USA Made Nano Cloth for Eco Cleaning – Spiff Cloth: Just Add Water

Posted on 12/13/2016 by n2n

Cleaning after Konmari Process

Now that I’m Konmari Clean, it was time to put my things in their permanent homes and cleaning their new homes was the first step.

Using the older style microfiber cloth was very frustrating. The small dust balls it gathers are very hard to wash off and surfaces often need more wiping. Even after I dusted with Swiffer, I still have trouble with it.

I started looking on Amazon for newer, greener technology. It seems Nano cloth is the talk of the town. It only needs water, not chemical, to use.

Made in USA

The top seller was not made in USA and I didn’t like that it has long fibers. I can just imagine the towel trapping all kinds of particles. The thicker material would dry slower after hand washing and would smell after a while.

Then I found the paper like Spiff Cloth, made in USA!

Amazing results on smooth surfaces

Just add water–it works! No chemical necessary.

Computer screen

Stovetop

Not so good for

Sticky residue from strong tapes or thick old kitchen grimes (thin grimes are easy to wipe away without much elbow grease. See the before and after photo of my old stereo.)

What else do I like about it?

Easy to wash clean by hand (use soap and warm water)
Dries fast
Cut your own size (I cut the 16″x16″ sheet in half)
Sturdy (we’ve even cleaned outside windows with it, no damage to the usability of the cloth at all)

More to know

For maximun result, be sure to wring it as dry as you can
For thick dust layer, dusting or vaccumming before wiping makes it easier, faster
For soaking up spills, I recommend If You Care Sponge Cloths (eco friendly, soaks up fast, super absorbent, machine washable. (added 5/11/2022)
I have switched Shaxon Ultra Absorbent Microfiber Cloths (6-pk) from Amazon or Frys for dirtier outdoor jobs and no longer use these to soaking up liquids. (updated 5/11/2022)
If it looks a bit dirty after washing, it still cleans just fine.
Buy direct from Lawrence and Berit Hines
Or buy from Amazon

Where to Buy

Buy direct from Lawrence and Berit Hines
Or buy from Amazon

Spiff Cloth Bonus Coupon from The Hines

Buy 10 or more, get 2 or more free! [ Good thru 12/20/2022 ]

See offer details here, must by direct from SpiffCloth.com!

P. S. Want more USA made goods? See what else I actually use or shop at my Made in USA Amazon Store.

Oh So Soft! 100% USA Made Organic Cotton T-Shirt

Posted on 12/12/2016 by n2n

The USA Made T-Shirt Search Requirements

made in USA, of course
traditional unisex cut, short sleeves
not too thin/see-through
not too long
not form fitting

SOS from Texas Is The Winner

Needed to kiss a few t-shirt frogs before I found my t-shirt prince, do keep in mind that I am short and a little chubby.

American Apparel
$18 each, can’t tell where their cotton/fabrics are from. Don’t think I’m their target consumer… I decided not to buy from them.
All American Clothing Co.
$11.99 each, I believe the cotton/fabrics are from USA
I bought both unisex and women’s plus few pairs of jeans (Can’t help it, they have petite length.) Thought the material is nice, the shirts don’t fit me right and too long for me. Kept the jeans, LOVE them! (not vanity sizing, be sure to consult their sizing chart)
American Giant
$24.50 each, I believe the cotton/fabrics are all made in USA here, too.
They are famous for their hoodies, I bought 1 hoodies and a few unisex and women’s t-shirts. Same fitting issues as before, the material for women’s premium t-shirt is lovely and fashionable but too see-through for me. I kept the hoody, LOVE this, too.
SOS from Texas <<< The Winner! >>>
- $12.50 each. Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Good price and ORGANIC!
- “From Dirt to Shirt”–Sold by the actual organic farmers
- The fit is what I wanted/expected (like the blank t-shirt from the craft shops)
- I kept all but one (I did expected the fit might not work), donated it to my local 100% volunteer thrift shop
- Then I ordered long-sleeve t-shirts for the fall and winter

Softest T-Shirt I Have

When I first touched it, I knew I love it. The t-shirt has a cushiony feel, a different kind of soft from the Supima t-shirts on the market but SOS shirts feel so much better against the body.

For the softest, go with “Natural”

I’ve washed the natural (not bleached) shirts many times now, they still feel great. They told me these would shrink about 1/2 inch after first wash but they still work for me.

White shirt is the next softest. The colored shirts are closer to the white t-shirt out there.

Customer Service

I called SOS from Texas to get help on size and color. The lovely lady actually pulled and measured a t-shirt for me. You might not get them on the first try (I’m guessing it’s a smaller outfit then the others) but don’t give up, it’s worth it!

Return Rules

Their site mentioned “Items may be returned for refund if they have not been washed or worn. If returning for an exchange, please include $6.50 for return shipping.”

P. S. Want more USA made goods? See what else I actually use or shop at my Made in USA Amazon Store.

100% USA Made Supima Cotton Sheets – Authenticity 50

Posted on 11/21/2016 by n2n

Cheaper Means Cheaper

Been buying sheets on sales at department and other stores. They were cheaper but some smelled, some had pills after one wash (i.e. not going to last long), some only had weak elastic on the corners of the fitted sheets. And of course, none of those were made in the USA.

One side effect of my “Konmari Cleanup” is to simplify my life, including owning fewer quality things that last a long time. That also means, reduce waste and be green!

Authenticity 50, 100% “seed-to-stitch” Made in USA

US made products still means quality and safety.

When I found Authenticity 50, I couldn’t believe it.

California Supima cotton:Supima cotton produces stronger and softer fabric.
Georgia spun yarn
Carolinas woven fabric
Family-own factory hand sewn sheets
Georgia made elastics
Even the duvet cover’s corner ties and buttons are made in USA!

(more details)

Trying It Out

To test them out, I got the A50 Duvet Set because I never use the flat sheet anyway. (They come with 100-night sleep trial.)

Minimal Yet Sufficient Packaging

The set came in a plastic bag inside a sturdy paper bag (good for recuse/recycle). And from the condition it arrived in, you don’t need more packaging than this. And it translates to reduced cost and less enviornmental impact.

360 Degree Elastic

I love that the elastic for the fitted sheet is 360 degree, not just in the corners. The elastic is wider and thicker than the other ones I’ve had. You can feel the quality by holding it in your fist.

Using it, Loving it

I’ve slept in them for a while now. The texture reminds me of the line-dried cloth. And there is no smell, too soft, too slippery issues.

I’ve also washed it a few times, still good as new, no pills. The 250 thread-count seems to mean more than the 300+ ones I had before.

I believe we are going to have a healthy long-term relationship.

Tips with Fitted Sheets

The fitted sheets made for 14″ pocket. But do remember to include the extra paddings you have on your mattress.

White Only!? Consider The Costs

Some reviewer wished for colored sheets but think of the extra cost and the problem of not being able to sell less popular colors. The founders want to provide quality sheets at reasonable prices, I totally support having only white sheets.

Besides, I found color sheets tend to take over the room. If you want color, decorate with colorful pillows or a small throw. It’s cheaper and easier to switch up your themes this way, too.

UPDATE (Aug. 2017): Authenticity 50 now has Carolina Gray for people who don’t want white beddings.

$15 Coupon with My Referral Link

If you are looking for the coupon, sorry it has expired. But if you can still save by signing up at Authenticity 50, they do have amazing sales from time to time!

P. S. Want more USA made goods? See what else I actually use or shop at my Made in USA Amazon Store.

Eco Drain, Septic Cleaner That Works: PlumbClear

Posted on 07/26/2016 by n2n

Been bothered by the slow draining issue for our bathtub for a while.

We’ve always used an extra mesh catch (very cheap with varies sizes at Daiso stores, place it upside down for bathtubs.) to stop hair and junk from getting into the pipes but tiny things that got down there do accumulate.

Chemical, homemade, or eco ready-made?

During my research, I learned that some plumbers don’t like the chemical solutions because they create particles that are harmful to your septic tank.

Then I read some homemade solutions but didn’t trust them because how varied and inconsistant they are. I wanted something that just works and not having to spend time testing all the formulas and run the risk of clogging up the pipes.

When I found this eco drain, septic cleaner, Plumb Clear, on Amazon.com, I didn’t believe it will work well like many eco-friendly products. Since the reviews were so positive and it’s made in USA, I bought it anyway.

Since I wasn’t expecting much, I didn’t video my experiment. And I trust you’d understand that I won’t wait for my pipe to clog up again to record that it works.

First try with AMAZING result

After reading the instructions, I used the [Septic Tank ratio]–2 scoops with 2 cups of warm water, waited 2-4 hours as asked. Then I accidentally spilled it into the tub, only some got into the drain. I didn’t want to leave any solution in the tub so I rinsed the tub right away.

At this point, I thought, it’s not going to work, I washed it away. That night when I took a shower, I was amazed how well it drained.

Second try with a toilet

For this slow draining toilet, I used the [Septic/Drains ratio]–2 scoops with 5 cups of water. I wanted to make sure the enzyme and friendly bacteria had a chance to eat the built-up in the outlet path of the toilet so I dump 1 cup of the solution into the toilet bowl without flushing for an hour.

When I finally flashed it, it drained so quickly. I was very happy!

Tricks and Tips

When you first open the container, you need to fish out the scoop and the plastic snake.
To help you mix the solution and apply with more precision:
1. Find an old sports bottle similar to this (the point is to not spend any money while using something that’s just taking up space)
2. Measure and draw the lines at 1 cup increments, this allows you adjust the mix to only the volume needed.
3. IMPORTANT!!! Remember to also mark the bottle “NOT FOR DRINKING”.
Don’t wait too long to clean the pipes. According to the seller, Alson Enterprises, it works not as well for fully clogged pipe. The solution needs to come in contact with the organic built-up to digest the gunk in the pipes.
For the opening of the sink/tub drain, pull the stopper, pour in the solution (I used the more diluted ratio) until it overflows a little, let it sit for a while (I waited 15 minutes), then unstop it.

[UPDATE] PlumbClear Clears Semi Clogged Toilet

Best Non-Toxic Carpet Spot Remover

Posted on 12/16/2015 by n2n

Folex is by far my favorit non-toxic carpet spot cleaner. It knocked Naturally It’s Clean Carpet Cleaner (see my review) down to a slight distant 2nd. And other Folex customers would agree with me.

Folex took the top spot because unlike Naturally It’s Clean Carpet Cleaner, it leave no oder and no color residue.

Folex also works in an instant as the bottle claimed. Follow these simple instructions: spray the spot, work it into the fiber (very important), and blot it dry with a clean cloth or paper towel.

Folex is cheaper, too. As of today, the best price I saw so far is from Bed Bath & Beyond with their readly availble 20% off coupon. 2nd best place to look is your local independent hardware store (where I first discovered it). And when all else failed, there is always Amazon.

Both Folex and Naturally It’s Clean are made in USA and I believe they only clean, don’t disinfect.

To Be KonMari Clean (Books, Magazines)

Posted on 10/20/2015 by n2n

On my first read of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, I realized my design career no longer sparked joy. And for the first time in many years, I stopped blaming clients for not letting me go because I was actually the one who couldn’t let go.

Little did I know, this revelation even helped me clean out my books, too.

Declutter, make money, donate

I found out many of my design/art books are worth pretty good money. So before you throw your books out, do the following:

Check the trade-in values on Amazon.com
Sell to local secondhand bookstores
Donate to your local library (in our area, most branches sales book to raise funds)
Recycle (hardcover books might not be accepted for residential pickups, check with your garbage company)

Combining the sales to Amazon traid-in and secondhand bookstores, I made almost $100. That is more joy for the rest of the KonMari process.

General (books for fun)

Kept 0. Lucky for me, our library almost always has what I am looking for and more.

Practical (reference, cookbooks)

Kept 2 for writing novels
2 dictionaries (Japanese, English idioms)
3 Adobe CS books (running an old version, so best to keep on hands)
1 Mac OS book (can’t search for answers if the Mac dies)
4 Computer language books (still running WordPress sites)
A box of reference books for my next book/series, not in English, items not easily found here
1 baking book

Visual (photographic, art)

Kept 0

Design related books

Since I finally decided to end my design career for good, I was able to let most of them go. It felt like I am telling myself and the Universe that I’ve declared my intention to move away from design and focus on writing
Kept only what I love the most, patterns, graphics from old catalogs and products.
Paper swatches and print samples. Be sure to remove metal bindings before recycling the paper. The metal binding might contain unknown combination of metals that can not be reversed into pure forms again.

Magazines

I only had ones for graphic/web design, so I didn’t keep any but these are what I’ve tried.

Sold on ebay before, expensive to ship because of the low price point. And it’s a lot of work to package them. Unless you do this for a living, it’s not worth the effort.
Local secondhand bookstores didn’t want them
Recycling them turned out to be the only option

All my books fit into one single shelf with space left over.

To Be KonMari Clean (Interruptions)

Posted on 10/19/2015 by n2n

This may be a long term project

Before I go into tidying up my books KonMari style, I feel it’s important to say that this is turning out to be a long term project. After all:

It took years to accumulate all that I have.
Doing what I can to throw as little as possible into the trash (i.e. recycle/reuse whenever I can) takes up good amount of time to search and organize.
Demands from family and work often interfere with your cleanup plan.

Expect life’s interruptions

After I finished cleaning out my clothes, I discovered that my city was doing free electronic recycling and paper shredding that weekend. Since this only happens once or twice a year, I broke Marie‘s rule and skip ahead to documents and electronics that I’ve already set aside.

More space on my desk, more space to create

The paper I had shreaded are old drafts of my past and current work. I called my writer’s association and learned that I don’t need to keep every scrape of notes and drafts as I was told years ago. All I need to do is keep electronic versions of my books. If you want to be extra careful, print a hard copy of the latest in case your hard drive died.

Now have more space on my desk to work through the book category.

To Be KonMari Clean (Smaller Clothing Items)

Posted on 10/11/2015 by n2n

Don’t have many pictures here, the rest of the clothes subcategories are mostly small items too numerous to record. It was getting in the way of the KonMari cleaning process.

Socks/Underwears

donated all sports socks (worn only a few times)
donated new stockings that I removed the packaging to save room
downgraded old underware for carpet spot cleaning

Bags/Accessories

everything in this subcategory fit in one box, placed with the unmarked side out. Marie said any text or decoration on the box would add visual noise. Try it, it’s true.
donated all trinket jewelries. Though they are still cute, I don’t wear them anymore.
gave away most hair accessories, only kept the claw clips that I always use

Clothes for events

own 1 dress, I chose it because it would work for all events. If you care about having the same dress in all different event photos, then I don’t recommand it.

Shoes

donated all pumps excpet for one black pair that my feet love
Kept 5 paris of sandals, so I have a least a pair for my flat feet when I send the others out to be resoled. All the “inactive” sandels are packed into one box. To avoid seeing text (visual noise), I placed the label/item list under the box.
I’ve been living with 1 pair of running shoes (my everyday shoes) for a long time and have no need to get other kind of shoes

Other

kept two sets of beddings (need to clear these out so I can put things back into my closet) for rotation

Use what you have, keep what you’ve earned

As I’m posting this a month after the clothes cleanup, I have more tops and socks to go to the donation. When I was sorting, I thought I needed them but as I live with my “renewed collection” of clothing, I find myself finding ways to use what I already own and often there is no need to buy more.

Holey Clothes Are Still Holy

Posted on 10/04/2015 by n2n

What do you do with all the clothes you don’t want to keep? Go through this in order so you can get the most of the your old things.

Donate

Bring your best items to a local/church thrift shop first. If possible pick one that is all volunteers so all the money would go to the needy.
For the not-so-good items (i.e. just good enough to go out in), go to places like Good Will or Value Village

Recycle

For cloth with holes and damages, recycle them. Check with your own garbage company if they recycle cloth.
Look for a local recycle company that accepts textiles
When all else fails Good Will seems to take cloth in any condition.

Reuse

I just don’t have the hear to make other people sort through my old unmentionables, so I saved them to use with Folex, my favorite non-toxic carpet spot cleaner.

To Be KonMari Clean (Clothes on Hangers)

Posted on 10/04/2015 by n2n

Continuing with my KonMari process, I tackled the “clothes on hangers” sub-category.

For me, they were the old business outfits and dresses that I’ve stored away in another closet that I couldn’t possibily fit into my own.

Other then the volume of clothes, this was very easy. They were too small but still in very good condition so all of them went to my favorit 100% volunteered local charity. And of course, there were many other ways to give your old clothes second lives.

In my previous post, I mentioned how I thank my out-going clothing by folding or arranging them nicely before I delivered them to charity shops. A lady at the shop mentioned how nice it was to received them this way. Not only my old clothes got more appreciation, it brought the volunteers joy while they work.

Back to clothes on hangers. Here are my notes:

I had bought a bright yellow, waterproof, stylish jacket with a hoody to fulfill my promise to my designer cousins. I love the jacket but never wears it. Now it has room to breath on the hanger, it sparks joy every time I see it. I wore it on walks in the fall rains and very happy to find out that it’s warm and really waterproof (Style to me often means impractical.)
I wished I’d donated these quality garments much sooner. I found some spongy padding on hangers turned to sticky dusts because they are so old, I worried that the charity shop might not get as much money out of them.
Do keep the dry cleaning bags for until you are done with the entire cleanup. Use them as light garbage bags (tide the hanger opening). Or in our area, home shredded paper are required to go into a clear plastic bag, so I saved it for the document clean up phase.

After the clean up, there are only three things left on hangers that I don’t wear often.

1 long coat for super cold winter
1 jacket (mentioned above) for rainy spring/fall days
1 dress for all formal occasions

I love that I can actually see the backwall of my closet now.