Melaleuca, Day One

My Melaleuca Value Pack arrived today. Kind of funny how excited I was to get that box full of cleaning products. I opened it with the help of my two-year-old, who immediately wanted the food items; the crackers and the Access Chocolate Caramel Kruncher Bars. Then he tried (unsuccessfully) to open some vitamins, and successfully opened the Renew Lotion, which he spread onto his face and legs, but didn't rub in.

I used the Platinum Bar soap in the shower. I was going to use the shampoo and conditioner but it was safety sealed and I couldn't open it with wet hands. I should have checked before I got into the shower! ;)

I used the Renew Lotion on my son's bumpy legs after his shower, and it appeared very soothing, although the ingredients in the product didn't wow me, especially the petroleum it contained.

After our family shower, I mixed up the Sol-u-mel cleaner (I've heard good things about this cleaner!), the stain lifter, and the tub and shower cleaner. These products came in small, concentrated bottles and need to be mixed with water. (Points for that!) I sprayed the sol-u-mel on the inside of a couple of our cupboards, and as I did this, I realized that this particular product will probably be useful in helping to combat our mold problem. Seven months ago we moved into a house that's on the shore of Lake Erie, and the moist air equals mold on just about every surface.

Next I tackled one of my son's shirts with the stain lifter. His adorable white shirt has been worn twice, on days when he drank berry smoothies, ate blueberries, played with chalk, etc... We'll see how that washes up.

Finally, I sprayed the tub and tile cleaner in the wet shower. I'm not going to rinse it off right away, I wanted to see how it worked if I didn't rinse, kind of like that easy after-shower spray.

Oh, and I took a pack of vitamins, and I tried the lip balm, the melagel (for a scrape on my finger), and the tea tree oil (to add to my homemade deodorant).

My first reaction to my experience is that the ingredients in the products aren't that much different from mainstream products, and the prices are not great. Furthermore, in order to reach my required 35 points, I will have to spend between 50 and 75 dollars per month. We don't spend anywhere near that each month on cleaning products. I have found natural, competitively-priced, effective products and have been using them for years, so I'm going to be comparing those products to Melaleuca's products to see how they match up. Despite my pessimism, I'm still REALLY hoping that I can find enough products to maintain my membership. And if I do maintain my membership, I will certainly share my concern about how typical their products are.

Tomorrow I hope to go into more detail about specific products. I will also be sharing the tub cleaner and sol-u-mel with my secretary, who has severe breathing problems and who ends up on predisone every time she cleans her tub because of the fumes in her current cleaning products.

I'm still excited about the possibilities, even though I'm a little disappointed in the ingredients so far.