Keep Allergens and Pollutants Outside

Keep Allergens and Pollutants Outside

What is the best kind of dirt?  The kind that stays outside!!  I’m Dutch, I was taught to dust… even when I couldn’t even find any.  Our homes are our sanctuary and truly the only environment we can control.  

There’s nothing I love more than entertaining at our home; we are blessed to have many nephews and nieces that have moved into our city to attend university. They are always welcome to come for a warm meal and family time.  With friends coming and going as well, we have a busy home!

Entry mats are a stylish way to keep dirt and allergens from traveling throughout your home.  Norwex has launched a new Entry Mat for your home this fall, thirsty microfiber and polypropylene bristles and all. These features will trap the dirt at the door, as 85% of contaminants are brought into our homes in the first four steps.  The industrial strength rubber backing will hold it in place!

Here’s a few other ways you can prevent unwanted pollutants from entering your home:

1. First and foremost, your mat is your first line of defense. If you wish, you can even keep one just outside your door to wipe your shoes off on, and one inside your door to soak up the remaining moisture from your shoes. Just make sure you’re vacuuming/laundering your mat about once a week to keep it doing its job efficiently!

2. Create a “no-shoes-past-the-mat” policy, simply remove muddy footwear BEFORE reaching the entryway floor. I know some people who have placed a bench nearby to make this easier, my family has adopted the shoe rack system to keep our shoes organized and minimize unnecessary clean-up!

3. Paw prints making a mess? Keep a Norwex EnviroCloth or hang a Dusting Mitt handy at your back door where you let the dogs (or cats) in to readily wipe their furry paws and prevent any messy situations. Nobody likes trying to get mud out of their carpets.

A couple handy suggestions:

  • This mat is the perfect size for your RV.  With the non-slip rubber backing it will hold in place and absorb unwanted moisture.
  • Do you have a pool or hot tub in the back yard?  Place this mat at the door and you’ll appreciate its absorbancy.

Already loving the new Norwex entry mat? We are too! Try out the Norwex Rubber Brush to keep it clean between laundering, or run over your mat with a hand held vacuum.

Did You Know?

  • The soles of your shoes are a major source of transferring chemicals and pesticides into your home.  In fact, most of the grime in our homes originated elsewhere, the bulk of it coming in unnoticed on shoes that often don’t appear to be either muddy or dirty.
  • A good quality entry mat is essential, it will remove much of the contaminants that otherwise would find their way inside your home.
  • The right entry mat can also reduce the time you spend cleaning, it should be about the same width as the door.
  • With unwanted debris, chemicals and other residue from lawn equipment and automobiles, garages and public restrooms on our footwear, we all track unwanted filth into our homes.

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Delores VandenBoogaard is an Independent Norwex Sales Consultant from Edmonton, Alberta Canada with customers and consultants throughout Canada and the United States including; New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, North West Territories and Ontario. She also has customers and team members in; Michigan, Texas, California, Massachusetts, Florida, Arizona, Missouri, Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, Idaho, Washington, New Hampshire, Iowa and Maine.

 

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“Thanks-for-Giving” Me More Time

“Thanks-for-Giving” Me More Time

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I thought I would share a few things I am thankful for. My husband who has been one of the driving forces for me behind this business, and my beautiful girls who inspire me to make this earth cleaner, for their future.  I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family who is as passionate about changing our world as I am.

That being said, when entertaining in our home this Monday, I hope to spend as much time possible with my family, NOT cleaning up dishes. This, of course, means less time doing the dinner clean-up. Daily we use the Norwex Kitchen Towels for drying our dishes and hands. I have never had a towel dry faster, and absorb spills more easily than this one.  The towels are sold individually or in sets with a matching cloth.

At a Customer Appreciation Event in Smithers, B.C. a testimony was shared about these towels:  It was Easter and her entire family of thirty guests were joining her family for dinner.  The food was prepared, wine was poured and the table was set.  But unfortunately the dishwasher was broken.  With the recent purchase of two Norwex Kitchen Towels they dried all of the dishes; from the wine glasses and utensils to the once greasy turkey roasting pan.  She was delighted with her new towels and told all who were there that they should also try them.  Old dish towels that sort of did the job are a thing of the past, Norwex has come out with an absorbent solution!

Safe On:

  • Stainless Steel
  • Enamel / Stone / China
  • Ceramic / Glass / Crystal
  • Chrome / Wood / Plastic
  • Granite / Marble / Slate / Quartz / Tile

The unique weave allows the Kitchen Cloth to tackle all your kitchen surfaces; they are super absorbent, quick-drying and non-abrasive.  In addition, BacLock™ in the cloth – a micro silver antibacterial agent – goes to work to inhibit odors from bacteria, mold and mildew growth within the cloth. Best news? No more smelly cloths or towels! If that’s not something to be thankful for, I don’t know what is.

This fall the kitchen towels are available in new colors, including orchid, butter-cream, and my favorite, a rich and festive pomegranate red.

The towel and cloths set are available now in eight different color options.  Mix and match to hang in your kitchen as dish towels and hand drying towels.

Did You Know?

Many products incorporate silver because of it’s antibacterial properties.  There are silver antibacterial socks, silver soap, silver-lined curtains in hospitals, silver-lined bandages for treating burns and even silver toothbrushes.

Key Benefits:

  • Norwex Microfiber uses a combination of static electricity and capillary action to pull dirt and grease up into the fibers and away from the surface.
  • Dries kitchen counter and dishes quickly.
  • Saves time, money and the environment with chemical-free cleaning and no use of paper towel.
  • BacLock™, the micro silver agent goes to work with self-purification properties.
  • Exceptionally fast-drying.

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Delores VandenBoogaard is an Independent Norwex Sales Consultant from Edmonton, Alberta Canada with customers and consultants throughout Canada and the United States including; New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, North West Territories and Ontario. She also has customers and team members in; Michigan, Texas, California, Massachusetts, Florida, Arizona, Missouri, Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, Idaho, Washington, New Hampshire, Iowa and Maine.

 

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Code Red: Mess in the Kitchen!

Code Red: Mess in the Kitchen!

Do you like systems and organization?  I do! I encourage my customers to color-code the microfiber cloths in their home.  When Norwex lovers are asked what is their favorite product,  it is predominantly the EnviroCloth!  This cloth literally cleans up everything and it works amazing… with only water, so there’s no harmful chemical residue left behind– just the real clean.

Since the cloths come in four colors, I have always color-coded our home and have taught my customers to do the same.  It’s a simple system:

Red is our go-to kitchen-cloth.  It’s used for 2-3 days to wipe down the: counters, stove, microwave, exterior of the fridge and interior plexiglass shelving, the table after each meal, finger prints on the dishwasher and watermarks on the facet and in the sink!  This hard-working cloth absorbs spilled tomato sauce, burnt on food, spilled milk or grape juice.  Because you cannot bleach your Norwex cloths, red is a great color to camouflage any accidental staining from your daily kitchen activities!

Blue is the designated color for any heavy cleaning project.  It lives under the kitchen sink and is pulled out for, wiping the floor when unexpected spills happen, cleaning the very dirty patio furniture, wiping the  BBQ or oven, detailing the car, or washing outdoor windows. This way, one cloth does all the extra dirty work, instead of potentially staining every cloth you own!

Green cloths are used to maintain our bathrooms.  Years ago we would squeegee our shower, but inevitably the doors and walls still got very grungy.  Now, after each shower we quickly wipe down the shower stall to prevent soap scum and mineral deposits.  In 10 years since our family was first introduced to Norwex, we have not sprayed any toxic cleaning chemical in our shower.  That said, I don’t expect my family to deep clean after each shower.  So we do use DeScaler for maintaining the tub and floor weekly.  One green EnviroCloth wipes up the shower walls, bathroom counter and mirror for a week. Take a cleaning moment and you won’t need a cleaning day!

Yellow cloths are used for cleaning the toilets. Norwex has an excellent cleaner for inside the toilets, but this cloth is used for detailing the porcelain and seat.  It hangs on the plumbing under each bathroom sink.  It’s always handy if needed.

Friday is Norwex laundry day at our home and with this cloth system it is very simple.  After the cloths come out of the dryer, each cloth is put back where it belongs.  Only the Red cloths are folded and returned to the kitchen drawer, the rest are all returned to be used as intended in their designated areas for another week… until they are laundered again.

At my shows everyone laughs when I ask, “Now what would you be thinking if you found a yellow cloth on my counter when you come over for coffee?”  : )  See…  the system works!  Everything stays where it belongs!  Simplicity my friends!

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Delores VandenBoogaard is an Independent Norwex Sales Consultant from Edmonton, Alberta Canada with customers and consultants throughout Canada and the United States including; New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, North West Territories and Ontario. She also has customers and team members in; Michigan, Texas, California, Massachusetts, Florida, Arizona, Missouri, Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, Idaho, Washington, New Hampshire, Iowa and Maine.

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Creating A Safe Haven

Creating A Safe Haven

During my first pregnancy, after three years of marriage, my husband offered to clean the shower for the first time.  He didn’t want me inhaling the strong fumes in the enclosed space of our shower stall.  I realized then, if it wasn’t safe for me to use these products while I was pregnant, how could they be safe for me to use when I wasn’t?  I had been cleaning regularly with the typical, department store products.  I had an arsenal of cleaning products I become accustomed to cleaning with.  I was using the same products my mom used to clean my childhood home.

Screen Shot 2014-11-14 at 4.25.30 PM copy

Picture from: www.theallergymom.com

It is often when children enter our homes that chemical awareness really kicks in.  However, without knowing the alternatives we have, we continue to wash, wipe, and spray chemically laden products onto the surfaces that our children touch, lick, smell, and inhale everyday.

To this day, I have yet to hear a parent claim they would like to expose their children to a greater number of chemicals.  However, we smile and take pictures of our babies kissing the bathroom mirror, licking our windows, and blowing bubbles in the bathwater. Have you ever watched your child eat food off of the counter and stopped to think; how did I clean that surface?

Health Canada reports that, “Household chemical products are among the top products responsible for injuries and deaths in children under the age of five years”.

“Not long ago scientists thought that the placenta shielded the umbilical cord blood…  researchers at two major laboratories found an average of 200 industrial chemicals and pollutants in umbilical cord blood.”  Read more… at Environmental Working Group.

It was to my great relief that Norwex offered products that would diminish our exposure to these cleaning products for our family’s future. I no longer have to worry about what I last sprayed on a surface, or what kind of chemicals my family will inhale when cleaning.

It delights me to be raising a generation that knows how to clean, without depending on harmful chemicals to get the job done.  When our daughters join me for a weekend at a local Trade Show, they’ll tell the skeptical, potential customers that they do not recall anything being used in our home other than Norwex.  They will often grab the mop and say, “our family has been using the same one since 2004!”.

Information is powerful.  As long as there are stores full of cleaning chemicals, I have a job to do!  I will educate others, one home at a time!

IMG_5598_0902

My Family

Resource: Health Canada

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Delores VandenBoogaard is an Independent Norwex Sales Consultant from Edmonton, Alberta Canada with customers and consultants throughout Canada and the United States including; New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, North West Territories and Ontario. She also has customers and team members in; Michigan, Texas, California, Massachusetts, Florida, Arizona, Missouri, Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, Idaho, Washington, New Hampshire, Iowa and Maine.

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Is Your Home a Chemical Free Zone?

Is Your Home a Chemical Free Zone?

When I was pregnant with my eldest daughter, my awareness of the dangerous chemicals that could be in our home and environment was heightened. My desire was to give my young daughters a healthy environment to grow and play in. Not only was I unaware of the magnitude of dangers typical cleaning products held, but I liked how they had made my home smell and feel. The scent had made it feel CLEAN, and eventually, I began to realize that I had affiliated the smell of chemicals with cleanliness. I suppose this makes perfect sense,  as the only way I had been taught to clean was with chemicals. As well as our smell being our strongest of our senses gave me the false sense of, “If it smells clean, then it must be clean!”

Like many, I assumed if these common household products were sold in stores they must have been approved safe to use. However, the skull and crossbones plastered across thousands of cleaning products indicate something different. After doing extensive research on the effects of chemicals in household cleaners, I decided I NEEDED an alternative. That’s when I  discovered Norwex! The CHEMICAL-FREE way to clean. I was thrilled and to further my delight, I discovered hospitals were using them too!  I instantly fell in love with the products and what they were all about. I could not wait to share the fantastic news of a chemical-free-future with others. Read more about my story:  “Why Norwex?”.

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Delores VandenBoogaard is an Independent Norwex Sales Consultant from Edmonton, Alberta Canada with customers and consultants throughout Canada and the United States including; New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, North West Territories and Ontario. She also has customers and team members in; Michigan, Texas, California, Massachusetts, Florida, Arizona, Missouri, Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, Idaho, Washington, New Hampshire, Iowa and Maine.

 

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