I like to be as 'green' as possible - for everyone's benefit - but sometimes we all need a hand, and sometimes the green option is to not throw things away. Dr Beckmann have been making cleaning products for over 30 years, and they have saved many of my items from the bin over the years.



If you have children, cook, garden, craft or do home mechanics then you know all about stains. Modern washing powers and liquids are brilliant, but even they can't get everything.


Dr Beckmann has a Stain Devil for almost anything. I always seem to need them to remove felt tip, blood and greasemarks, but the Stain Devils Survival Kit will actually deal with at least 50 different stains.

It takes seconds to dab the Stain Devil onto the material, and then it's guaranteed to start working within 3 minutes, so I find Stain Devils are an incredibly useful product to keep in stock to treat clothes before you do a wash.

Some surprising listings there....who'd have thought it - soot!

If you remove the stain and save the clothes, you save money and prevent waste - if you save your little ones favourite Star Wars t-shirt then you might just score some hero points too.


Dishwashers seem like a resource heavy item, but in fact they aren't. Using ours is saving us around £1 a week in energy and each full load uses at least half the water that my teenagers used to use to wash by hand.

In order to work properly and remain hygienic they need regular maintenance. A deep-clean once every two months (one month for a family like ours) kills off all the bugs and bacteria, and removes the residues that build up inside.


Dr Beckmann's 'Service It' Deep Clean Dishwasher Cleaner has a wipe to clean the door seals on your dishwasher, and then a sachet that you pour into your machine before running a cycle with the dishwasher empty.


My dishwasher is only a year old, so I'm still looking after it and have been using a cleaner regularly. This one didn't have a residual smell like others I've used, and my dishwasher looks great. I was very impressed with the door seal wipe too - it's an important part of the machine and not something we should forget about.


I first bought GloWhite 25 years ago for my work shirts and it's never let me down in all this time. It can really revitalise whites and bring them back from dingy to crisp. I also love the GloWhite for net curtains.


These days GloWhite can be used at really low temperatures, making it even more handy for man-made fibres, items with elastane etc. and it's better for the environment.


It's also easier to use - it comes in a handy in-wash sachet that you just bung in with the washload and throw away afterwards. GloWhite also contains UV sun protection, so your clothes will last longer.
 

Carpet Stain Remover is something we've all needed at one point or another I'm sure. Whether it's the carpet, the sofa or the inside of the car, a bottle like this makes the job far easier and avoids any wastage as you can target the area you want to clean, and don't have to mix up huge amounts with water which then get poured away.


It's also waaay easier if what you're cleaning up is red wine and you already had your first glass....

I've used Dr Beckmann Carpet Cleaner before. On carpets in my house and in a mobile home, and I was really happy with it. I haven't had chance to try my new one yet, but the little boys bedroom is being tidied up next weekend and there are bound to be plenty of areas of carpet that need attention...

Dr Beckmann products are available from a multitude of shops nationwide.

Stain Devils Survival Kit RRP £3.99 
Service It Deep Clean Dishwasher Cleaner RRP £2.99
Glowhite Super Whitener with UV Sun Protector RRP £1.89
Carpet Stain Remover RRP £3.59

Alpha and Omega 3 The Great Wolf Games is a familiar tale about underdogs who come through and beat the odds and show their true value. This is the 3rd Alpha and Omega movie, but you don't need to have seen the other 2 to appreciate it.

So, despite my partner's best efforts at being seriously ill last week, I made it to Blog On again! Yeeeay.

What a top do! I was fortunate to be invited to the CBiasUk sponsored meal at the Hard Rock Cafe on Saturday night. It didn't go entirely to plan with the tables being ready around an hour late, we ended up being offered dessert well after 11pm (which is too late when you have to be back in town for 10am next morning) but overall it was a really nice evening.

There was a lot of this....


An awful lot of this....


And some of this....

A while ago I told you about the LEGO Star Wars Intergalactic Dream Bedroom Competition. A competition where children had to design their own bedroom and for one lucky winner the team from LEGO would build it for them.

The winner was 5 year old Milun Simpson from Knebworth in Hertfordshire, with a great drawing that had loads of detail.

Along with a bunch of other Britmums Bloggers, very kindly gave me vouchers to go and buy our food for the Bank Holiday weekend and test if their produce is just as good now that they've lowered everyday prices. How could I refuse?

I had a really nice letter in the post today. The sticker on the envelope was incredibly familiar...


And when I opened it....



 

I love my children's school....they know that to a young child family is everything, and they always talk about home and share stories and care about each other's lives away from school. It really enriches the children's knowledge and social skills, and encourages reluctant talkers. Two days ago my son came home explaining to me all about someone's baby brother's tongue tie, and yesterday it was a birthday so they all ate cake and sang.


Today 5 year old son's group made my partner a card.  It's even got everyone's signature inside. It's the best Get Well Soon card ever, and possibly the cutest.

Must be working too, he had some scrambled eggs for tea :o)

I want to get off...

You know those times. THOSE times. The times when you reach that point where you really are wondering if it's possible to go and hide under the duvet and it'll go away.

The times when the easiest thing would be to just lie down where you are and close your eyes, put your hands over your ears and enjoy the cold feel of the floor, and the muffled sound of people talking but you can't hear them and they know it, so you don't have to respond.

The times when you wonder if you have time to run to the car and drive away without anyone seeing you go. Just for a while. Until it's all over and then you can go back and someone else will have fixed everything.

The times when no-one else can say anything because whatever they say, you'll cry.

I have a had a few of those times over the past 9 months. This morning I really did have one of those times.

My partner is ill, he has Tonsilitis. He's still not fully right after having Meningitis, so he's become really quite ill. Really 104 degree temperature ill. And this morning when I discovered at 8.15am that he'd spent the night vomiting blood I had one of those moments. I really did just want to announce I was going out to buy bread and just walk and keep on walking. Just until it was fixed. Just until he was better.

Of course I didn't run away. I very calmly said that I didn't believe that 16 gallons of brown slush (approx) equated to 2 tablespoons of 'undigested soup' and that I was very sorry, but "I am going to take you to A&E. I know you hate the thought of it and the reminders, but you are vomiting blood, it's a medical emergency and we need to go to hospital".

The 5 year old safely in the care of the school Office Staff - who said nice things and made me cry - we set off with our 4 year old. For the second (and I really wish it will be the last) time we went straight through triage and into a cubicle.

4 hours later and everyone is pretty certain all the blood is from my partners throat and tonsils - which are shredded. We're all happy with this outcome. Our 4 year old has eaten his bodyweight in Mini Cheddars and drawn us 42 pictures of himself in various poses. My partner has anti-emetics and cramp medicine for his tummy, a normal temperature and has even managed a smile as we say goodbye. 

As we walk to the car park I get a call from my 20 year old. "My rent is due at the beginning of the month and I don't have it, so I'll have to come back to live at home. I've got to be out on the last day of the month and I hadn't realised that's tomorrow. That's come quick hasn't it? So when can you come and get me and my stuff?".

THOSE sorts of times.....

Belo and Me is a small independent company based in Bolton making reusable jute lunch bags. Belo is Portugese for beautiful, and these bags really are, they're also incredibly well-priced at only £3.75 plus postage. They're simple and practical and I think ideal for most age groups. I let my teenage daughter choose one to review.