Welcome to the Balancing Beauty and Bedlam Laundry Lab.
We had a blast becoming regular savvy scientists and doing our own laundry experiment with one of my biggest enemies….
I invite you into my home to see some of the stains that we needed to tackle. I have my own regular little “Vanna” assisting me in this project, but stay tuned for the very end when many helpers wanted in on the experiment. (I’ve threatened to fire my videographer, but since he’s only 13, we’ll give him another chance. He has great potential. ;))
I am so impressed with the new Wisk laundry detergent and its powerful new formula in the red-hot bottle, and that isn’t said lightly. We are hard on our clothes and their are few detergents that pass the test.
I’m still amazed that Wisk was the first liquid laundry detergent ever on the market back in 1956.Wisk® has been cleaning America’s laundry for the past 50 years. Now, they’ve upgraded their formula, but not their price, to tackle stains with their new scientific Stain Spectrum Technology, and it even passed my football guys challenge.
It wouldn’t be this blog if I didn’t direct you to a great coupon for $1 off at Wisk.com and another $1/1 internet printable. Print off both and stock up when it’s on sale. After you download the coupon, look around and learn more about Wisk’s Stain Spectrum Technology and the different categories of stains.
* Also, remember to visit Wisk at www.Facebook.com/Wisk
* Follow @Wisk on Twitter
This post is sponsored by Wisk. I received monetary compensation for my time, but my review and opinions are always my own.
You know, I love this blog so much, and I hate to see it going so commercial. It seems to be happening to all my favorite blogs, they turn into one advertisement after another.
“As the first liquid laundry detergent to market in 1956, Wisk® has been cleaning America’s laundry for the past 50 years. Now, they’ve upgraded their formula, but not their price, to tackle stains with their new scientific Stain Spectrum Technology. Wisk’s enzymes and cleaning agents target the full range of stains on a molecular level for a powerful clean.
I mean, did you copy that straight from their website? It sounds incredibly insincere, like they sent you a check along with a copy of what you are to write. Please get back to your thrift store shopping posts..they’re so helpful, entertaining, AND seem sincere, and not like one big advertisement.
I am so sorry that you feel so strongly. I typically don’t respond to comments like this, but felt that it might help that you know background of why some of your favorite blogs, and I assume larger ones like mine, are adding in other content.
First off, I did share that phrase from the info they gave me, rewording it just a bit. The rest…is all me. I hit publish, but was still editing it, and should have thought someone would have seen it in between.
I just glanced back through my last ten posts and I think that eight of them were things non commercial or just sharing coupons that I printed.
Only three days ago, I shared my thrift store/yard sale finds. But yes, I will continue to do more in the future. I am scheduled to do one Wisk post a month/for 4 months and actually, this experiment was a ton of fun (did you watch the vlog? It was quite sincere and completely spontaneous.)
My daughter and I had a blast doing the video together, and yes, they paid me, but I was thrilled to experiment with detergent that I already buy, and help promote it. It helps offset the hundreds of hours I put into writing for free. I do appreciate you commenting and appreciate you sharing, but honestly, the amount of time that I put into my blog, with a family, ministry and answering the hundreds of emails with questions from readers, I just can’t do it for free. My hourly wage is now at about $2/hour. 🙂
Unless someone writes a blog, they have no idea the HUGE investment of time it takes. Not to just write, but to resize photos, upload them, center them, edit, not to mention all the techie stuff that takes hours to figure out.
I do it for the love of sharing and encouraging women, but with a year of unemployment and a my family to consider, my time is not spent wisely if I pass up opportunities through my blog. We all work really hard to bring you a free, and hopefully, helpful resource. The beauty of a blog is that you can just ignore those posts if you choose to, but come back for the ones you love, and I hope you continue to do so.
I think it may feel more commercially because I just finished the Back to School Bash. The large giveaways are something I only do around holidays, so I bet if you took out that week and looked over the last four months of my posts, you would find very few what you call “commercial” posts, but….they will continue.
Just to let you know, I turn down at least one, sometimes up to five, offers a day to do other things like this, but you will only find products or posts on my blog that I believe in.
I appreciate you tremendously as a reader, but I will continue to mix a few product posts in with the others. Just thought you might like to know since I spent time looking back over my many months of posts and the ratio is so very small. Out of 300 posts in the last year, I have about 20 “commercially posts,” just to put it into perspective.
On an aside, it’s nearly 1:00 am EST and I am writing and editing a Frugal Fashionista post right now since my kids are finally all asleep, so it will either post it today or Sunday night depending if I get it done in time.
@carmen,
Carmen-
I am curious if you even watched the video? I thought Jen did a great job talking about Wisk in her own voice! If she was compensated for doing it, good for her! Writing a blog of this size is a full time job and it costs money to maintain it, pay for hosting, design, and other things.
I have been reading Jen’s blog for over a year and I really appreciate that even when she does receive a free product to try out she gives her honest opinion, not like many people on television who are just paid to talk about something and have probably never used it in the entire life.
What I like about blogs is that if you aren’t interested in a certain post you don’t have to read it, you can scroll down and read the next one.
I have no doubt that Jen will keep writing about her frugal makeovers and fashion tips, but I think we should show her some grace as far as the other posts. I am sure she gets many offers that we never see because she doesn’t believe in the product so she turns it down. I don’t mind an advertorial here and there because I know it helps support this site and that Jen wouldn’t do it if she didn’t truly endorse the products.
Toni
I don’t own an HE machine, so I don’t use the HE detergent. Do you have an opinion on the regular Wisk detergent? I have recently begun to have issues with ALL not getting odors out of clothing that I wash, so I am in the market for a new brand.
Thank you for all the helpful information you provide!
That said, I’m sorry, you are right, after all you have to pay the bills! It’s not the ads on the sidebars that bother me, it’s the post dedicated to them. But I imagine the posts pay much better! It seems as if all my favorite blogs have gone this way…they were smaller when I started reading, so not so much advertising. But then they “grew up” and started needing sponsorship. I’ll also keep in mind that it is back to school time, that skewed my perception probably. I appreciate your explanation!
@carmen,
I totally agree with you Carmen! The back to school time is crazy because so many blogs are trying to show us the best deals and giveaway prizes!
For me, I don’t read most of those posts because we homeschool and get most of our supplies from a friend in the business.
Like I said before, that is what I LOVE about blogs, you only have to read what is relevant to you. 🙂
Toni
Carmen…you are so sweet to reply back, and thank you for understanding. Trust me, I don’t take my decisions lightly, and always commit to posting only products that I would use myself. I went an entire year without taking any of those posts, but I just can’t justify my time any more without having something to pay for that time. The pros and cons of growing a bigger blog, but also being in an entrepreneurial type business.
Thanks again.
You cut out the top of my post, was I right?
Jen,
I’ve personally never used Wisk…or just about any brand name detergent. But I really do appreciate having your honest opinion about things like this. It’s so hard to know if a more expensive detergent is actually better than the store brands or no-name ones, and it’s so helpful to hear from a real person whom I can trust a whole lot more than the people on the commercials that it’s a great product. Thanks!
Joy @ Five J’s
Jen – Your first response would make an excellent post in and of itself! Why we do what we do and when it makes sense to work with a good brand and get compensation for our time. It was very thoughtful and so true. I just posted my first WISK post today and I thought you did a great job making it very personal. Love, love, love the video. What a great idea. You really do put your heart into all of this and it shows.
Jen, I appreciate the countless research and hours of posting you give to us so that we can enjoy the benefits of saving money, making our home a better place for our families, decorating and cooking ideas, encouragement for women, and yes, just plain entertainment sometimes.
You give us so much and all we do is click on a button to see your latest discoveries, not considering the long hours you have invested in that one post. I don’t ever want to take you for granted. I don’t know what I would do without some Beauty and Bedlam in my life. 🙂
As women, I hope we will encourage each other more in our roles and endeavors to help support our families. This includes stay-at-home moms who are trying to work at home. I think it is great that you are finally being compensated for your hard work, whether through freebies or a check. This is your job and you work hard at it.
You have saved me money and encouraged me in many ways. I hope this blog continues to grow and you reap the benefit from that beyond your wildest dreams!!
Karen
Its a “beaker”.
Great job! Love your kids and nephews! They are adorable!
As long as they are not controversial products and are instead family friendly products, I have no problems with blogs promoting them. 🙂
@Joy, Meant to add that Wisk seems pretty family friendly to me.
I love the variety you have here. I home school my children and I honestly don’t know how you keep up with all that you do. I love the thriftiness- the decorating re- purposing, the coupons- the ideas for teaching your children to be hospitable, the party planning, the recipes (really loved the knock off cinnabon ), etc. etc. etc..
Just to let you know, I am glad that you are compensated for all the work that you do. Home schooling is a full time job that has no compensation. I don’t comment often- just wanted to thank you for all the good work here on your blog.
ps Wisk is on sale this week at Walgreen’s- with the coupon- it is a fantastic bargain.