Happy New Year!

Wow, I can't believe it is 2015 already and I still haven't gotten this thing up and running.  Now, I'm not usually one for resolutions because I usually forget about them by January 2nd (I know, real motivated) but this year Dan and I want to make this the best year yet.

We've recently had a lot of changes in our household, work, school, etc. and we want to maximize every change so that we are living the best we possibly can.  The first thing that I have I decided to start doing is saving up money.  I have random little things that bring in extra money so I've decided instead of spending the money I'm going to save it.  I'm trying to to do the 52 week savings challenge.

We'll see how it goes but with our new goal to improve our credit and save up money to purchase a new house in the next three years, I figure this is a good stepping stone.

So that is where I'm starting, some of my other goals are to spend more time with my family and keep a clean(er) house.  So I will leave you with this gem.

Happy New Year!  2015 is going to be a great year!

Listerine HealthyWhite

Had the chance to try out Listerine HealthyWhite.  Now I just have to prelude this review with the fact that I have had the flu for the last week and so this is based on only a few tries.  Also, my pictures are really crappy.  Overall, the product felt like what you would anticipate Listerine to feel like, it slightly burns and it is work to keep in your mouth.  My mouth did feel cleaner after using it and I will definitely finish off the bottle see the full effects.  Now, it is just like most whitening things, it will not be effective if you also don't change some of your habits.  I drink a ton of pop so I'm sure I will not be seeing the full effect but I can tell that will help prevent the stains from sticking.  Would I recommend it, sure.  If you already use Listerine why not add a whitening component.  If you are looking for a mouthwash, the Listerine burn wasn't too bad and my mouth did feel cleaner after using it.

Before

After (three uses, with a makeover from my three year old) :)

Scott's Natural Tube Free Toilet Paper

Hey all, just another day in the life of Amanda.  I'm up way to late and really just need to go to bed but I gotta let you know, I recently got to try out Scott's new Tube Free toilet paper.  Just another crowdtap.com sample! :)

I have to say, I was super iffy about this product so I was glad that I was able to test out the product.  I had a hard time believing that it could hold up to the daily use on a toilet paper roll.  It worked really well, even with a 3 and 5 year old constantly pulling on the product.  It was nice knowing that all toilet paper was being used.  Certainly one of my biggest pet peeves with toilet paper tubes.  However, my one complaint was that it was kind of thin.  I'm pretty sure it was only 1-ply so I kind of felt like I needed to use more than I would have done with 2-ply but I didn't have to.  Yeah, that didn't make sense.  I had to use about 1 and half the time amount of toilet paper I would have used.  It also wasn't super soft which was a bummer since I like having smooth toilet paper on my tooshy but it wasn't like sand paper.

Overall, I liked it.  Depending on the overall price I would consider purchasing the product again.

Oh you know, just hanging out with some toilet paper. 

:) Couldn't figure out how to delete this from my selected photos (or I was too lazy too).  Search Meme and your first name and see what pops up.  This was mine.  lol.

Pretty cool and unique concept.  I could see myself trying the TP out again.

Ricola Revitalizing Herb Drops

Another Crowdtap sampling opportunity.  This time it was Ricola Revitalizing Herb Drops.  I'm not really sure how to describe these as they were rather different.  Since I work in a sales office and we always need a little boost around 2pm, I decided to share them with my office.  We had some definite mixed reactions.  We tried Lemon flavor and it was definitely different.  It was a mix of lemon sugar candy and pop rocks.  I personally was not a fan of them.  The flavor was strong and the "Effervescent Center" left my tongue raw.  I had one and that was enough for me.  

A few of my co-workers have had a couple and didn't mind the flavor and center but didn't see any real energy boost and were just eating them for the sake of having a bit of sugar.

Another co-worker did not want to try them purely because of the amount of sugar content.  She saw herself, if anything, getting a sugar high versus the energy boost from the B-Vitamins.  I can't say that I blame her.  I do not like sugar candy and the amount of sugar in this product was a tad overwhelming.

Overall experience, I personally would not purchase it again and I don't know if I would reccommend it.  The remainder of the package is in our candy bowl at work and anybody can try one if they would like but I will not be purchasing them nor eating any of what is left.

Miranda enjoyed them and has had a few, however, she did not feel said energy boost.

Elizabeth chose to read the ingredients first and chose not to try the product due to the amount of sugar involved.  I can't say I blame her.

Me just cheesin'

Ingrid enjoyed the flavor but was on her way out to another of our offices.  She would eat again but I don't think she would purchase on her own.

Zep Cleaners

Had the opportunity to try out a couple of Zep Cleaners. An Oxy Degreaser and a Strong disinfectant. 

We tested out the Degreaser on our stove that was a royal mess after a dish we were cooking exploded.  It was a greasy mess and so we were able to test out the Degreaser (not something to be used where you actually prep your food).  It took three sprays and a scrubbing brush to get to the after picture.  I liked it because there wasn't a strong odor associated with the product which was nice when working around my children.  However, I had to spray, scrub, spray, scrub, etc. three times to get to the after picture. The other issue is that we have a gas stove with a pilot light that is never shut off and the stove top is always warm and cleaners often steam off.  This is why I would typically use a magic eraser that has the cleaner power of a spray but doesn't require something that would burn off.  

The disinfectant cleaner spray is hard to see how hard it is working unless you have a microscope. It did allow for a quick clean up from after my daughters brushing their teeth which is nice.  I usually have a Windex touch up that works but I would consider replacing Zep based on a price comparison.

Overall, I would try out Zep Cleaners in place of my other cleaners since they are just as strong with less odor.

Before

After (Three rounds of Spray)

Adorableness (Zep Strong)

Before Disinfectant

After Disinfectant

#TailgateForOurTroops

Yeah, totally used a hashtag in my title.  I hate hashtags and I'm not stellar at them but I'm getting there.  :)  Anyway, not what is important.  Thanks to crowdtap.com I had another sampling opportunity.  This time we got a coupon for a free bag of Kingsford charcoal, an apron in support of #TailgateForOurTroops and a barbecue cook book, Fire and Smoke by Chris Lilly.  Pretty awesome freebies I must say.



Now, my husband is most certainly the grill master in our family.  Bless his heart, he tries to help me and teach me but it is usually not all that successful so I will try to get the meat ready in the house and he can grill.  We're a perfect match.  Dan's go to charcoal is has always been Kingsford so writing a review for it is great.  I've watched him use other, usually off brand charcoal with not much success.  It doesn't light as well and often takes longer to start up and burns up faster once started.  Kingsford charcoal provides just the right amount of burn and heat.  It lights up quickly and easily and lasts.  Dan definitely chooses Kingsford Charcoal (and lighter fluid) over other brands hands down.



The cookbook my Chris Lilly it interesting.  It gives a lot of tips and how-tos that even the most experienced griller will find new ideas.  Some of the recipes were a little fancy for my family but there are some great ones that we like such as the perfect burger.  As time goes by, I'm sure we'll dig deeper into and maybe try out some of the more adventurous recipes.  Dan is always experimenting with rubs and marinades on chicken wings and I saw a few recipes that looked tempting.  I'll have to give some updates based on what we try.

Anyway overall, great sample.  I enjoyed trying something new and we always love a good grill out.  Dan's charcoal and his grill, I like to call it Old Faithful.  He's had this thing for probably over fifteen years.  It has certainly seen its better days but boy does it make some awesome grilled food.

*Sorry for grammar and weird spelling errors, it's late and I'm tired and quite frankly too lazy to proofread*

Home Made Laundry Detergent

Made my own laundry detergent today.  Overall a pretty quick and easy thing.  Would have been a lot faster if I didn't have the "help" of the girls.  But we got it done and it smells good.  I tweaked the recipe as it called for quite a bit of items that involved strong scents that I can't handle.

This is the recipe I used:

BLISSFUL 55‘s HOMEMADE LAUNDRY DETERGENT RECIPE

Ingredients:

1 (4 lb 12 oz) Box of Borax- Found in the detergent aisle

1 (3 lb 7 oz) Box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda- Found in the detergent aisle

1 (3 lb) Container of OxyClean- Found in the detergent aisle. (This is optional but I highly recommend adding it)

2 (14.1 oz) Bars of Zote Soap- Found in the detergent aisle (we chose to do pink for the scent but the white would be just fine. You can also use Fels Naptha)

1 (4 lb) Box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda- Found in the cooking aisle (You could also get two 2 lb box, we couldn’t find the larger 4lb box when we went)

1-2 (55 oz) Bottle of Purex Crystals Fabric Softener- Found in the detergent aisle OR 3-4 bottles of Scentsy Washer Whiffs found HERE. (my favorite scent is Quiver)

Directions

1. Grate zote soap with cheese grater or food processor.

2. Mix all ingredients together in a large bucket.

3. Use 2 -4 Tablespoons per laundry load.

Original blog: http://www.howdoesshe.com/cheaper-and-better-diy-laundry-detergent/

The original blog is pretty awesome for other homemade recipes such as stain remover, Febreze, toilet cleaner, etc.  Pretty cool blog if you get the chance to look around.  

This recipe made 2 gallons of detergent (we filled two big pickle jars).  I'll be starting to use it tomorrow.  Hope it works wonders.  :)

The one jar is half full because Elizabeth insisted that we re-fill the oxy-clean tub with some of the detergent.