My ultimate goal is to make cleaning as easy and pain free as possible. Cleaning and sanitizing are part of my daily routine. While having children has made this a top priority it also proves that I have less time to do so, not to mention I’d much rather be running around playing tag, action figures, baby dolls, etc. than be on my hands and knees scrubbing floors. When I choose the products I clean with I think of my children; whether or not something could be harmful to their health and/or safety.

Like many people, we have several types of flooring throughout our house: carpet, tile, linoleum and majority hardwood. When it comes to taking care of the floors the last thing I want to do is pull out several different tools for each variety of flooring. This is how it was for quite some time, broom here, vacuum there, duster thingy somewhere else. That all got old fast and I started researching something I could use from room to room seamlessly leaving no dust behind. At first it seemed there weren’t very many options, and then I found the Oreck Platinum Pilot with 360° glide.

What I love about this vacuum:

• The height, this vacuum is taller than the average bear, er, vacuum. I’m not incredibly tall myself at 5′6″, just average I suppose. Even at an average height though I hadn’t realized until my review of the Oreck that I was slouching with my previous vacuum.
• The weight. Again, I didn’t know what a difference the lack of a couple pounds could make. This vacuum is incredibly easy to maneuver and carry around because of it’s low weight of 10 lbs.
  
• The anti-microbial agent built right into the vacuum leaves your house smelling fresher and the air feeling easier to breathe in.
• The fact that when you are vacuuming underneath a piece of furniture, the vacuum will lay flat so it can slide under effortlessly.
• Hands down, the fact that I can go from room to room with only having to switch outlets a couple times makes this vacuum worth every cent.
• The 5 lb hand held vacuum that came along with the Pilot.
• I love that my husband loves this vacuum. I kid you not, when he uses this vacuum he actually enjoys it and I have found him vacuuming a lot more often these days.

The one and only thing that I don’t love about the Oreck is that you have to purchase replacement bags. I’m left feeling torn about this, because I realize that when it comes to actually keeping that dust trapped that the bag is more powerful than a unit that you have to dump from. I’m that person though, the one who calls to get her hair cut 2 weeks too late. You know? In the end it’s not that big of a deal, especially if you order from the Oreck website. They are affordable and you can order package deals including several bags.

Oreck offers a variety of products to keep your home in tip top shape. Remember, you can try any product risk-free in your home for up to 30 days. “If you don’t love it, you don’t keep it.” So take a look around!

The Giveaway:

Oreck is offering one lucky Through Hazel Eyes reader the chance to win their very own Oreck Platinum Pilot with 360° Glide. To enter leave a comment here after browsing Oreck.com and tell me of another product that intrigues you.

Additional Entries:

1 Entry each:

• Subscribe to Through Hazel Eyes
• Follow via Google friends connect
• Follow me on twitter @tarank and tweet about this giveaway-once per day

Giveaway ends on June 15th when I will draw a winner using random.org and announce here after.

Some or all of the material used in this post have been provided to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions stated are my own and are not influenced by monetary compensation.

To avoid split ends and keep your hair at it’s silkiest, finest condition there are very important steps you must follow from the very beginning to the very end of your hairstyle. It starts with the Shampoo and/or Conditioner:

Samy Fat Hair, 0 Calorie Amplifying Shampoo and Conditioner-I’ve been using the Shampoo from this line for several weeks now and have noticed a remarkable difference. My hair is naturally pretty thick already, as in dense, but each strand is on the finer side. Since using this shampoo I’ve noticed I have fewer split ends and stronger hair. I especially like this during the colder months as it seems to help with the dryness I’ve been experiencing. The thickening shampoo is sulphate free and 100% vegan.

Before the use of a Wet to Dry Flat Iron, or after blow drying:

Paul Mitchell Hot Off the Press, a Thermal Protection Spray-I cannot stress enough the importance of a barrier between your hair and your flat iron or curling iron. This will ensure your hair stays shiny and healthy with regular use of a hot tool. If you’re going to go with something such as a Wet to Dry Iron then apply Hot Off the Press after towel drying your hair. If you’re going to blow dry and use your hot tool when your hair is dry then apply this after your blow dry. When you run the tool over your hair after Hot Off the Press you will notice a steam rise from you hair. DO NOT be alarmed, this is normal and a good sign that it is working.

The reason I would encourage Hot Off the Press over other protection is due to several reasons, other than the main reason of it protecting those precious locks. It offers a flexible hold for your finished product. That means when your all done getting those curls in or straightening it out, it won’t fall out on you and you will still be able to run your fingers through. Additionally, it will style faster. You won’t need to run that flat iron through 16 times before the hair straightens, it should work right away.

The Style:

Remington Wet 2 Straight Straightener- Who doesn’t want to speed up their “getting ready” routine every day? The Remington Wet 2 Straight Straightener offers that convenience. You can use this on dry or wet hair. It omits a nice steam when using on wet hair while running it through, and then voila,  you have dry hair. I want to highly recommend turning the temperature down when using on dry hair though. This is something that is stated in the directions, so make sure you read through them. There are very thorough directions included stating what temperatures you should have it at. I liked this because it did cut off about 10-15 minutes of my routine and didn’t pull or snag at all while running it through my hair.

The Finished Product:

Samy Fat Hair, 0 Calories Amplifying Hairspray-I always have a hard time finding the perfect hairspray. I have a couple favorites that I don’t vary away from much. This is one of them. I hate when you can tell I have hairspray in my hair, and I hate the crunchy feel of certain sprays. I look for something flexible, that still maintains style and hold. I also want it to smell good, being that this is the last product I will apply to my hair for the day.

Samy Fat Hair Amplifying Hairspray contains all of my required qualities. An added bonus is that it’s aerosol, aerosol just seems to coat my hair a little more evenly. It lasts the entire day, has a fresh smell and my hair stays in the desired style until I wash it out. I can run my fingers through it, brush it if I need and it keeps static at bay.

There you have it, everything you need for a morning (or evening) hairstyle routine. To make it even more exciting I have a prize package including everything mentioned to offer one Through Hazel Eyes reader.

To Enter:

Please tell me in the comments what it is about your hair that you would like to see change. Is it too thick? Thin? Too long, or split ends? I want to know!

Additional Entries:

-visit each website provided-Samy, Paul Mitchell, Remington-and tell me what else of theirs you have tried or would like to try. (one entry for each site)

-follow via google friends connect

-subscribe via email or reader

-follow on twitter and tweet about this giveaway

Some or all of the material used in this post have been provided to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions stated are my own and are not influenced by monetary compensation.