Giveaway: Eco Store USA for eco friendly cleaners, bath & body and baby care products

It is getting easier and easier to make green, eco-friendly choices in our lives. One of the biggest trends I’ve noticed has been in the world of cleaning products and bath & body care. Everyone is jumping on board. One example of a great eco-friendly company is Eco Store USA which sells everything from soaps, shampoos, dishwasher detergent (or plain dish soap!), laundry detergent, baby bath products and even pet shampoos! Let every member of your family, pets included, and your home benefit from a good green cleaning.

I’ve recently had the pleasure of trying out Eco Store USA‘s vanilla shampoo and conditioner as well as their dishwasher powder and dish soap. Each of these products works well, smells good and integrates themselves seamlessly into our cleaning routines. The best thing about them, though, is what’s not in them – nasty chemicals. Eco Store USA founders Melanie and Malcolm Rands have worked hard to create household cleaning products using plant-based ingredients that would biodegrade safely and quickly, eliminating the need to use toxic chemicals. What started as a product for true ‘Greenies’ and organic gardeners quickly caught on with the rest of the world.

Eco Store USA offers more than 100 products, each one meeting stringent environmental and sustainability standards. And by using super-concentrated formulas, they’ve made their products budget-friendly and long lasting. A little goes a long way.

Want to try some Eco Store USA products yourself? We’re giving away a $25 gift certificate to one lucky reader which can be used at the Eco Store USA website. Here’s how you can enter to win.

1. Check out the Eco Store USA website and tell us which product you’d most like to try. This is mandatory, if not done all other entries are null and void.
2. For an extra entry, you can follow us on Twitter. Post a comment here with your Twitter username.
3. For a third entry you can tweet about this giveaway or post about it on your blog and leave a comment here with either the URL of your post or your twitter profile. “Win some green cleaning products from Eco Store USA @ http://www.mommasreview.com”
4. For a fourth subscribe to our RSS feed, leaving a link here to tell us you’ve done so. We’ll be posting more giveaways on Momma’s Review soon so subscribing will be a great way for you to stay informed about all the great things you can win in the days and weeks to come.
5. For a final entry visit Speedy @ Eighty MPH Mom and enter her Magellan GPS giveaway. Make sure to come back and leave a comment saying you have entered.

This giveaway is open to US and international readers!

The contest will close at 12:00 p.m. EST on Friday May 1st.

April is Earth Month at Eco Store USA – All Orders of $25 or more qualify for FREE Shipping!

Simple Green Naturals Cleaning Products

Simple Greenbegan over thirty years ago when Bruce Fabrizio and his father developed a safer alternative to the regular (toxic) cleaning supplies of their day. Their innovative product began before people started to “think green” or to become “eco-friendly.” Millions of dollars have been spent to prove the safety of Simple Green products and I am glad that not only do they sell industrial products but they also sell consumer ones as well.

I received the Simple Green Naturals line which includes but is not limited to:

• Dish washing liquid
• Liquid Hand Soap
• Multi-Surface Care
• Bathroom Cleaner
• Glass and Surface Care
• Carpet care

Recently Simple Green’s Naturals line received the GREEN SEAL, GS-8 CERTIFICATION. This certification is a huge honor for Simple Green, what does it mean?

Green Seal is a twenty-year-old non-profit organization devoted to environmental standard setting, product certification, and public education. Green Seal’s mission is to work towards environmental sustainability by identifying and promoting environmentally responsible products, purchasing, and production… The Green Seal-certified Simple Green Naturals products have met product-specific performance requirements (i.e., they actually must work!), product-specific health and environmental requirements (i.e., no carcinogens, no reproductive toxins, not a cause of skin sensitization, must be biodegradable, non-toxic to aquatic organisms, etc.,) and specific labeling requirements within the use instructions, disposal statements, etc.  Simple Green Press Release March 16, 2009

Simple Green products are non-toxic, have full ingredient disclosure, scents are made with 100% natural essential oils & plant extracts, and the bottles are 100% recyclable. This is the type of product I want to use around my children and to always keep stocked in my cabinets!

Learn more about Simple Green products at Mommas Review over the next month and be on the lookout for a giveaway in May!

MMM – Audiovox Homebase Giveaway

Readers that are huge fans of the clutterless fridge will be excited to hear about this amazing product. Audiovox Homebase is a digital message board that includes a 7-inch digital picture frame and a built-in camera that family members can use to record messages for each other and set them to be played back at a specific date. There’s also space on the homebase for family members to write on its dry-erase board and post coupons with the included magnets.

Toted to eliminate all pictures and notes from under magnets, this system seems to be the ultimate clutter reducer. It holds about 100 digital pictures and plays them in slide show mode which removes the pile of pictures taking up valuable fridge real estate.

The video recording option features an indicator light that denotes a message is waiting to be watched. Kids will get a kick out of leaving messages to mommy telling her how much they appreciate her super organizing skills. The perfect use for this feature is setting playback for birthdays and anniversaries so a personalized message can be left ahead of time from out of town guests.

The homebase also works as a dry-erase board for quick notes that you don’t want to record. There’s a slot to hold the dry-erase marker, which makes this much superior to any other dry-erase board. There’s also a slot to hold post-it notes.

A suggestion on the packaging is to post coupons with the included magnets, but the magnetic strips around the edges just aren’t powerful enough to hold magnets. Fortunately, refrigerators are magnetic, and that’s the most useful place for a piece of equipment such as this – a high traffic location.

A big downer with this item is installing it. The most useful location is mounted on your fridge but it can only be powered by an electrical cord. Audiovox supplies a wire management system in clear, white, and black to make the cord blend in with your fridge, but what a pain in the butt.

The calendar function is sub-par, not letting a user add notes to a specific date without recording. Adding text into the calendar would make this insanely more useful. Syncing with Google Calendar (or even being able to upload an ical formated file) would make every geek’s heart sing.

Priced around the same as a digital picture frame, this item will potentially be on fridges across America – or built into your fridge like many companies already have done.

Here is the press release video for more information:

Want to win an Audiovox Homebase of your own? We’re giving one away to one lucky reader – here’s how you can enter to win:

1. Tell us what message you’d leave for your loved ones. This is mandatory, if not done all other entries will be null and void.
2. For an extra entry, you can follow us on Twitter. Post a comment here with your Twitter username.
3. For a third entry you can tweet the following on twitter: “Mommas March Mania @mommasreview – has begun! Win an Audiovox Homebase and much more.. http://www.mommasreview.com” – be sure to post a comment here telling us you’ve done so.
4. For a fourth entry you post about it on your blog and leave a comment here with the URL of your post.
5. For a fifth entry subscribe to our RSS feed, leaving a link here to tell us you’ve done so. We’ll be posting more giveaways on Momma’s Review soon so subscribing will be a great way for you to stay informed about all the great things you can win in the days and weeks to come.
6. As a final entry donate $1.00 (or more if you’d like) to the I Heart Tucker fund. This can be done through PayPal and your donation would be greatly appreciated. Just visit I Heart Tucker and click on the donate button on the right sidebar, you can also enter raffles on the I Heart Tucker site with donations you have made!  Make sure to come back and tell us you donated.

This giveaway is open to US readers only (sorry to our international readers)!

The contest will close at 12:00 p.m. EST on Monday April 6th.

About the Momma:

Amanda @ funkEpunkEmonkE.com

Mrs. Suzzi Heartbreaker is a homemaker, roller derby vixen, freelance web architect, boutique owner, wife, and mother of two girls. She is a supermom and loves it.

Purex Natural Elements – Review and Giveaway

When I do laundry I try to use specific brands due to my husbands allergy to certain ingredients in laundry detergent products. My favorite brand to use is Purex. He has never had an allergic reaction to this brand. Well, Purex has gotten better and “greener”! They recently released their new Natural Elements line.

The Natural Elements line from Purex comes in either Laundry Detergent or Fabric Softener. They come in a variety of fragrances. The laundry detergent comes in: Linen & Lilies^™, Cherry Blossoms & Vanilla, Apple & Melon and Lilac & White Lavender HE. The fabric softener comes in: Linen & Lilies and Apple and Melon.   The fragrance I tried was the Linen and Lilies, it was clean smelling and not overpowering.

Some more information from the Purex Saves Green Website:

The plant-based surfactants are sourced from nature’s renewable resources, including natural fragrance extracts and naturally softened water. Both the detergent and liquid fabric softener have biodegradable, concentrated formulas that requires 50 percent less liquid per dose and a recyclable bottle, and it is also hypoallergenic and dye-free.

This is the type of product I want to use when I’m trying to help in creating a better world for my children to grow up in. I brought the product to my mother in laws house and she informed me that she already uses it! No wonder her clothes smell so good. She says the price is right too, she purchases this product from Walmart and a lower if not the same price as most of the other brands out there.

We are giving away Purex Natural Elements Laundry Detergent and Fabric Softener in Linen and Lilacs fragrance to one lucky winner. Here’s how to enter:

1. Visit Purex Saves Green and create a tote with you own Eco-Friendly Slogan – You could win a car by doing this! Or tell us what your favorite fragrance would be for Purex Natural Elements.
2. For a second entry, follow us on twitter @mommasreview
3. For a third entry you can tweet the following on twitter:  “Purex Natural Elements Giveaway – Win detergent and fabric softener @ http://www.mommasreview.com“ – be sure to post a comment here telling us you’ve done so.
4. For a fourth entry you post about it on your blog and leave a comment here with the URL of your post.
5. For a fifth entry subscribe to our RSS feed, leaving a comment to tell us you’ve done so. We’ll be posting more giveaways on Momma’s Review soon so subscribing will be a great way for you to stay informed about all the great things you can win in the days and weeks to come.
6. As a final entry donate $1.00 (or more if you’d like) to the I Heart Tucker fund. This can be done through PayPal and your donation would be greatly appreciated. Just visit I Heart Tucker and click on the donate button on the right sidebar, you can also enter raffles on the I Heart Tucker site with donations you have made!  Make sure to come back and tell us you donated.

This giveaway is open to US readers only (sorry to our international readers)!

The contest will close at 12:00 p.m. EST on Monday April 6th, 2009

Cleaning just got prettier – Thanks Clorox

I despise cleaning. It is the one task in my household that I occasionally go on strike for. There is nothing satisfying it in for me. I put in alot of work and determination only to have it back to the same point it was only a short few minutes ago. Sometimes you just need motivation.

I love motivation that is pretty and functional. Clorox has realized that with a new package design and feel. So that their customers can have a great looking product that can sit out at all times, and they can have disinfecting wipes that can keep the house clean and germ free. I love products that multi-task!

The redesigned Clorox Disinfecting Wipes come in a variety of colors and patterns. The one I was lucky enough to try is flowery and fun! They have a suggested retail price of $5.49 for a single canister or $8.99 for a twin pack. Not too shabby.

Perhaps you don’t like any of the patterns they have available? Well, never fear dear readers, you can submit your very own pattern or design. Clorox is hosting a Design it Your Way contest, that allows you to Redesign Clean! Hurry and submit your design by March 15th for your change to win a trip for two to New York City, a $1000 shopping spree from Macy’s and the opportunity to shadow Macy’s talented creative team.

Make sure to answer the below Aloha Friday question. Five commenters will get a little treat!

I’ll finish this off with some questions for Aloha Friday @ An Island Life:

• How about you? Do you like to clean or loathe it?
• Have you tried Clorox’s disinfecting wipes? Do you like their new design?
• What’s the must-have cleaning product in your household?
  

Coming Soon: MMM (Mommas March Mania)

It might be snowing as I type this, but at Momma’s Review, Spring is in the air. To celebrate we’re hosting Momma’s March Mania (MMM) during the week of March 15-22nd. We’ll be giving away something new and great every day, from companies like Keurig, Audiovox, HP, The Sak,  JVC and more!

Want to be ahead of the crowd with chances to win some of the great products we have lined up? If you blog about the MMM and leave a comment here with a direct link to your post, we’ll give you an extra entry to the giveaway of your choice!

Flor Stampede

In my never ending quest to make life a little greener, I recycle, compost, grow my own veggies, clean with natural products, and buy products without much packaging. I came across Flor carpet squares and they’re perfect for my lifestyle.

Flor‘s aim is to replace regular old roll carpet and the “take, make, waste” philosophy of the industry that produces it. They use mostly renewable and recycled material and the rugs have low VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds).  Flor even offers an option to return and recycle the carpet square. They promise to eliminate any negative impact their companies may have on the environment by the year 2020.

This story starts out with a cheap IKEA rug and ends with a happy momma. We bought a 5×7 carpet at IKEA over the summer, and it proceeded to get so filthy and stained that I banished it to the basement. It was barely used, being in an infants room, and nothing other than water ever spilled on it. Nontheless, it got disgusting. Fortunately, just as it got banished, the Flor package waited to be opened.

We received the Flor Stampede Tiles, and laid them out on top of my cupcake’s very cold (uninsulated in the crawlspace) laminate wood flooring. The existing floor was clean, hard, and level, so it was super easy to lay out the carpet tiles and arrange them how I wanted. My husband installed the strong adhesive sticky dots at all of the joints and outer seams to hold the tiles together, and I had a beautiful quirky rug in less than 10 minutes.

I worried that the texture would be rough on cupcake’s skin, but these tiles are just as soft as my living room carpet and she hasn’t gotten rug burn yet. Even better is the fact that they hide dirt enough to keep me from vacuuming every day and I know that if one gets damaged or stained, all I have to do is replace the tile, not the whole rug.

My other daughter (let’s call her pumpkin) liked the Flor so much that we got her a matching one. This time we didn’t attach the tiles to each other, and she has a blast reconfiguring them around her room. The rubber backing provides a good enough grip that they stay in place on top of hardwood floors.

If you want to see how easy Flor is to install, their site has instructional videos. There are tons of colors, styles and patterns to choose from and they can be placed in any design you want.You can purchase them online, from a retailer near you, or win them in our giveaway.

We are giving away a 5′ x 7′ Patch Me If You Can Flor Rug. Here’s how you can enter to win:

1. Tell us which color one you want – Mild, Spicy, or Mango (Shown here). Visit the Flor website to view their selection.
2. For an extra entry, you can follow us on Twitter. Post a comment here with your Twitter username.
3. For a third entry you can tweet about this giveaway or post about it on your blog and leave a comment here with either the URL of your post or your twitter profile.
4. For a fourth subscribe to our RSS feed, leaving a link here to tell us you’ve done so. We’ll be posting more giveaways on Momma’s Review soon so subscribing will be a great way for you to stay informed about all the great things you can win in the days and weeks to come.
5. As a final entry donate $1.00 (or more if you’d like) to the I Heart Tucker fund. This can be done through PayPal and your donation would be greatly appreciated. Just visit I Heart Tucker and click on the donate button on the right sidebar, you can also enter raffles on the I Heart Tucker site with donations you have made!  Make sure to come back and tell us you donated.

This giveaway is open to US readers only (sorry to our international readers)!

The contest will close at 12:00 p.m. EST on Monday March 16th.

About the Momma:

Amanda @ funkEpunkEmonkE.com

Mrs. Suzzi Heartbreaker is a homemaker, roller derby vixen, freelance web architect, boutique owner, wife, and mother of two girls. She is a supermom and loves it.

The Slanket – Review and Giveaway

The Slanket is a humongous fleece blanket with sleeves. It allows the user to be curled up in a blanket but still be able to use their hands for other reasons. I will fully admit when the Slanket arrived on my doorstep I did a dance for joy. The concept of the Slanket is everything I could want for a work at home mother with two kids who are always asking me to open things or to pick them up.

I pulled my Slanket out of the box, it was a fantastic red color called Ruby Wine that suited me quite well. The fabric was relatively soft fleece, not baby blanket soft, but soft enough for my liking. I decided to do the ultimate test and play the Wii (Dr. Mario). I curled up into our gaming chair and pulled the sleeved blanket over my arms and tried to maneuver myself into it. At first I was expecting a huge challenge but the simplicity was right there. I curled up in the chair with plenty of blanket to spare on my 5’3” frame. After playing the game for about 10 minutes I began to sweat! This blanket allowed me to play my video game with fully comfortable heat temperature.

My daughter also received the Slanket the same day. What’s wonderful about this product, that the competitors don’t offer, is they not only have the adult size they have a children’s size as well. My seven year old daughter and I have a tendency to curl up with our Slankets and relax together on the couch. Mine is large enough that I can fit myself and my two year old daughter under the blanket too without losing any coverage. This size does become slightly dangerous when I attempted to walk. This may be because of my horrible shortness. I found that when walking I could comfortably fit into the children’s size. Though, when laying down I certainly wanted my adult size back.

Critics claim “Why not throw on your robe backwards?” Do you want to know why you shouldn’t do this? It won’t be as long, warm, and comfortable. It’ll be bulky and awkward. The Slanket is not like that, it rocks.

It seems the child Slanket is now much cooler than any toy and my daughter has taken to bringing it in her backpack whenever we go anywhere. We even brought it for Super Bowl Sunday at my parents’ house. The best part is that it is machine washable so there is never any fear of your child dropping something on it and not being able to get it clean.

Would you like a chance to win a Slanket for you and for your child? We are giving both away to one very lucky reader. Here’s how you can enter to win:

1. Leave a comment telling us what Slanket color you’d choose if you could from the many that are available. This is mandatory to be entered.
2. For an second entry you can tweet about this giveaway or post about it on your blog and leave a comment here with either the URL of your post or your twitter profile.
3. For a third entry, subscribe to the Momma’s Review RSS feed, leaving us a comment here to let us know. We’ll be posting more giveaways on Momma’s Review soon so subscribing will be a great way for you to stay informed about all the great things you can win in the days and weeks to come.
4. For the last entry follow us on twitter and leave your username so we can verify. Make sure to leave a comment here to get this last entry.

This giveaway will run for 2 weeks.  It is available to US residents only.

Giveaway will close at 12:00pm EST on February 18th. Winner will be announced same day.

Winners will be chosen at random using random.org.