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When it comes to buying everyday household items, we at The Amazing Blog always lean towards those that are ‘green’ and eco-friendly. So when we received several cleaning products from EcoForce, we were really chauffed.

EcoForce is a unique brand that aims to reduce their carbon footprint at every possible level of production. All of their products are made from at least 90% recycled material, which reduces landfill waste, conserves precious fossil fuels and uses 70% less energy than new plastics. And with all their designing and manufacturing taking place here in the UK, EcoForce provides a ‘greener’ and more sustainable alternative to traditional cleaning items. From the wide array of products they offer, we were fortunate enough to receive their Scourers, Sponges, Cloths and Dusters. The scourers and sponges worked great around the sink and kitchen: mopping up messes and cleaning dishes with ease. While the cloths and dusters were useful around the office: cleanin up spilled tea and wipping off dirty fingerprints. Each item was perfect for some light household cleaning.

If the environmental benefits aren’t convincing enough, the price of all these products are extremely affordable. Ranging from £1 to £5, any of these products (and more) can be purchased on their website and in most supermarkets here in the UK – including Whole Foods. EcoForce makes it easy to be green while you clean.

Finding it hard to find the perfect summer gift for a relative or friend? Here at The Amazing Blog we have found the perfect urban“garden lovers” gift. The Indoor Allotment offers a stylish miniature garden that invites people into their homes and makes a big impact on the interior of their flat.

Many of us in London live in built-up flats making it rather hard to enjoy the  outside surroundings in our neighbourhoods.  The Indoor Allotment Windowsill is ideal for anyone who wants to start growing their own herb or flowers in the convenience of their own home.  What I love the most about this stylish small garden container was the whitewash wooden picket fence – it gave me a sense of living in the suburbs with my own garden. Included in this set are three mini pots and a couple of different seeds. It has every day herbs like basil, oregano and coriander. It is also easy to keep all your small tools in the shed that was attached to the container.

This chic and innovative design is perfect for the city apartments around London and serves as a perfect small gift to a friend. With the Indoor Allotment Windowsill priced at only £29.99, it brings the outdoors into your home.

What a wonderful discovery we made at The Amazing Blog with the handmade soap company Black & Taylor. Our dear and recently departed four-legged friend Mojai was just the perfect guinea pig for their Archie Black’s Dog Soap . In fact, you couldn’t ask for a better subject to test out a specific ‘doggy bar’ of handmade soap. Mojai was ‘super’ hairy with a rather unique double-coat, he had the most amazing undercoat which comprised of oodles and oodles of the very softest fluff.  He was also rather partial (thank goodness) to bath-time.  This dog soap contains Sunflower Oil which is rich in vitamins A, D, and E and is easily absorbed by the skin. And is scented with Lavender and Citronella Essential Oils which act as a natural bug repellent. All of which is extremely useful for those of you who have pets – with Summer approaching and with all the nasty beasties that are lurking in the long grass. It is easy to use and lathers up nicely. I was apprehensive as I wondered if it would leave a ‘knotty’ matted coat that I would spend hours combing out. But I’m happy to report that both pet and owner were extremely happy with the result – and with the price at £3.95.

Black & Taylor don’t just produce a Dog Soap they have a wonderful selection of products for humans. We were particularly taken with the Gift Sets like Gardeners and the Patchouli & Rosewood. I also love the idea of  Black & Taylor Wedding Favours.  Where you can choose up to any two soaps from their entire range of special wedding gifts for guests. i.e. Rose Geranium and Sunflower Blush for the ladies and Patchouli & Rosewood for the gents. All of which can be made into heart shapes or blocks and wrapped in a variety of coloured Organza bags to match the wedding day colours. Black & Taylor soaps are vegetable oil based, meaning they do not use animal fats and are scented using high quality essential and fragrance oils. Each of their soaps are genuinely handmade using a centuries old process that ensures each bar is of the highest quality. They will not dry your skin as they have absolutely no detergents or harsh ingredients. We are sold on this great little British soap company and their prices – starting from £3.95 on their website. We particularly love the way that these handmade soap last so much longer than commercial soaps. So throw away that supermarket brand and back British!  

With the sun shining and the cold finally starting to fade we can really begin to enjoy what’s right outside our doorsteps. What better way to enjoy the new weather than by taking a bike ride through your favourite park or just down the street to your favourite pub. But lugging those big huge bikes around just becomes a pain right? Well, we at The Amazing Blog have found something that will make your biking days a lot easier. The Tourer GT 6 Gear Folding Bike from Made is the perfect bike for all your summertime adventures.

Made has designed this bike for the modern and convenient lifestyle. With its super compact folding capabilities, it’s small enough to fit practically anywhere and easy enough to carry around. You no longer need to worry about tripping over your bike in the hallway, just collapse it down and simply stow it away. At first glance it looks a bit small but truly it’s perfect for anyone, tall or short. I am just shy of six feet and found it easy to adjust the seat to my optimal height. The six gears and small wheels really take the hard work out of cycling. This is the ideal bike for anyone who just wants to simply enjoy the summertime sun without the hassle that accompanies traditional bikes.

So, take the streets in style and purchase your own Tourer GT 6 Gear Folding Bike from the Made Website. At £269 it is a tad spendy but I believe you will find the simplicity and convenience to be quite worth the pricetag. Plus, we are lucky to offer you a generous £30 discount exclusively here at The Amazing Blog. Just enter the code MADEAMAZING30 upon check out and recieve one of these bikes for only £239 - quite the deal! With these blue skies no one wants to be trapped inside so get ready to enjoy the sunshine, riding all over town with ease.

Since I absolutely love traveling to new countries and new cities and I recently decided to plan a weekend getaway to Berlin. With the help of Crumpled City Maps it was easy to make my way around the city and go to different museums, galleries, and see the different architecture. At The Amazing Blog we like to test out new products that have an edge to them. Crumpled City Maps truly are the “maps of the future”.

Crumpled City Maps puts a unique twist to the original square paper map. These maps are meant to be crammed into your pockets (or in their little pooch that they come with)  and are 100% waterproof. are printed on lightweight, flexible material – so practical; where as we all know that  ‘folding’ a regular paper maps is a bit of art form!  So when I travelled to Berlin I just casually stuffed the map into my pocket everytime after looking at it. It was raining the entire weekend, and the joy of having a robust map that was completely undamaged – was priceless. These maps also provide 10 “Soul Sights” which are specially chosen places around the city that might be of specific interest. I decided to go to Shadows of Memory, which was the 4D Holocaust Memorial. It was absolutely breathtaking to see how thousands of pillars were evenly spaced around the centre of Berlin. I found the memorial quite emotional, remembering the 6 million victims of the Holocaust. Overall the map was easy, convenient and really helped me get around the city – especially in the rain!

Since they feature over 30 cities worldwide I will definitely be buying another one of  these Crumpled City Map when I next travel.  Not having to deal with the tedious task of folding (and unfolding) the map as well as being able to use it in the rain really helped reduce the stress that comes with travelling in a strange city. For only £10 you can have your very own Crumpled City Map they are available from good map and bookshops like  Stanfords, Foyles or Volte Face

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