A couple of years ago, a good email friend of mine mailed two of my daughters some dresses. When the box came, I opened it up and lifted one out, and was struck with the fresh clean scent of the clothes. I wrote her and asked her what made the clothes smell so good? She replied that the only thing she could think of was her laundry soap, a Melaleuca product. She said the only way to buy these products was through a distributor.
Well, she lived too far away for me to order from her, but I soon found out a lady from my own church had a distributorship. I began to order some of the products from her. At first it was mainly the laundry soap, soon I added the dishwashing soap. These products were ‘green’ and that was an added attraction to me, because living in the country, we let our gray water flow to our fruit trees, and the chickens and ducks often drank from the steam. They are also based on tea tree oil, and that made me feel good also, because I knew that was a healthy thing to use to kill germs.
A big jug of Melaleuca laundry soap might seem expensive at first glance, but it is very concentrated, so only a little squirt from the pump you buy separately washes a large load. I often add some water to the dishwashing soap, because it’s so thick, and it washes wonderfully. My dishes are sparkling clean, I don’t have to worry when the children wash and don’t rinse as well as they should, because the soap isn’t full of harsh chemicals. I use this soap on a washcloth to wash my windows and all my cabinets and appliances, too. I sometimes even use a squirt on a washrag to wash the baby’s hands when they are dirty, and I need something quickly. It’s gentle enough on his skin that I don’t have to worry.
I began to buy enough that I decided to get my own distributorship, not so much to sell it, but to get the products cheaper. For several months, I just bought the laundry and dishwashing products. Soon I had built enough Advantage points to get some free items, and I used this to try out some different things.
I bought the bottles of tea tree oil, and I use it in my homemade cleaning products, which consists of nothing but vinegar and tea tree oil in a spray bottle, or baking soda, salt and a few drops of tea tree oil in a canning jar with holes punched in the lid. These are the basic things I clean my entire house. We also use the tea tree oil on band aids when someone gets cut. When I had my wisdom teeth out, or we have any kinds of cuts or ulcers in our mouths, we put a few drops of it on our tooth brushes.
I like the tooth paste really well. I buy the training toothpaste for my little ones. We like the fluoride free ones for those of us who are grown. I keep the little bottles of breath spray in my bag, and since I am a big lip balm user, I keep that around, too.
The only bath product they have that I don’t care for as much is the bath soap, because I feel like it’s not as long lasting as my own homemade soap. It does make nice presents, though.
The shampoo is really nice, and the large bottle comes with a pump that helps the younger people in our family measure out a good dose without going overboard pouring it into their hands. That has really saved money on buying the shampoo. I also feel good that it isn’t full of cancer causing ingredients.
I buy the baby wash and squirt it in the water when my little ones take baths, to make bubbles. Then I just let them play until they are clean. I feel good about using a product with natural ingredients on their young, delicate bodies.
I have begun to use some of the vitamins and herbs Melaleuca sells. The Luminex/St. John’s Wort supplement is wonderful for relieving stress. Replenex Glucosamine Formula is one I take for my joints. It contains green tea extract, something that has already proven to help my joints tremendously. For nights when someone in the family is having trouble sleeping, the RestEZ Relaxation Herbal Supplement has been very good, especially because we don’t wake up feeling groggy like we have with other sleep aids. This is one my family has asked me to always have on hand. I like the Renew hand lotion because I am a person who can’t bear for my hands to feel dry, and as much work as I do for my large family, that can be a problem if I don’t have a good lotion for my hands.
We have just begun to buy the men, women and children’s vitamins, so I don’t have a report on those yet. I do know my children really like the vitamins, especially my one year old son. I have to make sure those are put up high!
There has been a time or two that my frugal mind has wondered about buying these quality products, thinking maybe I should go for the Dollar Store brand instead. But when I voiced this aloud, my seventeen year old son, who has never care about things like cleaning products and vitamins, actually told me that I had found something that worked so well even he could tell the difference, and he thought I should keep buying Melaleuca. That was enough to convince me!
