I am a firm believer in word of mouth advertising. If someone I know actually uses a product and likes it enough to tell me about it, that means more to me than any multi-million dollar extravaganza Madison Avenue can dream up. So in the interest of promoting good ole’ American capitalism, today I thought I would share the names of a few products that I use and that I truly believe do make family life easier or more enjoyable:
Kitchen Garbage Bags: I love the Gripper Garbage Bags from Hefty. The only question is: Why on earth did it take so many sloppy years for someone to realize that a kitchen garbage bag that sags down into the can is a major pain in the neck that leads to the still-messier work of scrubbing out the can?
Laundry Detergent: Here the Danielle’s Choice award goes to Tide Cold Water. Take it from a mom with loads of experience (heh, heh- I could not resist!) this stuff actually works. Even a woman who refuses to pre-scrub can wash in cold and still get clean clothes with this detergent.
Summer Treats for Mom: Wanna satisfy a summertime craving for something sweet and refreshing in just 90 calories? Hood Java Smoothies fit the bill. Save the ice cream for the kids and have one of these instead. You won’t miss the calories or the fat!
Boys’Socks: I recently switched from buying Billy the Kid socks to buying Hanes Boys’ Socks for one reason alone. In the Hanes socks, I get the same all-cotton, comfortable, durable socks with one difference–the stitching color varies according to size. Now sock-sorting detail is much simpler. Instead of holding up various individual socks one by one and trying to determine their sizes in order to match them properly, I look at the seams and find a mate right away. Blue for Eamon. Red for Ambrose. Green for Stephen. Phew!
Breakfast Cereal: Calling all moms who want to eat a sensible breakfast, increase their fiber intake, and make it until lunch without feeling starved out of their minds Kashi Golean Crunch is for you! My sister recommended this one to me a few months a go, and I have been hooked ever since. It’s high in protein, low in fat, high in fiber, and a bowl with skim milk and a cup of coffee is just plain yummy. Enjoy!
Toothpaste: My kids used to complain that grown up toothpaste was so minty it “hurt” their mouths. I didn’t want to bother with separate grown up and kiddie tubes of toothpaste so Crest Whitening Expressions Citrus Breeze became a reasonable compromise. Fluoride, whitening, yummy not-too-strong flavor what else could you want?
What products do you think are “family-friendly”? Let me know and maybe I can do a follow-up post on this topic. Oh and by the way, I am not a paid spokesperson for any of these products. If any of the above-mentioned companies wants to send me a check, however, I would be glad to cash it. Happy shopping!