It's "A Happy Green Life!" {Review/Giveaway}

Image borrowed from the product website.

I have been given the wonderful opportunity by one of my new, favorite all-natural laundry wash creators to review and giveaway their product!

A Happy Green Life was created in 2012 by Kristin Ward & Amanda Wucher-Aller. Amanda & Kristin are two Stay-At-Home-Moms who are on a mission, to "provide you with products that make living a green life easy in the modern world." They also want to "educate people about how easy it is to help the environment and minimize their household budget."

They are working on adding a plethora of green products to their line-up. Most of the products they offer currently are made by them, but there are some that are created by other small businesses across the U.S.

You can find more specific information (including FAQs, Washing Instructions, and Tips & Tricks) and their various products on their website, http://www.ahappygreenlife.com, and tips for living a happy green life at their blog, http://www.ahappygreenlife.blogspot.com.

And now, onto my experience living a more happy, green life, using the all-natural laundry wash.

As many of you may know (or at least my repeat readers, family, and friends), my husband and I decided, before our son Spencer was born in November 2010, that we would use cloth diapers on his little bitty bum. We decided this would be a great saving financially, would be healthier for him, and for the environment, too. We love our cloth diapers (for the record, we only use Mud Butt Cloth Diapers (and she is one of the many retailers of the laundry wash)), despite the fact that of course, they mean you have to wash a couple extra loads of laundry a week. (I know the laundry aspect is a deterrent for some people, but it's not been a bother to us.)

There are so many options out there for cloth diaper "friendly/safe" detergents. We've tried our share, from Rockin' Green, to Charlie's Soap, to Clean B, to Irish Twins, to name a few. Last month, we tried A Happy Green Life. (I say "we," although, usually, I wash the diapers, since I am a SAHM now.)

I was impressed.

I chose to use the scent called "Bite Me" to wash our Mud Butts. According to the AHGL website, Bite Me is describe like this: "fresh citrus notes of lime and orange sparkle with effervescent highlights as they lead to a luscious blend of berry and cherry in this playful scent. Leafy green accents add intensity as a base of vanilla creates sweet tones for the fragrance."

(I haven't mentioned this yet, but just reading their scent list on the website when choosing the scents I would review had me drooling!)

I will guiltily admit that I had neglected diaper laundry for a few extra days before washing them with the Bite Me wash, and they were pretty raunchy smelling when I finally got them into the washer. (For the record, we use an old top loader and hard water, but the all-natural laundry wash can be used in HE machines and soft water, too!) My diaper washing regimine goes as follows:
- one cold/cold wash/rinse cycle to get all the yuckies off. No detergent.

- one hot/cold/cold wash/rinse/extra rinse cycle. I use detergent here.

I know other people's varies, but that's how I've done mine.

Because the weather was kind of cold and icky, and we don't have a clothesline anyway, I then tumbled dried the diapers and covers on no-heat (using two Bouncing Woolies dryer balls).

When the diapers were dry, I took them out and performed the "sniff test." For those who may not cloth diaper (or sniff test), it's simple. I stuck my nose in the clean diapers and sniffed away. Fortunately, there were no ammonia odors, and in fact, they smelled very... fresh. They didn't necessarily have a lingering "Bite Me" scent (to be expected, I presume, since I do an extra rinse), but they definitely did NOT smell foul. They were clean. They felt clean. They looked clean. They smelled clean! The detergent didn't really "suds up" which I liked, because it seems like the more suds, the longer you have to rinse your diapers to get them really clean and completely rinsed (so there is no build-up).

A Happy Green Life passed my Mud Butt cleansing test! Yes!!

I also had the liberty of choosing a second scent to test out. I chose "Manly Man," and decided to use it for my husband's work clothes. He's a Schwan's man, and while it's not a "dirty" job, he sweats, he meets tons of dogs, and gets dirty sometimes, being in and out of the truck, the outdoors, and homes, for 14 or more hours a day, 4 to 5 days a week. I figured his clothes were a great test subject, right? Manly Man, on the website, is described as: Energizing citrus notes mixed with subtle touches of clean, classic rose petals, infused with smoldering notes of frankincense and myrrh. Cashmere woods, sandalwood, and sensual musks bring this rugged creation to a finish with a soft powdery, dry, down." Now, don't freak when you read "rose petals." It did NOT smell girly. In fact, I thought it smelled so excellent that I kind of wanted to surprise my husband and just throw it on him so I could sniff him a while.

Alas, I decided not to "waste" the detergent that way, and proceeded to wash the Schwan's clothes. I did a normal "warm/warm" wash/rinse with the sample packet of Manly Man. I dried on low-heat with the Bouncing Woolies, and I sniffed. There were some lingering notes of the detergent (yay!) but hardly enough to be overpowering or even really noticeable if you weren't looking for them. My husband approved of the clean work clothes, though he didn't say anything about the scent (because I honestly forgot to ask, dangit). But, A Happy Green Life passed the working man's clothing test! Yes!

I was a lucky lady and won another sample pack from Mud Butt Cloth Diapers, and they came in the mail yesterday. I haven't used them yet, but golly, they smell great, and I can't wait to wash again!

Now, would you like to win? I bet you would. I would if I wasn't hosting!

The prize: A 3-Scent Sample Pack of All-Natural Laundry Wash!

Here's what you MUST DO to enter:

Comment on this blog entry, ALL IN ONE COMMENT SPACE with

1. First Name
2. Email Address
3. 3 Scents you'd choose if you won the sample pack
4. "Like" their Facebook Page and tell them "Handkerchief Confessions" sent you. I'll be checking!
5. AND answer the following, "What's your least favorite laundry-related chore?"

Please do NOT comment more than once. Multiple entries will be deleted. So, make certain you have all five parts in your reply. It might help to number them!

I will choose a winner via random.org next Sunday after I get home from church. Entries posted after 12:00pm CST on Sunday, March 25, will NOT count.

Contest open to U.S. and Canadian residents.

Scents list is found here: http://ahappygreenlife.com/Scents.html

You don't have to like or follow my blog (Handkerchief Confessions), but if you feel like you want to, there's a link to the right for my blog's Facebook page.

Giveaway starts NOW, and ends promptly at 12:01am one week from today.

Good luck!!