ll be saving the environment and the health of your family.

Let’s face it, as good as cleaning with just water is, there are some areas of the home that need that little bit of help. One area is the oven. Norwex make a non toxic oven cleaning product which is just amazing. Same goes for built up soap scum and stains in the toilet bowl. Norwex have a product for just about every hard to clean surface but promote just the use of water with their revolutionary microfibre cloths and other cleaning tools.

These are the recipes I use for making my general purpose cleaning products. There are many recipes on the internet. If I do want to add a scent to the area I’m cleaning, I’ll use a few drops lavender or eucalyptus essential oil.

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Win Your Own Norwex Spring Cleaning Starter Kit

This giveaway is closed.

I’ve teamed up with my Norwex Consultant, Nikki O’Neill-Sheehan to get you started on your Spring Cleaning journey with a giveaway!

Join me on September 1st to spring clean your entire home and love the home you’re in. Just complete the entry form below. The competition closes at midnight, Friday, 25 August 2017, AEST. 

Included in the prize:

• 1 x tub Norwex Cleaning Paste value $38.90
• 1 x pack Norwex Micro Cleaning Hand Pads value $10.00
• 1 x bottle Norwex Carpet Stain Buster value $37.90
• 1 x Norwex Scrubby Corner Cloth value $27.50
• 1 x Norwex Enviro Cloth value $27.00
• 1 x Norwex Window Cloth value $29.00
• 1 x Norwex Dusting Mitt value $26.50

Total Prize Value:  $196.80

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Conditions of Entry:

1. Open to Australian residents only.
2. Competition closes 12am AEST, Friday, 25 August 2017 and winner will be announced via email. Once confirmed, the winner will be announced across my social media channels.
3. This is a game of skill.
4. The prize is not redeemable in cash.
5. The winner will have seven (7) days to respond otherwise the prize will be redrawn.

Keep an eye out on my Facebook Page for LIVE updates during the month of September as I show you a few tips and hints on Spring Cleaning your home. GOOD LUCK!

Cleaning your home, the old fashioned way

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Most of you who know me would know that I'm a home cook, Mum of two young children and try to live within my means and as frugally as possible. I make everything from scratch, buy secondhand or pick up free things as much as I can and try to live the way my Mum and grandmothers did. Both my maternal and paternal grandmothers lived well into their 90's and they lived this kind of frugal lifestyle.

You know I've shared my love of homemade cleaning products before on the blog but I was a huge lover of bleach to get that "I know it's clean now" smell. Little did I know just how much harm I was exposing myself and the kids to. (For more information on the harmful effects of bleach, this article at Sustainable Baby Steps.)

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My cleaning 'cloths' consisted of old nappies and t-shirts cut up, cheap products from the dollar store and feather dusters that really only shifted the dust from one place to the next. My grandmothers wouldn't have used fancy (or harmful) cleaning products. Just natural ingredients and good old fashioned elbow grease to keep the home clean and tidy.

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I remember my maternal Nanna only ever bathing in Sunlight soap and used the leftover soap pieces for the detergent to wash her dishes. She probably washed her clothes with Sunlight soap as well!

In December last year I was introduced to a new way of cleaning that I believe is very much like the way my grandmothers used to do it but with less elbow grease. Norwex is a company which started in Norway back in 1994. Their range of superior microfibre cloths and enzyme based cleaning products keep nasty, harmful chemicals out of the home while saving you time, money and the environment. My grandmothers probably saved a lot of money not spending money on chemicals which also, in turn, saved the environment but their days started from sun up until well into the night, keeping the home clean, cooking from scratch, mending worn clothes and looking after their husbands and children. Norwex cuts down on the 'elbow grease'. The superior microfibre products do all the hard work for you along with just water and, sometimes, the natural, enzyme based products to help you keep on top of those really difficult cleaning jobs like the oven, bathroom and carpets, for example.

I'm so passionate about this way of cleaning. Who would've thought you could clean your house with just water? I'm sure my grandmothers were onto it and would've been advocates to the Norwex way of cleaning if it were around in their day. Norwex's global mission is to improve quality of life by radically reducing chemicals in the home. I'd love to share my passion with you and come and demonstrate just how wonderful these products are. Please drop me a line via email (domesblissity at gmail dot com) or via my direct business page for more information. You owe it to yourself and your family. Imagine the extra money you'll have in your pocket not having to spend heaps on cleaning products and the extra time you'll have to spend on yourself and with your family.


Disclaimer:  I am a Norwex Business Consultant. I was not paid for this post. These are my own personal opinions.

5 tips for your first Norwex demonstration

Last Wednesday evening I gave my first ever Norwex demonstration. I've been to my fair share of direct selling 'parties' in my lifetime but never had I demonstrated anything. Every time I'd been to one of these parties I always thought "I could do that" but it never went any further. It wasn't until early December, when I went to my first Norwex party, did I finally find a product that I thought was worth selling and very close to my heart. Who wouldn't want to know about radically reducing chemicals from your home and learning how to save time, money and the environment with cleaning products?

I offered to demonstrate the Norwex products in my own home for my neighbour who didn't have enough room at her place so I was well practised in setting up the display before the event. As a 'newbie' I don't have a lot of products in my kit but less is more I'm finding and only the essentials need be displayed I feel. 

Dream Starter Kit with Enviro Wand (wand included as a special for the month of February 2015 only)

On this occasion, I made sure I had all of the products in the Dream Starter Kit which is on special for the month of February with an Enviro Wand included. I displayed all of the products in a cleaning caddy which is available for a couple dollars from the cheap shops. I used a black single sheet to drape over my ironing board as my display table.

The best seller, the Mop Starter Kit was also on display as well as a few consumables I have. There are a lot of great ideas for setting up your display on Pinterest and I've pinned a few on my Norwex Pinterest board.

I also had a few of the bath and body microfibre cloths on display plus host only gifts. A few props from the op shop came in handy to hold some of the cloths and make the whole display warm and inviting and to assure my clients that cleaning no longer be a chore with the wonderful range of microfibre cloths. I have to admit that once I started up, being the procrastinator that I am, I was really unsure where to start. Once I had my first party booked, I knew there was no way of getting out of it. I had to put a plan in place to make sure the whole night went smoothly and I just wanted to share my 5 tips with any other potential new consultants to Norwex (or any other direct selling companies) to let you know it's not all that daunting. It really is a fun experience and if you're passionate about the product, the demonstrating part of it is actually quite a lot of fun.  So here goes, my top 5 tips for your first Norwex demonstration.

1.  Don't rehearse your script too much.

I took the advice of my leader and followed the Norwex script but adjusted it to how I can relate the Norwex experience to my own personal life. Sure, you need to remember the facts and figures and that can certainly be referred to so you don't misquote or forget anything. I read through the script probably twice before the party but once I started, the interaction I got from the guests kept the party flowing and it was obviously pleasing to them. They shared their own personal stories and asked their own questions.

2.  Know where everything is on your display.

Your script should prompt you to display a particular product so you should know where that is in your display. Having all of the basic Norwex cleaning products set up in the cleaning caddy, I knew that was where to look for the next product I wanted to demonstrate. Less is more and depending on the theme of the party, I'd definitely limit the number of products according to the theme. I know the first party I went to I was a bit overwhelmed with the number of products in the range. I wanted them all but didn't know which cloth did what so was a little confused.

3.  Ensure you have current catalogues on hand.

My 2015 product catalogues arrived at the 11th hour and I managed to have them in time for my demo. I wanted to give the catalogues out at the very beginning so the guests could refer to them as I began talking about a particular product. I actually incorporated that into a game and conducted a raffle. Every time I mentioned a product the guests were asked to find the page number in the catalogue and when they did, they received a raffle ticket. At the end of the demonstration, the winner was drawn by the host and the winner received a free product I had gift wrapped. The catalogue gives the guest the chance to see the price, dimensions and other product information that may be applicable to them.

4.  Interact with the guests.

Nothing would be more boring than to sit and watch someone rattle off a whole bunch of stuff about a product they're not familiar with. I asked a lot of questions, in particular about housework and pet hates which prompted a lot of discussion and a few laughs. No one really likes housework but when told about the great benefits using the Norwex products it will hopefully ignite the same passion that was ignited in me when I first heard about it. Get the guests using the product in your demonstration so they get to see how effective it really is.

5.  Relax.

If you're passionate about the product your selling, whether you know your guests or not, once you start it will be easy. Honest! I never really had any nerves going into the demonstration. I knew most of the guests and I honestly felt like I was having a chat over a cup of coffee, talking about something I'm really passionate about. I think guests can pick up on that and want to know more. Who wouldn't want to know about how you can help save the environment by only using a cloth and water to clean your entire home, save time and money doing it and perhaps think about selling it themselves? Whether you do it for the money, the fact that it will contribute to saving the environment ensuring a future for generations to come or whether you just like to get out and interact with people, that will shine through. Just breathe, relax and enjoy the whole experience.

If you're in the South East Queensland area and would like to know more, perhaps hold your own demonstration and receive free products and just get a bunch of friends together to hear more about the Norwex range of products, you can drop me a line directly to my Norwex consultant page or on email to domesblissity at gmail dot com. I look forward to hearing from you! Best of luck on your Norwex mission!