The power of THIEVES

I read an article today that really caught my attention.  It was from the HGTV Lifetstyle department on their favorite cleaning tools.  Honestly I only clicked on the article to see what kind of tools - like vacuums they were going to promote.  I have tile and laminate in my home so I'm not really in the market for a vacuum but with 4 dogs if there was one that I could really count on, I'd be interested in the reviews.

Imagine my surprise when I realized it wasn't just things like vacuums but also included dish soap, glass cleaner, deodorizers, stain removers and more!  Now I was really intrigued because I use a single product for each of these items and luckily do not have to have dozens of different bottles of product under my sink.... So here is my take away from this article.

1.  Mrs. Meyers Clean day dish soap ($11.97 for 3 pk 16 0z bottles)  vs.  Thieves Dish soap ($14..50 for a 12 oz bottle)

At first glance you would immediately assume that $11.97 for 3 larger bottles would be the better deal right?  WRONG!  Wait WHAT?   Thieves 14.4 oz bottle can actually make 3 16 oz bottles!  But wait you say.... it's still more expensive.  This is where it gets interesting.  The clean day dish soap states right on their label Made with FRAGRANCE ALLERGENS!  In case you didn't know - fragrance is another word for pesky nasty chemicals that companies don't want to tell you about.    Now the big question is what is in Thieves?  Water, Decyl glucoside, Sodium Lauryl sulfate, Sodium olate, Caprylyl glucoside, Sodium sesquicarbonate, Jade lemon oil, Begamot oil, Clove bud oil, Lemon oil, Cinnamon bark oil, Eucalyptus Radiata oil, and Rosemary leaf oil.  Notice what is not in Thieves?  No Fragrance or allergens listed!  Just saying. A little more money for same product with no chemicals?  My choice all the way!

2.  Incredible Stain Remover  ($10.40 16 oz at Walmart) vs. Thieves Household Cleaner ($23.50 for 14.4 oz bottle). Here again, at first glance the price difference is glaringly obvious.  But as we learned above, reading of labels is part of the new norm and people are more conscientious these days about things. Many of the reviews on the stain remover are about pet stains and pet odors.  Well I have 4 dogs, so if there is one thing I know about it is pet stains and odors!  I am able to get almost 16-20  bottles of all purpose (and yes pet) cleaner from that 14.4 oz bottle of Thieves which brings my cost down to a little over $1 a bottle for an all natural cleaner.  And if savings was your only goal - it's a no brainer.  HOWEVER,  it would be wasted money if it didn't do it's job.... so let's take a look. When I went to the Walmart website and tried to look at the ingredients, low and behold the views did not include the ingredients.  I don't know why but I have my suspicions.  It does list a bunch of things this cleaner is supposed to do: remove blood, coffee, cola, cosmetics, crayons and more.  So here's the skinny on m Thieves cleaner, I have used it on upholstery, clothing, rugs, carpets, tile, glass, porcelain, marble, wood, painted surfaces, ceramic, plastic, leather, skin, melamine dishes, stainless steel, and more.  I have removed, blood stains, pet urine stains, pet vomit stains, magic marker from my cabinets, latex paint drops from my stainless steel sink, crayon and lipstick from clothing, cooked food grease from clothes, coffee and tea from not only surfaces but from my Cadillac interior, leather upholstery and carpet - and I've even soaked and cleaned oven racks and cleaned tile grout!  I don't get headaches and congestion from using my Thieves like I used to using traditional chemical cleaners. 

Other items on this list that Thieves Household cleaner would replace:  3) Sprayaway Glass Cleaner. 4) Multi-cat Litter Deodorizer. 5) Bar Keepers Friend powdered cleanser and 6) Mr. Clean magic eraser.  Imagine having all that cleaning power in one little bottle under your kitchen sink and not have to root through 5 or 6 different cleaners to get to the right one!

Don't get me wrong - there were plenty of neat gadgets and tools on this list too like, several different vacuums and mops, the Munchkin Sponge bottle brush, the stainless squeegee and more.  But one last one also had my attention,  It was the full circle fruit and veggie cleaning brush.

Full Circle fruit & veggie cleaning brush $4.99   vs. Thieve fruit & veggie soak.  Here where convenience and time really matter.  For those who buy lots of fresh produce scrubbing each carrot or apple can be time consuming - even if you do it only right before you each the item and not as soon as you come home from the store. Me personally?  I hate the thought of standing at the sink for 15-30 minutes scrubbing produce before putting it away or using it. Honestly I have no idea how long a scrub brush for produce lasts, but I do know that you would need to wash it after each time you used it which then requires dish soap or dishwasher soap - a topic for another time.    This is only one of many reasons I love the Thieves fruit and veggie soak.  Thieves costs $20.50 for a 16 oz bottle of soaking liquid.  Wait - hold on $20.50 vs. $4.99?  Holy cow that's way too much money - I'll just scrub.  I thought so too until I found this out.  First it only takes a cap full for up to a sink full of water - so pennies per use.  Second, in the time it takes me to put my groceries away, my produce is clean and ready to be removed and put away!  About 3 minutes is all you need.  Just fill up the sink, drop your capful of Thieves, put in your produce , swirl it around a few seconds and let it sit while you put your groceries away.  Come back and the fruit is all clean.  It is your preference if you want to re-rinse or just put away.  Honestly I've done both and do not notice any difference - EXCEPT my back, arms, and feet are happy because I did not need to stand over the sink scrubbing what I bought.  To me if there's any extra cost, it's well worth it. But since I also don't have to use my dishwasher or hand wash with dish soap the scrub brush, it may actually be a toss up on cost.