Posts Tagged ‘Messy Bessy’

We clean, we green, we educate

In Living a Life Off-Center on October 28, 2010 at 9:03 am

Check out the new online video of Messy Bessy Cleaners.

I would highly encourage everyone who is concerned about the planet to use their household cleaners and other products. My personal favorite is their Little Warrior hand sanitizer. Their products are refillable so you do not have to throw the containers away. The company also is a true model of social enterprise as it employs disadvantaged young adults, training them how to work and also giving them a chance to complete an elementary, secondary or tertiary education.

Every product you buy goes to support School H.O.U.S.E which enables these young adults to go to school, and then giving them work experience so they may get a proper job when they graduate.

Here’s the vid, spread the word!


Hands-on Everything

In Philippine Star Column on September 10, 2010 at 5:01 am

Face it, we like to touch, especially our faces and everything (and sometimes everyone) around us. Office computer keyboards are not properly dusted (unless you are fortunate enough to have a janitor with the same paranoia as Ethan Hawke’s character in Gattaca); you pay with money that has passed through all sorts of hands; you sometimes shake hands with people who may not have the decency or the presence of mind to wash theirs regularly and well; you carry a legion of germs to further spread around. It’s a vicious, rather disgusting cycle, really. Hand sanitizers have become a purse must-have, especially in a country that is infamous for not having properly working public toilets.

There are a whole range of hand sanitizers out there that have their fair share of gimmicks to get you to buy them. Most of them are just prettified spritzers of alcohol, which may not be the safest option. Others promise that they will moisturize your hands at the same time, I really don’t know, just based on common sense, how that is at all possible, but hey, as long as it gets you to clean your hands, then go grab yourself a bottle or two. I’m turned off by those that are either heavily fragranced or just flat-out smell like rubbing alcohol. I’ve found a nice compromise with Messy Bessy’s The Little Warrior which uses sugarcane alcohol, aloe vera extract and green tea essential oil. Sugarcane alcohol is not as drying to the skin as commercially produced alcohol; the aloe vera extract may have some moisturizing benefits and the tea oil has antiseptic qualities. The scent is light and it fades away quickly. I also like the brightly colored refillable bottle since I can find it in the black hole that I call my bag! It also has a three-fold use: it cleans your hand, can be used as a disinfectant so you can spay it in the air around you and lastly it’s a surface cleaner — just spritz it on a cotton ball or tissue and wipe away.

Look ma! Clean hands!

In terms of choosing products that are better for your health in the long run, with the rule of thumb being “if a fifth grader can’t pronounce the ingredients it probably isn’t good for you,” it should also be environmentally friendly (refillable bottles, locally sourced materials) and belong to a company with a sincere social conscience. There has been a rise in social enterprises, from first-time entrepreneurs to bigger corporations creating a spin-off unit as part of their CSR. Messy Bessy engages the disadvantaged youth through their H.O.U.S.E project by providing them both with employment and education. I have been fortunate enough to go to their warehouse and plant and I’ve witnessed the great care the proprietors take to ensure a safe and hygienic working environment. H.O.U.S.E stands for Helping Ourselves Through Sustainable Enterprises and the project recently received a one-year grant to put up its in-house alternative school. The employees get an education worth either an elementary or high school diploma and body and soul are also nurtured with workshops in art therapy, creative writing and yoga

As a consumer, being allowed to witness how the products are assembled and created gives me a lot more confidence when I patronize a certain brand. Messy Bessy has expanded from its line of household cleaners to a more economical line called Misis Linis to Baby-friendly products called Messy Baby and is in the process of creating food items that are a healthier alternative to well-loved Pinoy snacks such as instant noodles which normally have a very high monosodium glutamate content.

If you are trying to make a change in your lifestyle, dramatic steps are not always necessary; you can start with tiny, almost taken for granted ones. Something as simple as switching to a better brand of handwash in your bathroom or a product in your purse is a really good first step.

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For more on Messy Bessy and The H.O.U.S.E Project, go to

Bug Begone!

In Living a Life Off-Center on September 2, 2010 at 1:57 pm

To be scared is normal, to be fearful, is a little more serious but relatively normal, to have a phobia-which evokes an emotion that goes beyond words but the closest would probably be terror is God-awful. There have been accounts of people who go into hysteria, some as extreme as dropping dead, right on the spot when faced with that one thing or situation that throws them right off the sanity meter. Yes, I know, this all sounds overly dramatic, but that’s what a phobia can do, bring out the telenovela in you, all at once you have no concept of vanity or poise, so even if you’re in the most anticipated, glamorous event of the year in your fight worthy ensemble you will be reduced to a big old mess, worthy of a straitjacket.

So what freaks you out the most? You’ve heard of agoraphobia-fear of open and or crowded spaces. There’s zoophobia-fear of animals and the rather amusing cacophobia-fear of ugly things (beauty is really in the eye of the beholder). Fear is not alien to me but I have found that there is nothing else that makes me turn around screaming and running awat like a complete and utter lunatic than a cockroach.  It sounds silly right? I disagree, a cockroach, roach, ipis, cuca, whatever you want to call it is akin to the spawn of Satan. Seriously, that’s how I view them, practically indestructible sneaky little things that can creep through any hole, probably go through walls, and have the balls to go straight at you, even if you’re 200 times its size.  I’m not going to even get started on the flying ones which can send even the bravest, macho man screaming for his life (trust me, I’ve witnessed this) as this hideous winged menace makes an aggressive beeline for his head.

Roach no more!

As there are many ways to skin a cat, there are of course many ways to kill a cockroach, but more of them involve sprays with toxic fumes. Grab your supermarket brand of bug or roach spray, and spritz away, the smell alone is enough to kill you. This is especially detrimental in times of panic when you are trapped, alone in your bathroom and a roach decides to launch a surprise attack, if you are like me, you aim and fire that spray in all directions (because you’ve closed your eyes in fear) and what’s left is a fog that cloaks you and besides killing that six legged little beast you’ve probably also poisoned your lungs and goodness knows what else. Worst of all, if you’ve gone and emptied out half a can in one area of your abode, the smell stays for hours, even the whole day, and probably, so does all the toxins.

Thankfully, there have been less dangerous (to humans but not to roaches) alternatives in the market. One of which is the Anti-Roach Spray of Messy Bessy. Messy Bessy is well-known for its environmentally and people friendly line of house cleaning products and has expanded into handwashes, and repellants. Their roach spray uses a patchouli oil blend that seems to freeze a roach on the spot with one go and its smell will not cause you to gag or your eyes to tear. Again, you have to exert a little self control here, a spritz or two is enough if you empty the bottle out the patchouli’s scent will be overwhelming, but not toxic at least.  Herbal pest controllers have been recommending essential oils or certain herbs to get insects or other unwanted critters to bug off.  Citronella oil for example when mixed with a little water can be used to fight off mosquitoes and you can even spray it on your furniture as it gives off a pleasant smell and will not stain if diluted properly.

I have to admit that my newfound weapon of roach destruction has been effective. Even with a regularly cleaned house or office, the rains and overall crappy sewerage keep bringing my fears to the surface (literally) so I make sure I always have a bottle within arm’s reach. The cockroaches may never go away completely but at least I’ve found another way to fight them off. Ironically, when I did an online search for “phobia of cockroaches” the term used for this was Katsaridaphobia. Ah, the irony.

For more information on Messy Bessy products and where to get them visit: