20 Mule Team Borax -- the all-purpose household tool!

I was excited to hear that I was chosen to work with the Purex Insider team again to share some information about and a great giveaway involving 20 Mule Team® Borax.  Have you ever tried Borax? It is a great, inexpensive laundry booster plus can be used in your home hundreds of different ways.

I'm really big on having things around the house that are multi-purpose.  That's why I always have a box of 20 Mule Team Borax in the laundry room.  Borax is an all natural detergent booster and a multi-purpose household cleaner.  It can apparently also be used for fun science projects for kids (like growing crystals or making slime) but we haven't gotten around to doing that fun stuff yet....

A little background on Borax first.   Borax is the common name for sodium tetraborate: a naturally occurring substance produced by the repeated evaporation of seasonal lakes. 20 Mule Team® Borax is 100% natural, and 99.5% pure (there is about 0.5% of naturally occurring trace minerals). 20 Mule Team Borax comes from California where one of the world’s largest deposits was discovered in 1913.  Once removed from the ground it is washed, dried, and boxed for consumers.  Absolutely nothing is added. No phosphates, per-oxside, chlorine, or other additive chemicals.  Who wants more chemicals in your house anyway, right? I was so happy to hear that. Borates, borax and boron compounds are with us throughout our lives. Families use it to soak and wash diapers and other laundry, but it’s also an ingredient in cosmetics, medicines, ceramics and building materials. You can use it to clean tons of other things too!  There are so many ways to use 20 Mule Team Borax!!

Check out some of these other cleaning tips in addition to getting your clothes cleaner in the laundry room:

• For scratch-free cleaning of stains, grime, and grease throughout the kitchen, use a 1/2 cup of 20 Mule Team Borax dissolved in one gallon of hot water on sinks, counter tops, cookware, refrigerators, microwaves, toasters, and any other appliance in your arsenal. You can apply this dilution of all-natural 20 Mule Team Borax to any surface including tile, ceramic, porcelain, slate, marble, granite and stainless steel.

• You can also add a half cup of 20 Mule Team Borax to your sink to reduce water spotting, remove grime, and put a shine on dishes, utensils, pots, and pans.

• Power up your dishwasher detergent by sprinkling a 1/4 cup of 20 Mule Team Borax onto the bottom of the dishwasher to reduce spots and film on dishes and glasses.

• Just dilute a 1/2 cup of 20 Mule Team Borax in a 12-ounce spray bottle of water to deodorize mattresses.

• All-Natural Detergent Booster with Odor Control 20 Mule Team® Borax increases your detergent's power and controls odors to give you fresh, clean laundry. 
• Sprinkle it on ant mounds or around areas on the outside of your house where ants seem to get in.  
• And my favorite -- use it to make your own laundry detergent!!

DIY Laundry Detergent

1 (4 lbs 12 oz) box 20 Mule Team Borax 

1 (3lb 7oz) box of Arm & Hammer WASHING soda (not baking)

1 (3lb) container Oxyclean

2 bars Fels Naptha laundry soap (or use Zote, or Ivory, or my personal favorite -- I use bars from LuSa

1 (4lb) box of BAKING soda

Optional - 1-2 bottles Purex crystals, Downy unstoppables or my preferred method - just mix 1-2 cups of epsom salts with some essential oils

Directions:  grate soap with cheese grater or food processor.  Mix all ingredients together in a large bucket or bowl.  Use 2-4 tablespoons per laundry load.

It smells great and I have had no complaints about its cleaning power or how fresh it leaves my clothes.  I am totally converted!!

**Note -- I like to halve this recipe and make it that way.  It lasts a SUPER long time and I find it is easier to mix that way.  You could always make a full batch and share with a friend! **

You can also check out the 20 Mule Team® Borax website for lots of other great cleaning tips here. You also might be wondering "Where can I get Borax?"  Well, check out their link and you will be surprised it is readily available at all your fave grocery spots. 

Want to try your own DIY laundry detergent?  You can win your own 20 Mule Team® Borax in my contest below.  Enter to win a free coupon for a box of 20 Mule Team Borax.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I received a free sample and free product coupons from Purex Insiders on behalf of Borax in order to facilitate my review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Soft Scrub 4-in-1 Toilet Care Review and Giveaway - WINNERS POSTED

I'm new to the Purex Insider program, and I just got picked for my first product review!!    I received the new Soft Scrub toilet cleaner.  New Soft Scrub 4-in-1 Toilet Care is the latest product from Soft Scrub to help make your life easier! It's a toilet cleaner that cleans and freshens for up to 4 weeks.  Woah -- that's huge!!  As the mom of two little boys, my bathroom can always use a little cleaning and freshening!  

So far, I have been very impressed with the Soft Scrub 4-in-1 Toilet Care Cleaner.  It leaves the bathroom with a fresh clean smell and so far it seems to be keeping the toilet bowl clean.  It was really funny to hear my oldest son exclaim "Mom!  The toilet has little balls!" the day after I first hung it in the toilet bowl, LOL.     

As I mentioned before, as the mom of two little boys it seems like our bathroom is always smelly no matter how much I clean and scrub, so I'm happy to have a product that works for me and saves me some scrubbing and cleaning!  

This new rim hanger really stays in place!  With each flush, the 4-in-1 Toilet Care cleans, prevents buildup, fights toilet ring, and freshens.  It is available in Alpine Fresh with bleach, and Sapphire Waters without bleach.  I am reviewing the Alpine Fresh scent.  It is a clean, fresh scent that is not overpowering.  It really leaves my bathroom smelling nice.

This toilet bowl cleaner works on the toilet bowl ring, tough stains and prevents future build ups.  It cleans, prevents, fights and freshens for up to 4 weeks.  At a price of less than $2.00!  You can't hire a personal toilet cleaning service for that price!  

And here's the best part!  I have 2 free coupons to share for your own free 4 -in - 1 Toilet Care to try!  Just enter below!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Disclosure: I received a sample(s) of Soft Scrub 4-in-1 Toilet Care for free in exchange for a review as part of a Purex Insiders campaign. The giveaway is not sponsored by Soft Scrub. I was not compensated in any other manner. The opinions expressed in this review are that of my own and any claims should be verified on the sponsor's site. Thank you to Soft Scrub and Henkel Brands for allowing me to review their product!

TREAT -- Greeting Card for FREE! -- UPDATED WITH GIVEAWAY!!

If you follow this blog regularly, you know that I am a big fan of Shutterfly already.  But have you seen Treat yet?

Treat is owned by Shutterfly and it is an online home for making, sending and putting some real love and personality back into greeting cards. With Treat you can completely 

customize and personalize your cards to make a one-of-a-kind kickass creations that could only come from you. 

You can add your own words and pictures so your cards stand out from the crowd.  These aren't your typical boring greeting cards from the drugstore— you can make one that actually has thought and meaning behind it. 

What's really cool is that if you are at a loss for exactly the right words, Treat has a Message Library to help inspire you.   Forgot a gift and need one at the last minute?  Treat has you covered with integrated gift cards printed right inside the card you create!  How cool is that?

They even have an awesome reminder service to help make sure you never miss a birthday, anniversary or important milestone. 

So, of course with all this information, you KNOW I have a giveaway coming, RIGHT?  

First, with the holidays fast approaching, Treat wants to help make your holiday checklist shorter.  Right now, you can create and send a totally personalized greeting card from Treat

FOR FREE!!

Whether you are saying thanks for Thanksgiving, wishing a best friend a holiday birthday, or simply sharing the holiday cheer with a 'just because' card, Treat lets you create a one-of-a-kind card that is sure to impress!!

But HURRY!!!  This offer for one free Treat card is good only on Monday 11/19 and Tuesday 11/20!!!

Just use code:  TREATBLOGR at www.treat.com for a completely FREE card!!

After you're done making your card, please come back and leave me a comment letting me know who you made a card for....

Friday morning, I will select at random from the comments, a winner for a code worth
20 CARDS FREE AT TREAT ($85 VALUE!)

EASY PEESY GIVEAWAY!!!!

  

Thank you to Treat for offering this wonderful promotion! 
***note I am compensated by Treat for this post**

Christmas Cards in October? ***AND A GIVEAWAY***

Have you started thinking about your Christmas cards yet?

WAIT, what?

You're too busy carving your pumpkins and raking leaves and you think it's too early to be thinking about that?  

Well,

IT'S NOT!!

I'm thinking about mine already....

• I already have a photo session booked with my favorite awesome local photographer, Shannon Wucherer Photography.
• I've also got an entire pinboard of inspiration for outfits for the photo shoot this year -- I'm thinking navy and yellow for colors this year, but I'm still figuring it out.

For me:

I mean CUTE, right??

• And Shutterfly has their Holiday Cards up already!!  

WHAT???  NO WAY!  

This means that I can scour their website for inspiration BEFORE my photoshoot -- and color coordinate my outfits WITH my card choice!  SO PERFECT for my Type A personality, don'tcha think!?!  :)

Look at some of the great layouts they have!! I'm partial to the multiple photo layout ones, but there are TONS of other ideas on their website...CHECK IT OUT!!

 

Shutterfly makes it easy for you to get quality holiday cards at a decent price.  They also offer TONS of promotions so you won't have to spend all your gift money getting cards sent out.  Check out their Special Offers for more details.  

But now the part that you've been really waiting for, right?  

Shutterfly has given me an awesome giveaway that I get to treat one lucky reader with.  Entering is simple:

Just leave me a comment below telling me if you've already started thinking about your Holiday cards and what you've done.

One lucky reader will take home a promo code for 

$50 off their total order 

(does not include shipping & cannot be combined with any other promos).  

Seriously.  How cool is that???

Comments will be closed on October 19th at midnight, so be sure to enter before then!  I'll use random number generator to pick one lucky winner and will announce the winner on October 20th.  Good luck!!!

***this is a sponsored post by Shutterfly and I am receiving compensation for it.  ***

Xmax 2011 Music Winners!

Well well.  Seems like there weren't a lot of comments on my Xmax 2011 music post.  Sniff sniff.  And here I was SO PROUD of all the music I pulled together for you guys.  Whatevs.  :)

Maybe it was because there was so much FREE music that you all just went to go get it for yourselves -- I hope so, because these artists are great and you SHOULD check them out!

Since as of today, Dec 7th, I have only 8 comments on the post, I am going to go ahead and declare you ALL winners!  I'll burn you a copy of the playlist and pop it in the mail to you.  Please go ahead and email your addresses to livinthemclife dot gmail dot com.

Congrats!

Xmax 2011: Holiday Tunes - and a GIVEAWAY!!

I am SO super excited to share my 2011 Holiday Xmax playlist with you guys.  I found some REALLY great NEW music this year that I have been rocking out to the past week while I test-drove the playlist.  I've listened to it at home, in the car, at work and even in my sleep! (HAHA, just kidding on that last one).

This year, I am going to include links to some songs where you can download them for FREE.  YES, FREE!!!!  Through this wonderful new service I discovered called NoiseTrade.  Please check them out -- and for more than just holiday music!  It's a really great way to discover new music (and the free part REALLY doesn't hurt either!

And now, without further adieu, I give you........

Xmax 2011 - songs to put you in the holiday spirit

1.   No Stars Can Outshine - Epic Songwriters (this song is one of my most favorites this year on the playlist -- I could seriously listen to this one on repeat). Want their whole album for free?? Get it HERE. 

Self described as Acoustic : Indie

2.  Angels We Have Heard on High - Folk Angel (I really love the beat on this one -- toe tapping good!)   Another great find from Noise Trade -- you can download their whole album for FREE HERE. 

From their NoiseTrade page: "Folk Angel was formed on a cold night in October of 2009. Our desire is to make known the greatness of Jesus Christ and to exalt Him through the music that we create. We write and rearrange traditional Christmas songs, and through that creative process we retell the Gospel story that illuminates all things."

  

3.  Please Come Home for Christmas - Grace Potter and the Nocturnals 

Rock Genre, has been compared to Janis Joplin.  Great music and I think I'll be checking out some of their non-holiday stuff.  If you like this song, you can download it HERE.

4.  There's Still My Joy - Indigo Girls (I was SO stoked when someone told me that IG had a holiday CD out -- I rushed out to get it immediately -- Amazon had it the cheapest, FYI).












5.  In the Morning - Jack Johnson (Jack Johnson's label, BrushFire Records released Vol 2 of holiday tunes this year -- the whole CD is great in my opinion, but this one is one of my favorites)

6.  FaLaLa - Jim Brickman (a seriously lucky iTunes find, this one has a great jumpy beat to it!)  I think I might be downloading the rest of his album now too!

The album is titled 'All is Calm' and it definitely has a calm and peaceful vibe to it.  In his non-holiday life, Jim Brickman is a talented pianist who sticks to the jazz genre.  He also released a holiday album in 2009.

7.  Hope for Me - Joshua Pearson (I really like his voice) 

Self-described as Folk/Pop -- For fans of:  Ryan Adams, The Swell Season, Feist, Bright Eyes, Coldplay.  This guy is a serious crooner -- you can get two of his songs HERE.

8.  Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel - Laura Cooke (I really wanted to throw a few traditional songs on this collection since I have so many non-traditional songs this year). 

Self-described as Indie/Folk, you can get three of her songs HERE.  She sticks to the Christian & Gospel scene outside of the holidays...

9.  Winter Night - Little & Ashley (this one was a free download on Amazon when I first got it, but it is a great song!)  Apparently they were featured in a Kindle commercial and they have a great positive and joyful feel to their music.

10.  All I Want for Christmas is You - Mariah Carey (Ok I lied -- not all of my songs are new this year -- this one is an oldy but goody...and I just couldn't resist.)

11.  Snow Globe - Matt Wertz 

I originally downloaded this song on iTunes (don't know if I paid for it or not, but it is also a bonus track on a full album of his on NoiseTrade, so you can score it for FREE right now.  He's got a great catchy folksy voice, so check him out!  Warning -- he does say the word "Candy Cane" in his song, so if you have a 4 year old in your house who is obsessed with Candy Canes, you may want to limit his exposure to this song otherwise he will be asking you for candy canes repeatedly (not like I speak from experience or anything...)



12.  The Heart of Christmas - Matthew West - another great iTunes find that might have me buying the rest of his album because I really like the sound of his voice...









13.  It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas - Michael Buble (um, all I have to say is....Michael Buble) - and that is why he gets TWO entries in my 2011 playlist.  :)


14.  White Christmas - Michael Buble and Shania Twain








15.  Winter Moon - Mindy Gledhill
16.  Little Soldier - Mindy Gledhill

I only bought two of the songs off this album originally and then had to go back and get the rest of it because I am so in love with her voice.  Her non-holiday music is also outstanding.  She is going to be one of my new favorites, I think...

17.  Christmas Wish - She & Him - HERE
18.  Silver Bells - She & Him

Because I already knew how much I adore She & Him I purchased this entire album -- and that is also why my playlist features two entries from this talented duo.  If you haven't listened to them before, you NEED to.  I mean seriously -- it's actress Zooey Deschanel and M Ward -- need I say more??!!??

19.  Snow, Snow and Mistletoe - Shelley Adams - from another great NoiseTrade find -- a full compilation CD that you need to check out this album called a RareBird in a Pear Tree Vol 2.  Rarebird records is an independent record company whose style ranges from Americana blue-grass to indie folk rock, and singer-songwriter pop to soul infused art-rock.  There is also a Volume 1 available on Noise Trade.  :)     

20.  Snow - Sleeping at Last -  A group out of Illinois that describes themselves as Alternative/Indie -- you can download their entire album HERE.













21.  Hear the Bells - Vanessa Carlton

The bonus to this holiday album is the awesome acoustic version of A Thousand Miles -- but you won't regret listening to the three holiday songs on this album, either.  And, it's only $3.99 on iTunes, so I totally recommend just getting the whole thing -- she has such a great, relaxing voice!





So, there you have it!  21 songs of holiday cheer and joy brought to you by yours truly!  I am super stoked that most of my selections this year are FREE TO YOU -- but since some of them are not, I am going to stick with tradition and give out a CD to 5 lucky readers.  Just leave a comment on this post with YOUR favorite holiday song for 2011 -- it can be an 'oldie but goodie' like my Mariah Carey addition -- or a brand new one that you just discovered this year! 

I hope you like the songs I picked this year -- I had the playlist set late last week and I have been 'test driving' it all week like I mentioned before.  I really like to do that because sometimes certain songs that speak to me at first quickly get annoying (or vice versa, other songs grow on me).  I could've made a two disc set this year again with all the great music to choose from thanks to NoiseTrade...but I had to cut back because burning all those discs last year was killer.

Looking forward to hearing YOUR favorites this year!