Suzy Q Homemaker

How many different laundry detergents have I tried?  A lot.  I’m always on the lookout for the next big thing in laundry.  I think that if our water wasn’t as hard as it is, I would probably stick to one detergent and be done.  Also, I am never completely satisfied with my laundry.  It’s either not all clean, smells funny, or just looks dingy.  I also thought that I was on the losing end of a battle with stains.  I almost gave up!

So, how was I to turn down the opportunity to try Clorox Green Works Laundry detergent and stain remover?

The claims from the Clorox website:

Q. What does natural mean? Are Green Works® products 100% natural?

A. Currently, there is no industry standard definition for natural cleaners. To create Green Works® natural cleaners we set ourselves a very stringent standard. The ingredients must come from renewable resources, be biodegradable and free of petrochemicals. Green Works® cleaners are at least 95% natural. In certain cases we had to use synthetic ingredients, like the preservative and green colorant. But we’re working hard to develop natural alternatives so the entire line can be 100% natural.

My opinion:

I’m happy that the laundry detergent is plant-based and mostly natural, but I don’t believe they should claim a detergent is “natural” if they are still putting in green colorants, synthetic preservatives, and fragrances.  There is a free-and-clear option, but I was sent the scented version.  We don’t use scented laundry products as a rule because they exacerbate Corey’s eczema, so I mostly used the detergent on towels and my clothing.

The scent of the Clorox detergent is VERY strong.  I had only done two loads of laundry when Jamie came home and said,

“You’re doing LAUNDRY.”

Then when Aiden got home from school, he asked,

“What smells like mint?”

It’s not an unpleasant smell by any means, so if fragrances float your boat, good for you!  I just happen to know that the process of creating fragrance oils added to household products is far from “green”.  We prefer not to have them in the house at all.

Cleaning-wise, I think that the Clorox washes as well as any other plant-based detergent I’ve used.  I honestly saw no difference.

The Stain Remover

I am impressed!  I have never been the stain-remover type of person, but since I have it on hand, I had to see what the hype was.

Since Timothy has been sick for the past week, we’ve been having to give him medicine and the stuff is full of dyes!  I didn’t want to admit it.    But hey, we weren’t the ones who bought the stuff, so I’ll save that argument for another post. Anyway, I sprayed all the spots on Timothy’s pajamas that were covered in puke, ibuprofen suspension, and most recently the bright pink antibiotic.  It ALL came out.  All of it–even the spots from four days ago!  I was afraid that all the new pajamas I had just bought him were ruined, but nope!  So now you’ll find me poring over all the boys’ shirts and pants, hunting down stains before I throw them in the wash.

I don’t have any other stain remover to compare the Clorox brand to, but I think I’ll be buying this in the future.  As a mother of four boys, I can’t afford not to.

When Mom Select sent me a bottle of new Sun Burst Clean & Fresh to try, I was nervous. Read more…

See that?  That’s my dryer and reason number one why I’m upset I didn’t get picked to be a Frigidaire Test Drive Mom.  For the past couple of months, the dryer has been making this god-awful banging noise.  And it takes at least two hours to dry a large load of clothes.

Thank the sweet baby Jesus that Jamie’s uncle fixes stuff.  He’s picking up some parts today and will hopefully get this giant piece of crap working again.  We really don’t use it a lot unless the weather is bad or I’m just feeling too lazy to hang the clothes on the line.  But still.  It’s nice to know we can use the dryer, even if it is 20 years old, completely energy INefficient, and sounds like we’re drying an entire load of tennis balls.

Cause this just isn’t sexy:

So I’m going to have to start doing laundry for SIX people in about a month and the thought of that seriously frightens me.  I mean, it’s not just the clothes I’m concerned about, it’s all the diapers, burp cloths, baby clothes, spit-upon shirts, etc.  If I could save a little bit of green by washing a few of those small loads without electricity (oh, you heard me), I would. Read more…

Simon gave me his summer cold. Thanks Simon! So I’m feeling a little foggy and my only responsibility today is to do laundry. The downside to that is that it is ridiculously hot outside and I promised the earth I wouldn’t use the dryer today. I suppose it’s not a downside after all; the clothes are drying quickly and I should be able to get a lot done with it being that hot.

I spend all weekend knitting some shorties to put in my hyenacart. When I was about ten rows shy of completion, I realized I didn’t have enough yarn to finish them. I took them apart. If I had been making them for a custom I would’ve been more upset. I’ll still use the yarn for shorties, just a different size.

For Father’s Day, I gave Jamie some wood. He’d expressed interest in whittling and even tried it with an old porch rail from his mom’s house with no success. So I got him a few blocks of whittler’s wood and a thing of carving tools. Now there are wood shavings all over the living room! He asked what he should do with them all and I said I didn’t know. Then he said, “We could get a hamster.” He’s so hilarious.

Simon started dancing. I love it when babies dance because it’s really just squats in rhythm. Sometimes he swings his arms at the same time. He’s also jabbering away in some unknown dialect; his favorite syllables are “Bishubishubishubishu” and “beebeebeebeebeebeebee.” The cutest part of it is that he has such a serious look on his face when he’s talking as if he’s discussing the physics of black holes.

I finally got two books in the mail today: While I Was Gone by Sue Miller and Maybe a Miracle by Brian Strause. I can’t decide which one I want to read first. Big thanks to Elaina for suggesting whatshallireadnext.com. I stumbled upon it last week but didn’t play around with it. Now that I’ve messed around with it, I like it a little better than LibraryThing because of its simplicity.

Last night we all played Hide & Seek. I hid in the bathroom behind the shower curtain for 15 minutes before Corey finally found me. I’m the hiding master. Aiden hid himself in the laundry basket under the clothes. He would’ve stayed there longer but by the time Corey walked by the third time, he busted out laughing and gave himself away.

The pool is ready at last and Simon had his first swim! He tolerated the little floaty thing that he sits in only for a little bit. When he wanted out, he got mad when we wouldn’t just let him go in the water. I let him play on the steps while I sat with him, but his determination to swim by himself was frustrating the both of us and we had to go inside. I’m tempted to take him to a baby swimming class. But I probably won’t.

Ohhh the cold medicine is starting to work. It may say “non-drowsy” on the box but my body is so used to not having drugs in it that I’m all groggy anyway. Blarrggggghhh.