Malauney's Challenge

I've been tagged!

So 'Launey posted about the 5 consumer products that changed her life, and challenged me to do the same... this required some thought... first, because I don't like to think of myself as somebody dependent on consumer products, and second, because I suffer from severe prego-brain lately :) But when it comes down to it, there are a few things that I really enjoy owning and using!

In no particular order:

Norwex (and Swiffer!)

I'm finding that my sister-in-law, Jordan, is the queen of recommending good products :)

She told me about Norwex antibacterial cleaning cloths, and at first I kind of brushed it off (like I do most product recommendations...) but then the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to know! These amazing cloths clean chemical-free, are micro-fibre (so they grab EVERYTHING!) and because they are woven with silver in them, are antibacterial, killing more germs than straight bleach! I use them on everything, in my kitchen, in my bathroom, for dusting, all over. My bathtub has never been whiter, easier!

I also use these cloths in my swiffer. I had bought a swiffer mop just before I found out about Norwex, and I loved the simplicity and cleanliness of mopping and then not having a dirty mop hanging around... Now, I just get my Norwex cloth damp, and attach it to my Swiffer to do my floors :) Wash the cloth when you're done, and it's good as new! Norwex makes tons of other enviro-friendly cleaning products, like window-cleaning cloths, so you never have to inhale ammonia from windex again.

Pampered Chef's Rotary Grater

The first time I ever saw one of these was with the family I nanny for. I've done regular cheese-graters, I've even had an electric grater that was part of a food-processing ensemble, but it was such a pain to haul all of the pieces out (heavy machinery!) that it was easier, in the end... to just buy cheese already shredded!

One of my piano moms recently became a Pampered Chef demonstrator, and convinced me to host a party, and I saw this in the catalogue, bought it, and LOVE IT! grating cheese is SO easy now, almost to the sick point of being fun :) I don't spend as much on cheese anymore, and of course, carrot cake or zucchini bread from scratch are more realistic possibliities now :)

Pampered Chef Apple Wedger

Another Pampered Chef product that I love is their apple wedger. Paul and I saw these at the mom-and-tot's fair, where they had a Pear booth... and we bought a cheap one at Safeway, but I didn't realize when we bought it that it wasn't dishwasher safe, and it rusted. This one, however... is stainless steel, and since we eat a lot of apples... saves a lot of time! (even Paul can use it!)

Bio Oil

This is another Jordan-recommended product :)

In my first month or so of pregnancy, I immediately got stretch marks... in a place... alright, alright. I got stretch marks right across my boobs. I no longer have pretty boobs. *sob*. Jordan told me about Bio Oil, and I've been using it EVERYWHERE, ever since. the stretch marks I already had have already started fading, even though I keep growing, and because I started using it before I got any marks on my belly (the instructions say to use it for 3 months before you can expect to see results, but the results are there!) my tummy is still stretch-mark free, with only 6 weeks left in my pregnancy :) Another plus is that it smells nice... other stretch mark creams (that purportedly don't even work) made me gag...

Magic Bullet

My final product... also carries the Jordan-approved seal :)
I needed a blender (almost 4 years of marriage, and still no blender!) and I got a generic one at Walmart... and hated it. Returned it the next day. What I really wanted was smoothies. I had bought a bunch of frozen berries (strawberries! my favorite!) at Costco to make into smoothies so that I could stop shelling out at Orange Julius every time I had a craving, and the stupid blender wouldn't even put a dent in my frozen fruit. Jordan told me that Costco had Magic Bullets, and that they were wonderful. So I tried it. And I love it. And I make multiple smoothies every day. Strawberries with lemonade, Bananas with milk chocolate... Strawberry/Raspberry/Blueberry/Mango/Peach... Whatever! And it's so easy, because I just rinse the blade out right after I use it (rinsing pureed food takes 2 seconds) and put the cup in dishwasher, and I'm done cleaning.

Okay... I tag... Seraph, gNat, Kim, Sarah, and Lisa!