22nd February 2012

We are so excited to be exhibiting at the Baby Show this weekend. The ecoegg laundry egg is such a perfect gadget for parents with young children. It’s gentle on babies’ skin, incredibly good value for money and kind to the environment. Kim will be at the show on Saturday the 25^th of February to tell you all about the ecoegg laundry egg and to share some of her eco and baby friendly cleaning tips. She’s here now to give you a quick taster:

Hello my loves, I’m Kim Woodburn. You probably know me best for my cleaning expertise; I’m well known for not using nasty chemicals and instead opting for more gentle ingredients such as baking powder and white vinegar. That’s what makes my cleaning tips so safe for use around children and what also makes them so kind to the environment. That’s why I love the ecoegg; it cleans clothes brilliantly but contains no nasty chemicals. I’ve put together my top ten eco and baby friendly cleaning tips to make life a little bit easier for you lovely mums and dads.

Nappy Bins:

1) So firstly, I’m sure many of you use disposable nappies. Now these are convenient to use but disposing of them can become a problem and nappy bins can soon become rather smelly! A top tip for keeping your nappy bin smelling fresher for longer is to sprinkle a generous amount of baking powder inside the bin liner and give it a quick shake around the sides. The baking powder should absorb most of the nasty whiff but always empty your bin regularly to keep the smell at bay. Alternatively, sprinkle a little baking powder into individual nappy sacks to keep smells to a minimum.

Cuddly Toys:

2) If your little one’s cuddly toys have just a slight odour on them but are not dirty, place them in a pillow case and sprinkle in a generous amount of baking powder. Shake the pillowcase vigorously. This is best done outside! Remove the soft toys and bang them against your hand to remove the excess baking powder. A thorough brushing should follow, and hey presto they will come out smelling lovely and clean.

3) For cuddly toys that need a proper clean just put them into a pillowcase, tie a knot and wash them in the machine with the ecoegg. For all of you who are wondering what the ecoegg is, it’s the revolutionary new way to do laundry, it contains no harsh chemicals but still cleans just aswell as the leading brand of detergent. No measuring or mess, just pop it in your machine! It’s been approved by Allergy UK and is supported by the National Eczema Society so it’s perfect for babies sensitive skin. I’m so proud to endorse the ecoegg that I put my name on every box. I simply wouldn’t be without mine now!

Finger Prints:

4) I’m sure that many of you with children that are now toddling about will be forever noticing sticky finger prints on doors and walls. One easy tip for getting these sticky paws prints off is to keep a flour shaker full of baking powder to hand and to sprinkle a generous amount on to a damp face cloth. Wipe the surface and buff with a fresh dry cloth. It’s just so easy.

5) When cleaning stick finger prints from windows or mirrors make a weak vinegar solution in warm water; one pint of water to an eighth of a pint of white vinegar. Apply with a lint free cloth, loosely ruffle up some newspaper and buff the windows to a shine.

Kitchen Cleaning:

6) Making homemade baby food is a great way to save money and ensure that your children are getting the right balance of nutrients but by heck, it’s doesn’t half make a mess. Blending baby food always seems to result in half of the food going up the wall! An easy way to get splash backs back to their former sparkling selves is to sprinkle a generous amount of baking powder on to a damp cloth, apply to the splash back and buff dry with a fresh dry cloth. Simple my loves!

Laundry:

7) For such small things, babies can get through an awful lot of clothes. Babies also have a nasty habit of accumulating tricky stains like baby food and never ending milk vomit. The challenge is finding a product that cleans really well but also doesn’t contain any harsh chemicals that can hurt babies skin, just such a product is the ecoegg. It last up to 720 washes which is enough washes to last the average family three years! Just imagine the money you will save…

Carpets:

8 ) With children in the household, it’s often proves challenging to keep carpets looking and smelling fresh. For general deodorising where no stains are present, sprinkle some baking powder over the carpet using a flour sifter. Rub it in with your hands to make sure all of the area is covered. Leave it for an hour and the vacuum the whole carpet.

General Marks and Cleaning:

9) We all know how frustrating it is too see that our little ones have drawn on our walls with their crayons. One great tip for removing crayon marks on GLOSS paint is to spray the marks with hairspray and rub clean with a white towelling cloth. This will get the GLOSS paint work back to its former glory.

10) Always keep baking powder in a flour shaker in the nursery and a fresh supply of white face cloths. Any marks that appear on the cot, drawers, surfaces, window sills, in fact anything but carpets or highly polished dark furniture, simply moisten the face cloth under a tap, wring it out and shake some baking powder over the cloth. This will clean and deodorise the area. It is also good for use on any plastic protective bedding inside the cot.

I hope you have found these tips useful and that you will give them a go. I am so looking forward to seeing you all at the baby show, I hope you all come and visit me at the ecoegg stand. I’m more than happy to offer my cleaning advice, and I’ve always got time for a quick photo and a chat.

Kim x

Hello my loves, Kim Woodburn here.

On the 26^th of January I will be on QVC for the whole day showing you all just how wonderful the Ecoegg is. I am so looking forward to coming on QVC again this month. I always have such a lovely day when I do. As you know, I endorse the Ecoegg. I’m so proud to endorse the Ecoegg that I put my name on every box. I wouldn’t be without mine now. My husband and I went on a lovely holiday over Christmas, it was just wonderful, and of course I packed my Ecoegg. It is just so handy to have when you’re traveling, just put it in your case, doesn’t take up too much room at all, and then just bung it in the machine with your clothes. Saves on buying all those expensive little packs of laundry power when you’re away from home. It’s smashing.

This month I will be showing all of you Ecoegg’s brand new range of products. We have been working on the new range for a while now, so I am really excited about its launch on the 26^th of January on QVC.  I’ll be here with you all day including the launch at midnight, so there is lots of opportunity to come and see me and take a peek at the new range. You’ll be thrilled.

I’ve been using the new range at home for a while now, including the new fragranced versions of the Ecoegg, they come in two beautiful fragrances, Fresh Linen and Spring Blossom. Same great washing power as the original Ecoegg, but they add a subtle, gorgeous fragrance to your laundry, but still with no nasty chemicals or irritants for your skin; and the Ecoegg saves you a fortune on laundry detergent.  I washed my bedding with the Spring Blossom Ecoegg a few days ago and I can still smell the gorgeous fragrance now, it’s just brilliant.

I’ve decided to make an early start on my spring cleaning this year and I thought that I would start with my washing machine. I know, this does sound like a very strange thing to do, but you might not know that all washing machines develop build up over time, especially if you have been using powders and liquids. It is so important to keep your washing machine sparkling clean to keep it working well. On the 26th we will be launching our new detox tablets; which we will be including for free with every Ecoegg sold that day on QVC to help gently break down the nasty grime in your washing machine without using horrible harsh chemicals.

My husband managed to get most of his dinner down his shirt on Christmas day. It wasn’t a problem though, I just applied a little of the new Ecoegg Eco Stain Remover to the stain and into the machine it went with my Ecoegg; his shirt is now as good as new! It’s a great little product for those super tough stains that need a little bit of extra help.

It’s just so lovely to know that Ecoegg are continually working hard to innovate new products that are kind to your purse, kind to the environment and also kind to your skin, but above all they clean really well. I know that you will all love the new range as much as I do, I wouldn’t have put my name to it unless I knew it really worked, and it believe me it does. It’s smashing my loves. I look forward to seeing you all on the 26^th; we will have a great day.

Kim x

December 13th 2011

I’m sure that most of you will be looking forward to Xmas, but we all know that Xmas time can also be a financial strain. To help with the financial burden of the festive holidays, the Ecoegg team have come up with ten top Christmas money saving ideas:

1) Make your own Xmas cards- homemade cards are cheaper and are often more gratefully received. There are many options when making your own cards, festive shaped potato printing is easy and effective and can also fill a rainy Saturday afternoon with the family. Why not try recycling old Xmas cards by cutting out pictures and text and remounting on low cost backing card. Another easy idea is to cut out snowflake designs from folded white paper and mount on colourful backing card.

2) Reuse Xmas Paper- all you have to do is resist the urge to rip into your presents, possibly easier for the adults than children!

3) Dig out your own Xmas Tree- visit a cut/ dig your own Xmas tree forest, take a shovel and dig up the roots of your chosen tree, place in a pot and water over the Xmas period. In the New Year you can replant your Xmas tree for use year after year. Cut/ dig your own trees tend to be quite a bit cheaper than ready cut, from as little as £3 per foot! Better for the environment too!

4) Make your own tree decorations- ideas include paper chains, homemade biscuits on ribbons (not easily resisted by a sweet toothed family) and glitter pine cones. Another idea is to make tree decorations from salt dough, here’s a simple and cheap recipe: 1 cup plain flour, half a cup salt, half cup water, mix, roll and cut with festive cutters. Bake for 2 hours at 120C/240F.

5) Be a savvy Internet shopper- many voucher code websites tell you which Internet retailers have discounts available and how to receive them. Two of the best are: www.moneysavingexpert.co.uk  and Hotukdeals.co.uk.

6) Make a no present pact with friends and relatives- With both friends and family to buy for; Xmas can soon become really expensive. Sometimes the greatest gift of all can be asking somebody not too buy for you this year and in return you won’t buy a gift for them. Chances are they will be more than happy to agree to this arrangement (as let’s be honest most of the Xmas presents you receive aren’t things you needed or really wanted).

7) Ditch expensive and harmful cleaning products and make your own using natural and low cost ingredients! – Our very own Kim Woodburn, celebrity Queen of Clean, has given us a few cleaning tips that will be particularly helpful around the busy Xmas season.

• Gravy and turkey grease on kitchen splash backs- In a small bowl place one heaped tablespoon of baking soda. Add warm water to just cover the baking soda. Give it a good stir so that the mixture is a loose cream.  Apply to the splash back, wipe off with a damp cloth and buff dry with a fresh cloth. The consistency should be thick enough so that the mixture does not run off the splash back but not so thick as to be lumpy!
• Saucepans- If you burn a saucepan fill it with water and then tip the water away. Sprinkle baking soda over the wet surface. Then add boiling water to cover the burn. Leave the pan overnight and then scour with wire wool. The burn will come off easily. Care – obviously do not use wire wool on non-stick pans! Use a paper towel instead.
• Kitchen sink drains- To clear a slow sink drain pour half a cup of baking soda down the drain (you may need a funnel) followed by one cup of cheap white vinegar. It will slightly bubble inside the drain. Wait for two minutes and the pour a kettle full of boiling water down the drain. Bubbles will appear at the surface. The drain will flow clearly and it will smell a lot better! If needs be, do it a second time!

8) Ditch expensive and environmentally harmful detergents for an Ecoegg- Replacing your normal detergent with an Ecoegg can save an average family £216. The Ecoegg last for 720 washes, that’s the equivalent of three years’ worth of laundry. It’s kinder to your pocket, kinder to your skin and kinder to the environment!

9) Shop around for the best possible price- make sure you are getting the best deal possible on your Xmas gifts and essentials by using price comparison sites such as Kelkoo and Pricerunner  to be sure you get the best deal. Also be sure to compare the cost of groceries using sites like mysupermarket.com, you can upload your online shopping basket before you buy to check you are getting the best deal.  You can also now do this using the supermarkets own websites, you simply enter a code from your receipt and they will tell you whether the shopping could have be brought cheaper somewhere else. If so they beat it by 10%!

10) Write a list and stick to it!- When you come to do your final pre Xmas grocery shop, make a list before you go and then make sure you stick to it. It can be easy to be get carried away in the supermarket with all the festive offers and tempting treats, but they really can add up to a gob-smacking sum when you get to the checkout.

Well that’s our top ten Xmas saving tips; I hope you found them helpful. Have a very merry Xmas!

The Ecoegg team x

8th December, 2011

Hi all,

I’m Rob, one of the owners of Ecoegg.  I’ll be posting on here every now and again when there’s something interesting to tell you about from Ecoegg towers!

We’ve been getting lots of feedback lately from customers, which we really enjoy reading – so please keep it coming.  A couple of similar questions keep coming up, so I thought it would be worth addressing them here.

Firstly, we are asked about fragrance a great deal.  A lot of people like a scent to their washing and with the Ecoegg laundry egg, currently there’s no fragrance.  It has what we call a “fresh but not fragranced” smell.  When we originally developed the Ecoegg laundry egg, it was with people with sensitive skin in mind, so we didn’t want to include any fragrance whatsoever as fragrances can often be the cause of skin irritation.

However, we’ve been working hard over the past few months to work out how to fragrance the Ecoegg without using any nasty harsh chemicals.  I’m pleased to say that we have finally cracked it! (pardon the pun). From January, there will be two fragranced versions of the Ecoegg available, Spring Blossom and Soft Cotton.  These fragrances are both subtle but long-lasting too.  We think you’ll love them.  We’ve worked with a well-respected master perfumer to create these fragrances and they have received a great reaction so far!  However, if you would rather your washing without a fragrance, the ‘original’ fragrance free Ecoegg laundry egg will of-course still be available.

Secondly, we are regularly asked why it is so tricky to put the Ecoegg laundry egg together.  The honest answer is that when we were developing the product, we spent all of our time focussing on the cleaning pellets inside the egg to ensure they gave the very best cleaning result possible.  In retrospect, we didn’t spend enough time focussing on the actual egg case design itself, and we’re sorry about that.  I realise that it really can be tricky to put it together sometimes!  However, I am very pleased to say that we have recently undertaken a full redesign of the egg case and I know it’ll be so much easier to use from now on.  The egg case now only has 2 pieces instead of 4 and uses a unique bayonet design which makes it a breeze to put together.  The new style egg case will be included with all ecoegg laundry eggs from January 2012.

So – a couple of really exciting improvements to the Ecoegg laundry egg, which I know you’ll love.

We are committed to further improving our products on an on-going basis, so I’d love to hear about any suggestions for improvements you have.  Please email me your ideas – or any other comments.  My personal email address is rob.knight@ecoeggonline.com

Thanks for taking the time to read my first post and may I take the oppurtunity to wish you all a very happy Christmas!

Rob x

1st December 2011

A big thank you to all of those who entered the M&S £100 gift voucher competition. We would like to congratulate the lucky winner, Mrs J Broughton. She certainly looks pleased with her prize!

The Ecoegg Team x