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You are here: Home / Archives for Spring Cleaning

Cleaning Out my Closet With TriNova

March 31, 2017 by Beeb 140 Comments

TriNova Shoe Cleaners
This is a partnered post.

Clean shoes are something I am fussy about. Dirty shoes really gross me out, and I feel like I am always battling the ick factor because I spend so much time on my feet. A pair of shoes worn on a business trip could easily see 15 hours of running through airports in one day, and my sneakers hit the gym and great outdoors with me. As a result, I am constantly cleaning my shoes with powders, sprays, rags, running them through the washing machine, and throwing them out/replacing them when they just aren’t salvageable. So when I had the chance to try out TriNova Shoe cleaner, I jumped at the opportunity to try a new method for deep cleaning!

TriNova’s system includes two parts: The TriNova Shoe Revival Spray & Brush and the Shoe Renewal Spray. The Revival Spray is spritzed onto the brush and used to clean the shoe, while the Renewal Spray is a deodorizer made with tea tree, mint and thyme essential oils.

I put these products to use right away. The first test was cleaning off my brand new sneakers that got caught in our yucky, rainy weather and got mud on them immediately. Ugh! Fortunately, I had the TriNova brush and cleaner to remove the dirt right away. The next test was using the suite of products on my shoes before a press trip last week where I would be crossing the country, and needed my shoes to transition from a cramped airplane to a nice dinner. I gave them a thorough cleaning and spritzed them with the Renewal Spray before I left for the airport, and I did feel like it kept my shoes fresher during my travels than they would have been otherwise.

But the ultimate test of TriNova came when I embarked on one of my many spring cleaning projects this morning. My closet was in desperate need of attention, with many old pairs of shoes way back there that haven’t seen the light of day in a long time. I couldn’t wear heels for years after I injured my knees, and many of them have been forgotten about in storage even though I can wear heels without issue now. I also have several pairs of fun, funky shoes in the back of my closet that collect dust because they aren’t exactly daily wear shoes. Since I’m getting ready to hold a garage sale, this was the perfect time to weed through my shoe collection. I identified several pairs of shoes that were in really bad shape – most of which I’ve owned for around a decade – so I set them aside and decided to test my TriNova products out. I fully expected to just throw most of them away, but figured it was worth a shot to see if they could be restored. Much to my pleasant surprise, 5 out of the 6 were still good enough to keep – and the only reason I threw out the 6th pair was because there was a hole in the heel, so I didn’t even bother trying to clean it. Here are the before and afters of the shoes I pulled out of mothballs:

Before:

Dusty goth boots
Cobwebs in my goth boots

I KNOW, I KNOW, THESE ARE SUPER GROSS!! In my defense, I bought these at Hot Topic around 2005, so I haven’t worn them in a while. And the cobwebs make it more goth, right? 😉

After:

Cobwebs no more
Vampire to vamp

After a thorough cleaning with TriNova, my goth boots no longer look like they belong in Dracula’s dusty manor! I didn’t use any shoe polish on these – the shine is strictly from the TriNova buffing them clean. The brush is perfect for getting into the crevices on boots to clean out dirt, including on the ridged sole of the shoe.

Before:

Dirty heels

These heels that I bought around 2007 were so gross, I almost tossed them right out without even trying to clean them. But, I decided I should try, for science.

After:

Pretty heels

After cleaning these, I was glad that I didn’t just throw them out. They look so different and are definitely good for a few more wears before I retire them!

Before:

Grimy polka dot shoes

These heels were also purchased around 2007. Where did the decade go?!

After:

Pretty polka dots

Age is just a number, baby!

Before:

Cobweb boots

Here are yet another pair of shoes I bought in 2007. Apparently I bought a lot of shoes then? These weren’t so bad, but had been sitting in storage long enough to be dusty, and there’s no way I’d wear them again without a thorough sanitizing.

Shiny boots

Time to party like it’s 2007!

Before:

Halloween heels

This pair is the most recent of the bunch, purchased in 2009 for my Lindsay Lohan Halloween costume. Clearly, they have seen better days.

After:

Happy Halloween Heels

Happy days are here again!! The brush was perfect for cleaning under and between the ruffled vinyl crevices.

Clean shoes

The cleaning process for these grody shoes was simple: First, I would dampen the brush with water and then spritz the Revival Spray onto the bristles, scrubbing the shoes inside and out, including the heels. One concern I had about the brush is that it would get nasty quickly, but it cleans off very easily when you run water over it, so you don’t have to worry about the brush becoming permanently icky or spreading dirt around. The brush does a great job of getting into nooks and crannies; it’s a little large to reach into the “Peep toe” area on my heels, but that’s OK, because the final step in the process is to wipe the shoes dry with a towel, so I just get a little of the Revival Spray onto the cloth and wiped down into any areas the brush couldn’t quite reach. I let the shoes dry, then went over them with the Revival Spray and brush a second time, finishing with a thorough spritz of the Renewal Spray inside the shoes.

In addition to being effective, this system is also affordable: The TriNova Shoe Revival & Brush retails for $17.97 and will clean around 100 pairs of shoes, while the TriNova Shoe Renewal Spray retails for $13.97. I’ll absolutely be using this system again!

You can purchase TriNova products on Amazon, and learn more about the line on their official website and on their social channels via Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.

Pin it For Later!

How to clean old shoes

Enter To Win:

One lucky MomStart reader will win the TriNova Shoe Revival & Brush, TriNova Shoe Renewal Spray, and a $50 Amazon gift card! ARV: $81.94

To Enter:

Enter via the Rafflecopter widget below. Giveaway is open to US residents, 18+ and ends on April 6th, 2017 at 11:00 PM PST. Please see widget for full details and click here to read our giveaway rules.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Filed Under: giveaway, review, shoes Tagged With: Spring Cleaning

Spring Cleaning The Right Way With Swiffer & Febreze #BreatheHappy #SwifferEffect

April 8, 2015 by Beeb 30 Comments

Swiffer & Febreze

Compensation provided.

Spring has sprung, which means that it’s time to spruce up our homes with a little Spring cleaning! But in your effort to get things cleaner, did you realize that you might actually be stirring up allergens? If you’ve ever cleaned off something dusty and ended up sneezing your head off, you know what I’m talking about! That’s why the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America has partnered with Febreze and Swiffer to make your springtime cleaning easier.

Select products from both Swiffer and Febreze are now certified asthma & allergy friendly™ by the AAFA, which means that they can help reduce inanimate allergens around the house. I received a basket of these new asthma & allergy friendly products, and it was perfect timing to help me out today as I unpack and get organized on my first day back from my LA trip!

Swiffer 360 Duster

I’ve been buying Swiffer Dusters for years, and they are so awesome for cleaning off my chandelier and shelves! Swiffer Duster and Swiffer 360 Duster are both unscented and lock in dust and up to 70% of inanimate allergens – three times what a feather duster can do. I’ve been sneezing like crazy the past week, so I’m glad to not kick up any more dust than I need to while tidying up!

Swiffer Dry Sweeper

Unscented Swiffer Dry Sweeper is great for cleaning hardwood floors like mine, trapping and locking dust.

Febreze Fabric Refresher Allergen Reducer

Febreze Fabric Refresher Allergen Reducer is a scent-free product that you can spray on upholstery to reduce odors and up to 95% of inanimate allergens. I love to spray regular Febreze Fabric Refresher on my couch when I’m cleaning, so it’s great to have an unscented version to use, since many of my friends and family are sensitive to scents.

I’ve been cleaning my home with Febreze and Swiffer products for longer that I can remember, and I’m so happy that they have these allergy-friendly additions to the family to help us breathe easier while we freshen up our homes!

Enter to Win:

One MomStart reader will win a prize package of 1 Febreze Fabric Refresher Allergen Reducer, Unscented, 1 Swiffer Duster and 360 Duster, Unscented, and 1 Swiffer Dry Sweeper, Unscented, to help with your Spring cleaning!

To Enter:

Enter this giveaway via the Rafflecopter widget below. Giveaway ends on April 14th, 2015 at 11:00 PM PST and is open to residents of the continental US, 18+ – sorry, no PO boxes. Winner will be drawn on April 15th. See the Rafflecopter widget for full details and click here to read our giveaway rules.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Filed Under: giveaway, review Tagged With: #BreatheHappy, #SwifferEffect, cleaning, Febreze, Home & Garden, Spring Cleaning, Swiffer

Windows 8.1 Apps For Your Spring Cleaning Needs #WIndowsChampions

March 30, 2014 by Momstart Leave a Comment

I’m a Windows Champion and received products and information to share with my readers.

Spring has sprung or is still trying to spring and getting organized and cleaning out is at the top of my list. I’ve already cleaned out my garage, or at least cleaned out the first layer of my garage. Now I want to clean my finances, computer, files and rest of the house. Here are some Windows 8.1 apps that can help you with all of your Spring Cleaning organizational needs.

clip_image002

Mint: (available on Windows and Windows Phone) Offers a simple and organized way to get your finances in order and keep you on track. Set budgets, track accounts, set helpful financial reminders, track when bills are due, and do more with your money. Just link your accounts and multi-touch graphs quickly show where your money is going.

HealthVault (available on Windows and Windows Phone): Take control of your health and keep your most important health information at your fingertips with HealthVault for Windows. Track progress toward health goals, manage weight by tracking exercise and diet, monitor health information, and even discover trends in your health and fitness!

Tasks by Telerik (available on Windows and Windows Phone): Put an end to the chaos in your personal affairs with the Tasks app. It will become your best friend for planning, organizing and monitoring the progress of all your projects.

clip_image004OneNote (available on Windows and Windows Phone): The key to keeping your life organized! Take notes that save to the cloud so you have them when you need them and easily sync to your Windows Phone for quick access anywhere.

AboutOne (available on Windows and Windows Phone): This popular organizing app gives you fast and easy access to the information you need to take care of your family, budget and home. Easily link to appropriate contacts when you’re organizing household paperwork or managing memories, and synchronize between your Windows device and smartphone.

ReadingList (available on Windows and Windows Phone): With IE11 and Windows 8.1, reading across devices is simple as the app and site work together side by side. The Reading List app in Windows 8.1 remembers where you left off and allows you up to pick right back up at that spot, from any of your Windows 8.1 devices. When you’re finished reading, simply swipe the article away to move on.

My Wine Lists (available on Windows ): Pair food and wine like a Sommelier! Track your favorite wines, find the perfect food clip_image006pairing, and share with your friends! Search over 50,000 wines to create your own virtual cellar.

NovaMind Mind Mapping (available on Windows): Visualize your information by putting your ideas in an attractive and interactive visual format. Create to-do lists, brainstorm new ideas, plan your work, problem solve, see the big picture, and drill down important details. 

SkyDrive (recently re-branded as OneDrive; available on Windows and Windows Phone): Store any file on SkyDrive and it’s automatically available to access or share from any device. With SkyDrive, your files in the cloud are just a touch away. You can easily view, upload and share your files on SkyDrive, and even access your SkyDrive files across Windows apps.

Filed Under: Tech Tagged With: Apps, Spring Cleaning, tech, windows 8.1, Windows Champions

Spring Cleaning with Dell’s 8.1 Venue 8 Pro #WindowsChampion

March 29, 2014 by Momstart Leave a Comment

I’m a Windows Champion and received a Dell 8.1 Venue as part of my membership

There’s no better way to get a head start on organizing your life than using the latest technology from Dell & Microsoft! Although the arrival of spring is daunting to most, Dell’s new Windows 8.1-based Venue 8 Pro, XPS 11 and XPS 18 all offer unique tech gadgets to help simplify and reinvigorate the often grueling process of de-cluttering before summer.

clip_image002Have you ever dreamt of a portable device that would allow you to manage your home improvement projects, complete your tax returns, touch up your latest PowerPoint presentation for work, and then kick your feet up and watch Netflix on when it’s all said and done? Dell’s Venue 8 Pro is an 8-inch tablet perfect for being on-the-go, allowing you to access all of your work and play essentials on a sleek and slim, lightweight device that can be held in one hand – it features all-day battery life to boot!

Keep calm, take a deep breath and don’t flip out! You heard us right – Dell’s acrobatic XPS 11 is a 2-in-1 that features an innovative hinge allowing 360-degree rotation, enabling you to smoothly transition from tablet to laptop in seconds. And it’s not just any 2-in-1: at 2.5 lbs and measuring less than half an inch thin, it’s the world’s lightest, thinnest and most compact 11-inch convertible. Its flexibility and QHD touch display empowers you to entertain or multitask, no matter what life throws at you. 

Dell’s XPS 18 is the world’s thinnest and lightest portable all-in-one desktop, making it easy to move from room-to-room when working on the fly. It features an 18.4-inch full HD touch display, perfect for viewing and creating digital floor plans, comparing vibrant paint samples, ordering furniture and accessories – and when the projects are done, you can run a loop of photos from your last family vacation on your room’s new tech centerpiece. 

Filed Under: Tech Tagged With: Dell, Spring Cleaning, tech, windows 8.1, windows champion

Spring Clean Your Home Office With Fellowes’ P-12C Shredder Giveaway

March 28, 2011 by Momstart 399 Comments

How much junk mail do you get every day? Me, I get so many credit card offers it drives me insane. Plus, with contract work from the blog, I often have information lying around the house that needs to be shredded often. That’s my husband’s chore. He’s the house shredder. Fellowes recently sent us a Fellowes P-12C Shredder to review and I get to give one away, so stay tuned for the giveaway.

Fellowes P12C Shredder

The Fellowes’ P-12C Shredder looks sleek and shiny and has the ability to stand up to lots of use. The Fellowes’ P-12C Shredder stops identity thieves in their tracks by shredding confidential paper documents into nearly 400 particles with its Cross-Cut technology. It also features patented SafeSense technology, which automatically shuts off the shredder when hands come too close.

Fellowes ShredderWith Identity Theft so high on everyone’s minds, Fellowes has offered us some tips on how to clean up your home office giving yourself added protection against identity theft.

Begin with the Basics – go through all of your paperwork, if you’re like me there are probably a few piles here and a few piles there and some of those piles are just piles on top of piles that you stacked together in an attempt to clean. So you need to sort through the piles of paperwork on your desk and place them into two categories, or three if you can. Save, Shred and Recycle.

Proper Storage – Now you should be able to organize even deeper. Organize the save file into labeled folders and place confidential folders of importance into a fire-proof box.  Take the shred file and shred the files in a cross cut shredder like the Fellowes’ P-12C Shredder. Cross-Cut technology is an important feature for a shredder because it provides high security, destroying confidential information into unidentifiable pieces. Equally important are enhanced safety features, such as Fellowes’ SafeSense technology, which shuts the machine down when hands come too close to the paper opening.

Get a Digital Makeover – Be sure to update your computers often, and back them up even more often. Delete files that you no longer need and remember to change your passwords every few months. It’s also smart to use different passwords for different websites. Clean out your e-mail (that’s my largest weakness, my inbox is always a disaster).

Make Life Easier – Plan ahead by purchasing organizational tools for your desk, such as computer risers or file folder holders. This will help clear clutter from your desk top while keeping things within arms reach.

Freshen Up – by cleaning your workspace you’ll feel more productive. Get rid of the dust and germs that easily build up on office equipment because we touch everything with our hands often.

Fellowes’ P-12C is available at Target stores nationwide for $89.99

shredderHero, 6/10/08, 11:16 AM,  8C, 3618x4422 (75+517), 62%, Custom,   1/8 s, R11.7, G0.4, B29.4Enter to Win:

Fellowes P-12C Shredder

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Disclosure – The product featured and information in this giveaway was provided to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation.

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: Fellowes' P-12C Shredder, giveaway, review, SafeSense, Spring Cleaning

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