GIVEAWAY: Ecostore USA $25 Gift Certificate

{This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to those who entered!}

There's something that I like about loading the dishwasher and the washing machine. That's probably a little weird, but I do. The idea of our plates, cups, silverware and clothes going in dirty and coming out clean gives me a feeling of satisfaction every time I press the start button.

What I don't like? The creepy chemical smells and how I've used dishwasher detergents before that have huge warnings about not touching it with your bare skin. It's going to wash my plates which are, in turn, going to hold my food - it seems like a pretty bad sign that it would burn my hand if I brushed against it. (The other thing I don't like is unloading the dishwasher or putting away the clean laundry. It's just not as exciting.)


Faced with the challenge of protecting the pristine rural waterways of his eco village in New Zealand, Malcolm Rands worked with scientists to develop household cleaning products using plant-based ingredients that would biodegrade safely and quickly. As more customers began using the genuinely clean and green Ecostore products, they found they were experiencing surprising and unexpected improvements in their health.

Now also here in the United States, Ecostore USA not only makes products that are good for the planet but for the user as well with their slogan, No Nasty Chemicals. On top of that, they are super-concentrated so that they are affordable. The question that was on my mind, as it usually is with new products, do they work?

I won't say that I knew exactly what all of the ingredients in Ecostore's Auto Dish Powder were (they were actually listed!), but at least I could pronounce them and could tell that they were all natural. When it came time to try it out, I opened the container, braced myself and took a whiff.

The smell that I found was not at all harsh and was a pleasant lemon-citrus-clean scent, something that indicated cleanliness but, well, with No Nasty Chemicals. I poured only one tablespoon of the powder into my dishwasher's dispenser and prepared to wait to see the results.

We've tried various dishwasher liquids and powders in the past and have had some positive outcomes and some negative. There's nothing worse than having dried food crusted on your dishes after they've been cleaned - it defeats the point, right? When I opened the dishwasher at the completion of the cycle, I was happy to see that every item in there was spotless and shiny.

When it came time to try the Front Loader Laundry Powder that Ecostore USA had sent, I discovered the same results. The fresh, natural lemon scent and plant-based ingredients left my family's clothes clean and soft. Knowing that the water running out of my washing machine and back to the earth was safe for the planet, well, that just made me feel good.

Along with the variety of organic products for your household, Ecostore USA also has a great selection of soaps, hair care, baby items and pet products - because why should your pet be exposed to unhealthy chemicals, too? What is good for you, your family and your pet can now also be good for the earth.

Even better, right now Ecostore USA is running a Share the Love Holiday Sale where all of their great products are available for 40% off for the rest of the year! That makes products like their much-talked-about Citrus Spray Cleaner only $5.40 and their Vanilla Shampoo only $6.60. Stock up now so you can go green in 2010 (free shipping for orders of $25 or more) and keep up with Ecostore USA on Facebook for all of their upcoming deals and information!

Thanks to the generosity of Ecostore USA, one person will be able to try out multiple of their wonderful products, because...

One lucky person will win a $25 gift certificate to Ecostore USA!

To enter to win your $25 gift certificate to Ecostore USA: Visit Ecostore USA and tell me which of their great product(s) you would like to try first. Please do me the favor of leaving an email address or making absolutely sure it is visible in your profile. I have to have a way to contact the winners.

Extra Entries (available after the mandatory entry above is completed; please leave a separate comment for each entry in order for them to be counted. For example, if you subscribe, leave one comment saying "I subscribe #1" and a separate comment saying "I subscribe #2")

1 Extra Entry (per method) if you follow Ecostore USA on Twitter and/or sign up for their newsletter (found on their blog).
1 Extra Entry (per giveaway entered) - Enter any (or all) of the giveaways running on Thanks, Mail Carrier for the duration of this giveaway. See the list on the top of my right sidebar - there are some really great ones going on right now and coming up!
1 Extra Entry if you follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway by copying and pasting the tweet below and leaving me the link. Tweet daily for an extra entry every day!

Ecostore USA makes it easy to go green with a $25 gift certificate @thxmailcarrier from @ecostoreusa! http://bit.ly/7ztfr4 #win #giveaway

2 Extra Entries per follow method (leave 2 separate comments for each type) if you follow me with Google Friend Connect (see sidebar), subscribe to my RSS feed or subscribe to Thanks, Mail Carrier by email.
3 Extra Entries (leave 3 separate comments) if you put my cute button up on your blog. Please leave an address where it can be found.
3 Extra Entries (leave 3 separate comments) if you blog about this giveaway linking back to Thanks, Mail Carrier and Ecostore USA. Please leave an address where it can be found.
Giveaway will end on December 28th (so that the winner will have a few days to take advantage of the great Share the Love Holiday Sale) at 11:59pm CST. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced here as well as emailed. The winner will have 48 hours to contact me or respond to notification or a new winner will be chosen. Giveaway open to US residents only.

A big thank you to Maggie at Ecostore USA for providing two products for review as well as a $25 gift certificate for one lucky giveaway winner. Hopefully the world will all be green-cleaning soon! The opinions shared are my own and if you really need to see more, click here to see how I roll.