let's be honest

i grew up in a household that used regular cleaning supplies found at the grocery store, mainly strong stuff to help keep our house clean. it never bothered me too much, besides the harsh smell sometimes. however, when bd and i got married, i noticed that all that strong stuff was bothering him. so i have been trying to find alternatives to the strong stuff. last year, i started reading jessica alba's book, the honest life. there was so many helpful information and so many things that i'm still learning about, but it was a great starting point for me.



after reading her book, and looking at the honest website, i decided to order some of the honest products. i've been using a couple of their items so i wanted to share my thoughts on some of these.

honest 4 in 1 laundry pods - i'm more of a liquid laundry detergent girl, but i was intrigued with these pods. i like that i can just drop in a pod and be done with it. one thing that i noticed was that it doesn't dissolve in cold water although it claims to dissolve quickly in hot & cold water. you get 50 pods and it's suitable for both regular and high efficiency washers.

 

honest laundry detergent - i'm a big fan of this liquid laundry detergent. i like the scent, very understated and clean. if you are used to the strong fragrance, you may not prefer this, but i definitely prefer it. it's suitable for both regular and high efficiency washers. you'll get 70 high efficiency loads.

 

honest floor cleaner - i love this floor cleaner. it has a citrus rosemary smell which i really like. you get 26 fl. oz. this is suitable for hardwoods, bamboo, laminate & other sealed floors so i like to use it on the kitchen floor. since our apartment is quite tiny, i love that i can clean the floor and it won't bother bd. i can definitely see myself still using this when our little one comes along.

 

honest stain remover - i wanted to love this stain remover as i feel like the ones out there can be so harsh; however, when i cleaned one of bd's pants, the stain didn't come out completely. i think it's good for fresh stains, but not on old stains. it supposedly works great on baby food, coffee & tea, berry juices, grass, wine, ketchup, and blood. i haven't had the chance to try it on all of those, but will continue to experiment with different stains, especially when the little one comes. it does have a french lavender smell and smells great.

 

honest bathroom cleaner - i love this bathroom cleaner. it has an eucalyptus mint smell which i think is perfect for the bathroom. since we don't have a window in our bathroom, i like that i can spray this in there and not freak out about our bathroom not being able to air itself out. this is a tub, tile and shower cleaner so i'll usually spray this on the shower and use a brush to scrub the shower.

 

honest glass & window cleaner - i don't use a ton of this since we don't have a bunch of glass or windows in our apartment but it does leave our mirror and windows streak-free when we use it. it doesn't have a smell.

 

honest conditioner - i actually haven't used this conditioner since i have a ton of other conditioners that i still have to get through. i'll definitely save this for my little boy since it's suitable for everyone in the family. it supposedly has a sweet orange vanilla scent.

 

honest face & body lotion - i haven't used this lotion yet either since i have a ton of other lotions to get through. this has olive, shea, jojoba & safflower oils to help hydrate your skin.

 

honest belly balm - i love using this on my belly. it has shea butter, olive oil, tamanu oil & calendula. i typically like to put this on right after i shower so it gets a chance to soak in. this is usda organic.

 

honest toilet cleaner - this has a tea tree eucalyptus scent. i like the smell of it and thinks it's absolutely perfect for the toilet. this is free of a lot of those chemicals that you find in toilet cleaners.

 

honest multi-surface cleaner (not pictured) - this has a white grapefruit scent. we both absolutely love this and ours is almost completely gone since we use it for everything.

 

honest bubble bath (not pictured) - i'm saving this one for after my pregnancy since i've heard conflicting things about taking baths while pregnant.

 

honest shampoo & body wash (not pictured) - bd was using this when he ran out of his regular shampoo. i used this as my body wash. this supposedly has a sweet orange vanilla smell, but it smells more like a cleaning product, and not the smell i was wanting on my body.

 

are there any brands that you have tried that you really like? i'm constantly trying to find products that will be a good fit for my family, especially since we'll have a little guy crawling around soon. due to the price, i will probably start making some of these at home, but am always open to products that are more budget friendly as well since we'll be attacking our budget and trying to find out how to still keep the same level of savings while starting our little family.

 

-kaolee