Toronto Teacher Mom: Cleaning Supplies

Whoosh! Screen Shine

Sunday, August 07, 2016
3 Comments

Clorox Disinfecting ToiletWand Disposable Toilet Cleaning System

When it comes to cleaning around the house, there are two rooms that I despise the most - the kitchen and the bathroom. And not necessarily in that order. I perceive these two areas of the home to be the places where you will find the greatest amount of yucky bacteria and, therefore, need to be disinfected the most. Since cleaning the toilet bowl is one of my least favourite chores, I couldn't pass up on an offer to test out the new Clorox Disinfecting ToiletWand Disposable Toilet Cleaning System.

The overall look and design of the ToiletWand and storage caddy is quite sleek. The caddy conveniently stores the disposable cleaning head refills, which are preloaded with Clorox® toilet bowl cleaner. To use the ToiletWand, first push the handle straight down onto a cleaning head until it clicks into place. While this was easy enough, I did notice that the refills tended to stick to one another which meant I had to separate them by hand. The second step is a piece of cake since the powerful cleansers begin to foam almost instantly and seem to take the work out of having to scrub away the soils. The scrubby sponge, I feel, works better than the traditional toilet brush since it is flat and covers more surface area. Of particular note is the ability to get right into the drain area at the bottom of the bowl which is much harder to reach with my old toilet brush. The final step involves squeezing the excess water from the cleaning head by pressing it against the bowl and then sliding the blue button on the handle forward to release the head into a trash bin. Flush the toilet to rinse but remember, do not flush the cleaning head.

The Clorox® Disinfecting ToiletWand® works on a variety of hard, non- porous surfaces, including chrome, enamel, and glazed ceramic, and helps to power through tough stains and soils while killing germs like Staph and Salmonella. The cleaning system has a very reasonable cost of $7.99 and a set of 6 refills costs $3.69. You can find it at Walmart, Extra Foods, RCWC, Loblaws, SuperStore, Dominion, Fortinos, Provigo, YIG and Zehrs.

Disclosure: I received a cleaning kit to help facilitate this review. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Thursday, March 31, 2016
4 Comments

Chef Michael Smith's Bacon Potato Casserole Recipe - A Cascade Exclusive

#SparklingClean

Chef Michael Smith's Bacon Potato Casserole Recipe - A Cascade Exclusive

Last night, I enjoyed a delicious meal at The Chase in downtown Toronto hosted by Chef Michael Smith and Cascade. The theme of the evening: how to plan for a dinner party that sparkles. Items on the menu were taken from Chef Michael Smith's newest cookbook and included his Sunny Southwest Salad, Greek Chicken and Flaming Bananas, which were to die for! As an hors d'oeuvre, we enjoyed Bacon Potato Casserole, a perfect marriage between bacon and potatoes with cheddar cheese to hold it all together. It was so scrumptious that I am going to have to try making it myself. Luckily, as a P&G mom, I get to share this Cascade-exclusive recipe with you so you can try it, too!

Bacon Potato Casserole by CHEF MICHAEL SMITH
Recipe exclusively for Cascade.
Copyright © Michael Smith, 2015

Serves 12 to 16

Ingredients:

12 slices of thick-cut bacon, chopped
1/2 cup (125 mL) of all-purpose flour
4 cups (1L) of milk
3 cups (about 10 ounces or so) of smoked or plain cheddar cheese, grated
1 tablespoon (15 mL) of dried thyme
1 tablespoon (15 mL) of paprika (smoked paprika if you can find it)
1 teaspoon (5 mL) of salt
1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) of your favourite hot sauce
10 or 12 large russet baking potatoes (4 pounds/1.8 kg or so), peeled and thinly sliced

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Turn on your convection fan if you have one. Lightly oil a 13x9-inch (3.5 L) baking pan.
Toss the bacon, along with a big splash of water into a large soup or stockpot over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently until the water evaporates and the bacon is fully browned and evenly crispy, 10 minutes or so. Pour the works through a strainer. Reserve the crisp bacon and return 1/2 cup of the flavourful bacon fat to the pot. Discard the rest of the fat or save it for another use.
Sprinkle the flour over the fat and stir the works into a paste. Return to medium heat and slowly pour in the milk, whisking the sauce as it heats and thickens. Briefly bring to a full furious boil, and then reduce the heat to a slow, steady simmer. Whisk in 2 cups of the smoked cheddar cheese and the thyme, paprika, salt and hot sauce. Remove from the heat.
Stir the potatoes and the crisp bacon into the sauce, coating them evenly. Transfer the works to the baking pan, nudging into an even layer. Sprinkle the remaining smoked cheddar cheese evenly over the surface.
Loosely cover the works with foil that’s been coated with a light film of cooking spray. After 60 minutes remove the foil so the top can begin browning. After 90 minutes begin checking for doneness every 10 minutes or so. Bake until the potatoes are tender, the top is golden brown and the sauce is bubbly, reduced and thickened, up to 2 hours in total. Serve and share!

Thursday, May 07, 2015
22 Comments

Teacher Supplies from Staples

Air Miles

One of the things I like most about starting off a new school year is having fresh teacher supplies on hand. I even find back-to-school shopping for my children a real thrill. Call me crazy but I was one of those kids who cried in June when school was over and couldn't wait for it to start back up again in September. While my perspective has changed slightly (yes, I'm already counting down to Christmas vacation), I still harbour that same excitement for back-to-school season. I didn't hesitate for instant, of course, when Staples offered to send me on a little shopping spree last month. Fresh new teacher supplies plus Air Miles Rewards Miles? What's not to love?

Teaching à la carte has its challenges and, even though I have reorganized my mini teacher cart, I find I'm still leaving things behind in some of the classrooms. Sometimes I just lose them altogether. One item I cannot have enough of are heavy duty magnets, kind of like the ones above. I also carry plenty of paper clips in various sizes and Staples carries a really nice variety.

As a French teacher, I am always on the lookout for FSL resources or supplies. Staples has carried sets of Canadian French-English cards, which I had purchased last year, but I was happy to see that they carry des instruments de gestion de classe (classroom management tools) such as des horaires magnétiques (magnetic schedules). These would be great in a French Immersion classroom.

In the end, I ended up picking up a bunch of generic stickers, a super cute apple Post-It note dispenser and some colour ink for my HP Envy All-in-One printer. The ink seems to be what I run out of most given that I make so many of my own flash cards at home. I also picked up some Elmers Sticky Out which is great for removing crayon, labels, most glues, tape and rubber cement, which has proven to be quite difficult to remove from my office walls. Oh, and I picked up one of my favourite Swiffer products - Swiffer Dusters. Every September, my office needs a good cleaning after all the dust that has accumulated during the summer months.

Sunday, October 26, 2014
12 Comments

Carat All Natural Leather Care

Carat Leather Care

Thursday, March 14, 2013
0 Comments

Green Your Routine with Seventh Generation

Cleaning Supplies

Monday, August 27, 2012
31 Comments

Seventh Generation, Earth Mother Approved

Canadian

“In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations. ” ~ From the Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy

« Dans toutes nos délibérations, nous devons tenir compte des répercussions de nos décisions sur les sept prochaines générations. » ~ de la grande Loi de la Confédération iroquoise

When I was a wee lass, I made every effort to recycle paper, plastics and glass, as well as reduce and reuse whenever possible. I thought I was being very responsible when it came to being eco-conscious. As I grew older, I realized there was so much more that I could do. It wasn't until I met my husband and we had children that my outlook towards the environment changed drastically. The biggest change centred around cleaning products, namely those that had a harsh, chemical smell. I'm pretty sure my sense of smell became more heightened post-pregnancy, but I like to think it was my body's way of saying that I needed to be extra cautious when it came to exposing my children to potentially harmful products. This is why I am grateful for brands like Seventh Generation.

Seventh Generation has been on a mission to help protect the environment with naturally safe and effective household cleaning and personal care products for over two decades. For review, Seventh Generation sent me coupons redeemable towards some of these products. I opted for the new fragrance-free Automatic Dishwasher Gel, a Natural Kitchen Cleaner in wild orange and cedar spice, and the Free and Clear Liquid Fabric Softener. I've used the dishwasher gel in lemon in the past as well as their laundry detergent whenever I find them on sale. They are non toxic and chlorine free which makes me feel more at ease when using them regularly on the kids' clothes and such.

The natural kitchen cleaner is also biodegradable, an added bonus. I am glad that they have fragrance-free products, although I really like the scent of the wild orange and cedar spice kitchen cleaner. And it is also nice to see that some of their products, like their dishwasher gel, come in bottles made with 90% Postconsumer Resin. Seventh Generation also discloses their full ingredients list on their packaging along with a little break down of select active ingredients and their function.

Seventh Generation Automatic Dishwasher Gel

If you want access to coupons, special offers and great tips for green and healthy living, join the 7th Gen Nation today. And while you're here, don't forget to enter to win a Seventh Generation gift pack.

One Canadian reader will win a Seventh Generation Gift Pack that includes: an Seventh Gen Eco lunch bag with FREE coupons for Seventh Generation’s Free & Clear Diapers, Free & Clear Baby Wipes, Natural Household Cleaner and one of their Dishwashing and Laundry products.

You may enter using the Rafflecopter form below.

Disclosure – I am participating in the Seventh Generation program by Mom Central Canada. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.