Eco-conscious Cleaning Products From Staples – Sustainable Earth
September 1, 2010 by theplus
Filed under Earth, Family, Health/Fitness
Staples has recently introduced a new line of cleaning products called “Sustainable Earth“. There are 2 products in this line to help you “clean green” an all-purpose cleaner and a glass cleaner. You can purchase them in either 32 oz. spray bottles or a 1 gallon refill.
These products are designed for the environment and are green seal certified.
I recently got the chance to try the all purpose cleaner and it works very well. Very equivalent to any other cleaners I have used. It doesn’t have a smell to it like other “green” cleaners I have used. Which I love this aspect because another one I have tried actually upsets my stomach when I use it due to the smell.
I am very pleased at the way the Sustainable Earth product I tried and would definitely will buy this to use in the future. It makes me feel good to know I am using products that are Earth Friendly that still do the job that I need them to perform.
Glass Cleaner – Makes cleaning windows and hard surfaces quick and easy. Alcohol, ammonia, and phosphate-free.
Multi- Purpose Cleaner – You can use this product on floors, walls, countertops, desks, cabinents, glass, porcelain, and other water -washable surfaces.
It has Neutral pH and ammonia and is phosphate-free.
to learn more about or order Staples new Sustainable Earth products please visit : staples.com/sustainableearth .
“Now That Was Easy”
The Plus Size Mommy
*Disclosure – I was given a sample of Staples Sustainable Earth All-Purpose cleaner to try while at the Blogher conference. All opinions about this product are 100% my own.
P & G Home Away From Home @ #Blogher
As many of you know I attended the Blogher 2010 conference a couple weeks ago in New York City. While I was there, I got the chance to tour a replica house that was sponsored by P & G. It was called the “Home Away From Home”. It was a great experience. I love many of the P & G brands such as Bounty, Pur, and Cascade. The home consisted of Eukanuba & Iams on the outside, where they also had a cute dog you could meet. Bounty, Pur, and Cascade were in the kitchen. Swiffer, and Febreze were in the office, Downy, Tide, and Puffs in the bedroom. And Pantene, Olay, Crest, Vics, and COVERGIRL in the bathroom.
It was an awesome way to set it all up and tie all of the wonderful P & G Brands in together as 1 happy family.
I loved meeting the people and the samples were awesome.
I got the chance to discuss with some of the reps. how and why I love some of the products, such as VICS. I told them how VICS is a lifesaver in my family of Asthmatics, and how using VICS on my daughter when she had lung surgery and fell ill with a bad cold after she came home from the hospital.
I felt really valued and listened to as a mom consumer.
I just wanted to share with you this fantastic experience and let you know what a good GREAT P & G is, and how happy I am to see that they were a sponsor at Blogher 2010.
What I also learned there in the house that impressed me greatly was how P & G are making a difference. (And how I can too). They have started (in 2004) a P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water (CDSW) Program. Providing clean and safe drinking water to children in developing countries. They are using PUR Purifier water packets to make the drinking water so much better for these children. They are SAVING LIVES. By being an attendee of Blogher 2010 they have donated 1 year of clean drinking water to 100 families in the developing world!
What an amazing company. I will truly be making sure to buy my P & G products with pride, knowing that I am supporting a company who will be supporting others and helping children.
The Plus Size Mommy
There Is More To Sending Kids Back To School Than With Just Pencils & Notebooks; You Have To Help Keep The Germs Away Too & WIN
August 6, 2010 by theplus
Filed under Earth, Family, Health/Fitness
With nearly 22 million school days lost each year due to the common cold and flu (CDC) and as many as 2.7 million bacterial found per square inch on common school surfaces (NSF International), it´s no wonder that 82 percent of parents with kids in grades K-5 fret about the germs in their children´s classrooms (according to a survey conducted by Seventh Generation).
This school year, Seventh Generation is sharing tips from best-selling author and pediatrician, Dr. Alan Greene, to help parents protect their child´s health during back-to-school season. Dr. Greene suggests taking the following precautions:
Optimize the immune system
- Reap the benefits of probiotics like those found in yogurt. A recent study showed that children who received enough probiotics daily throughout the cold and flu season had a significant reduction in the number of illnesses they had and, when they did get sick, the symptoms were both milder and didn’t last as long.
- Be sure your child is getting plenty of vitamin D from the sun, from food, or from a supplement.
- Build a strong foundation. Good food, good sleep, and good physical activity all help the immune system to flourish.
Be wise about reducing unnecessary exposure to harmful germs
- Teach children the key times to clean their hands in the classroom. The most important times include after sneezing, coughing or using the restroom, upon leaving “high-risk” places (recess, naptime, play stations) and before meals or snacks.
- Sixty percent of teachers surveyed said that they request that parents donate disinfecting wipes to the classroom. Seventh Generation´s disinfecting wipes kill 99.99% of germs* naturally using the active ingredient thyme, a component of thyme oil which is derived from the herb thyme.
- Stress the importance of not touching their eyes, nose or mouth. Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.
- Demonstrate to your children how to cover their mouth and nose for every cough and sneeze. This simple maneuver has spectacular results in decreasing the spread of viruses and bacteria floating about the room, waiting to be inhaled.
*Refer to disinfecting product labels for full details
WIN !!!!!
One of my lucky readers will also win a Seventh Generation “Back-to-School” kit that includes a Seventh Generation backpack, two canisters of Seventh Generation disinfecting wipes (one for home and one to donate to your child´s classroom), disinfecting multi-surface spray cleaner, facial tissue and paper towels. (As Shown)
Here is how :
- Leave me a comment on how you keep your household germ-free during the school year ?l = 1 entry
- Comment and tell us how your keep your kids healthy and germ-free ?= 1 entry
- Follow Me on Networked Blogs (right sidebar) comment and tell me you do= 1 entry
- Follow this blog, comment and tell me you do = 1 entry
- Follow me over on Twitter (@plussizemommy) = 1 entry
This giveaway begins NOW and ends on Aug. 14, 2010 at 10PM EST.
This giveaway is for USA residents only. Winner will NOT be emailed. Winner will be posted on this blog by Aug. 9th. Please check back to see if you are the winner if you enter.
Winner will be selected via random.org. Winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize by emailing me.
Thank you and Good Luck to All who enter!!
Happy Back To School !!!
The Plus Size Mommy
*Disclosure- Seventh Generation provided me with the free product, gift pack and giveaway through MyBlogSpark.
Winners Post For Cascadian Farms & Penguins Of Madagascar
Congratulations go out to the following 2 people for winning 2 of my giveaways :
Cascadian Farms = winner is : Trish@Iamsucceeding congrats !
Penguins Of Madagascar = winner is : Erin Casey congrats!
To claim your prize packs, please email me at plussizemommy@gmail.com with “winner” in the subject line. You have 48 hours to claim or another winner will be chosen. I need- name, address, and phone numbers for shipping.
Thank you to all who entered and to the winners, enjoy!!!
The Plus Size Mommy
Disclosure- Winners will receive their prizes direct from the companies. I am not responsible for any damage or lost items. I received the same gift packs from MyBlogSpark to review for my blog and to hold giveaways.
Sustainability FAQ’s For Kleenex Hand Towels
July 29, 2010 by theplus
Filed under Earth, Health/Fitness, Me
A few months ago I had posted about the New Kleenex Hand Towels. Since then a lot of questions have come up regarding their sustainability. So they sent me over a FAQ sheet to share with all of you 
Introducing~Cascadian Farm’s Newest FarmVille Initiative & WIN!
Cascadian Farm®, a pioneer in the organic food industry, is blazing yet another new trail as they become the first official branded – and organic – crop to be offered in Zynga´s popular online game, FarmVille. Joining forces, Cascadian Farm and Zynga will provide an innovative gaming experience for FarmVille fans, breathing virtual life into real world organic farming within the largest online agricultural space.
Beginning July 19 through July 26, Cascadian Farm will provide FarmVille players with a variety of benefits including, coupon offers, organic farming and green living tips, as well as the opportunity to build up their farm quickly. During the week-long partnership, branded Cascadian Farm organic blueberry crops will be the most profitable FarmVille crop offered in the game, to beginner and expert FarmVille players.
The brand has also recreated the real Cascadian Farm, located in the Upper Skagit Valley of Washington’s North Cascade Mountains. The virtual Cascadian Farm will carry out the brand´s mission to grow good and honest food by encouraging FarmVille users to harvest crops that are free from synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. All of their online fruits and vegetables will be planted with the same ideals and values found in organic culture, while also sharing the rewards from playing the game with Cascadian Farm´s online fan base.
To further connect with other FarmVille users, Cascadian Farm has created an avatar farmer called “Farmer Joe Cascadian,” who was inspired by the brand´s real-life farmers. “Farmer Joe” will serve as the “virtual” tender to the brand´s own FarmVille farm and users can request to be his neighbor by “friend-ing” him online at www.facebook.com/farmerjoecascadian and by using the FarmVille application to become his neighbor in-game.
For more information, please visit www.cascadianfarm.com
Now you can WIN a “Cascadian FarmVille Fan” prize pack (as shown) that includes Cascadian Farm Fruit & Nut Granola and Harvest Berry Chewy Granola Bars, along with Cascadian Farm coupons and a game card containing FarmVille currency.
Here is how to WIN :
Comment and tell why living an organic lifestyle is important to you and your family? = 1 entry
Comment and tell Which crops would you plant if you had a real-life farm of your own? = 1 entry
Tweet the following on Twitter : ” Win a Cascadian Farm -ville gift pack here : ” – You can tweet this up to 4 times per day, please leave seperate comments with your tweet thread included to get up to 4 chances/day.
Follow me on twitter, comment and let me know you are , I am @plussizemommy = 1 entry
This giveaway begins NOW and will end on Aug. 1, 2010 at 10PM. 1 winner will be chosen via random.org. Winner will NOT be contacted, but posted to this blog in a winner post. So if you enter to win, please check back around Aug. 2 to see if you won. Winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize. Winner must be a resident of the USA to be eligible.
Thank you to all who enter and Good Luck!
Shared by :
The Plus Size Mommy
Disclosure – the products, prize pack, information and additional prize pack to give away were all given to you from Cascadian Farm through MyBlogSpark.)
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Let Me Share With You, My Back Yard
These are pics I just took today from my back yard. I love Summer and I love spending the Summer in my Back Yard as much as possible.
Do you have gardens ? Do you love your Back Yard, or deck, or porch ?
Share with us your Back Yard story
Happy Summer , ENJOY!
The Plus Size Mommy
Avatar; The Movie On DVD & A Themed Birthday Party!
AVATAR
Since its global theatrical release last December, AVATAR has continued to make motion picture history. Written by James Cameron and produced with his long-time collaborator Jon Landau, AVATAR stars Sam Worthington, Zoë Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Wes Studi and Laz Alonso. The Oscar and Golden Globe winning epic is the highest grossing film of all time, taking in over $2.6 billion in worldwide box office. Director James Cameron takes audiences to a spectacular world beyond imagination, where a reluctant hero embarks on a journey of redemption and discovery as he leads a heroic battle to save a civilization. AVATAR delivers a fully immersive cinematic experience of a new kind, where the revolutionary technology invented to make the film disappears into the emotion of the characters and the epic nature of the story.
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment released the film AVATAR on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on Earth Day. AVATAR grossed over $2.6 billion dollars theatrically worldwide, making it the biggest film of all time. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment has teamed up with the Earth Day Network to plant 1,000,000 trees worldwide in celebration of the BD and DVD release of the film. People who purchase the film will be given a unique access code that allows them to go online and actually adopt one of the million trees being planted, charting its location and progress.
Party Like the Na’vi
Who doesn’t want to party on Pandora? This year, it might be fun to throw an eco-friendly bash for your favorite little Na’vi. Do you have tips on an environmentally friendly party for kids? Maybe an AVATAR-themed bash complete with Na’vi decorations and snacks?
FROM ME :
We decided to do an Avatar Birthday Theme birthday for my son’s 11th birthday. The following is a Whrrl of the party we had back in April. It was a lot of fun. The kids really enjoyed it.
If you have an Avatar fan in your home, this is a great birthday party to have.
The Plus Size Mommy
*Disclosure – I was sent a copy of the Avatar dvd for this party. All thoughts and birthday party plans in the Whrrl are my own.
It’s The Simple Things In Life – Feeding Time For Baby Birds
My mother called me a few week’s ago to tell me she had a new birthing suite at her home. I was like ummm, WHAT?!!! She said yes, that a Cardinal couple made a nest in a small tree outside of her Dining Room window and that the mama laid some eggs in there. She would tell me about how the mother bird was resting on the nest and how the daddy Cardinal would bring her back worms and bugs to feed her (how sweet I thought).
She couldn’t wait until the day came when the eggs would hatch and the new babies would be there. She was hoping to get a glimpse of them. Well, in this video, you will see she was able to get more than a glimpse.
Just in time for Father’s Day we are reminded of the Simple things in life. How any guy can make a kid, but that it takes more than that to be a Father or a Dad. How a male must still be a part in nurturing and feeding and taking care of their young. How much babies need their Fathers to care for them and not just leave them to fend for themselves.
In this short video she was able to capture how a Father Cardinal takes care of his new baby birds in the family nest. This is definitely nature at it’s finest! ENJOY!
My mother even put a “Do Not Disturb Sign” on the small tree where the nest is. It is the Simple things in life, the moments that if you don’t stop and take a breath, you will sadly miss. I am hoping that ALL Father’s this coming Father’s Day will stop, take a break from their work, and spend a great day with their little baby birds
Happy Father’s Day !
The Plus Size Mommy
*Dedicated to some great Father’s, you know who you are
Hot Diggity Dog The Pittsburgh Picnic Was Wonderful #HebrewNational
The Hebrew National Better-Than-a-Picnic Picnic came to Pittsburgh this past week-end. I was honored as one of the official hosts. Despite the rain many people came out to get some wonderfully yummy hot dogs. This was (I think) the first time I have ever tasted a Hebrew National Hot Dog and man were they delish! There was also fruit and drinks for everyone as well.
I was excited about the big air stream bus that was created into a kitchen where the hot dogs were prepared. I was also excited about the mechanical bull, but due to the rain it wasn’t able to be put up 
but they did put it out for the kids to see.
There was also cow pins that I handed out to everyone who braved the rain to come to the event and a cow puzzle that was magnetic and the kids enjoyed putting it together.
We also did some service projects during the event to help the community.
The service projects we did were :
- Donated sibling bags for teens/tweens for the Childrens Institute of Pittsburgh. These bags give the children something to do while they are there. We put chapstick, tissues, journal books, pen, pencils, and activity books inside the bags.
- We also donated collars, leashes, blankets, dog food, and other items needed to the The Animal Rescue League’s Wildlife Center.
- The kids decorated reusable shopping bags for The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank for the participants to use.
We also had some people help clean up and pull weeds at the park in celebration of World Environment day, which Pittsburgh was the host city of this year!
I met a wonderful man there who told me some stories of how he Pays It Forward and I was so amazed about all the great things he has accomplished and all what he tends to still do. He was an amazing and remarkable man. I was telling everyone about him!
His name is Bryan Douglas, You must check him out cause he is simply fabulous, and I was honored to meet him.
To prove how awesome he is, he created this great video of the Hebrew National Picnic for us. I would like to share it with you :
Thank you Hebrew National and The Motherhood for bringing this great event to Pittsburgh. Cooper, your so wonderful, I cannot say thank you enough!
There are a few more stops on the schedule this summer, So be sure to Save these Dates, you won’t want to miss this great FREE Event !
June 11th ~ Raleigh, NC
June 13th ~ Charlotte, NC
June 19th ~ Atlanta, GA
June 26th ~ Tampa, FL
June 27th ~Orlando, FL
July 3rd ~ Cleveland, OH
Thank you to all of the co-hosts for bringing this great day to fruition. It was the wonderful team work and efforts we brought to the event that made it all a special day!
Thank you also to Bryan, you are a huge inspiration to me.
The Plus Size Mommy
*Disclosure – I was compensated for my participation in this event.
