Free Sample of Seventh Generation Dish Soap!

Seventh Generation is giving out samples of their dish soap for free. Just Login or sign up here to claim yours! If you haven't tried this stuff you should. It smells wonderful and does an excellent job of cleaning your dishes without nasty chemicals!

*Thanks MoneySavingMom for spreading the word!

15% Off for Seventh Generation Nation Members Until June 30th!

To celebrate the launch of their new online Gift Shop, Seventh Generation is offering 15% off all orders over $25 to all of their Nation members. If you are not already a Nation member I recommend becoming one. It's free and makes you eligible for wonderful promotions like this one as well as regular printable coupons!

This discount is only available until June 30th so shop soon! Make sure to enter the savings code SGNATION15 at checkout!

Seventh Generation Toilet Bowl Cleaner Review

Have you ever read the label on your toilet bowl cleaner? The warnings, disclaimers and special storage and use instructions are shocking! "Do not breath in fumes"? "Wear protective eye / face protection"? "Causes chemical burns"? "Contains hydrochloric acid"!?!

Is it really necessary to bring hydrochloric acid into our homes, around our children? And let's not forget those special family members that regularly drink out of the toilet. Not you're weird nephew (yes, we all have those) but your dogs and cats! How much of these chemicals is left behind in the toilet for them to ingest?

I don't like having these toxic liquids anywhere near my family, but toilets are so hard to keep clean and I have never found a natural, safe product that was effective. Well, now I can gladly throw out the Lysol (making sure to follow the special disposal instructions of course). I have finally found a suitable replacement.

I was recently sent Seventh Generation's Toilet Bowl Cleaner to try. I thought my toilets were fairly clean. I give them a regular rub down inside and out, and had thoroughly scrubbed out the insides before moving in this past January. So I was amazed to see what looked like black paint chips sloughing off with every scrub of the toilet brush. Only five minutes after applying it under the inner rim of the bowl, the Seventh Generation cleaner had freed layers of caked on hard water build up- all without the corrosive powers of hydrochloric acid!












As I breathed in the fresh scent of Emerald Cypress and Fir, I thought about the warnings on the back of my Lysol bottles. They tell you not to breath in the fumes, yet fill them with perfumes to smell appealing. It was reassuring to know that I could breath while cleaning my toilet and not be putting myself at risk. Seventh Generation's ingredients are all natural, and non-toxic so they do not put off hazardous fumes. And guess what. The closest thing I could find to special disposal instructions on the label was a request to recycle the container.


What I love about this cleaner:

• The peace of mind that comes with its all natural, non-toxic ingredients


• The effectiveness. It works better than most mainstream chemical cleaners on the market.


• No special instructions for disposal. It's 100% biodegradable which means it will not harm our eco-system.


• Not tested on animals.


• Smells great.

Other interesting features:

• It's kosher-certified


• Safe for septic and greywater systems

What I don't love about this cleaner:

• So far- nothing. I can't even really complain about the price- which is quite reasonable, especially when I use one of the many coupons made available to me and other members of the Seventh Generation Nation through their website.

Buying Seventh Generation Toilet Bowl Cleaner:

You can find Seventh Generation Toilet Bowl Cleaner at most Kroger, Randalls, Whole Foods and Target stores, among many other retailers. You can also purchase it directly from Seventh Generation through their website.

Over all I give this cleaner an A+. I highly recommend it.

Seventh Generation Free & Clear Kit Giveaway

Congratulations to our lucky winner, clemery1!

Deciding which products to review first on this blog was not a tough decision. My first product review was on Seventh Generation's Laundry Detergent. I am a huge fan of their products, so it was an easy choice. I am also a huge fan of the company. The spirit that drives it is energizing, upbeat and inspires action. Their website reflects this with handy tools and educational campaigns to increase evironmental awareness.

I can feel good about using Seventh Generation products because I know exactly what goes into them. They list all of their ingredients on the bottles/boxes in plain English. No secrets. And all of those ingredients are natural, non-toxic and eco-friendly. On top of it all they don't test on animals and they regularly give back to communities around the country by sponsoring worthwhile campaigns and causes.

And now they are giving back to the online community at Spots On My Apples! Seventh Generation is giving one lucky reader a Free & Clear Gift Kit.

The winner will receive a Seventh Generation reusable bag filled with:

• 2x Liquid Laundry (32 oz.)


• Hand Dish Soap


• All-Purpose Cleaner


• Auto Dish Tabs (15-count tabs)


• Glass & Surface Cleaner


• Dryer Sheets
  

Enter to Win:

This giveaway has closed.

To enter for your chance to win all you have to do is visit the Seventh Generation website and look over their line of products, then post a comment telling me which product you are most interested in trying. (Not one of the Free & Clear products, but something else.)

For additional entries:

• Follow my blog and leave a comment letting me know, or


• Subscribe to my blog via email (upper right of page) and leave a comment letting me know


• Join the Seventh Generation Nation (it's free, you get coupons and they won't flood your inbox with junk) and leave a comment telling me


• Get TWO additional entries for blogging about this giveaway! Be sure to linkback to this post and to Seventh Generation and leave two comments telling me about it with the link to your post

Don't forget to leave your email address on all posts so I can contact you if you win!

This giveaway ends on June 5th at 11:59 pm CST. Good luck!

Get Out of Hot Water

Last week I blogged about my favorite laundry detergent which is made by Seventh Generation. Though their products are great, I am beginning to wonder if I don't love the company even more! They support a ton of worthwhile charities and are constantly taking action by hosting their own brilliant campaigns. This one is no exception.


The Get Out of Hot Water campaign educates consumers on how much energy they consume by just using hot and warm water to wash their laundry, and invites everyone to take a cold water pledge.

As mentioned in my review, their detergent is specially formulated to work best with cold water, and it truly does. To understand the impact this can have on your wallet and on the environment, they have provided this nifty calculator on their website.

According to their calculations, by using cold water instead of warm/hot, in one year I am saving:
764.4 kWh
1682 lbs. CO2
$81.41

Every little helps right?!

Check it out and see how much you could be saving, and while you're there take the pledge. It's these small changes that will add up to a big difference.

Thanks Seventh Generation!

Seventh Generation Coupons

I wrote earlier about Seventh Generation Laundry Detergent. It is a tad more expensive than main stream brands, but there are coupons out there. If you become a member at their website you can print coupons. http://www.seventhgeneration.com/coupons Every bit helps right? If you know of any other printable coupons out there for Seventh Gen. products please let us know!

My Favorite Natural Products for the Laundry Room

When my two year old started developing asthma last year I set out on a mission to control it naturally whenever possible. In my research I found that some of the biggest irritants to the respiratory system were sitting in my laundry room. You know the ads that show the mom taking the towels out of the dryer, burying her face in them and breathing in the heavenly fresh scent of her clean laundry? I see those ads in a whole new light after learning that the reason those perfumes are added is to cover up the strong fumes put off by the harmful chemicals that those detergents and softeners contain.


There are many informative articles out there on the dangers of detergents and fabric softeners so I won't go into it here. (I will however provide links at the bottom of this post if you would like to read a few.) These heavy fragrances are made up of a combination of chemicals that gain passage to our bodies through the nose when we inhale them and through our skin when we wear clothing that has been saturated (washed) in them. These chemicals are known to irritate the respiratory system, among other things.


That was enough information to inspire me to find a new laundry detergent, stain remover and for the occasional use with blankets- a safer fabric softener. It is a difficult task as my toddler is a very messy girl that inflicts a variety of stains on her clothing. I am still testing out stain removers and fabric softeners, but I have found my detergent and am loving it.





Seventh Generation Natural Laundry Detergent


What I love about it:

• Scented with 100% whole essential oils and botanical extracts which won't irritate my child and smell great! I love the blue eucalyptus & lavender.



• Non-toxic



• It's made in the US



• Lists all the ingredients in plain English- no secrets



• All natural plant-derived ingredients



• Not tested on animals



• Works best in cold water- really it does- which is better for the environment and my budget!



• Company is socially responsible

What I don't love:

• It's a few dollars more than Tide and Cheer (my previous products). BUT, Kroger always has promos going with their products and when you buy them there you will almost always get a coupon printed out with your receipt to use on your next purchase. It's usually $1 off which helps! ALSO, I do get more loads out of each bottle. It's very concentrated and unlike other brands that claim the same, one cap goes a long way.

If you have tried this product, please leave a comment on what you loved or hated about it as well as any useful tips in improving it's effectiveness.

Two great resources:

http://www.householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/


http://www.herc.org/news/perfume/risks.htm