I had heard about these products for years. Many of my mom friends swear by Shaklee’s household cleaning products because they contain safe, non-toxic ingredients. In fact, I remember Oprah featuring the company on her show a few years ago in honor of Earth Day.

We had the chance to test out some Shaklee products recently and I must say, I am hooked! One of Jane’s friends from college, Susan, is an independent distributor, and she sent us some goodies to try: Basic H2 Cleaning Concentrate, Hand Wash and Cinch Energy Tea Mix.

Susan sent us three spray bottles, each of which uses different amounts of the Basic H2 for different household (and beyond) uses – All-Purpose, Windows and Degreaser.

I took the All-Purpose because, as you can imagine, life with 4 boys can get pretty messy all over the place. I feel like I could follow them around, cleaning up after them all day and I still wouldn’t have a clean house! Most often I’m cleaning up crumbs left behind on my the counter tops and tables, and fingerprints on the windows. The thing I love most about the Basic H2 cleaner is that my house doesn’t smell like chemicals after I use it. Also, it’s super concentrated so a little really does go a very long way.

Jane is a car window cleaning freak because she is constantly driving around with her 3 dogs – and that equals a lot of nose marks on the windows! She keeps the Window Cleaner in her car with the Super Microfiber Window Cloth and loves that she can clean, clean, clean without leaving harmful chemicals on the windows. Jane also loves the Cinch teas, especially now that it’s getting colder!

And Mom and Dad host a lot of family get-togethers at their house… so the Degreaser has been an awesome addition to their oven-cleaning efforts, especially after the grandkids “help” out in the kitchen. Mom also loves the Hand Wash because it has a clean-but-not-overpowering scent and, like the Basic H2 products, a little goes a long way.

Contest time!

We can’t wait for you to try Shaklee, too! Susan is generously giving one lucky reader a Get Clean Household Mini Kit, which includes:

“Test driving” the Verizon Palm Pre Plus for the last 4 weeks has been incredible. It was really cool to be able to try out the Verizon Palm Pre Plus and really sink my teeth into the various applications. It’s funny because I’ve had various smartphones on the past, but I had never (ever) really given myself the opportunity to play around, have some fun and try out some new and exciting features.

For me… it’s all about trying to make my life the easiest it can possibly be. It’s not that simple working from home with 4 boys and not having outside help. It’s all me, just me. And then you toss in running a business from home. Trying to remain and be (stay) organized is an understatement.

I’ve been asked what were my favorite features that really (really) made my life easier over the last 4 weeks. It really came down to a few things for me…

1. Email – I have a mac account, a gmail account and a Mom Generations email account… Each account represents something different to me – one is personal, one is business and one is for my Twitter emails. I love that I can have all my emails coming into one place… I don’t have to literally go from my mac.com mail, to my gmail.com account, back to my Mom Generations mail. It cuts down on the “missing” anything factor and it really allows me to have a good idea of what is “priority” and what isn’t.

4. Easy Web Browsing – Before this test drive I never would have thought of “easy web browsing” as a feature I needed and really saw as a tool to make my life easier – well, it was and it is. I remember when I first started off the test drive I remembered some of the other test driving moms mentioning this… it didn’t “hit” me until I started using my phone everyday and needing it to be fast, easy and user-friendly.

If you’ve been reading my series, you know that I have fallen in love with the Palm Pre Plus… who would have thought a simple phone could truly make your life – well, easier and better. Thank you so much for this amazing 4-week “ride” Emily and Cooper… it’s been wonderful and I highly (highly!) recommend anyone looking into a Palm Pre Plus for their next smartphone.

**And so… drum roll please… I’m announcing my (3) $25 Gift Card Winners:
- Linda S (1st week)
- AudreyPeters (2nd week)
- Lisa Book (3rd week)

Leave me a comment below and you’re entered!! I will be picking a winner tomorrow evening at 10PM EST! Enter as many time as you’d like!!**