I spent time growing up in the Okanagan, so I was fortunate to enjoy many summer days at the beach. My happiest memories are sun-drenched and sandy! Stretching out on a beach towel to enjoy the sunshine, or sitting on one while building sandcastles, is such a great sensory memory.The softness of the towel fibres on my skin contrasted against the roughness of the sand at my feet is ingrained in my mind with its textures and sensation. As a mom, I want my son to have those kinds of warm, happy memories of carefree time spent at the beach as well.
As I age, I realize that quantity is really not preferable to quality. It’s taken me a while. My sunglass drawer is stuffed with dozens of cheap sunglasses that don’t block UVB rays. The closet contains too many pairs of inexpensive stilettos that I can’t wear because they are so uncomfortable. And I have owned so many vacuums that can’t deep clean and then break often. Throwing away a big item like a vacuum every year or two really can’t be good for the planet. It also takes so much time to shop, learn, and then dispose of big items that you either end up returning of tossing. I am thrilled to say that I have aged wisely. I now have one good pair of stunning sunglasses, a couple of comfortable designer stiletto options, and a vacuum that truly sucks. In the most epic way possible. All of these items, by the way, will last me a very long time. Cheaper isn’t necessarily wiser.
I just returned from ten days staying in a Barcelona flat where I washed in cold water and hung everything to dry. You may have caught my Facebook Live video about how environmentally-friendly European homes are as I showed viewers around my Gothic-quarter flat. As an exchange student living in Germany when I was 16 years old, I noticed that lights went off automatically, water was heated sparsely, and clothes dryers didn’t exist in most homes. At the time I thought that the Germans were the ones who lagged behind. How wrong I was.
Usually when I try super eco-friendly products I have a gut feeling that they won’t work quite as well as toxin-laden, heavy-duty, disease-causing products will. I know you agree with me. Well, folks – I think we’ve hit a turning point. Last week I took my boys to Nova Scotia and showed them the sights of my hometown. After a gorgeous Remembrance Day ceremony, we ended up on Citadel Hill (where else) and explored the museum.
You know those days where you step in the dog’s water bowl, break a vase reaching towards an upper shelf and then leave the house with odd socks only to find that your car battery is dead? I was having one of those on Thursday. And also Friday. Tasked with testing Tide purclean – a new formula of laundry detergent, I thought it would be a great idea to wash the largest king-size duvet in the house for the first time. That’s one of those decisions that resembles my typical ‘let’s invent a new recipe for this special dinner party’ debacles.
Yes, I swear by Tide. And it’s even better now with a cool new cap and extra tough cleaning power for getting the stains really gone. This whole video is a summary of our fun Tide Stain Challenge about how to remove messy stains. We also have a general stain guide for you too.
For part two of my great stain challenge, we headed to the kitchen to try and remove red wine, tomato and teriyaki stains. And after the arts and crafts stain cleanup last time, mommy needed a glass of wine. Because Tide Ultra Stain Release has challenged my family to a little game, we continued the fun with foodstuffs. After donning white t-shirts, we made tomato soup, a teriyaki stir fry and mommy had a glass of wine in order to put Tide Ultra Stain Release to the test.
Time to get messy!!! I love my job. Tide Ultra Stain Release has challenged my family to a little game. They sent along a few white t-shirts (hope it doesn’t rain…) and Tide Ultra Stain Release with a special ‘Zap Cap’ that has texture for you to scrub nasty stains with. After each activity, I throw the shirts in the wash to see how great this detergent really is. Such Fun!!! Each video shows how I removed the stain using the Zap Cap. My first task is for the kids and I to see how well Tide Ultra Stain Release can remove soil, crayon and jam stains!
I am THAT girl. You know – the one who, at 9 years old, crafted potpourri, took a keen interest in sewing Little House on the Prairie dresses and staged elaborate dinner parties that should have been playdates. Better than almost any playground or TV show, though, was laundry day. Yes, I am fully serious. Bright white linen napkins hung on a clothesline or the smell of fresh, wet laundry out of a machine still give me excited palpitations. My boys love helping to fold warm laundry. (They still need instruction on keeping clothes off the floor, however).
The birds are chirping and the sun is warming your face. Green grass is peeking through. The smell of spring is in the air. You step back into your lovely home and suddenly notice all the winter dust and disorder peeking from multiple rooms around the house. As you walk from room to room there are house cleaning needs to be addressed in each room. You can no longer ignore what the winter clouds hid from your view.