I remember when I worked my first “Real Job” out of college, a coworker made an off-hand comment about how much time I must have had on my hands due to not having any children. I felt almost insulted by his insinuation that I must spend all of my free time doing whatever I pleased, when he was well-aware that I was putting in over fifty hours a week at the office. Little did I understand that the mourning I saw in his face was for a loss of personal time in his own life after the arrival of his three children. It really had nothing to do with me, but he was reminiscing the time that he had been able to spend on his wife and their shared hobbies in his pre-fatherhood years.

Flash forward five years later and I was far removed from my desk job with the long hours. Instead of working while eating my lunch at my desk, some days I didn’t even remember to eat. My position had shifted to a Jill-of-All-Trades (and master of none) roll, responsible for entertaining the children (a 2-year-old and a newborn), keeping them alive, and figuring out something to feed everyone at the end of the day. I had a part time job as a marketing manager for an IT company, but I felt like I could barely keep on top of what I needed to complete each week. Cleaning the home probably was in my job description, but many days I struggled just to get out of my pajamas, let alone out of the house with two small kids. Most of the time I just felt overwhelmed. How could being a mother be so wonderful and yet so terrible from day-to-day?

This was pretty much my life at the time that I attended my first Norwex party. I was easily sold on the idea of using water to clean, as it would save us money. It also seemed like a great idea to stop buying chemical cleaning products and using them around our small children. Time, however, was a harder concept for me to measure. At that point in my life, I just had so little to give–even to cleaning my house past the bare minimum.

When I returned from that Norwex party with my first EnviroCloth, my life was forever altered. I didn’t realize it while I was frantically running from room to room to erase the fingerprints from our walls (Try it.Your light switches will never be the same), but Norwex had managed to accomplish a major feat in my home: Norwex had added about 30 minutes to my day, every day. Cleaning had just become so much simpler!

At a recent facebook party, I posted the following graphic of a multitasking woman. So many times in early motherhood, I felt just like this. This graphic was me–only with the added hairbrush and nicer clothing because she obviously hasn’t given up on her life yet. One of the guests asked me how Norwex could actually save us time, since we still have to clean the same items in our homes (the kitchen counter still gets covered in crumbs, right?). I paused and thought out my answer before responding with the following example:

Norwex saves us time by reducing the number of products that we need to buy, store, and utilize to clean our homes. Before Norwex, I probably owned at least 5 different chemical cleaners for tackling my bathroom. I owned one spray for the shower (at least), one for the floor, one for the counter and sink, one for the mirror, and yet another to clean the toilet and the bathtub. The majority of those cleaning jobs were completed with paper towel. This means that just to clean the bathroom alone required sheet after sheet of paper towel (which wears down, rips, etc during use and gets tossed into the garbage). Between each cleaning task was another spray and another sheet. After a few minutes, the exhaust fan would go to work to try to suck out the  mixed chemical smell from all of the products.

The EnviroCloth alone can remove up to 99% of bacteria from a surface when following the proper care and use instructions. This one cloth–which does not cross-contaminate–can be used to wipe down counters and sinks, toilets, showers and more. The cloth works with water alone and doesn’t require frequent breaks from gas inhalation. The best part, in my opinion, is that I can now clean my entire bathroom in at least half the time that I did prior to using Norwex and my bathroom is actually cleaner. Re-read that line again. My bathroom is actually cleaner! Norwex microfiber does such an incredible job of leaving surfaces clean that there is NO residue left behind to attract dust and dirt.

Norwex can save anyone time, regardless of their parenthood status. However, I do have a special understanding for moms out there who feel like the woman in the above graphic. If this is you, do yourself a favor and start to replace your chemical cleaners with Norwex microfiber. Our Household Package (EnviroCloth, Window Cloth and Dusting Mitt) can be used to clean 80-90% of your home with only water. Once you try these products, you will wonder why you didn’t add 30 minutes to your day sooner!