What to Expect When You’re Expecting. I remember reading the book when I was pregnant with BigBrother. I kind of laugh at the thought now. Why? You have no clue what to expect when you’re still expecting. Soon, that little baby is born and your world is thrown upside down. In good ways, in different ways and sometimes in bad ways. While they can’t cover every aspect of everything you will experience, books and parenting guides can be a great resource to help you get on the right track, get back on the right track or stay on that track. I learned so much in reading such books while waiting for BigBrother to arrive.

That’s why Clorox and the What to Expect Foundation have paired together to create a guide for parents. When Mom Central asked if I would review the guide, I said sure, feeling that I knew everything I could need to know about healthy homes, babyproofing and the like. (I was wrong.) Entitled the What To Expect: Guide to a Healthy Home, the 11 page guide gives parents tips for babyproofing, cleaning, food preparation, germ safety and other necessary and healthy tips. Even things you didn’t know to consider, think of or… expect!

When it comes to a clean house, there were things I simply didn’t consider before there were children running through our house. One thing that totally caught me off guard was the general ick of playgrounds and other community play spaces. The What to Expect guide says it best so let me quote.

Would you believe that there are more germs on outdoor playground equipment than on a toilet? It’s true. Tests show that more bodily fluids, such as saliva and other things you don’t want to know about, hang out on monkey bars, swings, and slides than in public bathrooms — giving you yet another reason to insist your little ones wash their hands after they come in from romping on playground equipment (or better yet, use a hand sanitizer — supervised, of course — before they even get home or in the car).

Yuck. We carry hand sanitizer. And, after a walk or a romp at the park, we take our shoes off before romping around our carpeted home. (Which, by the way, should be vacuumed once a week according to the guide. That made me feel awesome because FireDad does that… or more. Yes. He vacuums. He loves the vacuum. No, you can’t have him. He’s mine.)

There are tons of other important tips in What to Expect: Guide to a Healthy Home. I learned some things and I’ve been actively parenting for nearly four years. I’ve at least been reading about safety, health and other such topics for a full four years as I tried to learn things before BigBrother arrived… and threw everything I learned out the window (as kids do!).

You can download the guide for… free! Just head on over and download What to Expect: Guide to a Healthy Home. You can thank me, Clorox and Mom Central later when your home is safe and clean. (And then you can come clean my house, okay?)

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[I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Clorox and the What to Expect Guide and received a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.]

I’m kind of messy. Even with cleaning products. And every time I’m using bleach, I end up with a bleach stain on the shirt I’m wearing instead of on the one I’m cleaning. But not with Clorox 2!It’s color safe! So when I open it and spill it on my shirt, I don’t have to cry and try to figure out how to replace the shirt.

The new advanced formula is great. Not only is it a stain fighter but it’s also a color booster. I know, I know. I’m the Queen of the Skeptics as well. But we have a lot of colorful clothes here in the Fire House and would you believe that a red shirt with a chocolate pudding stain (BigBrother… or… maybe… me…) came out of the wash not only negative one chocolate pudding stain but actually looking brighter than when I put it in the washer. I promise you I’m not lying. I mean, it didn’t make it look brand new but it definitely looked, well, cleaner! And brighter! And I can get behind a product like that!

We’ve been fans of lots of Clorox products over the past few years and this is just another one we’ve added to our list of must-purchase-items.

And now you can score a bottle for free! I have two coupons for a free bottle to mail out to two very lucky readers. Simply leave a comment as to how Clorox 2 would help you with your laundering needs! The comments will be open through December 10th at 12:00pm. I’ll announce the winners on the 11th!