FREE Shaklee Membership with ANY Purchase

Wow, Shaklee has never offered this before.  Purchase ANY product and you will get a FREE Shaklee membership.

Why would you want a membership with Shaklee?  You will get:

• 15% discount (off retail prices) on product purchases
• Special promotions, offers and discounts
• Unconditional money-back guarantee
• Ability to earn referral bonuses

One of the questions I am often asked is: "If I get a membership, does that mean I have to order every month?"  The answer is NO. You DO NOT have to order every month.  There is NO  annual fee.  You will save 15% on all orders.  No minimums required.

In celebration of Earth Day, I recommend getting some of the non-toxic cleaners.  Not only will you save money on cleaning supplies but you will be eliminating those toxic chemicals in your home.

Risk of Developing Asthma May Be Caused By Household Cleaning Products

I shared the info about the CDC 'going green'. Here is some research on why this is important and why YOU should also consider using non-toxic cleaning products.

Common household cleaners and appliances give off fumes, which can potentially increase the risk of developing asthma in children. Asthma is the most common chronic childhood disease in the developed world and has become more common in the last 30 years. In a 2004 study published in the journal Thorax, it was found that that many common household cleaners and appliances give off fumes, which can potentially increase the risk of developing asthma in children. It was concluded that, “Domestic exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) at levels [even] below currently accepted recommendations may increase the risk of childhood asthma." VOCs are found in many household products and may also be embedded in the house itself as part of the paint, flooring, or furniture. Source: Rumchev, K. et al. (2004).Thorax, 59(9), 746-751.

Using household cleaning sprays and air fresheners as little as once a week can raise the risk of developing asthma in adults. The epidemiological study, the first to investigate the effects of cleaning products in occasional users rather than occupational users, found that cleaning sprays, especially air fresheners, furniture cleaners and glass cleaners, had a particularly strong relation to increased asthma risk in adults. “The relative risk rates of developing adult asthma in relation to exposure to cleaning products could account for as much as 15 percent, or one in seven adult asthma cases,” according to Dr. Zock. Source: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine Vol 176. pp. 735-741, (2007)

Reduce the chemicals in your home - Learn more

You can buy non-toxic cleaners here

CDC Only Allowing Green Cleaning Products

The CDC just came out with a policy for all of their offices to become chemical free and fragrance free.

No products that emit fragrance will be allowed - they must be odor free. Only Green cleaning products will be allowed.

In the report it states:

"CDC encourages employees to be as fragrance-free as possible when they arrive in the workplace. Fragrance is not appropriate for a professional work environment, and the use of some products with fragrance may be detrimental to the health of workers with chemical sensitivities, allergies, asthma, and chronic headaches/migraines."

Employees should avoid using scented detergents and fabric softeners on clothes worn to the office. Many fragrance-free personal care and laundry products are easily available and provide safer alternatives.

If the CDC thinks cleaners and products with fragrance is detrimental to health - what are you doing about it in your home? Check out these products.

Toxic Chemicals in Your Home

I have been reading some amazing research on what the toxic chemicals are doing to adults and children

Here are a few for your to ponder:

Children are highly vulnerable to chemical toxicants. Pound for pound of body weight children drink more water, eat more food and breathe more air than adults. The implication of this is that children will have substantially heavier exposures than adults to any toxicants that are present in water, food or air. Source: Landrigan, P.J. & Garg, A. (2002).Chronic effects of toxic environmental exposures on children’s health. Journal of Toxicology: ClinicalToxicology, 40(4), 449-456.

Faster metabolisms in children speed up their absorption of contaminants. “Children absorb a greater proportion of many substances from the intestinal tract or lung,” says pediatrician Dr. Philip Landrigan. “For example, children take up approximately half of the lead that they swallow while adults absorb only about one-tenth.” Source: PBS.org, Trade Secrets: A Moyers Report (2001).

Babies don't excrete contaminants or store them away in fat in the same ways that adults do, making the poisons more available to affect rapidly growing bodies. Furthermore, because a baby’s immune system is not fully functional, a baby’s body cannot counteract toxic effects as well as an adult can. In an adult, a blood-brain barrier insulates the brain from many of the potentially harmful chemicals circulating through the body. But in a human child, that barrier isn't fully developed until six months after birth. Source: PBS.org, Trade Secrets: A Moyers Report (2001).

Children exposed in the womb are at greatest risk of all. Because cellular structures change so rapidly during embryonic and fetal growth, a toxic exposure at the wrong moment can permanently alter further development. According to Dr. Landrigan, the central nervous system is especially vulnerable. To function properly, the developing brain must lay down an intricate web of interconnecting neurons. Small doses of neurotoxins during critical periods of brain development can alter those crucial neural pathways – one mistake early on, and the brain may be forever changed in subtle or serious ways. Government and university scientists are currently investigating the possibility of a connection between fetal exposures to toxics and developmental disabilities such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Source: PBS.org, Trade Secrets: A Moyers Report (2001).


Reduce the chemicals in your home - Learn more

You can buy non-toxic cleaners here

Earth Day - Get Clean: Safe. Powerful. Smart. Green

What is the best cleaning product? According to Real Simple it is Basic H2.

Basic H². is the flagship product of Shaklee’s Get Clean line of green household cleaning and laundry products. Introduced at Shaklee’s 50th Anniversary Celebration in 2006, Get Clean has quickly risen to become the #1 green cleaning line in the U.S. Get Clean has received accolades in many major magazines, TV shows, books and blogs. Including being one of Oprah Winfrey’s favorite things.

What makes Get Clean so fantastic is that it was created based on a few simple beliefs:
Safe. Home should be the safest place in the whole world. Did you know that many everyday cleaning products are designated as household hazardous waste and are recommend to be disposed of at your local chemical waste disposal center? All the Get Clean products are non-toxic, hypoallergenic, with no harmful fumes, and no harmful chemicals.

Powerful. You shouldn’t have to sacrifice powerful convictions for powerful cleaners. And vice versa. Today you don’t have to choose between harsh chemical cleaners that aren’t environmentally friendly indoors or out, or other eco-friendly cleaners that don’t clean well. Get Clean has been proven to outperform 12 national brands. And if you don’t think Get Clean products work better than the other cleaners you’ve gotten used to, you get your money back.

Green. Cleaning house shouldn’t involve dirtying the earth. Get Clean uses sustainably sourced natural ingredients, biodegradable surfactants, recyclable packaging, and ZERO chemicals that are harmful to the planet. And when you buy the Get Clean Starter Kit instead of the stuff you probably buy, you keep 108 pounds of packaging waste out of landfills and you eliminate 248 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions.

Smart. Save money while saving the earth. Did you know that when you buy some common cleaners, a lot of what you’re buying is water? Shaklee makes a more economical cleaner by making it concentrated. That’s why Get Clean™ is such an awesome value. You’d have to shell out more than $3,400 at the grocery store to get the same amount of clean you get in the Get Clean Starter Kit!

Get the Real Dirt on Clean

6 Speed Cleaning Tips

Just 2 weeks before Christmas. With work, shopping, entertaining,and decorating who can even think about cleaning the house!

Here are some speed cleaning tips.
1. Carry an old pillow case from room to room with you to collect items that don't belong there.

2. Carry 2 trash bags with you - one for trash and one for charity.

3. If it isn't dirty, don't clean it. Think about it - how often do you wipe the entire front of the refrigerator or cabinet when all that's really dirty are the fingerprints and smudges around the handles? Save the overall cleaning for another time.

4. Start cleaning in the kitchen - the most used room in the house. Wipe where you see dirt

5. Learn to multitask. If you head in the direction of the washing machine, take a load of clothes with you. Leaving for the grocery store? Take the garbage out with you.

6.The pros simplify their cleaning by simplifying the products they use! They can tote all the products they need in one tray: What products do they use?

* light-duty evaporating cleaner (glass cleaner or multi-surface cleaner)
* heavy-duty degreasing cleaner
* tile cleaner
* powdered abrasive cleanser

That's it! No soap scum remover, no special counter spray, no single-use products designed to clean only blinds or fans or walls. The pros know that these four simple products can handle any ordinary cleaning chore.

Take a page from the pros! You'll save money as well as time if you streamline cleaning products. Check out these non-toxic cleaning products.

Other speed cleaning ideas can be found here

Watch for the next post on a Self-cleaning Bathroom!

5 Going Green Ideas for Lent

Wednesday was the first day of Lent. Many Christians take on spiritual disciplines for Lent. What if you incorporated a Green Habit for Lent?

Here are 5 easy ideas you can try:

1. Use cloth bags at the supermarket. Twelve million barrels of oil were used to make the 88.5 billion plastic bags consumed in the United States last year. And it takes four times more energy to make paper bags.

2. Stop buying bottled water. Here is an alternative.

3. Stop using toxic cleaning products and go with green cleaners. It will not only save you money from buying an endless array of chemicals from the store, but you will be healthier for it!

4. Visit CatalogChoice.org to stop unwanted catalogs. Did you know that each year, 19 billion catalogs are mailed in the U.S.? All those catalogs require more than 53 million trees and 56 billion gallons of wastewater to produce. Clear out the clutter!

5. Cook! Prepared and packaged foods have more fat, more sugar, more salt, more preservatives, and more garbage waste than anything you can cook yourself. You can have a healthy meal on the table in 30 minutes. Here's one recommendation to help!