Why I changed to Shining (cleaning) the Norwex way 

The short version…
• It only uses water or nasty-free products
• The kids can safely help
• Its much easier to do little bits here and there to keep on top of things
• Its quicker to clean

I initially went looking to reduce our family’s toxic load a few years ago. Buying my Cuisine Companion was the first step as it allowed us to cook from scratch and avoid many unnecessary additives and preservatives. Read more about my cooking adventures and how my Cuisine Companion helps me lots.

After a family run in with cancer, personal hygiene chemicals came next on the hit list and I switched us over to using products from this lovely family business, Happy Skincare. My personal favourites are the cloud 9 cleanser and the woohoo deodorant.

Next came household products. I was already an essential oil user (I buy from plant therapy, another awesome family business) and so ventured into making my own. This however wasn’t for me. I had enough on my plate, I didn’t have the time to make up this and that and was forever running out of counter wipes at 10pm.

The final straw was washing powder. I’d seen loads of homemade recipes and great reviews so whipped up my own batch and washed a few loads. Then I stopped and started to think of the science. A bit of googling later I realised using bar soap in my washing machine was not a good plan, washing machines need detergent not soap. I’ll not go into detail as I’m not a scientist, but if you want to read more about why homemade washing powder is not good for your machine (and I worried it might invalidate my warranty) or clothes, check this out.

At this point I was given a sample of Norwex’s ultra power plus to try. As with most samples from company reps, it got filed with a smile!
A month or so later I complained my coffee machine had stained my brand new kitchen bench and I was advised to use the Norwex washing powder (UPP) as a paste, wait and wipe. WOW that stuffed worked in minutes and I didn’t scrub, no elbow grease required. I’ve been washing my clothes in it since. I then expanded my Norwex collection with a few basic bits (dust mitt, enviro cloth for wiping pretty much everything and the enviro sponges (washing up pads)) and became a happy customer.

I’ve had a cleaner about 6 years, at first because I was a single mum working full time and then because the pain of cleaning with spondyloarthritis is quite simply unbearable. My son one day saw me paying the cleaner and his eyes lit up and he promptly asked if I’d employ him for $80. “Of course” I replied, “so long as you deliver on time and to the same standard”. Poor kid looked puzzled but I told him I’d get him a few things to see how he went. He told me sinks were to be his speciality, so he got the Norwex bathroom scrub mitt. If the kids were going to clean there was no way they were going near any bleach. The bathroom scrub mitt has been a success, but its safe to say my son has a long way to go to save for his luxury sports car! Delivering on time seems to be the issue.

So that brings me to my final reason, the cleaner only comes once a fortnight and I can’t get the kids to pick up all the slack in the meantime, so I do need to do some cleaning and I do need it be achievable and pain-limited (pain free is a long-gone aspiration). One of the biggest issues is everything takes effort with arthritis, a Mount Everest level of effort. Nothing can be done in one big go, the same repetitive action causes days of pain and I’m generally more sensitive to chemical because of having an immune disorder (think asthma, hayfever, dust mite allergies). Norwex helps because I just have keep a spray bottle of water and a cloth to hand and I can wipe down anything as and when required in 2 minutes. I can just keep the cloth in the bathroom and give the sink a quick once over every few days (sorry my son can!).

If you want to find out more about Norwex products and how you can make your house Shine, please contact me or you can purchase directly from my website here.