5 Reasons Why Cleanwell Liquid Hand Soap is our New BFF

New Year. New bug. We kicked off the New Year by participating (albeit unwillingly) in the GI outbreak that hit our local Vancouver hospital, community - and with annoyingly great precision, our household. The result? A few unwell tummies, a well used washing machine and a deep, long lasting relationship with Cleanwell All Natural Liquid Hand Soap.

In fact, it would be perfectly accurate to say Cleanwell liquid hand soap has become our new BFF. Sounding a wee bit over the top? Perhaps, but when you're hit with an onslaught of nausea, aches, pains and more, having something in hand to help fight those germs that you don't really understand is well, empowering.

We've always liked Cleanwell's range of pure and natural products, but here are five reasons why we really like their liquid hand soap - in particular - now.

1. Lab proven to kill 99.9% of germs on contact, including MRSA, Salmonella, Staph, and E. coli, Cleanwell hand soap gives us confidence that with every wash it truly is helping fight the germs that are making us sick and is preventing them from spreading to other members of the family.

2. It's free of parabens, triclosan and other potentially nasty chemicals so no matter how many times we wash our hands - which feels like hundreds and hundreds these last few days - we know we aren't absorbing toxins through our skin. There's no alcohol either, which means no dry, scaly skin.

3. You can easily peel the label off the Cleanwell liquid hand soap bottle so you're left with an attractive-looking soap dispenser sitting on your vanity rather than a commercialized bottle. While we've been using Cleanwell for some time, this exciting little discovery was made reading the label's fine print in the wee hours of one recently long, dark, sleepless night while hanging out in the bathroom.

4. Our kids call Cleanwell the 'easy soap' as the bottle features an extremely easy pump action. The top of the pump you press down on is a relatively large, easy target for little hands and with one push there's oodles of all natural foam to wash (and play) with. The result is the kids are keen to use the pump and keep their hands clean too.

5. The scents are pleasantly natural, not irritatingly artificial-smelling and a very welcome, soothing change from the less than appetizing aromas resulting from stomach flu. We've found the spearmint lime scent to be particularly uplifting when there's seemingly no end in sight.

Cleanwell natural antibacterial liquid hand soap is available in Canada along with a range of other Cleanwell products at eco boutique Lavish & Lime. If you have any thoughts or ideas about Cleanwell or fighting germs in general, we'd love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below.

Eco-Friendly Christmas Tree Decorations to Make Yourself

We've found one of the best green crafts for Christmas that also makes great eco-friendly Christmas tree decorations - Creature Creations. We spotted this craft while admiring the Christmas tree at North Vancouver's Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre.

These little creatures struck us beautiful, unique and being made of reused egg cartons, they're eco-friendly decorations too!

Simply cut one or more compartments out of a cardboard egg carton then paint or draw your favourite animal - a bird or owl works well. Non-toxic paints and natural felt markers are ideal, especially if you're making this craft with kids. Use colourful pipe cleaners or twist ties to tie the creature creation to the branches of your Christmas tree - or even poke a couple of holes and thread the pipe cleaner through to the branch.

This is a great eco0-friendly Christmas craft to keep the kids busy over the holidays and the result is a beautiful tree decoration for your tree or someone else's. A handmade Creature Creation makes a great Christmas Gift!

Natural non-toxic paints, felt markers and other non-toxic art supplies for kids are available at eco boutique Lavish & Lime. Visit www.lavishandlime.com for more greener living and giving ideas. If you have any thoughts or ideas about eco-friendly Christmas crafts, please leave a comment below - we'd love to hear from you!

12 Unusual Eco-Friendly Gifts for Christmas

Looking for the hottest, the latest, the most unique eco-friendly Christmas gifts on the market? So are we and for Christmas 2010, we've found some of our most exciting gifts yet.

Here are our top 12 Christmas gift picks for 2010.

1. For Inquisitive Him: 3-in-1 Solar Powered Transforming Robot $25

2. For the Slightly Edgier Her: Recycled Vinyl Record Cuff $25

3. For the Skater in Him: Recycled Eco-Friendly Skateboard Cufflinks $34

4. For the Golfer: Biodegradable Golf Tees made of Wheat $6


5. For Bath Loving Her: Pure Milk Bath Powder (& matching soy tea lights) $18/$8.50

6. For Anyone Who Drinks Tea: Travel Tea Glass $24

7. For Speed Racers: Speed-o-Meter Metal Bike Bell $24

8. For Keeping Warm: Reclaimed T-Shirt Panel Scarf $30.50

9. For Keeping Time: Smiley Water Powered Alarm Clock $45

10. For the Cheeky Monkey: Recycled Cotton Monkey Scarf $29.50

11. For the Happy Shopper: Retro Sesame Street Envirosax Bag 5-Pack Pouch $44.95

12. For a Splash of Colour: Natural Felt Ball Necklaces & Bracelets $25/$10

All 12 unusual green gifts for Christmas are available at eco boutique Lavish & Lime. View the hundreds of eco gifts we stock online and in our warehouse showroom in Vancouver at www.lavishandlime.com. If you have any thoughts or comments about unusual gifts for Christmas, please leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you!

Travel Tea Infuser Mug is Ideal for On the Go

Tea drinkers rejoice! Now you can enjoy a proper cuppa of loose leaf tea on-the-go with our Travel Tea Infuser Mug. The thermal double wall construction features non-leaching glass inside and a large, easy grip handle. The fine stainless steel mesh filter is ideal for roiboos and herbal teas.

The health-conscious inner glass wall of these unique tea travel mugs is BPA-free with no potentially toxic chemicals leaching into your tea. The exterior of the mug is made of safe and durable polycarbonate plastic that's on-the-go friendly.

A built-in stainless steel fine mesh filter keeps tea leaves in the tea and out of your mouth. It works just as well with tea bags. The filter is easy to remove for quick access and easy cleaning when adding or emptying loose leaf tea. The clear walls allow you to see through to your tea as you enjoy it! The lid and drinking lip on this tea infuser mug are both BPA-free and the double wall construction ensures your hot tea stays warm for about an hour.

Similar in design to our popular Travel Tea Glass, the Travel Tea Infuser Mug is slightly shorter and wider for a large stable base and features a handle for easy gripping.

The mug style is great for home and office and 'on the go'. Simply add hot water to enjoy your favourite loose leaf tea.

Say no to single use disposable cups for your tea when you're out and about - take your travel tea infuser mug instead!

The travel tea infuser mug is available at online eco boutique Lavish & Lime. For more greener living ideas, visit www.lavishandlime.com. If you have any thoughts or comments about tea travel mugs or on-the-go drinking in general, please leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you!

Win an Eco Kids Craft Kit of your Choice

We love Christmas gifts but one thing we dread is all the packaging - especially the packaging on gifts for kids. That's why we got really excited when we came across our new line of US-made eco-friendly craft kits for kids.

The focus is on top quality, eco-friendly crafting materials - not extravagant packaging. In fact, these kids craft kits come in a simple, reusable ziplock plastic bag. It's the contents of the bag that will take any crafty kid's breath away. Gorgeous glass beads, super soft felt doll cutouts and jewellery pieces, handmade paper and more!

Choose from six different kids craft kits:

• doll making
• felt jewellery
• book making
• wire & bead art
• bubble wand making
• creativity kit with a little of everything and lots of idea suggestions.

HOW TO WIN A KIDS CRAFT KIT OF YOUR CHOICE - for Christmas
Leave a comment below telling us which eco-friendly kids craft kit you'd like, why and you might just win it! Please include your email address so we can contact you if you win. Draw will be on December 15th so we can ship the prize in time for Christmas.

Extra entries: join us on our Facebook page and to tell us below for two extra extries.

Good luck!

All of the eco-friendly kids craft kits above are available at Lavish & Lime. For more greener living ideas, please come by and browse our eco boutique at www.lavishandlime.com.