Chore Time Is Quick & Easy With #SwifferEffect! #rafflecopter

At the Monster House we use the "divide and conquer" method to tackle household chores. Otherwise, it would be me doing everything, and I just have to say, one person cleaning up after nine people just doesn't work out so well.

From picking up to doing dishes, to vacuuming and dusting, everyone pitches in - even the twinnies. But not everyone has 8 other family members to help get things done, like Lee and Morty, a 90 year old couple  living in New York. You can imagine how lugging around a heavy mop bucket or stretching on a rickety step stool to get the dusting done could be both difficult and dangerous for Lee, who does all the housekeeping in their home. Check out their story, and fall in love with them like I did:



Everyone has problem areas in their own home, or chores that are difficult to accomplish because of the contortions you have to do or cleaning supplies you have to heft around. Well, Swiffer has all kinds of products to help make your chore time shorter, more effective, and more enjoyable! And you'll feel better knowing that your home is really clean, and safe for your family. If you're anything lke me, and have a child or family member with allergies or sensitivities, cleanliness is a big, BIG deal. And for homes with pets and/or small children, Swiffer products are amazing for quick clean up of those pesky perpetual spills and messes.

But wait, there's more! (Lookit me all sounding like and infomercial...) One lucky Living with Logan reader living in the United States will WIN a #SwifferEffect kit ($20 value) of their very own to make cleaning faster and easier! Enter by using the super simple entries within the rafflecopter form below. Though I love love LOVE blog comments, those entries will not be valid, or counted. But always feel free drop me a comment to let me know how much you love me and the monsters. It makes me feel all gooey and get the warm fuzzies...

Remember: only entrants from the US are eligible to win. Good luck, and happy cleaning with #SwifferEffects!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


**disclaimer** I was provided with a #SwifferEffects kit in exchange for this post, including the provided video. Opinions and views stated within the body of the post are mine alone and were not compensated beyond free product. #SwifferEffect, Swiffer, and Swiffer Wet Jet are products of Proctor and Gamble, and copyrighted by same. Referenced here, for purposes of this post, with permission.

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.

House Work Causes ADD

Morning breaks. The chaos routine of school mornings ensues. There is hustle movement. There is bustle bickering. There is an amazing amount of air traffic in the Monster House in the mornings, as socks that don't match go flying, backpacks are emptied all over the floor in the frenzy of trying to find that wadded up paper underneath the bed homework, and the entire front coat closet gets gutted in order to find outer wear. There's snow outside, you know.

And then, with a final wall trembling door slam, the last monster is off to school. And I dare to look at what used to be able to fit the definition of "home", but now resembles more the definition of "nuclear fallout". I decide to pick up the house now rather than later, because there are no monsters to distract me. This will go quickly! I can get it done and still have time to enter giveaways and call friends and blog and read and nap and drink coffee before I have to pick up the twinnie monsterlettes from Pre-K in exactly..... 2 hours and 12 minutes. I am, you realize, delusional.


I gather up 3,741 dvds from the floor, which have been used for an impromptu and unauthorized game of frisbee last night, and start snapping them back in the cases. I praise myself. See? This is going well! Look how much you're getting done while there are no interruptions! And I start to stack them into the DVD shelf. But gosh, That shelf is SO dusty. So, I grab a rag and the allergen free Pledge. Then wipe and shine that shelf until the dust at least resembles wood grain instead of mud. Then I decide that it would be so much easier to find a movie if they were alphabetized. So I do that. Then I look over, and that darn TV screen! It sprouts fingerprints like it's about to grow hands! Ew! Back to the cleaning cabinet for windex and a clean rag. Now the screen is all pretty and fingerprint free. But there is a headless baby doll between the TV and the entertainment center wall, and that's just sad. I think I saw the head in the boys' room, and I actually know where a needle and thread are today, so I stop everything to perform major surgery on a doll that is never used for anything but decapitation.

While in the boys' room, I notice that the equivalent of a 12 person set of dinnerware is residing within the depths of doom in their room. And I don't even want to know what is clinging to the plates and bowls. I'm almost certain it was food at one time. So I put the baby doll down on the foosball table and start gathering dishes while muttering strange and meaningless threats under my breath. It takes 14 trips, but I get all the dishes. Thank goodness for kitchen counter space, because I used it all!

The next thing I know, my cell is having a seizure because the alarm is going off. It's time to pick up the twins from school! And you know.. I've been working hard. This is great! The fam will be so proud! Except... the only thing that's been picked up and put away? DVDs, and one baby doll. It has taken me 2 hours and 12 minutes to put away movies and pick up a doll.

Based on the evidence presented here, I think you'll agree that house work does indeed cause ADD. Save yourself while you still can! Happy Friday, everyone!

Images in this post by Google images