review – Page 107 – Luv Saving Money

Purex Baby just in time for me to prepare for my baby: giveaway too

We’re expecting our 4th child April 2. With me it could be sooner. None of my kids have made it to their due date for one reason or another. One of the things I normally do a couple weeks before my due date is to wash the newborn clothes, bedding, etc so that’s one last thing I have to do once baby is here for the first few days or so at least.

I have 3 boys and the ultrasound tech says we’re having a girl this time. I had to buy and still need to buy a bunch of girl clothes. I also need to go through the boys clothes to see if there is anything that will work for our girl like plain tshirts, yellow sleepers, etc.

I love Purex detergent, not just because I’m a Purex Insider but because it cleans clothes well without fading like some bargain brands I’ve used. It’s also more budget friendly than some of the other laundry detergent brands. I was so happy to see that Purex finally put out their own baby detergent right when I was going to need it.

I went on a clearance shopping spree a couple weeks ago and scored all these baby girl clothes. Clearance clothes at JC Penneys and Boscovs. LOVE their clearance sales.

I washed some of the newborn outfits I had. I love how clean and soft they felt after.

Purex Baby has a dermatologist-tested formula that removes stubborn stains without hurting clothes. It works with all washer types including HE.

Borax (partnered with Purex) is having a giveaway right now to win $1500 or 1 of 171 free product coupons. Enter here: http://insiders.purex.com/Borax-fresh-year?id=91

GIVEAWAY

3 Winners will win a coupon for a FREE bottle of Purex Baby

US only

Entry -Form

***I received a free sample of the product mentioned in order to complete a review. I did not receive any other compensation for this post. Any opinions expressed are my own***

Shoplet.com has Purell products to help your home or office with flu season

Shoplet.com offers a huge selection of office supplies for both home and work office. From the basic supplies like paper clips and pencils to break room supplies, desk chairs, and more.

With cold and flu season in full swing I wanted to let you know that Shoplet.com has a variety of Purell products available too. I had the opportunity to review several of them in my home.

One of the products I got to review with the Purell Portable Size Hand Sanitizer Jelly Wrap. The one I received was dark blue. I know several companies that have a similar portable system to take your mini hand sanitizer with you. This is convenient to put on a diaper bag, purse, back pack, or wherever. You can use the mini Purell bottles and refill whenever you run out. I know a lot of people trust Purell as a hand sanitizer so it’s nice to see them keeping up with our busy lives.

The next thing I had the opportunity to review, was actually pretty cute. The kids were drawn to this one. The Purell Pal is a super cute way to set out your Purell hand sanitizer. I thought it also made the dispenser a bit more sturdy when using since my boys tend to get a little over zealous when pumping it. The Purell Pal has a arms and legs and a little cup to set your 8 oz Purell sanitizer pump in. This is a great addition to your desk. I’ve read from several sources that key boards and phones in the office are one of the germiest places, especially if you’re on a shared computer or phone. Yuck. When you buy the Purell Pal from Shoplet.com you get the holder and an 8 oz bottle of Purell for $7.32 (+ shipping).

The last two products I tried out was the Purell ADX-7 Dispenser and the Purell Advanced Non-Aerosol Hand Sanitizer Foam which works in the Purell ADX-& Dispenser. The dispenser itself is made of plastic and is made to be hung on a wall. You can either use the adhesive backing on the product to hang it or there are several hole to hand it with screws or nails. I was trying to decide the best place to put this in my house. I considered putting in by the front door so the kids could use it as soon as they came home from school. I considered putting it in the kitchen but I figured I wash my hands a lot when I cook and stuff anyway. I finally decided on putting it in the bathroom stall in the basement. When we moved in there was a working toilet in the basement but it was open and if anyone came down the basement they’d see you sitting there. My hand father-in-law built a stall around it. There is a sink in the basement but it’s a utility sink on the other side of the basement. So, I have to question how often my kids really wash their hands when they use that toilet. I decided to hang it right inside the stall to encourage hand sanitizing after using the bathroom.

I used the adhesive backing. The walls of the stall are not smooth. They’re made of that rough board, I can’t remember what it’s called, particle board maybe, but it’s been hanging with the adhesive and a full refill in it for about 4 days now. The dispenser itself is only $6.82 on Shoplet.com. The refills is about pricier at $18.32. But you only need 1 pump for you hands. It doesn’t say on the site how many pumps on average you should get out of it.

You can find Shoplet.com on twitter: @shoplet
on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Shoplet
Instagram: http://instagram.com/shoplet/
and Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/shoplet/

***I received the above mentioned products at no cost as part of the Shoplet blogger program. I did not receive any other compensation for this post. Any opinions expressed are my own.***

Geek Squad Service from Best Buy and the LeapPad incident

Just this Christmas I had decided to get my older boys a Kindle Fire. They’re getting to the age where they are starting to need to look things up for school, where friends are telling them to check out certain Youtube videos, etc. Also they would take mine all the time anyway and when I finally would get to use it, the battery would be drained.

My question was, what to get my youngest. I finally decide to get him a LeapPad 2 so he’d have his own tablet just like his big brothers and hopefully wouldn’t bother them when they were trying to use theirs. The idea was great. My 3 yr old loves his LeapPad 2. He plays with it every day…or at least he did until “the incident”.

Yes I’m a typical mom nagging at my kids to pick their toys up when they’re done with them. And now, talking to them about taking care of their tablets because they aren’t cheap and blah blah blah. One night, about a week ago, I found every one of their tablets laying around. One on the fireplace, one on the end table, and the little guy’s on the floor. I picked them up and went to put them away where they belong, in the cupboard in the dining room. You know, so no one would accidently step on them, bump them onto the floor, whatever.

Wouldn’t you know, this mom goes to grab the case for her youngest son’s LeapPad 2. I fumbled with the case and the LeapPad 2 in my hand for a minute and the LeapPad slips out of my hand, screen down, on to the hardwood floor. I heard a sickening crackle sound. You know, like someone crunching broken glass under their shoe. I was so sick. No!!! I couldn’t have broken his LeapPad 2 right? He loves this thing! He’s going to be so upset. I just bought this in December! This sucker is not something I’d consider cheap either.

Hoping beyond hope I pick it up and flip it over. This is what I see

I honestly thought I was going to cry. I felt like I just flushed $100 down the drain. I was upset because I knew how much my son loves his LeapPad 2. I was distraught, but when hubby got home from work he was very sweet and helped me try to find solutions. I thought I’d give the Geek Squad Tech Support Service from Best Buy a try and see if they could at least point me in the right direction for what to do.

I first tried to call the 1 800 service number. I talked to a nice lady on the phone. Explained to her what my situation was and asked her if she knew if it might be fixable. She explained to me that I would have to pay a $35 fee, I would need to take it to my local Best Buy, and take it to the GeekSquad.com desk. So I did the next day. I again explained my situation to the Geek Squad staff member. He told me about the fee I would have to pay and if the cost to fix it was anything over that, they’d check with me first. He also was able to tell me that LeapFrog has their own warranty on their products. He was looking at his computer and told me he had to talk to someone and would be right back. A few minutes later he came back and told me the bad news. They aren’t able to fix the LeapPad 2 because the screen is not covered by warranty. Being that it’s an LCD screen the cost to replace the screen would be more than just going and buying another LeapPad 2. I was disappointed it couldn’t be fixed but I was glad they took the time to explain to me why and let me know about fees upfront. I was aware that the service did not cover parts that may be needed to fix devices already.

See Geek Squad Tech Support Services covers things like software, hardware, and operating systems installation, computer tune ups, and trouble shooting. Their one year service plan (which I have) also gives you access to their internet security as well as an expansive library of how-to tutorials so you can get the most out of you computing devices. And did I mention it cover up to 3 computing devices? So it could cover you desktop, your laptop, and your Kindle Fire if you like. Or whatever computing devices you may have.

Even though Best Buy’s Geek Squad Tech Support Service wasn’t able to fix my son’s LeapPad 2 I was grateful to them there to ask questions, point me in the right direction, and grateful that I got honest answers and explanations.

As for me, looks like I’m gonna have to buy my son another LeapPad 2 since I broke this one.

Free Online PC Health Check From Experienced Geek Squad® Agents Available 24/7/365.

***The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free***

Colortime Crafts and Markers Review and Giveaway

Colortime Crafts and Markers have been around for quite a few years, since 1990 to be exact (Can you believe that was over 20 yrs ago, yikes!) In the early 90’s customers would recognize Colortime Crafts and Markers from their days at the Cotton Warehouse on Long Island.

Colortime Crafts and Markers is also a licensed Girl Scout Vendor for 15 yrs.

Colortime Crafts and Markers allows you to decorate your own craft usable craft projects like pillow cases, totes, bandanas and more.

The ready to color projects are really affordable. Use their makers (sold separately) to color in the projects. Markers last for a long time if capped and stored correctly so once you buy a few of the markers you can use them for future Colortime Crafts and Markers projects.

We received the “Party Rock Backpack” along with 3 different color markers to review.

I let my youngest son have a go at it first. I colored in a tiny portion of one of the streamers and uncapped the markers from him and he started decorating. He of course didn’t go in the lines and colored wherever he wanted but he had fun. My older 2 sons then colored in a few things themselves. I actually enjoyed doing this as well. My oldest son took the backpack and used it to carry his wrestling shoes and singlet in for practice.

I think this would be a neat project to do at parties. You could order a 1 or 2 economy packs of markers and get each kid a bandanna, backpack, tote, or whatever you like. they they’d have something fun to take home with them rather than the little goody bags or prizes you might buy.

Oh and one of my favorite things about their site, the FREE printable coloring pages!

Besides their website, you can also find Colortime Crafts on twitter: @ColortimeCrafts
on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/colortimecrafts
and on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/colortimecrafts/

If Colortime Crafts and Markers sounds like something your family would enjoy you can use discount code: 15for30C to get 15% off your online order on their website http://www.colortime.com code expires June 21, 2013.

Colortime Crafts also have weekly fan giveaways on their facebook page. Each week they will randomly draw 3 fans to win a special craft package that includes a color your own “Recycle tote” and 3 permanent fabric markers. To be eligible you must be a fan of Colortime Crafts on facebook. You can not have won a prize from Colortime in the last 12 months. Prizes not claimed within 2 weeks will be forfeited.

GIVEAWAY

1 Luv Saving Money readers will win a

Recycle Tote bag and 3 fabric markers (random colors)

US ONLY

Note: if you have won a prize from Colortime in the last 12 months you are not eligible to win again

Entry -Form

***I received the above mentioned products at no cost as a US Family Guide Blogger to review Colortime Crafts and Markers. I was under no obligation to give a positive review. Any opinions expressed are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this post.***

20 Mule Team Borax multipurpose cleaner review/giveaway

A few years ago, my oldest son was in boy scouts. They did a science experiment at one of their meetings. They made “flubber”, you can find a recipe here. It was a really fun experiment and the kids had something to play with for a while afterward. It was also one of my first personal experiences using 20 Mule Team Borax. Little did I know, at the time, how much stuff you can use this for!

Did you know that 20 Mule Team Borax has been around since 1891? I didn’t, but I’d say for a product to be around that long, they must be doing something right. Borax is 100% natural and is boxed in the US. Borax is sodium tetraborate which is a natural occuring mineral that comes from evaporation of seasonal lakes.

Some of you might already know that it’s a great laundry booster. Just add a half a cup to your washing machine along with your favorite laundry detergent and it helps remove odors and stains from your clothes. That’s not all Borax can do though. I initially thought I’d try a bunch of way to use the product before I do my review. Then when I was reading about all the ways you can use it, I realized if I even did half of them my review wouldn’t be done until February some time.

I did use it in my laundry. My youngest son is outgrowing his clothes so I went up in the attic to find my older boys clothes they grew out of. They’d been in the attic for a few years and they had a bit of that attic smell to them. I thought, well this is a great trial for Borax. I was very happy with the way Borax helped clean the clothes and they all came out smelling fresh.

Then I was reading that you can actually use it to clean garbage disposals and drains. So I followed the directions to ad 2-3 tablespoons in my garbage disposal, let it stand for 15 minutes then flush with water while I ran my garbage disposal. It really worked great to neutralize the unpleasant odor that was starting to sneak out of there.

So what else can Borax be used for?
–cleaning toilet bowls
–removing stains from clothes including baby clothes
–as a hard water conditioner
–to remove stains from carpets and rugs
–make your dishwasher more effective
–clean and deodorize your kitchen
–clean grout and tile
–cleaning aluminum and porcelain pots and pans
–cleaning ovens
–removing mattress odors
–cleaning plastic and metal patio furniture
–science experiments
–arts and crafts

I wish I would have discovered this product years ago. It’s natural, it’s inexpensive, it’s multipurpose, it works! What’s not to love?

You can also enter to win $1500 cash or one of 171coupons for a FREE box of Borax on their facebook page

You can find 20 Mule Team Borax on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/20MuleTeamBorax
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/20muleteamlaundry/
and on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/source/20muleteamlaundry.com/

GIVEAWAY

3 Luv Saving Money readers will win a coupon

for a FREE box of 20 Mule Team Borax

US only

Entry-Form

***I received a free sample of Borax as part of the Purex Insider program in order to complete this review. Any opinions expressed are my own. I was under no obligation to give a positive review.***