Hamilton Beach - Products Built To Last

"We're committed to helping make your day a little easier, more creative and flavorful through Good Thinking® applied to the style and function in all of our small electric appliances." - Hamilton Beach

   In a day where it seems that products aren't built to last, I bring you a story about an appliance that has lasted well past its expiration date. The Wife loved to bake when she was a young teen. Her mother and grandmother taught her the basics and she took each new step on her own. In the middle of that baked goodness was a Hamilton Beach 3 Speed Hand Mixer that helped on her quest for the next best treat. She used it so much, that when she married The Cheeky Daddy, it was handed down a generation so that she might continue to explore new adventures in the kitchen. Before children, she would come home from a long day at work and bake to unwind. Holidays saw no shortage of delicious treats and I was always eager to see what she'd come up with. Just recently, our 'Lil Man brought warm banana bread, fresh from the oven. Mom's trusty hand mixer did it again. 

   With everything in life, age takes its toll. The family mixer is no different. The Wife admits that she can get attached to things, and her relationship with her Hamilton Beach hand mixer has lasted longer than we've known each other. We figure that she's been baking with that mixer for around 17 years or so. The thought of getting a new one seemed wrong on some level. This past weekend, we decided that it was time. I let The Wife grieve appropriately, for the decision was difficult. We headed to the local Bed, Bath, and Beyond to review the choices of today. There was the cheapest model that had an unknown brand name. Then there were the high end hand mixers that could to the job and then your taxes. Mixing bowls are too pricey for our family right now, so they were out. Then right in the middle, was a brand new 6 Speed Hamilton Beach. Feeling a sense of loyalty, that became our new appliance, and we headed home. 

   Since the purchase, we've enjoyed a fresh batch of homemade M&M cookies. With a sense of betrayal, The Wife said, "That new mixer is,....wow,........I mean....WOW." I doubt we'll get rid of our old friend, the original mixer, any time soon. As far as products built to last goes, that Hamilton Beach mixer has my vote. I wish there was a mileage counter on that thing. It'd put those old Chevy trucks to shame. 

J. 

Choosing Green Products

"It's not easy being green." - Kermit the Frog

   I was at a local baby store, when I passed a large kiosk that looked like the picture I took above. It was ALL kinds of green. While the color evokes a feeling of "I could probably eat that natural product!", I realized how far we'd come as a family with our use of "green" products. The Wife is a research junky, so it only makes sense that we've reviewed dozens of products that we use on a regular basis to find the ones that are truly more "green". We do it mainly for our children's sensitive skin, but also to not be breathing toxic fumes through pregnancies or in daily life. 

   Discussing green products as a whole, it's important to remember that we don't live in Utopia. There are those such as ECOS, Method, Clorox Green Works, and SC Johnson's Nature's Source that Stephen Ashkin, executive director of the Green Cleaning Network, says that are trying to put "real muscle" behind their claims. Others use 1 less toxic ingredient and claim their product is "healthier". The article mentions ways to DIY here, to control the ingredients that are in your cleaners. It's also mentions that while shopping, look for these things.

   For our part, we've chosen the following regularly used products for our household:

Seventh Generation Disinfecting Spray Cleaners - By Clean Well, a multi-surface cleaner that's for general purpose in our house.
Green Works Natural Glass Cleaner - By Clorox, this is just one of the their many naturally derived cleaning products to choose from.
Method Multi -Surface - By Method, it's just what it says. We use this for a lot of our surfaces around the house.
Method Antibac Kitchen Cleaner - By Method, we use this around the kitchen, more for the orange scent.

Hope this helps, and happy green cleaning.

J.