The week ends the week begins...

The past two days have been a tale of two seasons. In the wrong sequence. Yesterday it was beautiful, when it wasn't raining, and today we woke to snow flurries and some light accumulation on our deck and playset. We took advantage of the warmth yesterday. I had the windows and doors open to let in the fresh air. I just love the way the fresh air smells when it is blowing into the house. It's funny, when I am outside, I don't really notice how the fresh air smells (at least when I'm not in the country) but as soon as you open the windows you can smell the fresh air. It's that smell that sheets hung on the clothes line to dry smell like. I went for a walk and my husband tried to fit in a long run...unfortunately, his run was about a mile too long. The skies broke open with him about a mile from home and since I had just returned from my walk, I was able to drive out and rescue him. Today was a typical Saturday, modified. All of our beds have been washed and remade, I ran to Target to get a drive up order, we picked up dinner out, and we plan to enjoy some beer from the local brewery as we watch a movie as a family tonight. It felt good to go out and patronize two local businesses that are carry out only for the time being. I was even happier to see the steady stream of people picking up food and beer, properly social distanced within the establishment. The brewery is collecting perishables to share with the local organizations that are helping to make sure that families have food during this unprecedented time (sorry, couldn't resist using the word).

It is a little crazy to think that this social distancing began a week ago, today marks the first day of week two. This time last week, restaurants were still open and gyms were still open. School had been closed and we were advised to keep distance. Stores were crazy with long lines and sold out of everything.

I find that days and hours blend together, even with trying to create some sense of order. Starting Monday, the kids have school assignments, so maybe that will help redefine days. Some of the classes have provided a daily schedule for next week, others have provided a week by week schedule of what needs to be done. One teacher plans to have daily Zoom meetings to meet with the class and share the content. The one worrisome part to me is that it is all enrichment and review. Technically, during the next two weeks we are closed they aren't supposed to be teaching anything new (with the exception of the one college course my son is in). I know that they won't be taking the time for standardized testing this year so they will have time the rest of the year to teach but it still feels like it could be hard to be motivated reviewing things remotely.

Some observations from week one.
- We have created a lot less trash this past week. I would have expected that with all of us home all day that we might have created more. I'm not really sure why it is less. Any thoughts?
- The dishwasher fills quicker and has to be run about every other day consistently. That one makes more sense.
- The laundry is less than normal. I guess without the gym and sports we have less changes of clothes, even with daily running, walking, playing outside.
- We don't eat as much snacks when we are home. We still snack but we snack on different food I guess. I know that no one has grabbed a granola bar this past week. I may have to start suggesting them just from an overall shelf life perspective.
- I miss listening to music. The kids will play things on our Alexa from time to time and we have music stations and radios in the house but I am realizing that most of my music listening is done in my car. I might have to take advantage of some of these live streams coming up - James Taylor has a thing on Sunday and Garth Brooks is doing a live stream on Monday night.

What have you noticed? What was different than you expected it might be?

Now that I wrote that title, Dave Matthews music is running through my head. Maybe I will go turn on the radio.

Baseball Uniforms - A Laundry Challenge! #whiteuniformpants #whiteagain

My son has played baseball for years. Many of those years the biggest cleaning worry was a grass stain, which was easy to treat and return the pants to their pre-game appearance. Now that he is in high school, they play hard and they really ground in the dirt from the field. Whether laying out for a catch or sliding into base, his pants are always dirty when he comes home.

Over the years, I have tried this cleaner and that, all sorts of pre-treatments and soaps. Some of them work great most of the time, but it seems that there are playing conditions that cause dirt that just won't come out of the pants no matter how many times you wash them.

Before and After with Fels-Naptha soap. It helped but there is still a lot of dirt.
Before and after with a combination of dish detergent and peroxide. Better but still not clean.

So, I finally broke down and gave a try to a trick I heard time and again, the car wash. You know what...it worked. We tried at home with our hose and a jet spray nozzle, but that just wasn't enough. I did put a bit of prewash on it to provide a bit of soap. Use the hooks that they have for hanging mats and voila! clean pants.
Not perfect, but pretty good and much better than with soap alone. Be sure to take a bucket with you to bring the pants home in...they are pretty damp after being hosed down.

CVS Scenarios - week of 6/16

As I mentioned, I am planning a trip to CVS this week to pick up some deals.

Transaction #1
6 - Purex Liquid Detergent (~$6.49)
1 - Almay Eye Makeup
2 - Glaceau Fruit Water
1 - Gold Emblem Gummy Bears

sub-total (after B2G1 deal) $21.76

-$4 $/$20 CVS e-mail offer
-$3 $3/2 Purex IP (coupons.com*)
-$3 $3/2 Purex IP
-$3 $3/2 Purex IP (need a second computer to get three)
-$4 Almay mfg coupon
$.25 Gold Emblem CRT (listed in ad)

Total $4.51 OOP, earn $3 and $1 ECB. Wow! A net cost of $.51 for all of this! A savings of about 91%.

For more CVS deals, check out Money Saving Mom and Deal Seeking Mom. For more $5 Scenarios, check out the CVS $5 Challenge.

Are you earning rewards for printing and using coupons? If you join MyPoints, you can earn points every time you print and use coupons. If you are not a member, I can send you a referral link.

Dropps Fabric Softener Pacs

I've been doing my own laundry since high school and a family worth of laundry for several years now. In my experience, adding fabric softener to the wash provides me with the softest clothes, as well as giving the laundry a nice fresh, scent. Using dryer sheets is great for combating static and imparting a nice, fresh scent on the clothes.

For me, the biggest challenge with liquid fabric softener, since I am usually multi-tasking or starting a load of laundry before I head out for my morning walk/run, is catching the rinse. I have tried devices that are meant to release your fabric softener in the spin cycle - really a clever device taking advantage of centrifugal force if you ask the engineer in me. They work really well and allowed me to use fabric softener in my wash, but I felt like I needed to replace them too frequently because there would become a build up inside. I am not sure if it was fabric softener that wasn't released or lint or a bit of both, but it got sort of ookey after a while.

A while back, I was offered the opportunity to try the new Dropps fabric softener pacs. They have a great fresh scent - the bag that I tried is Orange Blossom. The product is useable in all washers, including high efficiency style and all temperatures.

They are so convenient and easy to use. Similar to the Dropps detergent pacs, you simply toss them in at the start of the load. No need to catch the rinse cycle. I have been pleased with the experience. I feel that my clothes have been softer than they were when I was not using any fabric softener and the fresh scent stays with the clothes. As with any of the pacs, you need to make sure that you store them tightly sealed.

You can learn more about Dropps on their webpage (www.dropps.com) and join Dropps on Facebook.

No compensation was received for this post. A sample pouch of Dropps Fabric Softener Pacs was provided for my use. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

OxiClean Laundry Stain Remover Review and Giveaway

See that shirt? That is the type of random stain that seems to come home on my son's shirt on a regular basis. Sometimes, it is obvious what the stain is, other times any guess is a good one. I have seen spaghetti sauce, ice cream, mud, pencil, crayon and more. This can be quite a laundry challenge.

When I was contacted about an opportunity to try out OxiClean Laundry Stain Remover, I knew we could put it to the test. I am definitely one to pre-treat stains, when I can. I find that this can really help get the garment clean. I even carry around assorted mini spray bottles, wipes and pens to help treat stains on the go. Sometimes the pre-treatment comes moments before it goes in the wash, but I think the focused application of a cleaning agent to the spot still helps it come cleaner than just detergent in the water.

I received my bottle last week and have been using it to treat stains as they come home. I have been pleased with the results. Most of the stains have come out completely with just one treatment and wash. On the more stubborn stains, I had to treat it a second time, but in the end OxiClean won the battle and the stains have come out. (this isn't uncommon in my house - many stains require a little extra TLC in the form of repeat treatment even with other laundry stain removers we have used)

I was interested to learn when I read the back of the bottle that it is a multi-purpose stain remover and that I could also use the same spray to clean the kitchen and bathroom or on water washable upholstery. I never would have thought to use a laundry stain remover elsewhere, but figure that could be handy.

You can learn more about OxiClean and the other products produced by Church & Dwight, including brands like Kaboom and Arm & Hammer at GreatCleaners.com. According to the company, many women (and men) are finding it harder to find the time to clean their homes and GreatCleaners.com offers a host of products that make that job much easier and faster.

At GreatCleaners.com , you can get cleaning tips, by reading Julie's Cleaning Secrets blog. You can order product to be delivered direct to your door and even sign up for the Clean Club, a service that offers automatic delivery of cleaning products to your door - you set the frequency for your account.

Pre-treating my laundry works for me. For more cleaning tips, check out Works For Me Wednesday Cleaning Tips edition at We Are THAT Family.

Giveaway
I'm glad to say that in addition to allowing me to trial the product, the company was kind enough to offer me an opportunity to giveaway an Arm & Hammer Stain Fighting Kit to one of my readers.

How to enter:

Primary entry - Leave a comment sharing your biggest laundry or cleaning issue.

Bonus entries -
Follow GreatCleaners on Twitter. Leave a comment with your twitter ID letting me know you follow.

Fan Great Cleaners on Facebook. Leave a comment letting me know you became a fan.

Tweet about this giveaway. Can be done once per day, be sure to leave a separate comment for each tweet. You can copy this: Win an Arm & Hammer Stain Fighting Kit courtesy of @GreatCleaners and @ABusyMomofTwo. http://bit.ly/3urNMA

Fave this blog on Technorati. Leave me a comment letting me know you did.

Giveaway will remain open until Friday, October 16th at 9 pm Eastern. Winner will be selected using a random number generator. Winner will be contacted by e-mail and have 36 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

Don't forget to check out my other giveaways: Once in a Blue Moon by Eileen Goudge and 4 tickets to the circus in Cleveland, Ohio.


I did not receive any compensation for this post, but did receive a complimentary bottle of OxiClean Laundry Stain Remover to use and review.

Tried It Tuesday - Purex Complete 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets

A while back, I was contacted about an opportunity to be a Purex Insider. I am always interested in trying new products, so I jumped at the opportunity. I was one of the lucky ones who was chosen and got to try a new product that Purex is launching, called Purex Complete 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets. I received my free sample in the mail a week or two ago.



When they first arrived, they seemed a bit of a curiosity to me. The Laundry Sheets are complete with detergent, softener and anti-static for one load. The sheets look like a small wave. A bulk of the body is blue detergent, somehow held between two dryer sheets that is released during the wash cycle. Then, there is a special green stripe at the end that is heat activated in the dryer to provide softness and to remove static.

Using the laundry sheets was incredibly convenient. Since I tend to do my laundry in the morning as I'm getting ready for work, it makes it real easy for me. No need to catch the rinse cycle to add fabric softener. And, when it is time to move the laundry to the dryer, no need to add a dryer sheet, just move it and go.

After washing and drying with the laundry sheets, I found my clothes to be clean, fresh smelling, soft and static-free. The scent of the laundry detergent is a pleasant, fresh scent that I don't find to be too overpowering. In fact, I had received my packet shortly before leaving for the weekend and had left it in my kitchen while we were away. The scent permeated the air with a nice freshness, just sitting on my counter. Actually, according to the website, the Laundry Sheets are available in three scents - Spring Oasis, Tropical Escape and Pure & Clean. I like the scent I was sent, but it occurs to me that they didn't say which it was. Guess I will have to use my nose to figure it out when I am at the store to buy them.

You can purchase the Laundry Sheets as a 20 sheet starter kit that includes a dispenser and as a 24 sheet refill pack. The Laundry Sheets are available at retailers nationwide at a suggested retail price of $5.99-$7.49 for both the starter kit and refill pack. They hit the store shelves earlier this month and I know that I already have seen them featured in the circular (on sale!) at one or two of my local stores.

They are easier to use than liquid detergent and fabric softener and certainly easier to store. I do like too that they don't drip. I seem to always have a ring of detergent on top of my appliances that results from not quite all of it running back down, like the cap is designed to do. With these, there also seems to be less waste. Since you aren't using a bulky bottle to hold the detergent or fabric softener and the sheet that is left after the laundry is no larger than any other dryer sheet that you would throw away.

Another nice feature of the Laundry Sheets is that they are usable in both a traditional washer as well as an HE washer.

One drawback that I see is that with liquid (or powder) detergent, you have the flexibility to increase/decrease the amount of detergent if you are running a smaller load or an extra dirty load. With this product it is one size fits all. I would likely have to have a combination system - I would use this product for 85% of my laundry, but would still need to keep some liquid product on hand for the small loads.

Overall, I would say this is a great, innovative offering to the laundry aisle. Head over to the Purex 3-in-1 Laundry Sheet website to learn more. Plus, you can get a coupon for $1 off, so you can try it too.

Have you tried them yet? What did you think? Leave us a comment or link back to your blog.