Free Printable Lego Valentines

Valentine's Day is almost here! If your children like Legos as much as mine do, I'm sure they'll love handing out these Lego Valentines to their friends!

 

Valentine's Day is almost here! If your children like Legos as much as mine do, I'm sure they'll love handing out these Lego Valentines to their friends!

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An Inexpensive Alternative to Norwex®

Do you use Norwex® and love it? Me too!  I love how well I can get things clean without using chemicals!

To be honest, this post doesn't mean I'll be giving up Norwex.  I'll still be purchasing Norwex products when the budget allows.  Stating that there is an alternative doesn't mean I'm totally breaking up with Norwex.

But let me tell you about an alternative that works just as well and doesn't cost quite as much.

Update November 2018: I am noticing that a lot of people are landing on this post because they are searching for an alternative to Norwex detergent. Although I was originally writing this post about the cleaning cloths, I have added some information about a Norwex detergent alternative at the bottom of this post. I hope it's helpful!

A while back I saw a blogger who was a former Norwex consultant talking about how she switched and started using eCloth instead.  I was intrigued and did a little looking into it, but I already had all the Norwex products I needed at the moment so I didn't try out the eCloth.

Until today.

Last time I updated my Grove Collaborative subscription I noticed that they were now selling the General Purpose Cloth from eCloth, so I added one to my order.  It was only $7.99 as opposed to the $16.49 price on the Norwex EnviroCloth.

Today my toddler knocked a whole container of yogurt onto the floor as she was trying to get herself a snack.  (I teach my kids to be independent, but I don't intend for them to be quite that independent when they're still toddlers!)

I grabbed my eCloth and was kind of excited about a great opportunity to really test it out. I love how absorbent my EnviroCloth is and I was curious if the eCloth would do that well too.

Here is the mess before I wiped it up (the cloth is covering up half the pile of yogurt.)

And after one swipe with the eCloth:

After 3 swipes an entire 16 ounce container of yogurt was almost completely wiped up.

And after 4 swipes, the yogurt was completely gone, the sticky was gone from the floor, and I had plenty of clean space left on the cloth to wipe up the splatters that had landed on the cabinet doors.

So here's why I will be using the eCloth, but not giving up Norwex either:

Pros:

1. eCloth is roughly half the price of Norwex
2. eCloth is just as absorbent as Norwex
3. eCloth is proven to remove 99% of bacteria from hard surfaces

Cons:

As far as I know, the eCloth does not boast the antimicrobial silver woven in that the Norwex cloths do.  The silver does not actually remove more bacteria from the surface, but it does help repel bacteria from the cloth as it dries, meaning you can use it over and over again without washing it and it won't get slimy or mildewed or hold germs.  (Obviously you will still wash it sometimes though!) eCloth says that the bacteria rinses right out of the fibers, so I'll be curious over time how well it compares as far as an unwashed cloth and whether it gets slimy or not.

Update: I have not had ANY problems whatsoever with the eCloth getting slimy.  As long as I rinse it out after I  use it, it is not at all slimy.

Both eCloth and Norwex both sell a variety of other products, but the general purpose cloth will be my most used item, so I will stick with eCloth for that because of the big price difference.  I went back and ordered additional eCloths from Grove Collaborative.  I now have one for each room in the house and one for outside jobs.

If you want to try out an eCloth through Grove Collaborative, you can get some lovely free sign-up gifts when you go through this link!

Update November 2018: Norwex Detergent Alternative
I have noticed that a lot of people visiting this post are actually searching for Norwex detergent alternatives. To be honest, I have never used the detergent from Norwex, so I just want you to know that upfront. I am, however, concerned about the purity of the household product I use, and have used natural, non-toxic detergents for a long while. I've tried a number of brands, and the one I like the best for both it's cost and for how happy I am with how it cleans my clothes is BioKleen. It has pure, plant-based ingredients, smells good, and does a good job cleaning my clothes. (Also, for what it's worth, I use it to wash my Norwex cloths and e-Cloths. 🙂 )  As you can tell from the reviews on Amazon, it works well for a whole lot of people!

Some items to note:
1. It IS safe for septic systems
2. It DOES work well with both hot and cold water.
3. It DOES work well to remove stains and odors (You can actually purchase a separate stain and odor remover here that works exceptionally well. One of my favorite household products ever! Basically just think of it like a spray and wash – when you have a bad stain it adds a little extra oomph. It's also very useful for carpet stains, etc.)
4. It's safe for all types of fabric (including your Norwex or eCloths!)
5. It's highly concentrated, meaning you use a very small amount, saving you money.
6. It's non-toxic, using plant-based surfactants and essential oil scents.
7. It comes in both powder or liquid forms, though I personally prefer the liquid.

You can purchase it through Amazon Prime for roughly 17 cents per load. (You get twice as many loads if you have a HE washer, making the cost half as much.)

OR

You can sign up for a Thrive Market membership and purchase it for about 16 cents a load. (Or 8 cents with a HE washer.)

It's a little bit better deal through Thrive Market because you can use a free trial membership. Even if you purchase a yearly membership, I have found that the money I save in a year is substantially more than the cost of a membership. Also, they have a guarantee that if you don't at least save the cost of your membership fee in a year, the will refund you the cost of the membership. Pretty cool, huh?

Order Biokleen from Amazon here.

OR

Get a Thrive Market trial or yearly membership here and search for Biokleen.

3 Ways to Simplify Homemaking When You’re Overwhelmed

So you're overwhelmed, eh?  Join the club.

Life is so crazy and I'm trying hard to slow it down, but honestly there's not a whole lot I can eliminate.

Homeschooling just takes a LOT of time and there's nothing I can do about that. Trying to stay on top of housework besides is about all I can handle. Okay, it's kind of more than I can handle because I DON'T stay on top of it very well.

I'm constantly looking for ways to simplify life and I'm choosing not to feel guilty about any of them.

Here are 3 ways to simplify homemaking when you're overwhelmed:

1. 1. 1. Use paper plates
         Yes. I just said that.  It's not exactly the most “green” thing to do, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do.  (I actually came up with a different solution to mealtime dishes that I'm testing with my family.  So far, so good, so watch for an update!)Ok — here's that update I promised! We purchased a set of plastic dishes for the kids. Each child gets one color and those are their dishes. They are responsible for washing their own dishes after meal. We got rid of all the other dishes, which means if their dishes are not clean, they won't have anything with which to eat. This prevents dirty dishes from piling up around the kitchen.  It only takes a minute for each person to do their dishes, and having no other dishes in the house means there are none to get dirty! After many months of using this system I can say it's been a success — not perfect, as sometimes they will leave their dirty dishes until right when they realize it's time for another meal and they have nothing clean — but definitely better than the piles and piles of dirty dishes we used to have. We bought a set of Ikea dishes which come in four different colors. When we added a 5th child who needed dishes, we searched everywhere for an extra color and finally bought a set at Target.

1. Automate your shopping
   Yes, I said automate.
   That means a lot of my shopping gets done without my actually doing it!
   I've been using Grove Collaborative to keep myself stocked up on household supplies and it has taken so much off my mind.  No more do I have to remember what I need at the store or make emergency runs if I forget to pick things up.  When I'm out of laundry detergent, a new bottle appears on my porch almost like magic!  Automating as much of my shopping as possible has freed up so much brain space!(By the way, you can get a free gift set from Grove Collaborative when you sign up through this link.)

    
   A great place to automate shopping for healthy food is Thrive Market. There are so many healthy food options and supplies for special dietary needs. There is a membership fee each year, but I calculated that after just 3 orders, I had already saved well over what the membership fee was. If there is something you order frequently, you can set up a subscription and have it delivered to your house on the schedule you select. Set it and forget it.

    
   You'll still have to go to the grocery store for your fresh foods of course, which is why I love using Real Plans. You can set up the types of meals you like to eat (traditional, keto, gluten free, etc.) and then your healthy food menu is generated for you each week automatically (there's that magic word again!) Not only will your menu be automatically made for you, but your shopping list will too! You don't have to think about what to eat or do any work at all to make your shopping list. How de-overwhelming is that?! (But you can always customize the menu if there's something on it you don't like. Here's my complete review of Real Plans which gives an insider look inside the program.)

 

2. Simplify meal prep
   If you're happy with planning your own meals, one way to streamline your meal prep is to cook one-pot meals or use “dump recipes.” I cook one pot meals a lot because it means I only have one pan to wash!  An even better idea is to use slow cooker “dump recipes”.  You assemble your ingredients into freezer bags and fill your freezer with multiple meals of this type.  In the morning you pull out a freezer bag, dump it in the crockpot and dinner will be ready that evening!  My friend Sharla has written some amazing recipe books full of dump recipes.

    
   Freezer cooking is another fantastic way to eliminate overwhelm in the kitchen. You take one day a month and have a cooking marathon. Everything goes into the freezer, and for the rest of the month — no cooking! How awesome is that?! You'll just pull out your meal and heat it up each night. Once a Month Meals provides freezer cooking plans with all the instructions and shopping lists to help you pull off an organized freezer cooking day.

These three simple things will have a massive impact on freeing up some of your time, leaving you able to keep up with some of your other homemaking duties a little more easily — I know they have helped me not feel so overwhelmed as a homemaker!

Free Mrs. Meyer’s Cleaning Kit! (Limited Time)

It's the new year, which means we're all thinking about getting our houses all de-clutterified and spic and span clean.

I'm super excited that ePantry has created an amazing offer just for my readers!

So, here's the deal:
When you sign up for ePantry using my referral link, you’ll get a free Mrs. Meyer's Cleaning Kit.

(IMPORTANT UPDATE: THIS OFFER HAS SOLD OUT!  However, if you follow the links, you'll be directed to a new offer that includes almost everything the first offer did.  So I would jump on it before they're completely out of free products to give away!)

Oh, how I love Mrs. Meyer's products!  They smell sooo good that they actually make cleaning (almost) fun!

Want to get your Mrs. Meyer's Cleaning Kit and see why I love ePantry so much? Here’s how it works:

1. Sign up for ePantry through this link. You’ll receive the Mrs. Meyer's Cleaning Kit free when you sign up!

2. Answer a few quick questions about your family and how clean you keep your home (be honest!). This takes under 30 seconds and ePantry uses your responses to customize your first basket.

3. Once you’ve answered the questions, you can finalize the basket of products to suit your needs by adding or removing items.

4. To receive this offer, your order needs to be a minimum of $20. Choose the combination of products and scents you want to receive in your first box.

5. You made it! Click finish & pay and place your order.

(Have you already signed up for ePantry before?  They've been nice enough to extend an offer to existing customers as well! Existing customers click here to get 50% off the Mrs. Meyer's Cleaning Kit with your next order.)

Don’t forget this special offer is only available until January 17 or while supplies last.

If you suffer from decision-making paralysis like I do, you might want to copy this shopping basket.  It will get you close to the $20 that you need for your free cleaning kit, and it's a great deal besides!  If you priced this all out at a store it would cost around $70!

How to Teach Art at Home like a Pro: Even if You Can’t Draw a Straight Line

By Jim Pence, See the Light chalk artist 

“I want to include art in my homeschool curriculum, but how can I teach my children to draw if I don't know how myself?”

Art is one of those subjects that is difficult for most of us to teach. We know art is important in a well-rounded education, but where do you start?

Have you ever felt that way?

If you have, I've got good news for you.

I have moved all of my homeschooling posts to christianhomeschoolfamily.com. You can go here to read this post at the new site.”

Decluttering Your Homeschool

I've been working on decluttering each area of my house one by one (I'm working my way through this book, if you want some step-by-step hand-holding.)

Guess what?  Even though we're right in the middle of the school year, I'm finding that our homeschool curriculum needed a little cleaning out too.

I have moved all of my homeschooling posts to christianhomeschoolfamily.com. You can go here to read this post at the new site.