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Ever walked into Target looking to get one essential thing, say, some soap, some toothpaste you’ve run out of, or some snacks, only to get to the register with a cart full of Christmas presents? For yourself? Yeah, Target has everything you need, and that might not be a good thing for a sista’s wallet. But if you do find yourself wandering through the store dropping a bit of everything in your cart, you HAVE to try out these nine products we’re going crazy over ’round these parts.

Just because you work in an office, that doesn’t mean you can’t look cute. In fact, dressing up to go to work can be a wonderful time to display all your finery. Your favorite crisp white shirts, and loveliest khakis are great to pair with flouncing scarves. You can dress up hot cropped jackets with pocket squares for a professionally pretty flair. But wearing your best to work exposes your clothing to common risks inherent with mingling with co-workers –not to mention the commute to and from your place of business. Yet, there is no reason to fear. Tide is here to help you parade in your smartest ensembles with complete confidence that you can overcome every stain the office environment may launch your way. Here are the most common office stains, and the best approach to removing them from the minds at Tide. You might be surprised at how easy staying fresh to death can be.

Ink: Don’t Even Think About It

Thoughts of ink stains irk most people, especially if a light item of clothing seems indelibly soiled. Tide has a quick and easy solution that can restore your marred garment to its original perfection. Simply scrub the stain with alcohol before pre-treating it with Tide, and let the detergent sit a bit — for about 20 minutes — before laundering. You can even use this method with silk and wool, as long as you hand wash your piece. With a little TLC, your clothing item will be back up to snuff in no time — and ready to return to your work clothing circulation.

The Grape Juice Spill: Keep Your Cool

Did your clumsy cubicle neighbor bump into you and pour his or her grape juice onto your shirt? This is a common mishap and easy to make. Don’t fork over your dry cleaning bill and create bad blood for such a simple error. Tide can tackle this type of stain with ease – especially if you keep Tide to Go instant stain remover handy in your purse or office drawer. Tide to Go can help you remove the stain right away even before laundering. To make sure you are good to go, simply launder your threads when you get home after pre-treating the area with regular Tide before adding it to your normal laundry. No need to remain mad at your office mate. Tide will make things all good.

Coffee or Tea: Removal is a Breeze

Spilling a little coffee through an over-eager slurp is something even the most conscientious desk eater is prone to do. Forgive yourself and move on. That stain won’t live another day when Tide is through with it. Use Tide to Go to get to the root of a coffee or tea splash, and then do a little extra soaking at home to further ensure that the blotch is completely history. You won’t remember it even happened, because there won’t be any evidence.

Perspiration: Never Let Them See You Sweat

Working in a high-pressure environment can make us all a little wet in sticky places. Don’t let the stress of the job make shadowy marks on your best regalia. If perspiration stains develop on your best clothing items, Tide can help you remove any sign that you have suffered under duress. Tide with Febreeze Freshness is great for helping to remove the stains and the odors that might go along with worrying about works’ little details. To get the best effect, dilute the stain in cold water before pretreating with regular Tide for 20 minutes. Then wash your item with Tide with Febreeze Freshness with your regular wash for that extra touch of clean.

Tide has many more tips and tricks that can help you work your way out of any stain conundrum. So wear your very best to the office daily, knowing that preserving the beauty and glamour of your favorite frocks will be easy. We spend most of every day at work. You might as well make it your own personal fashion parade. Tide gives you the confidence to flaunt your favorite gear with no fear of the repercussions. Here’s to looking your very best every day!

There is nothing like laundry day. Some people like the ritual of schelping, washing and folding. These folks absolutely relish the sense of accomplishment that comes from transforming a pile of soiled garments into a renewed set of duds. Others dread the same activities as the most tedious form of torture. While these personality types seem to be opposites, the one thing both have in common is the desire to maximize their time. Both the happy folder and the woman who throws her freshly dried laundry in a corner until needed want to make sure that their laundry is totally refreshed in ONE load. ONE. Not two or three depending on what kind of stains are involved. Part of that success involves knowing how to treat your stains, but another part has to do with knowing more about you. The phrase “know thyself” was probably never meant to be applied to laundry, but it just happens to be one of those areas in which sufficient self-knowledge can save you an ample amount of energy.

How well do you know yourself when it comes to laundry time? Depending on who you are, one of these would be the best way to tackle your typical messes:

The Sports Diva

Can you throw like your brother, and fill out the curves of a dress like Serena Williams? If you love expressing yourself athletically, you know what its like to do a load of laundry and have it come out smelling not-so-fresh. Tide plus Febreze Freshness Sport is the perfect companion for your trip to the laundry room by helping to eliminate tough stains and odors from your clothes. Then you can spend less time in that dark basement and more time pumping iron at the gym.

The Natural Woman

If only 100% natural fabrics like wool, cotton or silk are fit to caress your supple skin, you will want to focus on the cold water wash and don’t forget to check your clothing for care instructions. To maximize the effectiveness of this temperature — which also happens to be great for the environment as this cycle uses less energy than warm or hot — you will want to pick a laundry detergent that cleanses thoroughly even in the cold. Tide Coldwater can help you save up to 50% of energy when switching to a cold water wash. No more getting angry over cold water washes not getting your beloved threads quite clean enough. More time for you.

The Pet Lover

Some of us women love our dogs. And our cats. And our hamsters. More power to you. But when it’s time to wash and dry the sheets, towels and slip covers that have played nest to your little brood, you are going to need something a little more powerful than pure love to help make those washables usable again. Tide plus Febreze Freshness delivers an outstanding clean with lasting freshness on all your clothes.

The Pefectionist

If you are the type of woman who throws a sweater away when it develops just a little pilling, you will need to do your laundry carefully to ensure that every item passes your continual scrutiny. It will be important to follow the care instructions to the letter every time you wash, and choose a detergent like Tide TOTALCARE, which is engineered to help keep your clothes looking like new. Nobody but us has to know that that shirt is several years old… With Tide TOTALCARE a side benefit is helping to keep your clothes looking like you just popped the tags off for much, much longer.

The Sensitive Artist

If you are so touchy that you’ll toss and turn all night if your sheets are too rough. Tide plus a Touch of Downy will ensure that anything you wash is just a touch softer, so you can maintain your spirit. Being comfortable in your own skin is a must. That feeling can start by properly laundering what goes on it.

The Bold & The Bright

If you love your whites and colors, you know that just one load of laundry done incorrectly can change fab to drab. It can be an intense challenge keeping whites and white and multi-hued shades popping — so much so that you might just want to give up. But you can easily win this fight by opting for Tide plus Bleach Alternative. Maintain the vividness of your jewel-toned favorites and the brilliance of your pure white gems in one easy step.

For your ever day needs, you can trust Tide with Acti-Lift to achieve that Tide clean that you have come to trust. Whatever product you choose, refine your washing machine into a finely-honed tool that exactly meets your needs by reflecting on who you really are. And then choose your Tide accordingly. Not everything in life can be so simple, but it’s nice to know that with just a tad of forethought, and the right Tide for you, laundry day can help you maintain your best looks with ease — no more eating away at your precious time.

What Tide type are you? Leave your comments below!

Summer’s over, but white is still in season, sugar plum.  Real fashionistas are not boxed in by silly old clothing mandates that revolve around holidays. Plus, winter white is still….well, white. We want your whites to stay as pristine as you are, so we have a few tips for you in conjunction with our uber fabulous partner, Tide.

Check it out!

Throw out the plastic from the dry cleaners.
Your dry cleaner places all of your carefully pressed clothing on to hangers and dutifully protects your fresh clothes with a layer of plastic. How sweet. The problem is that those plastic coverings will eventually yellow your fav white button downs. Prevent that travesty by throwing out (or better yet re-purposing) that plastic as soon as you get your clothes back from the dry cleaners. What’s the use in having freshly pressed and yellowed clothes?

Use deodorant instead of antiperspirant.
This is when that periodic table you memorized in high school comes in handy. Antiperspirants typically contain aluminum based ingredients like aluminum chloride or clorohydrate and once that aluminum mixes with your body oils and sweat, it creates a yellow stain on your clothes that is tough to get out. How do you know if you’re buying antiperspirant or deodorant? It’ll say right there on the package, luv.

Say buh-bye to coffee and tea stains.
You’re wearing the most stylish, figure-hugging dress for brunch and of course the coffee in your cup somehow misses your mouth and lands right on your otherwise perfect outfit. Have no fear Tide to Go is here! It’s an awesome (and adorable) little thing that you can toss in your purse. Excuse yourself to the ladies room and give that big bad stain a once-over with the Tide to Go pen. Watch as that stain shrinks away to nothing! It also works on wine and food stains.

Like mom said, keep those whites separate.
Your mama was telling the truth when she said to keep your whites separate. When you’re at the laundry mat, it’s so tempting to just plop everything into one machine and be done with it, but unless you like having light pink or light blue “whites,” you’d be wise to take out your whites and wash them separately. Much better to spend those few extra dollars on another cycle of the washer and dryer than to spend a whole lot more money replacing those whites you ruined.

Use the right detergent.
This sounds like a no-brainer, but in these tough economic times you might think to just grab whatever is on sale. All detergent is the same, right? Wrong. Using a value detergent may not get the job done and could cost you money in the long run. Using a high quality detergent like Tide could help keep your clothes looking newer longer by fighting stains, fading, and dinginess.

What tricks do you have for keeping your whites nice and bright?

About “Happy Halloween”

Halloween is mostly likely one of your child’s favorite holidays. Between the candy sugar rush and dressing up in a fun costume–who can blame them? In this episode, Mommy In Chief will give you some tips on how to make your Halloween safe and easy. Plus, she’ll teach you how to make a cute last-minute Halloween costume, and how to best treat those Halloween-related clothing stains.

Resources, Links & Downloads

• Download: DIY Washing Machine Halloween Costume
• Download: DIY Super Simple Robot Halloween Costume
• Download: DIY Spa Princess Halloween Costume
• Link: Easy Costumes Kids Can Make Themselves
• Link: DIY Halloween Costumes
• Link: “32 Creative Ways To Decorate A Pumpkin“
• Link: Crafty Painted Pumpkins
• Link: Halloween Costume Safety
• Link: “Halloween Safety: Glowing in the Dark”
• Link: Tide Liquid
• Link: Tide 2 Go

Want More Mommy In Chief? Watch these episodes:

Season 2

• Episode 1: Are You A Good Enough Mother?
• Episode 2: New Motherhood and Balancing A Bust Work Life
• Episode 3: How to Decorate an Eco-Friendly Baby Nursery
• Episode 4: Foodie, Nicole Friday on Kids and Career
• Episode 5: Melissa Beck, From Hollywood to Stay At Home Mom
• Episode 6: Single Mom in The City
• Episode 7: Mommy Mogul and Marketing Wiz Monique Jackson at Home With Her Boys 
• Episode 8: Beauty Maven Jodie Patterson Talks Four-Day Work Week for Moms 
• Episode 9: Tonya Lewis Lee on Motherhood and the Importance of Women’s Health

Season 1

• Episode 1: Back 2 School
• Episode 2: Happy Halloween
• Episode 3: Socially Responsible Kids
• Episode 4: Money Talks
• Episode 5: Keeping Families Healthy
• Episode 6: Thanksgiving Madness
• Episode 7: Highlights and Best Moments
• Episode 8: Stylish Moms
• Episode 9: Best Apps for Moms
• Episode 10: Socialite Kids
• Episode 11: Hair Talk with AfroBella
• Episode 12: Happy New Year!

Wearing white in the fall and winter is the hottest fashion trend. Initiated by stars like LisaRaye, the simple, refreshing look of rocking pure white clothing is a style statement that can make any woman feel precious. But unlike big stars who have the money to replace a white garment when it starts to look a little dingy, we regular women need practical solutions that keep our whites super white while keeping money in our pockets. Here are some top tips for staying so fresh and so clean. Shine brightly in your whites with these easy steps.

Keep Your Washing Machine Clean

If your washer is not pristine, it will deposit grime onto your white clothing no matter how often you wash them. Tide has a great solution for this common problem: Tide Washing Machine Cleaner. This versatile product also removes odors and other deposits, ensuring that when you wash your whites nothing will stand in the way of their blinding brightness.

Always Wash Whites Separately

This might be a no-brainer, but we all have times when time constraints force us to throw all our laundry items together. Resist this temptation altogether. Even one mixed load can result in the unwanted tinting of your bright white clothes. You worked hard for the money to buy those whites! Do what it takes to keep them that way.

Treat Any Stains Immediately

Tide to Go is a great product to keep handy to treat a white garment as soon as possible, to prevent the stain from setting. This handy little pen stows easily into your purse or glove compartment. If you want to wear white this fall and winter, it might be wise to make Tide to Go a constant companion. You should also never dry a garment that is freshly stained, so get that item soaking as soon as it is treated.

Wash White Clothing After Each Wearing

You might think you made it through the day without a spec of dirt hitting you, but debris from the air and the natural oils of your body can still collect on your whites taking them down a shade. Ultra Tide with Bleach is perfect for every white wash you do, making sure you remove subtle stains that can build up over time before they settle into drabness.

Don’t Overload Your Washer

We usually want laundry day to be over as soon as possible — thus the temptation to stuff the machine and get the chore done. But you have to take special care with whites. Washing machines work with a friction action that requires room in the drum for clothes to agitate freely. This is extra true for white clothing, which will show the residue of water that does not have the room to fluidly move between garments. Keep your white loads a little smaller, and you will keep them brighter in a much bigger way.

Wearing white is a delightful way to express your femininity — that purity and lightness reflects your womanly beauty. Be sure that your white dresses, shirts and even sports clothes maintain that image of loveliness with these simple tips. If you have more in depth stain challenges with your whites, check out Tide’s stain assistance directory. With the right advice and the perfect products, you can sashay in the brightest whites all winter long — and knock ‘em dead! The ethereal elegance of super white garments is not just for celebrities any more. Will you keep your whites super white, and make it your own signature style?