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.

Are Your Household Cleaners Safe?

What common cleaning product is:

• Linked to reproductive harm
• can cause irritation and tissue damage from inhalation
• Exposure for 15 min while cleaning the shower, could inhale 3x the acute exposure limit
• Toxic to kidneys and liver
• exposure through the skin

This is not something that you would use if you knew that, right? Unfortunately, this IS a common household cleaning product -- Windex.

Is there an alternative? Absolutely - and it cleans better and is less expensive than Windex.


Basic H2® is all you need for thousands of household jobs

Ultra-concentrated – 16 ounces makes up to 48 gallons of super powerful cleaner when mixed with water.


Versatile and powerful cleaner – removes dirt, grease, and grime from any washable surface, inside and out. Dilute according to directions.


No rinse, no residue, streak-free formula

Protect your health - Go Green - click here for more information

Clean Up Your Cleaners!

Chemicals that are in household products are linked to eye irritation, headaches, asthma and so much more.

See the President's Cancer Panel report to learn more about how to reduce the risk of environmental cancer. We already are exposed to a chemical soup in our everyday lives, and our homes should be the safest place we know.... use safe, non-toxic and natural cleaners wherever possible.

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!

Health Effects of Indoor Air Pollution

Open your windows! Not only will you enjoy the nice summer breeze you could be improving your health!

The LA Times article lists many possible home air hazards and how some of them can be eliminated.

One of the most common problems related to the air in your home and your health is household cleaners.






Here are cleaning products that do not have those chemicals mentioned in the videos

House Cleaning and Health Safety

I have made several posts on house cleaning and health safety. This is an area I am passionate about.

Are you Giving Your Child Toxins?
Safer, Toxin Free Home Environment
Did You Know?
How Household Cleaners Affect Children
Your Home Is a Toxic Waste Dump
Questioning the Chemicals in Your Cleaners

Yes, the cleaning products you use can affect your health. But how can you tell if what you are using is causing some of your health problems?

Here's a little test to find out. The test was taken from the book, Green Goes with Everything by Sloan Barnett. (The book is listed in my favorites on the right)

Check any of the following that apply in these two lists.
1. Do you:

• suffer from asthma?
• cough frequently?
• suffer from chronic congestion?
• have bouts of sneezing?
• have irritated eyes?
• often have a runny or stuffy nose?
• have persistent itching?
• suffer frequent headaches?
• often feel fatigued?

As Sloan points out, there may be other causes for the above symptoms, but answer the questions in this second list.

2. Do you:

• frequently use conventional household cleaning products?
• often wear makeup?
• microwave food in plastic containers?
• drink a lot of water bottled in plastic containers?
• have a lot of your clothes dry-cleaned?
• experience more intense symptoms the more you're at home?
• find the symptoms go away when you're on vacation?
• find your children's symptoms disappear in school and then return at home?
• have wall-to-wall carpeting?
• use air conditioners or humidifiers?
• have a pest control company contract?
• find your house to be damp or humid?
• find excessive moisture on your windows, walls or ceiling?

You may want to consider whether some of the items on the second list are causing the symptoms on the first list!

More on Toxin Free Homes

Here are some more startling facts:

• There has been a 28% increase in childhood cancer since the addition of pesticides into household products (National Cancer Institute)

• There is an increased risk for leukemia in children where parents have used pesticides in the home or garden before the child’s birth. (Journal of the National Cancer Institute)

• Over 150 chemicals found in the average home have been linked to allergies, birth defects, cancer and psychological abnormalities. (Consumer Product Safety Commission)

• The majority of chemicals have never been tested for long-term effects. The NY Poison Control Center reports that 85% of product warning labels were either inadequate or incorrect for identifying a poison, and for first aid instructions. And labels on household cleaners may not list all the ingredients because companies are not required to tell you everything that is in their products.

• When using Chlorine, antiseptics or bleach in industrial areas you are required to wear protective clothing that keeps you from being exposed to these toxins – hard hats, boots, gloves, apron or coveralls, chemical goggles or full face shield and use in well ventilated areas. These are the same chemicals we are exposed to when we wash our clothes, spray on our cabinets, wipe onto our eating areas, spray our rooms to kill germs, and swim in when we get into our pools.

• Children are more likely to be affected by these chemicals because they are still developing as their brains and bodies grow. They have more contact with environmental surfaces. They touch everything (and put hands in mouths!) and they crawl around on the floor as they play.

Want to join me in the mission to help protect yourself and our children? What can you do? One thing is to start using non-toxic cleaners. Listen to a 3 minute recorded message about Going Green with Get Clean – 1-925-924-3000.

• Warning labels on containers refer ONLY to toxins hazard from ingestion, however only 10% of health problems from chemicals are caused by ingestion. 90% are caused by the inhalation of vapors and absorption of particle

Questioning the Chemicals in Cleaners

In April, 2007, Oprah Winfrey had a program on Going Green – you can see the video of this on the right. The following is one of the stories that was shared on Oprah’s show:

‘For years, the Barnett family lived like most Americans. Then, in 2004, they got an unexpected wake-up call that changed the way they clean their home and treat the environment.

Sloan and Roger say they began to notice their son Spencer’s health problems when he was just 3 years old. At first, Sloan says her son coughed continuously. One day his heart was racing, so she rushed him to the emergency room.

“I don’t think we knew whether we were going to lose him or not,” Roger says. “They told us that he had a respiratory issue. They thought he might be developing asthma.”

Sloan says she began researching chemicals that can irritate the lungs and found them in a startling location…inside her home. [color=red]According to a physician, some household products—like bathroom cleaners, disinfectants, floor cleaners and oven cleaners—contain toxic chemicals that can trigger an asthma attack.[/color]

As soon as the Barnetts learned that cleaning products can be hazardous to their health, Sloan says they cleaned out their cabinets and made their home a place where everyone could breathe easier.

After throwing out common household cleaners, Roger discovered the Shaklee Corporation, a company that had been producing natural cleaning products for 50 years.

Sloan and Roger began using these eco-friendly cleaners inside their house. “We thought they worked terrifically,” Roger says. “The great news is that Spencer has never had to go back to the hospital since we switched our products and that really speaks it all for us.”

Oprah says “The Barnetts liked the products so much, they bought the company!”

Now, Sloan says she tries to live in a way that’s responsible to the health of her children and to the health of the planet.

Shaklee products, which include everything from dryer sheets to stain removers, are made from pure ingredients and won’t leave your house smelling like a lemon tree. “Clean, real clean, doesn’t have a smell,” Sloan says. “Real clean is good for our children, good for our families.”

Check out the cleaning products here

Oprah says she’s a big fan of Shaklee’s H2 Organic Super Concentrated Cleaner. “Use a couple of drops of this, and it’s amazing,” she says. “You can clean the windows. You can clean the counters….You can clean everything!”


P.S. Out of 1,435 pesticide poisonings in a 1 year period, over 40% were due to exposure to disinfectants and similar cleaning products in the home. (Source: State of California Study) Just reducing (not eliminating) environmental carcinogens alone would save at least 50,000 lives from cancer annually (Source: Dr. Lee Davis, former advisor to the Secretary of Health)

Your Home is a Toxic Waste Dump

I'm not trying to be mean. And this has nothing to do with how clean you keep your home.

But, think of your home as a toxic waste dump.

*The average home today contains 62 toxic chemicals – more than a chemistry lab at the turn of the century.

*More than 72,000 synthetic chemicals have been produced since WWII.

*Less than 2% of synthetic chemicals have been tested for toxicity, mutagenic and carcinogenic effects, or birth defects.

*The majority of chemicals have never been tested for long-term effects.

Isn’t it time to do something about what is in your home?

Here is one option for you: Get Clean - The Get Clean starter kit has 0 (zero) chemicals.

How Household Cleaners Affect Children

In the last few posts I’ve shared with you the dangers of the toxic cleaners that most people are using. It is alarming to think how many families and children are suffering unnecessarily because they just don’t know an economical alternative to their toxic cleaners exists.

Below is a testimonial from a mother of 4 that I thought you would find interesting:

Being a concerned mother of nearly four, I do care about the wellness of my family and the toxins in my home. But this concern has taken different action over the past years. When I had my first baby, I gave cleaning products a great deal of thought and tried to make as many as I could using earth friendly ingredients and recipes I found online. Then, after the arrival of my second baby, I needed convenience and so I tried some of the green cleaners found at health food stores. This was expensive so at times I had to just use the chemicals that choke you in the cleaning aisles of grocery stores. And finally, after my third baby, I needed maximum convenience and minimum price. So I started to use Clorox wipes, among other things.

Unfortunately, I was doing more harm than good. A friend of mine suggested I watch Toxic Brew, a news segment produced by a Canadian news station. After watching this, the reality of what I was bringing into my home began to dawn on me.

Only a month or so later, I heard of the work of Dr. Doris Rapp, who researches the effects of harmful chemicals on children’s health. (You can find her books, including Is This Your Child’s World? at www.amazon.com.) In one of her studies, she tested the effect of bleach on six-year-olds’ handwriting. I looked at the printed results, and was amazed at the evidence. Before a bottle of bleach was opened, students wrote their names fairly well. Then, with just an opened bottle of bleach in the room and the fumes wafting through the air, the children wrote their names dramatically different. Some wrote messy, some too small to read, and one even wrote backwards.

Being the devil’s advocate that I am, I thought: ‘Well, they just printed up the worst case scenarios. Certainly it wouldn’t effect my kids this way.’ So, I determined to do the same test at home. I didn’t tell my kids what I was doing. I only told them to write as neatly as they could. They printed their names on a sheet of paper. Then, I told them to hold up their papers while I wiped the table off with a Clorox wipe. As soon as it was dry enough, I had them put their papers down and write their names again. I was shocked! My daughter’s writing was visibly messier; instead of letters being tight and connected, they were loopy and crooked. My son was completely distracted by something while he was writing his name! (This is uncharacteristic of him. He has no attention difficulties.) When he realized that he was talking about something else, he stopped mid-sentence and said: ‘Wait, I’m supposed to be writing my name!’ The next letter he wrote was upside-down (which my son had never done before). I took it to the next level and had my children move to another room where there were no Clorox fumes. They wrote their names again and proved that without being ‘under the influence’ they could write just as neat as the first time. I could clearly see that the chemicals were affecting both writing ability and focus.

My children are homeschooled and we do chores every morning before school starts. Since they have direct exposure to cleaners, I was burdened by thoughts of how the cleaning chemicals were affecting them in other ways. To make a long story shorter, I promised myself from that time on that I would not subject my children’s minds to danger again, not to mention their lungs and skin. And I am very pleased with the alternatives that Shaklee Get Clean offers! These are very powerful, environmentally friendly, cost-effective cleaning products that contain no toxic chemicals and no dangerous fumes! What more was I looking for? I have totally clean, residue-free dishes; totally clean, irritation-free clothes; and totally clean, fume-free choretime! I LOVE IT and I want to spread the word so that every mom can give her children the priceless gift of a toxin-free home.

Amy K
Jefferson, GA

Check out the products mentioned above here

Did You Know?

• In 2005, 218,316 reported poison exposures came from household cleaning products

• Common household cleaners and appliances give off fumes, which can potentially increase the risk of asthma in children

• The EPA says that only a fraction of the more than 81,500 registered chemicals have gone through testing for human health concerns. 81,500 represents approximately one in every 750 known chemicals

• The EPA lists the following household cleaning products as ‘hazardous waste” – oven cleaners, drain cleaners, wood and metal cleaners and polishes, toilet cleaners, tub, tile and shower cleaners and bleach.

• The average US household generates more than 20 pounds of household hazardous waste per year, and the average home can accumulate as much as 100 pounds of household hazardous waste in the basement and garage and in storage closets.

Because children drink more water, breathe more air, are more active than we are, and eat more food than adults, they also take in much higher concentrations of toxic chemicals. Our children’s growing and developing bodies are especially vulnerable to harm caused by toxic chemicals. Rates of certain diseases linked to environmental exposures in children are increasing at alarming rates. Here are some stats that may cause you to think really hard about the toxins we have in our homes.

• Cancer rates in children have increased 28% between 1975 and 1998.

• In the last 25 years the number of children who suffer from asthma has doubled to more than 8%

• Nearly 12 million children have one or more learning, developmental, or behavioral disabilities.

Is there anything you can do? ABSOLUTELY! GO GREEN – GET CLEAN

Safer, Toxin Free Home Environment

Have you heard about the dangers that everyday cleaners pose for you and your family? The statistics of what the toxins are doing to us and our families are terrifying.

Did you know that:
• 50% of all illness is because the air inside the home is of poor quality? (1989 State of Massachusetts Stody) and that an EPA survey concluded that indoor air was 3 to 70 times more polluted than outdoor air. Another EPA study stated that the toxic chemicals in household cleaners are 3 times more likely to cause cancer than outdoor air. CMHC reports that houses today are so energy efficient that “outgassing” of chemicals has no where to go, so it builds up inside the home.

• Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, circulatory disorders, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, depression, and hormonal problems are diseases commonly related to chemical exposure

• ADD/ADHD are epidemic in schools today. Behavioral problems have been linked to exposure to toxic chemicals and molds. Use of Ritalin has skyrocketed since 1990.

• Of the chemicals found in personal care products, 884 are toxic, 146 cause tumors, 218 cause reproductive complications, 314 cause biological mutation, 376 cause skin and eye irritations. (U.S. House of Representatives report, 1989)

• In one decade, there has been a 42% increase in asthma, 29% for men; 82% for women. The higher rate for women is believed to be due to women’s longer exposure times to household chemicals. (Center for Disease Control)

That is scary!

So what can you do? Safe, non-toxic cleaners are available. Check out the non-toxic cleaners. If you have any questions or want more information, call me toll free at 1-866-811-5357

Are You Giving Your Child Toxins Each Day?

Naturally, we would not knowingly,give our children toxins, but do you know how safe your laundry and cleaning products are?

Each day you are exposed to more than 123 chemicals through your skin and mouth – the vast majority of which have never been screened for safety by the FDA.

Analysis of cord blood of newborn babies at Mt. Sinai Hospital found more than 200 chemicals already in the blood stream at birth!

What do we do when we bring a new baby home from the hospital? We make sure that they are safe – the best car seat, baby gates, electric plug covers, locks on cabinets to keep them safe from hazardous household chemicals.

But when the baby goes to sleep, we get those same chemicals out and spray them all over the baby’s environment – the high chair tray they eat off; the floor they crawl on, the air they breathe. It just doesn’t make sense!

There are 80 scary chemicals in many of the products we use every day.

Let’s look at some of the most common hazardous household chemicals and which ones may be hiding out in your bathroom….laundry room…or under your sink.

All the information I’m sharing here comes directly from a government watchdog group National Institutes of Health

Check out some of the products you may be using. One company you will find does not have any of these toxic chemicals is Shaklee. You can check out those products at http://www.householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/ingredients.htm

Ok – let’s start off with Sodium Hydroxide:

*Causes 75% o all caustic injury to the esophagus of kids under 5 years old
*Can cause burns in tissues – eyes, skin, mouth and throat
*Can cause irritation to the respiratory tract
*Can cause liver and kidney damage.

You wouldn’t want this in your dish products.

What common products have Sodium Hydroxide? Tide, Cascade, Clorox, Palmolive Gel, Clorox Spray, Spray and Wash, Tilex, 409, Shout

Next - Butyl Cellosolve

*Linked to reproductive harm
*Can cause irritation and tissue damage from inhalation
*Exposure for 15 min. while cleaning shower, could inhale 3x the acute exposure limit
*toxic to kidney and liver
*Exposure through the skin

Here are products with Butyle Cellosolve:

fantasik, 409, windex, simple green, pledge, glass plus

There are some other chemicals that are harmful too. Be sure to check your products at the government watchdog url. Look up these - hydochloric Acid, potassium hydroxide, and sulfamic acid.

Now, I know some of you have these products in your home – not because you want those chemicals – but because you didn’t realize there is anything else out there that can do the job.

There is a simple way that you can get all the chemicals out of your home-- use greener, safer alternatives that really work and save money at the same time.

Check them out here: Safe Green cleaners

Always safe....Always green....always works.....