Bounty DuraTowel Review and Giveaway!

If you're anything like me, when the winter weather gives way to sunny days and warm breezes, I get the urge to purge. I go through the monsters' clothing, I sort through toys. And... much to the shock and horror of the entire fam, I start cleaning everything. Yes, folks, I have been bitten by that evil little Spring cleaning bug. Spring has sprung, even though Mother Nature wasn't all that cooperative for the first little while.

Now, here at the Monster House, we make messes. Lots and lots of messes. Some of them are easy to take care of, and some of them aren't. And with Logan's allergies and sensitivities, I have had to become really aware of things that could pose a potential hazard to him. I don't just mean chemicals, though I am starting to shift to chemical free cleaners.

One major change that I have made is that I have stopped using the traditional dish rag. That little scrap of fabric is a breeding ground for bacteria, and something I don't even want to think about seeing under a blacklight or microscope. But, it's tradition, right? The dishrag folded over the partition between the sinks after the dishes are done and the sinks wiped out. The same dishrag that I just used on the counters, rinsed, used on the stove top, rinsed, used on the coffee pot, rinsed, used on the cabinet doors, rinsed, washed dishes with, and wiped sinks with. And, because of all that, I effectively spread bacteria and germs evenly all over my kitchen. Yummy, right? Who could ask for anything more?

Well, Bounty has come up with a much better alternative. Bounty's DuraTowel is my new favorite cleaning tool in the kitchen. The disposable dishcloth. The cloth-like texture and weight of this paper towel makes it a worthy opponent to any kitchen clean up task. And using disposable dishcloths can leave surfaces up to three times cleaner than your traditional dishrag.*

Now, you know me. I have seven monsters running around. I cook from scratch every day. We have sit down dinners together every evening. I bake a lot. I do a lot.. a LOT... of dishes. There are fingerprints on everything, and pretty much anything that can be spilled usually is. So I was skeptical. Very skeptical. Because you just have to know that things that work for smaller families with fewer disasters usually are not up to the task of the Monster House.

Scary stove

So, I decided I would use DuraTowel on the meanest kitchen job I had available. Scrubbing the stove. And people? This was not just a few spatters of tomato sauce. This was after Sunday dinner, with the pot roast and the real mashed potatoes and the gravy and the honey glazed carrots and the dinner rolls and the veggie sides. You should know that anything that could boil over, splatter, spill onto the burner and cremate itself that day, did. And it scared even me. So I thought to myself, "Self, let's see how this....(little snicker in my head).. paper towel... does on my stove." I have pictures as evidence. You won't believe this. *I* didn't believe it. And I was there! Check this out. Look to the right. Observe the scariness. Usually? I have a routine where I use a razor blade, rinse, use scotch brite pad with powdered cleanser, rinse, use a spritz of my favorite liquid cleaner, and do a little polish with a dishrag. But this time.. I didn't.

I did the spritz with the kitchen cleaner. And I used a shake or two of powdered cleanser. But I didn't used a razor blade. I didn't use a scotch brite pad. I didn't use anything except 2 DuraTowels, certain that they would be in shreds within the first 34 seconds of cleaning. And then I would get out the trusty razor.

PRETTY STOVE!

It was not in shreds in 34 seconds. Or even in 5 minutes. Or 10. In fact...well.. the pictures speak for themselves. So here's another one. People? It held up. It held up as well as the scary bacteria breeding dishrag. It didn't shred. And though I have to admit that by the time I was done with it, the layers had separated, there was not one hole in those paper towels! I'm not a gentle cleaning person. I hate to do the dirty cleaning at the end of the night. I put major elbow grease into it. And I am so impressed, I can't even tell you.

To be completely fair, I took a picture of the before and after, side by side,  DuraTowel. The two sheets on the left are after scrubbing my stove, the oven door, the control panel, the knobs and the part under the knobs (yes, I have more than one knob. But I have to hide them, because the monsterlettes can turn on my stove if I don't.).

Dirty. Greasy. But NOT SHREDDED! WOW!

Bounty DuraTowel can be found at your favorite grocery or mass merchandise store for the MSRP of $3.19. AND.... you can enter here to be one of three, yes THREE, lucky winners of Bounty DuraTowel by using the rafflecopter form below. It just doesn't get much better than that!


a Rafflecopter giveaway
*based on a secure P&G demonstration comparing a used dishtowel to DuraTowel under a blacklight after cleaning up 1tsp. spaghetti sauce, 10 mls coffee, and 1/8 tsp creamer on a laminate countertop.

Bounty and DuraTowel are property of Proctor and Gamble, and images and references are used here with permission for purposes of this review and giveaway only.

I was given free product for purposes of review. I was not compensated monetarily, or otherwise, for my honest opinion on this product.

The Day The Tears Showed Up

The Monster House sends love and prayers to Boston

Today, I have a post up on Special Happens, (I'll wait on ya, so you can know what I'm referencing, if you want to click over and read before you continue here.) because I specifically did not want my monsters to see it here. I don't let them watch the coverage in Boston on CNN, and I won't let them read the post I wrote for SH. Yet, as I listen to the monsterlettes play in the other room with #1, I feel the need to write a little more. I'm still... just too raw.

I'm still wondering. And I'm still reflecting. And today...today is the day the tears showed up. As I listen to the monsterlettes, I cry. I cry and I ache for the family that lost their son. I ache for the families that lost their daughters. I have vivid video in my head of the mother, sobbing as she tried to have a press conference, trying to tell the world about her daughter. And the only thing she said that I can remember with clarity is, "This doesn't make any sense!"

She said this through sobs that wracked her body, the anguish apparent, her soul screaming because her baby was taken from her with the type of violence that no one understands. And the tears keep coming.

I'm just a small town Momma with a mouth way too big for my own good. And that's okay. But the truth remains. I am scared for my monsters. I am terrified to know that my monsters are growing up in a world  where children are shot and killed at school, and bombs go off at a family event. I am horrified that I am having to create explanations that my little monsters will understand, for things that even adults don't understand.

Early yesterday morning, by accident, #5 saw coverage of a bomb dog working. He wanted to know what was going on. I had to think fast. So I did. "Well! Did you know that even dogs are superheroes sometimes? There are special dogs with super powers that work with policemen and firemen and other heroes for our country, and they can actually *smell*  bombs or drugs or other bad things and show their human partners where to find the bad stuff! How cool is that! So, that dog you see? He's showing people how he does his job!" #5 was properly awed and half whispered, "Cooooool!"

And I hated every minute of it.  I had to explain a bomb dog to my 7 year old. My seven. year. old. I could go into the inevitable comparisons now, with the "when I was 7, I was only traumatized by the fact that my cousins had all the Strawberry Shortcake figures and I had none!". But I won't. Because the fact of the matter is.. there is no comparison.

I don't know how to deal with this. I just don't. Give me an autism meltdown. Give me a sensory overload. Give me an allergic reaction. Give me a significantly overtired 4 year old that wants to eat ice cream for dinner. Give me a poop-splosion. Give me...anything... instead of having to explain what a bomb dog is to my seven year old son. Granted, he thought this was some nifty televised show and tell.  But that's not the point.

There was another 7 year old. He put it better in four words than I can in four thousand. "No more hurting people". And that's all that needs to be said, though the tears are flowing again. Now, we just need everyone to.... listen to the four words and take them to heart.

Epilepsy Warriors ~ A Force to be Reckoned With!

It is my great pleasure to introduce you to a non-profit foundation dedicated to helping our kids with epilepsy, and their families. Founder and president of The Epilepsy Warriors Foundation, Susan Noble, has tirelessly dedicated her time and effort for more than two years to get this truly vital foundation the respect and recognition it deserves, as well as providing a valuable resource which "addresses the ever growing needs for advocacy and research as well as lift the societal burdens and limitations brought about by epilepsy".

Did you know...

• 2.2 million people in the United States, and more than 65 million people worldwide have epilepsy
• In the U.S. more than 300,000 people who have epilepsy are under the age of 14; more than 500,000 are over the age of 65
• Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) accounts for 10% of all epilepsy related death; 85% of these fatalities occur between ages 20-50

The Epilepsy Warriors Foundation is made up of parents and caregivers of children, teens, young adults, and adults who suffer from seizures, and/or have been diagnosed with Epilepsy, Dravets Syndrome, LGS.

Impressed? So was I! But there's more! The Epilepsy Warriors Foundation is hosting a Bridge of Hope Gala Dinner in Chicago,IL on Saturday, April 20 from 6-1030pm at the Holiday Inn Mart Plaza.The dinner will benefit University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Changing the Face of Beauty, and The Epilepsy Warriors Foundation. Funds given to the Epilepsy Warriors will be donated toward an Epilepsy Research Center to be located at University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital, and to the Health Learning Center at Northwestern Memorial Hospital to have more resources for Epilepsy families and patients.

Jere's a little teaser for you: not only will guests of the Gala get dinner, but they will hear Joey LaRocque, former linebacker for the Chicago Bears, and president of Guardian Helments speaking about epilepsy, there will be video messages from Minnesota Gophers coach Jerry Kill, and CBS 2 Chicago News Anchor, Rob Johnson, a silent auction, and entertainment sure to delight everyone that attends.  It will be an evening that every guest will be talking about for months to come.

If you live in or around the Chicago area and would like to attend the Bridge of Hope Gala Dinner, you can purchase tickets through eventbrite by clicking here. If you don't live near Chicago, but would like to help promote the Gala, donate to The Epilepsy Warriors Foundation, or offer an item for the silent auction, please contact Susan Noble (susan at epilepsywarriors dot org). 

Image and links property of The Epilepsy Warriors Foundation, and used here with permission.