simple.green.organic.happy.

Tag: waterpik

  • Oral-Health-Inspired Fitness Bucket List

    Oral-Health-Inspired Fitness Bucket List

     

    I don’t want to get to the end of my life
    and find that I lived just the length of it.

    I want to have lived the width of it as well.

    –Diane Ackerman

     

    This came in the mail yesterday.

     

    Dr Honig Orthodonist DE

     

    Again, it may be something every orthodontist does (and I was secretly hoping it was going to be before & after closeups, or even better x-rays) but now that the honeymoon period has worn off, it was a nice reminder of how grateful I am to be able to learn to smile.

    The best thing, after the whole straight teeth/nice smile business, about getting the braces off is being able to really brush and floss my teeth. I hated how hard it was to effectively brush and floss with a mouth full of metal. It was hard enough before, when my teeth were all crammed together and standing at odd angles; I was inevitably tearing up my gums and worrying about gum disease. (Because as carefully as I brushed, I was all too aware that it wasn’t enough: flossing is the #1 most important thing for dental health.)  It was just another thing to add to my long list of things to be super self-conscious about.

    So now, I revel in the oral hygiene. I really do. Don’t make fun.

    My latest ally in the war on mouth bacteria? The Complete Care Water Flosser system from WaterPik.

     

     

    HOW I WISH I HAD THIS WHEN I HAD THE BRACES ON. The water flosser would have been so much more better (in probably 1/5 the time) at getting between my teeth and around the brace boxes. And the Sonic Toothbrush— 159% more effective than manual brushing— gives my teeth that “just stepped out of a dentist cleaning” feel. Combine the two and it’s like the best way to start and end my day. A simple, everyday luxury and victory.

    It’s such an easy way to be better— a well-maintained mouth has benefits for the rest of your body. By keeping up with good oral hygiene, you stand to live a longer and healthier life, reducing your chances or severity of:

    • Osteoporosis
    • Cardiovascular disease
    • Premature birth
    • Diabetes
    • Dementia

    Cass has been using the Water Flosser for Kids (up to 3x as effective as flossing and 1000x more fun!) and she asks if it’s time to go brush and floss now. This is a kid that normally has to be dragged to the bathroom and supervised to make sure she isn’t just in there reading when she’s supposed to brush. I am not exaggerating when I say this thing has made the back-to-school bedtime routine about 30 gazillion times easier; my setting an example and the memory of the cavities she recently had filled (she has very tight back teeth) probably doesn’t hurt either.

    (She and her father may or may not have water flosser duels while flossing. I may or may not have issues with this, but hey, it’s only water and at least they’re flossing!)

    Double prizes

    Coupons are available for both Flosser systems!

    Click here for a printable $10 off coupon for the Water Flosser for Kids.

    $10 off coupon for the Complete Care system available here.

     

    SO. I know you’re wondering:

    What am I gonna do with the extra years I get from my new & improved healthy mouth?

    I’ve been thinking about that after running a Twitter chat about goal-setting this week (for FitFluential). What do I want to make sure I’ve done to live the width of my life? The things I know I’m capable of doing if pushed, even if the person doing the pushing winds up being me?

    What am I working towards? How will I convince myself to keep soldiering on with running, strength training? To buy that bike, sign up for swimming lessons? (I actually looked up times & costs for swim lessons this session at the Y— there was nothing available that fit my schedule, but this is the first time I’ve ever gotten as far as checking. That’s progress.)

    There are personal and writing goals too, of course. But this is…

    My oral-health-inspired fitness bucket list

    With my added, healthy time I want to:

    • take aerial classes at circus school (we have one in Philly)
    • go rock climbing in Colorado (we have a rock-climbing gym nearby, and I really want to return to Colorado)
    • swim with sharks (I’ve always wanted to do this)
    • paddleboard
    • run the Disney Princess half-marathon
    • relearn some ice skating moves
    • bike the coast of California (like the Wakefield twins did in one of their Sweet Valley High Special Editions, only without all the drama of Todd and Courtney).

    Basically, I want to go out and do all those things I’ve always said I’d do someday… like getting braces.

     

    What’s on your fitness bucket list?

    How fastidious are you about brushing and flossing?

    What are your simplest pleasures?

     

     

    Disclosure: I received Waterpik flossers in exchange for this post. All opinions are entirely my own.

     

  • Conservation without Compromise: Waterpik EcoFlow Review & Giveaway

    Conservation without Compromise: Waterpik EcoFlow Review & Giveaway

    water droplet

     

    We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.

    -Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia

    I have another confession to make.

    I used to boast about my Army showers. I’m in, I’m out, no nonsense, no water waste. Cool water to preserve my hair color because I’m just too lazy to keep applying dye (it’s vegetable based, which is gentle and earth-friendly but not known for longevity).

    Since I’ve started running? Oh, how I love a long hot shower. It’s my reward for slogging it out on the track or the treadmill, washing away the sweat, unknotting my bones and muscles. Quite honestly, the one thing I most luxuriate in, especially now that the kids are old enough to not remember a hundred pressing needs once the water is running (although I’d say I do have to deal with someone maybe one out of every three showers. Still, a vast improvement).

    I don’t shower every day, but a long shower can still waste a lot of water, using up to seven gallons a minute (for a really really vintage model shower head; standard shower heads manufactured after 1992 use 2.5 gallons).

    So it follows that one of the easiest ways we (and you) can conserve water is by replacing your current shower head with a water-saving low-flow one.

    EcoFlow shower heads by Waterpik can reduce your water use up to 1 full gallon of water per minute, depending on the model. That’s slashing your use— and your water bill— by nearly half, meaning this is a purchase that can pay for itself quite quickly.

    We were sent one to try, Jeff had it up and running in minutes. Easy peasy.

     

    waterpik ecoflow

     

    The shower head has several settings (Full Body- Circular Massage- PowerSpray- Circular Massage + Mist- Misting Spray) and a 5-ft hose, which I absolutely require, to make my life easier washing Cassie’s hair and hosing down dogs. But my favorite feature has to be a water-conserving “switch” that lessens the spray for when you’re shaving or lathering up or whatever and don’t need the full blast. Super clever, and better than the usual recommendation of turning the water off during those moments (does anyone actually do that?)

    I’m ohsovery pleased to tell you that my showers are still luxurious. They don’t have that crazy hard water pressure that you get in some hotels, but we’ve never had that anyway (and means hotels are still a super luxury in my eyes). So in this case making the eco-switch was in no way a hardship: I didn’t have to “get used to” anything or give anything up. My showers are still my favorite treat.

    Pledge to conserve water, save energy and reduce pollution

    The National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation is a friendly competition between cities across the nation to see who’s got the eco-warriest of eco-warriors. It’s a great way to round out Earth Month, especially if you have kids: pledge to do those small things that add up to big changes, especially when those pledges add up across cities. Will you use refillable water bottles, plant with climate-appropriate plants, not use the sprinkler in the heat of the day? Take the pledge here and see just how much of an impact these changes can make. Oh, and pledgees will win prizes: sprinkler systems, water-saving toilets, Waterpik Eco-Flow Showerheads, 1000 (!) Lowe’s gift cards, and AHEM a Toyota Prius c Hybrid. Yeah. Go pledge, I’ll wait.

     

    Giveaway

    And, to round out Earth Month here, Waterpik is offering one lucky reader an EcoFlow showerhead of their very own, to have and to hold and take victory showers under. You can enter once or accumulate up to 12 entries, depending on how you roll. Just follow the directions in the Rafflecopter widget.

    Good luck!

     


    a Rafflecopter giveaway

    P.S. Keep up with EcoFlow news, including new pledges and giveaways, by following EcoFlow by Waterpik on Facebook.
     

    Disclosure: I was sent a Waterpik EcoFlow shower head as part of a promotional program with MomSelect. No other compensation was received. All opinions and eco-confessions are my own.