I Have to Clean Everything?? But I Did That a Year Ago!!

A discussion on an easy swap to make in order to make Spring Cleaning a little less stressful and a lot more fun!

Click HERE and use the code SPRINGERIN for 15% off your total purchase from now until March 19!!

Image result for spring cleaning memeIt’s about that time again!

Daylight savings time has rolled in, more sunshine, spring is on the horizon! For most of us, that also means spring cleaning is starting to pop into our heads. Who here “spring cleans”?? I’ll be honest, my spring cleaning really starts in January when the Christmas decorations come down. I already have most surfaces cleaned off from switching out décor, and I find myself being way more motivated to do things inside the house than outside when it is so cold! I do though, wait until warmer weather to take down the curtains and give them a good shaking outside or to work on cleaning items on the outside of our home.

Where did this idea of spring cleaning come from?? Well, there are many “origin stories”, but people most recently contribute it to the Christian season of Lent. The first full week of Lent in the Orthodox church has been called “Clean Week”: a week to go to confession to cleanse your mind and soul and then the daily tasks of cleaning the entire home to purify and start anew! Whatever the reason you decide to spring clean your home, my hope for you is that you do it as efficiently and stress free as possible!

If you are a member of my Facebook Group (join here), you know that we did an entire 28 day “Clean Mama” challenge to help everyone start the year off organized and renewed. One thing you can’t do is rush deep cleaning, so spreading it out over an entire month really takes the stress off, and also keeps you motivated. One thing I really focused on in the group was ways to take the stress out of cleaning, and usually that is with time management tricks. Its hard enough to find the time to clean, much less having to actually do it. The ONE product that I found many years ago that saves me so much time (and money) is eCloth. This is a microfiber cloth that is woven to 1/200th the size of a human hair, which means this type of microfiber can pick up 99% of germs and bacteria using just the cloth and a little bit of water. To me this is great for 2 reasons: 1. It gets nasty smelling and lung irritating chemical cleaners out of our home and 2. I only need this and maybe two or three other things to clean my entire home. There is no lugging around of clothes, bathroom cleaner, window/glass cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, mold and mildew shower cleaner, granite cleaner and stainless steel cleaner. My cleaning bucket used to just be unmanageable and it took time to organize it, swap out what cleaners I was going to use next if I was going floor by floor, etc.

So now in my cleaning caddy I have: dusting mitts (because they are fun and way easier to dust with!), 6 eCloths, my toilet wand and my made at home dusting spray and all purpose cleaner. I use that on the daily, but with spring cleaning, I use the same exact things! With eCloth I don’t have to worry about countless chemical cleaners when just the cloth is proven effective at scooping up those germs and bacteria…for about 7.00 a cloth!! So how exactly does it work?

Image result for ecloth

Well, I am no scientist but this is how I understand it and explain it to everyone. Ecloth testing reveals the fibers are .33 microns in size. Germs are measured in microns, so for example the flu virus is about 1 to 4 microns in size. Pollen is between 5-10 microns. Most “smaller” bacteria and viruses sit at around .5 microns, the exception being Norovirus (stomach flu) which sits at .2 microns. So there is the only real draw back…it cant get everything. Norovirus is awful and hard hitting and SUPER contagious. And this is why! Being so tiny it is very elusive and hard to get rid of! But, I never went around spraying my wood furniture with bleach or peroxide anyway, so for me, that’s ok. The mere fact that it removes pretty much all other cold/flu type germs is good enough for this Mama! (Stay tuned on a blog post about how exactly we try to avoid norovirus but also how we clean our home to prevent everyone in the home from getting it!) Microfiber is NOT cotton or polyester, its actually microtechnology plastic. Which, that can be a huge draw back to some as it isn’t the most environmentally sound way to make things. However I see the trade off of chemicals not going down into our drinking water and also less plastic waste produced from the discarding of empty cleaning bottles kind of making up for it. My thought my be illogical, but that is how it rolls in my head.

Now, you’re probably reading this going, “ok so why is this stuff so much cheaper than that other brand, it must not be as good.”. Now, let me preface this by saying: I am not bashing any other company, nor am I defaming or speaking ill of them. I love the other company, I do. One thing I wish eCloth would learn from them is their coloring. I would MUCH rather have all the warm, calming colors of that other company, but, I go by cost and necessity!! So, the main difference is the silver threading (the name of it is trademarked so I just wont even mention it here…we all know what I’m talking about!). It is colloidal silver threaded into the weave of the fabric to kill germs. Now, here is why I get a little upset over people selling it not making others aware how this actually works. The silver does NOT kill germs on contact. Think as you wipe the rag across your counter its killing them as its wiping. No, doesn’t work like that. The silver kills the germs over time as the rag sits on or in your sink. So that way it doesn’t start to smell or get mil-dewy. My main concern with this is that it makes people think these rags are invincible and can handle anything. ANY rag or chemical even can get so overloaded with bacteria that it cant handle anymore and then is rendered useless. Same with eCloth and the other brand. You can pick up so much, that it has reached its full capacity, and if you keep cleaning with it what happens??…….Cross contamination….and NO ONE wants that!!! So how do I use my eCloth? If I am just dusting, etc I use it until its just full of dust. If I am using it to clean the kitchen…any meat juice is an immediate put in the wash bucket, and I grab a new one. If just washing the counters or table after dinner I just rinse and ring out and use the next day. Bathrooms are where I use more…Ill use 3 in each bathroom. One for just toilets. One for counters, bathtub and shower, then I use the glass cloth just for the mirror for a streak free clean that you can’t even imagine! (no streaks, no lint left behind…its magical). So to get back to my point…the other company can lend itself to the possibility of one assuming the rag can be used more than what it needs to be. It also means you don’t need to wash it as often because the silver is killing those germs as it sits overnight (if it wasn’t overloaded that is). For me, I wash rags once a week, so I don’t need a more expensive rag that tells me I don’t need to wash it but every couple of weeks. $7 compared to $18-$20 is a huge difference for one small (to me) difference. Now, in your family the other may be what you need and are looking for, and that’s totally ok!! Just explaining why I choose the way I do!Image result for ecloth

So if you’re looking to save some major time and also make a great healthy and also budget friendly switch in your cleaning routine, choose eCloth. I have been using them for years when I was first introduced to another competing company that was WAY out of my budget and I thought that it couldn’t be the only one on the market. Google I went and out came eCloth. At the time I was first introduced the company was still in Europe (its a European based company-and also fair trade btw!), but it was available on Amazon Prime. However it took about 3 weeks to get in! Was totally worth it! Now with the popularity they have brought it to the states and you get your order from them within 2 days usually! How awesome is that!!?? I love the product so much and it has made such a big impact on not only my cleaning routine but also our health (I really do contribute this, along with some other healthy switches, to the lessening of colds/flus/general icky feelings in our home!) that I became an affiliate. What does that mean? No, I don’t sell it, it isn’t an MLM company. It just means they provide me with my own special link and if you order via clicking on that then I make a small commission from them! Is this a money-maker? No. But I do use the money generated to purchase fun prizes and gifts to give out in my Facebook Group! So any help in supporting that is greatly appreciated!

If you would like to view a video of me showing some of my favorite cloths and explaining more in detail about microfiber, join my group and search for eCloth and it will come up!

If you’d like to check out eCloth for yourself, use this link, and then use the code SPRINGERIN for 15% off your total purchase through March 19th!! Also, if you buy $20 or more you get free shipping! I hope you’ll check it out and help make your life a little less stressful and a little less cluttered, and enjoy your spring cleaning!!

Don’t forget, you can always reach me via the Facebook group or through email at www.thenourishedfern.com! I am happy to answer any questions!

In Good Spring Cleaning Health,

Erin

 

**All information is correct to the best of my knowledge. No trademarks, copyrights or other legal rights have been infringed upon knowingly with the publication of this article. By reading this article you agree that it is your decision and only yours in what products you choose to buy and or use. You agree that I hold no responsibility in your actions or decisions for products you decide to buy, try or use. Please see my website www.thenourishedfern.com for terms and privacy governing it and this website.**