review – Page 125 – Luv Saving Money

Swingline Smart Touch stapler review

Shoplet.com sells a wide range products for business. Whether it be a corporate office or your at-home office, there are tons of products to help you keep your business working.

I received the Swingline SmartTouch stapler to review from Shoplet.com, as well as a box of Premium Swingline Staples.

Upon first looking at the Swingline SmartTouch stapler, I thought it had a very sleek look compared to the average desktop stapler. Before loading it I picked it up and squeezed the stapler a few times. The grip is very comfortable and easy to manuever. It has rubber on both the top and bottom to prevent it from sliding in your hand or on your desk top.

The stapler did not come with instructions of any kind. I know what you’re thinking, “Why would one need instructions for a stapler?”. Well I sure could have used them. There is a button on the back of the stapler the wiggled up and down. There was a picture of, what appeared to be, staples on the button. When I slid the button down I was able to pull out the staple tray. Instead of this stapler opening like a traditional stapler from the top, the tray slides out. I took a row of staples and placed them on the tray. They fit perfectly.

Then I tried to slide the staple tray back in. The tray went about 3/4 of the way back in and stopped. I slid the tray back out and did not see any reason why the tray would not go back in. I pushed on it a bit and got the tray to go in.

The box of the Swingline SmartTouch Stapler says it can accomodate up to 25 sheets of paper at a time. It requires 50% less effort to use than a traditional stapler.
I decided to go with a simple initial test, staple two pieces of paper together. The stapler stapled smoothly and quickly.

The staples themselves are well made, Not flimsy. The Swingline Premium Chisel Point Staples come in a hard plastic box with a flip open lid for convenience. there are 5,000 total staples in the box, 210 per strip.

Then I decided I’d try to staple one of my lesson packs together for a certificate course I’m currently working on. I went to staple it and it punched a staple shaped hole into the paper. I attempted again and same issue. Staple-shaped hole but no staple. So I decided I would slide the staple tray out and investigate.

Unfortunately I was unable to slide the staple tray back out. I searched the Shoplet.com and Swingline.com site for instructions to see if I was doing something wrong, or perhaps missing a feature. I did searches for help on other sites such as Youtube. I came across a chat thread for the Swingline SmartTouch Stapler on answerbag.com. It talks about an “invisible piece of tape” on the front of the stapler that was causing some issues, but that was not my problem. I pushed the button down and the staple tray would not budge. I attempted moving the button in other positions but no luck. I had my husband try as well thinking it may just need a little more muscle. Again, no luck. This is where a simple “how to load/reload your stapler” business card size instruction sheet would have come in handy. It seems I was not the only one who had this question.

While attempting to unjam, or whatever the issue was, the front plate of the staple tray fell off. I tried sliding the staples out that way but the line of staples, of course, just kept breaking off after a couples staples. At this point, I’m left with a Swingline “paper weight”.

I can not comment on the ease and accuracy of the paper stapling capacity due to the stapler jam/malfunction.

My next step personally would be to contact Swingline directly. I see the stapler does have a 1 year limited warranty. I guess I’ll put that to the test.

As far as Shoplet.com goes, I think the stapler is a product issue not an issue with the site. I would definitely consider Shoplet.com from any office supplies I might need in the future.

***I received the Swingline SmartTouch stapler and box of Swingline Staples in order to complete an honest product review as part of the Shoplet.com blogger program. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post. Any opinions expressed are my own.***

Aerobie Megatop toy Review and Giveaway

I love working with Aerobie. In the past I have done reviews for the Aerobie Sprint flying ring and the Aerobie Skylighter disc. Aerobie toys are durable, high quality toys that keep kids (and adults) active. Aerobie products can be found at many sporting goods stores.

Aerobie’s newest product is the Aerobie Megatop. It’s a big chunky top but with a twist. It’s not your average top. It comes with a string that you use to get the top spinning, a catch plate and a spin booster. The quick launch enables the person using the top to reach RPMs of 3000+. The spin booster allows the user to keep the top going even longer. The catch plate lets you perform fun tricks and balancing acts once you get the hang of it.

The top is made of a very thick and durable plastic. There’s a rim around it where the string goes that reminds you something of a yo yo except for the fact the string is not attached to the top. There is a notch on the top that holds the string in place until you launch it.

My husband and I both tried it first. We tried to set it down and pull the string quickly. It worked but the spin wasn’t the greatest. Then my oldest son tried it. Of course the kids figures it out. He holds it in his hand and throws it. That darn top spun so fast and I’d bet it spun on the kitchen floor for at least a minute if not more. His first try. He did better than my husband and I. So I had him show me how he did it. I tried it and got it spinning using my son’s technique. Then my son tried out the spin booster to see how long he could keep the top going.

We’re still trying to master the catch plate. We haven’t quite got it down but it’s been fun trying. I think anyone who’s good with a Yo Yo would have probably got the catch plate down by now. This top has been thrown on hard surfaces, kicked around, launched in the air, and used as everything but what it’s supposed to be by my toddler. It’s a durable toy. My only suggestion for the company would be to include some type of pouch or box to keep all the parts in. The string isn’t attached so when my toddle was playing with it we’d end up have to scour the house for all the parts, especially the string. The good news, in regard to that, is that all the parts are brightly colored so they’re pretty easy to spot.

Here’s a video of the top in action:

Aerobie products are available in the US as well as Internationally. To see where Aerobie products are sold near you, you can go to their site: http://aerobie.com/wheretobuy.htm as well as on Amazon.com.

You can find Aerobie on Facebook too: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Aerobie-Sport-Toys/139247956088827

GIVEAWAY

Aerobie is going to give 1 Luv Saving Money reader their own Aerobie Megatop to try out.

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***I received the above mentioned products in order to complete a review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own.***

Tyler’s Coffee Review and Giveaway

I love coffee. For me, it really doesn’t matter what time of day. I like a cup when I first get up in the morning, later on to relax when I’m home from work, and maybe even one later on in the evening when my energy starts to wind down and the kids want me to do this and that. One thing I’m aware of though is that coffee’s acidic nature is not very good for your teeth and tummy.

Tyler’s Coffee uses a “Z-roasting process”. This minimizes the time the coffee beans are cooked that results in acid free coffee with high caffeine levels. Acid levels can cause erosion of the tooth enamel over time. So in drinking acid free coffee, it can cut down on that. Acid levels can also irritate stomachs and the esophagus. People with stomach issues can still enjoy acid free coffee. According to the packaging, it can also help reduce Acid Reflux, heartburn, indigestion, and bloating.

If you prefer not to have the high caffeine level or are unable to drink caffeinated beverages, Tyler’s Coffee’s also makes a Decaf version of acid free coffee.

Tyler’s coffee uses Grade AAA Arabica beans from South America that are brought to their roasting factory in Arizona.

My experience

Tyler’s Coffee’s suggest brewing with filtered water to cut down on the acidity even more and to preventing any displeasing tastes. Unfortunately I do not have a water filter. I could have went and bought a bottle water I suppose but to be honest, I was curious as to what it would taste like if someone bought it and also didn’t have a filter.

Unfortunately for me, it did have a funny taste. Not one that I’d particularly recommend. On a positive note, I could feel the difference in the acidity of the coffee after only a few sips. I hadn’t realized how accustomed I had be come to the kind of mild burn I felt at the back of my throat. When I sipped this coffee, it was almost like drinking water in the sense that it seemed smoother and made my throat less angry.

While brewing it had a different scent than I was used to when brewing my regular coffee. It might sound funny but it had almost a paper like scent.

I’d love to try this again but brewing it the proper way. I would strongly suggest either using this with filtered water or bottle water.

GIVEAWAY

Tyler’s Coffee is going to give one Luv Saving Money reader their own pack of acid free Tyler’s Coffee to try.

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I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

New and Improved Purex Triple Action laundry detergent review and giveaway

The new and improved Purex Triple Action laundry detergent line delivers on Purex’s promise leaving clothes bright and clean at half the price of other brands. For the last year, scientists have been working at making an even better Purex formula. I personally love Purex anyway, and didn’t know they could make it even better.

Purex keeps the best parts of the current formula with new features for an even better clean and brightening formula. The new formula was introduced just this fall. Purex Triple Action has been formulated to work in both traditional and HE washers.

I had already been using the Purex Triple action prior to receiving a bottle of the New and Improved Purex Triple Action for review. I absolutely love the mountain fresh scent available in the Purex Triple Action laundry detergent. I love a scent to my products as long as it’s not over powering. For me, this scent is perfect. A fresh clean scent. I decided to put the new and improved formula to the test using my toddler’s clothes.

You can see one of my toddler’s socks in the pic. Totally filthy. Also one of his shirts. Up near the right shoulder is some type of white stain. Not entirely sure what it is but I was fairly confident that Purex Triple Action’s new and improved formula can handle it. I have an HE washing machine. I’m so glad Purex Triple Action can be used in all types of washers.

You can see that it removed the white mystery stain from my toddlers shirt and took most of the dirt out of his little white sock. I didn’t use any bleach or pretreaters. I wanted to see how this would work on it’s own.

GIVEAWAY

Purex will be sending me 3 coupons for a free bottle of the new and improved Purex Triple Action Laundry detergent to award to three winners

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***I received a bottle of the New Purex Triple Action Laundry detergent as part of the Purex Insiders program. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post. Any opinions expressed are my own.***

NEOVA skin care review

NEOVA is an anti-aging skin care line. Created by ProtoCyte, a Photomedex company. Their skincare products contain Copper Peptide Complex. Scientific studies have show that Copper has a vital role in skin health. It promotes collagen and elastin and acts like an antioxidant.

NEOVA skin care products are sold at more retailers than I realized. Sites like drugstores.com, SkinCareRx.com, and Dermstore.com just to name a few. NEOVA products are a bit pricey though. I received two products from the NEOVA skincare line to try.

NEOVA Eye Therapy — is developed to help reduce the appearance of puffiness, dark circles, fine lines, and wrinkles. This treatment contains DNA repair mitosomes and the Copper Peptide complex talked about above. It tells you to apply around the eye after cleansing. I only did this once a day as it didn’t really indicate how many times a day it should be used. After only a week of daily use, I did notice a reduction in the dark circles under my eyes. It did also help with the mild puffiness I get around my eyes in the morning. I used these products for about a month before it seemed that there was a slight difference in the crows feet starting to form at the corners of my eyes. The Eye Therapy is the smaller container pictured below. It has an easy to use pump for dispensing. It’s a clear blue gel. I didn’t notice any type of scent.

NEOVA Night Therapy — also contains the Copper Peptide Complex, antioxidants, and DNA Repair Endosomes. It says it’s meant to “maximize cell repair function at night and restore moisture levels”. I again used this product for 1 month. My skin seemed smoother to me. It also felt a little more taut than it had. My skin gets very dry in the winter time to the point of flaking and itching. This treatment did not have the level of moisturizer my skin needs during the cold months. The Night Therapy is the larger bottle pictured above. It also has a pump to dispense. It is a light weight lotion that absorbed quickly into my skin. It had a mild medicine-like smell.

NEOVA products are also available at NextDerm.com

***I received the above mentioned products at no cost in order to complete a review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post. Any opinions expressed are my own***