Norwex Changes the Game/Ain't Nobody Got Time for Chemicals

I come from an illustrious line of neat freaks. My maternal grandmother and my father (both Virgos, curiously) instilled in me meticulous techniques for cleaning, a neurotic appreciation for routine, and an unbridled passion for cleaning products. Having allergies and sensitive skin make this kind of cleaning compulsion very beneficial for my quality of life, so it's just as well that I embarked on this journey through the filthy, disgusting world with some proper training.

There's always a monkey wrench though, isn't there. When my dermatologist advised me years ago to avoid ANY kind of fragranced product touching my skin, I promptly switched to Dove Sensitive Skin soap, started spraying my perfume on my hair/clothes, and started using fragrance-free laundry detergent. With excellent results. However, it's easy to forget that pretty much any kind of product that isn't a solid object generally has some kind of added fragrance or unnecessary chemicals. I'm talking everything from Pledge to 409 to Lysol to Comet... everything smells like SOMETHING and half the time burns your eyes pretty bad when you use it. There are a lot of new products coming out that are "green" or "enviro-friendly"... which is great, but they tend to be pricier, and aren't solving the problem of not wanting to coat surfaces with any potential cleaner-remnants.

Several months ago, my lovely sister-in-law and fellow sensitive skin victim Rebecca Roeper got turned on to this Norwegian company called Norwex, that makes antibacterial microfiber cloths fabled to completely replace every single cleaning product one could have in their arsenal. She quickly became a consultant for them because she was amazed at how Norwex simplified her cleaning experience and got her kids involved too (a welcome but unexpected side affect). They explain themselves better than I could...

Unlike cotton cloths that will simply spread the dirt, grease and other particles around, Norwex BacLockTM * Microfiber lifts these particles up into the cloth and away from the surface. Once inside the cloth, the Norwex MicroSilver in the cloth goes to work with self-purification properties against mold, fungi and bacterial odor within 24 hours, so that it is ready to use again.

Basically what happens is you dampen the cloth, scrub to clean, wrinse it out, let it dry, repeat. I've used it to get butter off my countertop, grease off the stovetop, toothpaste scuzz off the bathroom sink, etc. She hooked me up with a bunch of different cloths to start out with, eager to see if using these products would quell some of my skin issues. The purple one is for glass/windows (streak free! no Windex!), the pink one is the do-everything Envirocloth, the brown one is for your body - yes, showering and cleaning yourself without soap, and the blue mitt is for dusting.

I've tried them all, and the Envirocloth is the one I get the heaviest use out of. It definitely cleans without leaving residue of any kind. I can't totally convert to phasing out soap, but the body cloth is a nice alternative maybe a couple times a week if I want to have a more lo-fi shower experience. I feel more secure using these cloths around the house not just for myself but for my dog, who of course also has some sort of skin allergy. 

It's also pretty refreshing that Norwex doesn't just make these products to reduce the use of chemicals in people's homes; the company is also truly dedicated to protecting the environment and reducing the amount of chemicals that are produced just for the sake of going into a bottle to be sprayed on someone's counter. 

Listen... my mom was the queen of all Tupperware ladies back in the day, (legitimately the Empress of Tupperware), so I'm overly familiar and with the consultant-selling structure that companies like Avon, Norwex, those weird bags that come in different colors, diet stuff, etc. all employ. The soap box (excuse the pun) "This product will change your life!!!!" gets old, and I generally stay away from it. In this case though, it seems like Norwex has applied this type of selling structure in the US to nurture organic growth and enthusiasm for the brand. The results wouldn't be the same if they came to the US and stuck their products in Bed Bath and Beyond as much as developing a following based on user experience and word of mouth testimony. So for this, I respect them, and I'm willing to put my stamp of approval on these funky Norwegian cloths.

You can reach Rebecca, Empress of Clean, at simplygreencleaning@yahoo.com, or on her website.

Don't call it a comeback!

For the first time in MONTHS, I'm back home for an extended enough period of time that I can catch my breath and return to doing the little things that make me happy and calm. Writing is a part of my job, but getting back into the habit of writing for myself as an exercise is important to me. The practice of writing as an extension of myself brings me in touch with my own voice, without it being filtered through a template or chugging out corporate missives. I have plenty to share, always new gear to gush over, delicious food from around the country, new cleaning products that quell my compulsive neuroses, and people and ideas that have inspired me. I will try to compartmentalize and space things out over the coming weeks, so just hang on with me here.

September brought me to Denver, from there drove to Texas, from there drove to Woodside, California, from there flew me to Columbus, OH for the month of October. November found me in Massachusetts, December put me in Virginia and then NYC. The meatier part of January was spent in Denver, from where I drove back to Pennsylvania, and days later flew to Las Vegas. From there I flew back to Long Island and then drove to Charleston, SC for a week, with a one-day reprieve at Mr. Waistcoat's mother's farm in Aiken, SC on the way back to good old Lancaster PA. Last Tuesday I returned home, not for good, but for better, and I'm still reeling. Time zone swaps, adjusting the severity of my accent to be more approachable to the varying levels of cowboy accent, educated old-money Southern, not educated backwoods Southern, South African, midwestern, you name it and I've struggled to interpret and respond to it. 

Funny enough, my favorite encounter with another person happened while waiting for my red eye flight from Vegas to NYC. A woman sat down next to me at the gate and, unprovoked, started chatting me up and trash talking other people walking through the terminal. She was a woman probably in her early 60s, a Westchester, NY transplant with a home in Vegas who made a point of telling me that she was Italian (in an anecdote about how she didn't enjoy visiting France and that they can shove the Louvre up their a***** because they stole all the art from "our people" [Italians]). A certifiable fact about Italian women from New York is that they will never let it go unspoken that they are indeed Italian and from New York. I don't know how she knew I was too, I guess it's a WOP version of "gaydar," but regardless, she was beyond amusing. In my starved, sleep deprived haze I imagined her to be a sassy version of myself in 40 years, and this thought carried me through my surprisingly short flight back to the East Coast. 

As for new cool things... I have plenty to share, but I think I should start with these bad boys that landed on my doorstop in December - custom silver spurs from the brilliant Eddie Harris of Harris Leather and Silverworks.

Harris Leather & Silverworks is 100% a family business, where each member contributes their own artistry and expertise. I've had the pleasure of getting to know the Harris family through the trade show circuit, and aside from the absolutely beautiful work they do, they're truly top notch people. I don't know whether to use these spurs or to put them up on a pedestal! 

Most of my adventures have been catalogued on the 'gram as well >> @aezeum