Monday, January 25, 2010

Cleaning confessions—plus, win a $50 Seventh Generation Deluxe Kit



A few years ago, I was working on a magazine article with Lori Bongiorno, author of Green, Greener, Greenest. She asked if I was using natural cleaning products at home and when I said no, Lori told me I should, for the kids' sake. "They're on the ground all the time, getting close to residues from whatever cleaners you use and breathing them in," she said.

Sold.

My go-to brand is Seventh Generation, which is all about nontoxic household products. They do the job and smell nice and fresh, unlike some of that foul stuff that reminds you of your high school hallway after the janitor mopped it down. Green cleaners get a bad rap for not working as well as their chemical-y counterparts, and maybe that was true years ago, but Seventh Generation's versions are great. And, yes, I inhale.

Meghan, a Nice Person who works there, recently sent me a bunch of Seventh Generation items to check out including paper products, auto dishwasher pacs, laundry detergent and garbage bags. Dave was like, "Wow, now you better clean! Ha ha ha!" and I felt like clonking him with a (recycled) bottle. The dishwasher pacs and laundry detergent smell a lot better than chemical-laden crap I've used, and clean like they need to clean. The recycled paper products are good quality; I felt less guilty going through our usual wads of paper towels, since no trees died to make them. The garbage bags—made from recycled plastic—are fine for everyday use, but may not be strong enough for heavy-duty jobs like, you know, party cleanup or dragging a dead body out of your home.

Word up: Seventh Generation is sponsoring a Million Baby Crawl to demand that Congress impose more safety testing on chemicals on the market. You can show your support by becoming a crawler.

Want to go on a cleaning streak? OK, then. I have two Seventh Generation Deluxe Healthy Home Starter kits to give away, each worth approximately $50. You get: • 1 bottle Natural Dish Liquid in Lavender, Floral & Mint • 1 bottle Natural Laundry Detergent in Blue Eucalyptus & Lavender • 1 box Natural Fabric Softener Sheets in Blue Eucalyptus & Lavender • 1 bottle Natural Glass & Surface Cleaner in Ruby Grapefruit & Herb • 1 bottle Natural All-Purpose Cleaner in Green Mandarin & Leaf • 1 bottle Natural Kitchen Cleaner in Wild Orange and Cedar Spice • 1 bottle Natural Shower Cleaner in Green Mandarin & Leaf • 1 bottle Toilet Bowl Cleaner in Emerald Cypress & Fir • 1 bottle Tub & Tile Cleaner in Emerald Cypress & Fir • 1 box Auto Dish Pacs in Lemon • 1 bottle Rinse Aid, Free & Clear • 1 box Trash Bags • 1 box Seventh Generation Recycled Bags. • 1 roll Natural Paper Towels • One Facial Tissues Cube • 1 4-Pack Bath Tissue.

I would recommend not telling your husband if you win so you don't have to deal with obnoxious comments about cleaning. Or, hey, tell your husband that you won it for him.

To enter, just leave a cleaning confession—something funny about the way you clean, or the way you DON'T clean. No worries, your secrets are safe here. I'll 'fess up first, to get things going:
• Sometimes I forget to change the sheets on the kids beds. I once left Sabrina's for like a month or something. Interestingly, nothing happened to her as a result. At least nothing that I can see.
• Once, I was rushing to get ready for some guests and I was talking on the phone and simultaneously trying to mop down the floor and give Sabrina a drink. I poured apple juice into the cleaning bucket, added water, and started mopping down the floor with it. You can imagine how this would make a floor feel. I do not recommend cleaning with apple juice.

BONUS entries: After you leave your main comment/confession, you can leave a separate comment for each of the following that you have done.
Visit the Million Baby Crawl website and leave a comment mentioning one thing you learned.
Follow LoveThatMax on Twitter.
Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment with your Tweet time stamp (translation for Twitter newbies: click on the time below the Tweet, which shows you the URL). You can use this Tweet: Win a $50 bag of Seventh Generation cleaning products from @LoveThatMax, two winners, ends 2/1, http://lovethatmax.blogspot.com
Subscribe to the To The Max feed; you can do that here, or another way, and leave a comment saying how you subscribed.
• Become a Facebook fan of To The Max.

This giveaway is open until Monday, February 1, 2010, 11:59 EST, and is for U.S. and Canadian residents. I'll pick two winners via randomizer.org, announce them on Tuesday, February 2, and alert you by e-mail.

UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed.

390 comments:

  1. I invite people over. Its the only way I have the motivation to clean. As they're pulling up to the door, I am usually shining the mirror in the hope that a clean mirror will distract them from a dirty floor. I used to sterilize baby bottles and sippy cups and was so paranoid about cleanliness until I watched my child licking the rim of the toilet and figured she was going to find germs no matter what I did.

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  2. I have always hated cleaning the blinds in my kitchen so loosened both both sets of bolts that held them so that the "unexpectedly" fell and got twisted, now I'm very happy with kitchen curtains. My husband still thinks it's strange that both blinds fell.

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  3. My husband made almost the exact same comment the last time I bought cleaning supplies. Ugh! I'm pretty sure that says NOTHING about the way I clean (or don't clean), right? :-)

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  4. I follow you on Twitter (lizbc).

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  5. I tweeted: http://twitter.com/lizbc/statuses/8190647046

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  6. I'm subscribed via Google Reader.

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  7. From the Million Baby Crawl site: "Since 1976, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has required safety testing on only 200 of the more than 80,000 chemicals on the market." Yikes! That's quite scary.

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  8. I'm a Facebook fan. Max is an adorable kid! (And he has a great name. I have an 8 year old Max.)

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  9. I am HORRIBLE about changing the kids sheets. I think it's because they have a triple bunk and it's a real pain to do it.

    momofabc at nycap.rr.com

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  10. I only clean the basement (vacuum, dust) once every month or two :S...

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  11. I follow you on twitter bewitchinkitch

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  12. I do dishes periodically throughout the day. If I didn't, there is no way they would get done...EVER...When my son is nice a full after a nursing (and actually happy) and my daughter is dancing along with Elmo, I rush to the kitchen, son in tow in bouncy chair, and wash as many dishes as I can.

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  13. I learned that only 200 of the 80,000 (I didn't even know there WERE that many chemicals!!) have been safety tested. That insane! And a little risky in my opinion.

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  14. I'm following LoveThatMax on Twitter!

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  15. I tweeted this giveaway!

    http://twitter.com/Insomniac2001/status/8192847932

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  16. If I'm in a hurry with dusting, I'll only dust around items instead of picking them up.

    teenytig@sbcglobal.net

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  17. My wonderful husband does most of the cleaning so I guess I am a little spoiled. I have offered to hire a cleaning girl to come in about once a month but I think that he actually enjoys doing the cleaning so I will let him continue to do it.

    JISJT@YAHOO.COM

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  18. I have 6 kids, a fulltime job, & no paid cleaning help, so you can imagine the shortcuts & secrets I have.

    (Although our babysitter does do some sweeping and folds most of the clean laundry).

    The thing is, last night my teenage daughter told me that she's seen a lot of dirtier houses. Which really makes me wonder about OTHER people's secrets :)

    Ellen, I love your blog & I don't know how you do it.

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  19. I put in the toilet bowl cleaner and then scrub it after it's been sitting a few minutes. My husband scrubs the toilet and then puts the cleaner in and it drives me so nuts that I always clean the toilet to make sure he doesn't do it his way. I guess that's a little crazy.

    LauraL444(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  20. I subscribe via MyYahoo!
    LauraL444(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  21. I follow on Twitter! (LauraL444)

    LauraL444(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  22. I visited Million Baby Crawl's website and learned that (terrifyingly enough) only 200 of about 80,000 chemicals on the market are tested for safety by the government.
    LauraL444(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  23. While making my girls a HUGE bowl of pudding! I mean huge like 4 boxes worth. (Yeah i don't know why i was making that many, who knows) I dropped the whole plastic bowl from about 4 feet off the ground. Needless to say there was pudding everywhere! On the ceiling, on the kitchen floor, on the living room floor, on 4 walls, on the bedroom floor, on the hutch...you get the idea. Well i decided that i would make a game of it and i changed the girls into old tshirts and let them clean my floors. Talk about a mess but they had fun cleaning and i enjoyed relaxing and not listening to arguing. I am sure that some got eaten but i really didn't care at that point. :-) They are fine today so if they ate a little dirt it didn't seem to hurt them. Of course i later had to mop again but at least there wasn't a ton of pudding to clean up anymore.

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  24. My confession:
    I have a housekeeper that comes every other week. Both my children have been terrified of the vacuum cleaner at daycare, and each of them, at around 2 years old, cried and told the daycare teachers that they had never seen a vacuum, and that "no, Mommy and Daddy don't have one of those." Of course we do, and we do vacuum in between house cleanings, but after the kids are asleep with the doors firmly closed. I had to explain, lest the daycare director and teachers think we're total slobs!

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  25. I follow the blog on blogger.com. It's the first thing I do in the morning.

    Laura K

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  26. My in-laws were coming for dinner and I wanted everything to be "just so". All the family photos were on top of the (very dusty) entertainment center. I piled them up on an end table so I could dust. Something happened - phone, buzzer, who knows - and I forgot. Of course, when they arrived, there were all the pictures in a pile and a very dusty surface with the cleaning cloth sitting on it.

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  27. My confession? When we're having company, I'm in a rush, the kitchen hasn't been swept, and I'm making a huge dinner... I have been known to sweep the big stuff under the stove to give the illusion that I have a clean kitchen. :P

    hawaiismn(at)gmail(dot)com

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  28. I'm only 4'11" tall so there are lots of high places that I clean only occasionally. My outlook is if I can't see the dirt then it's not dirty.
    traymona[at]aol.com

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  29. I learned that, over the past 30 years, the EPA has restricted use on only 5 of the 200 products they tested. Goodness!

    hawaiismn(at)gmail(dot)com

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  30. I'm a Twitter follower.

    hawaiismn(at)gmail(dot)com

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  31. I tweeted: http://twitter.com/hawaiismn/status/8196069932

    hawaiismn(at)gmail(dot)com

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  32. I'm a subscriber, via Google Reader.

    hawaiismn(at)gmail(dot)com

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  33. My cleaning confession? I'm big on being neat, however I'm not a big cleaner. I know it sounds paradoxical, but my husband does MUCH more cleaning than I do. The only thing that motivates me to sweep or scrub is knowing that he enjoys having everything spic and span. If it were just me, I'd only vacuum once every couple of months. (Seriously.)

    carmensechristjunk at gmail dot com

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  34. I am following you on twitter (atlantagalknows)

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  35. I am a facebook fan (facebook.com/carmensechrist)

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  36. Tweet: http://twitter.com/atlantagalknows/status/8196226797

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  37. I learned that, "Since 1976, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has required safety testing on only 200 of the more than 80,000 chemicals on the market."

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  38. Confession: I hate dusting so I just don't do it until it gets so bad I can see it from across the room. I have also forgotten the change the sheets for a too-long amount a time (more than once). I only vacuum as much as I do because my one-year-old thinks it's gobs of fun to chase the vacuum around while squealing with laughter. Maybe one of these days I can convince her to do it??

    aedykstra at gmail

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  39. I learned that there's a scary number of bad chemicals in my cleaning supply closet and that I could use 7th generation soap in my high efficiency washing machine.

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  40. I Follow you on twitter @Mollygirl77.

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  41. Sometimes when I'm in a rush doing the laundry I sometimes forget to clean the lint trap in the dryer.

    Once I forgot to clean it for almost a month, so buy the time I actually got around to cleaning it w/ the vent brush, there was so much lint on the brush it went from dust bunny to a large dust rat. LOL!

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  42. I tweeted your giveaway

    http://twitter.com/WildOrchids09/status/8198296271

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  43. When selling our house and we were notified that a real estate agent was going to show the house we gathered everything off of the counters and put (threw) them into the dryer.

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  44. I am way to embarrassed to put my cleaning confessions up here...someone might call Child Protective Services on me.

    Lets just say my floors have not been cleaned in...oh a few months. My steamer died and I can't handle chemicals. Maybe I should just head to the store and pick some of this stuff up! But heavy rain is coming...

    We are moving in a few weeks, to a brand new home, and it is my desire to keep the toxic yuckies out. And I think if you start wtih a clean slate, keep up on your cleaning, there is no need to bring out the heavy artillary!

    I will say that I have used some homemade 'safe' cleaners, but am out of those too...but I do make my own non-toxic powder laundry detergent!

    You rock Ellen!

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  45. um....My entire house is a disaster, so I nvite people to go out instead of come over-
    diane baum
    esldiane@gmail.com

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  46. i hate cleaning the stainless steel appliances knowing they will just get all fingered up again, so I just done! i use to do it all the time but have given up and do it like once a month if i remember

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  47. I really don't do a lot of cleaning at home. I work 50+ hours a week so my boyfriend (who is on disability) and my kids tend to do most of the cleaning. :) I do love the idea of natural cleaning prducts, especially since my boyfriend is allergic to a lot of cleaning chemicals.

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  48. I follow Love That Max on Google Friends.

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  49. I used to sprinkle powdered cleanser in the bath tub so they would have to clean it before they could use it!!
    gevans8@swbell.net

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  50. My confession is probably that I am a tremendous slob. If I don't set aside a day for cleaning,our house could easily look like a scene out of Hoarders.lol I LOVE Simple Green but my Lover Man hates the original scent. So I'd love to try some of their other products.
    kaytewatts AT aol DOT com

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  51. I follow you already @kayte71
    kaytewatts AT aol DOT com

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  52. http://twitter.com/kayte71/status/8204655731
    kaytewatts AT aol DOT com

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  53. I clean the bathtub while I'm having a shower; the walls et al!

    ty

    nancyrobster@gmail.com

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  54. Babies everywhere are crawling to Washington and saying “no” to toxic chemicals found in household products. Join the crawl and help Seventh Generation, maker of naturally safe and effective household products, demand change! Join the crawl.

    This is a fantastic movement!

    ty

    nancyrobster@gmail.com

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  55. Follow you on Twitter

    greeeneyedwhwom


    ty

    nancyrobster@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  56. Tweet


    http://twitter.com/greeeneyedwhwom/status/8205143540

    ty

    nancyrobster@gmail.com

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  57. Email subscriber


    ty


    nancyrobster@gmail.com

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  58. Facebook Fan

    Anne Taylor or annectaylor1

    ty

    nancyrobster@gmail.com

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  59. My cleaning confession is that I don't do it nearly as often as I should. As a stop-gap measure I tend to use the clothes I take off before a shower and use them to wipe down my sinks and the tub and anything else that is damp in the bathroom. This keeps the bathroom looking clean and I only have to break out the cleaner once every few weeks. I can't believe I just "said" that for all the Internet to read.

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  60. One of my many cleaning confessions: If we have rice for dinner and if (when) some is spilled on the floor I always wait at least one day to clean it up -- because dry rice is easier to clean up than wet rice.

    Question -- what does it say about my cleaning to find a dead mouse in the basement?

    jdoll at mail dot win dot org

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  61. before i do my weekly cleaning i always have to make a list, it is almost the same every week, but i still have to make a list

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  62. I hate cleaning...I "spot" clean the floors to avoid actually mopping!

    I SO need new cleaners...I finally hired my housecleaner back (I work full time...and I really don't want to spend my weekends cleaning!)....the last 2 times she has been to my house, my daughter threw up that night from coughing...I'm not sure, but I'm thinking it may have something to do with the cleaners she is using...I'm going to buy her new products...that is...if I don't win these! I REALLY need these!

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  63. I do not like to clean AT ALL. Now that we have therapists in our home all the time, I do clean more, but I still don't like it. And I would never consider our house clean. Bathrooms are the worst - UGH! My husband has his own and I am afraid to go in there without a hazmat suit!

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  64. I hate cleaning the bathtub. I will wait as LONG as possible to scrub it. BLECH. I also will wear my jeans at least 3 times before washing!

    savvyhousewife @ yahoo.com

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  65. I once put a pile of dirty clothes in the car to hide them right before we had guests coming over.

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  66. I am a clean-freak! It kills me that my sons can sleep through the noise of the vacuum cleaner and not the dog barking. But after a good party, I can't stand dirty floors so I bust out the dirt devil no matter what time.

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  67. There's always one corner of my bedroom I always leave last to clean and almost never get to it. Funny thing, it is probably the easiest.

    naturemanipulated AT hotmail DOT com

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  68. clean blinds by taking them off and hosing them in the shower...used to be anal about doing it all, guess i realized a little dirt never killed anyone

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  69. I don't mind cleaning the inside of the toilet, but I WON'T clean the floor behind the toilet. I don't even want to look at it it disgusts me so!

    shannoncarman at yahoo dot com

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  70. I can sweep every couple of days, but it always looks like I have a third dog lurking under the table. My pooches shed -- a lot.

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  71. My only confession is that I LOVE a clean house, but I HATE cleaning it. So I have developed a three-tiered cleaning system.
    1. Cleaner than it was. (Visible dirt gone, but some streaks, those little sticky spots on the counter, the dust ball under the edge of the fridge -- oh, well.)
    2. Clean enough for company. (No streaks, no sticky spots, toilet sparkles, but DO NOT open any closet/cabinet doors or look in corners.)
    3. Clean enough for me. (No streaks, no sticky spots, the toilet sparkles, the ceiling fans are free of dust, the windows are washed, the corners have been attacked with a toothbrush, the dust bunnies banished, the wood surfaces polished, the mattresses turned and vacuumed, the curtains laundered or steamed . . .). This, of course, happens rarely.

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  72. I always clean in platform stilettos so I can reach the top shelves!

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  73. I just went on a Rug Doctor bender - it's pathological. I'm looking at rugs everywhere thinking, "I could clean that".

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  74. Follow 'lovethatmax' on twitter as ky2here1.

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  75. Here's my tweet:

    http://twitter.com/ky2here1/status/8216720807

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  76. Here is my confession:

    I bought a Dyson and a Shark-knowing full well my hubby (who is slightly OCD about pet hair) would ooh and ahh over them so much that I have hardly vaccuumed in my house for 3 years

    :)

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  77. I can be very fanatical about keeping some things in the house clean. like the bathrooms. Then, there are other things I am very lax about cleaning, like any kind of dusting.

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  78. I once had surprise company come, in the days before we had a dishwashe,r and I hid a sink full of them in the oven, while they were ringing the doorbell. Hee hee. cardshark42(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  79. I learned that only 200 of the 800,000 chemicals are safety tested. Ouch! cardshark42(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  80. I am an email subscriber. cardshark42(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  81. Let's see-- our bathroom gets cleaned by my husband in exchange for me cutting his hair. Every time I cut his hair the bathroom is supposed to get cleaned...His hair grows super fast and he likes it super short, but since he's been failing at his end, I said no more hair cuts until he does

    Desiree
    weeshareblog@gmail.com
    http://weeshare.blogspot.com

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  82. I joined the million baby crawl a while back. I can't believe how many harmful things are really in cleaners!!

    Desiree
    weeshareblog@gmail.com
    http://weeshare.blogspot.com

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  83. http://twitter.com/WeeShare/status/8218008559

    Desiree
    weeshareblog@gmail.com
    http://weeshare.blogspot.com

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  84. hm, my cleaning confession is my talent of making it look like I have been slaving away all day, but only cleaning for an hour and a half max. The only reason this works is because cleaning times are always after my one year old is peacefully sleeping.

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  85. the last rental house we lived in had the ugliest vinyl orange and brown patterned vinyl floor in the kitchen. no matter how hard i scrubbed it never looked any cleaner. so i stopped cleaning it... except for the occasional sweeping and spot clean.
    heatheranya at hotmail dot com

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  86. I scrub the tub and shower walls while I'm taking a shower...just seems easier.
    bebemiqui82(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  87. I learned from the Million Baby Crawl that only 200 out of the 80,000 chemicals have been tested for safety. jeez!
    lindseygrogan[at]rocketmail[dot]com

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  88. following on twitter
    lindseygrogan[at]rocketmail[dot]com

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  89. tweeted about this giveaway
    heyhey_linds

    lindseygrogan[at]rocketmail[dot]com

    ReplyDelete
  90. subscribed to the feed via yahoo
    lindseygrogan[at]rocketmail[dot]com

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  91. fan on facebook- lindsey grogan
    lindseygrogan[at]rocketmail[dot]com

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  92. I always save picking up until right before guests arrive, and then I shove everything in drawers and closets etc. I can never find a thing afterwards...

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  93. I Love using cloth baby diapers for dusting and cleaning window. I know it sounds funny. My kids to this day have wondered if they were same diapers that they had worn as babies (I never said yay or nay).Of course they are not used. They were bought for this purpose only, but why let them think otherwise

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  94. posted on twitter http://twitter.com/amomsrantings/status/8220812585

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  95. fan of tothemax on facebook (craftyrefashionista)

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  96. My husband cleans the whole house. Yep he does! I was always the sloppy one, but I have made improvements.

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  97. I have no problem cleaning the bathroom until it comes to clean the toilet-it makes me gag,even if it's not that dirty! So my hubbie always cleans the toilet.

    Elaine R
    emrosser@shaw.ca

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  98. http://twitter.com/Superfrugalette/status/8221744629

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  99. One time our bedroom door was squeaking, so I sprayed WD-40 on it. Well, it went right through the crack and got all over the wall. That stuff is really hard to get off of a painted wall, but guests are never in our bedroom with the door closed, so they'll never see it.

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  100. We bought the shark steam cleaner to mop the floors, no chemicals needed. My husband tried it once, on a couple tiles and told me it worked well. He didn't realize that the entire floor needed cleaning and it was not just another new toy. Oh well...I don't really expect him to ever understand, his mother cleaned for him, even after he moved out of her house.

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  101. I once put some regular bleach (something I no longer use)in the toilet to disinfect. I inadvertantly forgot to flush it down nor did I remember to warn my husband. Needless to say, he used the toilet and came running out with a "strange" look on his face; thank goodness everything was OK! Chlorine and ammonia=danger!

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  102. Like Sinead, I invite people over to motivate me to clean! That way, it doesn't seem like a chore at all, even though I then feel like I'm forced to clean up the house!

    ~Kate
    coconutbananabliss @ gmail.com

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  103. I hate doing dishes, so I just rinse off my spoon/bowls and reuse it all day, lol

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  104. I'm not too diligent about mopping. I'm more likely to do spot cleaning.
    ericandsarita(at)gmail(dot)com

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  105. Following on Twitter.
    ericandsarita(at)gmail(dot)com

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  106. tweeted: http://twitter.com/chickitsarita/status/8223411816
    ericandsarita(at)gmail(dot)com

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  107. FB fan
    ericandsarita(at)gmail(dot)com

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  108. I hate cleaning inside the stove. It is such a hassle. I should do it more often, but I sometimes "forget" to!

    Staceysgirl@hotmail.com

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  109. I am a compulsive cleaner. Everytime I am in the bathroom I clean something - the shower when I'm in it, the mirror when I brush my teeth...
    When in the kitchen as well I will clean at least one thing every day. It annoys me that there is no end to it LOL
    Jan

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  110. hate to clean the base of the toilet - my 4 yr old always misses!

    autumn398 @ yahoo.com

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  111. I skip cleaning bathroom floors sometimes cause its the last room i clean and i just get tired!

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  112. I hate cleaning my kitchen floor and even bought a steam mop hoping that would motivate me. I've used it once

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  113. My secret is that I hate folding laundry so much I pay my children to do it for me.
    monster6236(at)gmail(dot)com

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  114. I let all my messes pile up so I can do a big clean once a week, it makes me more fulfilled.

    plur268 at yahoo dot com

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  115. When I was single, I was the WORST slob. I seriously waded through ankle-deep mess in every corner of my apartment. But my husband totally corrupted me. I tried cooking something with the kitchen messy a while ago, and I just couldn't do it!

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  116. I refuse to do bathrooms! Yuck! My husband is stuck doing those!
    dmb161@aol.ccom

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  117. All the junk laying around...i'll throw in a laundry basket to plan on sorting later on but then later on only comes every once in awhile lol

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  118. I started off the year 2010 with the word Organization as being my resolution. I got myself an agenda to write down all that must be done during the course of the day. I found myself neglecting the CLEANING as being part of the days. So, who is doing the cleaning? It piles up and I'm at square One... once a week, rush-job cleaning and laundry.

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  119. HORTON111@AOL.COM
    EMMA L HORTON

    I HATE DOING THE DISHES AND I HAVE NOT DISHWAHER EXCEPT MY TWO HANDS...I PUT IT OFF AS LONG A I CAN

    ReplyDelete
  120. http://twitter.com/Adriana1954/status/8237500548
    Tweeted the giveaway

    ReplyDelete
  121. Following Love ThatMax on Twitter @Adriana1954

    ReplyDelete
  122. my secret is that I sit here at the computer more than clean. But please don't tell.

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  123. My secret is that I clean the shower and tub while I'm in there showering. It makes life much eaier - I can reach all the little spots and can rinse all the goop right off me!

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  124. My secret is that I vacumm about three to 4 times a week but leave my countertops messy for weeks at a time. I don't know why I can't get organized!

    Thank you!
    Maria
    maria (dot) donahue at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  125. I follow you on twitter!
    Thank you!
    Maria
    maria (dot) donahue at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  126. I tweeted!
    http://twitter.com/mariadonahue/status/8238149176

    Maria
    maria (dot) donahue at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  127. I abhor dusting, so usually I don't do it.

    rsbryswrrl at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  128. I'm really bad about cleaning out my car. This morning when my son got out in the car line, a piece of paper fell out onto the ground. The woman opening the door for him picked it up and put it back in my car!

    absoluttif(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  129. i don't really believe in making the bed. it seems like a waste of time since i'm such a raucous sleeper. bbcnews just had a report saying that not making your bed actually keeps your bed more free of dust mites. woohoo!

    ReplyDelete
  130. Sometimes if I am too busy I just put the kitchen mess in the oven to clean the next day>

    ReplyDelete
  131. I clean best when I'm mad! When my SO ticks me off, he knows he's in big trouble when I turn into a white tornado :)

    ReplyDelete
  132. Every now and then I run out of laundry detergent and have to find something else to use. I have used Dish Detergent, Shampoo and even Mr. Clean All purpose cleaner at one time. Not a big deal to me, I know they were still washed with a cleaning product, but my husband would freak, each product has a purpose as far as he is concerned and he would not think the clothes were clean because I used something else. So of course he never finds out.

    ReplyDelete
  133. I tweeted http://twitter.com/eyzofblu63/status/8240397260

    ReplyDelete
  134. I subscribe my email (iheartsweeping@aol.com)

    ReplyDelete
  135. I have totally swept smething under my rug, on many ocassions. only in a quick emergency situation though.

    Jennifer.lleras@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  136. I hate cleaning on my hands and knees - I feel like Cinderella, and not in a good way - so I usually wet a rag and run it along the floor with my foot. The first time my fiance caught me doing this, he looked at me long and hard with a very strange look on his face!
    Thanks for the opportunity,
    ygm_daisy@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  137. Once when I was younger and moving out of an apartment and doing my clean up I used the toilet brush to clean the shower. I was too lazy to get the sponge and knew I wouldn't ever have to shower there again!!! How yucky:( Thanks for the great giveaway

    ReplyDelete
  138. I've used the bottom of my crawling son to clean a mess on the floor. I just dragged him around an area where I spilled water and his bum soaked up everything.

    ReplyDelete
  139. I have an issue with dirty walls. In fact l have taken the paint off so many times that my husband says we need industrial paint on the walls. I have switched to more natural or organic cleaners. My suggestion to my family was to keep their dirty hands off my walls.

    ReplyDelete
  140. On the website I found out that currently there are 23444 crawlers and supporters

    ReplyDelete
  141. I am no Hazel - I freely admit that. I'm not really up on changing the bedsheets. As luck would have it, the furkids don't care if the sheets are clean or not, so I'm in the clear!

    spitfyr323 at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  142. I learned that, "since 1976, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has required safety testing on only 200 of the more than 80,000 chemicals on the market." Kinda scary, huh?

    spitfyr323 at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  143. Follow LoveThatMax on Twitter @spitfyr323

    spitfyr323 at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  144. Tweeted:

    http://twitter.com/spitfyr323/status/8242124018

    spitfyr323 at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  145. Subscriber (Google Reader)

    spitfyr323 at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  146. Fan on FB

    spitfyr323 at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  147. Having people over is the only way I can motivate myself to clean....and then I always feel anxious when they touch anything because, hey, I just cleaned!!

    ReplyDelete
  148. I like to listen to music while cleaning and i will turn the radio on loud and start singing and dancing sometimes which can make it difficult to clean faster while dancing away.
    But i like to sing and clean it makes the time more enjoyable.


    silverneon2000 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  149. Visited the Million Baby Crawl and i learned that Babies everywhere are crawling to Washington and saying “no” to toxic chemicals found in household products.



    silverneon2000 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  150. Follow LoveThatMax on Twitter=silverneon2000



    silverneon2000 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  151. Tweeted


    http://twitter.com/silverneon2000/status/8243730975



    silverneon2000 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  152. Subscribe to the To The Max feed



    silverneon2000 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  153. A Facebook fan of To The Max=Londia Smith Berk



    silverneon2000 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  154. My husband quit working five years ago because of his health,so he enjoys cleaning and I let him do all he wants. jelly15301@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  155. From the Million Baby Crawl site: "Since 1976, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has required safety testing on only 200 of the more than 80,000 chemicals on the market." jelly15301@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  156. Google reader subscriber. jelly15301@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  157. I Follow LoveThatMax on Twitter. jelly15301 -- jelly15301@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  158. Facebook fan. jelly15301 --jelly15301@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  159. Here's my tweet: http://twitter.com/prizealert/status/8243565877

    ReplyDelete
  160. I follow you on Twitter (I'm @prizealert)

    ReplyDelete
  161. 7th Generation gets its name from The Great Law of the Iroquois.

    ReplyDelete
  162. My vacuum cleaner broke, and I managed not to care for months. Like, six of them. I wore fuzzy microfiber socks and shuffled around the living room to pick up hair. Eventually I found another one on FreeCycle.org and had to make up for a lot of lot time. Thankfully, only the living room was carpeted, and it was a small apartment.

    ReplyDelete
  163. http://twitter.com/dwalline/statuses/8246323929

    ReplyDelete
  164. I am always so grossed out when I spread the couch cushions apart to see what is living in there. It's amazing how quickly it returns too. You'd think we were a bunch of pigs, thanks!
    gomeggo[at]gmail[dot]com

    ReplyDelete
  165. I use babywipes on everything!1
    bootyemo@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  166. My worst cleaning habit is finding a yucky old apple in the corner of the living room. It was lurking behind a book that was also loitering there

    ReplyDelete
  167. http://twitter.com/kayte71/status/8248893881
    kaytewatts AT aol DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  168. When I was dating my now husband he had a long table in the dining room with a long table cloth on it. Once I moved in, I learned he, his daughter, and roommates all hid their garbage and useless stuff under there! Hideous! I am a neat freak, so that table is gone!

    ReplyDelete
  169. I joined to The Max on Facebook!

    ReplyDelete
  170. Tweet thank you RE http://bit.ly/cNZ5Ru

    ReplyDelete
  171. Don't tell anyone, but I HATE cleaning the bathroom and do a poor job we I motivate myself to do it!

    ReplyDelete
  172. Following on Twitter (genny315)

    ReplyDelete
  173. Tweet

    http://twitter.com/genny315/status/8250406043

    ReplyDelete
  174. I am not a very diligent cleaner. The only time that I really buckle down and clean and dust the house well is if I am expecting a guest. Thank goodness that I never have any guests!

    ReplyDelete
  175. Facebook fan (Genny Heavenly)

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  176. I learned that the Million Dollar Crawl is aimed at reforming the use of toxic chemicals!

    ReplyDelete
  177. I need to listen to music while I clean, whether it's the radio, a cd, or my mp3, and it really does make the time go by quicker.

    ReplyDelete
  178. Eventually my husband will clean my bathroom for me.

    ReplyDelete
  179. I've got a dark red, Mexican tile/stone kitchen floor. Very dark! Nothing shows on it. I do vacuum/sweep it, but don't wash it often because you can't tell! My little cheat!

    ReplyDelete
  180. I love having clear windows, so I clean it quite often inside and outside.

    ReplyDelete
  181. Everytime my husband suggests I clean up, I hide things under the bed, in the closests and other places. One day he is going to look under the bed and realize I haven't been cleaning, I've just been "moving" things!

    charmtime at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  182. I subscribe to your blog via google reader charmtime at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  183. I am a Facebook Fan charmtime at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  184. I HATE cleaning the bathroom so much that sometimes I get "too busy" to do it for WAY too long. Really I'm just hoping my husband will pitch in and do it for me!
    katiekarr at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  185. before i do my weekly cleaning i always have to make a list, it is almost the same every week, but i still have to make a list

    ReplyDelete
  186. My first marriage was to an absolute jerk that was really horrible to me about keeping the house clean and doing laundry. He always got mad if he had no clean boxers so I just started throwing his dirty ones in the dryer and telling him they were clean. He thought he was fresh and clean, I got my revenge. Win win :)

    ReplyDelete
  187. When my two youngest boys bicker, I have them put on bathing suits, stick one boy in each shower stall with a scrub brush and tell them not to come out until the shower stall sparkles. Kills three birds with one stone: separation ends bickering, showers get clean, boys get clean. Win-win-win.

    ReplyDelete
  188. Now following on Twitter. I'm @2kop.

    ReplyDelete
  189. Not sure this is right, but I Tweeted and I think this is what you want:

    http://twitter.com/2KoP/status/8263252965

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for sharing!