Norwex UPP Surprises my Old Mop!

The Safe Haven package I purchased included the Norwex Ultra Power Plus (affectionately referred to as UPP “you-pee-pee” LOL!) laundry detergent powder. This enzyme based miracle worker promises to be a household cleaning powerhouse.

Last Saturday morning, my 9 year old and I worked our portion of weekly cleaning while I let my teenage boys sleep in.  As we left for Yoga and Tennis, I left the sink full of warm water and ½ scoop of UPP.  The boys were instructed to vacuum and mop the kitchen among their other chores.

Upon my return the mop was still sitting in the dirty water in the sink so I wrung it out to put away and WHOA!  My dingy gray/brown mop had turned several shades lighter, dare I say “approaching white.”  Glancing at the floor also reflected improvement over past mopping sessions with Mr. Clean, Lysol 4-in-1 or Pine-Sol.

·         Dilute in a spray bottle w/water and use in household cleanups: car interiors, patio furniture, and more

·         Make into a paste to pre-treat stains on clothing

·         Use Diluted to remove carpet stains

·         Soak all your Norwex clothes in a sink full of hot water with 1 teaspoon UPP

·         Soak your kitchen fan filters in a sink full of hot water with 1 teaspoon UPP

Click here for a Youtube video demo of the filters getting shiny with UPP

Weekly Cleaning ~ How to Get Full Family Participation

I don’t like cleaning but like to have a clean house.  Since I am “at home” and we live on a budget, hiring help is not an option.  However, we seem to have produced four little beings who like to keep their hands busy!  Additionally, we want our children to understand respect, responsibility and conscientiousness which can all be taught through chores.

Over the years I have tried various forms of bribery incentives but the solution lies not in the incentive but in consistency.  After the irritable child complains for 50 Saturdays, eventually he/she takes a week off to cheerfully help out.  Just like potty training another key component of my system is exuberance! Yes, we build up lots of excitement to our “Weekly Home Blessing”! Especially for the younger children excitement and a reward are indispensable.  We used to always make milkshakes after the house was cleaned.  With the whole house clean, it was the only time I’d feel like using the blender (because then there were all those blender parts to hand-wash!)….yes, I know they can go in the dishwasher, but my family makes enough dirty dishes in one day to fill the dishwasher for its nightly run.

If you are someone who rearranges the dishes in your dishwasher after someone loads it or refolds towels folded by your 5 year old, this next imperative will be difficult: leave perfectionism at the door. One could probably take any of my tasks and expand it into an hour long intensive cleaning session.  That will most definitely turn your child off cleaning as you keep putting them back to the same task and pointing out the spots they missed. The point is to get the house looking and feeling clean for your family’s enjoyment.  The President is NOT stopping by this afternoon.

1. There is a 1 hour time limit.  Use a timer. The irritable child will find him/herself in a room alone and chose to be unproductive, so you need to circle around, prod and if necessary click a few more minutes on the timer. Currently we usually work from 9am – 10am on Saturday mornings.  I begin a general kitchen tidy up earlier so that I’m prepared to participate fully.  It wouldn’t be fair for me to be cleaning up the breakfast dishes (which I do every day) while expecting the children to be doing the main cleaning chores.

2. Worksheet broken into 10 minute Slots. Before we begin I print the following spreadsheet and look it over to see if there is anything that needs to be altered.  Sometimes I just did something the day before so it gets crossed out.  If there is anything new that needs attention I’ll jot that in its place.

The first column lists 4 tasks that need to be completed in the first 10 minutes of our session.  The kids sign up for what they want, then go do it.  Once it's done they put a check mark on it. When the average of my kids’ age was in the young elementary school range, we had to take turns on who selected their job from the column first.  Now I’m working with 17, 14 & 9 year olds so they have learned not to sweat the small stuff.  I usually take up any gaps OR I select first the job that needs extra attention.

3. My math doesn’t add up: There are five 10 minute tasks for four people which should mean only 50 minutes of cleaning; or less when I began using this chart with myself and four children.  I have a few overrides that prolong our mission to an hour.  If a job was done poorly, I’ll click a couple extra minutes on the timer (during any 10 minute slot) and have the responsible party revisit their task. Sometimes the timer goes off, but after checking all the kiddos I’ve only just begun my task; well, I’m not going to move onto the next 10 minutes until I’m finished. The kids continue working or move ahead. 

4. Celebrate the teamwork! High-fives all around, dance, turn up the music. Recognize each helper individually for what they did well.  Let the day carry on.  Usually this investment in a clean house reminds the children not to drop their papers/books/sports equipment/socks etc. in a common area 10 minutes after cleaning; but if they do, let it pass.  Of course this is up to how tidy you personally like to keep your house and what you require of your children, but in my house I don’t want to undo any of the positive vibe we just created by working together.  A sibling may surprise you and tell the offending child “hey, pick up your boots and put them away, I just cleaned that floor!” or I’ll remember to gently remind the repeat offenders.  But for now I’m just going to enjoy my (not perfectly) clean home!

Have you heard of Norwex? My first Experience with a Company that promises to Radically Reduce Chemical Toxins in the Home

The Norwex party my niece invited me to appealed for the following reasons: 1. Something to do on a Tuesday night and support a family member, 2. I truly like the idea of chemical-free products for the home and 3. Since achieving my “Master-housewife” award after 15 years of homemaking I was sure I could find a product to purchase and try.

My guest hostess, Kathy, could rival the best “Seen on TV” hawkers.  She exuded sincerity while performing truly unbelievable feats with Norwex products. Caught up in the excitement I decided to start with the basic Enviro Cloth and Glass Cloth. Kathy had made it look like these items (with a little water) could clean everything from windows to counters to woodwork. I spent my budgeted limit for home party purchases and said good night, with just a twinge of “oh my gosh, why did I spend so much on 2 little cloths!”

 After driving my sister-in-law home I arrived home in time to head up stairs and tuck in my youngest child.  Wait! What is that on my antique wood floor?  Oh, just another pile of cat barf that has started to dry up (we have radiant heat under the floors).  As I turned on the foyer chandelier to get a better look, I noticed the finger prints my children had left on the walls. “What an Idiot I was to spend all that money on those stupid cloths, this type of mess is my reality and it requires: rubber gloves, lots of paper towels, whatever spray cleaner is handy and some elbow grease. Oh well, I've wasted more money at other times, I’ll just tighten my budget this month.”

When I received my order I wet the Enviro cloth and gave it whirl, in the kitchen I wiped all surfaces, then went on to light switches, walls, appliances.  Weird how dirt was being lifted without any type of “soap.”   In the past I had to scrub with the Magic Eraser to remove some of the grime (and that left my hands tingling, so I knew there was something unhealthy in that thing).  In the morning the sunlight hits my kitchen in such a bright way that NO piece of dirt is left unexposed.  After using the Enviro Cloth and Glass cloth casually for a couple of days, my kitchen (and rest of the house too) started feeling cleaner than it ever had! Formerly I had used a sponge to wipe a kitchen surface, followed by drying with a kitchen towel, the surface was cleaned but not CLEAN.  After using the Enviro Cloth, I felt I could lay down across my enamel table top, it was so CLEAN.  Other areas of the house that were cleaned weekly with dust cloths, Pledge, Glass Cleaner, paper towels, etc. could now all be tackled with just these 2 items and the results were better and longer lasting than before!

Ok, so what’s up with this stuff?  Consulting my husband, or “scientist in residence” we discovered that the infusion of silver is the cause.  Silver is a natural killer!  Many years ago it was used in home cleaning but was removed due to Silver Poisoning.  Upon reading the Norwex catalog I noticed a warning not to use Enviro Cloths on dishes.  The process makes sense and refraining from washing dishes with your Enviro Cloth is really the only precaution.  (I’m sure I have more silver in my old dental fillings than I could possible absorb by using the Enviro Cloth.) 

So, back to my reality: at this point, I can almost say that I would use an Enviro Cloth and water to wipe up the cat barf; still a bit of an ick-factor to get over though.  Today I purchased the Safe Haven package which will give me an additional Enviro & Glass cloth set (for the upstairs), a dusting mitt, the Laundry detergent and cleaning paste, a kitchen cloth set and a face cloth set.  I look forward to exploring these new items.