20 Mule Team Borax Review

First thing that comes to mind when I hear borax? Homemade laundry detergent!

I recently started making my own, with borax as an ingredient. It is great and inexpensive.

Some things I didn't know about, was what else borax is good for. On the package it says you can use it for not only as a laundry booster/stain remover, but for carpets as well. Tile, grout, garbage cans and disposals, etc. There are so many uses! It even says crafts, though off the top of my head I have no idea what that would be.

Borax is a natural water softener and counteracts the problems of hard water and laundry.

I decided to try my hand using 20 Mule Team Borax on my toilet downstairs. The toilet doesn't get a lot of use and with hard water, it develops stains very easily. Borax did such a great job on it that I barely had to scrub! It was amazing. I'm going to take it and apply it to everywhere hard water stains afflict me. Mainly around the bathroom faucets and the water dispenser in the refrigerator.

Visit their website to get some more cleaning tips!

So go out and grab yourself a box of 20 Mule Team Borax. You can find it almost anywhere these days. Mom and pop grocery stores or even Walmart! It's so inexpensive. Think of the money you will save using this to clean everything and make your own laundry detergent!

Borax provided a free sample of their product so I could review them. However, all of the opinions expressed here are my own.

Purex Triple Action Baby Detergent

I received a full-sized product sample of Purex Baby detergent, because I'm a Purex Insider. I'm always amazed at how cool that is!

Purex Baby is said to be gentle on baby's skin and tough on baby's messes. Little Mister doesn't seem to have super sensitive skin, so I'm not sure about that. Purex Baby is hypoallergenic and dermatologist tested.

I noticed that it seemed to clean very well. However, it did not get stains out of Little Mister's white onesie. He had eaten some dry snacks and drooled them over himself. He likes to remove bibs. I wasn't impressed with the stain removal power, but then, I've never had a laundry detergent get stains out on its own.

The scent does remind me of a baby, but it does not smell like baby powder, which is a good thing. The scent is gentle and not overpowering on clothes after they come out of the dryer. I really like the scent.

Purex Baby is designed for all types of washing machines. I have an older top loader model.

My consensus? It's worth it!



Purex provided me with a sample of Purex Baby detergent in exchange for a product review. However, all the opinions expressed her are my own.

Purex Triple Action Giveaway

How would you like a whole bottle of Purex laundry detergent, for free?

I have three coupons for a free bottle, good through December 31st 2013, to give away!

Purex has launched their "Let's Be Honest" campaign. "Shedding some light on the everyday absurdities." 

 They have several videos for you to watch. My favorite is "Deep Clean". :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dry Idea Review and Giveaway

Being a Purex Insider sure has it's perks.
I was sent a bottle of Dry Idea deodorant and antiperspirant to try out., in the roll-on form/ powder fresh scent. 

Check out their website, www.dryidea.com, to see all the variety they offer.

Honestly, I didn't have high hopes. I have tried out so many deodorants (natural and not), then ended up buying clinical strength versions because nothing did the trick. 

Now, I'm not an overly smelly girl. I don't like smelling 'off' at all...or smelling like deodorant and sweat together. Yuck. I hate underarm wetness too. Doing cardio workouts is really gross. I really don't like sweating!

I gave the Dry Idea a good try and.....I LIKE IT! It works better at controlling wetness than most, if not all, of the clinical strength deodorants I've tried. Plus the scent was pleasant and did not remind me of baby products.  It even passed the second-day-reapply. Hey, I had to put it to the real test! 

Hooray! I will be buying more in the future. 

Thank you, Dry Idea!

Would you like a coupon for a free bottle, to try out for yourself?

I have 2 to give away!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Purex Laundry Detergent Review -Mountain Breeze Triple Action and UltraPacks

A little while ago I was sent this bottle of Tripe Action Mountain Breeze Purex from being a Purex Insider. (You can join too, it's free!)
I am pretty picky when it comes to scents. The first time I used this laundry detergent, it seemed really strong as I poured it into the washing machine. I decided I wouldn't like it right then and there. Then, when the clothes came out of the dryer, they smelled wonderful! I just finished the last of my bottle and I am going to miss this scent. I've been thinking about making my own laundry detergent, but the scent of this alone (not to mention it does a good job of cleaning) is enough to make me buy it. Now, that could have something to do with me being pregnant, but I even grabbed Pixie after dressing her, just to smell her clothes. I sniff towels over and over. AH! So good.

I was also sent Purex UltraPacks in Mountain Breeze a few days after the other bottle arrived.
I just finished those too. For some reason the scent didn't seem as strong to me, but it still smelled so wonderful. The little packs are very convenient, but I didn't use them as often because I normally do extra large loads of laundry and one of these is recommended for a med-large load. It was really fun seeing them dissolve in the water, even cold water dissolved them really quickly.

If I hadn't been so sick and down in the past couple of months, I would have had some free coupons to give away. But alas, I do not. Thank you Purex for the free detergent and the wonderful scent! I recommend you all go out and try it. At least smell it. :)

And if you want to become a Purex Insider too, visit purexinsiders.com to apply!

Save Money with Daily Deal Sites

We all love to save money and find good deals, right? Here are some of my favorite daily deal sites. You never know what you might find!

LivingSocial posts a new deal every day. It could be a service, retail gift card, or getaway. Just today I got a $10 Cold Stone Creamery gift card for only $5. Remember to access the LivingSocial deals through your Swag Buck's daily deal link, for 450 swagbucks every time you purchase a LivingSocial deal! That's enough for a $5 Amazon gift card through Swag Bucks!
Invite your friends to LivingSocial and get a $10 credit for each person that signs up and purchases a deal.
Sign up here.

Groupon works much like LivingSocial does. You get a daily deal tailored to your area. Although, you are able to purchase deals from other cities, which could be good online. The other day I bought a $15 eBay gift card for $7. Remember to also access your Groupons through Swag Buck's daily deal page. You earn 160 swagbucks for every Groupon purchased.
For every Groupon you purchase, if you get 3 friends to purchase it also, your Groupon is free! This is very cool because Groupon also offers getaways and services. Go in on a getaway with your friends and one is free! Split the whole thing between the 4 of you for a fair discounted price. :)
Sign up here.

EverSave offers local and online daily deals. Services and retail products. Refer your friends for a $10 credit when they make their first purchase. Also access EverSave through your Swag Buck's daily deal account for 23 swagbucks for ever $4 spent through EverSave.

Sign up here.

DealPulp offers online daily deals that are 50-80% off retail, in the form of promo codes. I purchased a deal for an online socks website, selling unique kids socks. Your promo code is delivered to you within one-two days. You get a $3 credit added to your account when a referral joins, plus 20% of everything they purchase afterward.
Sign up here.

No More Rack is relatively new on the scene, it is a product deal website, they ship items directly to you. They were up and running around the beginning of the new year and have been gaining a large following. I believe it's largely due to the flat $2 shipping per item. You can score some pretty big deals on No More Rack, but be quick. Deals are posted at noon Eastern Standard Time and can sell out in minutes, especially the handbags. Which are a super good deal and they have them very often! Sizes are usually limited, but that's to be expected. They had a few bugs to work out at the beginning, but if customer service is contacted (even via email), it is worked out within hours. Shipping can be slow, some items take up to a few weeks to get, but I've noticed that they are getting better and my last item arrived within a week.
No More Rack offers $10 credits for referrals when they make their first purchase. They also have been known to give $5 credits as holiday gifts.
This is my favorite of the daily product websites. Sign up here.

Totsy is a private sale site for moms...or dads! It features very unique kid products, many eco-friendly items.
The only down side to me is that Totsy charges $7 shipping and I oftentimes don't want to purchase more than one or two items. I'm a shipping stickler. But they do have really nice items for really nice prices. It's worth a shot checking it out. They send you really good promo deals at times and give you $15 for referrals.
Sign up here.

Ideeli offers a wide variety of sales at noon EST every day, up to 80% off designer items. These deals also include travel. I have yet to try them out, but they do offer $25 credits for each referral!
Sign up here.

If you are into couture, here is a deal site for you. Haute Look offers multiple designer items at very reduced prices.
I like to look and drool, but I am a penny pincher. Maybe in the future I will be able to snag some of these 'haute' items at great deals. Haute Look also recently added vacation packages to their deals. Something I'm very interested in taking advantage of in the future! Haute Look offers $10 credits for your referrals.
Sign up here.

Beyond the Rack is another high end deal site. They offer many designer items at reduced prices. Launching tomorrow, they are going to be offering plus sized deals as well!
Beyond the Rack credits $10 per referral.
Sign up here.

Happy savings!

Earn Free Gift Cards

Here are my favorite places to earn some extra spending money, by redeeming point for gift cards.

I have been a member of MyPoints for at least ten years. You earn points many ways. Do surveys, print and redeem coupons, play games, open their bonus mail e-mail offers (get 5 points just for clicking, even if you don't take advantage of offer), click through their site when you shop at online retailers; and get a certain amount of points per dollar sent. For example, I buy stuff on eBay quite a bit. So I first go through MyPoints and open a window up through them. Depending on the monthly promotion, you get 2-4 points per dollar spend. Other places like Target.com gets you more like 7 points per dollar. Take advantage of special offers, like signing up for Netflix, and get over 1,000 points! Just remember to go to MyPoints before you buy anything online, to see if they sponsor your merchant.
Check out MyPoints and start earning points for free gift cards!

Another place I started earning in the past few months, is with Swag Bucks. I quickly grew to love this program! So far, without being very diligent, I have earned about $35 in Amazon.com gift cards for free! You can redeem sawgbucks for gift cards at many places, but you get the most bang for your bucks with Amazon gift cards.

Set Swag Bucks as your homepage and use their search engine. You randomly win swagbucks for searches. You may also print and redeem coupons and participate in games they sponsor for extra swagbucks. Although I don't participate in these games, I do follow them on Facebook, and sometimes I score codes for free swagbucks posted in my feed.

I decided to explore Swag Bucks even more. They have a task page where you can do data entry and earn swagbucks. It's worth it to me. I did one task worth over 100 swagbucks, 450 swagbucks is enough for an Amazon.com $5 gift card.

There is also a daily deal page. This links up with daily deal sites (a list of my favorite deal sites here) and you gain swagbucks by clicking and buying these deals through Swag Bucks. Just today I clicked through the link on Swag Bucks to purchase a deal from LivingSocial. You earn 450 swagbucks for each deal you buy on LivingSocial (enough for a $5 Amazon gift card!) and today I bought a Cold Stone Creamery $10 gift card for $5. How 'sweet' is that? :)
Head over to Swag Bucks and sign up!

Have fun earning your free gift cards!