Wednesday, October 27, 2010

recent faves

Following, find a few discoveries that I can endorse with enthusiasm!


My number one despised household chore used to be mopping. I never felt like the floors got completely clean - most of the time it seemed I was just redistributing dirty water all over the place. Plus I had to push so hard that often I got blisters on my hands.

No more, friends, no more. This so-much-better-than-a-mop appliance first caught my eye when Target ran a great sale on it in the Sunday paper. Brian researched it online and after reading many favorable reviews, he approved the purchase. It was a little bit of an investment - definitely pricier than your average mop. But let me tell you why it is SO worth it.

- It uses steam alone to clean the floors. No solution and no chemicals. I will never have to buy a cleaning product for my floors again.
- It works on any sealed surface: wood, tile, laminate, etc. After you use it, the floors literally squeak they are so clean.
- It includes five microfiber cleaning pads: two rectangle, two triangle (for corners) and one with dusting loops on it. Each one is double-sided and machine washable.
- It's so fast! It heats up in just 30 seconds and you're ready to go. After using, the floors dry almost immediately, leaving no streaks and no footprints if I accidentally walk back over it.

Bottom line: overnight, this gadget turned my most dreaded chore into the one I now anticipate the most. It is simply awesome. (I think Bed Bath & Beyond carries them too... you could get it there with a coupon.)



Just might be the cheeziest product name ever, right? Well, this leave-in product can call itself whatever it wants and I will remain a loyal fan. My friend Carrie first told me about it last spring, but I had some other products I wanted to use up first so I just bought my first bottle a couple of weeks ago. I'm kicking myself for waiting so long!

It's named for the 10 things it claims to do, including repairing dry damaged hair, adding shine, smoothing and controlling frizz, detangling, enhancing body. Sound too good to be true? I thought so too. Until I tried it. With hair that is partly curly, partly wavy, partly straight with a little bit of frizz thrown in, I usually have to use a heavy conditioner and several products while styling. I worked up the courage to try the purple bottle solo and, no lie, my hair has never looked better.

Oh, and you can get it at the salon inside of Walmart!

This favorite has a couple limitations: you have to bank with Chase and you need to be an iPhone user. If you don't fit that criteria, skip this one.
This has to be one of my favorite apps. It allows me to deposit my checks (up to $1,000 per day) from home. All I have to do is use my phone to take a picture of the front and the back of my check. The deposit goes through immediately!

The other night, I made a deposit at midnight, just because I could. :)


Ok, I don't actually have this product yet, but it's on my must-get list. You may have seen it on an infomercial. Before your guard goes up, I have actually seen this used in real life by the woman who is hosting my Apples of Gold Bible Study. It REALLY WORKS!

In one whap, you can instantly chop onions or any other vegetable, fruit, cheese, chicken, really anything that can be diced. It comes with several different-sized cutting inserts. It's dishwasher safe. And the container where the chopped pieces fall doubles as a measuring cup. Cool! No more tears when chopping onions! I believe you can find these at BB&B as well.

If you decide to try any of these things (or maybe you discovered them long ago), let me know - you won't be sorry!

3 comments:

Megan said...

Okay, I've seen that mop before and wondered how effective it is, because I also don't feel like my mop works all that well. Thanks for the review! I do have one question - how hot to the touch does it get? Could a toddler/baby get burned?

smithec said...

Megan - the steam only comes out through the bottom of the cleaning pad so it goes directly onto the floor. If someone touched the underside of the pad, they would probably burn themselves, however the bottom of the pad is usually going to be touching the floor! So I don't think there is much of a burn risk unless you left the mop plugged in and unsupervised (which I know you wouldn't do)! The pad cools down really quickly once you unplug it. Hope that helps!

Meredith said...

I've been debating getting the steam mop too! Glad you're enjoying it! Might have to try that hair product too...sounds awesome!