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Perfecting the Art of Conversuasion

laundry products

Be A #LifePro Life Hack: Wrinkly Shirt No More

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I fully endorse this #LifePro Life Hack from Clorox2:

Wrinkly shirt? Here’s to less stress and less wrinkles! Toss it in the dryer for a few minutes with some ice cubes for a quick steam press. Update: I tried this – and it works like a charm!

The heat from the dryer quickly melts the ice and changes it to steam vapour in a hurry. For added freshness, add half a dryer sheet (no need to waste a whole one) et voila! It’s like you’re back in college all over again. Take those clothes off the floor and breathe some life into them, while bypassing the washing machine entirely! Life = Hacked.

Hanging Up My Crown: #StainMasterMom

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I suppose one could argue that it’s more of a title, or role… but since I truly feel like the Queen of Stain Fighting, I’m calling it a CROWN.

Yes folks, it’s been quite an adventure – a Stain Adventure, that is! It all began back in May when I announced my newest gig: Clorox2’s Stain Master Mom. I was set to embark on Stain Adventures – living life to the fullest, without worrying about getting a little messy. And boy, did we get messy! From food fights to barbecue blunders, travel trials and more, both my little guys kept me on my toes… and in the laundry room.

Shortly after my announcement, I had the following advice for readers:

The next time your darling child… 1) Face plants in a bowl of spaghetti; 2) Uses mustard, ketchup and relish… as paint; 2) Decides that a dirt bath is infinitely more fun than a regular bath … stop, take a picture and laugh it off!

Well, one lucky reader actually took my suggestion at face value, and won $3,000 in Clorox2’s Stain Adventure contest! I guess sometime it pays to have a little fun with mess, and $3,000 buys a lot of Clorox2.

Next, I shared my family’s penchant for wearing super bright and colourful clothes. In the past, I’d been hesitant to purchase brightly coloured clothing for my kids for one main reason: children’s clothing is washed A LOT, and this leads to faded, washed-out looking clothes. And one of my biggest pet peeves is a red that starts to look cranberry, or a purple that errs to the side of lavender. Often, the clothes would lose their vibrancy after just one wash, making me wonder if an all-beige wardrobe really was the way to go.

That is, until I discovered Clorox2 Stain Fighter and Colour Booster Liquid. Clorox2 Stain Fighter & Colour Booster is specifically formulated to work better on tough stains and keep your clothes bright. The liquid is specially formulated to lift stains and contains brighteners to give colours a boost. It is designed to be safe for all loads – so you can add it to every load with your detergent for cleaner and brighter clothes.

Of course, the highlight of my partnership with Clorox2 was my famed Stain Party. Invitations were sent out in July, and they were cheeky! And the purpose of the Stain Party? Well, if there’s one thing I always aspire to do, it’s to put my money where my mouth is. I am so impressed by Clorox2, that I was willing to get dirty on purpose… just to demo how awesome it really is!…

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The Most Unappreciated Household Chore

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The most unappreciated household chore. Hands up if you think you know what it is. Dish washing? Dusting? Nope.

It’s laundry, of course.

According to a study conducted by Mail Online, the average mother spends five months of her life doing laundry. “It takes her 26 minutes to go through arduous pre- and post-wash tasks every time she turns on the machine, an average of six times a week. On top of that she can expect to spend 55 minutes a week doing the ironing. So, before her child hits 18, she will have had 137 days or nearly five months of toil.”

Ewwww….

Of course, those statistics are based on current technologies. Can you imagine how much time our ancestors spent getting their whites whiter? In fact, I’m pretty sure the evolution of laundry began with scores of women simply pounding clothes on river rocks or rubbing them with abrasive sands. Just think about THAT the next time you complain about separating your whites and darks.

However, with the introduction of the washboard, those same women were well on their way to the good life. See? The woman in this picture looks positively elated. No more clubbing her husband’s work clothes to remove soot and stains! Simply scrub-a-dub-dub on the old washboard.

Okay, let’s be honest. Unless you’re scrubbing your clothes on the washboard that is Ryan Gosling’s stomach, it’s going to feel like a chore. So thank goodness the very first drum-based washer was patented in 1851 – “James King, an American, patented the first washing machine to use a drum in 1851. The drum made King’s machine resemble a modern machine, albeit it was still hand powered. Later, in 1858, Hamilton Smith patented the rotary washing machine.”

But here’s where it gets great. In 1874 William Blackstone of Indiana “built a birthday present for his wife. It was a washing machine intended for domestic use which removed and washed away dirt from clothes. The Blackstone washing machine is often cited as the first washer designed for home use.”

Did you see that? A birthday present for his wife. Gee, what a guy! High five if you’re thrilled to be reading this blog post in 2013, and not in an era when it was okay to gift your wife with self-serving inventions.

(Oh, and in case you’re wondering, here’s my source for that little tidbit of info. Trust me, I’m not pulling this stuff out of my head. Especially not good ol’ William Blackstone.)

Thankfully, the arrival of electric power in the 1900’s meant that hand-operated washing devices could be augmented with motors. A washing machine called the Thor, which was invented by Alva J. Fisher and manufactured by the Hurley Machine Company in 1908, is often cited as the first drum-based electric washing machine.

(Pictured below: My dream laundry room. Yours too?) 


And that, my friends, is what paved the way for the modern, efficient and incredibly powerful washing machines we have on the market today. Of course, while our choice of brand/ machine makes a significant impact on the outcome of our clothing, so does our choice of detergent and stain fighters. And as the Clorox2 Stain Master Mom, I know a thing or two about keeping clothes clean. Clorox2 Stain Fighter & Colour Booster Liquid is an effective formula that removes dirt and stains, brightens colours and whitens whites. It can be used in both standard and HE (front loading) machines, and its new concentrated formula is better for the environment, too.

But don’t take my word for it – did you read the testimonials from the lucky readers who were offered a chance to review the complete line of Clorox2 products? Yep, we’ve got an all-out love affair happening; my readers adore Clorox2 that much.

In the meantime, tell me: do you agree that laundry is the most unappreciated household chore?