I haven’t written this blog to scaremonger or to name and shame brands of cleaning products. I honestly just wanted to share my own positive experience of changing all my household products to Norwex and how I’ve ended up saving money in the process.
So what’s all this hype about a fancy microfibre cloth and chemical-free cleaning products you ask?
Let me start with a few facts about the microfibre EnvioCloth. The average microfibre is spun out of 1/6th of a human hair. Norwex microfibre is spun out of 1/200th of a human hair. If an EnviroCloth was unravelled it would stretch to 10 million feet. When used and cared for correctly it can remove 99% of bacteria – the raw chicken test is a classic example of how effective this cloth is. The Micro Silver in the wet cloth self cleanses within 24 hours.
Norwex was founded 24 years ago in 1994 by Bjørn Nicolaisen in Norway. It was initially rolled out in Canada and then later on in Australia, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Sweden, the USA and then thankfully in the UK. That spans across an impressive three continents.
Norwex believe in ‘improving quality of life by radically reducing chemicals in our homes.’ It’s all about creating healthier homes by reducing the use of harmful chemicals and finding less products to do more cleaning jobs.
I’m all about ‘less is more’, money saving ideas, and being frugal with what I do have, so I was very eager to connect with Joanne and hear all about how she got into using Norwex products.
I invited Joanne in to my home on a Monday morning after a very hectic weekend – the state of my house was testament to this. I must admit I did loads of research on the famous EnviroCloth over the weekend and was doubtful as to how I could clean my house with just a cloth and some water.
Joanne did actually message me prior to her visit, to advise me to leave my kitchen dirty to give her the opportunity to demonstrate the effectiveness of the products. Never one to disappoint a visitor I did actually burn a saucepan the night before; (not deliberately) and had just run out of Vanish stain remover (ground in pasta sauce stain on a t-shirt) so I felt happy that I would be testing the strength of her products straight away!
Joanne got straight to work and using the Cleaning Paste, (nicknamed elbow grease in a jar) with a silver scrubber (Spirinett) effortlessly wiped away, (I kid you not) the burnt marks on my saucepan. She then made a paste out of the washing powder (UPP) and left it to soak on the t-shirt which later came out clean.
She then waltzed into my downstairs loo with her EnviroCloth and cleaned the mirror, sink, taps and all the surfaces in less than one minute. She used this magical purple cloth (Window Cloth) to dry and shine all the surfaces. I really wanted to play hard to get and not appear too impressed but I was in awe of these products.
I immediately agreed to host a cleaning party at my house and said that I wouldn’t buy anything until then – this was actually on her advice as Joanne said that by hosting a party I would generate lots of freebies. However, before she could get out of my house (I kept her chatting for ages talking about the chemicals in all my home products) I had ordered the two magical cloths, (EnviroCloth & Window Cloth) and the famous washing powder, (UPP -Ultra Power Plus Laundry Detergent) once she showed me the glass jar demonstration of what was in my liquid detergent.
The first thing you’ll notice about Joanne when you meet her is that she is always smiling, she has a very sultry voice (she could be on the radio!) and is incredibly knowledgable about both the products that she sells and what chemicals in general are doing to our environment.
Joanne is so passionate about Norwex and what they stand for. It was really clear from my cleaning party that she knows everything there is to know about all the products, how they are made up and more interestingly, the various uses they all have.
It became apparent straight away that we share the same strong beliefs on natural, healthy living and view chemicals as a health hazard. I’ve known for quite some time through reading, online research and through the lady I feel proud to call my boss – Susie Ma (Founder of Tropic Skincare) that we as human beings are just not looking after the planet as well as we should be.
It scares me when I watch documentaries about how we are destroying wildlife, the oceans, allowing chemicals to enter our bodies via skincare/food/drink and the way that we discard of our things instead of up-cycling or recycling. I’m constantly looking at ways on how to reduce, reuse and recycle at home so that I can contribute to protecting the environment and to help tackle climate change in my own way.
What I really love about Norwex products, is that they are so versatile and have more than one use which in the long run saves you so much time and money. I used to have a separate cloth for my kitchen, toilets, bathroom, shower, windows and floor. Now I can confidently use one cloth for all jobs and wash it on a hot/boil wash. I save so much time by not constantly running back and forwards to my cleaning cupboard for the various sprays and cloths.
I’ve definitely saved money as the only non-food item on my shopping list is bin bags. If I average out throughout the year what I spend monthly on Norwex I believe it would be less than £13 a month. This includes my washing powder, stain remover, oven cleaner and Blue Diamond All-In-One Bathroom Cleaner.
There are some cleaning products that I just don’t buy anymore as I use a lot of vinegar, (an acid that can cut through dirt and kill bacteria) lemons (high in citric acid) and bicarb soda (gentle abrasive and natural deodoriser) instead. The next time you pick up a cleaning product, have a look at the ingredients and see what you are bringing into your home. Did you know that some of the ingredients used in cleaning products – namely toxins, can legally be labelled as ‘fragrance’.
On my £13 a month budget I haven’t included the items that I invested in at the beginning which I believe will last for at least a few years; if not longer – Dryer Balls, (massively saves drying time with my old tumble dryer) Optic Scarf, (cleans and polishes my glasses, iPhone/Ipad/Mac screens) EnviroWand, (Genius bendy duster with both chenille and microfibre for all those hard-to-reach areas) Dusting Mitt (brilliant for wet or dry dusting) Superior Mop, (the best mop I have ever used to wash and dry my floors) Cleaning Paste, (my go-to product when the EnviroCloth is not quite enough – amazing on my Dualit toaster) Kids Towels (the most plush, absorbent towel I have ever used on my toddler) and my Body Scrub Mitt (gentle body mitt that is washable).
I’ve always believed that if you buy well and its lasts a long time then that is always going to be a wise investment. If something can be washed in either my washing machine or my dishwasher, then I’m always more inclined to purchase it.
Another huge benefit is the space the you will save in your cupboards as you won’t need so many products. When I had my cleaning party with Joanne one of my guests – Tracy Ross, (Blissfully Organised) was also really impressed with how little products you actually need to clean your whole house as Tracy is a huge advocate for having less stuff and spending less time cleaning.
A huge seller for me is the fact that they are safe for the whole family. My daughter picked up a bottle of Blue Diamond spray and before I could reach her she sprayed it twice into her mouth. What happened to her? Absolutely nothing. There are no chemicals in Norwex products and whilst I certainly don’t advocate that you allow small children and animals near them, they are completely safe.
Joanne is not at like a sales person. She is not one bit pushy and the best thing about trying the products is that she comes into your home and cleans it! Joanne clearly uses all the products in her own home and can vouch for all of them. I love following her on Social Media too as her customers love reviewing the products and their experiences with Joanne.
It really has never been easier to embrace clean natural living as there are so many bloggers out there reviewing alternatives to chemicals for our home and bodies. One lifestyle blog that I follow with keen interest is Goop. Gwenth Paltrow set this up in 2008 almost like a weekly newsletter. It is now a very established lifestyle brand about Wellness, Travel, Food, Beauty, Style, and Work.
One of my favourite blogs from Goop is The Dirty On Getting Clean. She says “You’d be shocked at the amount of chemicals that are used in the products we use everyday—in our homes and on our bodies—where no safety data exists…essentially, companies are experimenting on us.”
Another famous actress – Jessica Alba co-founded the billion-dollar business – Honest, in 2012 – a wellness brand selling natural cleaning and personal care products. She wanted “to create a company that provided an alternative to the prevalent baby products with ingredients such as petrochemicals and synthetic fragrances.”
If this has intrigued you in any way about Norwex products and what products you have in your cleaning cupboard then I’ve done my job here.
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