If I can find better, cheaper and quicker ways to clean I am all for it. Now today’s subject might surprise you. We all know you can clean with apple cider vinegar, I mean what can’t you do with it! But let’s talk about rubbing alcohol. Can you clean with rubbing alcohol?

Yes, you can! Rubbing alcohol is a disinfectant. It kills bacteria, fungi, and viruses, it leaves a streak-free shine on just about any surface, it works great as a degreaser and is extremely affordable.

For those of you who want to dive deeper into rubbing alcohol let’s keep going…

Is rubbing alcohol a good disinfectant?

So we just learned that rubbing alcohol is a disinfectant but just how good is it? What will it kill? Well I am not a scientist and I don’t have a lab to test these things for myself, but what I found from my research is that rubbing alcohol can kill certain bacteria in 10 seconds or less, including strep, Staph aureus, pyogenes, E. coli, Salmonella typhosa, and Pseudomonas species. For M. tuberculosis, it may take as long as five minutes of contact.

From what I have been reading using rubbing alcohol in your home around cold and flu season can stop the spread of germs immensely. You can wipe down doorknobs and light switches. Really anywhere people are always touching.

As I mentioned rubbing alcohol also leaves a streak-free shine. I have looked for years for a way to get a streak-free shine on my windows. And I was amazed at the outcome of using alcohol.

Is rubbing alcohol good for cleaning windows?

To be honest all the big companies window sprays really stink. I have never found one that really works and as you know I do not like chemicals in my home. I actually found norwex before I learned about rubbing alcohol.

So my go-to is the norwex enviro cloth for windows. But when I learned about the rubbing alcohol I had to give it a try. Because not everyone has a norwex cloth and I am always looking for alternative ways to clean and want to be able to share what I find.

Below are the pictures of my windows with my norwex cloth and rubbing alcohol. What do you think?

I was really impressed with the rubbing alcohol. It seems to do just as good as the norwex cloth. The only difference I would say is the smell. With the norwex cloth, you just use water so no alcohol smell. I know that this post is about rubbing alcohol but if you wanna learn more about my obsession with norwex you can read my article here. Anyway, back to rubbing alcohol for cleaning…

What is the best rubbing alcohol for cleaning?

Rubbing alcohol usually is sold 60% to 90% isopropyl alcohol. This should work great for everyday cleaning. If you have a really tough job you can always get a stronger percentage of alcohol. The brand really does not matter much. They all work the same. Here is some on amazon if you are interested…

When you clean with rubbing alcohol you will obviously need a cloth of some kind. Any cotton cloth should work just fine. But depending on the job you will want a certain type of cloth.

If you are cleaning a surface that can scratch easily such as a computer, mouse, car parts, electronics, etc. You will want to use a microfiber cloth. If you are cleaning hard to reach places a q-tip works great for those areas. For anything else, a good old cotton washcloth will work great.

I would suggest using white cloth just in case the colors of what you are cleaning transfer.

We now know that alcohol is good for cleaning and what kind to get. But is it okay to breathe in? Can I clean my kid’s toys with it? What about my phone screen? Let’s take a second and go over the do’s and don’t of cleaning with rubbing alcohol.

The health of rubbing alcohol…

If you have read any of my other articles you know that I don’t like chemicals and do my very best to keep them out of my home. I have small children and not only do I worry that they will get into the stuff I also want to teach them how to take care of a household and if I have products full of toxic junk I feel like they can’t help with the cleaning. So is breathing rubbing alcohol bad?

Inhaling large amounts of rubbing alcohol can cause throat irritation which can result in vomiting.

But if you are cleaning with very small amounts you should have no problems. My next question was is it toxic and bad for you? Or can it just cause that because it is strong? I mean there are healthy things that could make you cough because of the strong smell. Pepper for example! That being said is rubbing alcohol safe? Is it toxic in any way?

Rubbing alcohol is toxic to humans and absorbs into the skin very quickly.

After I learned this I assumed that I would not want to use it to clean anymore because I don’t want the toxins in my home. But it turns out that it is toxic in large amounts AND when it absorbs into your skin.

So when you clean something with it you will not be touching it because the rubbing alcohol will be on the cloth and once you clean the item it dries instantly so it is no longer a danger.

From what I have learned you can clean just about anything with rubbing alcohol. You do want to be careful though because it is flammable. So just be cautious if you decide to clean your stovetop or other flammable items.

I want to be a little more specific and share 11 ways that you can clean with rubbing alcohol. There are obviously more these are just a few of the best in my opinion.

Cleaning with rubbing alcohol

1.Hair spray

Whenever you use hair spray it seems to coat your mirrors and counter. Rubbing alcohol works great to remove the hair spray quickly. It will also leave your mirrors shiny and streak-free.

2. Car windows

I live in Michigan so this one excites me. Mix a 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol into a quart of water, transfer to a spray bottle and spray onto your car windows and polish. This will prevent frost from settling.

If you already have frost on your windows take the same mixture and spray on all your windows run back inside for a second grab a cup of coffee (That part is optional) and let it work. Come back off and the frost will wipe right off.

3. Clean your phone

First, let me tell you how gross your phone is. Did you know that your phone can carry up to 17,000 bacteria genes? And did you know that your phone has up to ten times more germs than a toilet seat? Yes, I am super grossed out as well. I let my baby play with my phone! That’s worse than letting him suck on the toilet seat!

Well rubbing alcohol is the best cleaner for your phone. Because unlike other cleaners is dries super fast so you don’t have to worry about water damage on your phone.

4. Permanent marker & ink stains

Believe it or not, rubbing alcohol will remove permanent marker from most surfaces. If you have kids this will defiantly come in handy.

As far as ink stains it works just as well. Soak your stained item in rubbing alcohol and throw in the wash.

5. Stainless Steel cleaner

As I mentioned rubbing alcohol works great on windows and mirrors for a streak-free shine. But little did I know it works the same on stainless steel. I got a stainless steel fridge and no commercial cleaners worked for me. Thank you for rubbing alcohol.

6. Microfiber stains

Again, do you have kids? Did they think it would be great fun to color on your microfiber furniture? Well rubbing alcohol to the rescue.

Rubbing alcohol works much better than water because the water will soak into the fibers and stain it even more. The rubbing alcohol does not soak into the fibers. Instead, it evaporates and draws the stains out.

All you will do is spray the microfiber where the stain is and scrub. I would suggest using a white or light-colored cloth so that no other color is transferred.

7. Computer and mouse

I don’t know about you but my mouse and keyboard get really dusty. And like a phone collects a lot of germs. The thing about computers is that they are hard to disinfect.

Because generally you have to spray a solution to disinfect and you can’t do that to a computer. But if you lightly spritz rubbing alcohol it works great! It will evaporate so fast there will be no water damage.

8. Kids toys

I know what your thinking…Is rubbing alcohol safe for cleaning toys?

The answer is yes.

Toys need to be cleaned often especially in a daycare or nursery. And usually, people clean them with Lysol or something to that degree. That freaks me out! Lysol is FULL of chemicals and you are seriously cleaning your babies toy and he will be sucking on all those chemicals!

With rubbing alcohol it dries so fast there is nothing left for the baby to get in his mouth. So you can disinfect the toys but not leave behind any harmful chemical.

It is best to clean the toys first by soaking them in dish soap. After that spray them with 1/2 water 1/2 rubbing alcohol solution and you will have clean and disinfected toys!

9. Degreaser

As I mentioned you want to be careful around flames do I would not get to close to your stovetop. But you can spray rubbing alcohol on your countertops to remove butter or oils etc. It also works well to loosen up sticky stuff on the outside of your oven doors or trash can etc.

10. Carpet cleaner

We have very little carpet in our house but I recently just purchased a new rug for our newly remodeled living room. I bought a rug with a crazy pattern hoping it would hide the stains from my kids. But they still somehow spill things on the white part of the rug.

But I found that if you spray full-strength rubbing alcohol onto the rug it will remove any type of stain! ANY! I’m serious! Pee, poop, crayons, markers, Etc. And It will not discolor the carpet or leave a big patch of soap on your carpet.

11. Jewelry Cleaner

I am really not a jewelry person but my husband got me a very nice engagement ring. I don’t ever get it cleaned and don’t ever take it off when I do messy work. So my ring gets pretty gross.

All you do is soak your jewelry in rubbing alcohol and let it sit for a few minutes. Dry off and you’re good to go.

What else is rubbing alcohol used for?

Well, there are lots of things that rubbing alcohol can be used for but since this post is supposed to be about cleaning I will just share my 3 favorite uses from rubbing alcohol.

1.Tick Removal

Last summer my daughter got a tick. I am usually calm but this totally freaked me out. First of all, it is so gross a bug literally crawled into my child’s head and secondly, the possibility of Lymes always worries me. My Dad got bite years ago and got Lymes disease and no way could I let my baby get that.

When you get a tick you don’t want to just rip it out because if the head sticks into your body your chance of being infected is much higher. So rubbing alcohol!

When my daughter had the tick we took a q-tip and just kept putting the alcohol around the tick. It took a while but eventually, the alcohol drew out the tick and we could remove the whole body.

This also works on dogs. If you can hold your dog and put alcohol as close to the tick as possible.

2. Firestarters

I love being outside but when it comes to starting fires I have no patience. I want to be able to light a match and have the first start. That’s not too much to ask right?

Well, it’s not with rubbing alcohol! All you do is put natural corks in a mason jar and fill the jar with rubbing alcohol! Boom! Fire starter!

3. Make an ice pack

Do you need an ice pack that you can re-use and won’t freeze into a solid clump? Put 1 part rubbing alcohol and 3 parts water into a Ziploc and freeze.

Rubbing alcohol substitute

Who else reads something online, gets super excited than goes to try whatever they just read just to find out they don’t have what they need to make it? That’s me! So if you don’t have rubbing alcohol is there a substitute?

The answer is yes. But it depends on what you are wanting to use it for.

The following list all work to substitute rubbing alcohol.

1.Vinegar

Vinegar is a not chemical liquid and is acetic acid. Because of the acid, it is similar to rubbing alcohol and it has the same disinfectant qualities. Vinegar is a great substitute for rubbing alcohol because is not toxic and will not hurt your skin whatsoever.

Vinegar has so many uses around the home and is always a good thing to have on hand. There are really no side effects to it. You just have to be careful not to use too much. But that is with anything!

2. Hydrogen peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide has many of the same properties as rubbing alcohol. From what I have found it is just as effective and has hardly any side effects.

3. Witch hazel

Witch hazel has a chemical in it called tannins. This gives it its anti-viral and anti-inflammatory effects. Witch hazel is very mild and can be taken internally and topically.

Rubbing alcohol and Vinegar cleaner

You can totally clean with just rubbing alcohol but if you are not comfortable doing that than you can make a solution of rubbing alcohol, Vinegar and dish soap. Once you mix it up you will put it in a spray bottle and you now have an all-purpose cleaner.

All-purpose cleaner

• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1-pint rubbing alcohol
• 1 teaspoon dishwasher soap
• 1 gallon of water

Conclusion

The whole point of this post was to answer the question “Can you clean with rubbing alcohol?” And we figured out that…

Yes, you can! Rubbing alcohol works as a disinfectant. It kills bacteria, fungi, and viruses, when used for cleaning it always leaves a streak-free shine and it works great as a degreaser and is extremely affordable.

We also learned other uses for rubbing alcohol and rubbing alcohol substitutes. Plus a recipe for an all-purpose cleaner! I hope I was able to answer your questions and that you can now use this new knowledge in your home!

Anyway, I don’t sell essential oils I just love to use them in my life and want to pass on the love. I recently listened to a podcast by a doctor who did an incredible job going over some really important tips……I learned so much and want to do my best to tell you what I learned. But he also has a book that I just got and can’t wait to dive into. I really appreciated his approach because he does not sell you a certain company. He was in no way “selling” essential oils but just telling you the facts about them. And because he was not trying to sell his company he was freer to say the straight facts. Below are some things I learned from his podcast and have just acquired from my family who has used essential oils for while.

What is really neat about essential oils is that they are Gods medicine to us. They are purely the healing properties of the plant and not all the crap added to it. It just amazes me to continue to see how perfectly God planned things and when we try to add things in we tend to screw it up.

1. You’re using too much

People are sometimes turned off by essential oils because of the cost. And I totally get that. Some of the oils can be very pricey. And the way I was using them I would fly through bottles. I would take the bottle and rub multiple drops on my stomach or put 30 drops in a blend I was making…

….I figured more is better right? Well with essential oils the opposite is true. “Less is more” the oils are very concentrated and your body can’t even break down more than a couple drops. This is great news! You will save so much money. Your bottle of oil will go so much further now…

I ended up just making my own blends and it is working great!

2. Making your own blends

After I realized I was using too much I started making my own blends. All I did was buy roller bottles or I used empty essential oils bottles, filled them up with a carrier oil. ( A carrier oil is a fatty oil, such as coconut, avocado Etc.) and added whatever oil I wanted…

….Generally, you only need 1% essential oil. So I just guesstimated according to the size of my bottle.

I made some bottles into blends and some I just made bottles of one oil. This way I will not waste as much oil and can use the diluted bottles. And I don’t have to worry as much about my kids getting a hold of it.

If you use Essential oils properly there are no side effects. But if a kid gets a hold of a bottle of peppermint and rubs their eyes…They will be in pain for quite a while.

3. Side effects

Essential oils have no side effects! What?! How cool is that? How great is it to have a “medicine” with no side effects? Have you ever listened to a medicine commercial and it has like 2 minutes worth of possible side effects? That freaks me out. What’s cool is that God knew exactly what he was doing. He created plants for healing and not to hurt us. I am sure you are thinking well I have had “side effects” from essential oils. Has anyone ever gotten a rash or you felt like your body is burning? I have! But that was because I was using them improperly.

I would put peppermint on my forehead for a headache and it would drip down toward my eyes……Well I was using them wrong. I was using WAY to much and my body was reacting. Same with if you get a rash. Your body is telling you ” I don’t need that much”. Just because they are natural does not mean you can use as much as you want and it will not cause damage. I mean Water is something we need to live. But you can drink to much and actually hurt yourself.

4. It is the real deal

As I mentioned essential oils are Gods medicine. God created things in nature for us to use for healing.We have known that forever and have always used essential oils. If you look in almost anything there are essential oils…

….but most of the time they’re synthetic and not the real deal. For example look at any lotion in your house and you will see that it has an oil in it. They took some of the healing properties and then added a bunch of crap. But when you get a good quality essential oil you are getting the real deal. Just the pure goodness God intended us to use.

5. Good company

Speaking of a good pure oil you need to make sure you are getting your oils from a good company. If you just pick up a bottle at the store or online and don’t do your research you might end up getting a cheap essential oil. And it will not have the same healing qualities and is probably not safe to ingest…

So how do you find a good company? What are some things to look for?

Look for the 3 S’s

1. Sourcing
2. Science
3. Standard

Sourcing

This is very important! Just like you want to know where your food comes from you want to know that the source of your essential oil is pure. Look into the company make sure that that have high standards when it comes to sourcing. I like to use the young living brand and they have something called “seed to seal” which means that they know exactly where the product came from and how it was taken care of through the whole process and they make sure to test it themselves to make sure it meets their standards…

…I am not saying you have to use young living I am just using them as an example. You also want to make sure that they are not adding any fillers or additives. Most likely the cheaper brands are doing this that is why they can sell them so cheap. Just because it says it is pure does not necessarily mean much. Do your research!

Science

Make sure they are on the cutting edge with their science. Are they doing all the testing themselves or are they sending it out to other labs? this is important so that you know they are not being biased.

Are they always moving forward and learning more? Are they creating new testing to always make sure that you are getting the purest possible product?

Standards

What are their standards? As you read through their stuff do you get a feeling that they are cutting corners? Can you find what their standards are on the companies website? I would recommend looking for standards like the “seed to seal”. Make sure the company knows what is happening with their products through the whole process.

All of the things I mentioned you should be able to find on the companies website. And if you can’t that might be a clue that they don’t want you to know.

6. They are safe for pregnancy

One of the biggest questions I hear is “Are essential oils safe for pregnancy?” This is a hard one to answer because there is really no hard facts that they are dangerous during pregnancy. I have not had an issue using any of them. But I am clearly not a doctor and you need to do what you are comfortable with. Below is a list that some women have avoided during pregnancy.

• Clary Sage or Sage
• Idaho Tansy or Hyssop
• Fennel
• Wintergreen
• Blends and supplements that contain these oils

I have found essential oils to be extremely helpful when it comes to pregnancy. I use peppermint to calm my nausea and lavender in my bath.  I can’t imagine not using my oils…But again do what you feel most comfortable with.

7. You can cook with them

This is a fun one. I have just started experimenting with this and can’t wait to try different things out. In the podcast, the doctor’s wife talked about cooking with essential oils and it made so much sense to me.

For example, using the oils for things that are hard to keep on hand. She suggested cilantro oil. If you don’t have any fresh then just use the oil. That was a total lightbulb moment…

…She also talked about making guacamole and using lime oil. Duh! How come I did not think of that? And if you have picked a good pure company you should have no reservations about ingesting the oils.

Just a warning though when you are cooking with it use a tiny amount. I mean like one drop in a whole batch. You can always taste it and add later.

As I said the oils are very concentrated and have lots of flavors so you don’t need much at all. You will be amazed at how flavorful this will make your food!

 Dr. Zielinski’s book

I learned so much from Dr. Zielinski’s podcast that when he mentioned a book I could not wait to get my hands on it. He did an outstanding job talking about essential oils and how to use them properly. I was so impressed with his knowledge and the way he was able to talk on my level. Sometimes I listen to these doctors and they are way over my head…

…My book will be here soon. But after reading what other readers have said about the book I can’t wait to get it. If it is anything like his podcast, It will be a winner!

If you are interested in picking it up. You can grab it on Amazon, here!

My personal experience with essential oils

I have been using oils for about 5 years now. My mom learned about young living and started with their company. She realized that she loved the product but did not enjoy “selling” them. I feel the same way. I love everything about young living but I have found that I love different products from different brands that I can’t pick one to “sell”.

That is why I love having this blog. I can share the things I have found and love and I don’t have to be loyal to one company. Because there are so many companies out there with great products that I have come to love.

Okay, back to my personal story. After my mom got into oils I was a little Leary. I was not sure that they would really work that well. How would oil do anything? I did think the concept was really cool though. Because I always struggled to swallow pills and the idea of an oil was fascinating to me. Also, I figured that oil would be much easier for kids to use.

I have used oils for many things for I wanted to share my favorite stories with you…

Cold Sores:

I always had cold sores! Ever since I was little I would get the most hideous and super painful cold sores. Ugh! It hurts just thinking about them. Once I had oils in my life I would put thieves on it as soon as I would feel it coming on…

….It would stop them in their tracks! I actually don’t get cold sores anymore. Which is great! I am not sure what has taken care of them but I have changed a lot over the last couple of years. I started eating on the “Trim healthy mama” plan and it has been the greatest thing for my health. (But that will have to be another post)

Digestion:

One of the reason I started “Trim Healthy Mama” was because I was so sick all the time. Ever since I can remember I had constant headaches and stomach aches. I seriously thought that was normal and that was just how you felt after you ate…

…After I started eating better I felt SO good. I barely ever get headaches and my stomach rarely hurts. I am a huge believer in feeding your body right. When you have an issue going on I believe the best place to start is food. Food is the fuel for your body and you need to make sure the fuel is good and clean. After that you can start looking into other ways to aid your body.

Even though I was eating very good my body still needed a little push. I started using peppermint oil. That stuff is amazing. I will rub it on my stomach and I can feel it working instantly. But my favorite story is how it worked on my newborn…

My second baby projectile vomited every day for the first two weeks of her life. I felt so bad because I knew that her tummy was off. One day I put some peppermint oil on her tummy. (mixed with a carrier oil of course) And she never projectile vomited again. I was totally amazed.

My first born was colicky for the first 3 months of her life. I wish I would have known about the oils then!

Headaches:

As I said I used to get headaches all the time. I realized that they were caused by all the white bread and sugar I was eating. Once I cut those out of my diet I now only get headaches every once and awhile. Either if I am way over tired or stressed…

…Peppermint is another winner for headaches. I either do straight peppermint or make a blend of peppermint & lavender. The lavender just helps you relax. I usually rub the mix on my temples, the soles of my feet and if you can convince someone to rub it on your shoulders that will help if it is a tension headache.

Final thoughts

As I am sure you have picked up on by now, I love essential oils and love learning new ways to use them and help my family to achieve better health through them. But I am not a doctor. So please only use them if you feel comfortable and please ask your doctor if you have any questions…

…That being said if you are already an avid essential oil user I would love to hear from you. Let me know what you have found I help your family!

If you are just starting out and don’t know exactly how to start I would recommend starting by following my tips above and finding a good company. If you want to skip the research and just get started I would say just go with young living. You can either grab the starter kit. Or just a few oils. I would start with…

• Lavender
• Peppermint 
• Thieves

I hope that this was good helpful information and that you can begin to achieve better health for you and your family!

Happy Homesteading!

~Courtney

What is Norwex?

Norwex products are able to clean with just water. They are also able to get rid of 99% of the germs. 

I know that sounds a little sketchy so lets keep going.

Norwex is a company that has created an insanely awesome microfiber cleaning cloth. Yes, I am a mom because I am excited about a cloth. But seriously after I show you how it works you will want one too.

They offer a lot of products but their most popular and my favorite is called the enviro cloth. Think “E” for everything. This cloth can seriously be used for everything. I was needing something for my stainless steel fridge and my granite countertops. It works for both! My fridge is so gross from my little kid’s handprints and nothing worked that well to get it super clean and shiny. Until norwex that is. The Enviro cloth works wonders.

And my granite countertops? The best! I have a dark grey color and everything shows. When I use a normal cloth to wipe it down it always leaves streaks. It was driving me crazy! The norwex cloth is such a life saver. It also works great for cleaning windows and pretty much any other surface. But I mean let’s get real. Who cleans their windows? Not me!

How does it work?

Is Norwex a hoax?

No way! It seems a little pricey when you first see it…trust me I know! When I first was introduced to it I was like “No way am I spending that much on a dishcloth” But I have now had it for about 6 months and in that time have not bought a single cleaning product. Say what? Or body wash…I will explain more below

I know certain companies can get a bad rep because of their sales structure and what not. But I personally do not work for norwex and am sharing it with you out of how much I love it and it has changed my life. I do not like cleaning and when I find things to make it quicker and easier I am all about it. But as I said I was a skeptic like I am sure you are too…

How I got started…

I actually was invited to multiple Norwex parties before I decided to go to one. I generally avoid parties like that because I feel like I have to buy something. The norwex party was the same for me in a way. After I saw how they worked I thought it was cool but I was not sure it would work the way I was hoping. I ended up buying an enviro cloth and 3 body cloths…..

…When I got home My hubby made fun of me for being suckered in and buying a “sham wow” Anyone remembers those? I watched the old commercial on youtube and my hubby was right. I bought the modern day sham wow…

Does it really work?

As I briefly mentioned above YES is the answer to that! I was amazed at how well it worked. Maybe I did buy a sham wow…But who cares it worked. I was super impressed with it. As I said It cleaned my granite countertop beautifully. I JUST got new countertops this year and had chosen a dark grey. They are gorgeous but showed all the streaks when I would clean them. I was so bummed. Now that I have the enviro cloth all I have to do is wipe it down with water and it’s completely streak free. I know I Sound like the sham wow guy but its true!

And then My fridge was another thing that bugged me. We also got our fridge not that long ago and we thought getting a huge stainless steel fridge with little kids was a good idea. Ha! I had the hardest time cleaning it. Again, Now all I have to do is wipe it down with the enviro cloth and I am good to go. AND the kids can help and I don’t have to worry about the chemicals! Even though I absolutely loved the product I still was not sure if it would be worth the money in the long run…

Do you really save money?

….6 months later and I would save that yes you do. I was researching and apparently, a household will spend $600 a year on cleaners. Yeah, I was surprised too. I feel like that number is a little high. So let’s say I only spend half of that. Well in the last 6 months the only money I have spent on cleaning supplies in what I spent on the norwex cloth. All of a sudden that does not make it seem like so much anymore. And not to mention the fact that I have not bought any body wash thanks to the norwex body cloth….( I will explain that below)

7 ways to save money and your sanity…

Saving money and my sanity are 2 of my favorite things to do. Ha. I am a pretty frugal person and I hate blowing money for no reason. Yes, I have learned to live a little but overall I am still careful about how I spend my money. After doing the math I realize that norwex is actually saving me money. That is pretty cool!

And one of my main goals is to simplify my life as much as possible. Norwex does that in many ways. I don’t have to have a bunch of cleaners around just one cloth. And cleaning is so easy! Just run it under water. I love it! I love that I can quick wipe down the counter and be done with it. It gives me more time to spend with my kids and on things I really want to be doing.

1. No more products

You don’t have to buy anymore cleaning products! As I mentioned research says that the average household spends $600 a year on cleaners. Woah! I had no clue. That is a lot of money. For me it is a big deal to save all that money but also do not have those products in the house. I have little kids so it is such a pain to keep cleaning products away from them. My youngest is into everything and has a way of getting things he should not have. I really have tried to only buy the good natural cleaners ( talk about breaking the bank.) But it still makes me nervous if they get their hands on them…I still don’t know what is in them. So for me I love that all I need is ONE cloth.

I also mentioned that I was using their body cloth and not buying body wash anymore. I am sure this grosses most of you out. But let me explain. Their body cloths work the same way as the enviro cloth. It is bac locked and has the silver in it. So It working the same way on your body. You clean your body and then just rinse it out. I have been using that and nothing else for the last 6 months….

….Trust me If I smelled gross my husband would tell me. Recently, I was experimenting with making my own shampoo and it did not go so well one time and he made sure I knew that I smelled awful. I also have not used anything else to shave my legs. I wash my legs with the cloth and shave. No razor burn! Nothing! It is awesome!

2. No more chemicals

The last couple of years I have done my best to get chemicals out of my house. It is hard though. Even the companies who you think are good still have crap in their products. There are a few companies that I know are very “clean” but their products are SO expensive. That is what I love about norwex. You know exactly what You are using. WATER! No more ingredients that I can’t read…

….I really wonder how norwex makes money because they made a product that does everything and last forever. Pretty impressive if you ask me.

3. Less worry

My youngest son is into everything! I do my best to keep an eye on him at all times..But sometimes he sneaks away from me. It makes me nervous having things around that could hurt him. If I can do things that will further protect my kids I will do it.

And whose kids have dumped out bottle of cleaners that cost a fortune? Like I said I have purchased cleaners that are “clean” and cost me a small fortune. Then one of my kiddos get a hold of it and dump the whole thing out. With norwex I don’t even have to worry about that! There is nothing they can’t do!

4. No more smelly dishcloths

One of my biggest pet peeves is nasty dishcloths in the kitchen sink. I feel like I am always washing them and they are still gross. With my norwex cloth I hardly ever have to wash it. I do every so often but it never smells or gets gross. I just wash it because I feel like I need too. Oh and when I do wash it I make sure to do so with just a small amount of a good “clean” washer detergent because regular soap will ruin the cloth. It clogs up the silver and makes it so that it does not work the way it is suppose to….

….Norwex has other products including a washer detergent but I personally found a little small family owned company that I love and they are very affordable.

5. No more streaks

Did I say those nasty dishcloths are my biggest pet peeve? Well Streaks on my clean surfaces are also just as obnoxious. I hate cleaning my counters (or really any surface) and having streaks. It makes it look like I did not even clean it.

With a normal dishcloth, my counters look all streaky and still have what feels like food left on them when I am done. And promise I don’t do that bad of a job cleaning. It just never seems to get totally clean unless I get a good cleaner and spend a lot of time on it. Again, not with the norwex cloth…

..With the norwex cloth I just get it wet and wipe them down and they are shiny and good to go. And I know that they are actually clean because the norwex cloth kills 99% of bacteria. I love when I can get things clean with little to no effort.

6. The kids can get involved

This is probably the most important part. Like I mentioned my kids get into everything. And I feel so much safer having my norwex cloth then a bunch of harmful chemicals…

..But not only that my kids always wanna help. They want to do whatever I am doing. But I always hated spraying things around them or letting them help because of being around the chemicals. But now I can let them help and all we need is water.

Norwex even has their own line of kids cleaning stuff. Which if you are on a tight budget is not at all necessary but it is fun for the kids to have their own stuff to help mom with. Sometimes I wonder if I should just spend money on that stuff and not toys. They seem to not care about the toys and only want what I have anyway!

7. Never have to think about it

As a mom, I have so much on my mind. I have 3 little ones and keeping up with the house and running after them can be a lot sometimes. As I said I bought my norwex stuff 6 months ago and have not spent anything since…

…Not only have I not spent any money I also have not had to think about what cleaning supplies I might need or what I have run out of. All I need is my cloth. Which I am sure I will replace at some point. But I have not had to yet. And I use that thing every day! Now obviously a cloth can’t replace everything. I obviously still have to buy certain things…

For Example

1. Dishwasher soap
2. laundry soap
3. Toilet cleaner

But it has replaced

1. window cleaner
2. stainless steel cleaner
3. Stovetop cleaner
4. surface cleaner
5. Body wash
6. shaving cream
7. and more…

To me, it has been a huge lifesaver and I love what norwex has replaced in our house. It has brought such a peace of mind knowing that I am making my house safer for my family…

Final Thoughts

Like I said I don’t work for norwex. I just started using their stuff and love it and when I try something and love it I want to share it with everyone. I know that you might be leery to try it because of the price. But I promise you will not regret it. And you have to remember what you are all replacing. That one cloth will replace multiple bottles of cleaner and how many containers of paper towels…

Speaking of paper towels…

that is not something I have touched on yet. I am not a huge “green” person but I also don’t like wasting things for no reason either. With using your new norwex cloth you can also majorly cut down on paper towel usage. I also have not purchased any paper towel over the last 6 months. Could you imagine If everyone used norwex and stopped using an excessive amount of paper towels?

To me, I have found that I have saved money, time and a little bit of sanity thanks to norwex. To me, it has been totally worth it. I can’t wait to try out some of their other products and continue to get rid of more cleaners and more waste…

…A friend was telling me that they use their full body towels and only have to wash their bath towels once a month! What?! That sounds amazing. I absolutely hate laundry.

If you are interested in trying out norwex check out my recommendations below…

• Basic Package

This is the Eniro cloth I was talking about!

• Body Cloth

These are the body cloths I mentioned. I have been using it for 6 months and have not washed it once. IT IS AMAZING!

• The Mop

I don’t have the map yet…But I plan to try it out soon. I have heard nothing but great things about it!

As always I hope this was helpful and that you too will find norwex to be a huge lifesaver in your crazy awesome hectic life the same way I have. It’s my goal to help you simplify life and this is one of my favorite things. And yes, I know I am a total nerd because I get so excited about a dishcloth!

Happy Homesteading!

~Courtney